Because the commotion from Jeanne using her Noble Phantasm just now was simply too massive, Ch'en arrived at the scene with a group of operators after seeing the situation.
The moment she laid eyes on the three people sitting in the car, an "it just had to be you three" expression appeared on her face. She had already guessed before arriving that this incident was related to these three, but even though they were supposedly strangers to one another, they seemed to have become quite well-acquainted.
"Since we all know each other, I won't waste time with pleasantries. But can you three tell me exactly what happened here?"
Ch'en looked at the scene behind them, which clearly showed signs of a massive explosion, and the wretched state of the ground. It looked as if a small-scale war had just taken place. Ch'en felt a surge of pity for the few thinning-haired staff members in the cleanup department; today, they would surely worry away what little hair they had left trying to restore this place.
"We just ran into some trouble... let's just say we went through a fierce battle."
After seeing Ch'en and her team, the three of them got out of the car to talk. The other LGD operators tactfully moved away to investigate the surroundings, leaving them ample space for conversation.
While Lemuen spoke with Ch'en, she moved to support Jeanne, whose complexion looked poor. Jeanne's face was even paler than before, and she appeared somewhat listless.
"Jeanne, are you alright? You look like you've been injured. Perhaps you should go to the hospital for a check-up first."
Seeing the flagging Jeanne, Ch'en also inquired with concern. She even considered sending her to the hospital immediately. Regardless of the details, it was clear from the current situation that they were the victims. If Jeanne's body had sustained any damage from this incident, delaying treatment would be inappropriate.
"I'm fine, I'm just purely exhausted from this ordeal. However, you should tell your subordinates to be careful; there was a very capable sniper in this vicinity just now."
Hearing Ch'en's worry about her health, Jeanne wondered if her complexion had really turned that bad. Did everyone think she was seriously injured? She hadn't felt that using her Noble Phantasm drained her that much. Why did everyone keep giving her the impression that she was heavily wounded and in need of rescue?
Upon hearing that there was a sniper nearby, Ch'en hurriedly ordered the surrounding operators to increase their vigilance and put on protective gear. They had to be wary of cold arrows from a sniper whose whereabouts were unknown. Although there was a high probability that the sniper had fled before the LGD arrived, no one knew for sure if they had truly left or if they would fire again.
"Shirayuki, what's the situation with you?"
Turning around, Ch'en looked at the ninja who had been standing silently by the side. She was like a transparent person, quietly observing the ongoing conversation. But the ninja wasn't just observing the three of them; she was also carefully confirming that no enemies remained hidden, wordlessly protecting Jeanne's safety.
"Ruler Wei dispatched me. My purpose is to protect Miss Jeanne's life while she is in Lungmen."
Shirayuki used very brief words to explain her current mission.
"Wei Yenwu? I see. You should go and report the situation to him first. With such a major incident, he ought to know."
Hearing that it was Wei Yenwu's order, Ch'en roughly understood the reason. It was likely that the theory she had shared with him led him to dispatch this ninja as a guard. It worked out well; an incident of this magnitude did need to be reported to Wei Yenwu, and with his ninja here, it saved them the trouble of rushing to report to him themselves.
However, Shirayuki did not leave immediately upon hearing Ch'en's words. The situation here wasn't entirely clear yet, and as a guard, she couldn't just leave. Still, she didn't argue; she simply stood quietly at an appropriate distance. She was far enough from Jeanne not to make her presence offensive, yet at a distance that guaranteed she could reach Jeanne instantly if a life-threatening situation arose.
"I'll take them back to the Guard Department shortly. With the protection of myself and the officers, you can feel safe returning to report. By the way, did you not bring your weapons out this time?"
Ch'en looked behind Shirayuki and didn't see the massive shurikens she usually carried on missions, only a few ordinary weapons. Combined with the standard-issue shuriken she had seen embedded in the streetlight earlier, it seemed Shirayuki hadn't brought her most proficient gear for this escort mission.
"Those weapons are too large and inconvenient for movement in the city... I need to ask Ruler Wei for permission regarding the report."
With that, Shirayuki pulled out a communicator to contact Wei Yenwu. Ch'en was already used to this behavior. Generally, Shirayuki wouldn't change her mission based on others' opinions; she would only continue her task after receiving word from her master.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think the things I said yesterday would cause him to react so strongly that he'd even arrange for a secret guard."
At this point, Shirayuki, who had been reporting to Wei Yenwu, walked over. After a few words with Ch'en, she departed, even borrowing an LGD motorcycle for the trip.
"I'll drive you back. It's still not entirely safe here, and I can lend a hand if anything happens."
And so, after instructing the nearby officers to stay safe, Ch'en drove Jeanne's car to escort them away. Shirayuki had told her that, more than investigating the scene, the priority was ensuring Jeanne wasn't attacked again.
Although Ch'en wanted to dig into what exactly had transpired—as this was a malicious incident the likes of which hadn't been seen in years, serious enough to warrant the LGD going all out—she held back. Even though this area was remote, the explosions had been noticed by people not far away. It was likely already a headline on the Lungmen news and the most discussed topic in the city.
Fortunately, those mysterious black iron thorns had helped them capture many participants. They could learn the truth of the incident through these people, rather than processing the case in the dark.
"I know the circumstances were special, but doing this is truly a violation of Lungmen law! Live ammunition is not allowed within Lungmen."
After getting into the car, Ch'en looked at the pile of magazines and bullets on the back seat and felt her horns starting to ache. Even if the situation was dangerous, having so many unapproved weapons was enough to charge Lemuen with illegal possession of firearms—let alone the fact that she was using live rounds!
"Hahaha, that was only because the situation was so urgent. We had no choice but to use some special means. But usually, I'm a law-abiding good person!"
While Lemuen quickly cleared the back seat of the weapons and bullets that made it look like a gun store, she secretly felt relieved that Ch'en didn't seem to know much about guns; she hadn't recognized the revolver cannon. This was normal, as most people had no interest in learning about Laterano firearms. After all, who would spend a lot of time researching a weapon that was so difficult to use well?
"...Forget it. I'll act as if I didn't see anything this time. After all, you are the victims of this incident; it would be embarrassing for us to hold onto this issue and not let go."
Ch'en looked at Lemuen smiling while packing her weapons in the back and felt she had encountered a version of Exusiai who was even more prone to action. She couldn't help but pray that no more trouble would be stirred up.
"By the way, what was with that burst of golden light that suddenly appeared? We saw it from quite a distance, though we were too far away to see what it was."
Ch'en recalled their approach. They had seen a sphere of light so blinding it had affected their driving. They had thought it was some strange phenomenon. But upon arriving, let alone a blinding sphere of light, they couldn't find anything capable of emitting such intense brilliance—they couldn't even find a clue.