CHAPTER 1061: CHAPTER 81: THE DETECTIVE’S TRICK_3

Victor looked at the scene through the car window, gritting his teeth, muttering: "Damn! I never thought there’d be a day when I, Victor, would be set up!"

"It might not be a trap for us; they might be targeting Barthelemy."

Arthur’s face didn’t look good either: "But even if we were caught up in this, it’s not easy to get out unscathed."

Victor opened his coat, revealing the two handguns at his waist: "I know your swordsmanship is good, but I have yet to ask how your marksmanship is?"

Arthur took the handgun he tossed: "I can just get by. Every time something like this happens, I miss Alexander a lot."

"Later, remember to find cover and pray to God. As long as we survive their shooting, your swordsmanship will come in handy. Did you bring a blade?"

Arthur picked up the cane beside him, calmly unscrewed the handle, and the gleaming blade was instantly exposed to Victor’s eyes.

Even the Parisian Sleuth couldn’t help but marvel at such a clever little thing: "Truly deserves to be a London gentleman, even wounding implements are made so exquisite, quite sinister!"

With that, Victor pushed open the car door, but didn’t rush out. Instead, he used the door’s cover to show half his body, hiding his gun-holding right hand behind the door.

Arthur, on the other side, got out facing the opposite direction, constantly watching Barthelemy and the roadblockers ahead.

With a smile, Victor spoke up: "Greetings, gentlemen. I wonder which path you’re on and what work you do? I’m also in the trade, and you must have heard of the name ’Jean Louis’? If you’re short on cash, although I’m not wealthy, I can afford to treat the brothers to a few drinks. There’s no need to make things awkward for everyone."

Generally, common thugs might have put away their guns upon hearing Victor’s words.

But this group in front clearly wasn’t here for money.

The leader didn’t approach Victor but stopped ten steps away, coldly saying: "We’re not interested in you. Lie on the ground now, and we’ll spare your life."

While he was speaking with Victor, Barthelemy ahead had already clashed with the interceptors.

But this Parisian officer, usually tasked with moral inspections, was clearly not good at close combat. After taking two punches to the face, he was soon dragged off the carriage like a dead dog, and even the iconic Paris Police Képi hat fell to the ground and was stomped flat by a thug.

"Damn it, just behave, or I’ll damn well shoot you dead!"

They sent two people to hold Barthelemy, while another hurriedly untied the sack.

"Boss, it’s Francois, no mistake. This kid’s lifeless!"

After saying this, the man suddenly paused, his eyes meeting Arthur’s, his brows furrowing tightly, and then he surprisingly said: "It’s you?"

Victor, originally ready to act, heard this and quickly turned his attention to Arthur: "You know each other?"

Arthur stared at the man for a long time without speaking; he didn’t remember seeing such a face. But if the other was a Royalist, then they might have indeed met, given that the light was too dim that night, and he didn’t have the mood to recognize each Royalist one by one.

Arthur didn’t directly answer Victor’s question but slightly pressed one hand down, signaling him to stay calm.

For some reason, he felt today’s encounter was filled with things that didn’t add up.

Whether it was Barthelemy, the Parisian police officer, brazenly transferring a forged perpetrator in an open carriage, or this bizarre street encounter...

Especially since he had previously instructed the Royalists to act low-key and cautious, and they even recently lost a member named Duhan...

Suddenly, a thought of the alias ’Jean Louis’ that Victor had mentioned, which he proudly used, flashed through Arthur’s mind.

In an instant, his memory seemed to return to a year ago during the investigation of the Liverpool assassination case.

At that time, to find clues about the assassination, he sought advice from the ’Coconut Tree’ in a London café about the Paris Security Department’s experience.

Mr. Coconut Tree had told Arthur about the story of Victor using the disguises ’Jean Louis’ and ’Julius’ in his younger days to pose as a criminal accomplice for undercover operations. To gain the trust of criminals, he even staged a real escape event.

At this point, Arthur finally understood where his sense of dissonance came from.

Or perhaps, even if this wasn’t an act led by Victor, even if they were indeed Royalists, he wouldn’t be in mortal danger.

Realizing this, Arthur relaxed.

To verify his theory, he discreetly pointed the muzzle of the handgun hidden behind him downwards and unloaded the bullet.

The handgun Victor gave him was a classic Flintlock Gun, usually loaded with a bullet and black gunpowder wrapped together in parchment for easy loading.

Arthur tore open the paper wrap with his nail and then gently rubbed it with his fingers.

Sure enough, his fingers felt sticky; Victor had mixed water into the gunpowder, and if this gun fired, that would be a miracle!

Now reassured, Arthur’s tone became much more composed.

Though he didn’t know why Victor suspected his connection with the Royalists, since the other wanted to act, he decided to play along fully.

To appear unrelated to the Royalists while fitting the current survival motive convincingly was no easier than performing on the stage of the Paris Theatre.

"Sorry, I can’t recall where I’ve seen you. My memory isn’t great; could you kindly remind me?"

Arthur spread his arms, allowing the other to see his handgun: "But for safety and to avoid unnecessary conflict, I think we should put our guns down first, as bullets don’t have eyes."