<h4>Chapter 503. Julio</h4>


    Lily was terrified to see a thick, calloused hand reaching out for her like an eagle''s talon. She covered her head with her tiny paws and closed her eyes before letting loose a piercing scream.


    Just as she thought she was going to die again, Lily discovered that she felt no pain.


    The squatting Lily opened her eyes and was surprised to see the elderly man standing not far away from her with a solemn expression. The elderly man was staring at his own palm.


    Before Lily coulde back to her senses, piercing whistles rang out. A few police officers in ck uniforms were running toward Lily and the elderly man while blowing their whistles.


    "Freeze! Have you not heard of thew forbidding any attacks on the mice of Hope Ind? Tell me your name and your home address!" a police officer roared.


    The elderly man stood still in the face of the police officer''s questioning andpletely ignored them. His expression remained solemn as his gazended on Lily.


    "I''m talking to you! Do you not hear me?!" a police officer eximed. Then, he reached out to tap the elderly man on the shoulder, but a grotesque, crisp noise echoed as the police officer''s fingers were twisted in various different directions.


    "<i>AAAH!</i>" the police officer screamed in agony as he clutched his twisted, broken hand.


    The faces of the two police officers standing behind him changed drastically. They wasted no time, pulling out a blue cylindrical object hanging from their waists and pointing it at the sky.


    <i>Swoosh! Boom!</i>


    A bright blue firework exploded beneath the canopy above Hope Ind. The color blue indicated an anomaly—a police officer had encountered an exceptionally difficult offender.


    Soon, the sound of screeching brakes pervaded the air as police cars blocked every single road that led to Lily and the elderly man. The entire street quickly became empty as the police cordoned it off.


    Guns and a variety of weapons were aimed at the elderly man in front of Lily.


    "This is the Hope Ind Police Department. Put all your relics and weapons on the ground and put your hands up!" a police officer shouted through a megaphone while standing behind an opened car door.


    Lily trembled with fright. The mice that had scattered earlier had gathered around her once more, but she dared not move even an inch in front of the elderly man.


    After taking a deep look at Lily, the elderly man slowly lowered his hand and turned to look at the police officer holding the megaphone. "My name is Julio. Where is your governor, Charles?"


    Whispers immediately erupted from the nearby houses; the whispers were from the inders, who had retreated into their houses.


    "Julio? Why does that name sound so familiar?"


    "Don''t tell me you''ve already forgotten about him. He''s the governor who owns thergest ind in the entire Subterranean Sea!"


    "That''s right! He''s the governor who fended off Governor Swann''s giant mechanical construct, Ronker! And he did it all by himself!"


    After learning the other party''s true identity, the police officers instantly felt that they were at a disadvantage. They had the numbers advantage, but the fact that the elderly man was none other than Governor Julio meant that there was no way he''d be at a disadvantage against mere police officers.


    However, just why did a formidable individual such as Governor Julio himself visit Hope Ind unannounced? Just what exactly did he want to do?


    <i>Swoosh! Boom!</i>


    Quite a number of red fireworks exploded beneath Hope Ind''s canopy. The color red indicated the highest level of threat—a major threat that would endanger the ind''s safety was discovered.


    The piercing civil defense siren echoed throughout the entire ind. The inders frantically returned to their homes while the armed forces of Hope Ind converged on the location of the threat.


    A light of disdain shed in Julio''s eyes as he swept his gaze across the gun barrels popping out from windows and rooftops all around him. "Is this how the Governor of Hope Ind treats his guests who havee from afar?"


    "My apologies, Governor Julio, but the governor isn''t here. Pleasee back at ater time," Deputy Chief Aliya said solemnly, stepping out from the crowd.


    "Come back at ater time? Do you know how long it took me to get from Cat Ind to this ind, which is located in the extreme north? You''re actually telling me toe back at ater time?!" Julio eximed, sounding displeased.


    Everyone gulped a mouthful of their own saliva. If such an existence were to truly make a move against them, then probably not even half of the people present would survive.


    Just then, Hope Ind''s Minister of Administration, Leonardo, stepped up with a smile and said, "Governor Julio, please go and rest at the best hotel that Hope Ind has to offer in the meantime. I will notify the governor of your presence as soon as possible via telegram."


    Julio nced at the mice on the ground with the corner of his eye before kicking off against the ground and dashed toward the Governor''s Mansion.


    "Since Charles isn''t here, I''ll wait for him at his Governor''s Mansion. I''ll give his mansion back to him upon his return," Julio said.


    Leonardo let out a sigh of relief while staring at Julio''s disappearing figure. Then, he turned to look at Aliya and said, "I''m sure you know his identity, so why did you say that? What if he made a move against us? You''d have brought endless trouble to our governor as well as endangered our home."


    Aliya looked at him with disgust. "And what was that nonsense? Do you really think that what you said was helpful? The governor must be on the surface by now, so could he receive a telegram?


    "What are you going to do once Julio asks you for the governor''s telegram?"


    "This is called taking it one step at a time, do you get it? Since he didn''t immediately make a move, it''s going to be difficult for him to make a moveter," Leonardo said, adjusting his sses.


    "Once a liar, always a liar indeed," Aliya said. Then, she turned around, jumped into a car, and sped toward the headquarters of Hope Ind''s Police Department.


    Julio was a massive threat, and she needed to discuss countermeasures with James.


    Meanwhile, Leonardo shook his head helplessly and turned to rush to the Governor''s Mansion while muttering, "They''re all brutes; they can''t even think out of the box at all. If it weren''t for my presence here, Hope Ind would have descended into chaos long ago."


    The governor was absent, so Leonardo could be considered the Quasi-Governor of Hope Ind. After all, he was the Minister of Administration. His position meant he held a ton of power.


    Julio''s intentions were unclear, and Leonardo wanted to learn of the former''s intentions, so he decided to curry favor with the former.


    He tried many different methods: great food, wine, and even women. Leonardo wanted to know why Julio was looking for Governor Charles. However, Julio ignored his ployspletely and didn''t even let anyone enter the mansion.


    Sitting in the car, Leonardo stared at the tightly closed Governor''s Mansion and felt a bit relieved. The situation wasn''t too bad. At least, Julio seemed like he had been honest—he had trulye here for Governor Charles rather than for the ind.


    Leonardo contemted for a while before ordering the driver to head to the headquarters of Hope Ind''s Police Department.


    Leonardo didn''t really get along with James, but Charles was absent, so the two were in charge of Hope Ind. In the face of a major threat, they had to put their differences aside and work together to resolve the ongoing threat.


    Governor Anna had entrusted him with the ind, so he had to protect it no matter what.


    Meanwhile, Julio walked through the empty Governor''s Mansion, exploring every single room. His pupils were emitting a faint red light, and it seemed that he was using a special ability to examine every single room.


    Julio checked meticulously and carefully, checking even the bathrooms. For some reason, he would always close the curtains of the rooms before examining them thoroughly.