Chapter 100: Twelve But this is not a weapon_2
Kude immediately turned around and saw that a team member was ripping open Carol’s shirt at the chest, and then they saw a conspicuous wound at the spot where the heart should be.
“There should be a metal bar here,” the team member said, “but we didn’t find one at the scene.”
Kude’s eyebrows furrowed immediately.
Then another team member hurried in from outside, “Captain, people outside say that someone entered the scene before and after the explosion.”
“Who?” Kude immediately asked.
But as he asked this question, he already had a faint guess in his mind.
Then, the guess was confirmed.
“According to the description of the witnesses,” the team member slowly unfolded the sketch in his hand, “it should be… Gerard.”
At that moment, the whole scene fell into silence.
Chamos’s eyes also widened bit by bit, he took several deep breaths, and after a long while, he couldn’t help but blurt out, “This… it can’t be, right? Could it be him who did it? But that’s not right, the ‘lock’ shouldn’t have disappeared, how could he…”
Kude raised his hand to stop the babbling Chamos.
Very quickly, indeed very quickly.
All the clues in an instant pointed toward Gerard.
This rapid pointing was somewhat too deliberate, which made Kude couldn’t help but wonder what exactly was going on.
So, the only thing he could do now was…
“Find Gerard’s whereabouts,” Kude said slowly, “immediately.”
The gear train was speeding along the tracks.
It was the peak time, and normally, there should be many people on the train, but this particular train was an exception; there were only a few people in the entire carriage.
Because the destination of this train… was the Fifth Zone.
The Fifth Zone, used to combat the Polluted Land.
Ocot sat in the corner, his face completely covered by a large hat.
He looked up, watching the rapidly moving scenery outside the gear car, but a glimmer of inexplicable anxiety flashed in his eyes.
Ocot didn’t know where this anxiety came from, logically, he should have been the more adept one—he had dealt with a troublesome person who had some understanding of the incident ten years ago and had shifted the suspicion to Gerard. If things went smoothly, he would be able to handle this biggest trouble altogether, ensuring no one else could stand in their way.
He felt he had done everything perfectly.
Since a while ago, a strong sense of unease had enveloped him, as if he was constantly being watched.
Logically speaking, this shouldn’t be possible because Ocot had checked many times and had not found anyone following him.
Yet, that strange feeling had never left him, and he had already felt it during the day.
So Ocot couldn’t treat it as just his own illusion anymore, he immediately took action. Instead of heading directly back to Sky Tower to report back to Lord Yong Xin, he changed his destination to the Fifth Zone right away.
As a sector bordering the Polluted Land, the Fifth Zone was the most special and the one Ocot understood the best. Once in this zone, whatever was watching him, he was confident that he could shake it off in the Fifth Zone, ensuring that he wouldn’t bring any threats to Lord Yong Xin.
As long as he reached the Fifth Zone.
The speed of the gear train was gradually slowing down.
Ocot knew this was normal because gear trains are not allowed to travel at the same speed in the Fifth Zone as in other zones, as if not wanting to awaken something in the region.
But even though this was a regular procedure, the slowing speed still made Ocot deeply uneasy.
He looked out the window.
In his field of vision was a large bridge, and beyond the bridge was the Fifth Zone.
As long as he crossed the bridge, he would be there… as long as he crossed the bridge.
Ocot didn’t know if it was just his anxiety, but he always felt the train was moving slower and slower.
It seemed to be slowing down beyond the usual limits.
Finally, that “clunk” sound also confirmed Ocot’s guess.
The train came to a stop, before reaching the great bridge.
“Um… what’s going on here?”
“Why did it suddenly stop?”
The other passengers in the carriage also realized something was amiss, and began to murmur in confusion.
Residents of the Fifth Zone were few, so most of the passengers were workers dispatched there to combat the Pollutant, and they obviously knew more than the average person.
“Is it a routine check?”
“Where are the people from the ‘Devil’ troops? Why don’t I see them?”
In Lyra City, the gear train was an extremely special unit; even the “Skeleton” troops responsible for city defense could not stop a gear train without higher-level approval. However, another troop was different—the Exploration Force “Devil” tasked with combating the Pollutant had much greater authority. They could completely stop any gear train entering the Fifth Zone under the guise of fighting the Pollutant.
Thus, it was logical for those present to guess that the “Devil” troops had stopped this gear train.
Only Ocot knew, it definitely wasn’t the “Devil” troops.
Because this train hadn’t yet entered the Fifth Zone, and those “Devils” weren’t allowed to leave the Fifth Zone without being summoned.
But if not the “Devil”, and “Skeleton” couldn’t possibly have gotten authorization from higher-ups so quickly…then who could it be?
Ocot narrowed his eyes slightly, as a single possibility suddenly surged in his mind.
The carriage door was slowly opened, followed by heavy footsteps.
In an instant, the noise in the carriage disappeared, as the passengers stared in horror at the man who boarded midway…because half of his face was covered in blood.
The blood flowed from his tightly shut left eye, still trickling outward even now, but the other half of his face was completely unscathed, his open right eye sweeping over the onlookers like an eagle.
Everyone stood up, the impactful scene providing a tremendous shock—they dared not look at the bloodied half of the face, nor at the intact eye that seemed to be searching for prey.
Whenever that eye swept over them, they felt a chill up their spines, as if they were prey being targeted.
Luckily, this situation didn’t last long, as the passengers soon realized that his gaze was piercing through all of them, settling on someone in the corner of the carriage.
“Non-essential personnel,” he said slowly, his hoarse voice carrying an authority that made it hard to refuse, “get off the train immediately.”
The passengers looked at one another, unclear about whether the newcomer was from the “Skeleton” or “Devil” troops, but his obviously uncommunicative demeanor kept them from asking further, and they quickly got off.
Soon, only two people were left in the carriage.
Ocot raised his head, looking at the man before him, Gerard, and after a moment of silence, said, “Although I do know that your authority as the captain of ‘Night Star’ hasn’t been revoked…how on earth did you find me?”
He stared at Gerard’s tightly shut eye.
“What is… that thing?”
Gerard didn’t respond to Ocot; he just moved closer, the metal rod in his hand glinting with the sheen of a blade.
Ocot didn’t move, but calmly said, “You can’t attack me, I am from Lyra. Lord Gerard, whether you consider yourself part of the ‘Skeleton’ or a ‘Night Star’ knight now, you can’t attack me—your weapon can only be aimed at the Pollutant.”
Gerard stood in front of Ocot, was silent for a moment, then nodded, “Indeed, my weapon cannot be directed at you.”
Ocot sighed in relief.
However, the next second.
His left shoulder was pierced by the metal rod, blood immediately gushing out.
“But this is not a weapon.”
Gerard spoke softly, then, before Ocot could react, exerted force again.
Ocot’s left arm was severed.