Chapter 58 – Tongwan Hospital (12)
◎ She wanted to kill this person with her own hands ◎
The city of Ferrara, known as the nightless city, was suddenly attacked by the rebels. The energy to the tower was cut off, plunging the entire city into chaos.
Song Ke and Xu Xing hurriedly made their way back to the central square. In Song Ke’s mind, Zhuang Qingyan and Fang Zhixu were both “weak” men and had no ability to protect themselves. Putting them in a crowded place was usually fine, but the current situation was too dangerous.
As darkness fell, the audience at the scene was initially briefly bewildered. Then, internal panic was infinitely amplified, spreading outward. Countless people desperately pushed to get out, and due to not being able to distinguish the direction, there was shoving, falling, and even trampling incidents.
Fang Zhixu stumbled and was bumped by people rushing out from an unknown direction. Zhuang Qingyan’s wheelchair was constantly jostled and scraped, tilting and swaying, making it difficult to maintain balance. His face was stern, his eyebrows furrowed, enduring as much as he could. His right hand was just about to rise—
A slender hand reached from behind, steadying him.
Song Ke had come back.
Song Ke held the wheelchair with her left hand and pulled hard with her right hand, pulling Fang Zhixu, who was being tossed around, back. Then she dragged Xu Xing like a little tail, against the crowd, and managed to escape the congested center with difficulty.
The four of them moved away from the chaos and found a relatively less crowded corner to stand in.
“The res-resistance f-faction, they’ve t-taken action?” Song Ke asked.
“It was Lyon who took action,” Zhuang Qingyan corrected her.
The rebels were just troublesome pests and couldn’t stir up a major storm. But Lyon, supported by the century-old consortium, was different. He used a killer move as soon as he acted.
Cutting off the tower’s energy was a direct attack on the vital point. After all, Ferrara’s artificial intelligence was composed of data, and the central hub that stored massive data required energy support, much like a human heart. An artificial intelligence without a heart, losing its central hub of stored data, undoubtedly entered a “death” state.
After listening to the explanation, a hint of doubt flashed in Song Ke’s mind. Lyon’s success tonight came too easily, right? The tower was Ilya’s stronghold. Would he really surrender so easily? This super AI was said to control everything in Ferrara, so did he really have no knowledge of the underground activities of the rebels?
Song Ke voiced her doubts, and Zhuang Qingyan hesitated for a moment before speaking. Just then, a gentle female voice came from behind them.
“Ilya won’t lose so easily.”
It was Lin Youyou and Su Cha. They had arranged to meet here after the match, and despite the unexpected events, the two of them still showed up.
“Wh-what do y-you mean?” Song Ke asked.
Lin Youyou adjusted her mask, not taking it off even in the darkness. “I’ve heard Nana mention it. The central hub of Ilya is not in the tower at all. In the whole Ferrara, no one knows where its true form is. So even if the rebels destroy the tower’s energy, it won’t restrict Ilya.”
“Moreover, they’ve underestimated this ruler,” Lin Youyou sighed. “Ilya doesn’t have much sentiment for the people of Ferrara, but his desire for power is top-notch. He won’t allow anyone to challenge his authority, especially—humans.”
In the central square, the panicked crowd was running around like headless flies, and the ruler of this city had yet to appear.
Zhuang Qingyan suggested reasonably, “We shouldn’t get involved in this matter. Let’s observe quietly for now.”
Song Ke nodded. In any case, the struggle between Lyon and Ilya was Ferrara’s internal affair. Their identities were just participants in the Throne Race event. It was not their place to intervene.
It was time to get things done. Song Ke turned to Lin Youyou, eager as she tugged at her sleeve. “Co-come with me, let’s g-go meet s-someone.”
Lin Youyou looked helpless. “You have to tell me who we’re meeting first.”
“Your fan,” Song Ke grinned foolishly.
She glanced at the terminal and noticed that Maeda Jiu had not moved for a while. She urged, “Hurry.”
What if he got impatient and left?
Song Ke dragged Lin Youyou towards the location, with Zhuang Qingyan and Su Cha following behind.
“Who is this person that you’re treating so well? Why do I have to go meet them personally?”
“Hehe, you’ll k-know in a mo-moment.”
When they arrived at the alley where Maeda Jiu was supposed to be, it was empty. Song Ke double-checked, yes, this was the place. So where was he?
“He wo-wouldn’t shy away and hide, would he? That’s not li-like him. He sh-shouldn’t know that I’m b-bringing Lin Youyou,” she wondered aloud.
Song Ke looked left and right but couldn’t find Maeda Jiu. All she saw was a dark, seemingly endless alley.
She thought for a moment and then stepped into it.
The further she went, the dimmer the light became, and the surroundings grew eerily quiet, as if even the flow of air had come to a halt.
Deep in the alley, a faint figure lay.
Song Ke halted her steps, a bad premonition rising in her heart.
She slowed her breathing, and a blue light flashed in her palm as her emei thorn spun into view, slowly approaching the dark figure.
In the bleak moonlight, the person’s face gradually became clear. The sight made Song Ke’s pupils shrink, her heart pounding violently, blood rushing to her brain, and her whole body buzzing.
Maeda Jiu’s eyes were open, breathless, lifeless, lying on the ground.
“Maeda… Maeda?!” Song Ke rushed forward and touched him. His body was cold; he had been dead for some time.
She struggled to accept it, attempting to feel his pulse and listen to his heart, but there was complete silence, no response at all.
“Ting—”
The emei thorn fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
“Maeda!!”
An incredulous and pained cry echoed throughout the alley.
How could this be? Maeda Jiu, how could he die here?
Due to the immense shock, Song Ke’s thoughts descended into chaos. He was fine just moments ago, even messaging her. Why, why hadn’t they been in touch for a while, and he was already dead? So close to her, right before her eyes, Maeda Jiu was killed by someone!
Song Ke trembled all over. It was a tremor of extreme, infuriated grief.
Who was it? Who killed Maeda Jiu?
Tears streamed down her face.
It was all her fault. If she hadn’t invited Maeda Jiu over, if she hadn’t insisted on surprising him, pulling him along to meet Lin Youyou, would this have happened? Did she cause Maeda Jiu’s death?
Song Ke cried; she couldn’t control her tears, grieving inconsolably.
The others behind caught up, witnessing the scene, their faces filled with shock and disbelief.
Fang Zhixu glanced at the person on the ground, momentarily stunned, then closed his eyes.
Once a doctor, he used to be saddened by the departure of life despite being accustomed to life and death. However, later, those devastating blows completely extinguished his compassion. Now, his heart would no longer fluctuate.
Lin Youyou had the most intense reaction among the remaining people. She stared blankly at Maeda Jiu’s body, at a loss for words.
Song Ke kept talking all the way, unusually talkative, sharing a lot about this person. She mentioned how he was usually very old-fashioned but oddly liked to listen to her songs. If someone else sang poorly, he would get angry. Lin Youyou could tell that, even though Song Ke kept saying what was wrong with him, she was actually full of anticipation. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dragged her to meet this fan.
And now, the person described by Song Ke, who was old-fashioned and awkward yet genuinely loved her as a fan, had died silently and unceremoniously. They hadn’t even met.
Lin Youyou exhaled heavily, a bitter feeling in her chest. She could understand Song Ke’s pain. “Su Cha, go have a look.”
Su Cha silently approached, squatting down to examine Maeda Jiu’s body. There was a clear missing piece on the left side, exposing a hollow wound. He activated his ability, and small dark green dots entered Maeda Jiu’s mouth, capturing the traces left by the awakened energy. The killer was a person with abilities.
A few meters away lay another person, fatally injured in the head. Su Cha picked up some of the blood dust on the ground, brought it close to his nose, and sniffed. Besides the smell of blood, there was also an unfamiliar scent. The killer had hastily escaped after the murder, leaving behind many traces. Being from the rainforest, he had the innate skill of tracking ingrained in his blood. Given some time, he could find the culprit.
Zhuang Qingyan wheeled forward, Song Ke with her back turned, trembling slightly. He sighed silently and gently pressed Song Ke’s shoulder.
“Let’s inform Wu Juemin first.”
“…Yeah.” It took a long time before Song Ke replied in a low voice.
The next thing she had to face was probably Wu Juemin’s wrath.
…
Wu Juemin arrived very quickly.
Not only him, but all seven remaining Azure Phoenix team members from Ferrara had also come.
Seeing Maeda Jiu’s body, Ouyang Pei couldn’t contain himself and cried out in deep sorrow, “Deputy Captain!”
Wu Juemin walked closer step by step, surrounded by surging abilities, exuding an oppressive feeling of an impending storm.
He squatted down, silently gazing at Maeda Jiu for a while, then reached out and gently closed his eyes.
Then he stood up again and said somberly, “Salute.”
The seven Azure Phoenix team members, including Wu Juemin, uniformly removed their hats, placing their left hands flat in front while saluting with their right hands in the standard Alliance military salute.
“Maeda was an excellent soldier, obedient to orders, strictly disciplined. Since joining the Eleventh Team, he has been diligent and has never made any mistakes,” Wu Juemin said.
“A person like him could die on the battlefield, die at the hands of enemies, or die in the course of a mission, but he cannot die here without reason.”
Wu Juemin turned to Song Ke, his voice dangerously low, “Tell me, why did he die?”
Song Ke hesitated.
Lin Youyou stood in front of Song Ke, blocking her, “Hey, Captain, she didn’t kill him. She came here with us and knows nothing. Song Ke is already upset. Don’t question her like this.”
Wu Juemin remained expressionless. “Maeda took an hour off today to come and meet her. Now, something has happened to him. If I don’t question her, who should I ask?
“He wouldn’t leave the team easily. What did you say to him?” Wu Juemin continued.
Song Ke answered slowly, “I said, I-I had a s-surprise and a-asked him to come and w-watch the competition.”
“What surprise?” Wu Juemin’s tone was cold as ice. “Why did you specifically want to surprise him?”
“Because of me, the person Song Ke wants to take him to see is me,” Lin Youyou said, removing her mask and revealing her true face in front of others.
Wu Juemin frowned, apparently not recognizing Lin Youyou’s face. Maeda Jiu always respected Wu Juemin and regarded him as a role model for his actions, so he naturally wouldn’t reveal his star-chasing preferences in front of him.
Ouyang Pei, who had a closer relationship with Maeda Jiu, recognized her. He approached Wu Juemin and quietly explained Lin Youyou’s identity.
Song Ke patted Lin Youyou and stepped forward to explain, “We had a-an arrangement to m-meet after the competition. Fi-fifteen minutes a-ago, he sent me his location. I-I didn’t tell a-anyone about his wh-whereabouts.”
The other members of Azure Pheonix team had already checked the nearby surveillance cameras. However, due to the citywide power outage, the cameras were off, and the patrolling city defense robots had stopped working. At the scene, apart from the two bodies, there was no evidence left.
After listening to Ouyang Pei’s explanation, Wu Juemin’s gaze returned to Song Ke. His eyes were red, his hands clenched tightly by his sides, and he looked like a taut bow, and he was on the verge of breaking out.
Wu Juemin calmed down and realized that Song Ke couldn’t have killed Maeda. She had no motive and no time to commit the crime. However, the incident was indeed related to her, and he acknowledged his own prejudice born out of losing control of his emotions.
But Wu Juemin was also human, a person with flesh and blood. A fellow comrade, fighting shoulder to shoulder, had died in this filthy place. How could he face this rationally? How could he swallow this indignation?
The atmosphere in the narrow alley grew even colder than the harsh winter. It was at this moment that Zhuang Qingyan spoke up.
“Captain Wu, I may have some clues regarding the killer who murdered Maeda Jiu.”
All eyes turned towards him, and Zhuang Qingyan saw mirrored expressions of grief and hatred.
He organized his thoughts and began to analyze slowly, “Maeda Jiu was a C-level awakener. He awakened a defensive ability. If he was on guard, the assailant couldn’t have succeeded easily. However, besides the fatal wound, there were no signs of a struggle on Maeda Jiu’s body.”
“You mean the killer was someone he knew,” Wu Juemin noticed the key point.
Zhuang Qingyan confirmed his statement, “Most likely not just knew, but in Wu Juemin’s eyes, the killer wasn’t even aggressive. At least, the killer didn’t possess the ability to kill him. That’s why Maeda turned his back to the assailant.”
Zhuang Qingyan’s gaze fell on Maeda Jiu’s mouth. Su Cha had just removed the clothing fragments there, revealing the hollow in his heart that looked like a black hole.
“I’m trying to reconstruct the crime scene. Maeda Jiu was originally positioned at the alley’s entrance. After the power outage, he wouldn’t have left his spot for no reason. So it’s very likely that he discovered or saw something, like… the killer committing the murder. However, this person didn’t seem threatening to him, so after dealing with the situation, he didn’t feel the need to be on guard and turned to leave. The assailant took advantage of this opportunity and killed him.”
Wu Juemin furrowed his brow, pointing out the contradiction in Zhuang Qingyan’s deduction.
“Unreasonable. If Maeda was sure that this person wasn’t a threat, why was he killed?”
“Because…” Zhuang Qingyan’s expression turned cold. “From the very beginning, the killer deceived everyone.”
Su Cha waited patiently. Tiny green light dots emerged from the black hole in Maeda Jiu’s mouth, tracing the traces of awakened energy, leaving luminescent marks on the ground, extending in a certain direction.
“I think I have an idea of who it might be.”
“I can find this person,” Su Cha and Zhuang Qingyan spoke almost simultaneously.
Wu Juemin’s expression became stern. “Who is it? Where is he?”
His black finger joints creaked. “Lead me to find him.”
“I’m going with you.” Lin Youyou stood behind Su Cha.
Song Ke also stepped forward, her eyes reddened, a smoldering fire burning within them.
“And me.”
Never before had she felt such a strong urge to kill.
She wanted to kill this person with her own hands.
