"Itâs rare for a little girl to be called to the hall."
Hearing that familiar voice, Kanae was stunned. She turned her head around and saw a man standing not far from her. He was carrying a stack of paper in his hand with a suitcase by his side. Even though his clothes were formal, Kanae still recognized that man.
There was no way she wouldnât recognize him since he had just visited their city not long ago. She was tasked to protect him, so she could recognize him from a distance without any trouble.
"Mr. George?"
"You come from the City of Crime, right?" George sized Kanae up and down. He was familiar with their clothesâ design because he had stayed there for several days. Upon seeing a girl wearing the similar one, he couldnât resist to not call.
"Yes. Is it that obvious?" Kanae asked back.
George shook his head. "Normally, no. Itâs just I have some knowledge about the city that I came to know that you come from that peculiar city.���
"Peculiar city?"
"Yes," George scratched his head. It would be a long explanation if he wanted to tell this young girl. Checking his watch, he noticed that there was still more than enough time for him to stay around.
He strode forward and sat down on the chair next to Kanaeâs. "In our opinion, your city, City of Crime, is the most peculiar city among all the cities in this country. This is because of the special privilege that the people in the city possess. Compared with other cities, City of Crime has more freedom."
Kanae had heard that the city has a lot of freedom, but she didnât know that other cities didnât have the same privilege. She thought that it was the same with other cities, but it turned out that it was different.
"Do you know the reason?"
"Well, there are some stories around," George scratched his head. "Some people say that people in that city are stronger genetically, so weâre recruiting a lot of people from that city. Commander Richard is exceptionally fond of the soldiers from that city because there is always one or two that appear to be exceptional every time we ask for new soldiers."
"Exceptional as in?"
"Greater abilities and so on," George smiled wryly. "Iâm not very clear because Iâm not someone from the military, but itâs the gist that I know. Because of the rumor that people from that city possess power that can overthrow the entire nation, some people in the capital want to gain possession and truth. Thatâs the reason weâre doing an investigation."
Kanae wanted to say that it was only limited to several people, but found out that it would only make things turn awful. It was already more than enough that they schemed for the city.
George shrugged. "Anyway, the matters in the capital are already complicated enough. There are a lot of factions here and those from other cities shouldnât come and participate. They will only bring trouble to themselves if they try to meddle in the matter here."
"I see."
"Good luck with your interrogation. Iâll be going now, little girl."
As George left, Kanae thought about their conversation. In truth, she didnât want to stay here at all. If not because Matt told them that they had to voice out their testimonies and diverted the peopleâs interest from them, she would never be here.
Several more minutes passed before Kevin approached her with Matt. "Itâs your turn, Kanae."
"Ok."
Matt guided Kanae to the room while Kevin sat down on the same chair as Kanae. After several seconds, he glanced to the side with narrowed eyes. "I know youâre there, Richard."
"Youâre quite a sharp soldier, arenât you?" Walking out leisurely, Richard eyed Kevin with interest. Even the sharpest soldier under his lead might not necessarily be able to sense him. He had just come here, but Kevin already found out about his existence.
"What do you want?"
Richard shrugged. "Letâs have a talk."
"I donât mind talking, but I donât want to do any violence here," Kevin replied lightly. He glanced at Richardâs hand. "That would include your weapon, Sir."
Richard sighed and moved his hand away from his weapon. He was only putting it near as a precaution, but Kevin sensed his movement and intention too. "I donât like you, young man."
"The feeling is mutual."
"You destroy my dream of getting perfect soldiers with the help of medicine from Ferdinand."
"Thereâs no such thing as perfect soldier," Kevin replied indifferently. "The medicine itself is a failure. After a while, your soldier will turn into monster if you use it."
"What did you say, young man?"
Killing intent burst forth from the two of them at the same time. Facing the humongous pressure of the man before him, Kevin stayed indifferent. He exuded the same amount of killing intent, giving pressure to the man before him without any change in expression.
Richard found out that he was getting suppressed slightly. The young man turned out to be far more ruthless and dangerous than he thought. He retracted his killing intent and Kevin followed suit.
"Show me the proof."
"Here," Kevin threw a tablet to the man.
Taking the tablet, Richard could see that there were several documents and videos inside. He stood silently as he watched the content. Terrifying realization dawned on him.
âThat damnable Ferdinand. He actually wants to give me unstable medicine.â
"How did you get this video?"
"Itâs none of your business."
Richard played the tablet on his hand for a few seconds. "Why are you showing me this? Itâs easy for you to just shut me out because I know the truth of your city, right?"
"Thereâs no need for useless violence. The main core of the medicine is already used up, so you canât make it anymore," Kevin replied indifferently. His action didnât show his emotion at all.
Richard frowned. He had gathered more information himself, so he knew that the core medicine was limited. Based on the document here, it was certain that they already used them up for the experiment. Even if he got the medicine, it was unstable and would only bring destruction for his soldier.
Internally, he sighed to himself. When Ferdinand lost almost all members of his group, the man vowed that he would make a way to create a perfect soldier. As the one who assigned the mission, he got no choice but to agree. He didnât want to create more painful memories for the broken man.
Now he realized that his decision only brought forth the hidden secret of the city out. At the same time, he has cut off their wings.
"How many people left?"
Kevin glanced up. "Donât you already know their number?"
Richard stared back at Kevin. Their gaze clashed at one another, sending them into another staring contest.
Ricard knew that Ferdinand basically sacrificed everyone for the experiment. As a former soldier, it was a complete failure in the moral part. Ferdinand only cared for those close to him and not the other human being.
"Fine, you got me," Richard messed up his hair. "Even though you disturb my plan, I donât want to create unnecessary trouble because of a dead man. Iâm sure that someone like you can easily influence a city."
"It seems you have heard some rumors about me," Kevin glanced up. "As long as you keep your rein in the area in the capital, I wonât meddle into your business. I donât care about your plan as long as you donât involve the City of Crime and me."
Richard arched his eyebrows. "I donât know you care so much about that useless city."
"Itâs not entirely useless," Kevin replied.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Richard shrugged. He didnât have any ambition to take over the cities either. Most of the schemes in the capital only involve other factions in the same city as they didnât want to bother with the outside world. It was the same with him.
The capital city was big enough for them. Large ambitions like that didnât suit him at all.
"Then we have a deal. I wonât bother with you and you wonât bother with me," Richard stretched out his hand.
"Deal," Kevin shook the manâs hand firmly.