40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 783 4. Dream Newspaper and News

Jaco woke up from his dream.

He hadn't had a dream in years, and after his wife and daughter died, he took a dozen sleeping pills every night before going to bed to escape.

These white round pills can ensure that he can sleep soundly until dawn without being disturbed by any ghosts or memories.

But tonight seemed different. The sleeping pills had failed, and the crystallization of human industry was defeated by an extremely old body.

The old man turned over and got up with lingering fear, then slowly sat up along the edge of the bed.

Compared to his wealth, this bed was really not very nice. Even if he slept on it alone, it was still a bit narrow. Not only that, it often squeaked, but Jaco still didn't think of changing it.

This bed had accompanied the three of them through a difficult time when he was a poor carpenter, and he had made up his mind to take it to his grave.

He rubbed his neck absentmindedly and felt a stiffness.

He was old and his health was not as good as before. Even the life-extending surgery could not completely eliminate the effects. Every day, he felt more tired than the day before.

The feeling of being chased by death made the old man sigh. He looked up at his window and happened to catch a glimpse of a gloomy moon.

The things in his dream attacked him mercilessly along with the moonlight.

—Murder, cruel murder
A young and handsome blond man had his tongue and jaw pulled out by someone, and the scene was simply terrifying for Jaco.

But this was only the beginning. What followed was a hellish horror: a pale arm stretched out from the darkness, swollen but not rotten, with fingertips as sharp as blades. Countless souls of men, women, young and old, gnawing at the man, endless madness.
No, I can't think about it anymore. The old man climbed out of his bed trembling with fear, changed into work clothes, went to the bathroom to wash up, and then left his room.

It's strange to say, he was obviously very sick before, but now he has recovered some vitality and can at least walk on his own without relying on the floating chair.

He slowly walked down the stairs to his office on the second floor and sat in the chair that had been with him for more than half a century.

Made of wood, composite metal and cheap leather, it was now worn and tattered, and always emitted a pungent odor, but fortunately Jaco was lightweight, so it was still usable.

He adjusted his sitting posture and looked down at the two documents placed side by side on the mahogany desk.

One was a transaction agreement between him and the strange man, and the other was an employment agreement between him and the ship owner Rawl.

In just one day, Jaco had almost everything arranged - he didn't like to default, so his reputation was very good, and every ship owner in the trading station liked to do business with him.
However, Rolle was not a particularly decent man. He was a sheriff in the local law enforcement department, but was later fired for his dirty tricks.

How ironic? The sheriff was fired for something like this? Logically, he should have been sent to a labor camp, but Rawl was indeed a very capable person.

Not only did he escape punishment, he even cleared himself of all charges, and finally even got an honorable retirement, getting a boat for free.
Recalling these past events, Jaco couldn't help but feel a little worried - the conflict that happened in his shop a day ago was still vivid in his mind, and he was very worried that Rawl would do something stupid on the road.

Although he is a smart man, once a smart man does something stupid, he is a million times more terrifying than a stupid person.

If only the agreement hadn't been finalized, the old man thought. That way I could at least find an excuse to replace him.
Thinking deeply, he took a quill, pushed the documents aside, and took out the copies of this month's bills and transactions from the drawer, and began to compare them one by one. He had done this millions of times and knew it by heart.

Time passed quietly, and soon the gloomy moon disappeared from the sky. A scorching sun rose slowly, and the sunlight shone directly through the floor-to-ceiling window behind Jaco, covering everything with a halo of light.

He heard some noises upstairs, which meant his bodyguards were getting up. Over the years, the two brothers had always kept the military schedule, always getting up at 5 a.m. on Terran time, and then running laps and doing exercises they brought back from the army.
The old man smiled unconsciously, but his hands did not stop, and he continued to work attentively until an hour and a half later, when the two brothers pushed open the door of his office.

"Boss." His younger brother Yorkland handed over a newspaper with a stern and strange expression. "I think you need to read this."

"The Thinker?" Jaco was a little surprised. "You know I basically never read newspapers, right, Yorkland?"

Having said that, he still took the newspaper - and the first line of the front-page headline surprised him.

[An underground doctor was murdered and his body was lying on the street. His death was extremely tragic! The senior inspector of the Ministry of Justice followed the clues and found that an entire club had been massacred! He said frankly that he had never seen such a brutal killer! ]

He raised his head and looked at Yorkland inquiringly, and the latter nodded, confirming his guess.

"It's Dr. Balinda." The younger brother said expressionlessly. "Please continue reading."

Jaco swallowed his saliva and continued reading as he said.
[This newspaper’s exclusive news: It is learned that at 11:26 last night, two informants who wish to remain anonymous met Balinda Lesoroun, an unlicensed doctor who has become famous in recent years for treating injuries of gang members for free, on the street.]

[However, the doctor's condition at the time was very strange. According to our informant, Dr. Balinda seemed to have been attacked, covered in blood, and mentally insane, unable to even speak a complete sentence. She cried and laughed, and from time to time she screamed and looked back, as if she was worried that someone was following her.]

[Out of concern, our informant immediately stopped her and wanted to help Dr. Balinda, but she had already lost the most basic human mind. Faced with the help extended by our informant, the doctor just screamed and fell to the ground, and then stopped breathing]

Jaco swallowed again, and a black and white, yet still very impactful photo appeared before his eyes.

It was a woman lying in the muddy sewage, her limbs twisted into abnormal angles, covered in blood, her mouth wide open, her eyeballs swollen. It is worth mentioning that only half of her face looked familiar to Jaco.

[At 1:21 a.m., after our newspaper obtained first-hand information, the senior inspector of the Ministry of Justice, Lord Jay Thorone, arrived at the scene.]

[This newspaper must point out that the senior inspector is worthy of being a senior inspector. This gentleman took only thirteen minutes to collect all the clues at the scene and came to the conclusion that Dr. Balinda ran all the way here from somewhere.]

[He then activated the emergency procedure and mobilized all the detectives on hand to conduct the search. At 2:44 a.m., a group of patrol detectives smelled a very strong smell of blood at the door of a private club in Wine Harbor.]

[Ten minutes later, Lord Jay Thorone personally led a team to the place. According to what he said himself, the situation inside was horrific. Hundreds of people were dismembered and mutilated. The death could not be simply described as miserable. This was simply the most horrific massacre in the history of this trading station.]

[According to a police officer who wished to remain anonymous, the hall of the club was simply a river of blood. Even in the shallowest places, the blood was above their knees. The police officers even had to hold hands to ensure that they would not fall.]

Jaco didn't want to read any more, he pushed the newspaper away and covered his face with his hands. The two brothers looked at him in silence, and both heard the old man's heavy breathing.

After a few seconds, he lowered his hand and asked a question.

"Did the guest ask me about Dr. Balinda before he left?"

"Yes," replied the younger brother, Yorkland. "He asked for the name and address." "It must be him," interrupted the older brother, Churanko, with a serious look on his face. "I can't think of anyone else."

"But he's just a businessman?" Jaco said blankly, his eyes involuntarily focused on the transaction agreement. "It's impossible to forge his credentials."

"What if he's not just a businessman? Maybe he's someone else." Yorkland made a terrible guess. "Maybe he is..."

A doorbell rang from downstairs. It wasn't very loud, but it startled all three of them.

After a brief eye contact, Jaco stood up first and ran down the stairs several times faster than before - and the man standing outside the glass door of his shop also slowly smiled.

In front of the old man, he pushed open the door that should have been locked and stepped into the store. His leather boots touched the ground with a sound as heavy as the sound of a bell.

"Good morning, Mr. Jaco." He said with a smile. "Have you read the newspaper this morning? If not, I happen to have a copy here--"

He raised his hand and handed over a copy of The Thinker.

“——Please take a look at it.” He said.

At this moment, you could hear a pin drop in the store.

The two brothers stood tensely behind their employer, their hands slowly reaching towards their waist.

The old man himself could not speak or move, and stood there like a stone statue. Only the strange and mysterious so-called businessman remained calm and composed, slowly holding up the newspaper and handing it to Jaco.
However, just as it was about to hit the old man, the merchant took it back.

He nodded thoughtfully: "But judging from your expression, you have probably seen it?"

Jaco didn't know how to answer, so he just nodded.

"In that case, it will be easy."

The businessman smiled and put his hand into his arms.

The two brothers gripped their guns nervously.

One second passed, two seconds passed, and suddenly a badge appeared in front of the old man. He had never seen it in his life, but he immediately recognized what it represented.

"Do you recognize this?" the businessman asked. "If you do, I won't explain it any further."

He put the newspaper on the counter beside him, took the badge back, and then quickly and clearly recounted the truth about the failed life-extending surgery that Jaco had experienced before.

He never concealed anything about the soul-stealing needle, Dr. Balinda's true identity, or what happened in the private club in the early hours of the morning.
The old man listened with chattering teeth. He himself didn't know how much effort he had exerted to avoid falling to the ground on the spot.

The Emperor of God has eyes. If he did something bad, it should be the Emperor of God himself who punished him. Why should an honest businessman like him be involved in such a terrible thing?

Jaco took a deep breath, wanting to cry but unable to do so, and spoke slowly.

"My lord, my lord, I am very grateful for saving me, but after you tell me all these things, how can I help you?"

"You can't help, but they can," the man said.

He looked at the two brothers with a calm gaze, without any threat, but they both took a deep breath at the same time, their shoulders tensed.

"What unit did you serve in before?" he asked.

".Vorsax's Fire, 22nd Regiment, 11th Company." The two men replied in a low voice.

"Near Nuceria, right?" the man asked again.

"Yes," said the elder brother, looking straight at the man with an expression that was either fearful or angry. "Why do you ask that?"

"Oh, that's not the only thing I want to ask," the man said calmly. "I also want to ask why your superiors have deemed you unfit to serve again."

The store fell silent again. Regardless of Jaco's reaction, the expressions of the two brothers were each wonderful.

The elder brother Chulanko had a sad face and clenched his fists. The younger brother Yorklan looked shocked and involuntarily fell into a state of trembling.

It wasn't until a full minute later that he remembered he should say something.

"Our company carried out a secret mission," he said with difficulty. "My brother and I are the only ones who survived."

"I understand." The man nodded slowly. "However, your commander made a promise to you before you left, right? He promised that as long as you feel you can return to the battlefield, you can go to him and he will let you re-enlist."

".Can I ask how you knew that?"

"Someone in the club told me that," the man said. "Actually, he said something else, but I can't tell you. Anyway, you two need to go with me in four days."

The younger brother nodded silently, but the older brother asked eagerly as if to confirm something.

"Where?"

"To Nuceria," the man said. "Your troops are now responsible for refortifying the land."

He turned and walked towards the door, throwing out his last words - a brief self-introduction full of his personal style.

"My name is Caryl Rohals. I won't tell you my identity. Anyway, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future, both of you."

(End of this chapter)