Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

“Lord Kosiché is far more benevolent and magnanimous than Wei Yanwu. You can learn far more under him than under Wei Yanwu. However, I will not question your decision.” She asserted with absolute certainty, as if she had glimpsed the future:

"Perhaps you still hold hope for this city under Wei Yanwu's rule, because Wei Yanwu has not yet completely torn off his hypocritical mask in front of you. But that day will not be far off. Lord Silver Ring Serpent, sooner or later you will see the indifference hidden beneath this city, and then realize that Wei Yanwu, the city lord of Lungmen, and the city he rules, are essentially no different from Lord Koschche."

"They are all the same kind of people, which is why they are so antagonistic yet so in sync."

"Enough!" Jiu shouted angrily. "Shut up, Bamboo Leaf Green! I won't allow you to slander this city like this!"

She stiffly turned to the side, her eyes fixed on the woman who was slowly approaching. This director of Longmen Central Hospital was none other than Koschcher, a viper with a deadly codename. The reason why Jingzhe and Xiazhi, the two inspectors of the Dali Temple in Yan Kingdom, were able to be placed under house arrest by Wei Yanwu on the pretext of mental illness was because Wei Yanwu had commissioned her to forge their mental illness reports. Wei Yanwu probably never expected that this tool who had been by her side for ten years would actually be a pawn of his mortal enemy, Koschcher.

His every word and action, and every strategy of the Lungmen leadership, were under Kosich's watchful eye.

Hospitals are the most honest places in the world. Countless elderly people, on the verge of death, practice the truth that "a dying man's words are good" here, revealing secrets they have kept hidden all their lives.

As the director of Longmen Central Hospital, Zhu Yeqing has heard countless such secrets over the years.

Today, it was Zhu Yeqing who came to the Guard Bureau, concealing the fact that it was Wei Yanwu's order, and issued a certificate stating that his mental state had recovered well, demanding that the Guard Bureau release Jingzhe and Xiazhi. No one suspected anything, because Wei Yanwu had never done this before; he would never personally handle such matters. And as for Zhu Yeqing, who had handled countless dirty and messy jobs for Wei Yanwu, no one would doubt her words.

The reason for releasing Jingzhe and Xiazhi was to arrange for the last of the three snake scales, [Silver Ring Snake], who was lurking in Longmen, to use the heavy firearms stored in the Guard Bureau to snipe Jingzhe. Whether the shot hit or not, the goal was to attract Wei Yanwu's attention and give Zhuyeqing a chance to enter the Guard Bureau so that they could arrange to rescue or eliminate [Rattlesnake].

But unexpectedly, just when everything was about to succeed, Miss Silver Ring Snake still softened her heart.

"Lord Silver Ring Serpent, or rather, Director Ninth of the Dragon Gate, you don't really think Wei Yanwu cares about your life or death, do you?"

Zhu Yeqing's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the time. If Wei Yanwu wasn't a fool, he should have already realized that there was a mole within the organization. Whether he returned to the City Lord's Mansion or went to the Imperial Guard Bureau first, time could not be delayed any longer.

Zhu Ye Qing simply laid it out directly:

“I don’t know why Lord Kosiché wants you to stay in Lungmen, but you must remember, you are Serpent Scale! Wei Yanwu only cares about his grand cause and his niece. You are nothing more than a tool that he can use, just like me. You should have realized this when Wei Yanwu suppressed the upheaval in District 3!”

The changes in Block 3.....

In order to capture the Serpent Scales who had infiltrated the city of Lungmen, Wei Yanwu formed a secret sorcerer unit. Using Kyu and Hoshiguma as bait, they lured the Serpent Scales out and then suppressed them without distinguishing between friend and foe.

This incident ultimately caused a brief shutdown of the Lungmen Power Plant, widespread insomnia in District 3, and nearly caused Kyu and Hoshiguma to contract Oripathy. Although Kyu didn't think Rattlesnake would attack her, what about Rattlesnake's men? When those reckless infected thugs chased her out of District 3, they didn't know her identity.

However, Wei Yanwu suppressed the matter. He insisted that there was no such thing as a sorcerer unit, nor did he know anything about any large-scale mental spells, and he has yet to give himself and Hoshiguma an explanation.

"Over the years, you have been unwilling to contribute to the Serpent Scales, and you even provided us with false information about the guests that Wei Yanwu received. You knew that the guests were from the Victorian royal family, but you told us that they were from the Dali Temple of Yan Kingdom (see Chapter 27 of this volume), which caused us to waste a lot of energy investigating the Dali Temple and almost offended the Prince of Victoria in the Third Street."

"Unicorns are not easy to deal with."

Zhu Yeqing sighed.

"I will still say this: I don't know what Koschei's purpose was in leaving you, the Silver Ring Serpent, who inherited her name and is also from the Fydian clan, in Lungmen. Perhaps he acknowledges Wei Yanwu's wisdom, or perhaps he intends to make you realize that the despicable nature of a hypocrite once their mask is torn off is far more cruel than the bloodthirsty mercy of a cold-blooded person. But please don't stop me here. If you are unwilling to resign your post and want to continue playing your police game in Lungmen, you can pretend I was never here. I will not take Rattlesnake away; according to your wishes, I will poison him. Then, after completing my mission, I will direct all the responsibility and suspicion towards me, and finally sacrifice myself for the greater cause. You will be safe and sound, and your life will continue as before, I guarantee it."

"..." Jiu looked into Zhu Yeqing's sincere eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I can't let you go."

"why?"

"Because I am a police officer who is about to retire, I cannot stand by and watch you silence my last prisoner."

Jiu smiled bitterly.

"Give me a decent way to leave. Like you said, I've been in Lungmen long enough, and I want to leave. Not to Ursus, I want to travel around."

"..." Bamboo Leaf Green stared at her silently, a flash of anger crossing its face, but it finally nodded: "Then so be it, Lord Silver Ring Serpent."

She took two steps back, pressed the button to open the door, and after the door opened, she turned around and quickly walked into the dark corridor.

Once she disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, Jiu turned her head and looked at the tightly sealed special cell in front of her, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Does this count as me being a good cop, Chen?"

As Zhu Yeqing said, she made too many mistakes in her short life. She did them for Koschche, for Wei Yanwu, for the so-called great cause, for the so-called ideals. Wei Yanwu and Koschche were the same kind of people; they both disregarded life, and for those who crossed the line, they would not hesitate to raise their knives. They were both manipulating people, using one kind of rhetoric or another to deceive one person after another into making mistakes, committing crimes, and then dying.

But at least, Jiu saw a glimmer of hope in this, a glimmer named "Chen." Although she was Wei Yanwu's niece, Chen never gave up her simple sense of justice. She might feel lost one day in the future because her black-and-white worldview would shatter in the face of reality, but at this moment, her ideal of always moving towards the white light illuminated the conscience of one gray world after another that had been walking on the edge of darkness.

But reality doesn't seem to give Jiu much time to lament.

A commotion erupted in the corridor, then ceased with a familiar voice shouting, "Stop! Don't run!" A few seconds later, Wayne and Theresa walked into the room side by side. Wayne was carrying a figure that had just left in his hand.

“Bamboo Leaf Green…” Jiu stared blankly at the woman whose limbs were stiff and unable to move, her expression changing slightly. She seemed to have seen a similar situation somewhere before, but the flash of inspiration in her mind was fleeting and she couldn’t grasp it. She could only look at Wayne.

Wayne gave Jiu a deep look and said, "So that's her name, Bamboo Leaf Green...tsk, a viper."

"Director Jiu, how did you know her name?"

"...What are you talking about?" Jiu gave a stiff smile. "She's the director of Longmen Central Hospital, of course I know her."

“You’re lying.” Theresa’s eyebrows drooped sadly.

Nine gaped in shock: "Psychic Originium Arts? It's you!?"

Chapter 120 This Mark Will Punish You (3k5)

From the very beginning, Jiu felt that everything that happened in Block 3 was too coincidental. Wei Yanwu had no reason to drag himself into this mess if he wanted to target Snake Scales and Rattlesnakes. At first, Jiu thought that Wei Yanwu had noticed something and was using this move to test her resilience. If he found a flaw, he would take this opportunity to make Snake Scales kill each other. If he didn't find anything unusual, he would use this incident to build up Chen's reputation while "retiring" to make room for Chen's promotion.

However, the unexpected appearance of Wayne forced Wei Yanwu to personally go to the Third Block, prematurely ending this long-planned scheme and causing it to fail.

However, there were many suspicious points, the most obvious being Wei Yanwu's fictitious mental-type Originium Arts combat unit. The Guard Bureau arrived quickly, and Jiu, thanks to intelligence from within the Serpent Scale organization, managed to shake off her pursuers and hide outside the Third District. But neither the residents of the Third District, nor the Guard Bureau officers conducting a thorough search of the area, nor Jiu, who was observing from the perimeter, saw a single member of that combat unit.

This can naturally be explained by Wei Yanwu's brilliant methods and impeccable concealment, turning this force into an omnipresent yet undetectable ghost army. Given his mastery of Lungmen, this is not something absolutely impossible. Moreover, with all the logic and evidence pointing to Wei Yanwu, this explanation is the most reasonable.

But now, a second possibility has presented itself to Nine.

Besides being one of the hidden scorpions, Jiu also wants to be a policeman, a real policeman.

Almost instinctively, she began to reason. If Wei Yanwu wasn't the one who did all this, then who else had the ability?

The Yan Kingdom's Dali Temple wouldn't do that. They were trapped in the Imperial Guard at the time, with only Xiao Xue remaining in the Elizabeth Hotel, under strict surveillance under the guise of isolation. The Serpent Scales themselves don't possess such abilities. If they did, they wouldn't need to plan so much; they would have already arranged for sorcerers to control Wei Yanwu. And assuming that Wei Yanwu, the most suspicious person, isn't the mastermind...

Victoria.

No matter how unbelievable a guess may seem, or how unlikely it may be, it is the final truth after all the correct answers have been eliminated.

This is thanks to Nine's ignorance of Laterano's existence; otherwise, she might have considered the possibility of Lateranos. But in a way, what the Lateranos did was, by a large margin, also instigated by Wayne.

Nine's lips trembled slightly as she looked incredulously at Wayne and Theresa, the woman beside her who wasn't very talkative and, if not for the striking Sarkaz, might not even have a strong presence. As if unable to believe this conclusion, she stammered and asked:

"Was it you? Did you do what happened that night?"

Wayne was about to answer when Nine suddenly raised his voice, as if he had mustered up his courage, and loudly questioned:

"Is that you, Ms. Theresa?"

"Huh?" Theresa exclaimed softly. Wayne opened his mouth and closed it again, looking at Theresa with a bewildered expression, following Nine's words.

Seeing the genuine surprise and astonishment on Wayne's face, which was not feigned, Jiu understood.

So that's it, it's you, Theresa!

He felt that Wayne's choice to appear in that area of ​​Third Street that night seemed far too coincidental. A prince, out in the middle of the night to escort a slum thief home—was that even a joke in Terra? Surely it couldn't be that Wayne was overflowing with sympathy and had a crush on the little rabbit, Katniss?

Every cause has an effect, and vice versa. There must be a mastermind behind Wayne's actions, someone who can't express their intentions too openly, yet must have significant influence over Wayne, capable of swaying his judgment and decisions. Only two people fit this description: Vina and Theresa. Wei Yanwu doesn't even qualify.

To confirm his conjecture, Jiu asked:

"That night, Prince Wayne escorted Ansor home because of you, wasn't it?"

Wayne frowned slightly, shook his head in confusion, wondering why Nine had suddenly changed the subject:

"No, it was my suggestion. Theresa just helped Vina home; she had too much to drink."

She helped Vina home—what a perfect excuse! This way, she naturally handed over the task of delivering the secret rope to you. It's a subtle hint, isn't it?

Jiu's heart tightened as he suddenly realized just how terrifying the person who had stepped into the murky waters of Lungmen and Kosichek was.

As a user of Originium Arts with a mental focus, Theresa probably saw through what Wayne, I, Wei Yanwu, and the others were thinking long ago, which is why she was able to gradually lay out such a huge conspiracy.

This is far more believable than having Nine believe that it was all orchestrated by Wayne, this "ordinary, innocent victim."

Theresa felt a sense of confusion and blankness as Jiu stared at her with a wary yet hostile gaze. She felt an invisible weight pressing down on her back, as if something unseen was pressing down on her.

This is a misconception. Because those who possess mental Originium memories are so rare, most people only know their names but have never seen them. The vast majority of people would assume that those who possess mental Originium memories can read minds. But in reality, only a portion of them can. For example, Wayne is incredibly powerful, but he can't read minds—however, he can order people to speak their thoughts aloud.

What is your purpose?

Jiuqiang calmly asked, but then he realized that Theresa had already finished reading his mind, so there was no need to pretend anymore. He covered himself with a blanket under the bridge and started acting on the spot. The bamboo viper was already in her hands, and the secret of the snake scales had been completely exposed. If Theresa were to tell Wei Yanwu the secret now, her police career would be over.

She quite liked this period of her life.

She sighed, closed her eyes, and stretched out her hands, waiting for Wayne to call the police and handcuff her.

However, before leaving, she said very seriously:

"Watch out for Theresa!"

Wayne: "?"

Wayne glanced at Theresa and Nine again, making Theresa feel uncomfortable. She shrugged, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Wayne shrugged. People from Terra, especially those with some official positions, almost all of them have a tendency to overthink things; sometimes, they can come up with something truly outrageous without you even noticing. Who knows what Nine is thinking this time?

However, Jiu asked a good question just now: What is the purpose of Theresa and me?

Wayne smiled slightly and said:

"Director Jiu, I have two options for you."

Nine looked up blankly at Wayne, wanting to ask a question, but then shook her head self-deprecatingly. Theresa must already know perfectly well what I was thinking. Negotiating with a mind reader is really the stupidest thing to do. She nodded: "I have no right to refuse, right?"

“Theoretically you still have it,” Wayne said, “but you might as well let me finish.”

"First, I'm handing you and Zhu Yeqing over to Wei Yanwu to deal with. I won't interfere in your future, but given Wei Yanwu's personality, your ending probably won't be good."

Wei Yanwu is a ruthless man. Wayne doesn't deny that.

Wayne knew a little about Nine's character, but not much. He traveled back in time to before the two-year anniversary, missing the story of Turbid Heart Titi under the Tide of Rebellion, and was completely unaware of what happened at the end of Chapter Nine. However, based solely on Nine's role as an undercover agent in the Reunion arc—helping homeless Reunion remnants, treating the wounded, and disapproving of Wei Yanwu and Talulah's actions—her alignment should be neutral—Lawful. A seasoned veteran who hadn't completely lost her conscience and was still redeemable.

Wayne didn't know her story, nor whether she truly deserved his help. He could only try to assist her based on his intuition—a simple act of compassion, I suppose.

He knew that if Jiu wanted to live, she wouldn't choose the first option. It was supposed to be a multiple-choice question with an option to reject, but in reality, as Jiu had said, it was a single-choice question with no real choice.

"The second option. As a Serpent Scale user, you should be familiar with the Ursus tundra, right?"

Jiu paused for a moment, then nodded.

She understood; she couldn't help but understand. The next vessel chosen by Koschei, flowing with the blood of red dragons and true dragons, the girl who had learned the knowledge of eagles on the land of the giant bears, was now stumbling across the tundra of Ursus. She didn't know when she would fall, or when she would never rise again.

“I need your help.” Wayne held up one finger. “Be Theresia’s guide. Help her avoid the Imperial Guard, the disciplinary squad, and your colleagues, and get her to Talulah and Bozo… Patriot.”

"In return, I will give you your freedom. After the mission is completed, you are free to choose where you go. You can return to Lungmen, or return to Victoria with Theresa, or go anywhere on earth on your own. The world is vast, you can go and see it."

This was necessary. Eighty percent of Ursus was undeveloped, and the tundra was extremely dangerous, not to mention the various ferocious beasts, but also the Emperor's lurking blades watching Talulah, the insidious but persistent scouts, and the damned mobs who loved watching fireworks. Theresa was only accompanied by Mudrock and Surtr on this trip, without a guide. Was she supposed to rely on her Sarkaz bloodline senses to wander the vast snowfields and randomly encounter Patriot and his group?

Wayne had originally planned to try and contact Kal'tsit for help with this task, since the old lynx was knowledgeable and had many connections, and might have a guide in mind. But now that he had one readily available, he didn't want to bother Kal'tsit anymore.