Not Hermes! Yours

The next day, the Lyra People who were traveling to work on the Gear Train witnessed a scene that shocked them beyond belief.

The Fourth District Tower, which was built along with the Tower of Babel and stood in Lyra for hundreds of years, was one-third destroyed. The top part was a mess and still emits thick smoke.

"I heard that the incident at the branch tower in District 4 happened last night."

"Yes, it seems there was an explosion. The entire top floor was destroyed, and the fire wasn't completely extinguished this morning."

"So what's going on here?"

"I don't know, Lyra has never had this happen before."

A strong sense of unease gradually spread from the people on the Gear Train to the entire Lyra. In less than a morning, all the Lyra People would know about the Fourth District Tower incident.

With such a major accident occurring, even Fen Li, the supreme commander of the Skeleton Corps, had to rush to the scene.

He frowned deeply as he looked at the three charred corpses that his men had just carried out of the fire.

Then he saw Cha Mo Si standing blankly in front of one of the corpses, and he hissed, "Cha Mo Si, what are you looking at?"

Cha Mo Si then came to his senses and quickly walked over to Fen Li's side, giving a very strained bow.

"Have you identified the deceased?" Fen Li asked.

Cha Mo Si pursed his lips tightly, seemingly unwilling to believe the fact. After a moment of internal struggle, he whispered, "It's Captain Ku De."

Upon hearing the name, Fen Li's expression changed slightly. "Ku De? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"No...though I wish I were wrong," Cha Mo Si said, "But that's Captain Ku De ...I can confirm it."

Fen Li nodded, then asked, "What about the other two?"

"One is the newly appointed Fourth District Affairs Secretary, Zamen; the other is still unknown." Cha Mo Si looked up at Fen Li, a pleading glint in his eyes. "Minister, do you know who did this?"

Fen Li was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "This is the third administrative secretary to die in the last three days. Think about who killed the first two?"

Cha Mo Si paused for a moment, then his eyes flashed with anger. "You mean Jie La Er?! Then Captain Ku De is also..."

"There's no conclusive evidence yet," Fen Li said calmly. "However, last night I did have Ku De take Jie La Er back."

After saying that, Fen Li turned and left without looking at Cha Mo Si again, but he could still hear Cha Mo Si's whispers.

"No more evidence is needed... no more evidence is needed..."

Fen Li paused for a moment, but said nothing, and walked straight into an office in the branch tower that had not been affected.

As Fen Li Open the door, he saw the young man standing by the window with his back to him.

"You're going too far." Fen Li glanced outside to make sure no one was watching before closing the door. "The third victim, was it Bishop Holman?"

"Who else could it be but him?" Yong Xin didn't turn around, but said calmly, "If it's Jie La Er, then it's much more convenient."

"You've gone too far!" Fen Li clenched his fists and took a few steps toward Yong Xin, seemingly wanting to punch him. "You even dared to lay a hand on the Bishop!"

"You've got two things wrong, Minister Fen Li," Yong Xin said. "First, it wasn't me who killed Bishop Holman, it was Jie La Er. Second..."

He suddenly turned around, startling Fen Li.

Because half of Yong Xin's body was in a state of severe burns, the degree of burning was no less than that of the three corpses outside.

How could he survive such an injury?

Fen Li was horrified, and then involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

"Second, Minister Fen Li, have you forgotten that you are now a member of the 'New Pursuit Society'?" Yong Xin said with a light laugh. "You are now on our side, so why are you questioning our actions? In fact, we almost succeeded last night. If it weren't for that little accident, Lyra would have completed the entire reform today, and you would have become the new bishop."

Fen Li clenched his fists tightly, forcing himself to stare at Yong Xin's terrifying face, and then said, word by word, "You know perfectly well that I don't care about this at all."

"Yes, yes, I know, of course." Yong Xin said with a smile, "The moment our Lord ascends the throne, your daughter will naturally be healed. If you don't believe me, just look at me. I suffered such a serious injury, yet I'm still alive and well, aren't I? And... I'll be fully healed soon."

Seemingly to verify his words, Fen Li saw that Yong Xin's burned area was indeed recovering to normal skin at a visible speed.

This mysterious power made Fen Li stop questioning him. After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, "So what do you plan to do now? Bishop Holman is dead. This is no small matter. Do you intend to keep this news a secret?"

"Why hide it?" Yong Xin said with a light laugh. "Why not just announce it to the outside world? We already have a ready-made murderer."

"You mean to pin it on Jie La Er?" Fen Li said. "But there's no evidence..."

"No, we don't need evidence anymore, Minister Fen Li. From today onwards, we no longer need those rigid rules and regulations." Yong Xin pointed at Fen Li and said, "When you get back, you will find that what you say is evidence."

Fen Li's pupils narrowed slightly. "You mean..."

"Although our daring operation last night didn't achieve its goal in one fell swoop, it has still yielded significant results," Yong Xin said with a smile. "Huo Er Man is dead. Look at the other bishops, have they responded?"

Fen Li didn't speak, but he understood what Yong Xin meant.

The death of the first district bishop would have been a momentous event in the past. The bishop of Tower of Babel would have certainly convened the remaining bishops to discuss countermeasures and declared a state of emergency for Lyra until the true culprit was found.

These are all written in the rules and regulations.

But now, Huo Er Man has been dead for a whole night, and none of these things have happened, so there's only one possibility.

The bishops had completely lost their sense of the outside world.

And Lyra was no longer able to respond to the current situation.

He was like an old man in his twilight years, whose energy was consumed by breathing alone.

At that moment, Fen Li felt a deep sadness, though it lasted only for a brief instant.

Yong Xin didn't care what Fen Li was thinking. He slowly walked towards Fen Li and said gently, "Without the bishop's restraint, Minister Fen Li, you can now do so many things. The New Pursuit Society also needs your current strength to eliminate that only hidden danger. Of course, if you are unwilling, we can also bring the Devil Squad into the city."

Fen Li narrowed his eyes slightly. "Devil Squad? That's taboo."

"I've already said it, Minister Fen Li," Yong Xin said calmly. "From today onwards, there are no rules, and naturally, no taboos."

After hearing this, Fen Li gave Yong Xin a deep look, then turned and left.

After Fen Li left, a strange tentacle emerged from the desk. It looked around, and upon "seeing" Yong Xin, its body began to writhe. Soon, it opened a mouth and uttered a sound, "It seems this subordinate isn't very obedient."

"He will listen to us," Yong Xin said with a smile. "Unlike that dead Knight, he was just a hypocrite. He just needed an excuse to do things for us. Once he had that excuse, he would deceive himself into doing anything."

"Heh, you seem to have a good understanding of human nature," the voice said calmly. "Is this what [Domination] is?"

"It's just that after experiencing too many life-and-death situations, I've seen through everything," Yong Xin replied with a light laugh.

"But you still seem somewhat worried," the tentacle asked. "Because of Jie La Er? Last night he suddenly used a power that wasn't his own. According to you, it was Rhine magic?"

"Yes, that's Rhine's magic." Yong Xin nodded slightly. "Just as I thought, he must have obtained something in Rhine, but I'm not sure yet... But it doesn't matter, I've already sent people to Rhine to investigate, and I'll probably have results soon."

"What a restless fellow," the tentacle said leisurely. "But this isn't the only thing that might worry you, is it?"

Yong Xin fell silent. He didn't answer immediately, but slowly walked to the office window and gazed into the distance.

The sky in the distance was dark, filled with thick clouds, and the air was damp. A low rumble of thunder could be heard faintly.

It's going to rain.

"After I was injured last night, I left immediately," Yong Xin said. "About ten minutes later, I returned with my men. He was gone, but I discovered that Bishop Holman had been dead for less than two minutes."

The tentacle paused for a moment, then said, "You mean, Huo Er Man may have spoken with Jie La Er at the last minute?"

"Yes."

"That means he learned a lot from Huo Er Man — Lyra's current condition, the existence of our My Lord, and..."

"Who I am."

Yong Xin calmly took over the conversation.

At that moment, a muffled clap of thunder suddenly resounded.

Then a torrential downpour began.

Looking at the Lyra under the rain, Yong Xin said softly.

"He already knows who I am."

"Huff, huff..."

Jie La Er, panting heavily, leaned against the wall and slowly moved through the alley in the pouring rain.

He would stop and gag a few times before he could take two steps. Sometimes he would vomit blood, which would be quickly diluted by the water. Other times he would not vomit anything at all.

"Your body is much weaker than I imagined," Bai Wei's voice slowly echoed in his mind. "Without mechanical assistance, you're really no different from a disabled person."

Before Jie La Er could reply, Bai Wei said, "Someone's coming."

A few seconds later he heard footsteps, so he immediately stood against the wall and held his breath.

Before long, a small squad of Skeleton Corps soldiers hurriedly ran past outside the alley, paused briefly at the alley entrance, but did not enter before quickly leaving.

After everyone had gone far away, Jie La Er relaxed and walked out of the alley. He immediately saw the wanted poster posted at the entrance of the alley.

The target of the manhunt was, of course, him.

"Just as we thought last night," Bai Wei said. "With that bishop dead, rules and order have fallen further behind. Now, they can openly issue arrest warrants for you... So what do you think? You saved this city just last night. If it weren't for you, those bugs would have eaten up most of this area, right? But now not only is no one thanking you, they're going to hang you on the wall. It's true that good deeds don't always go unrewarded."

Hearing Bai Wei's obvious sarcasm, Jie La Er said nothing, but after glancing at the wanted poster, he turned and left.

He neither had the mood nor the energy to answer Bai Wei.

As Bai Wei said, he is now like a disabled person.

His metal body had been completely destroyed in last night's battle, reduced to scrap metal.

At this moment, he was carrying a heavy load of dozens of kilograms, and he was also injured, so after walking all night, he still hadn't reached a safe place.

If he were to encounter an enemy now, he would be utterly powerless to fight back and would have no choice but to surrender his body to Bai Wei again, just like last night.

"So where are you planning to go now?" Bai Wei asked. "You're wanted by the entire city, so there's no way you can go back, right?"

Jie La Er still did not answer Bai Wei.

This has seriously violated his second deal with Bai Wei.

But Bai Wei didn't care, and was even somewhat pleased to see this, so he just watched Jie La Er drag his crippled body through the alley, like a disabled old man collecting scraps.

Logically speaking, he should have been easily discovered, but Bai Wei's eyesight helped him avoid a lot of danger.

We walked and stopped, and I don't know how long it took, before we finally arrived at our destination, Rim Station, which we had visited yesterday.

At this moment, Bai Wei finally understood where Jie La Er wanted to go.

Sure enough, after another ten minutes or so, he successfully stood in front of the house that had collapsed halfway and whose walls were covered with graffiti that read "The culprit should die."

These guys, when something happens, their first instinct is still to run home.

Even if home is no longer there.

Bai Wei thought to himself.

Jie La Er had no idea what Bai Wei was thinking. He walked into the house like a puppet and then into a room filled with ruins.

Looking at the familiar furnishings in the room, Jie La Er paused for a moment, then suddenly knelt down and began digging through the rubble, seemingly trying to find something underneath.

At the same time, his experience from last night began to flash through his mind.

Last night, Bai Wei used his body to eliminate all the insects and also brought the monster to the brink of death.

Then, a human face squeezed out from the monster's body—it was Huo Er Man.

Huo Er Man regained consciousness on his deathbed and told Jie La Er many things.

For example, the newborn Sinful Creature that is killing Lyra.

For example, all the bishops entered the Thought Amber to support Lyra, and were cut off from their connection with the outside world.

For example, the power of the newly Sinful Creature is far greater than imagined. They have infiltrated multiple positions within Lyra and may even have influenced other bishops in the same way.

For example, Lyra is in very poor condition and can't hold on for much longer.

For Jie La Er, each of these pieces of news was shocking on its own, let alone when they were all put together, and he finally realized just how difficult things had become for Lyra.

But none of these compare to the last piece of news.

Jie La Er's hands moved faster and faster as he searched through the ruins.

In the past ten years, he has rarely lost his composure like he did today.

Without the aid of machinery, and having paid the price to Bai Wei, his body was already on the verge of collapse, but he couldn't care less. He just kept digging and digging, letting the rocks cut his fingers and tear his flesh, but he didn't stop.

Finally, he found what he was looking for.

A blurry photograph.

The young man was holding a boy and a girl, and he was showing the camera a smile that he wasn't good at.

Huo Er Man's voice rang in his ears again.

"Jie La Er ... You're not the only member of the Night Stars who returned ten years ago; his name is now Yong Xin."

"I already know, it's Hermes, right?"

"No, no, no... it's not Hermes."

Jie La Er's gaze gradually shifted to the boy's face, and at the same time, Huo Er Man's last words rang in his ears.

"It's your son!"

"It's yours..."

"Son!"

The old and frail Jie La Er looked at the boy in the photo.

The boy in the photo was just as I remembered him.

Smile at him.