But This Wasn't a Weapon

Twenty minutes later, Ku De stepped into the small shop where the fire had been extinguished.

"What happened?" Ku De asked, looking at Cha Mo Si had arrived at the store earlier. "Why is there such a commotion?"

"Hmm... hard to describe, but the initial assessment is that it was an accident." Cha Mo Si shrugged, then couldn't help but complain, "Honestly, we just got back to the city, our vacation isn't even over yet, and this happens. You know, I was getting my prosthetic leg serviced just two blocks away when the accident happened. Damn it, that sudden explosion scared the Mechanic so much that he almost welded my little prosthetic leg off. Next time I'm definitely going to check that shop to see if that guy even has a proper Mechanic's license."

Ku De ignored the incessant Cha Mo Si, knowing that the man was just a little talkative but very serious about his work, and was the first in his team to arrive and cordon off the scene after the accident.

"Is anyone injured?" Ku De asked Cha Mo Si with slight concern as he stepped over the scattered wreckage. "As far as I know, the population density on this street is not low."

"Strictly speaking, there were no injured people, only one dead person." Cha Mo Si shrugged and said, "The dead person was the owner of this store. The accident happened inside the store, which was already closed at the time, so he was the only victim... Look, right there."

After turning a corner, Ku De finally saw the details of the accident.

The most striking feature was a destroyed machine, its exposed part bearing the mangled remains of a gnawed beast. Beneath the remains lay a middle-aged man in Mechanic's uniform. Five metal rods were impaled on his body, clearly the culprits that had taken his life; the gruesome wounds had drained his blood.

He was still staring with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape, as if he wanted to say something, but the accident happened so quickly that it froze his not-so-old life at this moment.

Ku De lowered his head slightly, as if to express a small token of condolence for the unfortunate deceased.

"Have you made a preliminary assessment of the unexpected situation?" Ku De quickly looked up and continued to ask Cha Mo Si.

"I've got it. Just like I said before, this is most likely an accident." Cha Mo Si for Ku De to look back. "Look, the accident is this machine."

Ku De also turned to look at the monstrous machine. Although more than half of it had been destroyed by the explosion, he still recognized its general model. "Gewe Type Prosthetic Replacement Machine?"

"It's still Gewe Type 3," Cha Mo Si said. "It's an old model, so it's not surprising that it had an accident."

Ku De thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, the Gewe Type 3 is only an eight-year-old model. Its service life should be over twenty years. It is far from being an old model."

"So, Captain, you're falling behind the times too," Cha Mo Si said with a laugh. "These days, a machine is considered old after three years of use, so a seven-year-old machine is definitely an antique."

Ku De glanced at Cha Mo Si and said calmly, "When have our judgments been based on trends rather than facts?"

Cha Mo Si immediately fell silent.

Ku De was able to continue observing the scene.

Actually, there weren't many suspicious points at the scene. It's likely that the machine suddenly malfunctioned and exploded while the owner was repairing it, and the metal bars inside the machine instantly killed the owner before he could react.

But Ku De still felt that something was wrong.

It's not as simple as just that this machine is far from reaching its lifespan.

"Have you identified the deceased?" Ku De asked.

"I checked. His name is Carol, he's 38 years old, and he has a son and a wife," Cha Mo Si said. "He's also Level 3 Mechanic."

"Has he had any other jobs before?"

Cha Mo Si paused slightly, "Other work?"

At that moment, a "skeleton" Knight walked in from outside. "Captain! The deceased had other identities. We just got information from the Tower of Babel. Before becoming the shopkeeper, the deceased was Maintainer at the Tower of Babel!"

Ku De and Cha Mo Si's expressions immediately changed.

Before the Knight could even reach him, Ku De immediately stepped forward, took the documents from the Knight's hand, and quickly glanced at them.

"As expected, it's the Maintainer of the Tower of Babel."

Cha Mo Si couldn't help but scratch his head. "Maintainer for the Tower of Babel? How could such an accident happen? I thought he was just a mediocre Mechanic."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Ku De raise his head from the documents with a sullen face.

"What are you worried about?" Cha Mo Si couldn't help but ask. "Even if he used to be Maintainer, it has nothing to do with the present, right? This is Lyra, there's no way murder could have happened here."

Ku De glanced at Cha Mo Si and said, "This Maintainer's departure date is—236 years ago."

Cha Mo Si's expression froze instantly.

After all, this year is really special.

"Is this... a coincidence?" Cha Mo Si couldn't help but ask.

Ku De didn't say anything; he just felt that something was off about the file in his hand.

But it wasn't the file itself that was wrong; rather... how could this file have reached them so soon after the accident? Logically speaking, Maintainer's files should all be confidential.

"Captain!" Before Ku De could figure it out, a team member who was examining the body immediately spoke up, "Look here."

Ku De immediately turned around and saw the team member tearing open Carol's shirt from his chest. Then they saw that there was a conspicuous wound in the area of his heart.

"Logically, there should be a metal strip here," the team member said, "But we didn't find one at the scene."

Ku De's brows furrowed immediately.

Then another team member rushed in from outside. "Captain, people outside say that someone entered the scene before or after the explosion."

"Who?" Ku De asked immediately.

But as he asked the question, a suspicion began to form in his mind.

The guess was then confirmed.

"Based on the eyewitness account," the team member slowly unfolded the portrait in his hand, "It should be... Jie La Er."

At that moment, the entire scene fell silent.

Cha Mo Si's eyes widened, and he took several deep breaths before finally speaking, "This... can't be, right? Could he have done it? But, no, the 'lock' shouldn't have disappeared, so how could he..."

Ku De raised his hand to stop the incoherent Cha Mo Si.

Very quickly, really very quickly.

All the clues pointed to Jie La Er in an instant.

This was so swift and deliberate that even Ku De couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

So, all he can do now is...

"Find Jie La Er's whereabouts," Ku De said slowly. "Immediately."

The Gear Train sped along the tracks.

It's currently peak season, and in theory, there should be many people on the train, but this train is an exception, with only a handful of people in the entire carriage.

Because the destination of this train... is the Fifth District.

The Fifth District, used to combat the Land of Corruption.

Ocott sat in the corner, his face completely covered by a large hat.

He looked up at the scenery rushing past outside the Gear Car, a hint of indescribable anxiety flashing in his eyes.

Ocott didn't know where this anxiety came from. Logically speaking, he should have been the one in a better position—he had dealt with the troublesome person who knew something about what happened ten years ago, and he had also shifted the suspicion onto Jie La Er. If all went well, he could get rid of this biggest problem at the same time, and then no one would be able to stand in their way anymore.

He felt he had done a perfect job.

But... why?

From the beginning, he had been enveloped by a strong sense of unease, as if he were being watched by someone.

Logically, this shouldn't be possible, because Ocott had checked many times and found no one following him.

But that eerie feeling never left him, and he had already had it during the day.

Therefore, Ocott could no longer dismiss it as a delusion and immediately took action. Originally intending to return directly to the Tower of Babel to report to Lord Yongxin, he immediately changed his destination and headed to the Fifth District.

As a district bordering the Land of Corruption, the Fifth District is the most special and the one that Ocott knows best. Once he arrives in this district, no matter what is watching him, he is confident that he can shake it off in the Fifth District and ensure that he will not bring the threat to Lord Yongxin.

Once you reach the Fifth District.

The speed of the Gear Train is gradually slowing down.

Ocott knew this was normal, because the Gear Train was not allowed to travel at the same speed in Fifth District as it did in other zones, as if it did not want to disturb something in this zone.

Even though this was the normal procedure, the slowdown in the car still made Ocott feel deeply uneasy.

He looked out the car window.

As far as the eye could see, there was a large bridge, and behind the bridge was Fifth District.

Once you cross the bridge, you'll arrive... once you cross the bridge.

Ocott wasn't sure if he was being too anxious, but he felt the train was moving slower and slower.

This seems to exceed the usual range of deceleration.

Ultimately, the "click" sound confirmed Ocott's conjecture.

The train stopped before reaching the bridge.

"Hmm... what's going on?"

Why did it suddenly stop?

The other passengers in the carriage also noticed something was wrong and began to wonder.

There are very few ordinary residents in the Fifth District, so the vast majority of the staff are workers dispatched there to combat pollution, and they obviously know more than the average person.

Is this a routine check?

"Where are the 'Devil's' troops? I don't see them."

In Lyra City, the Gear Train are extremely special units. Even the "Skeleton" troops responsible for city defense are not allowed to stop Gear Train entering the Fifth District under the pretext of combating pollution.

Therefore, it is reasonable for those present to speculate that the "devil" unit had stopped the Gear Train.

Only Ocott knew that it was definitely not the "Devil" unit.

Because the train had not yet entered the Fifth District, and those "devils" were not allowed to leave the Fifth District without being conscripted.

But if it wasn't "the devil," then "the skeleton" couldn't have obtained authorization from his superiors in such a short time... So who could it be?

Ocott narrowed his eyes slightly, and a single possibility suddenly came to mind.

"Crunch".

The carriage door was slowly opened, followed by heavy footsteps.

In an instant, the noise in the carriage disappeared, and people looked in horror at the person who had boarded the train midway... because half of his face was covered in blood.

The blood was flowing from his tightly closed left eye, and it was still slowly leaking out, but the other half of his face was perfectly fine. His open right eye swept over everyone present like an eagle's.

Everyone stood up. The shocking scene was immense. They dared not look at the other's blood-soaked half-face, nor at the intact eye that seemed to be searching for its prey.

Whenever that eye swept over them, they felt a chill run down their spines, as if they were prey being watched.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long. Soon, the passengers realized that the man's gaze had passed through them all and landed on the far corner of the carriage.

That is, on Ocott.

"Unrelated personnel." He spoke slowly, his hoarse voice carrying an unyielding authority. "Get out of the car immediately."

The group looked at each other in bewilderment.

They still didn't know whether the people who came were from the "Skeleton" unit or the "Devil" unit, but the fact that the other party clearly didn't like to explain made them afraid to ask any more questions, so they all got out of the car.

Soon, only two people remained in the carriage.

Ocott looked up at Jie La Er in front of him, and after a moment of silence, said, "Although I do know that the higher-ups haven't revoked your authority as captain of 'Night Star'... how exactly did you find me?"

He stared at Jie La Er's tightly closed eye.

"What... is that?"

Jie La Er did not answer Ocott; he simply approached him little by little, the metal bar in his hand gleaming like a sword blade.

Ocott did not move, but calmly said, "You cannot lay a hand on me. I am Lyra People. Lord Jie La Er, whether you are now considered part of the 'Skeleton' forces or Knight of the 'Night Star,' you cannot lay a hand on me—your weapons are only for targeting contaminants."

Jie La Er stood in front of Ocott, remained silent for a moment, and nodded. "Indeed, my weapon cannot be aimed at you."

Ocott breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the next second...

"Pfft."

His left shoulder was pierced by the metal strip, and blood gushed out immediately.

Ocott's eyes widened.

"But this is not a weapon."

Jie La Er spoke softly, and before Ocott could react, he exerted his strength again.

Ocott's left arm was then cut off.