That Was Only an Echo!!!

"Although I don't want to interrupt your train of thought at a time like this," Bai Wei's voice echoed in Jie La Er's mind, "How long do you intend to stand here in a daze, until it gets dark?"

Jie La Er snapped out of his daze and subconsciously looked up at the sky. The sky was still bright, and there was still a long time before sunset.

But Jie La Er knew that he had indeed been in a daze for a long time. Upon seeing his own name, the sudden shock filled his brain completely, making it impossible for him to think about anything else.

"Judging from your reaction..." Bai Wei's voice rang out again, "This watch is indeed yours, isn't it?"

Jie La Er was silent for a moment. He looked at the broken parts again. Because they were too old and incomplete, he couldn't determine from the details whether they were the same ones he had taken ten years ago.

But he also knew that there were basically no other possibilities, because this watch belonged to the Pioneer Force from ten years ago, namely the Evening Star Squad, and there was no other person named Jie La Er in the Evening Star Squad.

Unless someone deliberately created this watch to mislead him, but that's highly unlikely, because if things had progressed normally, the watch wouldn't have ended up in his hands anyway. The only reason it ended up in his possession was because of the variable Visas within him; it was Visas who decided to kill Terrell. If the other party could even factor that in, it would be far too outrageous.

Therefore, this watch can only be the one I used ten years ago.

It should have been buried forever in the Contaminated Land.

But now, it has appeared right in front of me.

"If I remember correctly," Bai Wei said slowly, "You seemed to have said that in the Land of Corruption, the living would exchange equipment with the dead, so that the living could carry on the legacy of the dead, and the dead would not be alone on their journey to the Road to the Underworld. Judging from your expression, can I conclude that... this watch should have stayed on the road to the Road to the Underworld."

"...I don't know what you mean by the Road to the Underworld," Jie La Er said, "But it should indeed remain in the Land of Corruption."

"Then why is it here?"

"...There are only two possibilities. Either someone, ten years later, entered the deepest part of the Land of Corruption —the very spot I arrived at back then—and found the watch," Jie La Er's voice was very low. "Or..."

He gently closed his eyes, his body trembling slightly.

"Ten years ago, I wasn't the only one who returned from the deepest part of the Land of Corruption."

As he said those words, Jie La Er instinctively gripped the part of the Clock of Desolate Time tightly. The sharp part cut his finger, and blood flowed out, but he did not react at all.

Clearly, there was one more thing Jie La Er didn't say, but Bai Wei could guess it.

If someone really did come back, why didn't they come to him instead of letting him bear the infamy of being a rebel for ten years?

Bai Wei was also unaware of this matter. He asked, "If it really is the latter, then who do you think has returned? In other words, to whom did you leave this watch back then?"

Jie La Er opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "I can't remember anymore. Regarding that deepest memory, I only have some fragmented, disjointed images, but these images don't lead to the watch's whereabouts. However..."

He turned to look at the other intact "Clock of Desolate Time".

"According to the rules, the items exchanged must be the same to avoid accidents caused by insufficient equipment for the survivors, so..." Jie La Er looked at the name engraved on the pocket watch, and the image of being questioned by that woman in the Tower of Babel flashed through his mind again, and he fell silent once more. But this time he did not remain silent for long and quickly said, "The name on this watch alone is not enough to make an accurate judgment. I must verify it myself."

Bai Wei raised Jie La Er's eyebrows. "Aren't you going to find that Archbishop?"

"These are all entry points," Jie La Er said. "Whether this watch was brought back by someone later or by one of my comrades who survived the war ten years ago, it can answer many of my questions."

Bai Wei did not deny this point.

He only said this slowly as Jie La Er got up to leave.

"If you could choose, which possibility would you prefer?"

"What?" Jie La Er didn't hear clearly at first.

"I mean, if you could, would you rather your comrade be alive today, or die forever in that Land of Corruption?"

Jie La Er fell silent once again.

He had discovered that Bai Wei always managed to ask questions that left him speechless, because these questions were like sharp swords piercing his heart.

However, because of the details of the transaction, he had no choice but to answer.

Finally, he spoke slowly.

"I don't know either, but if I could..." He looked up at the sky above, which hadn't changed in the past ten years, and then said softly, "I really wish he could be alive now."

Yong Xin stood in the morgue, staring silently at the body that had just been brought in five minutes earlier.

A short while later, a hunched-over man opened the morgue door, cautiously peeked inside, and upon seeing Yong Xin's back, immediately walked in and respectfully said, "Lord Yongxin, I've arrived."

Without turning his head, Yong Xin asked, "Are you Terrell's disciple?"

"Ah, yes, yes," said the hunched-over man. "My name is Zamen, and I'm Mr. Terrell's..."

"Alright." Yong Xin interrupted Zamen expressionlessly. "No need for further introductions. I just need to know that from now on, you will be in charge of Terrell's work."

Yes, yes.

Zamen wiped his sweat.

To be honest, he's both excited and scared right now.

The exciting part was that he had finally come into contact with the legendary Lord Yongxin. Undoubtedly, this meant that his status had risen to a new level. After all, anyone who could come into contact with Lord Yongxin could be considered a core figure.

But the scary thing is... the reason he was able to rise to power is because the original rulers were all dead.

This includes his teacher, Terrell, and another person Ocott, who worked directly for Yong Xin.

Originally, Yong Xin only contacted these two people and had them do things for him.

But now, both of them are dead, passing away within two days of each other. The first one's body was never found after his death, and the second one, his teacher...

The body is currently lying on the morgue, and it's not even a complete body.

This naturally alarmed Zamen; who knew if he would be next if this trend continued?

Yong Xin glanced back at Zamen. He could sense the unease in the new servant's heart, but he had no mood to comfort him. If Ocott's death was within his expectations and barely acceptable, then Terrell's death was completely unexpected and unacceptable.

So he asked Zamen directly, "Any results yet?"

"I'm so sorry, Lord Yongxin." Zamen bowed as low as he could. "Although the Skeleton Corps took over the scene and launched an investigation immediately, they haven't yet determined the cause of Mr. Terrell's death. They can only roughly determine that it's not Lyra's power, but rather some unorthodox magic from outsiders, most likely from the four major Esoteric Sect. The specifics..."

"That's impossible." Yong Xin interrupted Zamen expressionlessly, saying, "Where's Jie La Er? Terrell was talking to Jie La Er before he died, so it can only be him."

"That being said, Terrell was speaking with Jie La Er in the main hall of the Fourth District Tower, under the watchful eyes of countless people. Jie La Er did not... Of course, the Skeleton Corps has also listed Jie La Er as a suspect, but there is no evidence yet, so there is no way to issue an arrest warrant for Jie La Er directly."

... That's the crux of the problem.

Yong Xin was certain that Jie La Er was behind it.

But... how exactly did he do it?

Yong Xin turned his head and looked at Terrell's corpse again.

The corpse was in a state of disfigurement, and it was a state of disfigurement that Yong Xin had never seen before.

His entire body looked like a tiny figure in a painting that had been erased several times, and the missing parts seemed to have disappeared; they couldn't be found at the scene.

In fact, it's not just the physical body that disappears.

Yong Xin stepped forward to observe Terrell's body more closely.

As Lyra People, a metallic body and prosthetics are essential, and Terrell is no exception. He has metallic parts on his chest and arms, which are abruptly absent from his body.

But metal is different from flesh. A sharp sword can easily cut through flesh, but it can never cut through metal. If you forcibly use force to destroy it, then the metal will definitely leave a mark similar to "deformation".

However, none of these changes occurred in Terrell.

These metal parts, like the bodies, vanished into thin air. The joints where they were "cut" into two pieces showed no trace of being "cut," as if they were naturally formed that way.

The missing flesh and metal were not found at the scene, suggesting that these parts had never existed.

So, how exactly did he do it?

"Lord Yongxin." Seeing that Yong Xin hadn't spoken for a long time, Zamen, who was standing behind him, carefully took out a pile of parts from his pocket. "These are the things you previously delivered to Terrell. They've broken, and only these are left. You see..."

Yong Xin turned his head and looked at the broken Clock of Desolate Time, his brows furrowing slightly.

If Yong Xin is not mistaken, this should be the reason why Jie La Er took action.

Terrell discovered Jie La Er's testing of him, which is why Jie La Er took action to avoid revealing anything.

At first glance, it seems reasonable, but upon closer examination, it doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

First, unlike Ocott, Terrell is a very cautious person. After learning the testing method, he shouldn't have been discovered by Jie La Er.

Second, based on Yong Xin's understanding of Jie La Er, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would eliminate all enemies to cover up his secrets. While it's understandable that he would take action against Ocott, killing Terrell directly is really out of character for him. If he were that kind of person, there's no reason why he would have been persecuted for ten whole years without putting up a fight.

Third, Jie La Er's swift and deadly act seems irrational. What is he trying to cover up? If he also possesses [Domination], wouldn't killing Terrell confirm that? Does he believe that someone of Terrell's caliber is the true mastermind, and that eliminating Terrell will eliminate all threats? That's impossible; he's not that stupid. But if that's not the case, then what is he trying to hide?

These three points were something Yong Xin just couldn't understand.

He reached out and pondered as he rubbed the fragments of the Clock of Desolate Time with his fingers.

This Clock of Desolate Time, Yong Xin can at most turn it to "two", could Jie La Er possibly turn it to a later position? Is that why Terrell had to die after discovering this?

Thinking of this, Yong Xin turned around, walked closer to Terrell's body again, stood beside it, and then slowly reached out his hand towards the body.

He was going to conduct an experiment.

If Jie La Er also possessed the power of [Domination], then he should be able to sense it.

Because he also has [domination].

Powers belonging to Visas are always drawn to each other, just as that ancient being always longed to reunite his body and return to this world.

So Yong Xin wanted to try and see if the [Domination] that Jie La Er used on Terrell was also of the same origin as him.

Although Terrell was already a corpse, Yong Xin could sense even the slightest echo left on it.

So he placed his fingers on Terrell's wound.

In that instant, he felt an unprecedented pulling force bursting forth from Terrell's wound.

The immense pulling force caused his entire soul to tremble, and his treasured [Domination] resonated at this moment, surging wildly as if trying to burst out of his body and rush towards the mutilated corpse of Terrell.

What's going on here?!

Yong Xin was terrified.

He saw his flesh and blood falling off like mud, and withered bones and maggots wriggling in his flesh were rapidly emerging from beneath his skin.

Yong Xin knew what was going on.

His body has been maintained to this day only by [Domination], but now [Domination] is about to leave him.

Go and follow the lingering echo on the wreckage.

But why is that?!

That was just an echo!

This scene was witnessed by Zamen nearby.

He watched helplessly as Lord Yongxin's flesh was rapidly peeled away, turning into a pile of rotten meat in the blink of an eye, which terrified him so much that he let out a pig-like squeal.

What the hell is this?!

He instinctively wanted to run away, but he was too scared and tried to open the morgue door three or four times without success.

Just as he was about to open it, he heard Yong Xin's tired but undeniable voice. "It's alright, I'm fine now."

Zamen was stunned. He slowly turned around and saw Yong Xin standing there perfectly fine, as if everything just now was just his imagination.

"Lord Yongxin, what just happened was..."

"Don't ask any more questions." Yong Xin's voice was filled with unprecedented exhaustion. "Listen, go and do two things now."

Lord Yongxin has recovered, and that familiar sense of oppression has returned. Zamen dared not refuse and could only bow again. "What are your orders?"

"First, contact the 'Devil' unit through our channels and have them prepare to enter the city." Yong Xin paused, then said calmly, "As for the reason, say that the pollution outbreak ten years ago requires them to enter the city for cleanup."

"I... I understand." Letting the Devil Squad into the city was absolutely forbidden, but Zamen didn't dare ask why; he just wanted to leave immediately. "And the second thing?"

"The second thing..." Yong Xin narrowed his eyes, recalling the pulling force that seemed to tear his soul apart just now. He was silent for a moment, and then slowly said, "Use all resources to go to the Somu City in the Rhine."

"Rhine?" Zamen was taken aback. If the previous use of the Devil Squad could be considered an internal matter of Lyra, then the Rhine was something Zamen couldn't understand. "The Somu City in the Rhine... what happened?"

"Find out exactly what happened in Somu City, and how that Archbishop died." Yong Xin stared into Zamen's eyes, then said, word by word, "We must find out at all costs."