My Fingers Saw Them (3K)

"Ku De, I need an explanation."

As soon as he entered the office, Ku De felt a sharp gaze fall on him, accompanied by a deep male voice.

Ku De turned his head and looked at the middle-aged man sitting in the high-backed chair who was watching him. His name was Fen Li, and he was the supreme leader of the Skeleton Corps.

"Your Minister," Ku De a standard Knight salute, "I apologize for being late."

"You should apologize, but not for this." Fen Li's face was grim. "Do you remember the task I gave you a year ago?"

Ku De nodded slightly. "I remember you told me to let the traitor Jie La Er die within the prescribed limits."

"It's rare that you still remember," Fen Li said sarcastically. "So, do you think you've succeeded?"

Ku De was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No, Minister."

"Yes, Ku De, you failed." Fen Li pointed at Ku De and said, "Ku De, you are my most trusted subordinate. That's why I entrusted this mission to you, but not only have you failed to complete it, you've also kept causing him even bigger trouble. In the two days since Ku De returned, two innocent people have already lost their lives. If our people hadn't arrived quickly enough today, there would have been a third victim, and that victim would have been your comrade. If that had really happened, wouldn't you feel guilty?"

At this moment, Ku De raised his head, looked at Fen Li who was still indignant, and said softly, "Minister, I heard that the Knight was fitted with a non-compliant mechanical arm... Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Fen Li's face instantly darkened further.

"Captain Ku De." His face darkened further, but his tone became indifferent. "What do you mean? Just because that Knight did something against the rules, does that mean he should be killed arbitrarily?"

"I never said that, Your Minister," Ku De said softly, as if he had anticipated Fen Li's reaction. "I was just thinking about last night."

"Last night?" Fen Li asked. "What happened last night?"

"Last night, Jie La Er killed the Affairs Assistant Ocott. According to him, the assistant underwent unauthorized modifications, including the installation of eight robotic arms, which he then controlled using a contaminant," Ku De said. "At the time, we all thought he was just making things up because the body couldn't be found, there was no evidence, so he could fabricate whatever he wanted... Is that true?"

Fen Li didn't answer Ku De directly, but stared at Ku De: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I'm trying to say is that what we thought he was just spouting nonsense last night has been proven true today," Ku De said. "Although that Knight didn't go to the extreme of having eight mechanical arms directly installed, and no contaminants were detected on him, are those two extra arms really without problems? Moreover, skeleton Knight are different from Affairs Assistant; all our modifications require approval and annual inspection. So how did this skeleton Knight pass the annual inspection? Jie La Er said that the Knight mentioned an organization called the 'New Pursuit Society.' Does this organization really exist?"

Ku De voiced all his questions in one breath.

After listening, Fen Li did not answer immediately. He simply leaned back in his chair and stared at Ku De. After a long while, he said calmly, "I understand what you mean, Captain Ku De. You brought up these shortcomings that others also failed to address because I criticized you for your poor performance. Is that how you want to shut me up?"

"No, Minister," Ku De, quite surprised. "I didn't mean that at all."

"And what do you mean by that?" Fen Li stared directly at Ku De. "What do you think we're talking about? A guy who betrayed Lyra, causing the entire Evening Star Squad to perish, yet somehow survived to this day because of a lack of concrete evidence. What kind of person is he? Captain Ku De, you should know very well. Countless people have died because of him, in the past, now, and in the future... But you, as the Knight of the Bones, as my most trusted squad leader, you turn a blind eye to all of this and still want to spout nonsense with me!"

Fen Li's voice grew louder and louder, until he was completely enraged. He grabbed the Tower of Babel model from the table and smashed it hard on Ku De's head.

For a skeleton Knight like Ku De, this model naturally couldn't hurt him. He just stared blankly as the miniature Tower of Babel crashed to the ground and shattered into pieces, while recalling how Fen Li had been so enamored with the model when he first received it... This should have been the Minister's favorite thing.

"You've disappointed me greatly, Ku De," Fen Li said coldly. "What you just said has made me start to doubt whether you're still qualified to be a squad leader. You'd better think carefully about what you're about to say, okay?"

Ku De looked at the shattered Tower of Babel on the ground, remained silent for a long time, and then spoke softly.

"As you wish, Your Minister."

"I said your daily routine is quite fixed," Bai Wei said lazily. "Eating, sleeping, killing, and going to jail, the whole process is smooth and seamless... You really don't seem like a good person."

At this moment, Jie La Er was sitting in a cell with iron bars, his hands and feet still shackled, which certainly fit Bai Wei's teasing of him.

But Jie La Er responded seriously to such teasing, "It's not every day, but only yesterday and today, and the process is different. Yesterday I killed the person, but I didn't go to jail. Today I'm in jail, but I didn't kill the person... you killed them."

"So you're taking my place in jail?" Bai Wei said. "That's so embarrassing. Why don't you talk to the people outside and ask them to gouge out my eyes so I can stay here and you can go outside and rest?"

Such a purely joking remark would not normally require a response, but because of the deal, Jie La Er must seriously consider and answer any question about Bai Wei.

"I don't think so."

Bai Wei smiled, then asked him, "What are your thoughts on that guy's 'New Pursuit Society'?"

Seeing that Bai Wei had finally asked a normal question, Jie La Er could now give a proper answer, "I've never heard of such an organization before. Judging from that Knight's description, the organization helped him complete his transformation and even helped him evade the annual physical examinations of the Skeleton Corps. Such an existence..."

Jie La Er paused, then spoke softly.

"It's really scary."

Bai Wei rarely heard the word "terrifying" from Jie La Er's mouth, especially considering that this guy was willing to die together with him when they first faced each other.

So Bai Wei asked with considerable curiosity, "Is it because you think this organization has penetrated deep into the Skeleton Corps and that the number of people affected by it is far greater than you imagine?"

"...It's not just that," Jie La Er said softly. "I don't know how much you know about Lyra, but I can tell you one thing: there are no 'extra' organizations in Lyra."

"Oh?" Bai Wei raised Jie La Er's eyebrows again, a gesture he had become increasingly adept at. "Is it because of the existence of 'rules'?"

"Yes." Jie La Er nodded and said, "Lyra is like a machine in operation. Its various formal organizations, such as the Pioneer Force and the Guardian Force, were established from the beginning to work so that the machine can function properly. As for the machine, there is only the replacement of old parts with new parts, but new parts will not appear out of thin air, because there is no place for them."

"And this 'New Pursuit Society' is a brand new component, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, that's what makes me uneasy," Jie La Er said softly. "Of course, that guy named Ocott yesterday already made me realize the existence of this new thing, so I'm not particularly surprised. But I don't know what this 'New Pursuit Society' wants to do."

This is something Jie La Er has never been able to understand.

He now has a premonition that his mission ten years ago was very likely orchestrated by these guys.

But what exactly is the purpose?

Lyra is a very pure city, where everything revolves around rules. So, for thousands of years, even though it is backed by the most Land of Corruption, Lyra has never experienced internal strife.

Its unique system also prevents it from having all sorts of scandals like other churches, and it doesn't engage in all sorts of infighting over so-called power.

To the Lyra People, those stories of bloody battles fought over money and wealth are no different from Arabian Nights tales.

We are all "parts" of the Lyra, working diligently for this machine that is called a city but is actually a machine.

So, when exactly did the change occur?

Was the Xiaoxing incident ten years ago the beginning or the end?

This is the biggest mystery currently troubling Jie La Er.

Just as Bai Wei was about to say something more to Jie La Er, he suddenly sensed something and narrowed Jie La Er's eyes slightly.

"I said, you'd better leave here as soon as possible."

Jie La Er was slightly taken aback. "What's wrong?"

Someone is approaching your room.

"Approaching my room?" Jie La Er was even more surprised. "How did you know?"

"You left my finger there."

Bai Wei said with a light laugh.

"My fingers saw them."