Chapter 175
Are you going to betray us?
Are you going to betray her for her unrealistic ideals, for this civilization that can't even reach the stars...?
'Shut up...'
'I...'
"By the way, is this what you're looking for?"
The cold voice was dispelled by the Doctor's words. The Wraith opened its eyes and, through the Doctor's gaze, saw that she was half-squatting in front of a bookshelf, rummaging through what looked like newspapers.
How... did you know?
"Aren't I you? Isn't it normal for me to guess what you're thinking?"
The Doctor spoke with a hint of smugness.
"Besides, you didn't come to the library to read any Victoria romance novels."
Right? Or perhaps you're not interested in most books, so excluding those, the only thing worth... no, worth me going through all this trouble to make this trip is..."
The Doctor placed his hand on one of the shelves.
"The newspaper corner in the library usually contains the contents of almost every issue of newspapers and magazines. What you're looking for is information recorded in past issues, right?"
The Wraith remained silent. At this moment, she didn't even know whether she should be happy for the Doctor's reasoning ability, which hadn't diminished even after losing his memory.
"Alright, tell me which issue you're looking for?"
She placed her hand on the shelf and began looking at the dates and publication times marked on it.
'I...'
Are you going to betray us?
The cold voice rang out once more, and the Wraith's voice abruptly ceased...
No... that's not how it works...
She just wanted to...
"... Is something bothering you? Or is there something else that's bothering you, making you hesitant to speak?"
The Doctor frowned slightly. She sensed something was wrong with the Wraith. Ever since she heard that Zuo Jian could influence consciousness, her state had become this... indescribable, eerie state.
'... I...'
"If you don't tell me, I'll just keep flipping through them one by one. If I end up exhausted and collapse in the library, don't forget it's your responsibility."
As if joking, the Doctor spoke while reaching out to touch the newspaper on the page.
First, we can basically rule out the newspapers from after she arrived in Victoria; she should only be looking at the earlier articles. Is that all the Wraith wants to see?
Then, as if drawn by the threads of fate, the Doctor's gaze fell upon a newspaper article from a few months ago that recorded international news from Terra.
In theory, given the environment of Terra, it would be quite unreasonable for international news to even appear, but for some reason, she always felt that it contained the content she was looking for.
He reached out, took out the newspaper, and spread it out.
The first thing you see is the opening section, which devotes a large portion to praising Victoria's situation this month, noting that it ranks among the top in Terra, with a stable and improving standard of living, a thriving domestic environment, and a vibrant, flourishing ecosystem.
Damn it, intuition really isn't always accurate.
The Doctor frowned and ignored the Victoria regional news that occupied a large portion of the first page. The rest was a variety of news about the various countries of Terra, which were neither big nor small, and were certainly old but not new.
For example, there's another strike in Columbia, Ursus has enacted new laws persecuting Infected, and the Pope in Laterano is arguing with his subordinates over the taste of a fruit tart...
Wait, what's that last one? Why is its art style completely different?
She turned the page with some difficulty, and just as she was about to finish reading, a nearly inconspicuous report in the corner caught her attention.
...' The Kazdel Civil War has come to an end.'
Its supreme leader, Theresa, has been confirmed dead; the cause of death is unknown.
"Due to the difficulty in observing the Mobile City Kazdel and the scarcity of intelligence about it, our reporter will not comment on the situation at this time."
Below those few lines of text was a small black-and-white photograph, only a few inches in size.
In the photo, a Sarkaz woman waves at the camera with a gentle and serene smile, as if trying to convey her tenderness to everyone through the barrier of the photograph.
The image above is a diplomatic image of the medical equipment, agricultural modules, and ranch modules that Theresa was built to support its efforts to secure Mobile City for the region. (This image is part of a larger narrative about Kazdel's efforts during her lifetime, likely related to the development of mobile cities.)
"Therese..."
The Doctor slightly opened his mouth and murmured the name of the woman in the photo.
Why... does my heart ache so much?
Especially when I saw the two descriptions of "before death," it felt as if something had stabbed my heart.
(For Your Highness's sake, I'll be updating twice a week recently. Please leave comments and votes to give me more motivation! Thank you! It really means a lot to me!!!)
Chapter 10, Doctor: That's why I said I hate riddle people the most.
"Aren't you staying the night? I thought we were friends already, dear Gray Hat."
In front of the building in Londinium, Zuo Jian gestured for the Eblana sisters to go back to their room first, while he stayed to see off the driver who had been so dutiful from the beginning.
He stepped forward and patted the man in the Gray Hat on the shoulder.
This action terrified the latter, who trembled all over and couldn't even speak clearly before hurriedly waving his hand in refusal.
Just as Zuo Jian was about to continue being polite with the other person, the other person vanished from his side in the next instant.
I have to say, no wonder they work in intelligence; they really do run fast.
Zuo Jian shook his head, and just as he was about to turn and leave, his body suddenly stiffened slightly.
There was movement at the Earl of Warwick's mansion, near the other body.
Switching the main perspective to the Earl's mansion, he glanced at the ringing telephone beside him and subconsciously frowned.
The Iron Duke? He called himself?
Wait a minute, he only remembered asking the other person for help.
They haven't been working on this for very long, have they? How did he find out so quickly?
It seems the Duke's intelligence network is not to be underestimated, especially considering that the Gray Hat organization is almost entirely subordinate to the Duke of Duke Kest in Victoria.
It's not surprising that the Iron Duke has his own intelligence network, which is slightly inferior to that of the Duke Kest. Rather, it would be strange if an old man like him didn't have similar informants.
Thinking of this, Zuo Jian picked up the phone and, as expected, heard Wellington's voice on the other end.
[Dragon Blood... Oh, no, no, I should say Zuo Jian. I hope my call hasn't bothered you, but considering the matter you asked me to handle, I still think it's best to talk to you as soon as possible.]
"So, the Iron Duke is the kind of person who goes through a round of pleasantries on the phone? I thought you would always maintain the clean and efficient demeanor expected of a soldier."
[After all, he had been bound by the shackles of the dukedom for too long, and inevitably picked up some of the bad habits of the nobility. If he had been younger...]
"Alright, Your Grace, let's get straight to the point. I'll prepare what you want. I never hold back when it comes to friends—"
The premise is that you, this old fox, genuinely consider this relationship as friendship.
Zuo Jian unconsciously complained that he always avoided talking too much about things that seemed meaningless when he talked to the Iron Duke. He was always thinking about this, and wished the Doctor were here.
She's better at things like negotiation... Come to think of it, am I relying on the Doctor a little too much in this area?
I need to find an opportunity to practice my speaking skills.
[Alright, then I'll get straight to Zuo Jian point, Mr. Zuo. First of all, I sincerely apologize for the various problems with Victoria.]
[After receiving your coordinates, I had someone investigate a large amount of information and ultimately discovered that no fewer than dozens of transport ships had passed through this location, and that quite a few Sarkaz mercenaries had also been spotted in the surrounding area.]
[After reassessing all the existing information, my men have preliminarily deduced that someone is indeed attempting to build or transport something in this area, and if nothing unexpected happens, it's most likely the Sarkaz... I didn't expect their infiltration of Victoria to have begun so early...]
"Ha?"
After hearing the Duke's news, Zuo Jian even shouted it out subconsciously.
"Wait a minute, this is such an obvious piece of information, information that you could easily find out with a simple investigation, yet not a single person suspects there's anything wrong with it?"
"You just watched the Sarkaz build facilities right under your noses?"
[Ahem... I won't refute that... After all, for the surrounding dukes, their intelligence agencies exist to spy on other countries or other dukes' intentions. Aside from that, they only need to care about the security of their own territory. And the coordinates you provided should, without a doubt, be in that wilderness area, the kind that's nobody's business.]
Furthermore, the Sarkaz mercenaries occasionally sighted there did not engage in any attacks on caravans or intrusions into the surrounding noble territories...
"So you're just going to abandon them?"
[...Ahem, there are quite a few wastelands in Victoria, so it's not surprising to see a few bandits every now and then. If the Duke were to use his own forces to wipe them out, it would generally be more trouble than it's worth.]
"Why don't you use the Duke's own forces to suppress bandits? What are you saving them for? Are you preparing for a civil war?"
As soon as Zuo Jian finished speaking, Wellington on the other end of the phone fell silent.
Upon hearing this, Zuo Jian realized there was no need to listen any further; he could only conclude that Victoria's situation was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.
[Ahem, actually there's another point. At least for now, no particularly strange or Sarkaz- like structures have been found in that area. This is why the intelligence department doesn't see any threat; after all, what kind of trouble could a few Sarkaz possibly cause?]
"Have they considered the possibility that the Sarkaz might have built the facilities underground or in nearby caves?"
Zuo Jian's voice was somewhat calm, after all, he hadn't had any expectations for Victoria's current predicament.
[I've already dismissed those guys... so... I need to send troops to assist you...]
"No need... I'll handle it... Duke, if war really breaks out in the future, given Victoria's current stance, whether she can win is uncertain."
I feel deeply ashamed about this.
He hung up the phone, then sat down in a chair, his eyes showing a long-lost look of weariness. Thinking about these things, Zuo Jian even scratched his head in discomfort.
Victoria... it's truly a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery.
This is a really tricky problem.
Firstly, a large-scale troop deployment is definitely not feasible; such a large-scale operation would alert the enemy.
Zuo Jian didn't want to see them escape because of this, as it would drag the problem into the future, where it might suddenly surface at a crucial moment and cause irreversible damage.
Moreover, the other party already knows.
Having the means to influence consciousness, it's possible that they might use this to detect and locate enemies. To be on the safe side, it's best to use abilities like disguise and mimicry sparingly or not at all.
But this time, the goal is to figure out exactly what methods they use to influence people's consciousness.
This is extremely important for Zuo Jian.
Given the previous situation, he was simply caught off guard that time, but no one can guarantee that the opponent hasn't used their full strength again.
Damn it... how can we perfectly resolve this?
Zuo Jian sat in his chair, feeling a bit of a headache.
But almost immediately, the image of an incredibly reliable ally flashed into his mind...
Doctor!
--
Inside the Victoria Royal Library, the Doctor put the newspaper back in its place, then listened to the Wraith in his ear slowly speak.
"To be honest... I've been thinking about whether or not to tell you this, but if I only tell you the result, it will probably only plunge you into pointless self-doubt and self-blame. However, if I tell you everything..."
"What riddle are you spouting...? Was I once one of the many riddle tellers on this land?"
Just as the Doctor was about to continue asking questions, the communicator in his pocket rang. The ringtone echoed throughout the library, the sound like waves crashing in the ocean, startling the Doctor so much that he froze for a moment before frantically taking out the communicator to answer it.
"Hey! What trouble have you gotten yourself into now?"
The Doctor, holding the communicator, spoke irritably to Zuo Jian.
A few minutes later, she spoke with a strange expression.
"Without disguising yourself, without using your abilities to create scouts, you still want to find a way to capture one of their special-ability individuals or objects before they can react? What kind of strange conditions are these?"
"Let me think... First of all, covert infiltration is impossible. Is the target area very large? Not really. How about forming a highly mobile squad to quickly break through its weak points? However, the prerequisite is that both the on-site commander can quickly issue appropriate instructions and the squad members must keep up with the speed of the whole team."
"After all, it's essentially a pure offensive, but both on-site command and execution must be swift and accurate."
"Execution is fine, but on-site command is difficult to manage..."
"Why don't you just let me go?"