Carmen

Biodata

History

Carmen arrives at Waterfront Street with Enforcers Gero and Soda to investigate the destruction of Fries’s enforcement team. He examines the bodies and blood trails, then suspects that the person who killed three drifters at the East City Water Affairs Center also killed Fries 27. When Fries’s brother, Commander Lawrence, demands an explanation, Carmen presents Marauder Prison’s involvement as a possibility rather than a proven fact. He privately keeps the Water Affairs Center connection from reaching Lawrence 31.

Lawrence later suspects Carmen of failing to support Fries and orders Soda to kill him. Wounded in the sewers, Carmen feigns helplessness until Soda aims at his head, then cuts Soda’s gun hand with a concealed claw blade. Yu Yuan shoots Soda before Carmen can finish the confrontation 34 43. Yu Yuan disarms Carmen but spares him, arguing that they share an enemy in Lawrence. Without Carmen’s knowledge, he uses a Thoughtwave Card to make him fear Lawrence 44.

After investigators corroborate Carmen’s account of Burning Fortress and Marauder Prison activity, Black Shield clears him of suspicion. Carmen warns Old Ke that the attacks may be part of a larger plan. A subsequent encounter with Lawrence brings on intense fear and strengthens Carmen’s suspicion of him 48.

Carmen secretly leaks Lawrence’s route to Marauder Prison, hoping its forces will attack him. When Black Shield launches a counter-ambush without Carmen’s knowledge, he recognizes that he has been excluded from the operation and establishes a guarded partnership with Yu Yuan 85 93 95 96. He obtains an M320 grenade launcher, ammunition, and ten kilograms of high explosive for Yu Yuan; the two arrange rooftop signals and a discreet intelligence drop 105 106. Acting on Yu Yuan’s note, Carmen sends Erzi to investigate Blood Crow. He later supplies Yu Yuan with sewer maps and an air-raid shelter blueprint and agrees to help deal with Lawrence. Yu Yuan secretly uses a second Thoughtwave Card on him, granting Freedom from Fear 113 124.

After Lawrence’s death, Carmen recounts finding his charred remains to an investigator acting for Preacher Miller. He is promoted from enforcer to acting commander, then continues building his position within Black Shield 148 149. He brings Yu Yuan evidence from a strange attacker, accepts a warning about the coming Cold Wave, and discreetly rescues Dai Le during an ambush on Marauder Prison personnel 160 185. Carmen subsequently accepts Yu Yuan’s proposal to take over the police department and becomes the first member of his Wolf’s Den Commander System. They plan to recruit Alpha Wolf’s men into Black Shield while keeping their partnership concealed 189 190.

As commander, Carmen negotiates a supply exchange, obtains confidential city blueprints for Yu Yuan, and learns from Erxiao’s covert recording that Director Hogg considers him a decoy 205 207. He coordinates an ambush against forces tracking relocated supplies and directs concentrated fire, including an RPG strike, against the Mechanical Augmenter Shiva 213 215. Later, he acts as an intermediary in an intelligence deal that draws Hogg toward Johnk Zoo as part of a plan coordinated with Yu Yuan 272.

Following Old Ke’s death, Hogg violently interrogates Carmen about his loyalties. Carmen relies on his Insight and a carefully maintained appearance of loyalty; Hogg declares the encounter a test and appoints him to Old Ke’s place. In private, Carmen admits how frightened he was and concludes that Hogg remains suspicious 286 287 288. He then helps prepare for a confrontation involving a Vampire and Blood Slaves, delivering Yu Yuan’s Wolf Clan Totem to Hogg while secretly transmitting images of Hogg’s reaction 299 300. After Hogg’s death, Carmen consolidates control of Black Shield. With Mona as witness, he publicly swears loyalty to the Aurora Animal Assistance Society and is formally appointed the department’s supreme commander 312 314.

Carmen later oversees production of fifty Yo-Yo Assault Rifles for an elite unit and celebrates with Yu Yuan after they secure a portal, a mineral deposit, and a stronghold in another world 358 396. Yu Yuan considers Carmen well suited to internal coordination, soldier training, and guarding Green Forest City 410. Carmen also raises concerns that their insulation may not withstand the Third Stage’s Extreme Cold Disaster 435. By Chapter 723, he is involved in selecting volunteers to join the Wolf Clan 723.

Power Progression

Abilities & Skills

Investigation

• Reconstructs events from wounds, missing equipment, blood trails, and other physical evidence 27.
• Connects separate crime scenes while distinguishing a plausible theory from confirmed evidence 27 31.
• Possesses Insight, a talent that helps him notice things and read intentions others might miss 190 287.
• Gathers and exploits intelligence through informants, subordinates, covert recordings, and access to departmental records 113 205 207.

Concealed Combat

• Keeps a claw blade hidden and uses it to disable Soda’s gun hand while critically wounded 43.
• Wears modified boots with a spring-loaded blade of about five centimeters; Yu Yuan detects the attempted counterattack before Carmen can use it 44.

Command & Tactics

• Organizes an ambush against Marauder Prison personnel and discreetly places the rescued Dai Le under his command 185.
• Coordinates vehicle-mounted fire and personally fires an RPG during the battle with Shiva 215.
• Mobilizes his followers for battle, delegates preparations to Erxiao, and consolidates authority within Black Shield after Hogg’s death 299 312 314.

Equipment & Items

• Enforcer uniform and helmet — Yu Yuan takes Carmen’s helmet and leaves him wearing Soda’s bloodstained one 27 44.
• Claw blade and modified tactical boots — concealed weapons used or prepared during the sewer encounters 43 44.
• Collar-mounted injection — Carmen administers it after treating his wounds; it eases his pain and helps him stand 44.
• AR-15 and RPG — Carmen takes an AR-15 to his position overlooking Feilin Avenue and later uses an RPG against Shiva 93 215.
• Walkie-talkie — Yu Yuan gives Carmen one for direct contact before their connection through the Commander System 160 190.
• Commander Affiliate Crystal — binds Carmen to the Wolf’s Den Commander System as its first member 189 190.
• Wolf Clan Totem — Yu Yuan entrusts Carmen with the item to deliver to Hogg; it is intended for Hogg, not Carmen 299 300.

Relationships

• Commander Old Ke — Carmen appeals to his authority when threatened by Soda; Old Ke later shares a confidential warning about an approaching war 43 48. Carmen continues to respect him, although others exploit that deference. After Old Ke’s death, Hogg appoints Carmen to take his place 168 287.
• Commander Lawrence — Fries’s older brother suspects Carmen of withholding support and orders his death 34 43. Carmen leaks Lawrence’s route to his enemies and cooperates with Yu Yuan against him; Lawrence is later killed 85 95 124 148.
• Soda — fellow enforcer who defects to Lawrence and attempts to execute Carmen 27 34 43.
• Gero — fellow enforcer who asks Carmen to investigate Fries’s death and mediates an argument between Carmen and Soda 27.
• Yu Yuan — the killer Carmen traces through his investigations; Yu Yuan later kills Soda, disarms Carmen, and spares him as a possible ally against Lawrence 27 31 43 44. Their guarded cooperation develops into a committed partnership: Carmen becomes Yu Yuan’s first Commander System affiliate and helps pursue control of Black Shield and expansion beyond Green Forest City 189 190 314 396.
• Director Hogg — promotes Carmen but also uses him as a decoy and tests his loyalty through a dangerous interrogation. Carmen maintains a loyal front while secretly working with Yu Yuan to take control of the department; Hogg later dies 185 205 287 299 312.
• Erxiao — trusted subordinate who covertly records information for Carmen and carries out his orders, including securing access to Black Shield’s Underground Warehouse 205 312.
• Dai Le — Carmen rescues him from a Marauder Prison-linked group and keeps him under his command temporarily while coordinating with Yu Yuan 185 189 190.
• Mona, also known as Zoe — questions Carmen about Lawrence’s death on Miller’s behalf and later witnesses his formal appointment as Black Shield’s supreme commander 148 314.