Lin Feng tightened his grip on what Akame had given him and slipped it into his trouser pocket, his expression utterly calm.
In this man-eat-man society, everyone had grown accustomed to wearing such a calm face while carrying out filthy deeds.
Only Lin Feng was as calm within as he appeared, coldly observing good and evil, coldly doing what he had to do.
This was not because Lin Feng lacked a sense of justice, but because he understood that venting his emotions on these individuals would accomplish nothing.
To eradicate this society's injustice, he had to start with this country's upper ranks-
For that, he needed more power and a calmer mindset.
After only a few steps, Lin Feng noticed Seryu sneaking along behind him.
From her nervous, apprehensive manner, it seemed she had little experience with things like tailing someone.
With her strong sense of justice, doing something like this must have been rather embarrassing for her.
Still, Lin Feng hoped Seryu would follow him now, witness Ogre's atrocities, and see what a hypocrite he truly was.
Lin Feng played along. Without exposing Seryu's pursuit, he let her follow him all the way to the bar nearest the police station.
Brilliant lights shone, and a disco ball kept spinning, turning its dazzling facets as pulsing music played, leaving Seryu somewhat at a loss.
"Hey, beautiful, care to dance?"
Faced with a strange man's advances, Seryu truly did not know how to turn him down, but seeing Lin Feng getting farther and farther away made her stamp her feet in anxiety.
With no other choice, Seryu took out her identification as a police officer and quietly told the men around her:
"I'm here on a case. I don't have time to enjoy myself, thank you."
Upon seeing that Seryu belonged to the Imperial Guard, even the wealthy gentry and nobles had the sense to stay out of her way.
After all, in an empire that revered strength, the Imperial Guard was the last organization anyone wanted to cross.
Lin Feng had already visited this bar several times and moved with practiced familiarity. Seeing no sign of Ogre in the front area, he soon headed toward the back.
Seryu hurried after him, too, until Lin Feng finally stopped at the innermost booth after turning right inside the bar.
Ogre sat upright not far ahead of Lin Feng, a lit cigarette in hand, while Seryu leaned against the wall around the corner and quietly listened to their conversation.
"Lin Feng... you're here."
"Yes. What did you need?"
Lin Feng was not exactly asking a question he already knew the answer to.
Although he was considering killing Captain Ogre today, Lin Feng genuinely did not know why Captain Ogre had sought him out.
"Nothing in particular. I'm just feeling down today and wanted to chat with you."
Captain Ogre waved a hand, motioning for Lin Feng to sit.
Suddenly, Captain Ogre's expression changed.
"Is someone eavesdropping on the other side of that wall?"
With his years of instinct, Captain Ogre could sense an eavesdropper nearby without even looking.
Seryu did her utmost to conceal her presence, terrified that Ogre would discover her.
Just then, a burst of electronic static came from the music on the bar's dance floor, briefly distracting Ogre.
"Forget it... perhaps I'm a little drunk."
Lin Feng sat down but did not take a single sip of the drink Ogre handed him.
"I don't mean any disrespect, but I have to get up early tomorrow. Please understand."
Hearing Lin Feng's words, Ogre understood the implication: get straight to the point.
"Lin Feng, what did you do all day yesterday? Give me a report."
"When I got up yesterday morning, I skipped morning training as you instructed and went straight out on patrol. Along the way, I encountered three street robberies, all committed by poor people from Fifth Street. In the afternoon, I collected taxes near the east gate. That went fairly smoothly, and I reported directly to you that evening."
Lin Feng answered without hesitation.
"Are you sure you didn't do anything else in between?"
"No. If anything, I helped some poor people at the east gate move a little cargo."
"Heh, Lin Feng, you really are honest."
As Captain Ogre spoke, he took a photograph out of his pocket.
When Lin Feng saw the face in it, he recognized it.
The face in the photograph belonged to Akame, the swordswoman in the assassin organization Night Raid.
"You've seen this person before, haven't you? With your pupils widening like that, perhaps you're even old friends."
"I've seen her."
Lin Feng's answer was blunt.
"She's a member of Night Raid, but I've only happened to see her once. I haven't had much contact with her."
"Happened to? I'd say it was no coincidence!"
Captain Ogre seemed to have lost any desire to conceal his suspicions of Lin Feng. Yet Lin Feng's attention was not on Ogre, but on Seryu, who was eavesdropping behind him.
"Are you saying that I'm colluding with this member of Night Raid?"
"What else? How do you explain what happened yesterday?"
Ogre had employed a little trick. If Lin Feng answered about what had happened yesterday, he would be confessing without being pressed.
Lin Feng, however, sidestepped Ogre's question.
"I don't know what you're referring to, but I have a photograph here as well. Please take a look."
Ogre looked at the photograph Lin Feng took from his pocket. The portrait of the two people in it almost made him nostalgic.
They were Seryu Ubiquitous's parents, whom Ogre had once framed and caused to die.
"You, sir... no, you caused the deaths of Seryu's parents, along with countless poor people who had committed no crimes, didn't you? All to satisfy your own selfish desires."
Lin Feng's expression gradually grew stern, but Ogre paid it no mind at all.
"What can a single photograph prove?"
"I'm afraid I have more than just one. After all these days of work, even I was astonished by the witness testimony and physical evidence I collected."
Ogre soon began to feel uneasy. After all, this had happened almost ten years ago, and he had long since forgotten whether he had left any loose ends back then.
"Even so, you colluded with Night Raid to get me killed. Did you think I'd let you off?"
Before Ogre could work himself into a fury, someone who should not have appeared stepped in front of him, leaving him at a complete loss.
"Teacher Ogre... were you responsible for my parents' deaths?"
Seryu could no longer bear to listen from the corner.
She had thought Ogre had merely wanted to discuss some private matters with Lin Feng. She had never imagined she would hear such a shocking secret.
Seeing Seryu, Ogre realized Lin Feng had set him up, and he could no longer suppress the anger within him.
Explanations were useless now. He swung his cuff toward Lin Feng, revealing a pitch-black cannon barrel hidden beneath it!
The two had been almost pressed against each other just now. At such close range, Lin Feng had no way to dodge.
And Ogre had been waiting for this very moment! He would make Lin Feng disappear from before his eyes for good!
"Die!"