Chapter 530: Chapter 33 Malicious Thoughts Surge
Raucous laughter erupted in the hall. Kardesia seethed with rage.
“I want to——”
The doctor grasped her junior’s wrist.
“Kardesia, look at the corner.”
The glint of camera flashes began to sparkle in the corner of the hall; surveillance equipment had started operating after Onowell left the scene. Kardesia immediately understood—Aorus intended to broadcast this meeting to everyone; he was engaging in one-sided information control.
“He will paint you as the enemy of the entire city. Stay calm for now, and see what he is trying to do.”
Aorus returned to his original position amidst the laughter, his expression shifting from relaxed to serious.
“Let us begin formally. The content of this meeting is simple, there is only one matter—that is, how we will establish a new order.”
“Over the past few years, the Sky Heroes have maintained the most basic order in this city. I have gotten used to a stable daily life, and I believe that none of you wish to return to the past. Endless strife is not good for anyone.”
“But now, a seemingly absurd rumor is spreading through the city. I can assure you all, the content of that rumor is true—our hero has indeed lost his powers!”
Everyone had vaguely guessed the truth, but once it was confirmed, the sudden wave of unease still sparked widespread discussion. They all knew who Aorus was—the leader of the Light Core would not tell an easily debunked lie at such a critical moment.
Aorus raised his hand to signal everyone to quiet down and raised his voice: “I know everyone is curious about the reason, and no one believes he could fail. I would like everyone to watch this footage I have reconstructed from intelligence!”
A projector set up at the back of the hall lit up, and lifelike images projected on the underside of the dome. They saw a mist, a white, cold fog. The fog shrouded the desolate and devastated city, as if separating dreams from reality.
The camera zoomed in, capturing the full panorama of the city. They saw the blood moon in the night sky, the central clock tower of the city, and the monstrous cyclops beast that floated in the night sky.
Its malformed body was like a nightmare, its wandering single eye emitting a chilling cold light. Its meatless wings were like dried branches that threatened to cover the entire sky with just a stretch! Everyone knew its name, the tragedy of the Kingdom of Morton hadn’t even been a month ago, and the young ones uttered the name of this disaster with fear: “…the Netherworld Dragon!”
The camera pulled back, and light emerged from the image. It was a giant, a towering steel giant. The light at its side pierced through the fog, and its footsteps thundered the earth. The giant ran through the ruined city, leaping into the sky to fight the Evil Dragon with its fists!
The image froze at that moment. Aorus folded his arms solemnly and said, “Our hero is in Supibia. Just like he protected this city in the past, he stepped forward during the kingdom’s collapse to fight the Netherworld Dragon!
“So he is exhausted, he has no strength left to fight, because his last opponent was a disaster capable of destroying a country!”
The hall fell into dead silence; no one could bring themselves to discuss anymore. Kardesia stared at the still image, her eyes filled with disbelief. The skull-like figure gaped in astonishment, equally shocked, not having known of this event before.
Meanwhile, the doctor had anticipated this; she easily made the connection between the two events. Mo Yuankai and Gongsun Ce could not have stood idly by during the collapse of the kingdom; they must have participated in confronting the Dragon Disaster.
However, Aorus mentioned only one of them.
“I earnestly request that you all show the kindness in your hearts,” Aorus said softly. “I cannot bear to see the order established by our hero overturned again. He has already done so much for the benefit of the majority, we cannot let him, powerless as he is now, toil for our city again! I want to reach a consensus first, that is, the existing order must be maintained——”
“Cut the crap!”
At this point, everyone had more or less recovered from their shock, and voices of opposition appeared.
The hot-tempered Kardesia was the first to stand up, angrily saying, “Even if someone has to replace Mo Yuankai, it’s not your turn to do so! Gongsun Ce is the most qualified to speak, and you didn’t invite him to this meeting; who knows what despicable plan you have up your sleeve!”
The doctor held her head and sighed internally.
As she expected, a chorus of agreement rose from the crowd. “Yeah!” “Red…she’s got a point.” “Where is the Daoist Master?” “Why are neither of them here?”
The second to oppose was Cao Xin of the Mutual Assistance Association: “Kardesia makes sense; you’re not as clean as you pretend to be! Aorus, your words sound nice, but our Mutual Assistance Association just lost four brothers this week. Wasn’t that your Light Core’s doing?! You started purging your opposition first, and you still have the face to talk about order?”
Budman let out a sinister laugh and said, “We, Wing of Death, also lost three good men, and a newbie. This debt of blood should be accounted for with your Mutual Assistance Association first! Settle that before you start spouting your bullshit big ideas!”
Aorus’s expression did not change. “I regret to hear that both organizations have suffered casualties. However, we at the Light Core have as well. Miss Creyah?”
Creyah Kalash stepped out from the Light Core’s group, and reported in a measured tone, “This Monday evening after nine o’clock, Wang Xu from the equipment department went missing in the east part of Thorn District, and on Wednesday evening after eight o’clock, Fulite from the Security Department went missing in the north part of Thorn District. Divination superpower users have determined that both individuals are deceased.”
“Thank you, Creyah,” Aorus gestured for his subordinate to step down, “If I’m not mistaken… your subordinates, friends, they too died in Thorn District at night, didn’t they?”
The leader of the superpower users spoke for the first time, with a heavy tone of anger, “Don’t waste time!”
“It’s quite simple. There’s no need for any tricks. The leaders and proxies of all three organizations are here, and everything will become crystal clear once we compare timetables. During this period, I have not launched any actions against other organizations… I assume the same is true for both of you?”
Cao Xin’s expression changed, “What do you mean?”
“These murders were not carried out by any organization,” Aorus said seriously, “I’m afraid you’re unaware that the number of deaths in Thorn District during this time extends beyond our ranks. While inviting various small groups, I learned of another particularly shocking fact. Mr. Adam, your New Star Society has recently come into prominence in Thorn District, could you please share what you’ve witnessed?”
A dark-skinned man from among the small group delegates stepped forward, seemingly of Southern Ocean island descent. Standing under the scrutiny of the city’s major players, he looked visibly nervous.
“It’s an honor… Mr. Aorus…” Adam swallowed nervously, “Just last week, a new member of our New Star Society suddenly died. He specialized in softening his body and was very fast, one of the strongest officers in the organization. But he died without warning in an alley, his body torn into pieces, his head smashed into a pulp…”
“What did you say?!” Kardesia, reminded of the Wing of Death murder case, quickly followed up, recalling the eerie demeanor of the two-person team, “Describe it in more detail, exactly how—”
“I, I don’t want to talk about it!” Adam’s face turned pale, “Please, I was so sick when I saw it that I threw up! I’ve never killed anyone before; we small groups really can’t provoke the likes of you… All we want is to stick together for survival!”
Kardesia was so angry she stomped her feet on the spot but refrained from pressing the nearly broken-down young man further.
“You’ll be safe, Mr. Adam,” Aorus reassured, “Let me just state the conclusion. For the past two weeks, innocent people have died every night in Thorn District. The manner of their deaths is almost identical, and I believe many here have assumed it to be the result of organizational strife, but no one has identified the real culprit!”
The doctor felt a very ominous premonition in her heart. She reached for her friend’s shoulder, controlling Kardesia’s body at once, ignoring her younger sister’s glaring eyes and preventing any rash actions.
“Everyone knows my style of conduct; I will not let go of any murderer who has hurt my friends! For these two weeks, my friends and I have investigated together, mobilized official data, and finally found the truth from layers of fog. It’s a conclusion that will shock everyone!”
The image of the giant battling the evil dragon faded, and the projector lit up again. This time on the screen was a pale-faced young man standing in a dimly lit alley of Thorn District. With grey hair, glasses, and a vacant look in his eyes, his clothes were smeared with a spine-chilling amount of blood.
Anyone could feel the strangeness of this young man, but there was also an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Finally, someone spoke up in astonishment, “…the Deceptive Daoist Master?!”
“Exactly! I think everyone present has an impression of him. Gongsun Ce was once the most trusted deputy of the hero, but now as the hero has faded, he too has changed!”
The projection changed again, showing a bloody grey-haired youth walking alone down a dark path, muttering to himself. He pulled out a blood-stained piece of metal from his pocket, brushed off the fragments of organs on it, and held it in his hand.
His expression, from start to end, never changed, indifferent like a walking corpse, sending shivers down the spine of everyone who saw the scene.
One after another, the scenes flashed, and the attendees saw more: Gongsun Ce wandering alone at night, Gongsun Ce walking out of alleyways, Gongsun Ce heading to various hidden places in Thorn District, following those confirmed deceased… Each video clip ended with a corresponding time stamp, fitting seamlessly with the confirmed murders!
Aux stood under the statue, his voice heavy.
“I understand everyone’s confusion, but in my heart, this is not something much unexpected. To those friends who have come to the country of Caelum in recent years, Gongsun Ce has always been the inconspicuous Daoist Master trailing behind the hero… but to us, who knew him from the very beginning, Gongsun Ce has another image!”
Images changed once again behind Aorus, revealing an array of terrifying scenes: a giant ship disintegrating in the sky, buildings and vehicles crushed by invisible forces, a Biochemical Cat disintegrating into a blood rain…
“He was once the most unpredictable and insane of all superpower users. He once dominated half of the Thorn District, making all the residents there tremble with fear. He was the first real superpower user to go berserk, leading to an accident that nearly caused mass casualties!”
“Now people call him the Deceptive Daoist Master…”
With regret and decisiveness, Aorus declared.
“But in the past in Caelum, his title was Demon!”
The doctor unconsciously tightened her grip, her nails digging into her friend’s shoulder.
“Find a way to contact Gongsun Ce,” the doctor whispered, “Now, immediately.”