CH 36.1

Fourth Floor (14)

Translated by boilpoil

Edited by boilpoil

“The Doctor Has Kept His Promise, and so Must We Keep Ours”

Lin Yi is hurrying along. He can still hear the ruckus in the distance, signalling to him that the crisis is not yet over on this floor. He still has time.

Right now, Lin Yi is certain success is but a few steps away.

As soon as he gets hold of the Contact sent from the outside, provide him with the info, and…

He pauses. His ears twitch ever so slightly.

There is a breeze here, slightly damp. He sniffs, then holds his baton tightly. His other hand reaches into his clothes, holding something cold.

Quietly, he asks, “who?”

The corridor is silent. The breeze moves slowly past Lin Yi’s side, sending the slightly damp, slightly bloody smell right up Lin Yi’s nose.

“Just killed someone?” Lin Yi takes a dagger out, “now to kill me?”

“Redcloud sure is as perceptive as they say.” There is a silhouette emerging from the end of the corridor. The person walks without sounds of footsteps until the light; the light only casts a dark shadow and reveals nothing more, “as expected of a double agent.”

Why does everyone know he’s a double agent now? Wasn’t this a top secret?

Lin Yi disses in his mind, while on the surface, he asks, “and who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”

“Yet, I suppose double agent… is a misnomer for you?” The person’s chuckle is too hoarse, “Fox? Redcloud? Lin Yi? Or, should I say, Xü Zheng?”

The surprise on Lin Yi fades quickly. He narrows his eyes to examine this person clad entirely in black.

“You know me well?”

“Not really.” This time, it’s a laugh, but hoarse still, “but it is curious how the rising star of the Empire that shook the entire Federation has decided to fake his death and be a spy instead.”

Lin Yi has finished examining the standing form. He concludes, this will not be easy.

“If you’re curious, perhaps we could chat over a nice cup of tea?”

“I must decline. Who doesn’t have a tragic backstory these days?” The laugh is grating on the ears, “another grudge; another enemy made. I am not interested in the same-old.”

‘Curious,’ the person said just now. The attitude change is abrupt enough to rival Doctor, surely.

Lin Yi may be full of ridiculous thoughts right now, but his hand holding the dagger is still completely steady.

“Right now, you are an agent of FedCom in Nianluo, and an agent of Nianluo in FedCom, but you appear to work for neither.”

“Who could it be? Let me guess…” The person changes their posture slightly at this point, revealing a momentous opportunity.

Now!

Lin Yi rushes with his dagger——Then immediately stops.

As soon as he made his move, the person in black reveals what was held in hand all along. The object in light blue is revealed to Lin Yi——Causing him to take note.

An aerotator. The name doesn’t sound that daunting, and in fact, it is normally not classified as a weapon.

As a tool mainly used to assist construction work, its properties also allow it to become the best possible weapon in some circumstances. Case in point, in Stargaol, where all forms of weaponry are impossible to smuggle in.

An aerotator at maximum output shoots out a gust of highly compressed air. If directed at a human body, the pressure differential causes up to fainting and bone fracture. Nowhere near lethal, but highly effective at disabling enemy movement for a while.

“Stargaol truly lives up to its reputation. All the toys I’ve prepared, and only this junk made it through.” The person explains, then waves it towards Lin Yi, “enough to stop you, though, so I’m not complaining.”

Lin Yi raises his hands slowly and raises his voice a little, “now let’s not…” Yet before he can even say the ‘be’ in ‘be hasty,’ he is already rolling on the ground to avoid attacks from the aerotator.

The person has quick reflexes and even steadier aim.

Lin Yi is moving simultaneously as the aerotator shakes, lights up, and ejects a mixture of compressed gases from within. It is pointed just shy of three metres towards Lin Yi’s left.

Lin Yi attempts to stop his drop and roll routine when he sees where the aerotator is aimed, but inertia is quite the tricksy mistress. When he comes to a stop, as if he rushed into it, the air has struck him.

With the noise of a slight boom, there is also the sound of bone snapping.

The momentary sharp pain forces Lin Yi to gasp and he lies down on the ground, motionless.

The person does not move, but keeps a cool distance with Lin Yi. Not relaxing at Lin Yi’s state, or appear pleased with the handiwork at all. The necessary wariness and alert is kept up still.

“I believe we can have a conversation now.”

The person says, “you can drop the act too. It’s your ribcage that’s snapped, not your spine. Immobility is pushing it too far.”

Lin Yi raises his head slightly as a dull pain yet reverberates through his chest area. Still, his face doesn’t show it, and he merely looks at the silhouette.

“What is it that you want?”

“What else but what you are carrying? You don’t actually think I’m here for you, as a person?”

The person is amused, “you think too much, Xü Zheng, or Lin Yi, or whoever. I am not interested.”

Lin Yi is breathing gently. The pain sharpens and dulls with his movements, reminding him that it is not a good idea to fight——A snapped bone doesn’t kill, but not if it fails to remain in place and stab somewhere while he moves.

“All that you’ve said about me made me think…” Lin Yi takes a little bit of time to breathe, “you’d be happy to hear some old tales.”

The person in black says, tilting their head, “I told you I have no interest in the tragic backstories of people.” He walks a few steps forward, looking at Lin Yi, with some form of pity in his tone, “merely another pawn on another’s chessboard. That’s all.”

“Pawn?” Lin Yi’s expression changes a little, “and you think you’re not?”

“You won’t get any information from me.” The person is still quite wary, avoiding giving Lin Yi anything on them, “I merely pity you.”

“Pity you, who had all the eyes of the Federation on you, yet still ended up another pawn that could be sacrificed at any time for those high and mighty rulers of the Han Federation.” The pitiable sarcasm is almost layered on so thick it is sickening.

“You could be as excellent a person as can be for the Federation, fighting tooth and nail for it, only to find out you’re nowhere near as important to them as the authority they command.”

“For the Federation?” The person sneers, “for what fucking Federation when all they do is vie for power and profit.”

That monologue is damningly revealing, enough for Lin Yi to construct the ideology and goal of the power behind——Yet another organisation who wants to achieve some ‘freedom’ and ‘peace’ by overthrowing the Federation.

Lin Yi has no opinion on the matter. Everything that exists is self-justified; he, the executor, rather than the leader, is more suited to action than to critique.

Time will tell who is right and who is just in the end.

The person pauses for a few seconds, getting emotions in check, before continuing, “we are not the same. Fools of absolute, unthinking loyalty like you deserve your end.”

“Abandoned, betrayed, to die in hopelessness. That is the fate of spies like you, isn’t it?”

Won’t get any information, the person said… They sure are talkative though.