Silent Crown

Chapter 440 Investigation

It was another chilly and narrow room. There was also a single ghastly light and a cold voice in the darkness.

"Name."

"Charles, male, nineteen-years-old, unmarried, loved before and didn't regret it, save the mother not the baby, not a Virgo, salty, don't want a card…" Under the light, the young man with messy hair could not stop talking once he opened his mouth—until a hand slammed onto the table angrily.

"Answer what I ask! Stop saying that useless sh*t!"

"Okay, okay." Charles grinned. "I was afraid you'd get bored."

"Probably not." The voice in the darkness was mocking. "I heard that you want to join us but from what we know, you're not even an official musician."

"But I've had high education!" Charles said earnestly. "I graduated from the Angloian Royal Academy of Music! Full marks! Broke the history department record! And I'm multi-talented! I can sing, dance, draw, write, and do you want to hear me sing—"

Slam! A hand slamming onto the table cut him off. The man in the darkness huffed. "Ask and answer. Don't tell me unrelated things."

"Okay, okay." Charles nodded and sat straight like a little kid at school.

"You used to work in the technical department of the Royal Research Institute. From what I know, you were the personal assistant of grandmaster Newton. What were you responsible for?"

Slam! Someone hit the table again. It was Charles. The man in the darkness was shocked as Charles pressed onto the table in fury.

"You don't understand! That old thing isn't a human! He's inhuman!" Charles pointed at himself. "Look at me. I graduated from a Sacred Ivy League! Ever since I started working for the old *sshole, I just help him order delivery food, buy wine, buy hoses, write reports, get reimbursements, and wipe his *ss! And that guy just goes around playing without taking me with! Isn't he an *sshole? I get pissed whenever I think of him! Sir, I'm…" Charles kept rambling on for five minutes before the examiner realized and forced him to shut up. Affected by Charles, he felt like his brain power was decreasing as well. He sat dazed for a long while before continuing.

"You're a first-class engineer registered with the Sacred City?"

"Yeah." Charles nodded like a chicken pecking at corn. His expression was pure. "I actually bought the fake certificate from outside the school! It's only eighty dollars for one and there's a picture too! Sir, would you like one too?"

"Shut up!"

Fifteen minutes later, Charles returned to his room and collapsed onto his dirty bed. He started picking at his toes. It had been seven whole days. Ever since he woke up, he had been laying here. He had no clue how he got here or where 'here' even was. For seven days, someone would come and bring him three meals per day. He would eat and sleep, sleep and eat. He had to report if he needed to go to the bathroom.

Other than the people who escaped from prison with him, he had not seen any of the other Revolutionaries. It was completely like being in jail. He even had the same roommate.

"Hey, you're back." The badly injured man on the bed looked up and said, "Internal investigations are annoying, right?"

"Yeah, but it's okay." Charles pretended he was still talking to a bearded man and said with a smile, "Everyone's nice to me."

The moving bloody mess stiffened as if he was shocked. He quickly shook his head. "Don't worry. Mr. Constantine thinks highly of you. This is just for going through the process." As he spoke, his blood flesh trembled and let out sticky pale purple liquid. The distorted face opened and closed. There was static in his voice. The room was covered by some sort of flesh and it smelled like decay. The walls trembled like the stomach lining of some beast.

Without speaking, Charles lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

Deep breath.

Deep breath.

Deep breath.

He opened his eyes. The flesh on the ceiling moved like thousands of smiles put together. Charles put on his covers and curled up in darkness.

"F*ck," he murmured.

F*ck…

-

In another room, someone knocked a door in the silence and entered. Constantine sat beside the window, reading quietly. Sensing someone enter, he looked up.

"The investigation is over, sir." The examiner went over and gave him a document. "This is the process and record."

Constantine looked at him. He said sarcastically, "So is my house arrest over too?"

The examiner smiled. "Mr. Gaius just wanted you to be safe. They are on high alert out there so it's best if no one goes out."

Constantine stared. "So you can lock us up and investigate us?"

"Necessary safety precautions, that's all," the examiner explained. "After all, it's hard to ensure that there are no moles."

"Who do you think is like a mole?" Smiling, Constantine pointed at himself. "Do I look like one?"

"Sir, what are you saying?" The examiner's smile grew forced.

"I've been outside for decades. My title of deputy commander is nothing but a name. I'm sure many members don't even know me, right?" Constantine replied indifferently. "I'm sure many people will be upset now that I'm back. How did someone like me not die in there..."

The examiner's expression stiffened. He did not reply.

Constantine chuckled. Rather than continuing, he asked, "Is Gaius in the Sacred City?"

After hesitating, the examiner nodded.

"Why isn't he willing to see me?"

"…Mr. Gaius has something to prepare and has no time for anything else."

"I understand." Constantine nodded. His eyes lowered, seemingly disappointed.

"I won't disturb you anymore." The examiner placed the document on the table carefully. "We already have guesses for the mole. Some unhappy things will happen in the next few days. I hope you won't mind."

Constantine opened the document and looked at the picture pinned inside. "Him?"

-

It was dinner time in a Silent Authority office. Everything was silent and the ground was littered with garbage. Maps of the Sacred City and old documents were everywhere. The garbage emanated with the smell of leftovers and dirty socks.

A few sleeping bags were tossed in the corner. There were a few boxes of fresh pizza on the table. A group of men who had not showered in a long while munched on the delivery food. No one dared to speak. The atmosphere was stifling as if there was an aether bomb hidden inside the room.

There was a mountain of cigarette butts in the ashtray on the table. Someone lay in a chair, his feet propped on a pile of documents. He looked down at the heavy book. His white hair was messy.

No one had seen Ye Qingxuan sleep all these days. He seemed to always sit behind that table, quietly looking at them. His bloodshot eyes were sharp as if wanting to pierce through all disguises and find the mole.

When he had time, he would read without a word, like now. As the days went by, the atmosphere in the office became more and more tense. When those bloodshot eyes looked by, everyone tried to avoid it in panic. It had already been one week! Everyone could feel that this seemingly calm man was about to explode. No one wanted the bomb to go off on him. This guy was fine with finding a random man to take his anger out on!

Because of this, everyone buried themselves in work. Their efficiency rose many times. If they still had bonuses this month, it would definitely be a lot. Sadly, Ye Qingxuan had deducted all of their bonuses. The suffocating silence continued.

In the silence, Ye Qingxuan finished book after book with incredible speed. There was no rest in between. It seemed as if he was reading a fantasy novel filled with a few million words of bullsh*t instead of difficult to understand music theory. As the pile of books grew, everyone's hearts grew more troubled. It was as if they would be buried if the pile toppled. They could practically see the young man explode and send them all to the Judgement Tower.

Then hurried footsteps sounded. A sweating messenger pushed the door open and uttered the words that made everyone cry tears of joy, "We found Charles!"

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