novelnext Chapter 121: Counterattack
Chapter 121: Counterattack
The following morning, the curfew was lifted in the streets of Chow Thu, and the review panel gathered again at the Governor's Office.
This time, however, the group had a special guest: Lucizer, a priest from the Mechanicus.
He had two reasons for this trip: first, as the chief person in charge of the extermination of green spores in Chaodu; and second, during the cleanup operation last night, he discovered evidence that was enough to shock everyone.
Father Lucizer stood in the governor's office, his face as expressionless as ever, as if he had no feelings whatsoever for anyone, whether it was a high-ranking official of the court or the second-in-command of the Ministry of the Interior. In front of this priest of the Mechanical Church, they were all meaningless. He didn't even glance at anyone in the room.
His unique coldness and arrogance, characteristic of the Mechanical Church, made everyone present dare not underestimate him.
Because those who entered with him were the ecclesiastical army of the Mechanical Church and those cold, indifferent machine servants.
He came here not to be interrogated, but because he discovered something and voluntarily submitted it.
Several green-skinned standard weapons confiscated last night were neatly arranged in front of everyone.
Horford, the representative of the Alien Inquisition, frowned and said gravely, "Father Lucizer means that this time the Greenskins received funding from humans."
Luciza nodded coldly.
"Who is the funder? What evidence do you have?" Horford pressed.
"The metal used in the Greenskin weapons is a refined alloy for the Imperial military, with specifications far exceeding civilian standards. The clan emblems on the surface of the weapons have been deliberately polished and destroyed, but such tricks are meaningless in the face of the Mechanicus."
Lucizer handed over a data authentication report and a reconstruction of the emblem, his tone calm, "This is the reconstruction of the clan emblem's internal metal texture, along with the official authentication report. My duty is fulfilled; I shall take my leave now."
Horford took the document, stared at the reproduced emblem, and asked in a deep voice, "Which family crest is this?"
Father Lucizer looked at him with a hint of impatience in his expression, as if he was annoyed that his precious time was being wasted.
He spoke slowly in his uniquely cold yet arrogant voice: "Factional disputes among mortals are outside the jurisdiction of the Mechanical Church. I have submitted the evidence and fulfilled my obligations."
Hearing Father Lucizer's words, Horford was stunned, but before he could say anything, he turned and left, decisive and clean, clearly disdaining to get involved in the power struggles of ordinary people.
The crowd gathered around to examine the emblem, most of them looking bewildered.
Only one person's face suddenly turned deathly pale, and he instantly lost his usual composure.
Judge Horford, however, astutely and precisely caught this momentary lapse in composure, and asked in a cold voice, "Lord Valerius, do you recognize this emblem?"
"This...this is...the Walker family crest."
For the first time, Valerius lost his usual arrogance. His voice trembled, and his former haughtiness vanished. Yet, he had no choice but to answer the questions posed by the Inquisition of the Alien.
Just then, Garland rushed into the office and whispered a few words in Ronin's ear.
"Are you sure?" Luo Ning's expression was one of utter shock, and he even shouted out, drawing everyone's attention.
Horford frowned and looked at Ronin, who immediately bowed and said, "Sir, there's been a new development in the investigation of last night's Greenskin disturbance. A tunnel dug by the Greenskins has been discovered in a corner of the upper level of Hive City, near the wall."
Horford keenly noticed that Ronin clearly hadn't finished speaking: "What's at the end of the passage?"
"One end of the passage connects to an abandoned mine in the lower level of the hive city, and the other end leads to a private bunker."
Ronin didn't say it explicitly, but Horford understood what Ronin meant. His face darkened, and he slowly said to his adjutant, "Summon Viscount Walker immediately! Lord Ronin, lead the way; we'll investigate ourselves!"
Luo Ning nodded, signaling Garan to lead the way.
The group quickly arrived at the edge of the upper city, which had been sealed off. Upon seeing Luo Ning and his party, the soldiers immediately made way for them.
Horford stared at the bottomless tunnel on the ground, which was about a meter wide, with a grim expression.
A moment later, Graham Walker rushed over, his usual fake smile still on his face.
But when he saw Valerius's pale face and the cold gaze of the court, his smile froze on his face, and his heart sank.
"Cuff him."
At Horford's command, the lieutenant immediately stepped forward, and cold shackles firmly bound Graham's hands.
"My lord! Why is this?" Graham asked in shock, casting a pleading look at Valerius.
Valerius, however, kept his eyes straight ahead, his tone official and distant, clearly drawing a line: "Viscount Walker, cooperating with the court's investigation is your imperial obligation."
There was no eye contact, no protection, only a cold abandonment; she was unwilling to have any further entanglement with him.
"Shut up and come in with us." Horford said coldly, his voice leaving no room for argument, and he bent down to step into the narrow passage first.
The passageway stretched for hundreds of meters, and everyone had to stoop as they walked, creating a suffocatingly oppressive atmosphere.
When they finally reached the end of the passage, a bright and open space appeared before them—the private bunker that Ronin had mentioned.
This enormous bunker contains a huge amount of supplies and all kinds of weapons.
The guards and mechanical priests had already set up a perimeter here. Lucizer was checking data with a local mechanical priest and exchanging something with another local mechanical priest from the Calon II Church. When he saw the crowd, he just glanced at them indifferently.
When Graham entered the bunker with a bewildered expression, he paused for a moment, then shouted:
"Innocent! This is a dirty frame-up! Someone deliberately staged the scene to slander the Walker family!"
Horford looked down at him, his eyes filled with disdain and coldness: "I haven't even made any accusations, and you're already crying foul? How do you know this is a frame-up against you?"
Graham was taken aback, then hurriedly changed his tune, feigning composure: "My lord! This is indeed my family's bunker, but last night's Greenskin riot had nothing to do with me! The tunnels were dug by the Xenomorphs themselves!"
"That's true. The Greenskins are very good at digging; they just dug this tunnel last night." Father Lucizer, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. Hearing this, Graham immediately pounced on him, "Yes, yes, yes! The Greenskins digging the tunnel has nothing to do with me! They stole things from my bunker!"
But the next second, Lucize's second sentence plunged him straight into hell:
"What the green-skinned workers dug last night was only the upper passage. The main tunnel connecting to the lower mine pit has been excavated for a long time and shows signs of mechanical passage on multiple occasions."
Graham's face drained of color instantly, his body stiffened, and his mouth opened, but he couldn't utter a single word.