May 22 at 10 a.m.

Cullom ended his morning meeting early and returned to his office to rest, followed by Gaslius.

"Good work, Mr. Cullom."

"You too, Gasliu."

Sitting in a chair, Cullom looked up at the sky and let out a breath with his mouth open. Although the election is still a few days away, the heads of the Commerce Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau can no longer contain their usual dissatisfaction, openly contradict him, and speak ill of him. Thanks to Gasliu, Cullom finally came out in disgrace.

Gaslius knew that Cullom was uncomfortable, so he hurriedly made a cup of tea, and Cullom took a sip to cheer up his spirits a little.

"Yang Feng, what's wrong with them?"

"My people kept a watchful eye near Rolov's house, and everyone went in, only Yang Feng escaped, but was killed immediately. As of 8 a.m. today, the last scheduled contact time, there was still no news of anyone else, and it was certain that they were all dead. ”

It was the first good news Cullom had heard today, and he shook his head with some regret.

"I've been with me for a year, and I have no choice but to do it."

"But even if you want to kill it, why do you have to assassinate Rolov? The final vote is about to be held, and if he catches him alive and asks questions, wouldn't it be very dangerous for us? ”

"That's just a gamble."

Gaslius didn't understand what Cullom was betting on. In fact, his opposition to this assassination plan was completely in vain, but Cullom said that it was a life-threatening step.

"I see, there are no other arrangements today, you can rest well."

He was about to go out, when the door was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman dressed casually, wearing heavy makeup, and having a big belly came in. Gaslius looked at her unpleasantly.

"Sandrey, it's rude to come in without knocking, isn't it? Mr. Cullom and I were getting down to business. ”

"I know, and so do I."

Sandre was an ordinary clerk at Cullom's side, speaking calmly and politely, but often ignoring the occasion and acting as if no one was around. Coupled with the exaggerated foundation and eyeliner on her face, Gaslius was not angry every time she saw her.

"Even if it's an executioner, it's going to come first and come first, right? Can't you just wait? ”

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gaslius, but I can't wait. Are you done? Is it okay to dodge? ”

Gaslius was about to have a seizure, and Cullom told him to go out first. Gaslius swallowed the anger in his stomach and threw a "you pay attention to me" at Sandrey and went out. Sandre didn't look at him, and stood straight in front of Cullom.

"What did he just come to report, Mr. Cullom?"

"It's just a small thing."

"Was it the assassination of Rolov?"

"Don't ask me if you know, you see me as dead, you know my every move, right?"

Sandre paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and the fat on his stomach trembled.

"What's in it for you?"

"I think that old man is just unhappy, and by the way, Yang Feng was dealt with, which is also a good thing for you, right?"

"Yes, but please allow me to report my first word and take my leave."

Looking at Sandrey's back, Cullom sat down slowly, pressing his temples, his head aching.

Unbeknownst to the Executive Directorate, his side had been infiltrated by the Executioners. The executors are not monitored 24 hours a day, but if they disobey them, they will soon be discovered. Yang Feng was bought by the executioners shortly after arriving in Kogani City, and Cullom killed him, both for the safety of the election and to make the environment around him more relaxed. Fortunately, the executioner was trying to get rid of the man, so he acquiesced to his plan.

Four years ago, shortly after the start of research in the city of Kogani, a group of people claiming to be emissaries of the World Government secretly approached Kulom and wanted him to share the results of his research on the Fragment of Istis, and yes, there was indeed a fragment in the City of Kogani.

One of the most important features of Istis's fragmentation research is that it is regional. Usually the fragments will not have much EXP, but they will be noticeably stronger in some places. The reason for this is unclear, and there seems to be little in common between these places, which has been speculated to be related to Istis's "personality" that likes to run around.

As early as the distribution of the mission, the city of Kogani was given a fragment, because there was a certain place in the city that could activate the fragment, and with the guarantee that Culom's chest would be shattered, the Science and Technology Authority gave the precious fragment to Cullom. Now, it's been discovered.

Cullom thought twice about it, but declined the messenger's request. Not to mention whether the identities of these people are true or not, once the research results are leaked, once discovered by the Executive Board or the Science and Technology Administration, a few lives are not enough. Even if it is sent by the World Government, the purpose is nothing more than to threaten himself, if he does not hand over the fragments, he will officially warn the government of the Arctic Countries, go through a review process or something, he intends to notify the Science and Technology Administration and let the Council deal with it.

He later learned that the group had been sent by the executioners, and that the methods used by the executioners were rather simple and crude.

The following year, on the morning of the explosion, Cullom received an ultimatum from his executioners. An untraceable phone call came, gave him a time and place, and called him over. But he happened to be too busy that day to get out, and he didn't realize how much risk it would take to resist the executioners.

The executioner was ready for the attack before making this call. As soon as Cullom refused, they sprang into action, easily causing an accident at both research institutes. Three hours later, Kulom, overwhelmed by the aftermath, met the executor's messenger again.

This time, he couldn't help but say no.

Cullom agreed to secretly provide the executor with experimental data and results on the condition that he would be able to evade the Executive Directorate's investigation. The executioner agreed, and the "cooperation" of the two sides was finalized. In order to maintain the strength of the EXP and not affect the results of the experiment, the executors decided not to transfer the fragments, but to send people to protect them on a regular basis, as they had been for three years.

In other words, this fragment is the only link between Cullom and the executioner.

As long as there are fragments, they will be of use to the executor. But if he loses the election, the research mission will be taken over by the new mayor Copen, and the fragments will no longer belong to him, and when the time comes, there will be no need for Rolov to borrow money, and the executioners will snatch the fragments before making him disappear forever.

This problem must be solved first, and fortunately, he has already prepared for it.

*****

Rolov said that he wanted to bring obedient people, but all Julie could think of was Bob, so she dragged him up. Then transfer a van, the seats in the back of the van have been removed, and two computers for material editing are installed, and the space of the whole vehicle is relatively large, not counting the co-pilot, and three or four people can sit in the back.

This time, I brought a special detachment, and in addition to camera equipment, there were also some more weapons in the car. Otherwise, they would not have driven to the city of Kogani, which took at least nine hours.

In the afternoon, the group set off on time from the Akiyama City Hall. Dimmit didn't want to stay with Julie, so he drove behind and gathered information about the city of Kogani by the way. On the highway, he made a full hour of phone calls to reach Dior.

Dio was busy with the affairs of the Infinis family, so he explained briefly. Dimmit didn't care either, and directly threw out the question he was most concerned about - whether there would be debris in the city of Kogani.

"It's very likely, after all, they're also doing illegal EXP research."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because there's something strange about it," Dior said apologetically, "and even the organization doesn't plan to dig into it." ”

The day after the accident, the Rose Agency got the news and sent someone to secretly investigate the cause of the accident. The so-called "superhuman fire union", they don't believe it. The Rose Agency has the whereabouts of many superhumans like Dimitt, who are not affiliated with the organization and act alone, and on the day of the accident, there is no indication that any superhuman has been to Kogani City.

So, the Rose Agency set its sights on the aftermath. In particular, they were suspicious of how Cullom had managed to hide from the Executive Board and how quickly he had repaired the Institute. At the end of the investigation, they determined that Cullom must have been helped by some organization.

It seems that the Rose Mechanism did not know that Rolov had lent money to Kulom, and Dimitt, after thinking about it, decided not to tell about it.

"Who do you think it will be?"

"It's okay to talk about the money, but there aren't many people who can help Cullom hide from the Executive Directorate, and we even think that the accident is related to them, maybe their purpose is also EXP research......"

"Say the conclusion."

"Executions, most likely, and that's exactly what they've always done."

"The Executioner backs up Cullom?"

"It's not so much about supporting as about control. There is no reason for the executioner to help him in vain, and there must be an agreement between the two sides, but it is not known what it is. ”

Dimmit pondered Dio's words when suddenly a car passed by him, and he turned his neck a little overreacting.

"And what happened to you?"

"If the executioner is controlling Cullom, it's too dangerous to bump into it. It was decided to withdraw the investigation team from the city of Kogani, but some people were left under constant surveillance. If you're going to check it out in Kogani, I'll give you the leader's number. ”

"Send it over."

By the time the car and van parked outside a hotel in the outer ring of Kogani, it was already 11 p.m. The people in the van were almost unable to straighten up, only Akya was still in good spirits, and the others were eager to book their rooms and go to rest. Dimmit didn't get out of the car and drove to Leo's side.

"Leave me a separate room, and I'll be back in a moment."

"You're so energetic, you still want to go out?" Leo said, twisting his waist.

"Urgent."

"Got any news of the shards?"

"Sort of, call me if there's something."

Dimeter drove straight into the city and finally stopped outside a bar on the side of a busy street. He put a black wig on his head, sunglasses, and got out of the car and walked into the bar.

The bar was full of people, colorful lights flashed non-stop, and young men and women were talking and laughing at the wine table, or writhing around the stage, the whole scene was drunk and dreaming of death. Dimmit, who hated this kind of noisy place, frowned, and walked through the crowd.

At the bar, there was a middle-aged man drinking, with a scruffy beard and a red face, drunkenly chatting with a beautiful woman next to him who didn't wear a few taels of cloth, talking one meat joke after another, making the beauty laugh. Dimmit looked at the man and sat quietly in the empty seat beside him.

"Drake Baronka."

Hearing someone call her real name, Drake smiled and gave the beauty a wad of money, said a few words, and grabbed two handfuls on her chest in a daze, and the beauty took the money, left a flying kiss and left.

"You're really ...... Early, Dimmit. Drake hiccuped and raised his glass again, "Come?" ”

Dimmit looked at this drunk in disgust, he had heard that the Rose Mechanism was a mixed place, and there were people of all identities, this person was probably an idle person in society, maybe a beggar?

"Can you still speak like this?" Dimmit said sarcastically, pulling out another sun crystal, pointing his head upwards and pressing it on the bar.

"Absolutely."

Drake's voice suddenly lowered, and his words became smoother, completely different from the pronunciation of the big tongue just now.

"I'm not going to be overwhelmed by this whiskey."

"Hmph, you weren't sent here because you could drink, were you?"

"It's safe to do this, and it's beautiful to be intimate with beautiful women." Drake said a little smugly.

"That's all the gossip, let's get down to business."

"No problem."

Drake drank the wine from his glass, called two more "matadors", and waited for the bartender to get busy before carefully talking to Dimitt.

"Kogani has nine points, five are withdrawn, and there are four left. They are hung with signboards for various companies, chambers of commerce, logistics, etc., which also make it easy for large vehicles to enter and exit. ”

"How's the manpower?"

"It's a lot, but isn't there an election recently? It's busy everywhere, and I guess it's not very strict, and if you know how to play Gallebo's tricks, it should be no problem to blend into the yard. ”

"Can you be sure there's any debris?"

"It's hard for you, man, we can't figure out what's going on inside, it's not good to look too deep and alarm the executioners, at most we're watching from the perimeter. But if it's you, maybe there's a way, right? ”

Dimmit listened and smiled faintly.

"With the omens, you can perceive it to some extent."

"That's right. The EXP contained in the Istis fragment is different from the EXP extracted by existing methods, which is purer, cooler, and more ...... Like a stripped chick, haha! ”

Drake suddenly spoke loudly in a thick voice, and Dimmit glanced at it slightly, and it turned out that it was the bartender who pushed the two glasses of wine over. He grabbed one and placed the other in front of Drake.

"I please."

"Thanks, don't worry, I'll call you when I get back! A total of four times of money, a lot of money! ”

"Hmph, just remember it."

The two toasted and drank freely, and after a little more chatting about the mountains, Dimmit left the money and walked out of the bar. Ten minutes later, he received a message on his phone that it was the location of four institutes.

"Hopefully I'll have a little better luck this time."

He muttered and put away his phone and drove back to the hotel.

*****

Leo used to play games to "hypnotize" before going to bed, and if he was tired, the hypnosis would take longer. He was in a room with Akeya and Bob. Bob, who had been driving all the way, fell asleep as soon as he entered the house, Akeya checked the room inside and out before resting, and Leo kept playing the game and closed his eyes when he was sleepy.

When he woke up, he found two troubles. I was the only one left in the house, and I forgot to charge my handheld, and my phone was only a quarter of the battery left.

"Where is this man?"

As soon as Leo contacted him on his mobile phone, he learned that Dimmit had gone to run errands for the debris, and Akeya followed Julie and Bob to work on the street early in the morning.

"Captain, leave Julie's safety to me, Captain go and gather as much information about Kulom as possible."

"Oh, I see."

Having said that, Leo had no idea what to do, and Akeya didn't explain, saying "as much as possible". He must not have expected much, Leo thought.

"I'd better fill my stomach first."

After the hotel meal, Leo couldn't get used to the food in the restaurant, he was more used to a small shop like Blackeye, so he planned to go outside to find something to eat.

As soon as he went out, he was dumbfounded. This hotel is located in the outer ring of the city, specializing in the business of outsiders, this is not a busy area, and it is so deserted that you can't even see a few cars outside. He could only follow the road, aimlessly.

On both sides of the road, you can see many houses, with high shelves and dark green flat roofs, but there are no human figures in sight. Take a closer look, not to mention people, some don't even have doors and windows, and there is no construction team nearby, these are probably unfinished buildings. Leo was not in a good mood, and he was even more depressed when he looked at the deserted scene in front of him.

Along the way, Leo suddenly found that there was a hut in the middle of the two buildings, and there was a plaque on the outside, which said "Sharon's Shop", which was simply an oasis in the desert, and he walked briskly towards it.

"Welcome!"

Leo, who pushed the door open, heard a very sweet voice, and then noticed that it was indeed a restaurant, and there was a young man and an old man eating. A woman in her thirties walked out from behind the counter, with long green hair and a white dress, which looked very refreshing in this season.

"You may be seated, the menu is on the table."

Leo sat next to the other two guests and took the menu. This time the mission was a business trip, and Rolov gave him a small sum of money, and now he was too hungry to do so, so he decisively ordered a few of the most expensive dishes to have a good meal.

"Wait a minute, I'll be right here."

The shopkeeper happily jotted down what Leo had ordered, and went to the back kitchen to get busy. Leo leaned back in his chair and pulled out his phone, his gaze casually sweeping over the two men. On the chair next to the young man, there was a bag containing golf clubs, but the two of them were dressed very ordinary, not like they were going to play golf.

Thinking of this, Leo couldn't help but look twice, and the man noticed him, and the two looked at each other—and then both froze.

"Oh? Isn't this Leo? ”

The man put down the dishes and turned sideways.

"I didn't expect to meet again here, Uesugi Izumioka." Leo said.