Karl sat down in the visitor's chair in front of the director and began to recount, "Someone once sold my subordinates this piece of information that the Blackwingmen are mutants born to kill. They are the fuel of war, the weapons of humanoids. No matter how powerful the Winged Man is, he has no chance of winning against the Blackwing. There have also been people who have actually fought the Blackwings, confirming that they do possess a strength that the Wingmen cannot match. Whether it's speed, strength, or combat skills, at least in one-on-one combat, the Wingman can't defeat the Blackwing. ”

The director lit the pipe in his hand, and a cloud of smoke rose in the air.

"The first time the Blackwings appeared, it was in a primitive university called Mendel. All the students in that school were primitives, and more than 90% of the teachers were primitives. In April, a close friend of mine was murdered while he was working as a teacher at school. I sent someone to investigate, and found out that he was killed by the perpetrator because he knew that there was illegal wing-planting in the school. The school's medical department had long been accommodating terminally ill patients who did not have enough money to go to a regular hospital. These winged people are treated free of charge or at a very low price, and then they are all given a fake diagnosis report for a terminal disease such as 'pterygoma'. Before these patients die, doctors in the medical department cut off their healthy wings and sell them on the black market to make huge sums of money for illicit money. And when the body is cremated, it will be written on the death report - amputation of both wings, so that even if it is checked later, there is no proof of death. ”

"At that time, it was several of my subordinates who investigated this case. They had found all the evidence of the illegal wing-planting, and as they were about to leave, a Blackwingman named 'Dire' appeared. Dire proved that he had what it took to kill everyone on the scene with just one blow, and then calmly left the scene with all the witnesses and corpses that might be related to Black Wing. ”

"That was the first time I learned that there is a different species in this world than the Winged People—the Blackwings. However, just as I was about to start a closer look, everything in that school was burned down. A fire destroyed five school buildings; School board members either committed suicide or disappeared; The only school manager we captured also went insane on the second day in prison. Mendel University was completely paralyzed after the fire and was forced to shut down. ”

"In the two months that followed, I privately surveyed a number of universities and private hospitals in other cities, and found that most of the institutions run by the original people were more or less reselling, and the methods used were the same as those of Mendel University."

Carl said a lot in a row, and Director Russell listened silently. It wasn't until he said this that the director suddenly asked, "Have you reported all the results of your investigation?" What do the military's top brass think about this? ”

Karl shook his head: "They don't care, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you." You should also be able to understand that for a country with such a large base of original people, but it is completely ruled by the winged people, social stability comes first. The institutions and schools I have surveyed have a common feature that they can stably accommodate a large number of original workers or students, so that they can not have trouble. The harm caused by the backselling of the wings of these institutions is nothing compared to the stability they provide to society; Or it might be better to put it this way - even if they are constantly pumping the wings of illegal acquisition into the black market, there is no real harm to society; On the contrary, because they are happy to accept the poor people with terminal diseases, they also stabilize the mood of the people at the bottom of the society, and make the relationship between these institutions and local administrators more intimate. Even in some remote cities, my investigations were blocked by local administrators. ”

The director nodded: "The lords have long known that these institutions survive by selling their wings. I think you're looking for trouble. ”

"Exactly."

"Then why do you bother with this?"

Karl smiled bitterly, "Because I have a bad premonition...... I always felt that something was wrong with the whole thing. ”

"Oh?" The director tapped the pipe on the ashtray, shaking off a layer of soot on the surface, "Tell me what's wrong?" ”

"In the process of investigating, it always seems that someone is trying to filter out important things from my eyes. Evidence burned and witnesses committed suicide in fear of guilt – what arose in the first investigation also appeared several times in subsequent investigations. Carl took out a few printed-out photographs from his bosom and handed them to the director, "Look, this is the storage facility that my investigators took pictures of in a private hospital in Tianshui City. ”

Director Russell took the photo and looked at it roughly, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes: "This is ...... A storage tank for the culture wing? ”

The photo was taken in a dimly lit barnhouse. Dense storage jars huddle into the lens, like a hive of honey. At first glance, there may be hundreds of pairs of wings stored here, and the jars look oddly shaped. There is only one pipe coming out of each storage tank, and the wires are all connected in series. Professor Sun Lin only took Carl to see the storage room of the Institute of Advanced Life in the afternoon, where the storage tank was completely different from the one taken in the photo, with a completely different style and structure.

"This is not a storage tank developed by our country." Russell's director is such a person that he can identify the model of the device from the photo at a glance. She looked up at Carl and asked word for word, "Where are these jars now?" ”

"It's not anywhere anymore." Carl sighed, "These jars were all burned before we could collect evidence. ”

"Huh?" The director put the photo on the table, "Burned?" Who burned it? ”

"Who else could it be...... Carl said, spreading his hands, "Blackwing." ”

"What about the man who burns the jar? Did you catch it? ”

Carl shook his head: "They're also professional. Speaking of this, he scratched his hair helplessly, "Speaking of which, I also suffered from it." On weekdays, I am too maverick, and the commanders think I am embarrassed by the heavy responsibility, and they have always asked me to be the commander of the light pole. At the critical moment, I had to use people, only to find that there was no decent person who could stand up to it. When I ran after the Blackwings, the evidence was burned by another group of them coming around the back door. ”

Carr is saying it lightly, but the hardships and dangers of this investigation are not difficult to imagine.

The director picked up the photo on the table, re-read it carefully, and asked solemnly: "Do you know where these storage tanks are made?" ”

"I don't know." Carl said calmly, "I just went to the culture hall with Professor Sun from the third clinic in the afternoon, and these storage tanks are completely different from the culture tanks there. ”

The director turned the photo upside down and pointed to the base of a culture tank: "This is a 'snake and cane' sign, can you see it?" ”

Karl leaned over - and sure enough, on the metal base, a metal relief was faintly visible, with the hollow engraving of the motif "A snake wrapped around a cane".

"I talked about this in my high school extracurricular supplements. Do you remember? The director's tone suddenly became as kind as a teacher, and then he recited his self-made mantra, "The hexagonal crystal is in the clouds, the goshawk is from the Wind Society, and the snake staff belongs to the ......."

"The Snake Staff belongs to the Confederates." At this moment, Carl felt as if he was back in a revision class for his high school graduation. The knowledge that had been absent for six years naturally came to his mind at this moment.

What shocked him even more than this knowledge was that he finally began to realize why the other party was destroying these storage jars.

Carl couldn't help but gasp, the mystery looming behind this mantra made him feel a little trembling from the bottom of his heart. He looked at the director's pale sideburns, and saw that her fingers pinching the picture were as steady as a rock, but he couldn't control the shock in his voice: "These storage jars are made by the United League of Humans!?" ”

The director nodded, his eyes still on the photo: "Snow Lotus Hexagonal Polar Ice Storage Tank." This is the latest model developed by the United Alliance of Humanity. ”

"You...... Are you sure? ”

The director looked up at him, and the unmistakable sense of majesty was in her eyes.

"How can this be...... "Karl leaned back, "aren't these wings going to the Imperial Black Market at all, but ...... It's ......"

"You can't rule out the possibility that you're guessing - there's a good chance that the final destination of these wings will be the United Alliance of Humanity." The director had already said what he had to say. Director Russell, who is now over seventy years old, has never seen any strong winds and waves, and his tone is naturally calm as usual, "Since these wings are stored in storage tanks produced by the Allies, the possibility that the receiver is an alliance institution is very high. If I want to purchase biological materials from the Alliance, I will also use the storage equipment I have developed to store them, so that the transportation process will be more controllable and reduce loss. ”

"So they're trying to keep the physical evidence out of my eyes, just because they don't want to find out that the recipient of these wings is the United Human Alliance?" Karl muttered to himself, "But what does the Alliance want these wings for?" Aren't they the least despised by the Winged People? Why buy smuggled wings from the Empire so secretly? ”

"Humans created the Winged Man. Regardless of their political affiliation, their scientists have a strong desire – or obsession – for the species of Winged Man. The director said, "Humans have accepted the will of the god Metatron and created the Winged Man according to the blueprint of the gods. 99% of the genes of the Winged People are derived from humans, but they are more noble than humans, because the Winged People are closer to the existence of the gods. - This passage was also said in my class. Isn't it? The director repeated again, "It was the humans who created the Winged Man. ”

When referring to humans outside the Empire, or as a species in their own right, Director Russell uses the word "human" instead of "proto-human" out of scientific rigor. For this, Carl naturally has a tacit understanding.

"You're right." "But it is also true that after the Dawn War, all the remaining 6 million wingmen in the Confederate territories were driven to live in the desolate border areas, treated like exiled sinners. ”

"Does this mean that humans look down on the Winged Man? Or are they disgusting the Winged People? The director shook his head, "I'm afraid I'm afraid." Took a third of the territory from humanity and formed its own state. This species, created by the hands of man, treated its former creator like slaves in the vast territory that once belonged to man, stripped them of their names and called them 'primitives'. If they are from the side of the United Human Alliance, it is better for such creatures to be driven away or put in cages. ”

"Teacher......" Karl grinned, "isn't it good for you to say that?" ”

The director's attitude changed, and he smiled: "It's not an exam." Just don't write this kind of thing when answering the questionnaire. ”

"So, teacher, how much do you know about the Blackwings?" Carl struck while the iron was hot, "Are they a type of Winged Man?" Are they working for the United Human Alliance? Why is it in the Empire? Why are you holding me back from pursuing a case? Why destroy evidence? ”

When the lieutenant asked questions, the director kept looking at him quietly, waiting for him to finish a series of questions, and then said slowly: "I know a lot, but I can not say much. As an Imperial officer, you should be well aware of my authority. ”

You should be well aware of my authority.

This is a sentence with a strong sense of oppression.

The higher the status, the heavier the responsibility. This is true for any powerful person in the Empire.

As the director of the Institute of Higher Life Studies, Erica Brown is the director of the Institute of Higher Life Studies. The information and intelligence that Russell has cannot be exchanged for gold and silver. She knew enough information for the Empire to build an underground vault-like office for her, carefully protecting this priceless old man.

Now you want to get information out of the mouth of this academic giant. Cal. Orlando, do you have what it takes?

Carl swallowed nervously, feeling his throat dry and his lips covered with dead skin.

As an officer in MIA, he never doubted his talent and ability to do intelligence work. From a very young age, he had the ability to perceive people's hearts and see the subtleties. Any detail that others would easily overlook is impossible to miss in his eyes.

He is also good at taking advantage of the situation and using words to push others to act according to his own will, and it can be said that among his contemporaries, he is definitely the best of the best and the best of the best. Even after graduating from military school, he joined the MI and lived a life of spending a lot of time and drinking, Carl was confident that his abilities had never deteriorated. He can still manipulate others to his own use without paying any price.

Even the Shadow Owl, who doesn't eat hard and soft, has to tell the information of the Blackwings in front of him;

Even the ghostly Phoebe couldn't get away with it in front of him;

He can manipulate senior researchers like Mia to abuse his power to help him at any time;

But when he sat in front of Director Russell, he had a sense of frustration that he had nowhere to help.

Intelligence has always been something that has to be exchanged for something.

When the director just said so lightly, "I know a lot, but I can say not much", Carl immediately understood the subtext of the sentence - you were once my student, and it is not an exaggeration to say that you are a disciple. But you and I have changed by now. I'm the director of the Institute of Higher Life Studies, and you're just a mediocre lieutenant. I am under no obligation to know everything about an officer like you.

If you grovel to her, do you know something?

For a moment, Carl thought.

And yet he didn't.

He is Karl. Orlando is the son of Marshal Yuheng, one of the three supreme generals of the empire.

He won't ask anyone.

If you really want something, even if you use it to rob, you can't give up your dignity. This is the ancestral motto of the marshal's family, and it is the admonition left by the old marshal who once accompanied the ancestors in the southern and northern wars.

What's more, groveling doesn't necessarily get the desired results.

With this in mind, Carl took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

The blonde officer's crimson pupils suddenly flashed with sincerity, and he said in a calm tone: "I have several brothers who have grown up together—they are all sons of my father's cronies. Among them, there is a guy named He Yingjie who is athletic, calm and serious, quick thinking, and especially excellent. I always thought that he would become my immediate attendant and join me in the army and make a career. But two months ago I received news of his death. At this, he sighed bitterly, and quietly pushed the picture of the storage room on the table in front of the director, "You see that there are also his wings in these storage jars. When I found him...... The once promising guy has been cut off his wings and turned into a cold corpse. That's what those Blackwings do! You say, can I just leave this matter alone because of lack of evidence? ”