Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 730 - 103: Meeting Someone
At 4:21 AM, a suicide incident occurred in an apartment in the southern district of the shelter.
The deceased was a 34-year-old male. Neighbors, upon hearing the gunshot, immediately called the police. Upon arrival, the police found the body on the bed in the bedroom. There were no signs of forced entry or struggle in the room. It seemed that Mr. Duli had simply had enough of life in the shelter and decided to end it using the .45 caliber pistol left by his grandfather.
Such incidents are not uncommon in the shelter. Living underground for a long time often leads one to suddenly lose the courage to continue living at any given moment.
This matter wasn't widely publicized, and besides the neighbors in the apartment, not many would know about Duli's case.
When Zhuang Xiao learned the news and rushed to the southern district, the police had already completed their on-site investigation. She happened to witness the body, covered with a white sheet, being carried out of the apartment building.
She also gathered some information about Duli from other neighbors in the apartment.
His parents passed away successively when he was in his twenties, and since then, he had been living alone. Whenever he was short of money, he would take on some temporary work. He lived a frugal life but was an honest young man who never got into conflicts. Neighbors would always greet him with a smile.
According to shelter regulations, Duli's property and house would be confiscated, and in another year or two, he would be completely forgotten.
Zhuang Xiao knew that when Chen Qi found out about this, he would fly into a rage.
Not only because they lost an agent capable of directly contacting Ethan, but it also made Chen Qi's decisions appear erroneous and incompetent.
Zhuang Xiao didn't stay long in the southern district. She returned to the department and, unsurprisingly, Chen Qi was again in Merlin's office. But this time, there were no sounds of yelling or things being smashed. Upon entering, the two adversaries, at least on the surface, faced each other without signs of quarreling.
"If you're here to reproach me, the chip you implanted in him failed."
Merlin remained calm. He shrugged, "Last night, Duli came to us himself, hoping we would convey his desire to withdraw."
He added some "artistic flair" to the reason for their meeting, and due to Mr. Duli's death, no one would be able to uncover his lie.
"Why didn't he come to me directly?"
Chen Qi's voice sounded utterly exhausted, as if he didn't even have the energy to smash things or curse.
This time, Merlin wasn't worried about Chen Qi's reproach because even if the assembly pursued the matter, the primary responsibility lay in the chip implantation process, which entirely had nothing to do with him or Zhuang Xiao. Subsequently, the assembly would discuss whether it was wise to have included Duli in this dream experiment.
Even setting aside the series of confidentiality clauses involving his grandfather, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and sent for mandatory treatment in a psychiatric facility under the committee's intervention. His father died in a traffic accident. Such "coincidences" in Duli's family invariably invited speculation.
No matter the angle, even if the assembly later held people accountable, it would certainly be Chen Qi who bore the brunt.
However, Merlin disliked office politics. Watching Chen Qi's troubles wouldn't aid his investigation at all. He only knew that after Duli's suicide, a crucial post was vacated. This post required direct liaison and communication with Ethan. He heard that Chen Qi's subordinates were reluctant to approach this position—especially after news spread that Duli ended his life at home just a day after starting the role.
Some believed he had been influenced by Ethan, perhaps through some form of mental contamination. And then there were after-the-fact commentators pointing out Duli's poor mental state after detaching from the dream.
Before the issues were fully understood, this position became a hot potato. The department was in turmoil, with everyone afraid they'd be cursed after facing Ethan, leading them to suddenly decide to end their lives in their bedroom upon returning home from work.
"If you need, I can take over Duli's work."
Before Chen Qi could respond, Merlin spoke.
He knew if it were a normal situation, Chen Qi would never allow him to participate in the dream experiment. But now was an extraordinary time: the drastic changes on the other side of the dream had caught Chen Qi off guard, and the assembly, inconveniently, couldn't be reached. The results of this experiment would directly impact Minister Chen Qi's position, even the entire "Reconstruction Plan."
"If you discover tomorrow morning that I've also shot myself in the bedroom, it would just confirm the department's prophecy, right? But I consider my psychological stamina pretty decent, so at least in the short term, I have no plans for suicide."
"After work each day, you must stay behind alone to report directly to me, and you'll be implanted with a new chip."
"Understood."
...
"I know what you're going to ask."
After Chen Qi left, Merlin said, "It was Chen Qi, not me, who got Duli involved in this."
"But you tampered with the chip."
Zhuang Xiao instinctively retorted to Merlin, but she quickly realized that such bickering was essentially useless. It couldn't resurrect Duli, nor was it of any help to their upcoming tasks.
They weren't like Ethan; they couldn't bend outcomes to a positive direction merely by will. More often than not, they were trapped in the mire, struggling just to preserve themselves.
No wonder people often say, "We're all trying hard to live."
"Regarding the story Duli told last night…"
A moment later, Merlin brought up the topic, "It at least answers a long-standing question of mine."
Ethan constructed the "dream" far too realistically, as if he actually lived there, which couldn't be achieved solely by implanting an idea. And anything related to the "ghost stories" from Duli's grandfather's generation, as mentioned when he was drunk, provided the answers to it all.
"He knows everything."
This was the last sentence left to them by their grandfather.
To dissect a person's brain and probe their memories and thoughts are not difficult for an entity of the Old Gods' level. After returning to his apartment yesterday, Merlin stayed up all night; he took a few sobering pills, attempting to continue writing the conclusion of "City of Truth" according to Duli's story.
It's worth noting that besides the crew, most of the people on that starship were well-trained soldiers. The formation didn't sound like it was meant for a friendly exchange.
The complete annihilation of the starship resulted in the destruction of the City of Truth.
From the outcome, this was the final ending of the story, but Merlin still couldn't connect the two. The only possibility he could think of was that the presence witnessed by the crew in the darkness had come to know everything and then arrived at the City of Truth, destroying the surface of the city. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
If this is the fact...
Are they really dealing with such a dangerous entity?
This is also the reason Merlin urgently wanted to meet Ethan; he only trusted his own eyes and judgment. Only after a face-to-face exchange can he ascertain Ethan's character.
Today, he prepared two syringes.
One for Zhuang Xiao, and the other for himself.
...............
The fifth day.
This was Ethan's second day at the new post, and the department welcomed a significant personnel change.
Mr. Mediterranean resigned, and the new boss replacing him seemed to be of similar age but looked much more spirited, perhaps due to his hairstyle.
Ethan recalled Mr. Mediterranean's timid demeanor yesterday and felt it was difficult for him to stay long in this position.
"Director Lin, is Director Du okay?"
"He has some minor health issues and applied to go home for recuperation."
Interaction with the new director went much smoother; at least the new Director Lin didn't look like he was ready to duck under the desk at any moment.
The new director gave him a slight smile, "Just call me Old Lin, don't worry about Old Du, he's on his rare vacation now and should be reuniting with his family, doing very well... Do you have any plans for lunch? Want to go to the cafeteria together? The roast meat there is quite good."
Merlin secretly observed Ethan, aligning almost with their assessment.
At least on the surface, he didn't seem like the kind of terrifying entity that would grimly slaughter an entire starship.
Are the ideas they implanted strong enough to change a person's personality?
Merlin didn't think so; in fact, when they observed Ethan, his personality was already formed. His two years of life in Ximu Town were enough to prove he was a well-adjusted, kind young man.
Although they didn't know why Ethan suddenly appeared in the refugee ranks, there are always phenomena they can't explain, aren't there?
Just like the "Goddess" also left the guild, becoming a little girl of the Northern Clan, going to the academy to start her new life.
Experiencing life.
Perhaps this is just a pastime they use to fill their endless lifespan.
"No problem."
Ethan agreed, building rapport with the new director on the first day was necessary, and the good news was that Director Lin seemed like an easy person to get along with.
The only issue was this position seemed overly leisurely, and it appeared that he and the new Director Lin were the only two members of the department. The current day-to-day work seemed unrelated to creating a tense and exciting otherworld, more like secretarial work organizing information.
The Democratic Assembly sent them information daily, and his job was merely compiling it into documents, categorizing and storing it in folders.
If that's all there is, indeed more hands are not needed.
Ethan and Director Lin walked on the way to the cafeteria; the new Director Lin was a talkative person who seemed to know quite a bit of inside information. They deliberately chose a corner spot to ensure their conversation would not be interrupted.
"Old Sen, have you heard?"
This call of "Old Sen" instantly drew them closer, Merlin lowered his voice and said, "The Democratic Assembly is preparing to launch a starship, recently they are recruiting personnel everywhere."
"Starship?"
"Yes, starship."
Merlin said, "This will be an unprecedented friendly visit."
