Glorious God Throne

Coda (6)

Although “ghost” Adams’ age and state were not sufficient for a complete exchange between otherworldly visitors and local natives, the scattered information gathered from him, when integrated, was already a significant gain for the Special Case Investigation Team members.

As for the existence that everyone speculated about, seemingly protecting the truth and order of this world from the shadows, they temporarily called it the “Maintainer of Order”. Although it stirred their hearts, even evoking a mix of reverence, fear, vigilance, and curiosity in their innermost being – this was the instinctive reaction of mortals to all unknown things – it seemed too distant at present. Indeed, they should be prepared from now on, but there was no need to worry excessively.

There were more urgent matters at hand.

It was the [Ghost in the Rainy Night Serial Killings] that had occurred in Yuanyang City and shocked the entire Yao Country.

The public opinion group led by Chu Xingrui had done an excellent job. Under everyone’s guidance, the public opinion storm that had initially erupted like thunder on a clear day had already subsided imperceptibly, like a flood entering the sea, causing no ripples. The major case that had shocked the entire country seemed to have been completely forgotten by people in just a few months.

This was partly because after the kidnapping case, the Ghost in the Rainy Night Serial Killings had stopped, the killer had not continued to cause trouble, no new victims had appeared, and news about the case could only rehash old information, losing much of its heat.

More importantly, during that period, there was more news bombarding the hot search on the internet.

Some celebrity’s secret marriage and child, some flow star’s drug arrest, some film queen’s real-life palace intrigue with her plastic bestie… It seemed as if a latent force of justice in the entertainment circle had suddenly exerted itself. Thus, all kinds of eye-catching news were dug up in a matter of days. Netizens couldn’t even keep up with the gossip. Apart from those directly involved, who still cared about some outdated serial killing case?

— This was the first task completed by the public opinion group of the Special Case Investigation Team after Chu Xingrui took office.

He successfully diverted the public’s attention elsewhere, causing the heat of the Ghost in the Rainy Night Serial Killings to rapidly decline in a short time, and naturally, the perpetrator of the bloody case received much less attention.

This greatly reduced the probability of K’s identity as an otherworldly visitor and extraordinary being discovered.

Behind the scenes, however, the Special Case Investigation Team had not given up on investigating this series of unresolved pending cases, including that serial killer who had been confirmed by Adams as an otherworldly extraordinary being.

Previously, this culprit had fled to the Chenxing Empire, dramatically increasing the difficulty of capture.

If Yao Country shared intelligence with the Chenxing Empire, informing them of K’s various anomalies and suspected identity as an otherworldly extraordinary, with the cooperation of the two most powerful countries on Blue Star, they were confident they could capture him even if he was an extraordinary being from another world.

However, Yao Country did not do so.

— Information about otherworldly visitors and extraordinaries was undoubtedly extremely precious. If other countries knew nothing about it, they were undoubtedly at the forefront of intelligence. Perhaps it could give the entire Yao Country a leading position in the new era, so how could they possibly share it with the Chenxing Empire?

Not only would they not share intelligence, but they would also conceal K’s identity in various ways. For example, in the Ghost in the Rainy Night Serial Killings case, the various anomalies K had displayed, such as the intelligence suggesting he could teleport to various locations, had been tightly sealed.

Even if Chenxing Empire spies were inside Yao Country, they would only think this was an ordinary serial killing case and would not know about the various anomalies.

On Yao Country’s side, they communicated with the Chenxing Empire through normal overseas fugitive arrest channels, attempting to capture the fugitive serial killer and extradite him back to the country — this process was fraught with difficulties, the procedures were complex, and coupled with the Chenxing Empire’s lack of cooperation, progress was extremely slow.

Originally, the Yao Country officials still had the patience to wait, believing that as long as K’s special nature was not exposed, the Chenxing Empire would not get involved.

Adams’ appearance changed their minds.

This ghost who had died tragically as a child and was overly gullible had already become an external member of the Special Case Investigation Team and provided them with so much intelligence. They naturally wanted to seek justice for him, even though Adams had not made this request.

He seemed easily satisfied to others, just needing some candies, snacks, and toys that children like, or someone to play with him to pass the time, which was enough to empty this little ghost’s head.

But as adults, the Special Case Investigation Team members knew well that this was never a fair exchange, more like taking advantage of a child’s innocence and naivety, using a lollipop to trick him out of his diamond crown, which was practically a million-fold robbery. At most, they weren’t “robbing” for their own private interests, but representing national righteousness.

If they truly accepted such behavior righteously, it would be too shameless. They would be unworthy of being an official department of a country, representing the entire Yao Country, holding high the banner of “righteousness”!

— An organization that only deceives and coerces, exploiting its members in the name of righteousness, cannot last long, let alone represent the government.

Therefore, they had ample reason to repay Adams, their external member, for his contributions.

What better reward could there be than capturing the killer who murdered his parents?

For this reason, the Special Case Investigation Team modified their plan regarding K. Instead of continuing to wait, they decided to expedite the overseas fugitive arrest procedure.

However, by that time, K had already transformed from an unknown fugitive into an assassin renowned throughout the Chenxing Empire, wanted nationwide and the talk of the town!

The difficulty of bringing him back to Yao Country had increased by more than just one level!

The Chenxing Empire’s internal opinions were not yet unified, let alone actually capturing the person.

Everything had to be traced back to after the assassination incident—

The Beiyuan Building assassination shocked the world, with the Chenxing Empire’s territory being the most shocked, of course.

The killer impersonated a pianist to infiltrate the banquet, played a piano piece, then brazenly killed an imperial marquis and distant royal relative in full view of everyone before leaving calmly. How audacious!

It’s no exaggeration to say that on that night, Silver City, the capital of the Chenxing Empire, known as the “City That Never Sleeps” and the “City of Stars,” truly became a sleepless city of stars. Even the palace lights remained on all night.

As soon as the major case occurred, the cabinet, royal family, and parliament – those at the pinnacle of this vast empire – immediately responded.

Lockdown, martial law, search, arrest, downward accountability… orders spread everywhere, countless people were on edge, working tirelessly through the night. Meanwhile, the three forces at the top began to probe and clash, shirking responsibility and fishing in troubled waters.

— This situation had persisted in this country for decades, tracing back to the Chenxing Empire’s renowned “Glorious Revolution.”

The so-called “Glorious Revolution” occurred over fifty years ago.

The Industrial Revolution catalyzed the germination of ideas and the birth of new classes. The emerging forces in the Chenxing Empire were no longer content with submitting to the ancient feudal imperial system, bowing to the emperor’s rule and the oppression of old nobility. Instead, they sparked a glorious revolution to overthrow the feudal imperial system amidst the intense ideological changes.

The declining royal family and nobility were unwilling to be overthrown and cast into the dust, but the tide of the times was unstoppable.

This war that swept across the entire Chenxing Empire was ultimately halted by an even larger war — a world war suddenly erupted, engulfing the Chenxing Empire as well.

If it had been an intact Chenxing Empire, there might have been a chance to win in the world war. But a Chenxing Empire divided into five and embroiled in internal strife was merely a fat piece of meat.

External pressure temporarily eased the fierce internal contradictions of the Chenxing Empire, giving the royal family and nobility a lifeline. They negotiated with the emerging forces during the world war.

— If the revolutionary faction was unwilling to take a step back, they would rather drag the entire country into a quagmire and perish together with the revolutionaries than willingly hand over power.

This “backstabbing declaration” indeed achieved miraculous effects!

If they abolished the feudal imperial system and deposed the emperor, all they would gain was a country divided into five, facing both internal and external troubles, and ultimately crushed by the wheels of world war. Perhaps the entire empire would turn to ashes in the flames of war. It was better to take a step back on both sides.

This glorious revolution succeeded, and it also failed.

— The last emperor of the feudal dynasty made the most humiliating decision, giving up most of the emperor’s power, retaining only a small portion of military power and the emperor’s honor;

The nobility also took a step back, retaining only their titles without real power, selecting some outstanding elites from among them to form a cabinet and share a portion of the country’s rights;

Most of the power relinquished by the emperor and nobility nominally belonged to all the people of the Chenxing Empire, entrusted to excellent representatives elected by the people. These people formed the parliament.

— The three forces jointly governed the empire.

It was because of the compromise and concessions of all parties that the Chenxing Empire was able to survive the crisis of the world war. However, this incomplete glorious revolution also laid the groundwork for decades of power struggles and continuous internal strife in the Chenxing Empire.

The royal family and cabinet were unwilling to share power that once belonged solely to them, while the parliament was unwilling to give up the fruits of the glorious revolution. Even the royal family and cabinet, which had once united under the blade of the glorious revolution, gradually split apart.

Over these decades, the three parties had been constantly clashing behind the scenes.

The reaction to the assassination case was just a microcosm of this.

Although the assassinated Sir Leonardo had a noble background and should have belonged to the cabinet faction, his royal bloodline and royalist identity tied him more closely to the royal family.

Moreover, the host of the banquet at the Beiyuan Building was also a member of the royal family. In other words, that banquet was organized by the royalist party.

Thus, the royal family suffered the greatest loss, not only losing a member of the royalist party in the assassination but also greatly losing face.

In anger, the aging emperor of the empire immediately issued a first-class wanted order, mobilizing almost all available forces, setting up a vast net to capture the culprit.

Although the cabinet and parliament outwardly supported the royal family’s actions and righteously condemned the assassin’s evil deeds, their actions were perfunctory.

— Compared to capturing the assassin, they were more interested in gloating, attacking the royal family, and seizing the opportunity to gain benefits.

The long-maintained balance at the top of the Chenxing Empire was almost broken by that sudden gunshot.

If the person could be caught quickly, perhaps this small ripple would subside rapidly. But this grand-scale manhunt yielded no results, and the killer seemed to have vanished into thin air.

This made the royal family’s position even more awkward, leaving them with nothing but impotent rage.

From the changing public opinion within the Chenxing Empire during this period, one could see some clues.

When the assassination first occurred, the public reaction was like this:

[!!! Tell me today isn’t “Prank Day”! Beiyuan Building, a marquis assassinated, is this a joke? It wasn’t this crazy even during the Glorious Revolution years ago, was it?]

[The comment above is truly brilliant, makes so much sense! The Glorious Revolution never killed any nobles or royal family members from start to finish. Let alone in public. In comparison, this assassin is even more impressive!]

[Ah… I can’t imagine such a terrible terrorist attack happening within our Chenxing Empire. What’s wrong with the cabinet, what’s wrong with the parliament, and what’s wrong with the royal family? Have we taxpayers paid for nothing? If an assassin can infiltrate such an important place as the Beiyuan Building and even kill a marquis, can we ordinary people feel any sense of security at all?]

[Rest assured, ordinary people are much safer than marquises, at least we’re not in the assassin’s sights…]

[I’ve already bought a ticket to the Holy Federation overnight, I’ll travel there for three months and won’t return for a while.]

[Being able to infiltrate the Beiyuan Building, kill someone, and escape unscathed, the killer must be incredibly skilled. Isn’t this just like the protagonist in a spy movie? My curiosity is piqued.]

[Am I the only one who wants to know the reason for the assassination?]

Tension, fear, curiosity, dissatisfaction… all kinds of emotions were present.

Some were dissatisfied with the government’s response speed and inefficient capture method, some were curious about the killer’s audacity and recklessness, some felt fear and anxiety relating it to themselves.

But clearly, most people were quite calm, watching the development of events with a spectator’s mentality, waiting for the killer to be caught.

As time passed, public opinion changed.

Someone first dug up the background of this little-known marquis, and then, gradually, people who knew him began to expose his past actions.

Such as being consumed by lust and oppressing young maids; engaging in long-term usury in the shadows, causing many families to be ruined; being addicted to gambling, making people who sought his help deliberately lose to him in gambling as a way to extort bribes… All kinds of scandals were continuously exposed, each more shocking than the last.

And these “courageous” righteous people who exposed him were often some unnamed good Samaritans, some unknown servants who had worked in his house and suffered oppression, some poor souls who had lost their families at a young age due to his actions, some upright youths who had refused his bribery attempts and suffered retaliation… Suddenly, they transformed from nameless nobodies into heroic figures full of righteousness!

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