Gun of Ashes-Chapter 502 - 99 Fun
The Night Owl dragged the unconscious Joey into the carriage. An investigation concerning him would urgently commence tonight, given that his position as an Upper-Rank Knight and a core force of the Purification Mechanism made this issue quite serious.
It was truly an unpleasant night. Having deployed significant manpower, the expectation was to capture a latent internal threat, but who could have anticipated that Joey himself would be the problem in the end.
The Night Owl couldn’t help but look upwards; the window was open, and a shadowy figure stood against the light. Moriarty was watching them, seeing them off as they departed.
Surely, he still wore that damned smile on his face. The Night Owl had never been able to understand that strange feeling of aversion, but suddenly, he realized it at this moment.
It was the gaze of a cat looking at a mouse.
The Night Owl was somewhat frustrated. After this incident, everyone had some degree of negative emotions rising. He initially wanted to take Moriarty back for investigation, but Moriarty seemed to have memorized the regulations of the Purification Mechanism, refusing to cooperate using different departmental reasons.
The Purification Mechanism was established by various departments. The Night Owl and those on the frontline fighting against Demons were considered the headquarters of the Purification Mechanism. Others, like the Cleaners, Perpetual Motion Pump, and Black Mountain Hospital, performed different functions, making this machine roar into operation.
Departments operated independently, but all followed the directives of the headquarters. However, in terms of rooting out internal traitors, it had always been the Cleaners’ responsibility. Although the headquarters had authority, Moriarty had proved his normalcy... at least there was no evidence of his anomaly currently.
He was willing to cooperate with the work but didn’t want to ruin his exquisite sleep. Moriarty said he would report to his superiors in the morning and then undergo their scrutiny.
"Just leaving like that?" Red Falcon felt somewhat surprised.
He had always considered the Purification Mechanism an extremely unreasonable institution. If one had the suspicion of being a Demon, they would be pursued relentlessly, even if it was the Duke’s daughter who had to stay obediently in Black Mountain Hospital. If it were the Cleaners tonight, Moriarty might have been executed on the spot... of course, they might have taken Joey as well.
That was a department specializing in handling the aftermath of Demon incidents, and their favorite approach was to cut away the good meat along with the rotten.
"That’s all we can do."
The Night Owl didn’t say much. Next, he glanced at Joey lying in the carriage.
The Purification Mechanism always adhered to a rigorous hierarchy. Without reaching that position, many secrets were forever off-limits, which naturally included the main responsibilities of other departments.
This limited the overreach of authority but brought about execution troubles. Still, it ensured that when one department fell to Demons, the others could be preserved.
Take the Cleaners, for instance. During operations against Demons, they were always everywhere, yet when one tried to recall their department’s location, person in charge, or main members, their memory came up blank, and the same went for Black Mountain Hospital.
Among these departments, the Perpetual Motion Pump stood out with a relatively higher appearance rate. After all, they were directly linked to the headquarters, and the Night Owl and these Upper-Rank Knights were often used as guinea pigs to experiment with weapons, which made them more familiar, but only to this extent.
The unknown extended not just to Demons but to the Purification Mechanism itself.
On a rainy night, Dunling Tower stood tall, countless cables released from it, swooping across streets and buildings, entwining the entire city like a web.
"You all felt that, right? A kind of... I don’t know how to describe it, just a sense of something strange and unusual."
Bluebird spoke at this moment; everything seemed a bit too clever.
"I won’t let him off easily."
The Night Owl did not turn back to continue looking at that window side of Moriarty, aware that the guy was surely watching him.
"Joey... what on earth is wrong with you?"
He stepped into the carriage, looking at his colleague of many years. He always maintained rationality and decisively subdued Joey, but this didn’t mean the Night Owl was a cold person; he just clearly understood his role’s position.
Now that the operation was over, he worried about Joey from the perspective of a friend.
...
"You always like those risky actions. If your Authority had even the slightest error, we might have all died here... those people from the Purification Mechanism, you just saw their ruthlessness."
Hiding in the shadows, Samuel emerged slowly as the Night Owl and others left.
In fact, he had been standing in the corner of the wall, slowing his heartbeat, like a dead man, making no sound. Coupled with the permeating Wind Tobacco and Moriarty’s Authority, he was able to evade the Purification Mechanism’s search. To them, Samuel was merely a shadow that couldn’t be illuminated.
Tonight was supposed to be the day for him to connect with these dark chess pieces. Samuel believed Moriarty wouldn’t forget the date, yet he had brought the people from the Purification Mechanism along.
This was a rebellious character. Samuel also believed he wouldn’t just confess and change, but he couldn’t help saying these words.
James Moriarty, an extremely restless character, his outstanding ability brought corresponding uncontrollability.
"Please have a little trust in me."
Moriarty kept the same demeanor, completely unaware of any mistakes. He was very confident in his control of his Authority.
Samuel was subtly angry. Though he understood this person’s nature earlier, he still found it somewhat hard to accept.
