area51novel Chapter 332 Poison Bomb - Closed Loop
Chapter 332 Poison Bomb - Closed Loop
Are you the only one who came?
Looking the ninja he had let in through the window up and down, Hugo couldn't help but ask curiously.
The Dark Trio, who always operated as a group of three, only sent one of them this time, which surprised him.
"Don't misunderstand. Although you have now become a partner of our organization, I have no obligation to disclose the whereabouts of my companions to you."
The ninja named Darkness spoke in a harsh, low voice, sounding like he wasn't in a good mood.
"Is that so? In that case, I'll make an irresponsible guess."
Seeing that the other party did not deny the absence of their companion, the detective felt increasingly relaxed. No wonder this ninja chose to communicate with him in a way that avoided the police; it turned out to be due to his caution after realizing that his own forces were insufficient.
"Judging from our meeting outside Fuki City last time, since the incident at the Rikyu City power plant, the only task your trio has been to perform is to protect King N and obey his orders. In that case, if the king has anything to discuss with me, the detective, the most convenient way, besides going through your cult's liaison, Akroma, is to send you ninjas to make contact in secret."
Hugo directly revealed the uninvited guest's purpose, and seeing that the ninja remained silent without rebuttal, he calmly continued—
"Through intelligence from the Alliance, I know that an unfortunate incident has occurred in Akroma, making it impossible for them to continue serving as intermediaries in the negotiations. Since you noticed such a strange poisoning incident midway through the process, you naturally cannot simply ignore it. You will definitely assign a trustworthy officer to closely monitor the movements of the police at headquarters—and in this matter, your Dark Iron Triangle is undoubtedly the best candidate to carry it out."
"However, at this time of frequent murders, it is impossible for all of you responsible for guarding the king to go out. In the end, one of you will definitely have to stay by his side to guard against any unforeseen events."
"What a lucky coincidence that three things can be done by three people. Although three ninjas who are essentially one person can sometimes be more effective than three people when they are together, when the situation requires it, isn't it also a steady and efficient way to divide people into three groups and have them carry out independent tasks? For the mathematical genius who is in charge of you, this is just like calculating the points in a 24-point game."
"So, based on the information above, your trio of ninjas are currently scattered in different places: the Alliance headquarters, beside the King, and here in Feiyun City—how about it, is there anything wrong with my analysis?"
"Even if there are problems with your analysis, I have no obligation to point them out..."
The ninja intended to maintain his rigid tone, but seeing Hugo's increasingly knowing nods, he could only sigh.
"Forget it, those details aren't really anything worth keeping secret. It's more accurate to say we're being led around by the nose than to call it a secret operation by the organization. How about this: if you insist on believing your conclusion is correct, then I won't object to it."
Is this an indirect confirmation? They gave up so quickly...
The ninja opposite him should be the same indecisive henchman who followed the leader of the Dark Trio and played the guessing game with him during the museum incident. These members of the Dark Trio seem to exhibit more pronounced personalities when acting alone.
Just as Hugo was thinking this, the black-clad, white-haired ninja suddenly changed the subject, staring directly into the detective's eyes and asking—
"However, Akromar's situation has indeed surprised us greatly. Let me just ask directly—Detective, were you behind this?"
No, that's not true.
To avoid any misunderstanding, Hugo swiftly and directly denied it—
“I’ve hardly ever met Akromar. And I left the Alliance headquarters long before this case happened. Besides, poisoning and assassination are not in line with my style—I’ve always believed that violence is the worst, most costly, and most troublesome solution when trying to solve problems.”
"Hmm... After all, you prefer to hit people with a solid iron ball rather than poison them."
"Let me defend myself by saying that the situation at that time should be considered self-defense."
"Is that so?" The ninja gave a nonchalant, indifferent expression.
"Leaving aside the matter of the medicine ball, I cannot verify the veracity of your statement about Akromma. Let His Majesty and the sages decide for themselves. Getting back to the main point, my purpose in coming to Flying Cloud City is not for this matter, but to seek advice..."
"Wait first!"
Hugo gestured for a pause to stop him—
"It's a bit unfair for me to keep giving information; it's practically like an interrogation. I'm now a partner of your cult, so consider this a deposit for future consultations. Could I also ask you a few questions?"
Darkness looked at him with great suspicion, and Hugo quickly added, "It's a problem related to the Akromar poisoning incident. You must be having a headache about it too."
"...Okay, what do you want to ask?"
Although the ninja was somewhat impatient, he eventually agreed to the detective's bargain.
This ninja seems to have some discretion over which information to reveal. That makes sense, since N sent these ninjas to Feiyun City to find Hugo most likely to solve a case or something similar. If they remained silent about such a person, the discussion about the case certainly wouldn't continue.
"What is Akromar's background? I've only heard that he was a scholar who collaborated with the Plasma Team in the past. What did he do before joining the Plasma Team?"
"Hmm..." The ninja pondered for a moment, "There is some information that you, as an outsider, should not know, and I will avoid discussing those matters."
Hugo nodded: "I understand. Please disclose as much information as possible within the scope of confidentiality."
"As you know, Mr. Akromar is a scholar who recently joined Team Plasma. However, compared to you, a detective who is nominally a collaborator but whose true intentions are unknown, although Akromar only recently joined, he has long been regarded as a member of Team Plasma by the Sages. He has provided the Order with a great deal of intelligence and technology in areas outside of Unova, and it is no exaggeration to say that he has made outstanding contributions—as for the specific intelligence and technology, as well as the areas he has been in the past, I am sorry to say that I cannot disclose that information."
The detective, unconcerned, began pressing for details that concerned him: "I see. Is this widely known within your cult?"
"No, this is information that only high-ranking officers and above can know, but recently, with that gentleman's formal joining, the level of secrecy has been relaxed considerably," the ninja replied.
"I see. When a cadre of this rank officially joins the Plasma Corps, it will surely cause huge personnel changes. If the future subordinates cannot learn about Akromar's achievements, that scholar's position in the cult will probably become very awkward."
"That might be the reason... Detective, is there any connection between these circumstances and Akromma's poisoning incident?"
Hugo stroked his chin, his expression somewhat hesitant: "Perhaps it's related. By the way, what is Akromma's area of expertise as a scholar?"
"Broadly speaking, it's classified as Elven Studies, but I can't disclose the specifics."
"Oh? It's an area that the Seven Sages aren't good at. Is Team Plasma, which focuses on releasing Pokémon, finally starting to make up for their weaknesses?"
"I'm not familiar with this situation, and your provocation won't change anything," Dark replied with a stern face. "Isn't it time to hear my side of the story?"
The detective's casual expression vanished, and his tone turned serious: "Well, I'm pretty much mentally prepared myself. Please tell me, just how serious is this case that has drawn the King of Team Plasma to travel all this way through the Order's channels for consultation?"
The ninja known as Darkness took a photograph from his pocket and slowly placed it on the desk that Servić had faced before his death.
Above the photo is another poisoned corpse with a gruesome death.
"We found the body of a wanted criminal who died of poisoning in a cave somewhere in northern United States."
The ninja then recounted in great detail everything that had happened since N began his pursuit of the fugitive Voodoo to the detective before him.