Steel steam and flame

The room was spacious and quiet, and there was a slight echo of Lyle's words, which may have something to do with the emptiness in the room.

There is only a table and a chair here. The wooden products are painted black, and the lamps cast abundant cold light, which can only clearly show the details of the cane with a strong metallic texture on the table.

Hai put down the book and remained silent for a few seconds before he seemed to come out of the contents of the book. He took the photos and looked through them one by one.

"The day Miss Shake drew these patterns on the window was the time when an important annual lecture was held in the Imperial History School's Lecture Hall of Yato, which was approaching evening. After the lecture, Miss Shake went back to her solo room directly. In the dormitory, dinner was as usual, coffee and bread prepared at noon. She drew these patterns after 11 o'clock at night, which was her customary rest time."

When Lyle looked at the photos, he added corresponding information as a usable basis for analysis.

"The surrounding protection has been increased, and four assassins with outstanding skills have been arranged to take turns patrolling the surrounding area. If there is danger, abnormal situations can be discovered more quickly." Lyle reported all the information he knew and the preparations he had made. He took a step back and stood quietly waiting.

"Is it already snowing in Manoma?" Hai looked at the photo of snowflakes on the window and asked in a gentle tone, even with a smile, "This year's cold wave arrived in Manoma earlier than last year."

"It's been a few days." Lyle thought. "On this day last year, there should have been only cold wind. If it had been a few years earlier, it would have been a good time to go out at night to enjoy the night view."

After the simple snowflake photo, there is an even simpler smiley face pattern. After that, there were child-like graffiti with unknown meanings, as if Shake was releasing the accumulated emotions in his heart in his own way. At the end of the photo, there are large and small smiling faces in a window. Through these smiling faces, you can also see Shake's own forced smile.

Haike picked out the random graffiti and the photo with Shake's forced smile and placed it on the table. He pointed to the photo with the "forced smile" and motioned for Lyle to look at it.

"Judging from the facial expression, there is a look of reluctance. In fact, from the corners of her mouth and eyes, there is joy in her heart." Lyle gave the answer after thinking about it. Observation and interpretation are compulsory courses for assassins or agents. This allows them to know the status of the target object so they can take the next action.

Haike then pointed to the random graffiti and said, "This is a strange text. Among the courses you have added in recent years, you have learned about this aspect. There are two ways to interpret it. One is the meaning of the strange text itself. One is based on its pronunciation.”

Quickly recalling these complicated words in his mind, Lyle immediately found a way to decipher them, but he was confused when he spoke the Imperial language corresponding to the pronunciation of the strange words.

"contact me?"

Hai put away the photos, closed the book again, stood up, took his cane, and looked out the window at the dim sky. A cloud of lead-colored snow lay across, crumbling: "Be prepared to go back to Manoma. At six o'clock in the afternoon, I will be alone. Be prepared for the return trip at the same time. During this period, my substitute will come out."

Seeing Lyle responding and thinking, Haile relaxed his tone and said, "The joy Miss Shaco showed in the photo reminded me of some things."

"Lyle, during an operation a few years ago, do you remember that Miss Shaco had a pistol hidden in a book?"

"The magazine-type pistol uses ordinary gunpowder bullets and has a very small caliber. Even Miss Sacco can ignore its recoil as long as she exercises her arm strength in daily life." Lyle answered from a professional perspective, "The person who provided the pistol was very familiar with Ms. Shaco's situation, had knowledge of firearms, and made a rational choice."

"Afterwards, we conducted a detailed investigation on Miss Shaco's identity and background. The source of the pistol was not found, and the possibility that the pistol was provided by her grandfather Doulison was close to zero. Finally, we came to the conclusion that the pistol was provided by Miss Shaco. I got it after arriving in Manoma. But who provided it, there is no accurate answer yet.”

Hai nodded, and the smile on his face increased, as if someone else's answer that already existed in his head was a second confirmation of his guess.

"When was the pistol discovered?" Hai gave the prompt again.

Lyle exhaled afterward: "Master, there are still three hours until 6pm. I will carefully arrange your trip to and from Manoma, and do a good job of the work of the substitutes during the time you leave here. arrange."

After hearing this, he sighed with a smile: "The conjectures made a few years ago have not been answered for sure until now. The span of time is indeed fascinating."

The two walked out of the empty house together.

The horrifying words continued: "Recently, the incident at the empire's border has deepened the level of surveillance. Lyle, you need to pay special attention. I will contact Miss Iyetta to cover up this trip by going back to Manoma and meeting her secretly. .”

"I understand, young master." Lyle behind him nodded, "More than two years have passed, but the Holy Emperor's Hall, the King's Faction, the Three Primary Colors and the Imperial Mining Company, and even our own family, still refuse to give up any of their existence. Hope you have the opportunity. And this will also have a certain impact on your status and promotion, young master."

Hai didn't care at all, with a touch of indifference: "The Red Star coming this time has special significance to the family's Presbyterian Church, and it will be a change. They know that if they fail to seize the opportunity and fail to choose the right one at the right time, Position, after the war is over, they will not have the chance to go to the tundra and freeze their lives, and they will only become corpses."

"It's fear, and I feel the power and urgency of the advancement of the times. If they don't take effective actions, they may face their own consequences before the war is over."

"If Mr. Macquarie of the Chilaandi family can stop the action of the contemporary knight king of the empire and slow down the death time of the holy fathers in the Holy Emperor's Hall, even if it delays the time for another two to three years, The situation will be completely different from now. The deaths of the Holy Fathers have indeed awakened the elders of various families."

There was regret and pity in Hai's words: "I think Mr. Macquarie must have tried his best to fight for it, but when faced with the knight royal clan leader of Qila Andi, he really has no qualifications to disobey. If those old people are immersed in the solidity of the empire, If we have more time in the fortress dream, the changes may be simpler in the future.”

The two of them went to the end of the corridor, where they stood still: "Remember to remove the added protection around Miss Shake, that is the only blind spot that is not discovered by everyone." He laughed, "Mr. Cassia, no matter what time, , can always bring surprises to people. He tells us with actions and time-span results that always keeping a gentle and sunny place in the heart can indeed bring good luck and unexpected gains to people."

Hai separated from Lyle here and went to his usual study room. He put down his cane and sword, poured a glass of warm water and drank it.

"You made us wait a little too long, Mr. Cassia. I don't know how long it will be before I really see you again."