Twenty Seven Years

   "What's wrong?" Clark asked in a low voice after following Verak to the bathroom.

   "The situation is more complicated now..." After careful consideration, Verak decided to tell Clark that Cosmo had already betrayed the revolution. "What I will tell you next, you must not disclose it to anyone."

   "...Understood." Clark looked serious and nodded solemnly.

  Villac took a little time to organize his words, and then said: "Cosmo betrayed the revolution, and now he is a scavenger and a member of the government."

  Clark's expression instantly changed from solemn to puzzled and shocked.

Before he could say anything, Verak continued: "The reason why the substation has become what it is now can almost be said to be caused by him. The worst thing is that we now only know that Cosmo has fallen to the government. The condition of the others is not yet known.”

"This-doesn't this mean that all our affairs are exposed to the government's sight?" Clark's voice was dry, as if he had been sucked into a vortex, and he felt an inexplicable sense of dizziness, "Stuart They don't also..."

"That's right, the scavengers now know that we want to pretend to be their activities, but considering that the sudden termination of their operations will arouse Cosmo's vigilance, I can only continue to let them carry out this impossible task .” Verak said.

   "Then what should we do?" Clark asked eagerly.

"The most important thing for us now is to find a way to investigate the situation of other people and find out all the traitors." Verak stroked Clark's shoulder to help him stabilize his mind. We can start with Cosmo."

  Clark understood what Verak meant: "What can I do?"

If it wasn't for Clark's help in the investigation, Verac didn't plan to tell him about it. After all, it would be difficult for Clark to pretend nothing happened in front of Cosmo: "The only ones who know about this are you and me. , Quentin. In the tavern, I will cooperate with Quentin to conduct an investigation. Outside the tavern, I need you to use the identity of the patrol team to secretly prepare a hiding place that only the three of us know, in case of emergency.”

   "Okay." This is not difficult for Clark.

"If it's time for us to start using this place, all of us must be wanted, so remember to avoid the attention of the patrol team, and try not to leave any impression on others." Verak exhorted worriedly detail.

"Understood." Clark nodded, "I can understand that you don't tell Stuart, Connie, and Oscar about this for now, but what about this secret site? I'm worried that something unexpected will happen, We didn't have time to tell them to evacuate."

"There is no way." Verak sighed lightly, "Don't tell them that Cosmo's betrayal, just say that the secret site will be very unsafe, in case they think too much, or inadvertently reveal this to other people who still can't believe it , then this site is not secret and not secure enough.”

Clark has a good impression of Vladislav and Arseni: "I feel that comrades Vladislav and Arseni should not be with Cosmo. No matter how bad it is, I went to Lezein earlier, Vikenji and August, who came back with us again—”

"Even Cosmo can betray, who else in the sub-station is absolutely reliable? And if you hadn't noticed the clue by chance, and I sent Quentin to confirm this fact, we would never know it until we died The truth...so, past impressions can no longer be used as the basis for our judgment, and we can't afford to take the risk." Veraker is the last person to suspect everyone, because every time he suspects that a person does something with impure motives, his heart suffers more .

   "Then do you have any specific ideas? How to judge the situation of other people from Cosmo?" Clark had to give up the idea of ​​gathering more comrades and ask about other situations.

"I don't have a clue yet. I guess the Bash government is aware of our movements, but it has been slow to catch us all because it is worried about cooperating with the International Equality League. Once Bash ends the battle with Welland, In Brecy's war, there is no need to maintain friendship with the International Equality League, and we may be wiped out immediately." Verac said.

   "It's only a few days..." Clark's heart tightened.

"I don't know if we can find out all the traitors in the few days left, and then counterattack. In short, the most urgent task is to confirm the enemy and ourselves in the sub-station. Even if we withdraw, we must not leave our comrades in vain. Send to death." Verak's shoulders were heavy, "Okay, let's stop here first, and Cosmo should be suspicious when we talk about it."

  Clark's gaze was firm: "I will hurry up and prepare the largest hiding place possible. If you need me elsewhere, just tell me."

"When dealing with Cosmo and the others later, don't stare so hard. After saying hello to them, go back to Quentin's side." Verac and Clark walked out of the bathroom together, straightening their pants and clothes as they walked, as if really I just went to the toilet.

   "Understood." Clark couldn't help breathing heavily.

  After returning to the cubicle, Vera opened the door and said, "Clark, go back, be careful not to be suspected by the patrol captain."

   "Understood, then I'll go first." Clark glanced at Cosmo, Vladislav, and Arseni, nodded at them, turned and walked to another compartment.

   "Let's continue with what we just said." Veraker closed the door and sat down, drawing the attention of the three of them to himself. "Sitting here, what exactly can we do?"

   "Just wait." Cosmo spoke negatively as usual.

  —

  Before noon, the captain of the inspection team who finished drinking left with Clark who had received a secret mission.

  Verak and the others did not make much progress in the cubicle, and his multiple attempts failed to deepen or alleviate the suspicion of Vladislav and Arseni.

  After eating lunch tacitly, Verac found an opportunity to be alone with Quentin in the cubicle, and told about the secret arrangement for Clark to find a place to stay.

"This is very important. Even if the scavengers attack us suddenly and we have no time to leave the city, our temporary safety can be guaranteed. But the key is whether we can find all the traitors. Only by finding them can the problem be fundamentally resolved. .Did you get anything from Cosmo this morning?" Quentin asked.

"No. In this kind of matter, it is difficult for me to make accurate judgments on their various performances." Verak's psychological pressure is not small. Can disintegrate the other party's disguise, "It's too difficult to do this."

   "The problem is that we don't have much time. If it doesn't work, we have to withdraw first and save our strength to make another plan. If we continue to be so deadlocked, not only will we not be able to save others, but our entire army will also be wiped out." Quentin proposed to evacuate again.

   Withdraw now, these new comrades who came with Verak still have time to leave Winterhold.

  If you wait and continue to try to reverse the situation and rescue comrades, everyone will end up dead.

  Whether to abandon the comrades who were kept in the dark at the sub-station, save the only strength to find another way of development, or risk the sacrifice of everyone and stick to it in Winterhold.

  Sss

   The life and death of all the comrades in the substation are decided by Verak.

"Wait a little longer." Verak shook his head slightly, frowning, "Withdrawing now is equivalent to the sacrifice of innocent comrades in the sub-station, half of the responsibility is on us. If it were you, you don't want to know nothing Under the circumstances, was he given up by his companions?"

"Now is not the time for us to act emotionally. If we talk about this, the result may be that we are buried with us, and Bash's status quo has not changed at all." Quentin has experienced a lot in the intelligence department, including abandoning his companions, "If the abandoned It's me, as long as it's for the greater good, I'm willing."

"What we are talking about now is not the sacrifice of one or two people, but the life and death of hundreds of people in the entire substation." Verak emphasized, "The most important thing is, are we doing our best now? The situation is so serious that we will not leave now Is it impossible? If we really have no choice, then you don’t need to mention the evacuation, I will take the initiative to say it. But now, it’s not the last step yet.”

   "We have absolutely nothing to do now, what's the difference between this and a dead end?"

   "How long is this?

"How long do we have left?" Quentin asked back, and was silent for a while, "...I actually don't mean to leave now, we can at least try for another two or three days. But if there is no progress after two or three days, you will A choice has to be made."

"It is undeniable that your thinking is very rational. In any case, we have the minimum strength to rebuild the sub-station and start the Bash revolution again." Verak sat down, "I have been thinking about this in my heart , don’t worry, when that time comes, this will no longer be an option, I will take everyone to evacuate Winterhold as soon as possible.”

   "I believe in you." Verac never disappointed Quentin in anything. Quentin chose to trust Verac unconditionally within the scope of his choice.

Verak said "hmm": "In addition to our investigation and Clark's search for a backup site, I think we also need to contact the main station and inform them of this matter, so as to avoid any important information leakage from the main station and cause other problems. Loss."

"This is a bit tricky. Cosmo has always been in control of this aspect. It is impossible for us to bypass him and send the information back to the main station unless we use a code word specially made by the intelligence department, but I am worried that using code words will cause Cosmo's attention." Be alert," Quentin said.

   "Is it because the code words are easy to reveal, or are you worried that Cosmo also understands the code words?"

   "Cosmo, as the station master, probably understands code words. After all, code words are common to the entire International Equality Alliance, so it's better not to take this path to be on the safe side." Quentin shook his head.

  Verak closed his eyes and thought hard: "Then we can only contact Clark again. As a patrolling soldier, he must have many connections."

   Quentin didn't speak, just nodded.

   "There must be some progress in the afternoon, we have to cooperate." Verak said again, "I have a little idea now, maybe I can test out the situation of Vladislav and Arseni first."

   Quentin listened.

"Unless there are special circumstances, Cosmo will generally not leave here to report the news to the scavengers. I think we can try to create a news that must be reported, and then deliberately keep him. See Vladislav, Arseni's reaction. If Cosmo doesn't mind them going, it means that the two of them have betrayed the revolution and can replace Cosmo to see Maxim. If Cosmo prevents them from going, it means that the two of them One is innocent," Verac said.

"We can even confirm further. If Vladislav and Arseni go, I will find a reason to go out and monitor their movements at the secret site in the basement." Quentin felt that Verak's method was feasible .

   "No matter what, first find out the two of them. If they are innocent, many things will be easier to carry out."

   "Then let's think about how to make news, and how to have a legitimate reason to keep Cosmo." Quentin and Verak discussed the details of the plan.

   Half an hour later, a complete plan was drawn up, and it was only waiting for Verak to convene a meeting to formally test the innocence of Vladislav and Arseni.

   "Then let's go and ask them to come over and talk." Verak got up and was about to go out.

   "Shut up."

  At this time, a small voice suddenly came from outside the door.

  At the same time, Verac and Quentin, who were aware of the sound, looked at each other, stepped forward to open the door, and looked into the corridor.

  The corridor was empty and eerily quiet.

  Where does the sound come from?

  Verak looked around.

   He was the only one who heard it, and there was a certain probability that it was an auditory hallucination, but Quentin heard it just like him, which meant that there was indeed movement outside the door when they were about to go out.

   "Will it be..." Quentin made a whisper-sized voice.

   What he meant was obvious. Someone outside might have been eavesdropping on their conversation, and when they heard that they were going to come out, they hurriedly left.

  The one who had the motive to eavesdrop on their conversation, Cosmo was the only one in the tavern, but if he really came over and eavesdropped on the entire conversation between Verac and Quentin, the consequences would be disastrous.

   "Don't worry." Verak also made a slight voice, and then looked around vigilantly.

  It took less than three or four seconds from when they said they were going out to actually coming out.

  In just three or four seconds, it is almost impossible for the eavesdropper to leave the corridor with only a slight sound.

  If there is really an eavesdropper, then he must still be nearby now, and the only few cubicles that can hide nearby.

  Verak patted Quentin on the back, signaling him to get ready, and then walked slowly to the door of the compartment directly opposite, touching the doorknob.

   "Shut up!"

  Before he opened the door, the people in the cubicle pushed the door open first, forcing Verac and Quentin who were close to the door to back away.

   "Eh? Are you here?" Cosmo asked after opening the door.

   Seeing Cosmo walk out of it, Verak, who stood firm, secretly screamed that something was wrong.

  It is very likely that they have been suspected by Cosmo, so they have been overheard all the plans!