Глава 6

No, it could only be you.... It can only be you.

The rat and her cunning father are at best a little ruse. Only you would dare to order this.

I had thought that by defeating Reunion, by reuniting all the people of Lungmen, we would eventually get through this. We could even bridge the misunderstandings between Lungmenites....

I never imagined... but I should have.

Once again you reassert yourself as the master of Lungmen. As you always were.

But still.... How...? How could you do such a thing?

You tear down every obstacle? You burn everything in your path? To what do you finally bow your head?

I know how you all feel about the Infected. But why?! Why....? It's not just...

You don't even dare take responsibility for it.

Erase the name, erase the trail, erase the order, cover all your tracks.

Wei Yenwu, you and Lin should trade races.

You speak without thinking.

Superintendent Ch'en, I have no idea what you are referring to. I do hope your explanation is convincing.

Okay, I'll cut to the chase then.

Did you kill Talulah's father?

...Officer Ch'en?

Did you force our mother to marry that cowardly man?

Who put such thoughts in your head?

How about you take a guess?

Please watch your tone of voice.

Lord Wei, who controls everything in Lungmen, suddenly realizes that the secret he's been hiding for years has long since ceased to be a secret?

Officer Ch'en, know your place. Guards!

It was Talulah who told me.

Of course, everything Talulah knew, not many people knew in the first place.

You're angry, because you know this could threaten your rule.... That old man, that Duke of Kashchey, has been in your nightmares from the very beginning.

And you've never felt even a little bit sorry for Talulah, have you?

Officer Ch'en, don't speculate on facts you are not authorized to know, and don't trust information from unknown sources.

You're tired.

I certainly don't trust that old duke! He almost destroyed all of Lungmen, and he's the one who kidnapped Talulah!

So...

But I remember it well.... It was a sunny day. That night, there was no moon, only a few stars.

The old man grabs Talulah and stands on the other side of a broken bridge.

And behind you....

Behind you stands a crowd of people in black raincoats.

I trust Talulah. I've always trusted her. I know she can be lied to as well, of course. But look at the kind of person you are!

You would sacrifice anything to get what you want!

Ch'en Hui-chieh!

You want to clean up the slums, even destroy them! So many Lungmenites, so many Lungmenites who trusted us, so many Lungmenites who stood behind us all along...

Is it because the Infected don't count as citizens of Lungmen? Because they can't afford to live in your high-rises? Or is it because the people in the slums will one day live in peace with the Infected?

Are you really protecting Lungmen? Aren't you the one who is a threat to this city and her people?

Don't think you can throw a couple rats in front of you and get away with this!

The Lins wouldn't dare to do this without your permission!

Miss Ch'en.

You know nothing...

About what I've done for Lungmen.

The thing that always annoyed me the most about you is this attitude you have, where you have to squeeze everything into your own grubby mitts.

If the two of you could spare even a shred of free time, I'd like you to hear a message.

Dr. Kal'tsit?

Take a look at your terminal. I sent the details over.

Ah.... okay.

...What?

I don't recall giving permission for you to enter my parlor, Dr. Rhodes Island.

I let her in.

After so many years have passed, why are you still like this....?

Aren't you tired of hiding everything from her and doing it all yourself?

Listen to our guest. We got the same message. You could have known three minutes earlier.

All right, Dr. Kal'tsit. Go ahead.

The enemy's top commander was not present when we wiped out Reunion in Lungmen.

This is simply because she was in Chernobog.

She watched us, either calmly or with great consternation... But we paid her no attention at all.

And now, a part of Chernobog, specifically its core...

...is approaching Lungmen.

In thirty-six hours, the urban core of Chernobog will collide with Lungmen.

That's a trifle. Lungmen has her ways to defend against nomadic cities and warships. A measly urban core is nothing to worry about. Why, we don't even have to....

Are we on the same page, Chief Wei?

...Has it started...

Spamming out urban identification codes?

No.

Yes, your intuition, or presumption, is correct.

The urban core has been beaming codes nonstop. All of Lungmen's subcities have already been hit.

The codes claim——

'This city belongs to Ursus.'