Глава 7

I'll take care of it.

You're a Lungmenite.

I can leave Lungmen.

Superintendent Ch'en, don't play the hero. This isn't your responsibility.

If Lungmen needs a traitor, let it be me.

I'm sick of you, Wei Yenwu.

You and your precious city.

I stopped being a Lungmenite even before you dug your claws into the slums.

Now is not the time for a debate on ethics.

What did they do? Why did you have to do that to them?

'What did they do?'

Tell me, Miss Chen, what did they do?

Tell me, where was it Reunion hid themselves? Where was it they snuck into our city?

You trust the slum dwellers, but do they trust you? Where did that trust come from?

Have any of them, aside from your informants or Lin Kojui's ears, reported the Infected infiltrating their homes?

Things happened so fast! That doesn't mean anything!

Did you receive even a single tip?

Yes or no?

No.

Not one. Not a single person stepped up.

They don't trust you. They would rather put their faith in foreign provocateurs than the Rat King or the Superintendent of the L.G.D.

Maybe Reunion was threatening them. Reunion's Infected are known to be violent and dangerous.

Did they forget that Lungmen has never raised a hand against them?

I don't blame them for supporting each other.

In fact, if the Infected didn't support each other, if they hated each other instead, the slums would have long since destroyed themselves.

But they could have opposed Reunion. They could have come together with the Rat King's people to fight the infiltrators, they could have asked for your help——

They don't trust——

Exactly. They don't trust you. After all you've done for them. They still don't trust you.

We should have sent the L.G.D. into the slums long ago!

It was the locals who didn't want the L.G.D. in the slums. They were the ones working against my L.G.D. time and time again.

Even as Lin Kojui and I worked so hard to root out the criminals and foreign agents from the slums, it was those same locals who scoffed at the sacrifices of our soldiers.

Was it Lungmen that rejected them?

Answer me, Miss Ch'en.

Look me in the eyes and answer me!

It's not their fault.

Then whose, pray tell, is it?

How many times have I told you? You have the right to your own thoughts and opinions... provided you don't let them affect your work.

The L.G.D. is here to protect Lungmen. The Special Inspection Unit is here to guide the L.G.D. to protect Lungmen.

The slums you've done so much for have become a vulnerability that could lead to Lungmen's destruction.

Reunion exploited the Infected among them to distract us, letting our guard down to Chernobog.

The measures we took to fight off Reunion left us open to this maneuver by the core city.

And those Infected stood by and did nothing.

If Lungmen falls here, it is ultimately by their hand.

No...

Who should be held responsible for turning Lungmen into a flashpoint? Who is responsible for lives lost and blood spilled?

So much destruction over a few neighborhoods... just because we didn't act in time.

When you say 'act,' do you mean——

Whose fault is it?

Was it Lungmen that rejected them? No.

It was they who rejected Lungmen.

So you'll dispose of them?

Indifference and a lack of vision already destroyed them. I have no reason to care for these people anymore.

Ch'en. We are all tainted with our innumerable mistakes.

Everyone makes mistakes. All we can do is fix them, or cover them up for a while.

There is always someone who can do what I can't. But for now, I still have things to do.

Everyone makes mistakes?

I know what you're saying.

The Infected are a mistake, as long as they exist in the city?

...Pigheaded girl.

Superintendent Ch'en, I have told you everything. Now do what you must.

Alright then. *Inhales*...

Wei Yenwu, what I must do, what the L.G.D. must do, is name who is at fault, and correct the mistake.

It seems that, according to your definition, I am at fault.

We could also say I am the mistake.

Because I am Infected.

You—

Ch'en?!

Madam Ch'en...

There is no need to hide it anymore.

For three years, you've been hiding my infection from the world. Now that the Infected have no place in this city, neither do I.

Nonsense!

She and I are both Infected. I don't belong here. I know what I must do, and I won't be making any more mistakes.

I'm the only one who can stop her.

'Don't feel bad. I understand. We're sworn brothers, aren't we? Brothers... remember where we came from.'

Sworn brothers ruined.

I am Infected, and a traitor to Lungmen. I am the only one who can do this.

'I hate you. And I hate them. I should love you, but right now I hate every last one of you.'

Blood relations ruined.

We've come this far. All we can do is keep going.

'Why me? Why does it have to be me? Who could feel safe sitting here?'

Close family ruined.

No.

If you leave this office today, Ch'en Hui-chieh... you will be an enemy of Lungmen. You will never again be allowed to set foot in this city.

And all that we've worked for together for the past ten years... will come to nothing.

Everything I worked for came to nothing as soon as you did what you did.

Lungmen is about to go up in flames. A battle is upon us. You have your ways, I have mine.

The only difference is, I'm not like you. I don't think anyone is a 'mistake.'

I won't let this city fall. But I won't go in without a plan either.

Power is a tool, at the end of the day. If you are going to use this tool to tinker with the world, you have to conform to its expectations.

Um.

Don't make a mockery of yourself, Inspector Ch'en.

Laugh at that, and you're laughing at yourself.

I raised you to change it. I hoped that you would change this world to want more than prosperity and growth.

So, has it changed? Can it be changed? Does everything I've worked for actually mean anything?

Even if it can't now, it must be someday.

You're going to make sure it can be changed.

Wait! Stop! Who are you?!

You can't go in there... security?! Where are the guards?! There's an intruder!

Lord Wei, we will act.

Get out.