Forge a path to success.

Chapter 320 Hiding in Seclusion (2)

The lighter Kanin gave him emitted a bluish flame that shot out in one direction like an arrow. Chu Hengkong followed the flame for a while and arrived at a secluded bar.

Kanin was smoking by the door.

“You’re right on time, Inspector Chu,” Kanin greeted him. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

"After careful consideration, I think it's worth a try."

"Come on, you're naturally adventurous, you enjoy the feeling of being in control of a crisis."

Kanin's tone was confident; perhaps demons are born with a knack for seeing into people's hearts. He entered, a cigarette dangling from his lips, the rising smoke cut off by the creaking fan blades. The old ceiling fan whirred listlessly. The bar was dirty and dilapidated, with a few drunkards slumped around the small wooden table, and the bartender staring absently at the water curtain.

Kanin didn't clear the room, but took a seat at the innermost table. The table was already occupied by a short man in a cloak. As he looked up, Chu Hengkong suddenly felt a surge of familiarity. He abruptly realized he had seen this man before, but hadn't reacted at all.

The man removed his hood, and the candlelight illuminated the indifferent face of the child.

“We meet again, Chu Hengkong,” Olek said.

Chu Hengkong drew his sword with incredible speed, so fast that even Kanin nearly missed it. However, even faster than the flash of the blade was the silver prosthetic body. The Calamity Arm clamped down on his right hand, pinning the slash back into its sheath.

"You use my power against me?" the demon said contemptuously.

He casually waved his hand, loosened his grip, and his left hand returned to its usual function. Chu Heng clenched his fist and then released it, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Your new spirit fragment is quite strong."

“It’s an old thing, a container with a mass limit of 5.” Olek said, “An inorganic contract body, without a living contractor—after all, it’s the territory of the Divine Tree, there’s no need to break its rules.”

Kanin whistled as he walked to the bar and struck up a conversation with the bartender, his face clearly saying, "This is none of my business." Chu Heng suppressed the urge to lash out and said, "You came to me using your ambition."

“Ambition is a good messenger, but I don’t need it,” Olek said dismissively. “After you break through the wilderness, that small town won’t be able to protect you. Where else can you go in a short time besides the Thorn Robe? Now put down your sword, and we will not fight today.”

Chu Hengkong was on high alert, but he knew in his heart that his opponent hadn't come for battle. He knew very well how troublesome the power of misfortune was; both of them were in the city-state of Jingsha, and Olek could kill him without even showing his face. Moreover, this old bastard was even more cautious than Kanin; he wouldn't even glance at a dead man unless absolutely necessary.

"What do you want to know."

“I need information on ‘Vander’,” Olek said, emphasizing, “all information.”

Chu Hengkong immediately denied it: "I would never tell you my friend's background."

"For safety?" Olek sneered. "How loyal you are... But if I hadn't kept the information under wraps, your existence would have reached the king's ears long before you took the anonymity talisman. At that time, even the divine tree wouldn't be able to protect you. So shut your mouth and listen to me before my patience runs out."

"I find it hard to believe that the cursed demon is helping me, especially since we were fighting to the death in Golden Leaf City not long ago," Chu Hengkong said coldly. "Why is this cursed demon, which has been tormenting people all over the world, suddenly being kind to me this time?"

“Because Twilight is my apprentice,” Olek said.

The news was so shocking that Chu Hengkong paused for a moment. Olek sat quietly across the wooden table, his dark eyes like the sea before a storm.

“Twilight, the Librarian, the All-Seeing Eye—whatever you call him, that hopelessly naive, foolish demon is my disciple.” Olek sized him up. “The library has been in turmoil for some time now, and that Vander beside you is unfortunately very suspicious. I need to find out why he carries the power of my disciple.”

"He was one of the students in the library, and he studied under 'Twilight,' that's all."

“Those scoundrels in the library aren’t capable of extracting my spirit,” Oleksandr sneered. “Enough. I already know you know nothing, and I doubt Twilight would be so foolish as to let its backup plan know too much. Now let me see the book it gave you.”

It's reasonable that Olek knew about the information in the manual... after all, he had never kept it a secret. People from Huilong City to Jingsha knew of its existence, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to find out about it given its intelligence capabilities.

Chu Hengkong didn't hesitate much before taking out the handbook and placing it on the table. He himself was also very curious about what this so-called "graduation gift" the curator had given to Fan De was!
"..."

Olek suddenly fell silent, his fingertips tracing the cover inch by inch. The single eye on the page was merely an engraving, unmoving, its gaze still blankly fixed on the ceiling. Chu Hengkong carefully observed him, noticing a highly complex expression flash in Olek's eyes the instant he took out the manual.

It was a mixture of anger, regret, and longing... as well as some deeper emotions that he could sense but could not describe.

Olek said nothing and pushed the book back. For no reason at all, Chu Hengkong suddenly felt that the hostility emanating from him had vanished. Before, he had undoubtedly been a cold and malicious figure, but now Olek seemed like a harmless passerby.

He turned his gaze back to the topic: "Let's leave that aside for now and talk about the key that Vlataari gave us."

Chu Hengkong raised an eyebrow: "Your intelligence network is quite impressive."

“You’re not qualified to underestimate me,” Olek replied. “I suppose Vlataari didn’t tell you how to use that key.”

It was absolutely right; the old octopus had given him the key, hinting that Van Dyne should retrieve the knowledge about the thesis from the Great Archives, but it had never explained in detail how to use it. Chu Hengkong later specifically sought it out, and the answer he received made him frown—it didn't know!
The old octopus only knew to give the key to Van der, but nothing more. The zookeeper who assigned it this task seemed like a charlatan; its subordinates knew the action but not the reasoning, and the successors were completely clueless. Crucially, Van der didn't react at all, as if it took it for granted…

"The library's confidentiality law," Chu Hengkong said ambiguously.

“You’re wrong. I taught him this secrecy law,” Oleksandr sneered. “Let me tell you, that key is used for door Z-2978 on the top floor of the Great Archives. Behind that door lies information about the ‘Final Proposition.’ I need you to tell me about the changes in Vandal after he entered, and the content of the information.”

"I don't intend to make this deal."

“This is not a deal, it’s a suggestion.” Olek stood up. “Think of that knight, and you who killed Vansalal. I’ve allowed you to live until now only because of my apprentice.”

"And most people don't have my kind of meaningless kindness, so you can keep delaying and wait and see how others deal with you."

He put on his hood and walked out of the bar. Kanin came back and sat down shortly after, offering Chu Heng an empty beer.

“If you have any news later, you can contact me directly,” he said. “You know, I’m your messenger.”

“I really didn’t expect you to work for Olek.”

“I’ll help!” Kanin exclaimed dramatically. “That’s not how it works. What you do has always been up to them, not you.”

Chu Hengkong finished his drink, put down his glass, and left. Kaning called out, "Detective, you seem to have forgotten my contract."

"I really want to kill you again right now. Are you sure you want to talk today?"

"We'll talk about it when you have time, of course." Kanin raised his glass in a toast.

He watched Chu Hengkong walk away, then stood up and beckoned with his finger. Everyone in the bar stood up simultaneously, their eyes filled with a zombie-like bewilderment. Kanin led them out of the bar, leaving the surrounding area deserted, except for Olek standing alone in the cold alley.

Oleksandr's fingertips trembled. Of course he knew what the book was; how could he not recognize the power of "omniscience"? He cursed under his breath, his face hidden in the shadows beneath his hood.

“You’re all like this… I’ve warned you so many times… I’ve said it before…!”

·
Chu Hengkong left the bar, turned a few corners, and sat down on a bench by the roadside. A tall man sitting at the other end of the bench, reading a newspaper, asked without looking up, "Who is this important person?"

"doom."

"How terrifying, how terrifying, this is terrible..."

The newspaper was put away, revealing Trek's unkempt, long face.

Chu Hengkong certainly wouldn't negotiate with a demon unprepared. The meeting place was chosen at the Third Meridian because Trek's elusive abilities would ensure immediate intervention should anything go wrong. He folded the newspaper neatly and said, "Misfortune is not a god to be trifled with."

“The choice is probably not in my hands.” Chu Hengkong hesitated for a moment, then vaguely revealed some information: “It seems to have a personal connection with the library…and it knows a great deal. I can’t afford the consequences of it overturning the table.”

“The same goes for it,” Trek said. “If something as powerful as misfortune wants you to do something, there are only two possibilities. Either the matter is too difficult to handle, so it has to ask you to do it, or it really doesn’t want to touch you, fearing that the current situation will drag you into it. Considering that this is its private matter, the second possibility is probably more likely.”

Chu Hengkong was stunned: "It? Protect me?"

"Demons are a race that does whatever they want; nothing they do is surprising," Trek said ambiguously. "Like the amusement park incident, have you read the investigation report?"

"I don't have the authority to access your system."

Trek tossed him a stack of documents stamped "Confidential": "Entertainment, as one of the card designers, also holds a considerable position and power on the surface of the Fifth Order. It seems strange from an outsider's perspective that it chose to come underground and raise the banner of rebellion."

"There must be another mastermind behind this at the bottom of the amusement park."

"If the mastermind wanted to disrupt the situation, why didn't they choose Indulgence, who was already on their side, instead of going to all the trouble of having this inexperienced kid, Entertainment, do it?"

Chu Hengkong considered for a moment: "On the eve of our trial, we happened to encounter Entertainment, who was trying to take things further..."

“A coincidence of turning the tables, that makes sense,” Trek nodded. “However, if something ‘makes sense’ happen again and again, it’s something to be concerned about.”

“That makes sense.” Chu Hengkong stood up. “Let’s see if there will be another coincidence this time.”

"It wouldn't have gone smoothly without coincidences. The Great Archives has never been easy to access."

(End of this chapter)