I write obituaries for the gods

Lin Chen told Jiang Zhengge everything about his conversation with Velemer in the small room.

“That’s really strange…” Jiang Zhengge rubbed his chin. “This doesn’t seem like the Black Pine Brotherhood. They’re all about money, vodka, and women. How could they possibly use a so-called riddle as a bargaining chip?”

“But these photos don’t look fake,” Lin Chen said. “St. Peter’s Orphanage…could this place be a cover for a factory?”

"The probability is very high."

The door was pushed open, and Oswald walked in.

He walked to Lin Chen's side, took the photo, and looked at it.

“This intelligence is true,” he said.

“Os, is this orphanage really a stronghold of the Mercury Society?” Jiang Zhengge asked.

"Ah."

Oswald closed his eyes, and for some reason, Lin Chen suddenly felt that the man in front of him had aged a lot in an instant.

......

Lucy stared blankly at the waves of the North Sea, her expression somewhat dazed.

"Sister Lucy, Sister Lucy?"

She came to her senses, turned around, and saw Li Zhanyi standing behind her.

“We’re about to have a meeting, don’t stand outside,” Li Zhanyi said. “It’s too cold outside.”

"it is good."

Lucy forced a smile and nodded.

"I'll come in right away."

Gazing at the boundless North Sea, she recalled memories from long ago, memories of the orphanage.

Before I knew it, I was back here again.

Lucy crossed her index and middle fingers, prayed briefly, then turned and followed Li Zhanyi into the bridge.

As soon as she entered, she heard Hua Luori's voice:

"Using an orphanage as a cover for a secret research facility is a classic tactic."

Upon hearing the words "orphanage," Lucy was immediately stunned.

She walked quickly to the clue board and stared blankly at the photo that had just been sent from St. Petersburg.

“Lucy,” Hua Molan said softly, standing beside her.

"There's no escaping it."

Lucy shook her head self-deprecatingly, a smile playing on her lips.

"Has the intelligence been confirmed? Is this really the place?" she asked.

“There’s no time to confirm, we don’t have much time left,” Hua Molan said. “The Mercury Society will bomb St. Peter’s Town tomorrow night, and we must find the factory before then.”

“I can take you in,” Lucy said directly.

"Huh? Sister Lucy, you..." Li Zhanyi was taken aback.

“Just take me to that orphanage,” Lucy said, looking at the clue board. “I know it very well, very well.”

......

"Your people are very capable; they truly deserve to be called the elite of the Investigation Bureau..."

At the entrance of the orphanage, a man in a black trench coat patted Louis on the shoulder.

The man maintained a smile the whole time; it seemed as if this was the only expression on his face, as if it were welded there like a mask.

Louis knew who the man in front of him was: Lavasis, Pacan of the Black Pine Brothers, and also the leader of the Mercury Society's Silver District branch.

Aside from his strange expression, the man didn't seem particularly special.

But Louis knew that this man was one of the people who truly controlled the situation in the shadows of Rain City.

"Thank you for your appreciation." Louis bowed slightly.

“It’s going to rain,” Lavasis said, looking up at the night sky. “The work is almost finished. What time are you leaving tonight?”

"Tonight?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's nothing."

Lavasis patted Louis on the shoulder:

"Work hard, young man. Mr. Z told me you really want to climb the ladder... You might have a chance, right?"

After he finished speaking, he walked toward the orphanage surrounded by a group of Black Pine Brotherhood members.

Louis stared blankly at their receding figures, a faint glint of blue in his eyes.

He invaded the mind of one of the fraternity members and began to listen to the conversations of those around him:

"...Haha, are these idiots in the Investigation Bureau just disposable materials? I thought Mr. Z would give them some face."

“Don’t be stupid,” Lavasis said calmly. “What use are these idiots? We need a bunch of targets to buy time, and the FBI agents will definitely be a higher priority.”

“After all, that kid is a traitor,” the Brotherhood member spat. “He’s a beast. In the Gulag, informers would die a horrible death.”

"..."

"Hahaha...hahahaha..."

The voice in his mind was laughing wildly. When Louis came to his senses, he found himself kneeling at the entrance of the orphanage.

"Partner, hahaha, chess player, hahaha, you're a waste! Louis! Hahahaha..."

"They're about to leave! Because this place will soon be blown to smithereens! And what about you? You've led a tiny minority of people who still trust you to the border of Rain City to die! Hahahaha!"

"You want to do something good for Yudu? Yudu is about to be blown up! You'll just be a toy for the upper class you despise for the rest of your life!"

“Shut up!” Louis growled.

He pinched himself hard, and the voice in his mind vanished instantly. The tranquility of the night washed over him, and the chirping of crickets reached his ears from afar.

"The chance is almost gone," Louis murmured softly.

At that moment, a voice came through his headset:

"Chief, the Black Pine Brotherhood has captured an informant for the Investigation Bureau, and they're planning to bury him alive."

“Intercept that informant and bring him to me,” Louis said softly, panting.

"Intercept them? Under what pretext?"

"Just say that I know the people in the Bureau of Investigation better."

Louis's lips curled into a slight smile.

"Only then can I get something out of them."

......

"Our informant has been arrested. We need to change locations. Oss, is everything settled?"

"It's all taken care of."

After setting the vodka hostel on fire, Oswald walked out of the hostel's main entrance.

“It’s been staged as a suicide,” Oswald said to Lin Chen and Jiang Zhengge, who were standing on the street. “They won’t notice.”

Seemingly noticing Lin Chen's gaze, Oswald added:

"The fire will be put out soon."

"I never expected the informant to be exposed at this juncture," Jiang Zhengge sighed. "I guess he's in grave danger."

"What is the identity of our informant?" Lin Chen asked.

“Just some local helpful folks, an old Russian I met when I was on duty here before,” Jiang Zhengge lit a cigarette. “He secretly booked the hotel for us this time. He also has some intelligence networks in the area. I just sent them a message asking if there was an airport in Baiyin District. He sent an emergency signal and then went silent.”

"Is it possible that they are just on the run?" Lin Chen asked.

"It's hard to say, but we have to assume he's been arrested."

Jiang Zhengge exhaled a puff of smoke and gently waved his hand:

"Let's go, we probably won't get any sleep tonight either, let's find somewhere to hide."

......

When Ivan's hood was removed, he found himself in a wasteland.

In the distance, the runway was faintly visible in the hazy night.

Old Ivan was arrested after he finished washing up. At that time, Section Chief Jiang asked him about the location of the airport. He was about to say that he was not sure when a group of Brotherhood members suddenly rushed in and pinned him down.

We were too careless and actually failed in the darkness before dawn.

Taking a deep breath of the scent of decaying leaves and earth, old Ivan felt that his old life was almost over.

To be honest, he wasn't some kind of hero who sacrificed himself for the truth. Back when the orphanage in Baiyin District burned down, he was the gatekeeper there and witnessed it turn into a living hell.

The Yudu Municipal Government basically doesn't care about this dilapidated place, Baiyin District. No one has investigated the cause of the fire, and the children who escaped have no one to take care of them.

Later, the investigation bureau intervened and resettled some of the surviving children.

Old Ivan met Jiang Zhengge around that time. He always felt that people like Section Chief Jiang were the ones who truly wanted to make the city a better place, so he provided the Investigation Bureau with local intelligence for a long time.

Since the start of the Rain City War, the entire Silver District has been essentially sealed off. The Great Plains connecting to the Liberty District are filled with firing positions. The Red Gang has sent scouts here several times, but they have all been utterly destroyed.

Old Ivan could only watch helplessly as the Silver District was turned into a living hell by the Brotherhood. At this time, Jiang Zhengge contacted him once again.

Damn it... He thought he'd live to see the day the Investigation Bureau liberates the Baiyin District.

It seems there's no other way.

Death didn't matter to him; from the moment he started working as an informant for the Bureau of Investigation, old Ivan had been mentally prepared for this day.

Well... little Sofia will definitely blame him.

"cough..."

Old Ivan coughed up a mouthful of blood. He felt a sharp pain in his lungs, probably from the blows he had taken when he was captured earlier.

While coughing, he tried to untie the rope binding his hands behind his back.

To his surprise, the rope was quite loose.

Are the Brotherhood really that incompetent?

Just as old Ivan was about to give it a try, a voice came:

"So, you're the informant who passed information to the Bureau of Investigation... then."

Old Ivan looked up and saw Louis standing in front of him.

He held a gun in his hand, and the half of his face that was visible wore a sinister smile.

“Old man, why are you doing this to yourself…” Louis sighed. “If you could just wait until tomorrow, you could die peacefully in your sleep. Look at that runway, the bombers are all ready. Tomorrow they’ll raze the whole town to the ground…”

Runway...bombers...Old Ivan frowned.

Is that the airport that Section Chief Jiang is looking for?

Are they going to blow up St. Peter's Town?

Old Ivan clenched his fist:

"You blasphemous bastards..."

“God isn’t going to come and save you from the freezing cold,” Louis laughed. “Oh… look at your eyes, you’re still thinking about passing the information out?”

He clapped his hands, as if he had witnessed the funniest thing in the world:

"But I can understand you. Intelligence on this kind of classified facility is extremely rare. If I didn't have the ability to read minds, I wouldn't have been able to find this airport. This place is usually very well hidden; even satellites can't find it. Do you really expect to find such a crucial facility with your Boy Scout skills?"

"Are you hoping to pass the information to that beloved Section Chief Jiang and get a few more bottles of vodka in return?"

Old Ivan remained silent.

What Louis said is indeed true; such classified facilities are not easy to find.

With time so pressing, he unexpectedly obtained this intelligence; if he could pass it on...