Chapter 1197

"But..."

Looking at the anxious unkempt man before him, Li Ang, having successfully fished him, "hesitated" for a moment before saying helplessly:

"Forget it, we have no other way now, we can only trust you for the time being...

But let's get the ugly talk out of the way first: our original goal was just to complete the investigation mission and confirm the situation of the Kroke royal family; we didn't intend to harm you. But if you tip anyone off, don't blame us!"

"I guarantee I won't! I can swear!"

Seeing that even though he had chosen to "actively surrender," the two of them were still hesitant and unwilling to believe him, the last shred of doubt in the unkempt man's heart was dispelled. After hurriedly swearing a vicious oath, he asked impatiently:

"What exactly happened to the royal family? Is the Emperor really dead?"

"You could say they are ninety percent dead."

Li Ang sighed:

"According to the intelligence we have obtained so far, there should only be two living people left in the entire Kroke royal family. Basically, all members carrying royal blood have had their brains removed by Prince Andre and turned into Atifi sub-bodies."

What?!!!

Hearing the "truth" revealed by Li Ang, the unkempt man was struck as if by lightning. With eyes full of horror, he said:

"Prince Andre... this... how is this possible? This is too absurd, I... I don't believe it!"

"To be honest, we don't believe it either."

Li Ang said with a headache:

"I can understand how you feel. When we first heard this news, we didn't dare believe it either, but the source of the news is highly credible, which is why we thought about sneaking into Research Zone 1 through you to see if we could verify this news."

"This..."

Looking at Li Ang opposite him, whose brows were tightly locked and whose expression appeared very troubled, the unkempt man couldn't help but clench his fists and fell into hesitation along with him.

People are sometimes just this awkward. If Li Ang had stated the truth upon meeting, explaining that the Kroke royal family had already been harmed and hoping for his help, he would likely only have been met with suspicion and defense, and might even have been sold out in return.

But if they were evasive and refused to speak clearly, letting him chase them for answers, and then presenting an attitude of "we don't believe this news either, but due to our duties, we have to take the risk to verify it," the unkempt man, eager to know the situation, would subconsciously feel the news was highly credible.

After struggling for a good while, the unkempt man, who had initially stated he would never cooperate, couldn't help but grit his teeth and lower his voice:

"Where did your news come from?"

"Hmm? Why are you asking this?"

Hearing his inquiry, Li Ang's eyes narrowed instantly. He adopted a "vigilant" attitude and questioned him with a scrutinizing gaze:

"Do you know something?"

"I..."

"I've thought you were strange for a long time!"

Li Ang's expression turned slightly cold, and he said with suspicion:

"You were kidnapped by us, yet you aren't worried about your own safety and even took the initiative to talk! And you're asking about such important news... Speak! What is your relationship with Prince Andre?"

"You misunderstood!"

Seeing that Li Ang had actually started to suspect him, the unkempt man said hurriedly:

"I really have nothing to do with Andre! I am Emperor Fei En's man!"

"That's just what you say! How do I know if it's true or false?"

"I..."

Annoyed by Li Ang's "suspicious nature," the unkempt man scratched his head for a while, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He reached into his chest, fumbled around, took out a pocket watch, opened the lid, and handed it over.

"Look! This is a photo of me and Emperor Fei En! We took it when we graduated from the Second Metal Academy back then. I've carried it with me for so many years!"

"..."

Taking the pocket watch to inspect it, and seeing the photo of two young men standing side by side, smiling very brightly, inside the lid, Li Ang raised his eyes with some suspicion:

"Is this photo you?"

"It is!"

"Is it?" "Yes! I was very thin back then!"

"Alright... although the photo doesn't prove anything, I can barely believe you once."

After closing the pocket watch with skepticism and handing it back, Li Ang said "reluctantly":

"The source of our news is Princess Feliya, who is also the last survivor of the entire Kroke royal family besides the murderer, Prince Andre."

"..."

Princess Feliya?

Hearing Li Ang's words, the unkempt man's expression froze slightly. Then his pupils shrank abruptly, the muscles on both sides of his cheeks twitched uncontrollably, and he then tried to act calm:

"Is that so... then we really must verify it carefully..."

Hmm? He's starting to suspect me again?

Watching the unkempt man's soul churn again, with the murky color representing distrust reappearing inside, Li Ang's eyebrows raised slightly, and he questioned him decisively:

"What's wrong with Princess Feliya? Why is your expression so strange after hearing her name?"

"I..."

Not expecting that he would be discovered just by hesitating for a moment, the unkempt man felt a shock in his heart, and then he braced himself:

"It's nothing, it's just... I haven't met that Princess Feliya many times... so..."

"You're lying!"

Roaring without hesitation to interrupt the unkempt man, Li Ang stared fixedly at his face and pressed him with a burning gaze:

"What exactly is the problem with Feliya! You'd better explain it clearly!"

"This..."

"Mr. Bell, we are cleaners from the Cleaning Bureau. If you are really a friend of King Fei En, then you might have heard him mention us."

After briefly explaining the work of a cleaner, Li Ang stared fixedly into the unkempt man's eyes, his tone slightly cold:

"Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't take action against ordinary people. But in order to protect the royal family of the Kingdom of Kroke, three of our companions were blown to death yesterday, and two were captured; we haven't had any news of them since.

So our emotions aren't very stable right now, and it's hard to guarantee we won't take it out on others. You'd better cooperate with our investigation and say whatever you know, otherwise don't blame us for using other means."

"..."

Stared at by Li Ang's cold gaze until his scalp felt numb, the unkempt man couldn't help but shiver.

After stealing a glance at Alger beside him, who looked sorrowful as if he had truly lost his companions, and considering that these two people claiming to be cleaners didn't seem to be enemies of the royal family, the unkempt man gritted his teeth and said stammeringly:

"It's not that I don't want to be direct, it's just... Feliya died more than ten years ago, so how could she possibly be some 'survivor'?"

???

Feliya died more than ten years ago?

Hearing the answer revealed by the unkempt man, it was now Li Ang and Alger's turn to be greatly shocked.

The green-eyed girl had a perfect body and a sound soul, and she was full of vitality from head to toe, without a hint of the deathly aura unique to a ghost, so even Li Ang hadn't thought in this direction, but...

After observing the unkempt man's soul and confirming he was telling the truth... or at least what he believed to be the truth, Li Ang couldn't help but frown and say:

"Are you sure? Could it be that King Fei En lied to you? Your friendship might not have been that deep, so he didn't tell you the truth?"

"Impossible!"

Seeing Li Ang actually questioning his friendship with the old king, the unkempt man couldn't help but say angrily:

"I've seen that child! She had a sudden brain illness on her twelfth birthday and died not long after.

Fei En doted on this daughter very much. When Feliya died, he didn't even bring a guard, ran out of the palace in the middle of the night, and came to my house to cry for a long time. This matter definitely cannot be false!"

(End of chapter)