Chapter 29

Aomo didn't quite understand how leading people and corpses could be combined.

He even thought it was a typo by the person in charge of sending messages at the Heaven Gate City's Two-World Management Bureau, or that their mind wasn't clear, which could produce such a disjointed statement.

After all, the only person he knows in Heaven Gate City is Morrison; he's somewhat familiar with taking charge of Morrison, which has happened twice in the Junction Gate area, and corpses...?

He didn't really want to assume that Morrison was dead, but if he were to make that assumption, who else could he take charge of?

It couldn't possibly be his own parents who have been missing for nineteen years with no news, could it?

Could Morrison possibly have an illegitimate child in Heaven Gate City?

Aomo was genuinely caught off guard by this, dazedly waiting for the second pick-up vehicle; after getting in, he looked at the taciturn driver's back of the head, pondering whether this metal shell with only an inspection hatch front and back was the treatment given to prisoners.

This doesn't seem like a police car at all, does it?

Was he being transported as a serious criminal?

"Driver sir?" "We'll talk when we arrive; you need to sign a confidentiality agreement."

"?"

Aomo, whose words were directly cut off by the other party, upon hearing this, obviously had more questions in his mind, but upon hearing the confidentiality agreement, he immediately thought of Morrison's job, perhaps allowing him to rule out the option of his nonexistent parents.

Perhaps...... could it not be that those two irresponsible ones are also confidential personnel?

As for the other party's 'we'll talk when we arrive'......

"Do you mind if I send a message?"

"There is a signal-blocking device on the vehicle."

But surely there must be a channel for you to communicate internally, right?

Aomo raised his hand to rub his chin, then pulled out his terminal, not caring whether the driver noticed him looking in the rearview mirror, he just buried himself in browsing the terminal's photo album.

From the monster photos taken at the venue to the final shot of Mechagodzilla, Aomo flipped through them one by one to kill time, but not long after, his previously relaxed brows furrowed again slightly.

He stared at the Mechagodzilla photo he had taken, which had a partially granular skin texture, as if intending to give Mechagodzilla a bionic skin but failing midway, and on it there was a very fine hollow.

Even though the terminal isn't particularly focused on photography, its pixel count far exceeds that of same-priced smartphones' cameras.

The photos taken with it allowed Aomo to zoom in on parts nearly ten times; in that already somewhat blurry close-up, he saw that cylindrical hole.

It looks unnatural, as round as if drawn freehand by those alchemy freaks, making one easily think 'this thing got poked by some cylinder.'

Is it a scar left by some attack, or something else?

Aomo tried to recall the scene of the monster's appearance, but even with the crystal element to pull up the memory recording of that time, he could only see it from his own perspective.

In that perspective, he didn't see how Mechagodzilla appeared at all; only a dazzling breath suddenly flashed into view, after which he looked toward the monster exhaling that breath.

But considering the initial distance and that massive, heavy body, if it had walked step by step, even if many people had their attention stolen by the Uma Musume Oak Tree race, it would still be impossible for nobody to notice.

At the very least, he himself should have noticed the ground's vibrations and the hard-to-conceal footsteps.

"Godzilla vs. Kong", the legendary Mechagodzilla appearing in the Monster Movie Universe, stands 400 feet tall, weight unknown but at least over 70,000 tons; this comparative figure comes from referencing the modified Type-3 Mechadragon from Godzilla × Mothra × Mechagodzilla Tokyo SOS, it can be heavy but absolutely should not be light.

As a monster enthusiast, Aomo can firmly affirm this point, and even recall the memory of reading the setting book to confirm it once more.

Did it suddenly appear, or is it a jet-powered ascent? Is this mark a natural design from the start, or an accumulated scar over the years?

Cylinder... cylindrical...... could it be my overactive imagination?

Aomo thought of that strange woman in Hall Eight of the Round Valley, who indeed held a strange cylinder in her hand.

Stop, stop... I shouldn't think about it anymore.

Aomo raised his hand and pressed his furrowed brow, feeling that what he should do now is restrain himself.

Restrain his curiosity.

His plans for today have been shattered, and the smooth itinerary for the first day of travel has been completely ruined.

He feels as if he's been swept up in some turmoil; the urgent priority is to understand his situation and related information, rather than inviting more trouble for himself.

—Of course, if he can't handle the immediate problem, he could instead create some other trouble.

There's a saying: use a wolf to devour a tiger; even if provoking a tiger might turn into a vengeful ghost, but... if the authorities don't intend to deal with the wolf, they should at least be willing to deal with the tiger, right?

No, let's not think about that for now...... Aomo again convinces himself inwardly not to habitually assume such a dire situation.

The world clearly has so many possibilities; his luck is generally good; constantly imagining these steps would affect his demeanor, so Aomo tentatively still hopes to give people an ordinary, even approachable impression.

As a 19-year-old young person, he should enjoy a fulfilling campus life and self-cultivation, rather than scheming with something overly adult; if he gets into trouble, he might even be expelled directly.

Looking back at Aomo's school life so far, he's been a top student with perfect attendance, aside from having little presence among his classmates, he's had no flaws; to be advised to withdraw by a university right after the college entrance exam would be what kind of stain?!

Such a future is too dark... Aomo just thinking that makes him feel that what's frightening is still his own imagination.

Can't we think of something good?

Always thinking up these clear-cut ifbd scenarios where everything is laid out for him—how lame!

"We've arrived, please get off, Mr. Linton."

"?"

Time has passed rather quickly...

Aomo tidied his attire slightly, adjusted the scarf around his neck, then looked back toward the distant urban cluster in the northern district; he could see the giant beast still there, with some firelight, its head crowned by spiraling vortex clouds tinged with lightning, pouring down like a heavenly baptism.

The beast's roar, as if it were nothing, was instantly pierced by a beam that broke through the dark clouds, shattering its armor and skeleton; that beam was so familiar to him that his eyes widened in astonishment, never expecting something he'd seen in a military magazine to be used so easily.

That was a barrage capable of slicing a planet; just by gazing afar one couldn't sense its destructive intent, its trajectory arcing toward the sky, allowing the stars above the firmament to shed a gentle radiance.

If it were aimed underground, everyone would have to flee for their lives; whether escape is possible is another matter; this city lacks many teleportation formations and space-jump devices, but it's not short on ships, being a port city.

But that also requires getting aboard a ship first.

"... Heaven Gate City, do they often use such things?"

After a moment of silence, he asked the driver standing beside him, speaking with some difficulty.

But the driver replied nonchalantly: "Generally not needed, but using it wouldn't be strange."

Aomo fell silent again.

The feeling of personally witnessing 'allowing extreme-danger weapons to be deployed in the city' is quite unsettling, but before he could see the aftermath of the giant beast's body beginning to tilt, the driver tapped his shoulder: "Don't look; there will be a TV report later, come with me to take custody of the person."

Leading people... so to speak, what exactly will be gained by leading?

Aomo, reminded of this, softly replied 'Okay,' and followed the person to the Heaven Gate City police station, whose sign and logo were overly obvious and huge.

There are unexpectedly many people here.

It seems that many illegal and criminal incidents have occurred during this period, resulting in crowds of people coming here for consultation, to report crimes, or for other reasons.

These people noticed Aomo but didn't pay much attention; instead, seeing the driver who had brought Aomo here, each wanted to crowd around, but after the driver waved them off, each reluctantly stepped back.

So obedient? Aomo was somewhat surprised, not quite sure if this was a manifestation of the Heaven Gate City police station's capability.

Perhaps it's because the atmosphere here differs from that of the Border Gate Area, with police resorting to force far more often than words?

Considering the similarities between Heaven Gate City and Gotham in certain aspects, Aomo finds it hard not to speculate this way.

Just as Aomo was unconsciously analyzing the public security issues of Heaven Gate City again, the driver had already stood at a stairwell corner and called out: 'Come here, go upstairs.'

"Eh? Officer Huo, you're back?"

"Just came back, bring this person up."

The driver seemed to have met an acquaintance at the stairwell, and upon hearing that familiar voice, Aomo's gaze subtly shifted.

As they walked forward, that familiar head of green hair also came into view.

"Ah, that reporter?" plus a familiar form of address.

"I've said I'm not a reporter," Aomo said helplessly, "I'm only in my third year of high school, still a student."

"You know him?" the driver said, somewhat surprised, stopping in his tracks.

"I once gave him a lift while escaping, we were all there, that... 'Mecha Godzilla,'" "Yes, near Mecha Godzilla, if you don't run fast you'll both get melted."

"You should have brought him along then; he's the related family member mentioned above." "Eh?"

"Obviously not intending to chat more with the other party, or rather the sheriff, the driver waved at Aomo: 'Small talk can wait; now follow me.'"

"Okay."

Aomo also felt this situation unsuitable for chatting; he still had to see someone, and outside the lobby there were many people needing the Star Bear officer to handle.

So he stepped up to follow, failing to notice the silent mouth shape the Star Bear officer made toward him.

"That was the mouth shape for 'get ready.'"

"But perhaps he didn't need that kind of encouragement."

Following that officer, after stepping up just four stairs, he saw the officer raise a hand and pull open a door on the wall, leading him inside, where he saw a somewhat narrow mortuary.

Besides the three body racks covered in white cloth straight ahead, the surrounding walls were filled with mortuary cabinets, densely packed enough to make anyone entering feel heavy and oppressive.

But Aomo's attention wasn't drawn away by them; he stared at the body rack straight ahead, and even though what faced him was only a pallid, desiccated ankle with half a foot covered in cloth, he could still identify the corpse's identity at a glance.

Presumably, a vampire struck by holy light ends up like this; with a bit more force it would probably crumble to ash.

"Molisen Lindun," he raised his hand to wipe his nose, turned to look at the silent driver staring at him, and also at a man wearing the Two Worlds Safety Bureau enforcer uniform who had remained silent from start to now, as if calmly asking, 'Is he dead?'

He felt he had managed to appear sufficiently calm, although he indeed had no urge to cry, nor did he feel particularly heartbroken, just feeling a bit empty.

But when he asked that question, he still felt an inexplicable heaviness.

But the next second, from the enforcer's outstretched hand, he saw a finger-wide light screen showing Molisen Lindun's handsome face, as always saying words that wasted that face.

"I think I can still be rescued; I can't say I'm dead."