Chapter 455: Patroclus' Loyalty
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Patroclus remained calm and asked, "Who is in charge here?"
"That will be my father. However, if you have anything to say, you can tell me as well."
"Hehe. I am not talking about Carmen; he is nothing but a pawn. I want to see the Zerg who is behind all this. I know he is after the Ark and me, so here I am. Lead me to him!"
Patroclus stood with an unswerving conviction on his face. His words were laced with contempt toward the humanoid Zergs.
The sneer on Yalansili's face evaporated like a drop of water under the desert sun. She loathed the Ivantian Prince for calling her and her father 'pawns'. She believed that with the new body and abilities, they would eventually become the masters of both human and Zergs.
With her face knotted, Yalansili opened her mouth to refute Patroclus's comment. But suddenly, the anger disappeared from her face like an actress coming out of her role. She said with a newfound pleasant voice, "Mr. Patroclus, our master is expecting you."
Patroclus smiled faintly and followed Yalansili down the path.
…
"Move, MOVE!" Tee stormed toward the captain's office while shouting at the people in her way.
"What's the matter?" Kaost was amused by Tee's usual manner of hustle and bustle; she didn't change a bit even after joining the maintenance crew.
"Boss, it's big! The Zergs are going to take over Luolan!"
"Oh? I'm listening."
After hearing Tee's report about her encounter with the policeman, Kaost laughed and then said, "That's it? There is no evidence but Wang Tong's conjecture!"
Tee paused for a second as she conceded that Kaost's words had some truth in it, but not all of it. "Captain, I trust Wang Tong. He would never make a joke out of something serious as this. Plus, my communication through skynet was hijacked as well. This couldn't be a coincidence."
"Hehe, I am aware of those disruptions to the signals, and Luolan has already checked their system. By the way, where is Wang Tong now?"
"He stayed in the city..."Tee spoke under her breath.
"Who authorized it? I entrusted him to you, so how could you let him leave your sight! Call him back right now. Otherwise, you will have to face discipline!" Anger suddenly burst out from Kaost's eyes as he scolded Tee.
"Yes, Captain!" Tee turned around and walked out of the office.
"Wait! What's your plan?" Kaost asked.
"I am going to get back to the city and find him."
Kaost paused and pondered for a moment, then said, "Never mind. Just stay here on the ship and stay out of this!"
Tee left captain's office with many questions in her mind. She was not convinced that everything was under control. Kaost's sudden outburst, for one, had raised her suspicion. Why would he get so riled up for Wang Tong's safety while he claimed that there was no danger at all?
Even Tee knew that dealing with the space city was no better than playing with fire. The relationship between the confederation and the space city was intense as they already were, and any unnecessary strain would unleash the resentment built up over time.
Inside the mayor's residence, the dinner party was already over, and Carmen's butlers lead the Ark representatives into the guest rooms to rest. Jansining stood outside Samantha's room to protect her from any unwelcomed visitors.
It was dark when Wang Tong finally reached the mayor's residence. After he sneaked past the guard at the entrance, he channeled out his soul energy and probed the enormous palace, quickly locating Samantha. Wang Tong also located Carmen's room. Fearing that Carmen would notice his probing, Wang Tong didn't get too close to him. However, from a distance, Carmen's soul energy resembled that of a human instead of a Zerg. Although Wang Tong suspected that Carmen had been corrupted, he did not have any evidence yet. Carmen was high profile personnel; Wang Tong would rather deal with him by himself instead of with Kaost's support. He had learned that the world was not entirely black and white, and the involvement of Kaost and his crew would only make things more complicated.
Wang Tong slunk in the shadows like a phantom until he reached the entrance to Samantha's room. He felt lighthearted after he saw it was Jansining guarding the door. Wang Tong straightened his back and walked out of shadow towards Jansining.
"Wang Tong, why are you here?"
"It's a long story. I need to see Samantha. I suspect that the Zergs are onto something in the city."
The mentioning of Zergs drained all color from Jansining face, so he hurried to a side and said, "Ok, go right ahead!"
"Be careful, Jansining. They are trying to bring the battle into the city. Don't let that happen. Once we are on the ship, we should be safe. The forces in the space city are no match against the Ark."
"Roger that!"
Wang Tong's appearance broke Samantha's reverie.
"Saman—Principal..." Wang Tong realized that it was no longer fitting to call her by name.
"Wang Tong!" Samantha quickly gathered herself.
"Something is going on here, and the Zergs are behind it." Wang Tong got right down to the business.
"Are you sure?" Samantha asked.
"Not 100%, but I can feel something was off. If I could meet Carmen, I might have a better idea."
After Wang Tong briefed Samantha about his encounter with the Zerg-in-disguise-policeman, Samantha's hair stood on their ends. If the Zergs indeed had found a way to corrupt a human host, the entire city might have already been infested.
But, what were the Zergs after?
The next day, Samantha brought Wang Tong to Carmen, who was overly excited to see the heir of the Blade Warrior.
"Wang Tong, on behalf of the citizens of Luolan, I welcome you. You must know that the people of Luolan adored the Blade Warrior." Carmen said with an ingratiating voice.
"Thank you, mayor. It is my honor to be able to visit the city of Luolan." Wang Tong said as he bowed to the mayor. As he did so, he signaled to Samantha that he had completed the soul scan. And surprise surprise, Carmen was a humanoid-Zerg. Unknown to Wang Tong, Carmen had noticed his gestures, but he maintained his seemingly servile smile.
"Where is Patroclus?" Finally, Samantha realized that the Ivantian was missing.
"Oh, principal Samantha, I haven't got a chance to tell you the good news yet. You see, the Ivantian Prince had taken a liking on one of our girls in the city. He insisted on hanging out with her today. I think...hehe… they like each other."
"Ah, that's good news indeed. However, as part of the team, he has to fulfill his duty. If you see him somewhere, please tell him to come back to the ship as soon as possible."
"Oh-no... please principal Samantha, we can't separate the young lovers. That's just cruel." The mayor said in a forced voice that sounded like whimpering. If he was acting, he had over-done it. "It is such an honor to have Wang Tong here. We must show him around the city!" The mayor quickly changed the topic.
"Maybe...another time. We have a lot of things to do."
"No, no, no... Just leave those trivial things to my servants." Carmen said with a broad smile on his face.