Chapter 154 - 151: Not a Loss
When Huang Jiutian woke up, it was already the third day.
The clean room, snow-white sheets, and fresh flowers and fruit by the bed all indicated this was a hospital room.
He didn’t feel the weakness of someone recovering from a long illness; in fact, Jiutian felt absolutely great.
It was as if the spirit in his mind could leave his body and act as a second hand. While it was far inferior to Magic Power, this Ability was now his very own.
But as he threw off the blanket and jumped out of bed, his legs gave way.
Oof!
He fell flat on his face.
Before he could even scramble to his feet, the door burst open and a crowd of people flooded in.
"Er... we could step out and come back in once you’re on your feet..."
Zheng Qiu, a teammate Jiutian was on good terms with, quipped.
But before anyone could help him up, Huang Jiutian scrambled to his feet on his own.
"Are you alright? How are you feeling?"
Tao Xingzhi waited for the little scene to play out before asking about his condition. Judging by his spirit and complexion, Huang Jiutian seemed to be recovering quite well.
"I feel fantastic! Chief, let me show you guys something!"
As he said this, a few strands of hair on his bedsheet lifted into the air and floated before them.
"Damn! That’s awesome. Couldn’t you control a few flying daggers with that to show off?"
Everyone’s eyes lit up. It looked like he had really completed his second evolution.
"Well... right now I can only control four strands of hair. Any more than that feels too heavy to lift, so what you’re talking about is pretty much impossible."
After a bit more conversation, Jiutian learned he had been unconscious for three whole days. In that time, the special departments and intelligence agencies of China, America, and France had practically turned every historical archive, biography, and legend upside down in their search for answers. Even now, people were still pulling all-nighters in libraries.
Tao Xingzhi hadn’t wanted to press Huang Jiutian about work so soon, but since the topic had come up, he couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.
"Jiutian, what exactly did you perceive in there that day? We know your coma was caused by your second evolution, but we’ve all agreed that a second evolution requires a trigger of some kind. What did you see?"
Huang Jiutian sat back down on his bed, picked up the glass of water from the nightstand, and took a sip.
"I felt like the murals were alive. Chief, do you remember what I said when I first went in? I said it was as if I saw countless shadowy figures, and the place was filled with a powerful energy."
"It wasn’t an illusion. The further in I went, the more each mural affected me, the greater the impact. It wasn’t like we entered a residence. It was more like a tomb—a tomb that recorded a living history!"
"Of course, calling it a tomb only applies to its current state. In the past, that building must have gone through some very lively times."
Someone looked like they were about to ask a question, but Huang Jiutian held up a hand, signaling for them to wait.
"You all remember the mysterious person on the outskirts of Shen City, right?"
"When we were in the last great hall, I thought I saw an echo of that mysterious person in the tall, staff-wielding figure right in the center. This had nothing to do with my Perception; it was more on an intuitive level."
Then, Huang Jiutian took a deep breath.
"Let me put it this way. After this evolution, my mental senses are much sharper. And while I can’t offer any concrete proof, I’m one hundred percent certain... the mysterious organization that appeared in Shen City is the Dawn Association!"
That settled it.
Jiutian’s words brought an end to the wavering speculations Tao Xingzhi had been wrestling with for the past two days.
"Excellent! We’re now another step ahead of the Americans and the French!"
’Those guys from the other two countries still had no idea what happened in Shen City, and there was no need for his side to inform them.’
Plus, many of the previous questions about the mysterious figure could now be connected to potential leads and answers found in those murals.
All that remained was to wait for an opportunity to make contact with the mysterious figure again, or with other members of the Dawn Association.
As the world continued to change at an accelerating pace, he was sure there would be no shortage of such opportunities.
"Chief, apart from learning all this, it feels like this trip to France was another loss for us... I’m certain there’s nothing of value left inside that building."
Tao Xingzhi smiled at the group, a weight suddenly lifting from his shoulders.
"A loss? I don’t think so. At the very least, we’ll have something substantial for our next briefing!"
Aside from the upcoming discussions about the information on Dawn and the data-sharing session on all similar Evolvers, the critical part of their mission in France was more or less complete.
...
An ordinary-looking man and woman arrived today in Colmar Town, in Eastern France.
After asking for directions, they found the town’s police station.
Inside a holding cell, where the station temporarily detained suspects, a disheveled vagrant was gnawing on the iron bars.
Two police officers approached from the main hall. They looked at the man with disgust, as if he were a rabid animal.
"Brown Niso, someone’s here to post your bail. You can come out!"
The vagrant froze mid-gnaw, staring at the officer in disbelief.
"Bail me out?"
"That’s right! Your bail’s been paid. I’m opening the door now, and I’m warning you, if you go berserk, I’ll shoot!"
’The man had put up quite a fight when he was arrested, and he looked like a starving ghoul. If he bit one of us, we’d have to get vaccinated.’
The scene the officer feared didn’t unfold. Brown had no desire to stay locked up, so he was perfectly cooperative.
He followed the officer into the main hall. Since the town was a popular tourist destination year-round, the police station was surprisingly large.
"Here, just sign on the line over there."
A man and a woman he didn’t recognize were sitting at the table the officer indicated. They smiled at Brown.
"Sign here?"
Brown asked the officer at the desk hesitantly.
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up and sign. You really stink!"
Brown scratched his head sheepishly and signed the papers. Feeling apprehensive under the officers’ disgusted glares, he followed the strange man and woman out of the police station.
"Ah, Mr. Niso, shall we go get something to eat first?"
The strange man stretched lazily and suggested with a smile to the famished Brown.
Brown’s eyes lit up, but he immediately felt a bit bashful. He wasn’t a bad person; he’d only been arrested because he was mad with hunger.
"Um, Mr. Nessus..."
"Just call me Philier."
"Er, okay, Mr. Philier Nessus... I... I have a pretty big appetite..."
His female companion couldn’t help but chuckle. Her clear voice was far sweeter than her plain appearance suggested.
"Trust me, when it comes to appetites, we’ve seen real monsters! Hahaha!"
Instead of heading to a restaurant or an apartment building, they led the ravenous Brown Niso to a small yacht moored by the river and all three climbed aboard.
Inside the small cabin, the table was laden with three whole roasted turkeys, an assortment of drinks, and various salads and side dishes.
"I figured leaving the turkeys whole would be more to your liking right now, right, Brown?"
The vagrant couldn’t hear a word they were saying. He just stood there, swallowing repeatedly, but he managed to restrain himself from pouncing on the food like an animal.
"Go on, eat. This is our treat for lunch."
"Hooray!"
Like a child, Bronniso became a blur of motion, rushing forward to snatch up a turkey the size of a large goose and begin tearing into it.
...
A day later, back at the Colmar Town police station, a call came in directly to the chief’s office.
The portly police chief strode into the main hall and barked at his subordinates.
"Where’s that vagrant with the huge appetite? I need to see him, now!"
...
SLAM!
Kodell slammed his fist on the table, making his coffee cup rattle.
"Gone? Bailed out? And you can’t find out who did it? Excellent... Either he fires those officers, or I’ll fire him. Let him choose!"
Hanging up, Kodell took several deep breaths, forcing himself to look on the bright side.