bookbashuk Chapter 149 The Solution – Epitaph for the Noble
Chapter 149 The Solution – Epitaph for the Noble
Chapter 159 The Solution—The Epitaph of the Noble
Where am I?
N struggled to lift his eyelids and found himself in a dark, narrow space.
Being unconscious is not a pleasant experience, especially when he finds himself waking up in a side-lying position, sitting in a very uncomfortable way on a hard leather chair.
"N, you're awake."
A relaxed voice came from beside him. The green-haired youth looked up, and the first thing he saw was Zoroark's distorted face—
The phantom spirit that had been by her side before its evolution was now being held and vigorously rubbed by a girl with a high ponytail wearing a baseball cap. Its fluffy black fox face and dark red mane were constantly changing into various shapes in the girl's hands, like dough.
There's no need to probe its thoughts; just by seeing Zoroark's resentful eyes, N could already sense the Dark-type Pokémon's anger that it dared not express.
Meanwhile, the king of the Plasma Group was already aware of his predicament. Looking past the figure of Douzi sitting beside him, he could see the scenery rushing past the window—he was inside a car.
"Where are we going?" N asked, glancing at the front of the car.
The detective assistant, who seemed to be named Azure, was sitting in the passenger seat, talking to the driver, seemingly giving directions.
"Factory Manager William's house. Didn't you want to uncover the truth behind the explosion? The exciting case-solving episode is about to begin!"
Not long ago, he had been confronting his friend, but now he looked excited and triumphantly announced the solving of the case, a statement usually reserved for the second half of a mystery drama. At the same time, he continued to playfully play with Zoroark's face.
Does it really feel that comfortable?
In the complete chaos of not knowing the situation, the first thing that came to N's mind was this question.
.
"We've arrived."
Upon arriving at a certain location, Azure reminded the two people in the back seat in a clear voice, then turned to the driver—
"Yes, it's this street corner. We can stop here. The road ahead is packed with media reporters and their vehicles, so we plan to walk there."
The taxi driver reluctantly stopped the meter after slowly pulling the car to the side of the road, and Bilan paid the fare with her smartphone.
"Remember to get the detective to reimburse the bill afterwards..." The chestnut-haired girl silently reminded herself as she got out of the taxi.
Not far ahead was the detached apartment building where Factory Manager William lived. At this moment, it was surrounded by a barrage of cameras.
"Why are there still so many reporters today? The bombing happened a long time ago."
Douzi pouted, looking at the crowd gathered in front of the apartment, and complained unhappily.
Azure explained with an expression that seemed perfectly natural—
"The collapse of Li Yong Power Plant is a major event that can shake the social ecology of the entire city. The aftermath is naturally a complex and multifaceted matter. How to compensate the shareholders for their investment in the power plant, which insurance company should share the plant's losses, the subsequent arrangements for the laid-off employees... all sorts of issues need to be addressed one by one, and each of them is a major event that is worthy of making the local news."
"I see. Reporters staking out this place can not only get firsthand information about the factory's aftermath, but also have the opportunity to capture scenes of William meeting with guests!"
Douzi immediately understood the reporters' intentions amidst the crowd.
"How are we supposed to get through the crowd and see the factory manager? That area is surrounded by reporters, so the factory manager shouldn't have any reason to open the door for us..."
N couldn't help but interrupt the two girls' conversation, asking what he considered a crucial question, which resulted in Bilan and Douzi exchanging bewildered glances.
Douzi shook his head with an expression like that of someone looking at a disappointing child, then counted on his fingers and said to the green-haired youth—
"Think about it. We have a Ditto that can freely transform into a human, a Gengar that can walk through walls, and a Zoroark that can create illusions. How do you think we can get into that house without anyone noticing?"
.
Ten minutes later.
A commotion suddenly broke out among the reporters. It turned out that Mr. William, who had been out, had returned home with three guests in suits.
"When did Factory Manager William go out again?"
Many reporters who were waiting had this question, but they quickly put this feeling of unease behind them.
These reporters aren't like police officers arresting criminals, constantly monitoring the situation without blinking. It's not surprising that they might miss something or make a mistake. Right now, it's more important to listen carefully to what the four people are saying.
Unfortunately, William and his group had no intention of talking at the door. A weekly magazine reporter mustered up the courage to go up and interview him, but was glared at by the former factory manager with a cold look.
"Can you tell who the other three people are?" a young journalist asked his senior colleague. "They seem to be unfamiliar faces I've never seen before in the area."
“Those three people looked too ordinary. From a distance, I vaguely recognized them, as if I'd seen them before, but upon closer inspection, they didn't quite look like them.” The veteran reporter, when asked, frowned. “However, judging from their uniforms, they seemed to be employees of some insurance company, and perhaps they even had their legal counsel with them. They're probably about to start discussing bankruptcy liquidation…”
"Another insurance company? That's hardly news."
The reporter covered his face in disappointment, then suddenly noticed that the Pokémon carrying the camera behind him looked quite shaken.
"Hey? Clay doll, what's wrong with you?"
The Pokémon, resembling a rock doll with its body made of stones of varying shapes and sizes, carrying a camera on its shoulder, trotted over to its trainer and pointed out the scene in the viewfinder.
"Why is it foggy? Our visibility was perfectly fine here... Is there something wrong with the camera? Oh no, I didn't capture anything of the two people behind William!"
Just as the reporter was holding his camera in shock, "Factory Manager William" fumbled around at the door for a while, then successfully opened the door and went inside. The three people behind him followed closely behind.
This means that their newspaper lost its last chance to capture the faces of the three guests.
"Forget it, it's not big news anyway."
The veteran reporter comforted the younger colleague, then took the camera and snapped a few pictures of the surrounding scenery. After confirming that the lens was working properly, he decisively abandoned the story.
He sighed slightly, wondering which media outlet would ultimately benefit from this unprofitable but ultimately worthless opportunity to take a snapshot.
What he didn't know was that just moments before, dozens of different cameras had all malfunctioned at the same time.
In the camera lens, the grayish-white smoke, like a persistent ghost, lingered over the three "insurance employees" dressed in suits.
.
The reporters watched with their own thoughts as "Mr. William" entered the room. The man, who had tried so hard to maintain a serious demeanor, turned into a lump of purplish-red mud the moment he closed the door and disappeared from everyone's sight.
The three people behind Ditto also subtly changed their forms. The unremarkable-looking suited office worker disappeared like mist, revealing the figures of two girls and a green-haired youth.
"Gengar, well done."
Azure whispered to the shadow of the shoe cabinet, using a Poké Ball to retrieve the ghost in the shadow that had sneaked into the room beforehand and opened the door from the inside.
The three intruders made no attempt to conceal the noise of their arrival, which naturally alerted the people inside.
Soon, the middle-aged man, whose disguise was exactly the same as Ditto's, arrived at the entrance. Upon seeing the unfamiliar faces of Azure and the others, his expression immediately turned serious.
"Who are you? What is your purpose in breaking into my home?"
William, the former factory owner, remained relatively calm upon appearing, refraining from any impulsive actions beyond questioning the others. This relieved the assistant.
...Is the equipment all ready?
Recalling Hugo's earlier analogy about evidence and fantasy games, Azure took a deep breath and looked at the person at the center of the explosion incident—William, the plant manager of Liyong Power Plant.
The middle-aged man before me had a haggard look on his resolute face, with unhealthy bloodshot eyes, but he still stood up straight. His beard and hair were neatly groomed, making him a completely different person from the Talter I had met before.
Compared to the great demon king in the game, he is more like the village chief of the beginner village.
Whether it was his willingness to hire Talter, demonstrating his personal charm that earned him the respect of punk guitarists, or his leniency towards the rival engineer Arno, both of these actions indirectly show that William was a good person with ideals, kindness, integrity, and good character.
It was precisely this kind of character that enabled the Liyong Power Plant to completely change the landscape of the city's energy industry in just a few years, but it was also this noble character that made the tragedy of the explosion irreversible...
"We are private investigators investigating the truth behind the explosion, and we're here to confirm some things with you."
Azure spoke in this way, as direct and to the point as a charging bear using "Quick Strike".
"Please leave. I think I have the right to remain silent," the man replied with his eyes closed, as if he had heard the same question countless times before.
N was about to speak, somewhat excited, but was stopped by Touko, who was prepared, and whispered a warning: "Leave this to the professional detectives."
As expected, Azure was not surprised by William's response and immediately replied, "Go ahead and exercise your right to remain silent, but if possible, I hope you can listen to the findings of our investigation that we have now verified."
Perhaps it was because this trio of young men and women was so unusual and audacious that it was hard not to trust them. William didn't immediately kick them out. After shaking his head helplessly, he said nothing more, invited the self-proclaimed detective trio into the living room, and found a seat at the dining table.
"I originally thought the factory owner's house would be more luxurious... but I didn't expect it to be quite ordinary, even less luxurious than the Yuqi Residence, which has never been renovated since it was bought."
Douzi looked around rudely, and then made his comments even more rudely.
However, her words actually relaxed the stiff factory manager somewhat, and William responded proactively, a smile seemingly appearing on his marble-like face—
“This apartment was originally where my wife, daughter, and I lived. We didn’t really like those superficial designs, so we simply went to the furniture store and picked out these furnishings ourselves, which made it more comfortable to live in… However, since the explosion, reporters have been surrounding this place every day, so we have had to live separately.”
"Speaking of the bombing, Mr. William, we already know the true nature of the bombing from the police."
Seeing that the atmosphere had eased slightly, Bilan interrupted the conversation without saying a word—
"The power plant explosion was caused by the Electric-type Pokémon that were originally in the bio-power zone using 'Explosion' en masse. These Pokémon wanted better working conditions, so they threatened you, the plant manager, with a riot. Either you give in to their demands, or they will destroy the factory with 'Explosion'."
Upon hearing this, N pursed his lips with a heavy expression and clenched his fists, while William, the person involved, remained silent once again.
Azure ignored the reactions of others and continued speaking to herself—