Chapter 387
Suspicion of Suicide
Chapter 387 Suspicion of Suicide
"Beep, beep... Hello? Xiao Guan?"
"It's me, Sister Wang."
After Guan Tong and Xu Xiaotian met and talked, Guan Tong called Wang Yan as soon as she left the park.
After the call connected, he cut straight to the point, asking, "Sister Wang, I just got back to Pinglu a couple of days ago. Xiaotian told me that you and Xiaona seem to have had a fight?"
"Ugh……"
Wang Yan sighed when Guan Tong brought up the matter.
“Nana, that child, has been wanting to run away lately.”
"Run away?"
"She said she didn't want to stay at the base anymore, that she wanted to..."
Wang Yan hesitated for a moment.
"I told you I wanted to help you."
"help me?"
Guan Tong was somewhat surprised. He hadn't told Wang Yan and her daughter about establishing the Source Tracing Brigade yet, and among his friends, only Shi Jingyi knew about it. Why should Chen Na help him if she didn't know?
"Yes. She thinks that you, Xiao Guan, travel all over the world so often that you might encounter a lot of dangerous enemies, so she wants to use her abilities to help you. I told her that you are still young and it would be better for you to help your older brother Xiao Guan when you are older, but the child got angry when she heard that. Besides, this base is an official department, how can you just leave as you please?"
"...Sister Wang, you're right."
Guan Tong knew he often ventured into dangerous situations, and he was able to bring Yuan Zi along because Yuan Zi herself was a powerful Ascension user, so he didn't need to worry about her self-protection.
Chen Na is different. Although she has strong reconnaissance abilities, she has almost no defensive capabilities, which makes her very passive when encountering dangerous enemies.
"Xiao Guan, you think so too, right? This child is just being stubborn with me." Wang Yan's tone was very helpless. "I think he's reached a certain age and is entering his rebellious phase."
"..."
Guan Tong thought about it and realized it was true.
When he first met the two of them during the snow disaster two years ago, Chen Na was in sixth grade.
Almost two years have passed now. If they were to proceed to junior high school normally, they would be in the first or second year of junior high. Children of this age certainly have their own ideas.
"Sister Wang, I'll talk to Xiaona later," Guan Tong said. "I'll try to persuade her."
“That’s for the best! I actually wanted to contact you before, but I didn’t know if you were busy, so I didn’t call. Now that you’re back in Pinglu, could you please talk to this girl for me… She admires you the most, so she’ll definitely listen to you.”
"Okay, Sister Wang, don't worry too much. Even if Xiao Na is upset with you, she definitely cares about you."
"How could I not know that... Then let's leave it at that, thank you for your help, Xiao Guan."
After hanging up the phone, Guan Tong wondered how she could persuade Chen Na.
Children at this age have a strong rebellious streak, and if you don't speak to them properly, it can backfire.
"...I'm not very good at dealing with children."
At that moment, Guan Tong's phone vibrated.
Ok?
He looked down and saw a special reminder from the Ascended Ones website.
He only set special alerts for a few accounts, so who could they be?
Guan Tong opened it and glanced at it, then immediately frowned.
……
"Meow!"
Back in the valley below the mountains outside Pinglu City, Coal Ball frolicked with joy upon returning to this familiar place.
Guan Tong watched the coal ball run towards the forest and thought to herself that she would just let it stay here from now on.
He lived in this valley for a few months while teaching at the academy, and it was during that time that Coal Ball devoured the flesh and blood of demons, thus transforming from a tiny creature into the ferocious beast it is today.
The environment of this valley and forest was both familiar to it and suited its nature. Even though the shelter had been expanded to a much larger area, it was still a drop in the ocean compared to nature.
Moreover, this valley is an uninhabited area, and apart from large-scale ecological disasters, ordinary apocalyptic rules usually do not affect such places.
Guan Tong thought to himself, he would let the coal ball live here, and he would just come and check on it from time to time.
He entered the shelter and sat at the computer desk, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
Since he and Shangyuan Zi formed an organization and later went to Xisia, they haven't used this shelter for a long time.
However, its functionality remains irreplaceable, and if it can be further expanded in the future, it may be transformed into a "mobile base".
Guan Tong turned on her computer, logged into the Ascendant's Home website, and entered the private message interface.
The special notification account that sent him the message had the nickname "The Primal Man".
That's right, it's the same Soroman Empire man who gave him the two "Qimo Star Fragments" back then.
At that time, the King of the Solomon Empire proposed a condition: to exchange the two fragments for "Shadow's" "assistance once".
King Soromagna did not specify what kind of assistance was needed at the time, and after several rules were established, there was no further contact.
After the rules for "Earth Dragon Turns Over" were released, Guan Tong thought that King Soroma would ask him to fulfill his promise and help Soroma destroy the pillars of the earth veins to reduce the power of the earthquake... But the king did not contact him at all during that rule process.
And now...
The Primal: "Hey, long time no see. You haven't forgotten me, have you? Just a reminder, our King is planning to have you fulfill that 'one-time assistance' request."
Why are you suddenly asking me to fulfill my promise at this time?
Guan Tong glanced at the message for a moment, then typed a reply: "What commission does your King give me?"
Since he made a promise back then, he won't go back on his word. As long as it's not something immoral or unethical, he will help.
The original man: "The commission consists of only one sentence: 'Kill the pope of the Fire-Stealer Cult.'"
Kill the Pope?
This was precisely what Guan Tong and the Countermeasures Research Office were supposed to do in collaboration.
The Primal Man: "I'll also be transferred to Fahe this time, so we can finally meet!"
Guan Tong: "..."
This guy once mentioned to him that the ownership of the Qimo Star fragment in the other's possession could be decided through a one-on-one duel, but he chose to refuse at that time.
Guan Tong replied, "I accept this commission."
The Primal Man: "I will contact you in advance to make preparations once the date for the operation is set."
Guan Tong: "No need. This operation will be a joint operation by all member states of the Human Rights Alliance. I will be with the North Star team."
The Primordial One: "Oh? It seems you would have gone to Fahe even without this request. That would be a waste of this opportunity to assist, haha."
The Primordial One: "Then I look forward to our meeting."
Guan Tong felt a sense of relief after closing the private message page.
"That's good, then we won't have to keep thinking about it in the future."
King Soromagna never mentioned this request, but he inevitably kept it on his mind.
but……
"Given the strength of Solomon, is it really necessary for them to use this commission to ask me for help?"
The Soro Empire boasts the second-largest number of Ascended Beings after the Northern Star Empire, and its ranks are filled with powerful individuals. Even disregarding Lucifer, who died at Guan Tong's hands, the recently concluded competition alone demonstrates the abundance of strong contenders. However, the final match was interrupted by a bomb attack from the Fire Thief Cult, and Guan Tong is unsure whether a champion was subsequently chosen from among the remaining competitors.
Besides these people, he also knew a guy named "Adam".
Moreover, he was fairly certain that the "original being" he had just privately messaged was Adam.
This guy challenged him to a duel in private messages before, and proactively revealed that he possessed the ability to "manipulate force fields." And Adam, who was renowned and unstoppable in the Allied Forces on the front lines, also had the ability to manipulate force fields.
If you still can't connect the two to the same person, you're being rather slow-witted.
With powerful figures within the country, advanced intelligent warfare weaponry that surpasses other nations, and collaboration with elite Ascensionists from other countries... Under these circumstances, the fact that King Soroma still needs to entrust Guan Tong with assistance suggests either that he wants to ensure absolute success or that there are special circumstances within his country that prevent him from fully utilizing force.
Guan Tong knew that whatever the inside story was, it had little to do with him; he just needed to do what he was supposed to do.
He picked up his phone, intending to contact Chen Na directly, but after thinking about it, he decided to call Silver Fox first.
"It's rare to get a call from you, Master!" Silver Fox said with a smile as soon as the call connected. "What's up?"
"Silver Fox, could you take Chen Na out of the base? I'd like to talk to her."
Guan Tong felt it would be better to discuss Chen Na's issues in person, as talking about it over the phone might not be as effective.
"Did Sister Yan say something to you?"
"you know?"
"Of course, Xiaona and I are very close. She tells me everything. Hmm... I'll apply for it. If the higher-ups agree, I'll take her out of the base."
"Okay, thank you for your help."
"Hehe~ I should be thanking you. I'll need your help when I go to France."
Guan Tong was not surprised, as Zhang Minglu had previously told him that Silver Fox was also a member of this operation.
About half an hour later, he received a message from Silver Fox that he would bring Chen Na out to meet him the next morning.
Since that's the case, he decided to go see Suzuki with Shi Jingyi today and see if the Mind Network has any effect on spore addicts.
……
In the evening, after finishing her classes for the day, Shi Jingyi went to the withdrawal center with Guan Tong.
The nurse at the front desk asked, "Which patient would you like to visit?"
"Suzuki." Guan Tong said, taking out her visitor pass. Unexpectedly, the nurse didn't check it, but her expression suddenly turned very ugly.
Seeing the nurse's expression, Guan Tong suddenly had a bad feeling: "What's wrong?"
“You, the patient you are visiting… she… she committed suicide a few hours ago.”
"!!!"
Both of them were startled. Shi Jingyi looked at Guan Tong, whose eyes immediately changed from shock to doubt.
"That's impossible. Someone visited her just yesterday, and she didn't show any suicidal tendencies. Where is her body? I want to examine it myself!"
Shangyuan Zi visited Suzuki just yesterday, and she also called Guan Tong to tell him that Suzuki would be waiting for him to visit. How could he suddenly commit suicide?
Guan Tong simply didn't believe it.
"What happened?"
At this moment, staff and security guards from the center came over to check the situation. Guan Tong said to the nurse, "Did you hear what I said? Since she committed suicide, where is her body?"
As he spoke, he took out his phone and called Shang Yuanzi.
After arriving in Beixing, Guan Tong had many people to meet, while Shang Yuanzi didn't have so many things to do. Apart from meeting Suzuki, she planned to wander around Pinglu before Guan Tong finished his business, so the two didn't stay together.
Upon seeing this, the nurse first explained the situation to the others who had gathered around.
As soon as Guan Tong answered the phone, she asked directly, "Shangyuan, I'm at the rehabilitation center right now. The nurse said Suzuki... committed suicide. Did you notice anything unusual yesterday?"
"Suicide?!" The sudden rise in Yuan Zi's voice on the phone was enough to show that she had not expected this either.
"Impossible! She clearly said she would wait for you to visit her, and that she would go back to Yingqi to see her old colleagues from the police station later. It's impossible for her to suddenly commit suicide... I'm going there now!"
"Yeah, I think that's not right either."
Guan Tong hung up the phone. At that moment, a doctor from the center, having received the message, came over and said to Guan Tong and the other person, "You've come to visit Miss Suzuki? It's a pity, she ended her own life..."
Guan Tong said in a deep voice, "I said I want to see the body and also see the surveillance footage from the center."
"This...this isn't appropriate for the deceased," the doctor stammered. "And frankly, you don't have the authority to do this."
Shi Jingyi said, "I'll make the contact..."
"It's okay, I'll find someone myself."
Guan Tong immediately called Zhang Minglu. He had arranged for Suzuki to join the rehabilitation center through the Countermeasures Research Office. Now that something seemed to have gone wrong, he had to investigate thoroughly.
After receiving the call and learning about the situation, Zhang Minglu immediately offered to help make the contact.
Within minutes, the head of the rehabilitation center rushed over and respectfully said to Guan Tong, "This... no matter who you are, I have received orders from my superiors to cooperate with your investigation."
"The patient I'm visiting, Suzuki, the doctors and nurses said she committed suicide a few hours ago. Since she committed suicide, there must be a body. Where is it now?"
The person in charge was stunned for a moment: "Ms. Suzuki, she did indeed commit suicide..."
Shi Jingyi said, "What we are asking now is where the body is."
"Well, it's like this... Miss Suzuki was a spore addict. After such patients pass away, they are sent to a special medical department, where the doctors will... dissect the patient's brain to study spore addiction and... What are you doing?"
Before the person in charge could finish speaking, Guan Tong grabbed his collar.
Shi Jingyi pressed down on the hand: "Guan Tong, don't be impulsive. Contact Zhang Minglu immediately and ask him to contact that medical department to stop the surgery. Maybe it's still not too late."
"..."
Guan Tong released the person in charge and picked up her phone to make a call.
Shi Jingyi looked at the still-shaken person in charge: "We need to know how Ms. Suzuki committed suicide, whether anyone had contacted her beforehand, and the surveillance footage from the corridor where she was staying."
"well……"
The person in charge glanced quickly at Guan Tong, whose face was gloomy and whose clothes were soaked through.
Even though he was also an Ascended Being with a high mental strength limit, he couldn't muster the slightest courage to resist after being captured by this young man. It was truly terrifying.
Zhang Minglu quickly relayed the news to Guan Tong: a body belonging to a spore addict had indeed been delivered to the special medical department that afternoon, but an autopsy had not yet been performed. He had already notified the relevant personnel there to request that the body be temporarily preserved.
Guan Tong put down the phone, her heart sinking.
He didn't want to hear the news that "the remains of spore addicts were sent there," but things didn't go as he hoped.
Even though Suzuki and he weren't close, without her profile, they wouldn't have found Misawa Jun so quickly and stopped the latter's evil plan to create more snake slaves.
Moreover, she proactively revealed her spore addiction and sought help, and Guan Tong was the one who suggested she come to the rehabilitation center. Now that something has happened, he feels responsible.
An unnamed anger rose in his heart, and everyone in the room felt a little short of breath, desperately wanting to leave this place.
"I know that's someone you care about." The only one unaffected was Shi Jingyi. She grasped Guan Tong's arm, dispelling the intense killing intent he unintentionally exuded. "I will definitely investigate thoroughly."
Guan Tong nodded, suppressing his inner turmoil. He needed to find out exactly what had happened.
(End of this chapter)