Chapter 168 Holding the Tai'a Axe Upside Down (5)

Nothing in this world is fair.

A sticky silence filled the room, as if the air itself had frozen. Lucico took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his tone had returned to its usual impeccable calm: "What you perceive as revenge is indiscriminate killing. She has nothing to do with me; she's just a potential superhuman I adopted."

"Oh." You An raised one leg and sat on the table, sitting down in front of him.

The gun in his hand was casually placed on the table. Lucico's eyes slid over him imperceptibly, calculating the possibility of him suddenly snatching the gun.

But after a brief moment of thought, he abandoned the idea.

He clearly couldn't do anything underhanded in front of this agile and strong combat-type ability user; youth certainly gave him the right to be arrogant.

You An held the gun, his face, mostly burned, facing him directly. His face, which had a fierce temperament, did not show any ugly hatred, but strangely showed a bit of blankness.

Lucico chuckled inexplicably, half-closing his eyes: "What made you decide to kill me—because you need a specific target to fuel your hatred, to alleviate the guilt of still being alive?"

“Because your decision ruined my family,” You An replied with unusual seriousness.

"It is 'we,' not me. My decision is not a dictatorship of my personal will; I am merely a representative of everyone's opinion."

"Then the one I killed was also a representative."

After You An finished speaking, the room fell silent again.

“You’re a good kid, it was just a momentary impulse. You know in your heart that this won’t change reality, but you still see killing me as your last hope.” Lucico sighed and advised him in the gentlest tone, “Think about it, killing me won’t change the past, but it will make the future worse.”

You An sat on the table, looking down at him intently, ignoring his advice, and instead suddenly asked him a completely unrelated question, "Why did you leave Shu Ningmiao upstairs?"

Lucicolai clasped his hands together, and after a long while, with a model smile on his face, he remained silent.

"You don't believe her."

You An muttered to himself, slowly raising the gun in his hand and holding it above his head: "Me too, I lied to her."

Lucico's body tensed instantly, his hands gripping the armrests of the seat tightly, not daring to move an inch. A bead of cold sweat slid down his brow bone into his eye, stinging his eye socket.

You An did not pull the trigger, but slowly rotated his wrist.

“I gave her a lot of high-sounding reasons, like war and peace.” You An stared at him intently. “These things have absolutely nothing to do with me. What business is it of mine what kind of war you want to start? What business is it of my family?”

“This matter,” Lucico said, his voice dry, “I am very sorry.”

"It's noisy."

You An's eyes were tired and pained: "The sounds around me... are too loud. There are so many painful cries from the flames. I just want some peace and quiet."

He had escaped Gab, completely escaped his hometown, yet he seemed to still be trapped in that sea of ​​fire, never having left.

Looking up, he saw collapsed roof beams; looking down, he saw sticky blood. Among the wailing ghosts, none were his relatives or friends, only charred, unrecognizable corpses.

How can one attain true liberation and peace?

Killing must be repaid with killing.

Lucico is right; all the excuses he makes for himself are actually just attempts to justify his actions.

He simply wants a real, living person to pay for their blood debt; there are no other reasons.

You An seemed completely absorbed in his own world, and his finger unexpectedly pulled the trigger again.

"Do you regret it?" You An asked him.

The moment Lucico heard the crisp clanging of the gun's firing pin, he knew he had no room for maneuver.

When people objectify themselves for too long, they forget that emotions are irrational and do not need to conform to any rules. Hatred and revenge become a kind of immoral happiness.

In the final moments before his mind went blank, Lucicoles couldn't help but think about the chaotic state Pietès would descend into after his death.

What will become of Pinhes tomorrow?

You An's question reached his ears.

He hesitated for a few seconds before answering, "I regret... not believing her."

He didn't know if Shu Ningmiao would have saved his life if she were here, but he knew he had lost the gamble and lost everything.

Yu An's finger, as he pulled the trigger, seemed to be in slow motion, a prolonged torment. He didn't know when the bullet would pierce his forehead and end his life.

The hoarse voice finally said, "An eye for an eye."

Lucico could still hear, but his heart was completely calm. He wanted to laugh, but he couldn't see anything. Blood exploded and flowed past his eyes, turning the world completely black. His ears were ringing, like a tape about to break.

He opened his mouth with all his might, "Yes... karma will be repaid."

No sound came out of his throat; the sound of the bullet exploding against the bone was louder than any other sound. Bright red blood and grayish-white brain matter splattered everywhere, and the impact flipped half of the middle-aged man's head off.

You An took a few steps back and looked at him.

Countless fiery red shadows flickered and overlapped before his eyes, along with fragments of skulls flying onto his hands from the bullet-pierced Intoli boy on the beach.

Flames, wails, falling, shattering.

My once healthy forearm now shows double images, gradually covered in bad scars.

He lifted his gaze from his hands.

The chair creaked and swayed gently in the aftershocks.

The man's remaining head drooped, his body covered in blood, and he lay motionless, clutching the child's corpse, never letting go until his death.

In that instant, he felt no relief; instead, a profound sense of despair and sorrow rose from the depths of his heart.

The sound of a heavy metal door being slowly pulled open came from behind him. A blond man stood behind him, holding a gun in one hand, silently gazing at the bloody scene on the ground.

Everyone else except him was separated by people in military uniforms.

You An turned his head to the side, his voice rough: "Thank you, teacher."

Lux remained silent.

You An initially agreed to come to his door because he couldn't bear to see him in such a miserable state, and also because he felt that... he and his father were still different.

As it turns out, they were indeed different; he was far more foolish than his father.

He didn't speak. Behind him, among the neatly lined-up soldiers, one of them pressed his earpiece and spoke in the deathly silence: "Lucicole confirmed dead."

You An looked back, closed his eyes, and his cloak was gradually covered by flames from bottom to top.

...

"Lucico is dead."

Zhao's light, airy voice reached my ears.

She looked toward the elevator as if sensing something, and the uncertain premonition she had when she saw that figure was finally confirmed.

Lucico is dead. What will Piñe's tomorrow look like?

Xiao Jiang said, "Can we release her now?"

Zhao didn't speak; the gun barrels were still pointed at her, showing no sign of being lowered.

Shu Ningmiao pressed her injured right arm and looked around at the expressions of everyone around her.

No surprise.

There was not a trace of surprise on Zhao's face.

She took a deep breath, as if trying to freeze the scene in her mind... Something's not right.

Lucico is dead, as if it were expected.

So, did he initially restrict her movements because he suspected she would kill Lucicolay, or because he feared she would prevent Lucicolay from being killed?

The assassins of Lucicolai were likely Yuan and Prometheus's men. Yuan and Zhao had no connection whatsoever, and Zhao had just returned to the capital, so it was impossible for them to make contact in a short time.

There must be something she overlooked.

Her mind raced, the images in her head rewinding frame by frame, finally settling on the moment the blond youth hesitated during Lucicolay's assassination attempt.

When Lucico entered the safe house, of the two agents, Xiao Jiang and Lux, only Lux accompanied them.

It was only natural that Luxeberia gained Lucicolai's trust; his smooth entry into the Executorate was the result of Lucicolai's manipulation.

A handle is like a collar; only when one end is held captive can the other end be trusted.

But if Yuan were to collaborate with anyone, the only one she could think of was Lux, since they had once been teacher and student in Cornunos.

If she were Yu An, she would also try to exploit Lux, taking advantage of his guilt and weakness stemming from the man-made disaster of Gab.

But can an assassination, such a significant matter, be accomplished solely through Lux's inside-outside coordination?

Her gaze returned to Zhao's face.

No.

And everything behind Lux.

Anoberia and Zhao collaborated, or rather, they collaborated with the people behind Zhao, and they used Yu An to carry out a joint murder.

"The man who assassinated Lucico has escaped."

Zhao took a step in her direction: "I heard it's a red-haired boy with severe disfigurement—your classmate, right?"

Shu Ningmiao looked at him expressionlessly.

With just one glance, she understood the situation.

Zhao snapped his fingers with one hand, the different rings on his fingers clinking together: "Of course, that person could also be you."

Xiao Jiang didn't understand what he meant, so she drew her weapon and tried to get closer.

But the next second, with Zhao's snap of his fingers as the boundary, everyone was pushed back three feet by the unfolded supernatural energy field.

They were only a few steps apart, and no one except Shu Ningmiao and Zhao could get in.

Shu Ningmiao placed her left hand on the hilt of the sword, crouching down and watching him warily.

Just then, the screen on the circular platform suddenly started crackling.

The previously off black screen suddenly flickered, displaying a distorted broadcast image with the words "National News Channel" clearly visible on it.

...News that was forcibly broadcast by all Pinhian media.

Against the red backdrop stands a middle-aged woman with a serious expression, dressed in a uniform. Few people recognize her face, but everyone recognizes the flag behind her.

The shield emblem on a dark red background is cracked with serpentine patterns, and a sharp sword runs across the scales in the center. This is the violent apparatus that Pinheis was so proud of, and its wielder.

The subtitles clearly displayed the middle-aged woman's name: Kovina, the current Minister of the Military.

She will face Pigne to announce the news of the assassination of parliamentary representative Lucicolet today and offer her deepest condolences.

The person now in charge has appeared before everyone through the broadcast.

She no longer needs to rack her brains to guess the truth of the matter; it is enough for her to simply see who the current beneficiaries are.

"You are one of Kovina's people."

Shu Ningmiao spoke slowly, then suddenly felt powerless.

“No, Kovina is one of my people,” Zhao denied calmly. “We have a cooperative relationship.”

Her voice carried an indescribable weariness: "Kovina originally supported him... why did she have to attack him?"

"to be honest."

Zhao shrugged: "He can die, or he can live. It would be more convenient if he died, because I need that position. But it wouldn't make much difference if he didn't die. Right now, the military has the most power, and I came back to take over all of this."

Shu Ningmiao was stunned on the spot.

“That’s what power is.” Zhao raised his cane and pointed it at her, forcing her to retreat step by step: “Nothing is permanent.”