Chapter 69: The Newly Discovered Branch

X lay on the bed, looking at the special bullet he had obtained from the silver-haired woman. There were no conditions here; he needed to return to the company to find out the bullet's composition. He decided to put it away for now.

The bullets he had ever handled were all special bullets from Lobotomy Corporation; this was the first time he had ever seen bullets that looked like those circulating in the market.

The dark-haired youth put the only bullet into his pocket. The sky outside was already beginning to lighten. He needed to find the silver-haired woman who might know Sinclair and have a chat with her.

Last night, he only got the bullets before Faust sent him back to sleep, and he didn't get any useful information at all.

The makeshift base of Nail and Hammer was deserted.

X was puzzled. Where had everyone gone? His question was answered when he saw a small hammer waiting downstairs.

“Mr. Dante,” Little Hammer said respectfully, his unkempt brown hair sticking up in a mess, his black eyes looking at the black-haired youth in front of him who was about to leave, “The Lord of the Handle has sent me to show you the way.”

"Now it is time for the Lord of the Handle to preach. The big hammers and medium hammers should all go to the front hall to listen to the Lord of the Handle's teachings."

As Xiao Chui explained why the place was deserted, his foot suddenly missed a step while he was half-turned to speak down the stairs; he was too sleepy.

X's attention remained focused on Little Hammer, who was clearly looking somewhat listless.

Just as he was about to slip, the black-haired youth, who was sleeping soundly, pulled him up in time, preventing the poor fellow from falling directly.

"Heathcliff, how many hours did you sleep last night?"

The dark circles under Xiao Chui's eyes were so pronounced that even his dark skin couldn't conceal them.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chui's tense spirit suddenly relaxed. It seemed that this person was still the same as before, so he no longer needed to pretend.

"I'm not asleep."

Xiao Chui's voice was so soft that X suspected he hadn't said anything at all.

"What?"

"I didn't sleep last night."

Heathcliff was just grumbling casually. This man wasn't one of those madmen who followed dogma in everything. He could complain a little in front of him, but what difference was there between him and those madmen?

The child mocked himself inwardly, but after hearing his complaint, the black-haired youth paused for a moment, then began rummaging through his pockets. After pulling out a bunch of strange things, he found a small object with colorful packaging.

"Here you go. This isn't exactly regular food, but it's different from the canned goods you're all given."

Although X had forgotten who gave it to him, the child was so pitiful, so he decided to give him something sweet and thank that kind-hearted unknown person.

*

Curaçao was curled up on the floor in a place that resembled a warehouse. It was surprisingly clean and showed no signs of having ever imprisoned "previous" people, as if she were the first person to be captured.

Her wounds were treated hastily, and even though everyone here looked at her with hostility, she was given food, though it smelled and looked strange.

However, the two men who were guarding her and had temporarily removed their armor also ate from this can, and the same can they had taken from the same bag as the one given to her.

The opened can of food was still sitting not far away; she hadn't eaten it.

Just as dawn was breaking, the man who had been guarding her put on his armor and left, replaced by a weary-looking young man. The two men even scolded him before they left.

Were you ostracized?

Curaçao observed these people, and then the new guard, while watching her, also kept an eye on the clock on the wall. When the hands pointed to six, he also left.

If you want to escape, this is the perfect opportunity!

She pulled a tiny, thread-like object from her tied-up hair, a strand that was very close in color to her long, silver hair.

It was a magical tool that was extremely tough and had a certain degree of hardness, yet wouldn't hurt Curaçao. It came from the group of idle researchers in the organization, who never expected to use it here.

The silver-haired woman skillfully folded it in half, making it almost as good as a wire. As Rum's confidante, lock picking was naturally an essential skill for her. Just as Curaçao was pushing the "wire" into the keyhole, two different footsteps were heard.

She quickly pulled out the "wire" and stuffed it into her sleeve.

Damn, how did they get back so quickly?

It was the guard from before. He seemed to have something in his mouth, his cheeks were bulging, and he looked much happier than when he left.

Meanwhile, the person from last night, whose identity was unknown but whose status was definitely very high, followed leisurely behind the guard.

Is my final fate finally here?

"Do you know Sinclair?" His voice was calm and without a trace of pressure.

They don't seem like the kind of people who should be here. They should be in more normal places, like office buildings or any other setting. In short, they shouldn't be in places where fanatics like this congregate.

But... the next moment, Curaçao overturned the illusion created by the sound. That man was definitely not an ordinary office worker; his eyes gave him away.

Curaçao was stared at by those emotionless golden eyes, and the words of denial she wanted to say stuck in her throat, leaving her in a dilemma.

Should I answer truthfully? And why did Sinclair become like this? Was it this man who did it?

Where is Ryoshu? They left the organization together back then, so how did Sinclair end up alone in this organization full of lunatics?

“What do you want to know?” she asked in return.

“Yes, there are many,” the well-disguised dark-haired youth said, feigning thought. “For example, your relationship with Sinclair, and… how you got here, and the source of the bullets, etc.”

While eating candy, Little Hammer handed X a notebook to write down the words of the wielder. He didn't know how good X's memory was, but his own memory was getting worse and worse.

Judging from his own experience, Heathcliff felt that young people also needed something to write down their answers, so they wouldn't forget them as they listened.

Having obtained the recording item, X looked at the poor little hammer who was getting sleepy after gaining a little energy and patted the spot next to him: "You should sleep for a while. I'll wake you up when they come back."

"Then, let's wait for them to return..."

Before he could finish speaking, the boy, who only looked mature but wasn't actually much older than their future leader, tilted his head and fell asleep.

“Alright, now it’s just the two of us left. You can speak now,” X quickly matched the characteristics of the former colleague provided by Sinclair and Ryosuke in his mind and matched them with the target, “Miss Curaçao.”

"I am very sorry... for everything Mr. Rum has suffered here." (Shouldn't it be Rum?)

Recalling the buck-toothed head that was nailed to the lamppost, X tentatively said, and looking at Curaçao's expression, X knew he had guessed correctly.

“This is the base of Nail and Hammer,” the supervisor, who recognized them as unfortunate souls who had wandered in by mistake, explained. “They regard all cybernetic bodies as filth to be eradicated, and those who have received them are outright heretics.”

"Your companion is wearing a prosthetic body, isn't he?"

"Why are you telling me all this? Aren't you one of the nail and hammer men?"

Rather, why would you think I'm a nail and hammer person?! My mental state is clearly so good.

If he were truly one of Nails and Hammers, Curaçao wouldn't be alive today. The reason this place is so clean is that Nails and Hammers never arrest people; they just hang them up on the spot.

"Would you believe me if I said I was arrested too?"

Curaçao said nothing, but glanced at the young man who was rambling on with a somewhat veiled look.

Is she some kind of gullible fool? If he was also arrested, why isn't he here with her, and why is he even able to order around Sinclair, who is clearly of high status?

“You don’t need to test me, I will answer truthfully.”

Before he could finish speaking, the noise outside suddenly became loud, and the preacher's sermon ended.

"Wake up, they're back."

The black-haired youth who had just been talking to him immediately shook the unlucky little hammer, who had only been asleep for a short while, upon hearing the sound.

"Ah! Heretic..."

Little Hammer subconsciously thought that it was Medium Hammer or Big Hammer coming, and the doctrines that were already imprinted in his mind spontaneously came out. He only stopped reciting the doctrines after he saw the people around him clearly.

"hehe……"

A woman's soft laughter came from not far away; it was Luo Jia, one of the culprits from N Company, who was the middle hammer.

“The one who holds the reins sent me to you,” a brown-haired woman in full armor, carrying a blood-stained heavy hammer, entered the small underground warehouse. “She said it’s time for you to step in.”

"Ah, do you want to ask about this unclean person?" She chuckled a few more times, the corners of her mouth unconsciously turning up. "We'll keep her for you."

"Little Hammer over there, come along too." Unlike his tone when facing the young man, Zhongchui always treated Xiaochui this way, and Xiaochui, whose edges had been smoothed out, had no objections.

"Let's go then. We can't keep the one in charge waiting too long."

When it came to Faust, Luo Jia's tone became even more devout. If it weren't for the special status of the person beside her, and the fact that she didn't want to hurt him, X would probably have been dragged to Faust's presence as quickly as possible.

"You've come, Dante." The Handler, whose body was stained with blood from who-knows-where, trembled, his excitement abnormal.

"Faust saw it, that dazzling light, the path to purity!"

"You discovered L Company's branch?"

“Hoo hoo, as expected of you, you understood Faust’s purpose so quickly,” the Handleholder laughed. “That’s right, my hammers have discovered a brand new, still buried branch of Lobotomy Corporation.”

"There must be something interesting there."

The child talked to himself as if he could see his future as a perfect person.

"Come, Dante, just as you have guided us countless times, so let us obtain the golden branch for Faust."

*

Standing amidst the ruins, the Lobotomy Corporation executive watched the hammers being used to dig at the collapsed entrance and fell into deep thought.

What is this? Is the company boss leading the digging up of his own branch office's ruins?

Just as the supervisor was watching others dig up his own property, the sound of a train engine, accompanied by a whistle, suddenly appeared.

The supervisor suffered cardiac arrest, where did the car come from?!

A snow-white train, painted with gold patterns, suddenly sped out of the collapsed entrance, but it did not take away any of the "passengers" blocking its path.

This isn't the company's "train to the underworld," so what is it?

Fortunately, as the train rushed out, it smashed through all the thick obstacles, and now the path to the underground branch was clear. The dark interior was like a gaping maw, waiting for those about to enter.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Supervisor: I'm really not a nail and hammer man.

Curaçao: Guess whether I believe it or not?