Chapter 70 070 Incomplete Intelligence
To be honest, Hemingway also had his share of bitterness.
The building they are in is shaped like the Chinese character "匸" (xi), with the front being the office area and the two sides being rest areas and offices. When the UN attacked, he was probably on the other side, in the first wave of people to discover the problem but had not yet directly encountered it.
The explosion came from the lower level, while above came a chaotic noise and disorderly footsteps; just listening to the commotion was enough to give anyone a headache.
Then, just as he put on his gas mask and called out to Kasimov to rush out, they bumped into Barry and Exupé, who were flying through the corridor.
This head-on collision is in a physical sense.
Barry himself was well aware that flying at high speed in such a confined space could easily lead to an accident. So, he shamelessly clung to Exupé's back and shrank back as much as possible—that way, if they collided with anything, Exupé would be hit first, giving him time to react.
After confirming with the other groups that the person who supposedly could nullify supernatural abilities wasn't there (meaning to ensure that Exupéry's immortality could be effective at all times), Barry hugged Exupéry and began to accelerate wildly.
Having been hit in the face by an Antoine de Essouf, nearly shattering his skull, Hemingway had reason to believe that Barry intended to use the Essouf to smash through any obstacle in his path...
Then, just as Hemingway lost consciousness for a few seconds due to the heavy blow, and Kasimov was about to rush to the wall to control the metal, Barry braked faster than both of them, and in the process, put Exupéry on the ground and tried to control Hemingway and Kasimov.
He had succeeded halfway—Hemingway, rendered incapacitated for a few seconds, was captured, while Kasimov accelerated upon realizing Barry's intentions, dodging the completely invisible "confinement zone" Barry had launched...
Then I got an Exupéry smeared in my face.
Antoine de' Antoine de's "Little Prince" is essentially based on the principle of fixing his own time. In other words, although the already very light Antoine can be easily knocked away, it is impossible for him to change his own form (in this case, change his movements) through external actions—unless it is his own will.
And so, with a less-than-perfect joint lock, Exupé firmly pinned Kasimov to the neck and completely blocked his vision. Although Kasimov might have managed to evade Barry's various "holding zones" by jumping around wildly, theoretically, it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
All of this is based on the premise that Kasimov really only has one pair of eyes, and that no Balzac carrying Sherlock Holmes jumps out to cause trouble.
It was clear that Kasimov had somehow gained vision of Barry and precisely dodged all of Barry's attacks. Then, just as Barry was considering whether to unleash his ultimate attack, Balzac arrived.
With a disgruntled click of his tongue, Barry spoke without hesitation: "Exupéry!"
The speech was delivered so quickly that there was even a slight change in tone. Yet, incredibly, the overall clarity of the sentence was maintained.
It's like a normal, clear conversation played at double speed.
Exupé jumped off Kasimov’s shoulder as soon as he heard the first few syllables, paused in mid-air, and then floated up.
Barry gave Balzac and Holmes one last unpleasant look, then, with Exupéry in tow, smashed the glass and rushed out the window.
The series of actions was so swift and decisive that Balzac, who arrived just in time, didn't even have time to tell Holmes where he was before the two of them had already run off.
It's clear they received specific instructions beforehand, which is why they can execute them without hesitation.
Holmes watched the two men move swiftly and efficiently—so efficiently it was as if the music was playing at double speed—and, recalling the words he had heard earlier, he became thoughtful.
Balzac's focus differed from Holmes's; when he realized he couldn't catch up with Exupéry and Barry, his first thought was to look at Hemingway.
Hemingway's upper body, mainly his neck and shoulders, was swaying incessantly, as if trying to break free from something. But his lower body remained frozen in place, making Hemingway look exceptionally comical.
"Can we move?"
“Not yet.” Hemingway’s tone was filled with gritted teeth, and Balzac had reason to believe that Hemingway’s expression was equally ferocious. “When that child pointed his hand at me, I could clearly feel this ‘binding’ intensifying. At first, I probably could have broken free, but now I can’t…”
Kasimov, who was standing to the side, did not say anything. He twisted his neck, which he had twisted during the fight, and walked directly toward Hemingway, tapping the air near Hemingway.
Surprisingly, he actually produced a crisp, clear clanging sound.
Seeing Kasimov stop half a meter in front of him and start knocking, Hemingway abruptly stopped speaking, then gritted his teeth even more: "This thing is so big!?"
Kasimov tapped the air twice more, and even tried to lift the "air" around Hemingway, which resulted in Hemingway's head making intimate contact with the ceiling, thus confirming the general situation of this confinement.
"The shape is a smooth sphere with a radius of about 50 centimeters centered on the captain. It is harder than steel and extremely tough. It is mostly transparent, but a piece under the captain's feet looks like it has a frosted texture. When it was first activated, the whole thing seemed to be like this, but it gradually became transparent."
As he spoke, Kasimov tapped the air again, saying, "More testing is needed to get the specific data."
A bewildered Hemingway, still reeling from the manipulation, thought, "...I'm sure of it, you absolutely want to get rid of me so you can take my place..."
“Kasimov, stay here and keep an eye on your captain, or take Hemingway with you to the archives. You two can patrol over there.” Being carried on Balzac’s shoulder didn’t seem to affect Holmes’s train of thought. After discerning what was coming from above and below, Holmes concluded, his gaze refocusing on a certain spot on the ceiling, “These two are over here… then the main force is up above.”
Having understood Holmes's meaning, Balzac followed Holmes's gaze, raised his right hand, broke through the ceiling, and forcefully pulled himself up.
"There aren't many clerks up there!"
“I know their goal isn’t to kidnap the clerk.” Holmes looked away, his brow furrowing unusually, seemingly puzzled. “They want to drive out the ordinary people in this building and make them leave.”
"Drive them away?"
Balzac was puzzled. "What are they trying to do?"
Holmes didn't answer Balzac's question, but instead muttered to himself, "I'd like to know the answer to that too..."
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