Chapter 1386 - 8: The Slaughter Troop’s Style

Chapter 1386: Chapter 8: The Slaughter Troop’s Style

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat strange; the incandescent light flickered on and off, and Skardine picked up the pistol on the table. Without any obvious movement, the gun broke down into parts in his hands and scattered across the tabletop.

Leizong picked up the briefcase next to the seats and took out a document.

"Cuchulainn Bai Ye, currently active in the Special Situation Emergency and Cleanup Strategy Squad, on July 15, in a certain classified mission shot Yaledo Country diplomat, four shots in total, shell casings found at the scene, whereabouts of the Yaledo Country diplomat’s body unknown.

Cuchulainn Bai Ye, answer me, did the diplomat ’Elvis·Eleanor’ have any intent to attack you at the time of the incident? Although according to eyewitness descriptions, the diplomat ’Elvis·Eleanor’ used a weapon first, considering the eyewitnesses were your comrades, this ridiculous document is insufficient to exonerate you.

Attacking a foreign diplomat, especially a diplomat from a non-Sengoku country, is a serious offense regardless of which squad you serve!"

Leizong resisted the impulse to tear the document in hand, this 14-page document, 80% of the content was scribbled over with black ink and marked as military secrets. From this document, it seemed Su Xiao not only was innocent but should be credited.

"You are defending this country, a behavior worthy of respect from all citizens, including myself, but Yaledo Country is a friendly nation, our long-term black gold trade partner, without a satisfactory explanation, they would lose face."

Clearly, Leizong is not unreasonable, but there are significant interests involved in this matter. The black gold he referred to is essentially petroleum.

Yaledo Country is a small nation, a subordinate country of the Geya Alliance, providing nearly unconditional black gold to the Geya Alliance in exchange for military protection.

Yaledo Country was evidently bullied by the Slaughter Troop, unable to confront the Slaughter Troop directly, they could only trouble the Geya Alliance’s foreign ministry, a typical case of picking on the smaller fry.

And after Cuchulainn Bai Ye shot the Yaledo Country diplomat, his final task was to serve time, hence his designation as active in the Slaughter Troop.

"He attacked me first."

Su Xiao spoke, finally understanding the situation. Currently, it was a case of no evidence, with the Slaughter Troop’s operating style, finding the dead diplomat’s body was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The shell casings at the site were likely left on purpose.

"What evidence do you have."

Leizong was not hostile towards Su Xiao; on the contrary, he wanted to resolve this issue swiftly.

"The people present at the time are all witnesses."

"..."

Leizong was momentarily speechless; there were eight people at the scene, six members of the Slaughter Troop, a war correspondent, and a businessman from Yaledo Country.

The six Slaughter Troop members’ testimonies were very consistent, or rather, absurdly consistent, to the point of sounding like a single person’s testimony.

As for the war correspondent, they were residing in a psychiatric hospital in the neighboring city receiving treatment, while the businessman from Yaledo Country was even more unhelpful. This nearly 50-year-old middle-aged man repeatedly said, ’It was that diplomat who drew the gun first’ no matter how he was questioned.

"Stop clinging on, let’s conclude the case."

Skardine suddenly spoke; he understood what was going on.

"Just a routine inquiry process."

Leizong exhaled deeply; he knew nothing could be gleaned today, and he would have to engage in months, possibly half a year’s negotiations with Yaledo Country thereafter.

"One last question."

Leizong spoke, taking out something resembling a radio from the briefcase and pressing a button. This was an old-fashioned tape recorder, and given this world’s technology, it was considered advanced for its small size.

"Cuchulainn Bai Ye, did you feel any guilt when you shot ’Elvis·Eleanor’?"

Upon hearing this question, Su Xiao felt somewhat bewildered, unable to fathom this interrogation approach, thus he looked at Skardine.

Skardine slightly nodded.

"A bit of guilt, if he hadn’t aimed the gun at me, he shouldn’t have died."

Click, Leizong pressed the tape recorder button.

"You, leave first."

Leizong glanced at the chubby diplomat, who swiftly left, noticeably keeping a distance from Su Xiao as he reached the door.

Bang, the door closed tightly.

"Answer very remorseful directly, I’ll reset the process; I’ll handle the aftermath."

After saying this, Leizong got up, opened the door, and the chubby diplomat returned to the room.

Everyone took their seats again, and Leizong pressed the recorder button, requiring just one sentence.

A minute later, Leizong put away the recorder, and the chubby diplomat wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Mr. Leizong, is it really fine to do this?"

The chubby diplomat seemed rather uneasy, initially thinking the diplomatic ministry’s relationship with the Slaughter Troop was indifferent, hence he put extra effort into this issue.

But now, he was horrified to realize that Leizong, a high-ranking official at the diplomatic ministry, had specifically come to Cakbeck Prison to give false testimony.

"What do you suggest then, without direct evidence, Cuchulainn Bai Ye has been detained in prison for a month, now expressing deep regret for the deceased. Face has been saved."

Leizong got up, started tidying the files on the table.

"Cuchulainn Bai Ye, you’re released, sign here."

Skardine pulled open the drawer and threw a release certificate to Su Xiao; it was clearly pre-prepared.

"With transportation inconvenient nearby, if you’re planning to return to Hot City, you can ride with Leizong."

As the matter concluded, Skardine didn’t miss the chance to rile Leizong a bit; their relationship was intriguing, both adversaries and allies.

"That’s fine."

Leizong didn’t seem too concerned about the matter, yet the chubby diplomat was worried.

"Mr. Leizong, this isn’t appropriate～"

The chubby diplomat’s current smile was worse than crying; he didn’t wish to ride the same car with a Slaughter Troop member, let alone the fact that he had multiple times sabotaged them over the past month.

"Shut up."

Leizong spoke in a subdued tone, gathered up his briefcase, rising to depart the office.

"Take a three-day vacation to enjoy Hot City."

Skardine took out three stacks of multicolored checks from the drawer and tossed them onto the desk.

"Vacation?"

Su Xiao folded the signed release paper and tucked it inside his pocket; it might be useful later.

Skardine’s words puzzled Su Xiao; having been released, he was no longer under Skardine’s jurisdiction but under the Slaughter Troop’s purview.

"Yes, although I officially assume the position in three days, issuing an early order isn’t an issue. Your original superior kicked the bucket, and I’m conveniently dealing with your case, so I was transferred to the Slaughter Troop. In three days, I’ll be your superior."

Clearly, Skardine has been promoted. Although the Slaughter Troop consisted of only a few hundred people, its chief officer held the rank of colonel. The Slaughter Troop was a privileged unit directly under the Presidential Palace, with only two people able to oversee Skardine, the Second Corps’ admiral, followed by the High President.

These two were usually busy handling state affairs, thus, Skardine’s actual power was significant, and ordinary vice admirals would not lightly hassle him.