Chapter 608: Suspicious Engineer (6)
The boundary between the bustling Workshop District and the Factory District, where gears incessantly spun.
A black van was parked in a desolate, secluded alleyway nestled between small waterways.
The moment Lennok approached the van, the passenger side window rolled down, and a man wearing sunglasses peered out.
He overtly scrutinized Lennok from head to toe, then asked in an indifferent, almost dismissive tone, “Lyman. Is that right?”
“……Lyman?”
The instant Lennok tilted his head at the unfamiliar name, Davi whispered from his embrace, just in time.
“It’s the name of the original owner of the workshop Master rented.”
“……”
Was it the name of the craftsman who had been dispatched with Mouser to the Machine City’s internal delegation and had died there?
It seemed Isabella had pulled some strings behind the scenes. She likely processed Lennok’s identity as a missing person who had returned.
The man swiftly extended a hand through the window.
He roughly seized Lennok’s wrist, scanning it with a barcode reader-like device from within his jacket.
BEEP!
“The Enforcers have a record of accessing your ticket information. Your identity is confirmed, get in.”
“……”
If Lennok hadn’t deactivated his automatic interception spell just in time, the man would have been reduced to ashes by a surge of electricity then and there.
But instead of showing his displeasure, Lennok quietly boarded the van, whose back door was already open.
The moment he got inside, two men in suits, sitting on either side, firmly gripped Lennok’s arms and placed a blindfold over his eyes.
The arms of the two men holding him weren’t solid with muscle, but cold like steel.
Realizing they were cyborgs with mechanical body parts, Lennok, blindfolded, spoke.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I believe you were already informed by the Enforcers.”
“That may be so, but…”
“Then just wait quietly, and don’t say anything else.”
The man in the passenger seat said in a cold tone.
“We will ensure you meet the Committee Member.”
“……”
As Lennok fell silent, the van started and felt as though it was slowly moving forward.
Did they intend to completely obscure the path to the Committee Member’s location?
But Lennok could remember every turn the van made, every block it passed, without even needing to activate his mana sense.
‘We’ve circled the same block for the fourth time now.’
That was the conclusion Lennok reached inside the constantly rattling van.
They were deliberately changing directions randomly and entering then reversing out of various streets to confuse his senses and twist the route.
Yet, in Lennok’s mind, which had memorized the entire street map of this vicinity, the van’s real-time location was precisely tracked.
‘Were they not planning to go far from the start?’
If their intention was truly to deceive him about the path to the Committee Member’s location, they wouldn’t have wasted so much time circling one spot so persistently.
This was proof that the Ex Machina Committee Member who summoned Lennok was not far away.
The Ex Machina Committee Member had arrived in the Workshop District from the beginning, just to meet Lennok.
Vwoosh…!!
The van deliberately circled around before pulling into the underground parking lot of a desolate, secluded abandoned building.
The door opened, and Lennok, guided by those holding his arms, stepped out and began walking down a corridor that smelled fresh and clean.
Even though they had entered through the underground parking lot inside an abandoned building, there was no musty smell; instead, the air felt clean and fresh.
‘Is this a hidden hideout or a private villa?’
As Lennok pondered this, soft carpets and rugs alternately met his feet, and the gentle glow of lanterns filtered through his blindfold.
A sharp-voiced man asked the moment they stopped in front of a door.
“Possessions?”
“None.”
The answer came from the cyborg holding Lennok’s left arm.
“As he is certainly not a physical abilities user, he should possess no dangerous abilities.”
“Good.”
Had they checked his basic physical abilities while holding his arms and determined he posed no threat?
Lennok inwardly scoffed at their misconception, but instead of showing it, he waited patiently.
A specialized superhuman working as a craftsman would undoubtedly not have strong combat abilities.
Moreover, if his physical abilities were also negligible, they wouldn’t be wrong to assume he wouldn’t be a danger when meeting the Committee Member alone.
Screech…!!
As he waited quietly, the restraints on his arms were released, and he felt a push on his back.
As the door opened, he slowly walked forward, and the air around him changed dramatically, a warm breeze touching his skin.
Click!
The door closed behind him, and Lennok, his arms now free, removed his blindfold.
Candlelight illuminated the dark room. An old man sat idly at a table with dimly hung lanterns, gazing at Lennok.
Behind the old man, a woman stood silently, like a ghost.
Her features were indistinct, making her hard to see clearly, but her presence was incredibly sharp.
The atmosphere was so tense, as if she would intervene immediately at the slightest hint of anything amiss.
But Lennok ignored the woman’s subtle gaze, pulled up the chair opposite the old man, and sat down.
The old man stared at Lennok for a moment, then quietly spoke.
“I didn’t tell you to take off your blindfold and sit down.”
“My apologies.”
Lennok replied without batting an eye.
“I haven’t learned what etiquette to observe when meeting a Committee Member of Ex Machina.”
“……”
The woman standing behind the old man seemed to intensify her gaze for a moment.
But the old man, seemingly satisfied with Lennok’s reply, gently waved his hand towards the woman.
“I know craftsmen dislike formalities. I wish to judge based on his ability first.”
“Judge, you say.”
“As the Enforcer must have explained, I am looking for a skilled craftsman capable enough to participate in the Meister Selection Ceremony.”
The old man’s eyes glinted coldly.
“To be precise, I need someone who can represent the Machine Head faction and uphold its prestige to some extent.”
“……”
Machine Head, Steel Heart, War Hammer.
Factions named after the three most important values revered in Machina.
It was widely known that Ex Machina had been divided into three factions, engaged in political disputes for a long time, so Lennok was not surprised.
“Therefore, regardless of origin or background, if a craftsman possesses excellent skills capable of leaving a strong impression at the Selection Ceremony… I am willing, by my authority as a Committee Member, to allow them to participate in the ceremony.”
The old man directly addressed Lennok, who remained silent.
“The Enforcer’s report states that you are capable of handling tasks in a unique way, unlike other craftsmen.”
“……”
“Enforcer Isabella is a quick-witted and discerning martial artist, capable of maintaining neutrality even amidst Ex Machina’s political struggles. Had it not been for her, I wouldn’t even have bothered to come all the way to this dilapidated lower-tier workshop district to meet you.”
The old man nodded and tapped the table with his wrinkled fingers.
At his gesture, the woman pulled an old pistol from her coat and slid it across the table, placing it in front of Lennok.
“Demonstrate your ability on this pistol using only the objects within this room. One chance should be enough, correct?”
Representing a faction to participate in the Meister Selection Ceremony and achieve good results.
Demonstrating his abilities to participate in the Selection Ceremony.
Both were things Lennok had anticipated from the moment he thought he might meet an Ex Machina Committee Member.
But now, Lennok was empty-handed, without any tools necessary for maintenance.
He didn’t have a screwdriver, a hammer, or even a simple knife, so he had no idea what he was supposed to show. Yet, instead of complaining, Lennok picked up the pistol.
The moment he took it in one hand and lifted it, Lennok spoke.
“It’s heavy.”
“So?”
“Even with the bullets and magazine completely empty, it has significant weight. This is evidence that the metal used in its construction is quite dense.”
Lennok pulled the slide once, peered at the inside, and nodded.
“Irregularities and inconsistent friction sounds. However, the metal’s finishing and processing are very clean.”
“I’m not asking for a history of the pistol; I’m asking how you plan to maintain it…”
“A pistol made for ceremonial purposes, not combat.”
Lennok held the pistol upside down, brushing off the dust clinging to its rear, and said, “Yet, its exterior looks dirty and old, probably because the decorations and paint attached to the pistol have been stripped off.”
“……”
Leaving the old man with an unreadable, enigmatic expression, Lennok rose from his seat.
The old man had told him to use objects in the room, so there was no reason to refuse.
An old radio and an old mobile phone on the shelf, a safe on one side of the wall.
Even the fire extinguisher hanging on one wall and the dusty electrical outlet.
Click!
Without hesitation, he pulled out the metal antenna from the old radio and plugged it into the electrical outlet.
Both individuals frowned at Lennok’s sight, holding the metal with his bare hands and bringing it to the outlet, but surprisingly, Lennok was not electrocuted then and there.
Instead, he simply plunged the metal antenna, which had become scorching hot from the electric current through the outlet, directly into the barrel of the old pistol.
Hiss!
The tip of the heated antenna metal made a strange sound inside the barrel, emitting faint smoke.
But Lennok, casually holding the metal tip with his bare hand, spoke.
“The reason all the decorations of a ceremonial pistol were stripped off, yet it wasn’t disposed of. And why it was brought here to be used for this test…”
Click.
Lennok slowly pulled the antenna tip out of the barrel and smiled.
“Perhaps it’s because the gun itself is important evidence, or because indelible traces remain.”
“……”
The antenna tip that had been heated and shoved into the barrel. Indelibly dark red blood clots adhered to the melted metal tip.
Lennok stood the antenna upright on the table and said, “Ceremonial pistols are usually designed to use blank cartridges, so their lethality isn’t high. While live rounds can be used, to kill a person, you’d likely have to press it deep into their sternum and pull the trigger, and even then, it might barely be possible.”
“……”
“But if you kill someone like that, it’s unavoidable for traces to remain deep inside the barrel. Even if you strip off all blood-stained decorations and paint to erase the traces, if you forcefully melt and rub the deep inside of the barrel like this, remaining bloodstains are bound to emerge.”
Lennok turned to the silent Committee Member and asked, “I suspect a preservation spell is cast on this pistol itself, and contact will be made with the military department the moment its original form is damaged.”
“That’s…”
“So, it makes sense that you wanted to test his skills while modifying the pistol with a craftsman’s help to eliminate the traces.”
He plugged the antenna into the outlet once more to melt its tip, then placed it over a tightened screw on the pistol.
The heated, slightly melted metal tip of the antenna solidified along the screw’s cracks, transforming into a makeshift screwdriver capable of loosening the screw.
Lennok then effortlessly began to disassemble the pistol.
Click, click!
“Found it.”
The spring deep inside the pistol’s magazine.
Realizing that tiny spell scripts were engraved on the metal surface of the spring, Lennok immediately unleashed his mana, crushing the spell scripts.
Fwaaat!
With that shock, the spell scripts glowed brightly, attempting to send out a mana wave as a signal somewhere.
But Lennok swiftly extended his Will-thought, capturing the wave and tearing it apart, causing it to vanish like a powerless echo.
A strange phenomenon: a strong light briefly flared in the room before instantly disappearing.
Lennok, standing at the center of this phenomenon, casually placed the pistol on the table and said, “I’ve erased the preservation spell itself, so now you can dispose of this pistol without leaving any traces.”
“……”
The old man, who had been silently watching Lennok, reached out and slowly gripped the pistol.
He stared at it for a moment, then handed the pistol to his attendant, who proceeded to crush and crumple it with both hands.
Crunch!
A monstrous grip that crushed a sturdy ceremonial pistol with bare hands.
Lennok remained unfazed by this apparent show of force, quietly sitting back down opposite the old man.
After a long silence, the old man quietly spoke to Lennok.
“The reason Enforcer Isabella recommended you was entirely different.”
Lennok’s greatest asset as a craftsman wasn’t his skill in crafting or repairing itself.
It was his powerful intuition and sensitivity, allowing him to perceive past events clearly through the state and history of equipment.
Through this, he possessed sharp deductive abilities that enabled him to discern and understand the user, not just the equipment.
The Committee Member immediately realized that Lennok possessed the talent not just to fix equipment, but to approach the core of a problem.
The old man gazed at Lennok, seemingly lost in thought, and asked, “Can you guess who the owner of this pistol was?”
“……”
He had already completely erased the evidence, and now he was asking who the pistol’s owner was?
But Lennok pondered his memory of handling the pistol, piecing together clues to reach a conclusion.
“They wouldn’t have been a professionally trained soldier.”
Lennok said, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“The condition of the internal spring and magazine wasn’t very good. It implies that it was truly only carried for ceremonial purposes and was never actually used.”
“Hmm.”
“A position high enough to constantly carry a ceremonial pistol, yet a status that would never require combat training. A situation where others would erase evidence for them even after they killed someone.”
Lennok nodded.
“It’s not uncommon for children of the powerful to cause trouble, it happens every day.”
“……”
Not only the old man, but even the silently standing attendant widened their eyes slightly, looking at Lennok.