Enforcer Manual
Chapter 659: Seed of Fear_1

Chapter 659: Chapter 659: Seed of Fear_1

Song Lan and Lu Xiang selected a room on the second floor of the hospital.

The internal hospital of the consortium was quite impressive, covering an area not inferior to any of the large prosthetic hospitals that Song Lan knew of. It was said that besides occasionally acting as medical advisors, like Jasmine, the prosthetic doctors hired by the consortium were among the top in the world.

Perhaps for the prosthetic doctors, working at the Iris Consortium was one of the most relaxed and leisurely jobs in the world. The consortium’s hospital was never open to the public, serving only consortium members and knights. They didn’t have to face a sea of injured and sick people every day, nor the risk of being harassed by dissatisfied patients.

But the Iris Consortium was never stingy with salaries; even if they spent most of their time resting in the office, they were paid the top salaries in the industry.

So, Song Lan thought that there were indeed advantages to the Iris Consortium.

They almost wore their wealth and opulence on their faces, at least for wage workers seeking retirement, this place was definitely a good place to be.

If his medical knowledge wasn’t at the most basic beginner stage, he might even have considered taking a position here for the paycheck.

After Rose left, nothing significant happened that day, and the castle seemed to be shrouded in the quiet before the storm.

In the vast hospital, only four patients resided, and besides Song Lan and Lu Xiang, the other two were in comas—one of them was the Scarlet Lord who had never woken up after falling down the stairs, and the other was a new soldier instructor who had been accidentally injured during a military exercise.

The instructor was seriously injured, nearly lifeless when he was brought in.

According to the on-duty doctor, he might need to replace most of the parts in his body. Besides that, the residual spiritual energy was interfering with his normal organs. They had never encountered such a patient before, and full recovery might take at least a few months.

For the prosthetic hospital of the consortium, admitting four patients at the same time already counted as a busy period.

Of course, Song Lan and Lu Xiang were just there to make up the numbers.

After nightfall, the vast wards appeared empty and eerie.

The prosthetic doctors didn’t always stay in the hospital. They had their own residences in the castle, leaving only a young doctor on the second floor of the ward.

As night fell completely, he habitually turned on his tablet computer and started watching a movie.

This was the daily life of an on-duty doctor.

On such a dark and windy night, someone avoided the on-duty doctor’s sight and sneaked into Song Lan’s ward.

"Shh."

At the door, Lu Xiang gestured to Song Lan to be quiet, her cheeks flushed, her heart beating "thump thump" loudly, audible from several steps away.

This wasn’t her first time sneaking into Song Lan’s room at night.

But now their identities were special—in the eyes of others, her relationship with the family chef was just that of normal friends. If they were discovered alone in a room late at night, it would inevitably lead to gossip.

"Why are you here?"

Song Lan lowered his voice, the appearance of Lu Xiang making him nervous as well, with a mix of excitement in that nervousness.

The question was somewhat rhetorical.

He had known Lu Xiang for more than a day; what other business could she have sneaking into his room late at night?

"Let’s talk business first."

Lu Xiang drew closer to him, pulling the curtains of the ward shut.

She had already scouted the hospital’s internal surveillance during the day, and she had chosen these two rooms herself. With her extensive experience, she naturally wouldn’t slip up in front of the cameras.

At most, she might just reveal a fox’s tail in the end!

But she did indeed have official business to find Song Lan for; there was a key question she hadn’t found an opportunity to ask Song Lan during the day. Now, in the dead of night, it was suitable for a secret conversation, "I’ve been meaning to ask you, where did you take Yeying?"

As a three-person infiltration team, their team obviously lacked a member.

The last time she saw Yeying, she was a bird similar to a vulture perched on Song Lan’s shoulder.

From servant and nurse conversations, she had heard about Yeying.

Some thought she was a rare delicacy brought into the castle by Song Lan to please Miss Isabella and Ms. Kalida, others thought she was a new pet belonging to a consortium member.

For the wealthy aristocrats who didn’t lack money, keeping some exotic animals was one of their most common hobbies.

"Comrade Yeying is on a secret mission."

"A secret mission?"

"Yes, I was inspired by her performance last time."

The night he was taken away by the Scarlet Lord had been a desperate one for Yeying. After dodging the Knight Group’s search, she slipped out, with the castle’s exotic beasts offering her considerable help.

The fact that the Scarlet Lord was a drunkard and that he was closely associated with Colin Capello were all things she had been told by these exotic creatures.

However, Yeying’s urge came not from worry that the Knight Group would silence Song Lan, but from fear that she would be unable to find the location of the "dining hall" before Song Lan made his move.

"If all goes well, she should have already become the best friend of the exotic beasts by now."

Understanding the language of animals was Yeying’s gift, something even Song Lan couldn’t do—to communicate without barriers with mutant creatures.

"You’re comfortable leaving her alone?"

Lu Xiang asked in surprise.

In her view, Yeying was a girl who couldn’t even keep her mouth shut, and she had a strong ability to wreck things. If left unattended, she feared that after a while, many buildings in the castle would bear the marks of being gnawed by her.

"Kids need to exercise, and with artificial intelligence to help her, she should be fine."

While the two were talking, Song Lan received a message.

The message was sent by artificial intelligence and contained a video clip.

"Look, you should trust Yeying’s social skills!"

Song Lan excitedly showed Lu Xiang the results of their plan; according to the artificial intelligence description, the video was recorded by a mite on Richard Gervis’ pet, a creature obtained by Yeying. Song Lan couldn’t figure out how they had managed to do it.

But importantly, the video captured Rose.

She had managed to distract the member of the Personal Guard at the door and entered Richard’s room alone.

The ruler of the consortium was sitting amid a mountain of documents, glancing up at her briefly.

"Song Lan, pay attention to her expression."

Lu Xiang keenly noticed Rose’s subtle movements. At first, when she saw Rose inhale before entering the door, she thought she had seen it wrong, but after seeing Richard, she finally confirmed her initial judgment, "She seems to be very afraid of Richard."

"Afraid of Richard? Are you sure?"

Song Lan stared at Rose for a good while, but the Knight Commander had already adjusted her breathing and demeanor, returning to her usual self, "Didn’t Dr. Bai Zhu dig up internal information from the consortium before? Richard is just a normal person with no combat ability."

He couldn’t think of a reason for Rose to be afraid of him.

Apart from being the Knight Commander, her other identity was Richard’s bodyguard. If she wanted, even a slight "negligence at work" could lead to Richard’s demise.

After all, there were so many who harbored hatred for the Iris Consortium that as soon as he left District Two, he could become a target for an assassin.

"Have you heard about trainers of elephants?"

Lu Xiang asked.

Although she had never seen an elephant in her life, this story from before the Third War had a profound impact; it influenced the training strategies of various institutions under the United Government.

"It is said that adult elephants are powerful enough to kill any human, yet they still feel awe towards their trainers, and that’s the power fear wields—before they grow up, the trainers implant the seeds of fear."

The same goes for humans.

Even a Six Stars rescuer couldn’t escape the influence of emotions, which once again proved the success of this theory.

"I heard you went to see your sister today."

In the video, Richard spoke up.

"Mhm."

Rose nodded slightly. As she spoke, her left hand held her right arm; from a psychological perspective, this indicated she was experiencing a significant defensive reaction.

This small movement didn’t escape Richard’s notice, and he continued to inquire, "What did you talk about?"

"She suspects that an assassin has infiltrated the castle; I have commenced an investigation."

"Is that all?"

"...Yes, that’s all."

Song Lan felt that Rose must be very bad at lying. Even through the video, he could see her flickering gaze; the cunning Richard must have seen through her heart at first sight.

In a way, these two sisters really were Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick.

One was easily deceived, and the other’s skill at lying might not even be as good as a high schooler’s.

Even a high school student lying to their parents about studying at home all day and not playing games online probably wouldn’t panic like Rose did.

"Over the years, the consortium has never interfered with any of Jasmine’s decisions. Wherever she wished to stay, we have always fully respected her personal wishes; that was my promise to you in the beginning."

Richard gently brushed his finger over a ring on his finger.

His voice was soft, but this time Song Lan clearly observed Rose becoming even more flustered, a scene that confirmed Lu Xiang’s initial judgment.

"So, I also hope you always remember your promise to me. After all, we do not need to seek your personal opinion on every issue."

"...I understand."

Rose nodded, with every second in the room seeming to be torture for her.

Richard did not continue to press the issue, saying, "At this time tomorrow, I expect you to come with sincerity. This is the territory of the consortium, and I am obliged to know about everything that happens here."

The video ended there.

Song Lan and Lu Xiang looked at each other in surprise; the relationship between Rose and Richard was beyond their expectations.

They had never seen a Six Stars rescuer act so humbly before anyone, and most of the well-known big companies or families nearly always treated Six Stars rescuers with great esteem.

"Being a Female Knight really is a dangerous profession."

Song Lan remarked.

The video once again affirmed his judgment, although he couldn’t know what Rose had gone through as a child within the consortium or what sort of unequal contracts she had signed with the Gilvez family, it must have been a rather dark past.

"Indeed."

This time, Lu Xiang didn’t ask Song Lan. She hadn’t been idle that day either.

She conveyed her suspicions at that time to Dr. Bai Zhu, asking her to help investigate the credibility of Song Lan’s theory. In the end, Dr. Bai Zhu confirmed Song Lan’s theory through big data.

The big data showed that in today’s market, over 67.21% of works involving Female Knights ended badly for them.

Furthermore, District Two happened to be one of the cities where Female Knight themes were most popular.

She also understood why Song Lan had been hemming and hawing earlier without making sense.

The data and theory were not wrong.

The problem lay with the platform that provided the data and theory.

She glanced at Song Lan with a teasing expression. As he grew more guarded, she tiptoed towards him, leaned toward his ear, and whispered the classic line, "Gurgle, if you kill me... Is it from these works that you got your inspiration?"

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