Colby warmly invited Miss Nameless to take a seat in the large, leather-covered chair behind the glass door. He brewed a pot of Ceylon black tea, even though she showed no intention of drinking it. Ignoring the puzzled and stunned expressions of his subordinates, he did his utmost to maintain appearances.
Then he flashed a fawning smile and said, “The General is the king of the Rusted Bone’s western territories. Most cities along the border are under the control of the Ghost Hand Society, but… I’m truly ashamed to say that we, the local industry supervisors, cannot proactively contact the General; we simply wait for him to give us orders.”
Noticing Yvette narrowing her eyes, he quickly added, “But, but there’s not entirely no way! Recently, the ‘General’ is looking for two people in Fushijiang… um, not including you, Miss Nameless. Soon, there will be a mission meeting here, and besides me, the supervisors from nearby cities will also attend, including the General himself. That’s the only opportunity…”
“What kind of people?” Yvette’s interest piqued.
“They say it’s two little girls… I truly don’t know more! It’s classified! Absolutely classified! That’s all I know… More intelligence should be revealed during the mission meeting,” Colby insisted earnestly.
His information was clearly selectively disclosed, omitting the part about the General wanting to kill Nameless to prevent her from connecting the recent assassination attempt by Neon Nightmare to him. It seemed he was still cooperating, providing information freely, which made Yvette’s interrogation process unusually smooth.
After thinking for a moment, Yvette decided to change her original intention to execute the leadership of this human trafficking gang on the spot and opted instead for a death sentence suspension.
She suddenly realized that they might still be of use.
……
As Colby and his men had thoroughly cleared their terminals of any trace, Yvette left the “Red Pepper” nightclub, seemingly plotting the upcoming Ghost Hand Society mission meeting in a couple of days.Once the silhouette of the silver-haired girl disappeared into the darkness outside the window, Colby sank back into the cold leather sofa, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
“Boss! What was that woman just now?” one of the eight henchmen couldn’t help but ask. In Rusted Bone, due to the strict control of information, the notorious mercenary Nameless had little recognition, and if it weren’t for Dead-Eye Bryce’s death and the General’s mission, even Colby wouldn’t have been inclined to gather relevant intelligence.
“She is the one who killed Bryce, ‘Nameless’! She is also the target the General wants dead,” Colby declared, lighting a cigarette and appearing contemplative. Shadows fell over his deep-set eyes.
“She’s Nameless?” The eight henchmen exclaimed in disbelief, realizing how lucky they were not to have acted rashly; they had no confidence that even together they could contend with someone who could defeat a monster like Bryce.
Colby remained silent, walking over to the window to check if Nameless was lurking outside, then closed the window. The previous fear and flattery vanished completely, leaving behind a cold, contemptuous malice.
He sneered, “Hmph, luckily she’s just a novice. She’s too soft-hearted; she doesn’t even know the importance of silencing witnesses… Let the General deal with this overconfident little girl.”
The one-sided communication between the supervisors and the General was already a half-open secret, which was also one of the reasons the General was often elusive.
However, one thing he didn’t disclose was that not all supervisors couldn’t contact the General. Colby, as a local power with exceptional performance in the industry, was one of the few “favored ones” who had a communication channel with the General.
He deliberately concealed this fact to collaborate with the General and set a trap for the silver-haired girl. Once they successfully captured her, he would appear as the victor, relishing the splendid expression on Miss Nameless’s face.
Moreover, this was an overt plan because the General would only appear once. Even if he knew it was a trap, he would still fall for it, making it all the more delightful.
……
By three a.m., the rain had finally stopped.
Driving through the desolate streets with no pedestrians and stepping over puddles, Colby reached the doors of the Soulfire Cathedral. Upon opening the car door, the damp, cold air hit him; he took several deep breaths to calm his still-nervous heart before crossing the empty square in front of the cathedral and approaching a small door on the edge.
Behind this door lay a small path leading to a hidden back entrance of the Soulfire Cathedral. Upon learning of this method to contact the General, he had been profoundly astonished, realizing the General indeed had connections with the church. However, it was also the first time he would be using this method.
After checking around to confirm no one was nearby, Colby pressed the doorbell. Moments later, a black-robed acolyte approached silently, opening the door for him without uttering a word.
Colby was unsure how the acolyte perceived his intentions. The fact that he was allowed to enter without being questioned left him amazed at how extensive the General’s cooperation with the church was.
Once the acolyte returned to his patrol, Colby moved forward, arriving at a small door at the back of the cathedral. This door was unlocked; he pushed it open and stepped into the rear area of the church, where the corridor was filled with the scent of aged wood. As he walked straight, there was a special confessional room ahead. This confessional room was usually under maintenance and never opened, but it was precisely Colby’s destination.
Standing in front of the confessional room’s door, he pushed it open, pressed a button on the wall, and waited quietly. About half an hour passed, and then he heard footsteps entering from the opposite side of the grille wall. Following that came a low, hoarse male voice: “Colby, you wanted to see me—what is it?”
It was the General’s voice!
Colby’s heart trembled as he immediately reported, “General, that Nameless… she found me! I hired a killer from Neon Nightmare to deal with her… but apparently, it seems to have failed! I’m truly very sorry! I was forced to reveal information about the meeting in two days. She’s likely going to seek you out then. I’m a bit worried…”
The other side of the partition fell into profound silence. After a long while, the General’s voice finally came back, “Is there anything else?”
“N-Nothing else…”
“I understand.”
That’s it? After waiting a while and noticing the General showed no inclination to continue, Colby found it somewhat unexpected. He thought perhaps there would be tasks for him to help prepare an ambush to atone for his sins; he never imagined the General would react so indifferently, as if the one Nameless was targeting wasn’t even him.
As expected of the General; everything was already under control… Colby sighed in relief, feeling like his task was finally complete. He turned to the door handle and pulled open the iron door of the confessional.
The dim yellow light from the hallway spilled through, casting a meager glow.
However, just as he stepped out of the confessional room, a sharp azure light suddenly sliced through his neck, decapitating him in an instant! Colby felt a coldness wash over his neck before his vision spun and turned upside down, and the last sight he registered was his own fat body slowly crumpling to the floor.
The General was right there… Am I dead?
How could this happen?
He pondered in confusion until the last moment before his consciousness faded, he caught a glimpse of a familiar silver hair flashing out from the shadows.
……
Ignoring the headless corpse beside her, Yvette emerged from the shadows and stepped into the confessional room. She looked toward the wooden partition that divided the confessional and reached out her hand, conjuring a swirling blue vortex that tore the partition apart.
The splintered dust mixed with tiny wood chips permeated the air, while the person behind the wall remained standing still, unmoving.
Once the dust settled, Yvette’s eyes met those of Requiem Priest Hoyle Cors.
But Yvette knew this was not the real Hoyle, as his current state was rather peculiar—his face was as stiff as a wax figure, his eyes glowing with a ghostly green light, appearing to be completely possessed by an evil spirit.
No wonder Hoyle doubted that someone within the Soulfire Cathedral was colluding with the Ghost Hand Society and could not uncover the truth… Yvette thought to herself. If this colluder was herself, how could they ever find it out?
“Miss Nameless, good evening.” The General, controlling Hoyle’s body, spoke flatly. He seemed neither surprised nor angry about Colby’s death, saying, “I didn’t expect you would come knocking on my door.”
“Should I call you ‘General’, or is it appropriate to address you as ‘Reincarnation High Priest Lind Benedict’?” Yvette asked calmly.
Knowing in advance that Hoyle Cors was a level three mage and a necromancer, she could easily conclude that controlling Hoyle without his notice required at least a level five necromancer or another level five mage skilled in soul magic.
While the Ghost Hand Society’s “General” was indeed terrifying and mysterious, he was ultimately just a large criminal gang involved in human trafficking. Unlike the Three Saints or Papal Council, who personally dealt with such tasks, this meant that the General was likely one of the five Reincarnation High Priests of the Holy Spirit Sect, with Lind Benedict being the only one directly supervising the west district of Rusted Bone.
With this information, and in conjunction with the General’s sphere of influence, it became clear that the General’s true identity was Lind Benedict, one of the five Reincarnation High Priests directly above Requiem Priest Hoyle, since he was the highest authority in that western district.
“Your reaction is quick,” the General said coldly, not denying the identification.
“I thought you would try to argue your way out of this,” Yvette remarked.
“There’s no need,” the General replied neutrally, “Those who know my identity will die; I am not worried.”
“I’m a network expert, and I can spread this information in no time so that even the elderly at the village entrance will know,” Yvette warned him.
“You won’t have that opportunity.” The General’s tone gradually shifted, carrying a chilling hint, almost as a proclamation. He disdainfully said, “Now, prepare to face the final moments of your life, Miss Nameless.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yvette heard a great commotion erupting outside the room. She glanced through the nearby window and saw countless white skeletal arms breaking through the soil of the cathedral garden, reaching toward the night sky with five splayed fingers, resembling a field of white-boned grass, writhing and swaying in the evening breeze.