“I’ve just finished the routine questioning of the witnesses that were still on the scene,” Fynn spoke in between bites of a crispy fried duck. “The victims, as well as the Fluxer, are currently unavailable for questioning due to their ongoing treatment. And it will take some time for us to track down and question the witnesses that fled the restaurant.”
Fynn paused to chew and swallow, “We still don’t know what’s causing the power rampages, but there are now two people who came down with the same symptoms. This is clearly not a coincidence but a series of related cases. The cause and motive are unclear, but for the time being, we are treating it as an act of terrorism and attempted murder.”
“What do the witnesses say about it?” Noah asked after gulping down a mouthful of cold, refreshing water from the water dispenser at the entrance of the conference room.
“The witnesses I’ve questioned so far didn’t provide any useful information whatsoever. Though, there was one person in particular that raised an interesting point.” Fynn raised an eyebrow at Noah, “There seems to be a Soother that came to the scene to help, yet you… knocked him out?”
Noah knew that sooner or later, this issue would come up. Using reverse soothing on the injured to knock them out could be considered a method of treatment. It wouldn’t cause him problems as long as his reverse soothing didn’t cause any negative consequences. However, knocking out a perfectly fine man, and even a Soother at that, with no provocation, would be considered an assault. Especially in a situation where there was a Fluxer on the loose that could have vaporized the said defenseless, unconscious Soother.
Since in the presence of an Intenter, any lie he came up with would be immediately seen through, Noah could only speak the truth. “Yes,” Noah calmly admitted, “I had no choice but to knock him out. He was about to use reverse soothing on the Fluxer, which would have caused a catastrophe.”
“Oh?” The curiosity of all men present was piqued by Noah’s words.
“How should I explain this,” Noah, like a little bunny, adorably nibbled on his Caesar salad, trying to come up with a truthful explanation for his actions that wouldn’t include him revealing that he knew the future.
“No one can feel the state of someone’s mental power better than an SS-ranked Soother. I’ve already dealt with the Blazer before, and I chose not to knock him out because I felt that doing so would cause catastrophic consequences. This became even clearer to me when I felt the state of the Fluxer’s mental power. One wrong poke into that hornet’s nest would have caused it to completely collapse.”
“I felt it too,” Levi interjected, “When that Soother appeared on the scene, for a moment, my instincts were screaming danger even louder than when the Fluxer went out of control in the first place. And then, after the Soother dropped to the floor unconscious, the feeling went away.”
Noah nodded, “Imagine mental power to be like a large amount of water contained within a bowl. When a power user is using their power, it’s like taking a sip from the bowl. However, during a power rampage, the water within the bowl is so agitated it’s crashing into the walls of the bowl. The water splashing out of the bowl manifests as uncontrollable bursts of power. Now, imagine what would happen if the bowl containing the water suddenly collapsed into nothing.”
“All of the water contained within would come out at once!” Fynn’s eyes widened in realization, “You are saying that using a reverse soothing on the Fluxer would have caused him to disintegrate everything and everyone within the restaurant?!”
“A mental collapse of an S-ranked Fluxer,” the corner of Levi’s lips quirked up in a sneer, “It’s more likely the entire building would have been vaporized.”
“This is a crucial intel! All high-ranked Soothers in the city need to be immediately forbidden from using reverse soothing on someone going through a power rampage!” Fynn jumped up, his cheeks still budging from the duck meat he was chewing.
He threw a hasty “I’ll be right back,” and ran out of the room, presumably to arrange precisely that.
Levi frowned at the food that Fynn had left half-eaten. It’s already bad enough the man was eating the food he had bought for his darling, now he was even leaving it unfinished! The nerve! He better come back and finish eating that or so help him, he will shove it down his throat!
Levi then turned to look at Trey, thinking how great it would be if this third wheel could roll out of the room as well.
Blackie: ‘What the…?? Do you want them to finish eating the food, or roll the fuck out of the room?!? Pick one!’
(◞‸ლ)
Trey, who had been quietly eating his food from start to end: ‘Why am I being glared at again?? I didn’t even do or say anything!!’ QAQ
***
Fynn indeed returned shortly after and continued eating right where he left off, “I’ve arranged for the Soothers to be notified of the dangers involved. Why didn’t you mention this issue the last time?”
“I didn’t think much of it at the time of the incident,” Noah sheepishly scratched his fluffy head, “But now that it has happened the second time, I have a bold conjecture. What if a mental collapse was exactly what the perpetrator was after?”
Fynn paused midbite, Noah continued, “Think about it. Two incidents, and both times, a rare high-ranked Soother, just happened to be in the vicinity.”
Noah eyed everyone in the room, “Since I had been present in both incidents, it is easy to assume that they were targeting me. But what if they weren’t? What if the perpetrator’s real intention was to have a high ranked Soother at the scene that would perform a reverse soothing? The first time the Soother they chose for the task just happened to be me because I am so high-profile. The second time, they chose someone else.”
“Then, this would be an act of terrorism instead of murder? That is indeed worth considering,” Fynn rubbed his chin in thought, “But you are wrong about one thing. The Soother you knocked out hadn’t been in the vicinity of the restaurant. He rushed to the scene because he received a report of a power rampage there.”
Levi’s eyes narrowed, “Who reported it? When? It’s impossible to arrive that quickly if not in the vicinity.”
“I have yet to check the time and source of the report. But the man really wasn’t in the vicinity. I’ve confirmed this to be true.”
“If he wasn’t in the vicinity, then…” Noah gasped, “Had he been notified of the accident before it actually happened? Fynn!”
Fynn jumped to his feet in alarm. If the Soother had been notified before the incident even happened, then the person that hired him might have been behind the event in the first place! Even if they weren’t, the person knew that the incident would happen; thus, they had to be linked to it in some way! This was a major clue!
The four men quickly found the Soother again for questioning.He, who had at first been indignant about being knocked out, had a 180° attitude switch upon hearing what his reverse-soothing would have caused. Probably scared shitless by his own near-death, the man went above and beyond to answer anything and everything they asked. Judging by his zeal, he would probably not even hesitate to tell them the color of his underwear.The company he worked for, Soothe Inc., was an external contractor that had been working for the Peacekeepers for several decades now. Whenever Peacekeepers needed services of a Soother, they would request a dispatch of a Soo
The four didn’t need to wait long in front of Shaw’s office for the man to show up and let them in.Wearing an omnipresent gentle smile, he gave the four a polite nod, “Gentlemen, I apologize for keeping you waiting. Things are always hectic around here, more so the last two days.”“No, no! It’s us who showed up uninvited even though we knew how busy you must be!” Noah hurried to refute.When Shaw’s forest green eyes, partially hidden behind thin glasses, landed on Noah, they visibly softene
“Doctor, what do we need to do to confirm whether a drug is behind it and identify it?” Fynn fully concentrated on the case, tuning out Levi’s sourpuss antics.“If the cause of all this is a drug, and a drug that would be detectable via my scanning ability, then for me to be able to detect and isolate it, I would need a blood sample that had been taken before the drug had fully dissolved. In other words, if it is a fast-acting drug, it should be a blood sample that has been taken shortly after the drug had been administered.”“And how would such a drug be administered?” Fynn leaned back in his chair. “Or
The second question on Fynn’s list of usually asked questions was: “Does your husband have anyone who would want to harm him?”The madam paused to blow her nose before answering, “My husband is a very open-minded person who conducts himself with dignity. But…” Her hand holding the handkerchief clenched tighter, “…just because he conducts himself properly doesn’t mean others would do the same.”She sighed with deep exhaustion, “My husband is the kind of man that wouldn’t start a conflict, but definitely won’t run away from one started by others.”
After obtaining Noah’s precious promise, Levi could finally leave with a peace of mind. Though he was still very reluctant to part with his darling, he, Levi, had much work to do. And he could do none of it in the presence of his baby.And so, Levi left the city lord’s mansion, followed by Trey, who had been tasked with ensuring Levi boarded the Maglev train safely.The two men walked in silence until they had left the premises of the city lord’s mansion. Only when Noah could no longer see them or hear them, did the perfectly harmonious air between them turn chilly.
After returning to his own mansion, Levi got busy. He issued many orders left and right, driving his secretary close to tears.While delegating everything that needed to be done, he even remembered Peyton, the vulgar asshole they ran into this morning.Of course he remembered! As if he could forget a person who antagonized his baby!Whoever dared to wrong his baby should be prepared for the consequences! Not one shall be spared! Rawr! Let them see just how unreasonable and petty Astar Levi can be!
After dragging her tired body back home, Levi’s fiancée and Noah’s elder sister, opened her communicator to find her fiancé had sent her a baffling message: “We need to talk. Urgently. As soon as you are free. Critical importance.”(・―・)Urgent talk of critical importance?With her???She snorted a laugh. Knowing the temper of her fiancé, if it was indeed something important, he wo
Though Noah had asked Levi what happened, even after a long moment, he received no response.Of course he received no response! What could Levi possibly say to explain all this?!?‘I saw a photo of you straddling Trey that drove me batshit crazy, so I had a nightmare and ended up destroying half the house??’(ノಥ益ಥ)ノ ┻━┻Fucking hell! He was better off