Chapter 688: Temporary Peace |
Liu Xing thought carefully, if he hadn't arrived at the scene in time, Leon would have become the Ghoul's next meal.
However, as he thought about it, he realized that he had finally achieved his goal of "changing the world," but he didn't know how much of an impact it would have.
As he was lost in thought, Liu Xing arrived at the hospital where Leon was being treated. To be exact, all the injured members of Leon's team had been sent to this hospital, so the hospital was surrounded by reporters who had heard the news.
After all, London was a city that never slept, so when a large number of injured police officers and soldiers were carried out of the subway station, the passersby quickly spread the news through various channels, and the reporters were not about to miss this explosive story.
However, Allen had anticipated this and had arranged for a team of police officers to maintain order, so the reporters were blocked outside the hospital.
Luckily, Liu Xing had changed into casual clothes before arriving at the hospital, so he was able to slip into the crowd easily and enter the hospital after showing his police officer ID, ignoring the reporters' questions.
Due to the severity of Leon's injuries, he was sent to the intensive care unit after surgery.
Outside the ICU, Wesker and Jill were discussing something.
Liu Xing noticed that Wesker and Jill's faces looked somewhat grim.
Liu Xing let out a silent sigh and approached them, asking, "Captain, Jill, how is Leon's condition now?"
Wesker shook his head, looking helpless, and said, "Leon is no longer in danger, but his lungs were damaged, so he won't be able to engage in intense physical activity in the future. Additionally, his right hand has multiple tendon injuries from the Ghoul's attack, so his right hand will also lose some mobility... In short, even if Leon recovers, he won't be able to fight alongside us as a police officer."
It seemed that was the case.
Liu Xing had already guessed this outcome.
Because Allen had notified the hospital in advance, they had prepared a separate rest area for Liu Xing and the others, so they spent the night at the hospital.
Just as Liu Xing was about to sleep, Miss Wang sent him a text message about Ithaqua.
After learning that Ithaqua had appeared in the London city area, Miss Wang had arranged for her subordinates to track down Ithaqua's whereabouts. As a result, they had just seen Ithaqua carrying a small box out of a subway station and throwing a black bag into a trash can.
Although Miss Wang's subordinates wanted to follow Ithaqua, Ithaqua directly robbed a motorcycle and sped away, ignoring traffic rules, so Miss Wang's subordinates could only watch as Ithaqua left and then went to search for the black bag in the trash can.
The black bag contained over ten mechanical structures similar to Rubik's Cubes. After Miss Wang personally experimented with them, she discovered that they could transform into a Chinese-style short sword with a remote control, which could be controlled over short distances.
In simple terms, it was a scientifically advanced flying sword.
It seemed that Ithaqua had not deviated from "Liu Xing's" skill tree; it had simply used scientific methods to achieve something that seemed extremely mystical.
Ithaqua was indeed a member of the Yis People.
In addition, although Miss Wang had given up on finding Dio, her subordinates had discovered Dio's trail - after leaving the hiding spot provided by Miss Wang, Dio had rented a small car and drove around London city before heading towards Manchester.
However, Miss Wang's subordinates stationed near the Floral Cemetery had not found any trace of Dio, and the car Dio had rented was found parked at a gas station.
Most importantly, the gas station was not abandoned, and there was no one there. From the internal situation of the gas station, it seemed that the staff had suddenly left... or disappeared.
So, Miss Wang believed that Dio had been captured by someone, and the gas station staff had been caught up in it and taken away with Dio.
Of course, those gas station staff would be of no use to the kidnappers, so they were likely to have been silenced.
As for who might have kidnapped Dio, Liu Xing thought it was a two-way choice - Ithaqua or the Cult of the Cadaver.
After reading Miss Wang's text message, Liu Xing told her about his experience in the subway station, especially about Ithaqua taking away the four Ghoul hearts.
A moment later, Miss Wang replied to Liu Xing.
As the saying goes, "know yourself, know your enemy, and you can win a hundred battles without danger." Since Miss Wang had been based in London and had been collecting intelligence on the Cult of the Cadaver, especially about the Ghouls, she had a certain understanding of the Crimson Ghoul.
Because the Crimson Ghoul was a traitor to the Ghoul tribe and had been cursed by the Ghoul King Mordiggian, it had become a statue. To regain its freedom, the Crimson Ghoul needed to perform a ritual, and the necessary sacrifice for this ritual was the Ghoul hearts, because the Crimson Ghoul's heart had been taken out and made into a simple controller when it was turned into a statue.
The Crimson Ghoul, which had just escaped from its statue state, was still very weak, so it needed to eat more Ghoul hearts to quickly recover. However, because its true heart was still in someone else's hands, the Crimson Ghoul was still under someone's control, so it needed to find a new body to replace its heart and regain its freedom.
Of course, just like humans might experience rejection reactions and die during organ transplants, the Crimson Ghoul might also die suddenly during the body replacement process if it didn't find a suitable body. This was why Ithaqua was so persistent in finding Dio.
Moreover, the Crimson Ghoul in its weak state was more likely to die suddenly during the body replacement process.
Persimmons want to find soft ones to squeeze, so Ithaqua chose this time... At this moment, it's natural that Ithaqua wouldn't dare to find the Cult of the Cadaver's Ghoul "heart", because if Ithaqua dared to do so, the Cult of the Cadaver would definitely pursue Ithaqua to the ends of the earth, and by then, Ithaqua would have no chance to participate in the Sacred Book's projection competition again.
Therefore, Ithaqua chose the five Ghouls in the subway, because these five Ghouls were originally not strong, and now they had been abandoned by the Cult of the Cadaver.
From the current situation, Liu Xing knew that he had no way to stop Ithaqua from summoning the Crimson Ghoul.
However, to be honest, Liu Xing wasn't too worried about the Crimson Ghoul, because Liu Xing felt that he should be able to cooperate with the Crimson Ghoul, and at that time, the Crimson Ghoul wouldn't help Ithaqua kill him.
After all, "history" is like that.
When Liu Xing finished reading Miss Wang's second text message, Miss Wang sent a third message, and the content of this message was very interesting.
Miss Wang was inquiring about Leon's injuries.
Could a bootlicker really get everything they wanted in the end?
Liu Xing thought for a moment and decided to exaggerate Leon's injuries, saying that he was on the verge of death.
"I can only help you this much, Leon." Liu Xing muttered to himself before going to sleep.
Because they had been busy until 3 or 4 am and didn't have to go to work today, Liu Xing and the others didn't get up until noon, and by then, Leon had already woken up, so they all went to visit Leon in the hospital without eating lunch.
When Leon saw Liu Xing and the others walking in, he smiled and said, "Ah, you're here. I said you guys would come to see me eventually, unless you're lying in the bed next to me."
Liu Xing shrugged and asked concernedly, "How are you feeling, Leon?"
Leon smiled again and said, "I'm feeling okay, at least I didn't lose any body parts, and except for the pain from the wounds, I'm fine... But Chris, you guys should tell me the truth - how bad are my injuries? The doctor didn't directly answer my questions."
Liu Xing and the others exchanged glances, and finally, Wesker stood up and honestly told Leon about his injuries.
After a moment of silence, Leon let out a sigh and said, "I knew it. When I was attacked by the Ghoul, I knew I was seriously injured, so I had already prepared myself mentally. But I still feel very sorry, because I might not be able to fight alongside you guys again, especially since my parents will definitely ask me to resign from the police force..."
Wesker followed with a sigh and patted Leon's shoulder, saying, "I'll tell you the truth - I've already prepared my resignation letter, because when I saw those three Ghouls charging towards us, I made up my mind that if I could survive, I would immediately resign and not be a police officer anymore, because I love my family, and I don't want to die..."
"I'm the same..." Jill nodded and said, "I used to think that playing with guns was cool, so I wanted to join the army, but my parents rejected me, and then I chose to become a police officer because it also allowed me to carry a gun. But when I really pulled the trigger yesterday, I felt a wave of fear in my heart, and when I saw your injuries, Leon, I was only left with fear."
Hearing Wesker and the others say this, Liu Xing could only nod in agreement.
The atmosphere in the room became heavy again.
Just then, Wesker received a text message.
After reading the message, Wesker turned on the TV in the hospital room.
At that time, the TV was broadcasting a news report - the new head of the London Police Department, Allen, had resigned due to the subway siege operation the previous day, which had resulted in many casualties among the police officers.
Allen had indeed resigned.
This news was within Liu Xing's expectations, because during yesterday's operation, dozens of people were injured, and many died, so as the commander-in-chief, Allen couldn't avoid taking responsibility.
However, Chief House didn't come out of retirement, because he had only just resigned a few days ago, and it was still difficult to ask him to come back.
As for the new head of the London Police Department, Aaron, according to Wesker's understanding, he was a kind and gentle person who often served as an interim head of the police department, with a typical "don't seek merit, but avoid demerit" approach.
So, without surprise, Aaron would only temporarily serve as the head of the London Police Department, and after this storm passed, Chief House could take over again.
However, Liu Xing knew that this "storm" would happen soon.
Liu Xing didn't think that the upcoming Sacred Book projection competition would have a smaller impact than the subway siege and the serial killer case...
So, Aaron, the head of the London Police Department, wouldn't be able to hold on to his position for long.
Because Leon's parents would come to visit him in the afternoon, Liu Xing and the others said goodbye to Leon and went home after lunch.
Just like that, another day passed, and Liu Xing and Jill received a good piece of news in the office - the special committee had issued an investigation report, and Liu Xing and the others' use of firearms that day was deemed reasonable and lawful.
It's indeed true that "people will forget about you once you're gone".
Not long after, Wesker returned to the office with his resignation letter, "I just went to submit my resignation letter to Director Aaron, but it was rejected, because the London Police Department is currently severely understaffed, especially police officers like us who are equipped with guns. We still have dozens of colleagues in the hospital, so we need to work at the police department for another month."
Hearing Wesker say this, Liu Xing couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, because last night, Jill had come to pressure Liu Xing, saying that if Liu Xing wanted to be her boyfriend, he would have to resign and change careers with her.
Although Liu Xing wanted to refuse, because being a police officer would be very useful in the upcoming Sacred Book projection competition, as "Chris", Liu Xing couldn't refuse Jill's request, so he could only reluctantly agree.
Because Director Aaron's reason was very convincing, and Wesker had also chosen to stay temporarily, Jill didn't say much.
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