Chapter 170: The Time Has Come |
"Click, clack, click, clack."
The gears were turning.
Kate raised his head, staring at the mechanism before him, his eyes filled with a mixture of rage and fanaticism.
He had once detested all of this with a passion, but he had endured, burying the fires of revenge deep within his heart. Every single day, he stayed here performing the tasks he hated most—cleaning these gears, oiling their bearings, changing the paper feeds, and inspecting the drive belts.
Countless times, he had wanted to take his tools and smash these objects to pieces, shredding those wicked sheets of paper, but...
A voice had told him.
The time has not yet come.
Yes, the time had not yet come.
Until now.
"Look at yourselves now, gentlemen."
Kate walked toward his captives. Although he was wearing the standard, plain uniform of a data tower cleaner, he felt as though he were draped in the luxurious robes of a nobleman, brimming with pride and self-assurance. He tilted his chin up, staring down at them. Their faces were filled with terror and fury, but unfortunately for them, there was absolutely nothing they could do.
"How ridiculous, how pathetic, how helpless. Now you finally understand that no power can ever compare to the inherent strength of humanity itself!"
Kate raised both hands high, shouting with intense fervor.
"Look! You thought yourselves the kings of the world, believing that by hiding inside this little iron tower, you could rule the entire city, the whole country, and even the world! But what about now? You are nothing more than a miserable pack of prisoners! What does this prove? It proves that no matter how powerful your so-called machinery is, it cannot withstand the strength of humanity! In the end, mankind will always triumph!"
"Despicable and shameless!"
"You damned Luddite!"
Hearing Kate's speech, the researchers instantly erupted into furious roars. Facing their rebukes and shouting, Kate's expression remained unchanged. He merely made a casual gesture, and the workers surrounding the researchers surged forward, instantly beating the shouting and cursing men until their roars turned to agonizing wails.
Yet even so, someone still raised a voice of dissent.
"I still don't understand, Kate."
An old researcher stood there, staring at Kate with a complex look in his eyes.
"You were among the first batch of workers recruited into the Central Data Tower. You have worked here just as long as we have. On many occasions, you even improved the cleaning protocols of the Central Data Tower to make it more efficient... If you truly are a Luddite, why did you do all that?"
"Because that was the only way to infiltrate your ranks."
Kate stared back at the old man. He knew him well; they had once even been considered friends.
But that was only in the past.
"You probably think Luddites are a bunch of naked savages, don't you? No, we are not. We simply wish for humanity to return to its rightful place. We are not fighting for ourselves; we are fighting for the very future of mankind!"
At this point, Kate roared out righteously.
"This is our conviction! For this, we were willing to join you, become a part of your ranks, and earn your trust. All of this was to achieve our ultimate goal. For the future of humanity, steam machinery must be utterly destroyed! For this purpose, we were even willing to wear these filthy clothes and work for your sordid enterprise!"
"But you must have seen it too!"
The old researcher refused to give up.
"Because of the Central Data Tower, people's lives have become better! More convenient! We can even combat more disasters..."
"Arrogance!"
Kate shouted, cutting off the old researcher's counterargument.
"The thunder, the rain, and the dew are all blessings from the Holy Lord! The Holy Lord created us, granted us life, and guides us! Those disasters, that thunder—they are the Holy Lord's punishments upon mankind! We must endure them! We must submit! Look at you all! Just because you gained a bit of power, you vainly attempt to rebel against the Holy Lord! You are even unwilling to follow His teachings! What profound wickedness! What absolute blasphemy!"
Kate stood before the central control console as if he were a priest standing at a pulpit—pious, fanatical, and resolute.
"Now, your actions will finally face the Holy Lord's punishment. This blasphemous, filthy, and wicked Steel City will inevitably be completely destroyed. And the ones destroying all of this will be none other than yourselves. Look, this is your so-called power. You intoxicate yourselves with it, believing you can grasp and control everything in this world. But what about now?"
Kate suddenly snapped his eyes open, raising his hands high and pointing upward.
"Do you hear the explosions outside? Do you hear the wails of those people? This is the conclusion! This is the consequence! This is the end! You crossed the Holy Lord, vainly attempted to touch divine authority, ignored His teachings, and even defied His will. This is your day of destruction!"
With that, Kate looked up at the countless gears and bearings before him, automatically recalling the past, back when the Luddite Movement was at its peak. Back then, he was just a worker—a poor worker, twenty of whom could be bought for a single penny. At that time, they had gathered around Ludd, listening to his passionately stirring speeches.
Ludd had promised them that everything would return to the proper track, that the wicked mechanists would be overthrown, and that when the time came, the Empire would regain its past greenery, tranquility, and peace, allowing them to live a wonderful life akin to the nobility...
But unfortunately, a single hemp rope was all it took to ensure their spiritual leader would never speak again. Yet, this did not mean his conviction, his ideals, and his concepts had been abandoned. On the contrary, this raging fire had been burning deep within their hearts all along, waiting for the moment of eruption!
Until now!
The time had come!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
A sharp, piercing banging sound interrupted Kate's thoughts. He frowned in displeasure, glancing toward a metal pipe not far away.
He walked over and opened the brass cap, which had a rubber seal. That was the internal communication pipe of the Central Data Tower. Of course, the researchers had much better equipment, but ordinary cleaners like them could only use this relatively primitive and ancient method of communication. However, Kate liked it. At least this thing was practical, and it wouldn't break down easily like those wicked mechanical manufactured goods...
"This is Kate!"
"Lord Kate!"
The voice coming from the copper pipe was somewhat muffled and distorted, sounding as though it came from the depths of hell.
"This is the third calculation room! We are under attack—!"
"An attack? Has the army broken in?!"
"No, it's a monster! A monster! A monster, ahhhhh...!"
Accompanied by a sharp, agonizing shriek, the voice vanished from the communication pipe.
A monster?
Kate stood frozen, temporarily at a loss for words.
He wasn't surprised that the military or the police might break through the blockade. Although they had prepared for a long time, their forces were ultimately limited. Aside from some smuggled weapons, they only had those engineering mechas to rely on. However, according to Kate's calculations, this should have been enough to plunge the Steel City into absolute chaos.
But this was still not enough.
Kate sighed. If the people he sent to find the fourth card hadn't failed to return, giving him a bad premonition, he wouldn't have launched the operation so hastily. But Kate also knew he had no choice; if the police captured his subordinates and interrogated them about the plan, everything would be entirely ruined. At least for now, the plan was going very smoothly.
But what did a monster mean? Could those damned mechanists have cooked up some strange mechanical creation?
"Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—"
While Kate was deep in thought, he suddenly felt the floor vibrating slightly. He leaned down, pressing his ear to the ground.
Then, Kate heard it.
"Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump—"
It sounded like the frantic galloping of warhorses, but... horses? In the Steel City? It might have been possible in the past, but now you couldn't find a single strand of horsehair in the entire Steel City...
"Bang!!"
Before Kate could even lift his head, the tightly shut heavy doors were violently smashed open. The thick metal door panels spun and scraped across the floor, releasing a piercing screech. Then, a massive, terrifying shadow of absolute darkness charged inside, letting out a furious howl as it lunged toward the thugs.
"Argh!"
"What on earth is that?!"
Evidently, the thugs guarding the prisoners had never expected to encounter such a beast. They scattered in all directions, practically screaming. As for the bound captives, they could only watch helplessly as the three-headed monster opened its massive, bloody jaws and lunged toward them—only to sharply pivot, shielding them behind its own body.
"?"
Witnessing this, the captives blinked in confusion, and then a voice rang out.
"The captives are confirmed safe, Mr. Levi."
"Splendid job, Lady Ovelia."
Along with the voices, the captives finally noticed a man and a woman leaping down from the back of the three-headed beast. Naturally, Kate saw them too.
"Who are you people?!"
"I am Detective Levi."
Levi smiled and nodded at the burly, middle-aged man wearing the cleaner's uniform.
"This is the ruler of Delicat, Lady Ovelia Baskerville... I assume you are the leader of these thugs? Regrettably, your plan is completely finished. I suggest you drop your weapons immediately, raise your hands, and surrender."
As Levi spoke, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed out, and dozens of armed police officers rushed into the room. They raised their firearms, aiming directly at the thugs. Although the thugs had the advantage in terms of numbers, the presence of the three-headed dog standing right behind Levi and Ovelia was more than enough to tip the scales of power beyond any hope of resistance.
"..."
Kate stared fixedly at Levi, gritting his teeth in silence.
"I believe you can see that your subordinates outside have been thoroughly wiped out. Your resistance is meaningless." Levi held the Persuader in one hand, speaking with utmost sincerity. "Therefore, my personal recommendation for the sake of everyone's survival is to lay down your arms and surrender immediately."
"Surrender...?"
Kate trembled all over.
"No, we will never surrender!"
Shouting at the top of his lungs, Kate raised his weapon.
"Everyone, get ready...!"
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out. The bullet erupted from the barrel of the Persuader, striking directly into the barrel of Kate's firearm. Immediately after, the gun gripped tightly in Kate's right hand exploded violently. The man screamed in agony, falling to his knees as he clutched his bloody, mangled right hand.
"..."
Seeing this display, everyone from both sides stood dumbfounded, completely speechless.
"Final warning."
Levi gave the Persuader a light flick.
"Drop your weapons and surrender immediately."
"..."
The thugs looked at Kate, who was kneeling on the ground, clutching his right hand and groaning in pain. Then they looked at the heavily armed police officers waiting in battle formation, and finally at the aggressively snarling three-headed dog...
Ultimately, they raised their hands.
"Clatter, clatter."
One weapon after another was tossed aside by the thugs. Seeing this, Levi smiled faintly and holstered his Persuader.
It seemed that the display had been quite effective.