(F * ck, I wrote the wrong chapter name again. Two 164s, so embarrassing. But I won't admit that I wasn't good at math since I was young. My mom was a math teacher in elementary school, and I got first place in a math competition in junior high … Hmph, of course, I think I flunked college math.
I admit that I made a real mistake. Yesterday, I said that there was a bloody handprint on the confession made by Shi Qinghai. After thinking about it for a long time, I realized that the bloody handprint was too silly. If it was electronically scanned, what's the point? Admit my guilt.
After admitting my guilt, I lowered my head and asked for votes. I'm not far from the top, only a hundred or two votes away. Very impulsive, isn't it? I learned this chapter name for fun. See if it's fun.)
…
…
When Xu Le and Bai Yulan walked in front of the black M37 mecha, the Bard Galaxy, 5.94 light years away from them — the administrative planet of the Federation's Region S3, which was close to the plateau but bordered the East Sea, was about to welcome the most dazzling rays of light at noon. Dressed in a black suit, Butler Jin hung up the phone and walked along the corridor made of wooden planks to the ancient-looking building halfway up the mountain.
This was an ancient imperial style temple. During the constitutional era, the Federation intentionally or unintentionally erased all traces of the imperial dynasty. Only a few old buildings in remote areas were preserved under the strong request of certain experts and scholars. This temple was probably used to worship the heavens tens of thousands of years ago. The glory of the old days had long disappeared into history. Only the light yellow cornices, dark round ancient pillars, and mottled walls reminded people of its age and dignity.
The entire temple was built against the mountain, facing the sea in the east. It welcomed the first ray of light in the world and listened to the last sound of the pine trees at night. Unfortunately, behind the mountain was the plateau where S3 suddenly rose, so although the scenery was beautiful, very few people came.
Every year, the Federation would provide funds for a major renovation of an ancient building that was listed on the list. However, it was not a tourist attraction, and the ownership of the building did not seem to be in the hands of the Federation. Therefore, the building was not well managed, and gradually, it was on the verge of decay. It seemed that if the pines behind the mountain or the waves in front of the mountain were a little more magnificent, this temple would turn into dust and disappear.
The blazing noon sun shone on the glazed roof, reflecting an uncomfortable light. Butler Jin lowered his head and stood outside a small room at the side of the temple. He said softly to the woman who was busy in the room, "Shen Li is going to meet Xu Le tonight. I heard that Xu Le has something important that might be related to Macklin."
When the woman heard this, she did not have much of a reaction. Her head was still lowered as she chopped onions and garlic on the chopping board. The slender and sharp knife in her fair hands fell rapidly on the chopping board, producing a dry and annoying sound. Along with the sound, the onions and garlic turned into flowers and crumbs, which gradually piled up into a pile.
Butler Jin waited quietly. He knew that every time Madam was doing chores, no one was allowed to disturb her except for the Crown Prince. However, the news that Shen Li had sent over today seemed to be related to Macklin. Since it involved the Federation's presidential election, he had to report to Madam immediately.
Butler Jin was momentarily perplexed as he watched Madam Tai's busy figure and the trace of a calm smile on her face. How many years had he watched Madam Tai like this? Even if it could affect the Federation's presidential election, he could not let this woman's emotions fluctuate too much. She was the most powerful woman in the Federation. Was she born with such a temperament?
As the oil heated up, the onions and garlic boiled, and the mutton slid into the pot. An exotic aroma filled the room beside the temple. Not long after, Madam Tai scooped out the food in the pot onto a plate. Only then did she sigh softly and wipe away the few drops of sweat on her slightly red cheeks with satisfaction.
She sat casually on the stone platform of the temple. Two obedient and quiet maids had already prepared bowls, chopsticks, and white rice. There was a stone table and a futon. Madam Tai sat in front of the stone table. The tip of her chopsticks picked up a piece of mutton with a numbing aroma and put it into the rice. She carefully took a bite. After tasting it for a while, she smiled and said, "The next time Ah Yuan comes back, he'll definitely tell me that my culinary skills have improved."
Butler Jin remained silent as he stood behind her.
Although the afternoon sun was blazing, there was wind in the mountains, so it was not too hot. After finishing a bowl of white rice and half a plate of mutton, Madam Tai's nose was still dripping with sweat. The maids beside her brought over water and a towel. After freshening up, the maids cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks and retreated far away.
There was a teapot and two teacups on the stone table. Madam Tai poured a cup for herself before gently pointing at the other empty cup. Steward Jin stepped forward and poured a cup for himself as well. However, he didn't sit down and merely stood there, taking a sip from the cup.
The teacups were carved out of Ink Mountain stone. The natural color of the stone revealed traces of black silk that made one's heart feel cold. The material was expensive and uncommon. The tea was frozen tea from the Meng Mountains. It was wrapped in the unique scent of the snowy mountains. After it was washed with water, it was deliberately cooled for twenty minutes. Now that it was poured out of the pot and frozen in the Ink Mountain stone cup, it was tasteless. When it entered the throat, a faint fragrance seeped out.
Butler Jin silently savored the taste between his lips and tongue. Holding the slightly cold Ink Mountain stone cup between his thumb and forefinger, the slight trace of anxiety in his heart disappeared without a trace. His standing posture also became much more stable.
"How's the investigation in the Donglin District going?"
Madam Tai slowly put down the teacup. She no longer looked at the sea in front of the mountains. Instead, she glanced at the window under the eaves at the corner of the temple from the corner of her eyes. There seemed to be someone looking at her from there.
Butler Jin was not surprised that Madam Tai was not concerned about the presidential election and was instead concerned about the incident in the Donglin District two years ago. Although he did not know the inside story of the incident, he vaguely guessed that the heavy expression on Madam Tai's face was related to Professor Jin. Furthermore, he was also shocked by the results of the investigation and was preparing to report back immediately.
"Donglin is too far away. I only had time to make a long-distance report." Butler Jin knew that Madam Tai was very concerned about the realism of seeing someone face to face. However, there was nothing he could do about this. He said softly, "After Yu Feng escaped the Federation's arrest warrant, he changed his name to Feng Yu and opened a repair shop on Hexi Province's Xianglan Avenue."
Under normal circumstances, Butler Jin would have thought that his report this time was too unimportant. This was because he did not know the relationship between the defected mechanic and Professor Jin. However, this was Madam Tai's main concern. Therefore, he followed the information in the report and reported it in detail from the beginning, even though Madam Tai already knew most of the information.
Madam Tai sat quietly beside the stone table. Her sitting posture was different from that of anyone else in the Federation. Her body was slightly bent backward, pressing down on her own legs. It seemed like she was in a kneeling position, but her waist was extremely straight, like a white poplar tree. Her slightly loose light-colored hemp garment covered the pair of cloth shoes on her feet, completely hiding the curves of her body that were still extremely well-maintained. She listened seriously and carefully to Butler Jin's report. On her quiet and peaceful face, the pair of eyes gradually lit up.
A fugitive from the Federation who was designated as the top priority by the Bureau of Proclamation was actually able to endure loneliness and stay on that barren mineral planet for more than ten years. He even took in an apprentice. Madam Tai's lips curved into a cold smile.
"There was an apprentice in Yu Feng's repair shop. His name was … Xu Le." At the mention of this name, Butler Jin paused slightly. He glanced at Madam Tai's side profile and saw that she did not appear to be shocked. Only then did he continue quietly. "There are many witnesses in the area who can attest to this. At first, I was very shocked, but I didn't think that Xu Le was the current Xu Le."
"Because according to the Bureau of Proclamation's records, that orphan Xu Le from the Donglin District has already been confirmed dead by the Charter. Because he was the top priority, the central computer carried out the strictest verification. No one within the Bureau of Proclamation was able to tamper with his death." After a long silence, Butler Jin said, "So, from a legal point of view, according to the Federation's records, that Xu Le was already dead two years ago."
Butler Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, as if he himself did not quite believe the information reported back from the Donglin District. He lowered his head slightly and said softly, "But … when the staff took out Xu Le's photo for verification, the residents of Xianglan Avenue and Gulou Street all insisted that Xu Le was Xu Le."
Xu Le was Xu Le. This was a very interesting sentence pattern. Madam Tai quietly placed her hands on top of each other on her lap. She quietly stared at the S3 Deep East Sea in front of the mountain temple and asked softly, "It's already been two years. How can those residents still be so sure? When comparing the photos, although that Xu Le from the Donglin District and this Xu Le look extremely similar, there are still some differences between their facial features. "
Butler Jin bowed and replied, "Their facial features are extremely similar, and then there's the smile. Those residents of Hexi District seem to have a hard time forgetting that smiling young helper in the repair shop. It's said that when Xu Le was in the Donglin District, he was very popular with the neighbors."
Madam Tai did not expect this to be the reason. She could not help but laugh.
After a moment of silence, Butler Jin said, "No one has ever thought that the Charter computer would make a mistake. I don't think so either. So according to my analysis, there are only two possibilities. "
Madam Tai turned around and glanced at him.
"This could be a supernatural incident. Donglin's orphan Xu Le and Xu Le, a squatter from the capital ring, are indeed two different people. It's just that their facial features and auras are too similar, and … their names just so happen to coincide."
After Butler Jin said this, he could not help but sigh in his heart. This was indeed a preposterous theory, but the problem was that the second theory he was about to make next was, in his opinion, just as preposterous as a supernatural incident.
"In the 65th year of the Constitutional Era, the Federation's killing machine mechanic Yu Feng and his helper Xu Le died. At the same time, squatter Xu Le retired from the military, left the Donglin District, and returned to S1." Butler Jin said calmly, "These two incidents are too much of a coincidence, so the other possibility is that Xu Le is the helper that Yu Feng brought out. It's just that, through some unknown means, he was able to rearrange the files in the Charter computer and hide from the Glory of the Charter."
Butler Jin furrowed his brows. As a Federation citizen, he felt that the possibility of this happening was close to zero. Furthermore, the only way to achieve this was if Xu Le could … change the microchip on the back of his neck. However, this possibility was something that he didn't even want to think about.
"Think about the second possibility." Madam Tai calmly instructed.
Unlike Butler Jin, she was not shocked that the Federation might have a chip changer who could go against The Glory Of The Charter. This was because she had met such an amazingly talented man many years ago. That day at the lakeside behind Mochou's back mountain, the moment she saw that little blue device, this most powerful madam of the Federation had basically confirmed Xu Le's origin. However, she still had not confirmed whether Xu Le was alive or dead.
"If it's the second possibility, I suggest that we immediately notify the Federation government," Butler Jin lowered his head and said softly. In Ewha University, he had followed Tai Zhiyuan and had a few interactions with Xu Le. This old man who had served the Tai family for many years had a good impression of this clean and spotless little fellow. However, he knew that if things were as the madam had speculated, this little fellow's ability seemed to have threatened the very foundation of the Federation's existence.
"He's the primary suspect. If the family wants to protect him, once the matter is exposed in the future, the family will face unprecedented pressure from the Federation government. Most importantly, we will also have to bear the wrath of the Bureau of Proclamation."
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