Chapter 106: Another Person

What will happen in the future? Colin thought blankly.
The stars and the era are changing.
A certain imbalanced balance, which had tilted to one end over the past thousands of years, can only start to return to the other end.
And the invisible and grand swings in the deep world will surely cause even more dramatic overturns in the human world.
"Anyway, any change is a good thing, right? Because..."
It seems that Nancy has seen through Colin's worries over the past month. She turned her head gently and whispered to him:
"Because the sun has been hanging in the sky for too long, isn't it?"
…………
Two other members of the Anhe River team, who were healing in the safe house, recovered within a week. Their injuries were not too severe to begin with, and they had good physical condition, so they were able to move freely again.
There is only Nancy who is still bedridden and unable to get up.
But, of all the people in the theater ceremony, Nancy happens to be the most central character. Under the darkness of Deniro's night, her figure has always been like a leading actress in the eyes of numerous passionate fans. With Nancy unable to move, the entire plan can only be delayed, temporarily unable to move forward.
After confirming that someone is taking care of and protecting Nancy, Colin decided not to go to the safehouse anymore. After all, he himself is also sensitive in terms of identity, and if seen by someone with ill intentions, it would only bring unnecessary trouble.
So as he closed the door of the safe house for the last time, Colin suddenly felt that his time had gotten stuck in neutral. Nancy was injured and the 'Commander' hadn't returned from White City. The Ninth Bureau and the theater were busy searching the city, but it seemed like they never had the upper hand.
Right now, in the tense atmosphere of the Tripartite Federation of the Duchy's Dark River Alliance, I find myself with nothing to do.
Or perhaps, I finally have the opportunity to do something I want.
Colin sighed softly because he had been constantly worrying about many personal matters, but he just hadn't had the opportunity to deal with them for a long time.
There is about three weeks left for Nancy to fully recover.
Colin first sent a message of safety to Rui and Ellie through a secret mailbox. A few days later, Ellie's message was quickly taken away, but there was no response from Rui. Colin checked the remaining secret message and found that it had been opened. Please note that the translation of the @ matches is:
He repeatedly scrutinized the fine traces on the lacquered seal, and a feeling of "just as expected" arose in his heart.
Rui deliberately didn't leave a response, which in Colin's eyes seemed like an invitation of some sort. Perfect, because of what happened in the Gallo Hall, Colin had originally planned to go find this strong man.
Although, it is not yet known where he will hide.
However, due to their several collaborations, Colin already has a fairly good understanding of Roy's behavior patterns. As long as this man is not intentionally avoiding it, Colin can roughly guess where he will be hiding.
Colin slowly spent a morning visiting several residences that had been assigned by the investigation department. There were also some places he hadn't heard of before but felt like places Roy would choose. After a simple lunch, he really found him in an inconspicuous private house.
"Squeak -"
Deep in the alley, the rusty iron gate was difficult to push open, and the owner showed no signs of opening it. Rui, with his towering figure, had to bend down to see Colin through the gap in the door. The look in his eyes seemed to say, "What are you doing here?"
To be honest, Colin and Rui are not very close at all, even more distant than Ellie and Emile. The whole city is on edge now, and there isn't much to do in the investigation department at the moment. The members shouldn't have any unnecessary interaction privately, but Colin insists on coming to find him at this time, which is really unusual.
"Strange, didn't you ask me to come?"
Kolin asked, as he was now filled with questions and waiting for an explanation. His gaze passed through the narrow hinges, as if he was meeting the burly man hunched over for the first time: a face in his forties, xxxxxx, and the slightly thick and short hair at the shadow, exactly as he remembered it-
Is gold.
Neither Emir nor Elie asked themselves what they had been doing for the past month. The atmosphere in the investigation department has always been relaxed, but their reactions are unnatural. It doesn't seem like they are ignoring the question, but rather that they have already been briefed and their doubts have been eliminated.
Colin couldn't help but wonder if there were also people in the investigative department secretly covering for him.
As a result, he started paying attention to this matter and intentionally searched for the written materials of the investigative department during his disappearance. It turned out that even in the department's work logs and other texts, there were some unnatural signs of special consideration... In these records, "Amo" never disappeared without reason; instead, he was assigned to carry out another task left by the commander-in-chief. The task had a unique number and complete documentation, but it couldn't be mentioned too much in daily summaries due to the confidentiality period not yet expired. The only thing that could be revealed to the inquirer was that it was related to the highest-level informant in the national court, also known as the "Magician."
Smart, reasonable, and very considerate cover-up.
Anyone who sees it will not have any suspicious thoughts.
Colin also knows that most of the time, the responsibilities of that "magician" are handled by Rui, especially after the Commander left Danaro. Now, in the investigation department, only he can use this highly classified matter to clean up someone's mess from Gailu Hall. Note:
So Colin felt that he had to come and ask for a clear reason, why? Why did Rui have to defend the suspected member like this, and not give any explanation afterwards? Colin has always held doubts in his mind, while at the same time feeling that the answer was already at hand. Or maybe if he were smarter, he would have noticed it earlier.
Why was "Amo Gutuso's" appointment letter intercepted by the Shadow River before joining the investigation department? Afterwards, who leaked Amo's exact whereabouts? And how did Nancy dare to hide a crown in the enemy's intelligence department so openly? Without a backup plan, can she really sleep at night? Translation:
Now, everything makes sense. Colin thought, because the first person planted by the Pigeon Droppings Investigation Department in the Dark River was not him at all.
"Actually, we've met before, Rui. I don't want to beat around the bush."
Colin didn't continue to probe, but said directly: "
In the Gaille Hall of the Metropolitan Theatre, the big guy with the mask is you, right? You're the one who pulled me back from the brink of death?"
In the face of Colin's confession, Rui did not immediately respond. He just stared at Colin, remaining silent for a long time, tightly tensed. It wasn't until Colin started to feel a strange sensation that Rui suddenly relaxed, reached out to undo the hinges, and pulled the iron door open:
"It seems that my disguise is not enough," Rui said. "I wonder if anyone recognized me."
"After all, my features are too obvious, with such a big build and short blonde hair," Colin walked in and said.
"It seems like I still owe you a thank you from that day?"
"Perhaps, Amo," Rui whispered, even though his identity had been discovered, a hint of relief appeared in his somewhat aged eyes:
"Or should I call you 'Colin'?"