NABC Chapter 66 "The Destroyer"
Chapter 66 "The Destroyer"
Chapter 66 "The Destroyer" (5/5)
"Thank you to all the leaders for clearing my name."
Outside the interrogation room, Harlan kept bowing.
No, no.
"Oh, we're getting too distant. There's no need for that."
"If you really want to thank someone, then go thank Cheng Xu, that young man from the Mingxing branch."
"Exactly, if it weren't for him, you wouldn't have been released so easily."
After investigation, it was confirmed that the information leak was caused by the "information worm". After approval from the Anomaly Management Bureau headquarters, Harlan was finally able to leave the interrogation room.
Harlan is the director of the Abnormal Control Section 1 of the Yuanguangxing Branch Bureau, which can be considered half of the leadership. He usually gets along well with the others present.
At this moment, almost all the leaders of the Yuanguangxing branch were present to express their condolences to Harlan.
"Cheng Xu?"
Harlan was taken aback when he heard the unfamiliar name.
"Huh? You didn't know? Lance told me before that he brought young Cheng Xu to visit you?"
Harlan suddenly realized that the young voice had appeared in his mind, and he also recalled the three overly brief questions.
Was it thanks to that young man that I was able to clear myself of suspicion for leaking secrets?
"It just so happens that young man Cheng Xu and Director Xue Zijing of the Chengming Branch are both at our branch. You should remember to thank them properly."
Harlan nodded: "Of course."
Because he had been locked in the interrogation room for several days, he looked quite disheveled.
It was inappropriate to visit and express gratitude in this state. Harlan returned to his lounge, took a shower, changed his clothes, and then, following the guidance of his intelligent assistant, headed to the anomaly containment area of the Farlight Star branch.
Upon arriving at the corresponding containment room, he first saw Xue Zijing standing outside the containment room.
Because of work-related matters, the two occasionally interact, and their relationship is that of ordinary acquaintances who nod and greet each other when they meet.
"Hmm? Director Harlan? You're finally out? Congratulations!"
Xue Zijing also noticed Harlan walking in their direction and greeted him with a smile.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Harlan pointed to the shelter next to him and asked, "Director Xue, is Cheng Xu inside?"
"Yes, he said he wanted to verify some things." Xue Zijing nodded.
Harlan glanced at the sign above the containment chamber door: "I remember this was—the special containment chamber that contained [The Rift] before?"
Since the containment procedures for the [Cracked Scar] failed, and the Chengming Star Branch recontained it using the [Solid Metal Box], this containment chamber has been temporarily vacant.
"Is that Director Harlan outside? Please come in."
Cheng Xu's voice came from the containment chamber, and the red indicator on the door turned green.
Harlan followed Xue Zijing into the containment room and immediately spotted Cheng Xu writing and drawing on a transparent tablet.
"Younger than I expected, your Chengmingxing branch has truly produced a young prodigy." Harlan looked at Xue Zijing.
Recalling the sight of the universe flickering not long ago, Xue Zijing swallowed hard and forced a smile as he replied, "He's an employee of our branch's Abnormal Control Section One. Your jobs should have a lot in common, so we can chat more when we have time."
As they spoke, the two had already walked up behind Cheng Xu.
"Young man Cheng Xu, I really owe you a lot of help this time. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know."
Harlan's tone was very sincere.
Cheng Xu stopped what he was doing and turned around: "Speaking of which, I do have something I'd like to ask Director Harlan."
Harlan laughed and said, "Go ahead and tell me, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Director Harlan, why did you go to such lengths to destroy the original containment devices of [The Rift]?"
Cheng Xu's question was calm and collected, but it sounded like a thunderclap to Xue Zijing and Harlan.
"What? Xiao Cheng, you mean—" Xue Zijing subconsciously took a few steps back, distancing himself from Harlan.
"Young man Cheng Xu, what... what do you mean by this?"
Harlan stood there, at a loss.
Cheng Xu stared into his eyes, and the mixture of confusion and panic in them didn't seem like acting.
While locking himself in the lounge to think alone, Cheng Xu finally realized that he had been overlooking an important piece of information in the whole story of this incident.
That explains why the [Crack] was temporarily handed over to the Chengming Star Branch and contained in a [Solid Metal Box].
The reason given by the Farlight Star Branch was that the containment device for the [Crack] was accidentally damaged, and the backup device could only temporarily contain it for a few days.
However, Cheng Xu usually deals most with matters related to the containment of anomalies.
He knew very well that critical-level anomalies were basically the upper limit of what the Star System Branch could contain, and the containment methods for them were all at the highest level.
Almost all of the branch's resources will be prioritized for containment facilities related to critical anomalies to prevent accidents.
Why did the device malfunction at this critical juncture when there were no problems during the long-term containment operations?
It was precisely because of the perfectly timed damage that the Arbiter was able to seize the opportunity to attack the fleet and steal the [Crack].
This is just too much of a coincidence.
If this was indeed all a coincidence, and the Purge Bureau took action because they learned of this information through the [Information Worm], then the earlier Crystal Tomb incident cannot be explained.
Without Gray Shu drawing away the elites of the Chengming Star Branch on Golun Star beforehand, the Arbitrators would never have succeeded so easily.
The two events, Golun Star and Yuanguang Star Branch, together give people a sense of awkwardness and are difficult to connect with a coherent logic.
Realizing this, Cheng Xu decided to launch a new investigation from the very beginning, namely the original containment device of the "Scarred Rift".
Using his ability to travel back in time, he successfully saw what he wanted.
"I inspected the original containment device for [The Rift], and the test report from the Farlight Star Branch indicates that the increased activity of [The Rift] caused the containment measures to fail."
Cheng Xu showed Harlan several pictures, which were images of the inner wall of the purple steel container.
"It's possible that the prosecutors failed to notice that, a week before the incident, the single wound caused by the 'splitting marks' inside the stainless steel container was gradually deepening."
"This is not caused by abnormally increased activity, but rather by the fact that the strength of the purple steel container material itself has not reached the predetermined standard."
Cheng Xu looked directly into Harlan's trembling eyes: "In the end, I discovered that during the liquid maintenance process before this containment device was put into use, a small amount of Hippoly gel was mixed into the special maintenance solution."
"Director Harlan, in terms of expertise, you are certainly more experienced than I am. You must know that Hippoly gel reacts in a special way with stainless steel, causing the material's strength to decrease, right?"
"If you knew, why did you add Hippoly gel to it?"