"This is no longer a matter of ordinary citizens; we must strike hard!"
In the Hall of the Twelve Brass, Speaker Franklin angrily slammed his fist on the table after listening to a report from his subordinate. For a man who prided himself on his elegance to act this way, it was clear how dire the situation had become.
After a moment of rage, Franklin regained his usual composure. He turned to a Brass Noble nearby and asked, "What's the association's stance?"
"They said that the affairs of ordinary people must be handled by ordinary people. They refuse to intervene."
"Pedantic! At a time like this, they're still clinging to useless red tape!"
Although he said that, Franklin knew in his heart that if the Steam Division truly helped them suppress the rioters, other divisions would soon report the matter to the main association. Not only would the entire Steam Division suffer, but those who encouraged them would also face serious consequences.
Franklin took a deep breath, and his gaze lingered on the three empty brass seats in the distance. "What about the Church? Haven't they sorted out their internal issues yet?"
The Star Envoy Association could not interfere in local affairs due to the head of the association's authority. But the Gear Church was different. Although the association also had some rules for these star envoy organizations, if they were careful enough, they could secretly help.
However, Franklin soon received more bad news.
"Their situation is equally dire. The death of the Gold Knight, Fischer, was too suspicious, and they can no longer suppress the internal unrest. They have to report the matter to the Machine Cult in the Holy See. Therefore, they will not do anything extra until the people from the Holy See arrive."
Upon hearing this, Franklin irritably tugged at his tie. "Damn it! How did all these problems suddenly appear overnight!"
At this point, everyone had noticed that something was wrong. First, there was Vivian's sudden accusation against the Church. Then, the sudden death of the Gold Knight, Fischer. And now, the sudden riot in the Rust Zone. Each of these three events was troublesome, and yet they all happened at the same time. It was as if an invisible hand was secretly orchestrating everything.
Just as Franklin and the other Brass Nobles were trying to figure out how to end the Lower District's riot, one of the nobles suddenly stood up. Seeing this, everyone, including Franklin, looked at him.
"What's wrong?"
The noble's voice trembled as he spoke: "The Steam Division says that the Fifth Squad Captain, Ink Wash, he..."
"Speak clearly! What happened to Captain Ink Wash?"
"Captain Ink Wash died at the Fifth Squad's headquarters in Gear Tower!"
"What?!"
Upon hearing this news, everyone's expression turned grim. Compared to the previous three incidents, if this one wasn't handled properly, they would all be finished!
Six years ago, one of the four major families, the Iron Dome family, had their resources from the Steam City and Deep Blue Metropolis Star Envoy Associations used without permission. As a result, the Head of the Association, Ennett, who hadn't left headquarters in years, personally paid them a visit. The legendary most powerful star envoy of his generation didn't do anything excessive; he simply stood outside the 'Third Floating City: Quantum Fortress' and casually waved his hand.
Instantly, at least one-third of the Quantum Fortress turned into a burning ruin.
Although the current situation was not yet at a level that would alarm the Head of the Association, a squad captain dying in his own headquarters was an act so severe it was akin to slapping the entire Star Envoy Association in the face.
"Go! To Gear Tower immediately!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the seven Brass Nobles present all stood up and rushed toward Gear Tower.
Watching the Brass Nobles in such a frantic state, the dimensional screen was flooded with comments.
'Wait, Captain Ink Wash just died like that?'
'Something's wrong. I feel like something fishy is going on. How could so much happen in one night?'
'Holy crap, this plot kill came faster than a rocket! One second I'm watching a riot, the next I'm seeing this?'
As the dimensional audience was completely bewildered, the scene shifted to the Fifth Squad's headquarters.
In an instant, a shocking image of death was displayed for all the dimensional viewers to see. The Ink Wash who had shown such strength for several episodes in Constellations Season Two: Glimmer, was now impaled on a wall in the Fifth Squad's headquarters with a sword. Large amounts of congealed blood covered the white wall, making his body look like a 'flower' blooming on a cliff.
Seeing this, all the dimensional viewers agreed that 'Ink Wash' was absolutely, undoubtedly dead.
At the same time, the production team provided a special close-up of the surrounding environment. There were no sword marks, no signs of explosions, not even a single broken brick. This was an undeniable hint to the audience that Ink Wash had died suddenly, or rather, without any chance to fight back.
This, however, confused the dimensional audience.
'WTF, this environmental close-up is clearly the production team telling us he didn't even fight back!'
'This is chilling! Who could make Ink Wash not fight back?'
'My wild guess is the Division Head, Liam! He's the only one with that kind of power!'
'Wake up, man! If the Division Head wanted to kill a squad captain, would he nail him to a wall for everyone to see? He has a hundred ways to do it without anyone finding out.'
'Yeah, this situation is clearly a deliberate provocation against the Steam Division.'
'Do you think it could be that mysterious masked man who appeared in the first episode, the one who looked like Tendo?'
'It's very possible. After all, that guy hasn't appeared since the first episode.'
Although the dimensional audience didn't yet know the real reason for Ink Wash's death, one thing was very clear to them. With the strange deaths of the Gold Knight and Ink Wash, and the sudden riot in the Lower District, the three most powerful organizations in the Steam City—the Gear Church, the Twelve Brass Council, and the Star Envoy Association's Steam Division—were all plunged into their own problems.
The entire Steam City was about to descend into utter chaos!
On the side of the blood-stained wall where Ink Wash's body was impaled, Chen Xing and Tendo, who had completely removed all his disguises, stood there calmly looking at their masterpiece—the perfectly fake body of Ink Wash.
"Tendo, now that things have reached this point, you must be close to completing your plan, right?"
Upon hearing this, Tendo gazed at the tragically dead Ink Wash, adjusted his sunglasses, and smiled.
"Yes, indeed... It's time to reel it in."
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