Chapter 195
Eighteen floors.
Mapp walked in the long corridor and could only hear the echo of his own footsteps: "empty, empty, empty."
The echo easily makes people feel as if someone is following them. Most people would often feel scared in such an environment, but Mapu only feels safe in this place.
At the end of the corridor is a tall door. There is no extra decoration on the door, only some simple lines, but it gives people a solemn feeling.
Mapp knocked on the door and said in a voice that was neither too loud nor too low, "Sir, Mapp wants to see you."
After a while, a hoarse voice came from the room: "Come in."
Mapp pushed the door open and went in. He turned around and gently closed the door. He paused and looked at the man in black protective clothing standing in the middle of the room. Then he walked over and bowed his head and said, "Lord Liuka."
"The general meeting is tomorrow."
After a few seconds, Liu Ka spoke slowly. He seemed to be a little slow to react, and it seemed that his mind was focused somewhere else.
Mapp said, "Yes. But there is one thing I need to report to you first."
After a while, Rhuka said, "Well, what's the matter?"
"Please take a look at this document." Mapu handed over a stack of documents.
Liu Ka picked it up and glanced through it briefly. After a while, he said, "Todd... betrayed?"
"yes."
"Why?"
"According to my guess, he must have known the truth of what happened back then, so he developed hatred towards us."
"Oh." Ryuka said nonchalantly, "Do as you wish, but don't cause too much commotion."
"Yes." Mapp paused and said, "Todd will probably take action at tomorrow's general meeting. At that time, please avoid it in advance to avoid danger."
"Yeah. When does Draan Star arrive?"
"It will take two months to pass Draan. The closest distance is 1.75 light years."
"Two months..." Liu Ka hesitated for a moment and then closed his eyes and said, "I have something else to do. You go first. Don't bother me if you have nothing else to do."
"yes."
Mapu bowed and then left. When he closed the door again, he saw that only Liuka was sitting in the empty room. He closed his eyes, put his hands on his stomach, and was motionless, like a black stone tablet standing forever.
Mapp dropped his eyes and closed the door.
When he walked out of the elevator on the 17th floor, he saw Davalo standing quietly outside. At this moment, she was like a mouse seeing a cat. She put away all her edges and arrogance, and looked well-behaved and docile with her eyebrows lowered and eyes drooped.
"How is everything arranged?" Map asked as they walked.
"Everything has been arranged as you said." Davalo said behind him.
"What about Singh?"
"We have also contacted you."
Ma Pu nodded, and suddenly asked again: "Did you send someone to kidnap the mother of the newcomer Si Jian?"
Davalo was shocked. She had secretly ordered someone to do this a few hours ago. She didn't expect that Ma Pu even knew about it. She hurriedly explained, "That young man named Muzhe strikes me as unusual. Although he has promised to find out about Todd's actions for us and has indeed sent some information... I always feel unsafe. So I thought that if I could control his only family member, it might be helpful for tomorrow's event. Because it was just a small matter that I decided on at the last minute, I didn't report it to you."
"What if Todd becomes suspicious?" asked Mapp.
"No, I found a group of low-level thugs who have nothing to do with us. With them as a cover, the people I sent can hide in the dark." Davalo said: "She is just an ordinary old lady. Their actions should be foolproof. And even if Todd has doubts, there is only one day, and he won't be able to do anything."
"Then...what if it arouses the young man's rebellious psychology?" Mapp asked again.
"Well... he's a smart man, he should be able to understand." Davalo said disapprovingly: "Also, I'll have them pretend to extort money and treat the old lady well, and then arrange for our people to rescue her afterwards. This way, he can owe me a favor."
"Extortion?" Mapu sneered, glanced at Davalo, and said, "There are so many people participating in the carnival on the eighth floor, some of them are children from wealthy families. She is an old lady with ordinary clothes and no outstanding appearance. Why would others target her and kidnap her?"
Davalo was stunned.
Although she appeared confident and calm in the two private meetings with Rong Yuanjian, as if she was in full control of the situation, in fact, these two meetings put a lot of pressure on her. She always felt that she was actually under the control of the other party, especially the fear brought by the other party's eyes that flashed through her memory, which made her feel uneasy.
Then a plan suddenly popped up in her mind. After thinking it over again and again, she thought it was perfect, but now it seems to be full of loopholes.
Mapp continued, "If he can't even see through this, then there's no way he can get anything out of Todd. So we can infer that there must be something wrong with the information he gave you. Either Todd saw through your deal and used him to pass on false information to you, or they are simply in cahoots."
"What if he sees through it but doesn't care about the old lady? There's no point in you doing this. If he uses this to deceive you, it will only make you step into a trap."
"If he really cares about that old lady, you are planting a seed of hatred in his heart. Even if he listens to you today, he will turn against you one day in the future."
"Then...what should we do?" Davalo quickly opened the bracelet and said, "Maybe they haven't started yet. I'll ask them to cancel the operation."
"No need!" Mapu grabbed her wrist and said gloomily, "It's done. Once the arrow is shot, there is no return. But from now on, you just do your intelligence work well and don't do such unnecessary tricks!"
"Yes, I...I understand." Davalo bit her lip and said softly, "Then how will this matter end?"
"No need to end it, just pretend you don't know." Mapu narrowed his eyes, thinking of Todd's betrayal now, his eyes were dark, and he said: "Afterwards, deal with both the mother and the son."
Davalo's heart trembled, and he lowered his head and said, "...Yes."
"Seventeen ship owners and twenty-three general managers. About two-thirds of them are already under our control."
As Todd spoke, he buttoned up his cuffs, adjusted his tie in front of the mirror, and adjusted his hat. He was wearing a brand new suit, with every seam shining. Ignoring his face, he looked heroic and outstanding.
This is Todd's home. Like other Sijians, he lives in an ordinary two-story villa. There is a water circulation system in the yard, with clear springs flowing, and it is very quiet.
Rong Yuan sat on the ground outside the window, watching a few ants walking past him in an orderly line.
There are many species and spaceships traveling on Liukasao, so they will naturally bring all kinds of insects aboard. Although there are strict detection and insecticide devices on the spaceship, there are always some lucky little guys who sneak onto the ship. These insects have caused a lot of trouble for the maintenance department, but if they are missing from the farmland, it still feels wrong.
The ants swung their antennae and rustled across the ground.
Rong Yuan said: "I thought you were loyal to Ma Pu and his men in the past. How come you have such a power hidden in addition to the Supervision Department?"
"It is precisely because I was... loyal in the past that I was able to cultivate such a force."
Todd said this with a hint of sarcasm. After checking in the mirror for the Nth time that there was nothing wrong with his clothes, he pressed his cuffs and turned into an ordinary middle-aged employee.
He walked out the door, stood not far from Rong Yuan and said, "You should understand that when you devote your whole heart to someone, you are not afraid of doing too much for him, but only hate that you do too little. You wish you could solve all his problems."
"Our Supervision Department has authority second only to Mapu in Aoqi, so I can know a lot of things without having to check. In the past, I thought there were many problems in Liukasiao. Many people did things that harmed Liukasiao, and some people secretly slandered Liuka and even planned a rebellion. I knew all about this. But when I asked Mapu to deal with these people, he refused."
Todd said this expressionlessly. Of course, at that time, he did not feel that Mapu had imposed various restrictions and precautions on the Supervisory Department, but naively accepted Mapu's explanation, thinking that he did not want the Supervisory Department to have too many enemies, or that he had other arrangements.
"Every inspector in the Supervision Department has traces of their actions at Aoqi's place, and there is no way to hide their actions from Mapu's eyes. But I felt that for the sake of Liukasiao, I had to take the initiative to do something. So later, I secretly cultivated such a force."
"Its name is the White Scavenger."
Rong Yuan looked at the spring water flowing in the yard and asked, "Are the personnel... the family members of Si Jian who left the headquarters before?"
"Yes. On the surface, they left the headquarters to live the lives of ordinary people, but some of them - most of them are children, and they are my people." Todd said: "There are also some members who come from orphanages, most of them are girls. Because their qualities in all aspects are not enough to be selected as judges, they leave the thirteenth floor after the age of twelve and go to other ship floors to attend ordinary schools, and successfully change their identities. According to my orders, they lurk around the main figures of each floor and activate when necessary to assassinate, poison, alienate, steal important information, etc."
"They were still young when they left you. How did you ensure their loyalty?" Rong Yuan asked, "Why would someone like Aphra, who had the only son of the 17th-floor ship owner fall in love with her and was only one step away from marrying into a wealthy family, give up everything just because of your order?"
"Favors, drugs, hypnosis, or keeping important people under my control, as well as some special things obtained from adventurers, all kinds of means are available." Todd said shamelessly, "If a person wants to accomplish something, he must use something. I don't think there is anything wrong with this, but I know you must not like it. So, after... after this incident, if any of them are still alive, please help me release the control over them, and then give them all my savings over the years. Frankly speaking, I have saved a lot of money."
Rong Yuan didn't say anything, but Todd knew that he would take care of those girls.
Because this is a person with a soft heart and someone who is worthy of trust.
Todd finally placed a memory card next to Rong Yuan and said, "Here is a list of everyone, as well as my account and password on Starnet, the arrangements I made these days, etc. You can take a look and see if there is anything that needs improvement. I'm leaving first."
"Where are you going?"
"To meet someone."
Rong Yuan was stunned for a moment, then he understood. He watched Todd leave, with a bounce in his steps and excitement and joy in his back.
He went to meet that person with a very happy mood.
Countless alloy shelves stand in rows like the bookshelves in a library. There are no books on the shelves, but densely packed small grids, each of which is filled with photos and some sundries.
This is the "cemetery" of Liukasao.
Every inch of space on the spacecraft is very precious. Therefore, although the existence of this cemetery is to provide people with a place to place their thoughts and sorrows, the use fee of each small grid is very expensive, and a considerable storage fee is also charged every year. Once the storage fee is interrupted for more than one month, the items stored in the small grid will be packed into a small box and thrown into space.
Todd pressed his cuffs to restore his true appearance, then placed a loaf of bread and two candies in a small grid, clasped his hands together, and closed his eyes in remembrance.
The photo in the grid shows a little girl with pigtails, bright eyes and a lovely smile. Placed in such an environment, it makes people feel even more regretful.
Behind the photo is a small white jar slightly larger than a fist. Under the jar is a small box containing a hairpin, a small dress decorated with colorful flowers, a worn-out doll, a fairy tale book that the girl once loved the most, and a small card she made herself.
Todd had nothing before. It was Mapu who helped him get this box. At the beginning, Mapu paid the annual storage fee. For this, he was very grateful to Mapu, because these things were beyond the imagination of the young man who was immersed in pain. Even though Mapu took advantage of Todd, he noticed it, but he still felt that Mapu was an elder who cared about him silently. He was close to him, trusted him, and even relied on him.
Of course, after Todd started working, he began to pay the storage fee himself. He always kept this place in mind, but in the past, perhaps to avoid the pain, Todd rarely came here. However, now looking at the girl's smile, Todd no longer felt sad, nor was he full of hatred towards Mapu and others. He only felt peace and tranquility, and even a faint sense of joy that could not wait.
He stroked the smiling face of the girl in the photo, looked down at her, smiled slightly, and said softly and tenderly: "Erin, I'm going to see you soon. I'm sorry, I've become a very bad person now... When we get there, will you still be willing to play with me?"
