Chapter 115: Exposed

Eileen immediately noticed the change in Amelia’s expression.

“What’s wrong?” Eileen moved closer and asked in a low voice.

At the same time, she vigilantly sensed her surroundings but detected nothing amiss.

“It’s nothing.”

Amelia shook her head, her expression quickly returning to normal.

She sat down on the sofa in the living room, but her mind was focused, watching the bullet comments floating past her eyes one by one.

==========

After Edmond left the house, he looked back at it, his eyes flickering.

He didn’t linger long, turning and heading into the distance. Along the way, when he saw those people sitting on the street crying because their families had gone missing, he showed a disgusted expression and detoured around them.

Before long, Edmond arrived at another ordinary residential house.

After pressing the doorbell, a man of average appearance, somewhat short and stocky, came out of the house.

“Edmond, what brings you here?” The man hurried forward to open the door when he saw Edmond.

“Something’s come up. Let’s talk inside.”

Edmond entered as the man opened the door.

After Edmond came in, the man cautiously looked outside. Seeing no suspicious figures, he closed the door and followed Edmond to the living room.

The living room was very sparse and plain, lacking any distinguishing features.

Edmond sat down on the sofa as soon as he entered.

“Edmond, what exactly happened?” The man sat down across from Edmond, looking at him.

“Booth, I met two people not long ago. They both appeared to be very beautiful young women. They knew our organization’s code phrase and claimed they were sent by the organization to Rhine City on a mission,” Edmond said unhurriedly.

“Something like that?” Booth’s expression changed drastically. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“How would I know? The only thing I can be certain of is that these two have ulterior motives and are up to no good regarding our organization,” Edmond shook his head.

“But how did they know our organization’s code phrase? We just changed it not too long ago, didn’t we?” Booth asked, frowning.

“That’s also what I don’t understand, which is why I had to first stabilize them and come to discuss countermeasures with you.” Edmond’s expression was very serious.

Booth scratched his hair. “Even if you’re asking me to discuss it, what good plan can I come up with? In my opinion, our organization has just been too loose in the past, making it so easy for people to impersonate members. This time, if we hadn’t already pledged allegiance to the Akti Kingdom and identified every remaining member, we would have been fooled too.”

Edmond agreed deeply. “Exactly. Ever since our organization was absorbed by the Akti Kingdom, all Iris members have shown themselves. Those two young women were never among them, which is how I could be certain they were suspicious. But this makes me even more puzzled about how they knew our new code phrase. Could there be a traitor within our organization who leaked the code phrase?”

“This reminds me of the incident where the Mana Crystal Cannon was stolen in Rhine City.” Booth thought for a moment and said, “Back then, the person who stole the cannon claimed to be from our Iris, but in fact, they weren’t from Iris at all. Obviously, someone had infiltrated our organization even then.”

“Even now, outsiders still believe our organization really obtained the Mana Crystal Cannon.” Edmond frowned when this topic came up.

“It’s not just outsiders. Even within the Akti Kingdom, not everyone believes us, despite our pledge of allegiance.”

“Hmph, those guys were searching for us so extensively precisely for the Mana Crystal Cannon. And when they finally found us and made us submit, they discovered we didn’t have it. Naturally, they’re not happy about it.”

“Whether they’re happy or not doesn’t change the fact that the Mana Crystal Cannon isn’t in our hands.”

“We’re getting off-topic, Booth. First, help me figure out how to deal with those two impersonating our organization. They’re pretending to be members and making contact with me—it has to be for some purpose. I can’t gauge their strength, so it’s not convenient to act rashly.”

“For this kind of thing, why not just tell the Commander of the Akti Kingdom directly?”

“Have the Akti Kingdom handle this directly? That’s not a bad idea.”

Edmond considered this upon hearing the suggestion.

==========

Meanwhile, Amelia was rapidly extracting information from the bullet comments.

Just a moment ago, the scene the viewers were seeing had shifted to Edmond. Consequently, the comments they posted changed rapidly. Amelia noticed this change immediately.

She was no stranger to the scene shifting to other people. She immediately sat down and watched carefully, analyzing what exactly the viewers were seeing.

As she watched, Amelia’s expression grew serious.

‘Eileen and I have already been exposed? Just from one look, Edmond determined we are imposters?’

‘So Iris has already pledged allegiance to the Akti Kingdom?’

‘He recognizes all the members of Iris? No wonder we were exposed.’

Thoughts flashed one after another through Amelia’s mind.

She had pieced the situation together. Because of the incident with the Mana Crystal Cannon, the Akti Kingdom had spent considerable effort tracking down Iris and had subjugated the organization, trying to obtain the cannon. But unfortunately, the cannon wasn’t in Iris’s hands.

Even so, Iris was ultimately under the Akti Kingdom’s command. All members had been required to show themselves at the Kingdom’s request, so the internal members all knew each other.

Under these circumstances, if an unfamiliar person showed up claiming to be from Iris, they would naturally be seen through immediately.

This was something that hadn’t happened in the Original Plot. In the Original Plot, the members of Iris had escaped far away after obtaining the Mana Crystal Cannon, making it impossible for the Akti Kingdom to find them. But now, without the cannon, Iris had remained in the Domain of Chaos and was thus found by the Akti Kingdom.

For the viewers, Iris pledging allegiance to the Akti Kingdom was a new development, and it rekindled their interest, making them want to see how Amelia and Eileen would deal with Iris and the Akti Kingdom next.

Because Eileen was already a High-Rank Apostle, everyone wasn’t overly worried about the situation here, and some were even looking forward to it.

Amelia stood up from the sofa. “Eileen, let’s go.”

“Your Majesty, where are we going?” Eileen immediately came to Amelia’s side.

“To find Edmond. That guy’s eyes seemed suspicious earlier. I suspect we’ve already been exposed. He might be trying to figure out how to deal with us right now,” Amelia said seriously.

“Your Majesty thinks we’ve been exposed?” Eileen was somewhat surprised.

“It’s just a judgment,” Amelia replied. “Back when we seized the Mana Crystal Cannon, although Iris’s people in Rhine City were completely wiped out, the rest of their organization must have learned through other channels that the cannon was taken by two young women. And now, we appear again as two young women. Even though we’ve dyed our hair and worn Color Contacts, it might still raise suspicion.”

Amelia found a reason to explain things to Eileen.

“I see.” Eileen understood.

At this moment, the viewers’ scene was still on Edmond. After glancing at the bullet comments, Amelia walked out of the house.

Because Amelia couldn’t directly see the scene, she couldn’t determine exactly which location Edmond was in. However, bits of information revealed through some bullet comments told her that Edmond and Booth’s location wasn’t too far from here.

“Eileen, let’s move quickly and search the area carefully.”

Amelia ran in one direction.

She saw some people crying and huddled in a corner, the families of those who had gone missing.

A bullet comment earlier had briefly mentioned this. The exact words were: [Was it necessary to detour around those people? They’re just poor souls whose families are missing; they won’t dirty your clothes.]

Through this comment, seeing the crying people made Amelia know that Edmond must have passed by there.

She headed in that direction, her gaze scanning around.

“Have you seen my child? She’s only fifteen, a very obedient girl.”

A mother sitting under a corner of a wall looked up. Her hair was disheveled, her face seemed unwashed for days, and her voice was somewhat hoarse. Seeing someone pass by, she instinctively asked.

Hearing the voice, Amelia looked around before confirming it was directed at her.

Her heart felt somewhat heavy. She sighed and replied, “I’m sorry, I haven’t seen her, but I will pay attention. If I find her, I’ll definitely have her come back.”

“Thank you…” The mother looked at Amelia a little longer.

Lately, there were many unfortunate souls like her in Rhine City whose families had disappeared. They asked everyone they saw about their missing loved ones, annoying many people to no end. So, it was common for people to ignore them entirely after being asked. But Amelia not only acknowledged her but also spoke so politely, stirring some ripples even in her deadened heart.

Seeing the disheveled, unwashed mother looking at her, Amelia thought for a moment and asked, “Excuse me, have you seen a man?”

She briefly described Edmond’s appearance.

“I have,” the mother nodded.

“Which direction did he go? Can you tell me where he is?”

“He went that way.”

“Thank you.” Having gotten the answer, Amelia felt invigorated and quickly walked a few steps in that direction.

After a few steps, Amelia paused and turned back to say, “You, and the families of the other missing people… I will try my best to look for them.”

Having said this, Amelia left with Eileen.

The mother sitting in the corner stared blankly at Amelia’s departing figure, then lowered her head.

This was a kind-hearted person, but… but her child had been missing for so long, and so many other people’s families had been missing for just as long. It was clear something terrible had happened. Was there really any chance they would come back?

Sometimes, even when people are anticipating something, their hearts can’t feel much excitement, because they’ve been disappointed too many times. Even when hope might be near, they can’t be too happy, because they’re so afraid it will just be another disappointment.

Amelia didn’t know what the mother who had lost her child was thinking.

She followed the directions she was given and arrived before a house. At this moment, the scene the viewers saw finally shifted back from Edmond to Amelia.

[What’s going on? As soon as the scene’s back, how are Amelia and Eileen already here?]

[Isn’t this the house where those two from Iris are? When did Amelia block the door?]

[Whoa, just whoa.]

[Did Amelia figure out that she and Eileen were suspected?]

[Amelia’s perception has always been very sharp. It’s not strange that she noticed something off about Edmond.]

Sweeping her gaze over the bullet comments, Amelia confirmed she hadn’t gone to the wrong place.

“Eileen.”

“Your Majesty, I am here.”

“Once you enter, capture everyone inside. Don’t kill them; I need them alive for interrogation.”

“Yes.”

Eileen took her sword and casually sliced a few times in front of her. The door of the house was silently and soundlessly cut apart, its pieces falling to the ground with a series of crashes.

After cutting open the door, Eileen charged straight in.

Amelia also walked inside, her pace unhurried. She trusted that with Eileen taking action, nothing would be a problem.

And that was indeed the case.

By the time Amelia reached the living room, both Edmond and Booth had been beaten and were lying on the floor. Eileen stood beside them, her sword pointed at the two men. The cold gleam of the blade made Edmond and Booth dare not move a muscle.

At this very moment, Edmond’s heart was filled with fear.

Just moments ago, he and Booth had heard the door being destroyed and immediately sensed something was wrong, becoming vigilant. But Eileen’s arrival taught him that against absolute power, vigilance was meaningless.

He recognized her the moment Eileen appeared. He and Booth attacked her instantly. With him being a Mid-Rank Apostle and Booth a Low-Rank Apostle, they could handle an opponent together as long as the other wasn’t a High-Rank Apostle.

But unfortunately, their opponent really was a High-Rank Apostle!

Eileen fought them as easily as an adult beating infants, taking them down in just a few moves. This was even with Eileen needing to keep them alive; otherwise, she could’ve finished them in one strike.

Now pinned on the floor, Edmond and Booth no longer dared to move rashly. Before a High-Rank Apostle, they could only behave obediently.

When Amelia entered, this was the scene she saw: the two men lying prone.

“Mr. Edmond, we meet again. I just didn’t expect that at our next meeting, we would be on such terms.” Amelia looked at Edmond and spoke unhurriedly.

Edmond’s eyes were complex.

He truly hadn’t expected things to end up like this. At the same time, his curiosity about Amelia and Eileen’s origins grew even stronger.

Who exactly were these two?

Who had set their sights on their Iris, and what did they want?

Amelia went straight to the sofa and sat down, looking at the prostrate Edmond. “Mr. Edmond, next I’m going to ask some questions. I hope you will answer me honestly. Otherwise, I don’t know what I might do.”