Alien paradise

On the observation tower, Sandra Allen was looking through the city guard's summary report for the past week.

This is the highest point in the city, even more than ten meters higher than the big lighthouse outside the harbor. Because of the height, the environment here is naturally not very good - only a small circular room can be built at the top of the tower. After placing a long table, two bookshelves, and a few chairs, there is almost nothing left. How much space to put down. Most of the time, the doors and windows of the room must be kept tightly closed to prevent the howling sea breeze from rushing into the room and throwing all the furnishings into chaos. Even if the fire in the fireplace never goes out, the temperature here is always difficult to rise, because the huge and hollow tower body takes away a lot of heat, so much so that a pot of charcoal fire must be placed next to the long table to ensure that people will not shiver from the cold. .

Simply put, it's small, cold, and quite humid.

As the supreme commander of the City Guards, Sandra could choose to work anywhere in Glory Castle, even next door to the Governor's Mansion, but she chose the top of the Observation Tower. It's not out of love, but here, she can always see the white fog filling the outer circle of the city - the fog that never dissipates can remind her of her duty: this city is not indestructible, even though it has existed. It has been nearly a hundred years, but as long as the fog remains, it may be swallowed up at any time, just like the former Acropolis.

Fortunately, the fog remained the same today, still about fifty miles away from the city.

When she turned to the last two pages, Sandra frowned and softly said "Hmm".

"What's wrong? Did some team miss the mark?" Adjutant Woody asked, rubbing his hands.

Most of the city guard's summary reports are trivial matters, such as the treatment of prisoners after interrogation and the deployment arrangements of patrol teams. Since major companies funded the establishment of police stations, the City Guards have had to undertake far fewer tasks, and checking reports has become more of a routine.

The troops are divided into fifteen groups in total. The lower the number, the less attention they receive. Omission is the most common mistake.

"It's not that I missed it, but it's a little strange." Sandela turned the notebook over and put it in front of the table. "There is a reward report for the fourteenth group."

Woody stepped forward and looked at where his boss was pointing.

It read, "Stone Bradley was promoted from squad captain to captain for his meritorious service in blocking pirates on the run, and was rewarded with a reward of ten gold coins."

"Sir...there's nothing wrong with this, right? The patrol areas of the next five groups are all on the fringes of the city. Protecting residents outside the city from being harassed by pirates is one of their main duties."

"That's what I said, but if I remember correctly, Group 14 is responsible for the southern area of ​​the city." Sandra stood up and came to the wall-mounted map, "Even if our patrol boat was negligent, you forgot what happened last week What happened?"

"Uh..." the adjutant thought for a while, and then suddenly realized, "The prince's inspection team visited Glory Castle last Tuesday!"

This is a big event for Brilliant Castle that everyone knows about.

But only a handful of people knew the expedition's route.

Since the next destination was St. Trian in the southwest, the second prince's fleet took the southern contact line. The fleet escorting the expedition group is staying in the open sea, and during this period of time it will definitely clear all obstacles on the route. It's okay for pirates to bully merchant ships and unarmed civilians, but it is absolutely impossible for them to fight against the serious navy!

"That's right," Sandra nodded. "There shouldn't be any floating pirates in that direction, unless the royal fleet is blind."

"So... this is an incident of taking merit."

"It seems so, and not very clever."

"Sir, please leave this small matter to me." Woody volunteered.

"Yeah, but we have to ask about the cause and effect before we deal with it." Sandra walked back to the table, "Who is Stone? Why did the officers of Group 14 choose him? If corruption is involved, we must also find out who is involved. How many people?" She paused at this point, "If you kill innocent people outside the city to take credit..."

For a moment, a cold wind seemed to fill the room.

Woody's expression turned serious, "I understand!"

After the adjutant left, Sandra sighed softly.

She is not afraid of strong external enemies, but what worries her most comes from within the city. Although she has only been here as commander for three years, she has gradually understood that this fortress city is far from as invulnerable as it seems.

When the construction of the new outpost city Du Lei Ring is completed, the pressure on Brilliant Castle will be reduced a lot. By then, she may also be able to free up her hands to make a difference. But before that, she must maintain the integrity of the team and keep the city guard's combat effectiveness at its highest point.

Corruption is therefore absolutely intolerable.

It's a pity that many people in the army don't realize this, including her adjutant. Fortunately, the other party came from the same military academy and had good basic qualities, especially in obeying orders.

Half an hour later, Woody returned to the office.

"So fast?" Sandra was a little surprised.

"Sir, the situation... is a bit complicated." The adjutant showed a troubled look, "Neither Officer Daleham of the Fourteenth Group nor Stone himself admitted to making false reports."

"Then they have to come up with evidence." Sandra raised an eyebrow.

"That's the most incredible thing." Woody lowered his head, as if he was thinking about how to answer, "They did say they had the head and the seized items as evidence, but when they really wanted to take them out, they were all gone."

"No?" Wouldn't that be blatant deception? Sandra was slightly startled. She originally thought there was something unexpected, but she didn't expect the answer to be so simple. But then she thought about it. If it was really just a fraud, there was no reason why her adjutant couldn't deal with it. "You mean, the warehouse manager responsible for guarding the evidence also agrees with their statement?"

"Not only that, I asked many people, and they all said the same thing - bandits did indeed land that day, and Stone also handed over four heads." Woody's face showed the same confusion, "So I immediately sent someone We went to the village they were talking about, and the news of pirate plunder was confirmed.”

This time it was Sandra's turn to be speechless.

It's impossible for the fourteenth group of officers to have all the hands and eyes to conquer the thirty or so people in the entire group plus the villages in the suburbs, right? However, the question arises again. Although it is unclear how these bandits passed through the blockade of the Royal Fleet and reached the shore of Brilliant Castle, if it is true, how could all the evidence have disappeared?

"Did anyone bring it here?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"We're all waiting outside the door," the adjutant replied.

"Let them in."

Soon, the promoted Stone, the officer in charge Dalem, and the two soldiers who were traveling with Stone that day were recruited into the office, and the small room was filled to the brim.

Sandela glanced at everyone, and her eyes fell on Stone, "Tell me in detail about the patrol and the encounter with pirates that day. Don't miss any details. You should go first."