Alien paradise

"You can go in." The attendant made an invitation gesture to Sandra.

Sandela pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the lord's study.

This place can be said to be two completely opposite spaces from the Observation Tower. The curtains are closed most of the time, so there is no need to worry about the strong wind. The lighting in the house all comes from blubber oil lamps. The small and numerous flames can not only illuminate every corner of the room, but there will be no dazzling feeling. In order to reduce the odor of grease, a mixture of rosin and white butterfly flowers is added to the lamp, so that the house is always filled with a floral fragrance.

It can be said that only the lord in the entire Brilliant Castle can afford such lamp oil.

Sandra couldn't help sniffing.

She didn't like the smell - because it was closed for a long time, there would inevitably be some dirty smell mixed in the room. She would rather blow the salty sea breeze than the unnatural fragrance of flowers, at least it made her feel free.

Earl Li Qiong Aura is sitting behind the desk. As the heir of the Aura family, he is now in his prime. But unlike his father who led the army in battles and established meritorious deeds, Li Qiang did not have a burly body and lacked arrogant force. He was more like a scholar, and his slender and pale fingers were more suitable for touching books than steel weapons.

Sandra stepped across the woolen carpet, came to the desk, and performed a standard military salute.

"I heard that you rejected the investigation applications from three other police stations?" Li Qiang put down the newspaper in his hand and asked slowly.

His voice was not loud, but his speech was very clear.

"yes."

"Why?"

"Because during my investigation, I discovered that the Chengbei Police Department had serious negligence—"

"What does that have to do with other police stations?" Li Qiang interrupted her directly, "I think you should know that there are different supporters behind these four police stations. They themselves have a competitive relationship. Let the other three Admission will only improve the efficiency of solving the case, and your reason for refusal is not sufficient."

Sandra shut her mouth honestly.

She knew that what the lord said was right.

"Besides, they also want to know the truth, especially whether there are any cultists hiding in this city; if so, how powerful the cultists have gathered." Li Qiang looked at her, his black eyes seemed bottomless, "More importantly, you violated the contract by doing this - when the police station was originally established, the contract stipulated that they had the right to carry out various security activities in the city. You must know that the current funders of the police station are those large corporate shareholders. , has begun to put pressure on me."

"I'm sorry." Sandra lowered her head.

"Apologise, but not change?" Li Qiang frowned deeply.

"I hope you can persist a little longer, and the City Guards will definitely be able to solve this case!" she said firmly.

There was a brief silence in the study.

After a moment, Li Qian stood up and walked slowly to Sandela, "Do you know how much the castle's annual expenses are?"

"I don't know."

"Sixteen million, Jin Keli. And our taxes and financial subsidies add up to only ten million...the remaining gap will be filled by the large companies that have set up factories in Brilliant Castle." His tone gradually deepened, "You You must understand that I can change the position of city guard commander at any time. So please tell me clearly, what exactly do you want to do?"

Sandra said sternly, "I hope that the security in the city will no longer be completely left to the police station like in the past, but to be jointly managed by the city guards!"

"If we can't make up for the gap, we can't even talk about the salary of the city guards!"

"Sir, I have consulted academy scholars on this. If a city's internal security is excellent, subcontracting can indeed reduce administrative costs; but if it is of inferior quality, the damage to the city will be ten times the cost. ! Because unstable public security will reduce investment confidence and severely impact economic activities in the city!"

"Oh? Do you still understand this?" Li Qiang glanced at her in surprise.

"In the past, Brilliant Castle faced serious threats from cultists. In order to better deal with foreign enemies, the city guards separated the internal security work. This was just a choice made due to environmental constraints. Now we are no longer a bridgehead for exploring the New World. It is necessary to cling to old responsibilities again.”

Sandra suddenly knelt down on one knee, "The most important thing is that the city guard is loyal to the earl, but the police station is not under your control! Just like this case, if someone hadn't attacked Wangshui Manor, we wouldn't be here today. Know Kuiqi’s underground private cell. Please forgive me, no matter who is the initiator of all the bad news that happened in Glory Castle, outsiders will eventually associate them with your family.”

The lord did not reply immediately.

He clasped his hands behind his back and walked back and forth in the room twice before saying, "Get up."

His tone was no longer as harsh as before, and Sandra understood that the Earl was tempted.

"The impact of this incident is indeed not small. I'm afraid it won't be long before everyone in the Old Continent knows about it." Li Qiang sighed lightly, "The death of dozens of people is actually not a big deal, but they shouldn't burn down the royal family. Favorite theater.”

Sandra's heart trembled slightly.

She wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to start.

"It's you... I'm a little curious. Did you consider this matter a long time ago, or did you decide to do this after seeing the Tritons imprisoned in the dungeon?" Li Qiang looked at her.

It's neither.

Sandra didn't want to admit that the man who was suspected of being a cultist was the inducement for her to do this.

"If the Glory Castle itself is a hell, then I admit that I have broken the rules. But it also has places like the Yeni Temple...and there are many enthusiastic people who cannot stand the truth being covered up and dare to come forward to reveal the secret. Isn’t it unfair for you to think of it as hell?”

She didn't take such nonsense to heart at first.

But as the investigation deepened little by little, she was surprised to find that the other party was not innocent.

"My subordinate just... doesn't want the earl to be deceived by others."

Seeing Sandra's hesitation, Li Qiong did not take it seriously, "It's okay if it's the latter. A well-intentioned subordinate is better than a ruthless conspirator. In fact, I admire those who are willing to stand up for the weak, because My fathers died on the battlefield with this belief."

"You're overly flattering."

"But I must also tell the ugly story first. If we want to legitimately take back the power of public security, the city guards must have outstanding achievements. I will give you two weeks at most. After two weeks, I need the truth no matter what. "Li Qiang emphasized the word "truth", "Do you understand what this means?"

"Of course, I understand!" Sandra said, clenching her fists on her chest.

"In addition, the threat from cultists cannot be underestimated. In order to assist you in your investigation, I have found an assistant for you."

"Help?" She was stunned for a moment, "Sir, our city guards alone can-"

"Not necessarily. Didn't you mention in the report that you had seen the enemy attacking the manor? However, with your master-level skills, you still failed to catch the enemy, so I specifically contacted the experts." Li Qiang clapped his hands to the attendant, "Don't worry. , this person will never collude with the police department or big companies, you can completely trust her."

As the study door opened again, a woman wearing a black and white robe walked in.

"Shenji Cult...priest?"

Sandra looked at her for a long time before she recognized the other party's identity, just because the other party's dress was a bit perverse. Not to mention the modified robe that looked like a nun's uniform, there were so many decorations on her body that it was dizzying to see. There are seven or eight earrings, each finger is wearing a gear-shaped ring, and even a silver nail is embedded in the lip. The most eye-catching thing is the huge cross she carries on her back. It seems to be made of silver, and its erect length is almost as high as her body.

The woman's makeup was also extremely thick, with black eye shadow almost surrounding her eye sockets, her eyelashes were long and curled, her lip gloss was as red as blood, and her fingernails were all painted black. If it weren't for the three-tooth emblem hanging on her shoulder, it would be difficult for Sandela to associate this person with the Divine Machine Priest.

"Hey," the other party tilted his head and winked at her, then reached out his hand, "Hello, I'm Gewei."