It took less time than Song He expected for the church guards of Anhebas to return, as they encountered Lopez, Anhebas's right-hand man, on the way – the same one who almost killed Buzz this morning.
He was almost 1.9 meters tall, enough to look down on most people in the Graylands. Even Shang Jianyao, who had undergone genetic modification, was a bit shorter than him.
Besides being tall, he was also quite muscular. The pressure he exerted just by standing in front of someone was considerable.
He wasn't a follower of the Vigilance Church, so he didn't wear a mask, directly exposing his face.
Light golden messy hair, light blue eyes, sharply defined features, a tough and rugged demeanor, camouflage green military uniform, two "United 202" pistols diagonally inserted in his waist, and leather boots with steel studs embedded in the tips – all these elements constructed the image of this giant.
"He doesn't look much like a Red River person, more like an Icefield person, well, maybe a Yargai person," Jiang Baimian said in Red River language, standing next to Buzz.
The Icefield was the northernmost region of the entire Graylands, a vast area. Many Red River people today actually had some Icefield features. According to some Old World records, in ancient times, influenced by climate change, many Icefield people migrated south, entered the Red River basin, conquered many local tribes, and settled down. Over generations, the Yargai became a branch of the Red River people.
Similarly, there used to be branches of Graylanders with blond hair, white skin, and strong builds, but they slowly disappeared during later evolution.
Hearing Jiang Baimian's "whisper," Lopez couldn't help but turn his head to look at her, seeming somewhat surprised.
He was indeed a Yargai person.
But after the Old World was destroyed, races experienced a new round of mixing due to disasters, wars, and migrations. Coupled with the loss of various records, except for regions with a large number of Yargai people, almost no one mentioned this concept anymore, directly equating them with Red River people and others.
Lopez quickly withdrew his gaze, facing the huge symbol in the depths of the hall, and bowed slightly.
Although he wasn't a believer of "You Gu," he didn't dare to be too presumptuous inside the Vigilance Church, after all, there were many devout believers in Redstone Collection, even the few subordinates behind him right now.
If he made a blasphemous move against the Arbiter of Ages, he suspected he would be shot in the back by his subordinates before he even left the church.
Such things were always difficult to guard against.
Moreover, the large swathes of dangerous red and solemn, sacred gold inside the Vigilance Church unconsciously filled him with awe.
Song He, wearing a black robe, stood in front of the huge "You Gu" symbol and nodded slightly, saying:
"You said you're looking for Buzz?"
He used the Red River language.
Lopez didn't answer immediately, looking around, he asked:
"Where's Bishop Renato?"
Song He calmly replied:
"The Bishop has other matters. I can fully represent him."
Lopez didn't utter any wild words, showing his friendliness:
"Admonisher, Buzz is likely related to Herwig's death.
"My boss, Mr. Anhebas, is both a partner and a good friend of Herwig. He has been investigating this matter since yesterday."
"Lies!" Buzz retorted in shock and anger.
Lopez smiled. He first looked back at his subordinates wearing various masks, and then said to Buzz:
"No murderer would directly admit to doing it."
"Some would." Shang Jianyao, wearing a monkey mask, interjected, "Some do it to show off, others to cover up other matters."
For example, "Father."
Lopez glanced at him, not taking this meddling small fry to heart.
He looked at Song He, a smile appearing on his face, and said:
"Admonisher, can you guarantee that Buzz isn't the murderer?"
Song He was silent for a few seconds, then said:
"I can't guarantee it. No one can guarantee it before the matter is thoroughly investigated."
Without waiting for Lopez to speak, he continued:
"Buzz also accused Anhebas of being the murderer, and gave sufficiently convincing reasons:
"You designed the arms robbery to deceive others, to send that batch of arms to the mountains, and at the same time point the finger at the Gray Speakers and 'Underground Ark'.
"In order to monopolize this batch of arms, Anhebas had a motive to kill Herwig."
Neither Herwig nor Anhebas dared to openly sell arms to subhumans, which would make them enemies of Redstone Collection.
Until now, the matter of them selling arms to subhumans was still just a rumor.
If Buzz wasn't Herwig's confidant, it would be difficult for him to know this secret.
Lopez listened quietly, then suddenly burst out laughing:
"Haha.
"This is the funniest joke I've heard this year!"
His laughter echoed in the empty and quiet church, causing Song He to frown slightly.
"Inside the church, please mind your volume," Song He warned.
Regardless of what he was thinking, Lopez didn't dare to be too presumptuous on the surface, restrained his laughter, and said with a tsk:
"Admonisher, you can't be deceived by Buzz.
"He must be trying to get off the hook by falsely accusing Mr. Anhebas.
"Over the years, Mr. Anhebas has been contributing to Redstone Collection's fight against subhumans, even selling favors to exchange for a military exoskeleton device. How could he sell arms to mountain monsters?
"You have to speak with evidence!"
Buzz immediately responded:
"Besides me, Mark and Castile know about it, they can testify!"
"Maybe you colluded to kill Herwig in order to monopolize that batch of arms and then frame Mr. Anhebas," Lopez said calmly.
Song He raised his right hand, stopping the two from arguing:
"There is no conclusive evidence now, so anything can be said.
"As an Admonisher, I won't favor anyone, I can only guarantee that everything will proceed under the Arbiter of Ages' gaze."
Hearing the words "Arbiter of Ages' gaze," Jiang Baimian couldn't help but recall her previous experience.
Even now, she still felt lingering fear.
Song He continued:
"You can interrogate Buzz, but it must be inside the church, witnessed by me.
"Similarly, Anhebas must come to the church in person to be questioned.
"You can't make the decision on this matter. Go back and report to him."
He blocked Lopez's possibility of arguing with one sentence.
If Anhebas comes, you can make him friendly and get him to confess? Would that count as us completing the task? Jiang Baimian muttered in her heart.
At this time, Lopez, unable to argue, shifted his attention and turned his gaze to the two outsiders:
"You are the outsider hunters who took on the arms robbery case, right?"
After receiving an affirmative answer, he smiled and said:
"It's difficult to make progress with just interrogation. I hope you, as a third party, can provide objective and fair investigation results as soon as possible."
As he spoke, his gaze moved back and forth between Jiang Baimian's and Shang Jianyao's masks.
Without waiting for the two to respond, Lopez turned his body and walked towards the church door.
His few subordinates didn't follow immediately, each raised their arms, placed them across their chests, and took a step back.
After bowing, they quickly followed Lopez away.
After watching them leave, Song He said to Buzz:
"The truth cannot be faked, and the false cannot be true.
"You should stay in the church during this time. Viéville is here too, you can exchange hiding skills."
"Yes, Admonisher." Seeing that the church hadn't abandoned him, Buzz was visibly relieved.
Seeing that there was no progress for the time being, Jiang Baimian pulled Buzz aside and asked in a "low voice":
"Where do you think Anhebas would hide that batch of arms?
"If we find them, things will be clear."
"I don't know." Buzz shook his head in frustration, "At that time, Anhebas dispatched his mercenary subordinates, all foreign wanderers, led by Lopez."
Jiang Baimian didn't ask further and said to Shang Jianyao:
"Then let's go out and take another look to see if we can find any clues."
After leaving the church, the two walked towards the abandoned building where Bai Chen and Long Yuehong were.
As they approached their destination, someone stopped them.
Judging from the masks, these were the townspeople of Redstone Collection who had followed Lopez earlier, Anhebas's subordinates.
One of the men, wearing a spider mask and holding a submachine gun, slightly raised his chin at Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao and said:
"Our boss wants you to come over."
Jiang Baimian wasn't surprised at all and nodded slightly, saying:
"Okay."
Shang Jianyao emphasized seriously:
"You should say 'please'."
After glancing at this guy with the monkey mask, Lopez's subordinate who had spoken earlier snorted, turned his body, and led the way in front.
The other two held weapons, one on the left and one on the right, sandwiching Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao in the middle.
After going around a building, they saw Lopez.
This blond giant in camouflage green military uniform was sitting on the hood of an earthy yellow all-terrain vehicle, smiling as he watched Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao walk towards him.
On either side of him, one subordinate stood with a gun.
When the outsider ruin hunters approached, Lopez laughed loudly and said:
"You're very calm."
"Do you think you can kill us when the Vigilance Church has already intervened?" As she spoke, Jiang Baimian looked around, sweeping across the rooftop of a certain building.
"Dead people can't identify who killed them. That idiot Buzz can't prove anything either, right?" Lopez leaned forward slightly, increasing the pressure, "I asked you to come here because I have some things to tell you..."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw a figure dart over, the hairy face and sharp-mouthed mask directly entering his field of vision.
The speed was so fast, the attack was so sudden that Lopez didn't have time to draw his gun, he could only raise his hand to block it in front of him.
Then, he discovered that the other party simply reached out and easily deflected his arm, causing his chest and abdomen to be exposed.
Such great strength... Just as Lopez flashed such a thought, he was heavily struck in the chest by the hunter with the monkey mask lowering his shoulder.
With a "poof" sound, his vision went black and he fell backward.
Shang Jianyao flexed his elbow and struck downward.
Thud!
Lopez's abdomen caved in and his upper body bounced up again.
The next moment, his neck was grabbed by a hand.
He looked at the spirited monkey mask and shouted in shock and anger:
"What are you doing?"
Under the aim of numerous guns, Shang Jianyao said seriously:
"One, you can't insult my brothers.
"Two, the hood isn't for sitting on.
"Three, you should say 'please'."
"..." Lopez almost doubted his ears, "Are you crazy?"
ps: Asking for monthly tickets for the last two days~