Steel steam and flame

The armored vehicle drove for a long time in the rainy night, and lightning in the distance occasionally illuminated the sharply angled body of the vehicle. The man's breathing was very quiet and steady, and his chest rose and fell very slightly. He remained in this state and continued to move forward with the armored vehicle. The street lights also became blurred in the heavy rain. I don't know when a hazy light appeared in front of me. There were so many, densely packed together.

"We're finally here." A voice that seemed to be relieved came from the cab in front, and the armored vehicle began to slow down. In the darkness of the rainy night, in front of it was a metal door more than ten meters high, which was opened on a huge wall. There are dozens of circular lights on the door, illuminating all the patterns on the metal door.

It was a simple coiled snake, blood red in color. This is the emblem of the Meredith family, a family that is good at cultivating assassins and agents.

The metal door only opened a gap just enough for the armored vehicle to enter, and then closed it again. As early as when the armored vehicle entered a certain area of ​​the Meredith family's territory, the identity check passed all checks via radio. The vehicle was allowed all the way without any obstruction, and passed a large number of follow-up inspections before finally stopping in the dark parking lot.

When the armored vehicle stopped at the designated location, the man in a long trench coat stepped out of the vehicle. He nodded and thanked the two pilots, and then kept his upper body straight and still. He just gradually accelerated his pace. In just a few breaths, he was completely absorbed by the dim light in front and disappeared into the building at the corner.

"It's really breathtaking, that man." Seeing that the man in the trench coat finally left, the man in the driver's seat hurriedly lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and relaxed the tense muscles in his body. with nerves. It was not only the pressure that the man put on the two of them invisibly, but also the fatigue accumulated from driving an armored vehicle for a long time. This is the edge of Manoma, a long way from the bustling center.

"I am a manager after all. Although the level is not very high, of course it will be uncomfortable for those of us who drive. The way of growth and training is completely different, and some aspects will naturally be very different from ours. Big difference." The people in the passenger seat were also lying on the seats rubbing their heads. If it weren't for the family's order, they would rather drag a car of corpses back than drag a "manager trained by the family" By". Because as the sharp sword of the family, they are often sent to various parts of the empire to perform various tasks to help the family supervise, govern and solve some troublesome matters that are not easy to deal with. And they feel like walking corpses, indifferent and ruthless, and then execute every order as accurately as steam machinery.

Holding the record book numbered 1024, the man shuttled through the maze building like a giant city. As early as when I was a child, I had memorized all the map layout here, and every step I took was the same even distance. When meeting other members of the family, he can also calculate the best avoidance route in his head in advance, and he can still have a natural and friendly smile on his face. How to control facial muscles and simulate various expressions of normal people was once a required course for them. As long as they are willing, they can control their faces to show corresponding expressions under any circumstances, and furthermore, they can also match the corresponding heartbeat, breathing, degree of shock in their eyes, and even the movements of certain parts of their bodies. The amount of sweat can be simulated. This is their most basic and important skill.

After nearly half an hour of hiking, the man took the simplest route and arrived in front of the Meredith family's management office. It was a pyramid-shaped room that was separated from the building behind it. It had a structure of gray-white stone and concrete. With a lot of dark glass, it's very tall. Under the ground, there is also a matching basement space. It is connected to it by a hundred-meter-long corridor. The ground is covered with a red carpet with gold trim. A large amount of rainwater is pouring on the awning. The moist water vapor is carried into the corridor by the wind. The man uses a windbreaker to block his hands. After walking through the corridor, his ordinary cheeks were completely wet by the water vapor in the wind.

The metal door at the end of the corridor is open, and next to it are a row of password card slots. The man took out three different password cards from his pocket and inserted them into different card slots.

"Welcome back, Mr. Nicol, the manager of No. 56234." A cordial greeting came from the speaker next to the door. These were syllables that were separately recorded in advance and are now reassembled by the super analysis machine. result.

"Hello, Miss Meredith." Nicol, the manager of No. 56234, said as he took out three password cards. Meredith is not only the last name of all of them, but also the name of the super analysis machine in the Meredith family. name.

Take the things and continue forward, the long and straight corridor, the gentle and non-glaring lights, the smooth and silent elevator, and finally a certain room on the upper floor of the pyramid building. Nickel handed over the notebook in his hand, which contained everything that was discovered during the six-day investigation.

In the end, after layers of screening and consideration by various personnel, every decision was implemented according to the rules and regulations that have been passed down and continuously improved by the family for thousands of years. The record book numbered 1024 brought back by Nickel became thicker and thicker, and was appended The various files on it have gradually increased.

When this detailed record book was finally taken to the top room of the building by the staff in the pyramid building, exactly one day later, the volume of documents changed from a record book to a standard one. The cartons are filled to the brim.

The carton was marked with priority processing. As one of the top managers in the management department, he now put down other tasks in his hands and took over the task first, which was a headache just to look at.

The documents inside are neatly arranged, and each document that is added later is accompanied by the reason why it was added, as well as the name and authority level of the corresponding handler. Starting from the reasons for the lowest permission level, and looking at the current highest permissions one by one, the reasons are almost the same——

In the year 1096 of the Holy Calendar, Cara Meredith, a student at St. Dorag's Military Academy, attempted to escape from her family's training program.

What follows is all the details of Kara so far, starting from her birth in the "Human Creation Plan", then being assigned to the "free range" education in the "Cultivation Plan", and finally until she entered the military school to perform her first mission. , time spanned eighteen years.

On top of these information, there is a brand new password card, which is smaller and more delicate than normal cards. Behind this password card, there are also corresponding additional reasons and permission levels. It was something signed by another of the five top leaders with the same identity in the pyramid building.

Without thinking too much, he read all the documents as quickly as possible. The person in charge rubbed the slightly bulging blood vessels on his head. Finally, he took out three password cards from his body and inserted them together with the one just now. In the corresponding card slot, I finally pressed a few confirmation buttons before exhaling.

"Why do people always have such ideas, and they have lasted for thousands of years? The family has obviously given the greatest degree of freedom." The person in charge murmured to himself, waited until the password card was spit out, and mixed with the documents The password card sent over has been completely destroyed. The password card is a one-time use.

,,,,,,

This is a huge, bright space, and there are sounds like rats gnawing on corpses all around. Steam gushes, shafts drive, valves open and close, it's the subtle hum of countless gears!