Chapter 109 The Riddler (Part 5)

“Rich’s perverse sense of humor is getting worse. I could understand the first three, but I can’t even understand this one,” Billy complained.

Lisa, however, had the opposite view: "I think it's the simplest."

"Why?"

"He wanted us to find someone who could read ancient script, and that person would be the final answer to the riddle."

"so?"

"Therefore, we will split up this time. There are a total of two thousand people at the stronghold."

Why not just ask White?

“If we ask too many questions, people will know that we are decrypting information, especially White. Richie must have something he doesn’t want people to know.”

The task assignments are complete; Lisa is now in charge of the north side.

The barrier has a strange geological feature: the south side is a plain, while the north side is covered in ice and snow, as if it were pieced together from two different continents.

The north side is mainly responsible for providing various amenities to the fortress, including tents, leather, and weapons. Anything that can be made in public can be traded, and even things that cannot be traded can be found here.

The alliance's research group is located here.

The research group leader was a mixed-race man with a strong local accent, who spoke in a way that sounded like a broken bell. However, he was very sweet-talking. He told Lisa that the previous group leader was an expert in translating classical Chinese texts, and his name was Dios.

Based on Lisa's experience, Dios's personality was completely undetectable. If he had a clever mind, he actually did nothing but take on the responsibility of the entire research group. In other words, if he had some hidden talents, he could easily make friends with people he met for the first time.

Before Lisa found Dios, he had no idea about Richie's murder. He had only heard that there was a mole in the Alliance and always thought that the mole must be someone from the Special Agents Group.

He was indifferent to alliance affairs and research projects of the research group, so he was forced to resign. So what exactly was Dios busy with on a daily basis?

Just like that Tom scholar, he was busy managing books.

Dios was more interested in studying historical artifacts than in scientific research.

The research group building was located at the north end of the wall, while Dios's home was at the south end. He didn't like to take care of his clothes, and his home was piled up with books in a mess. Since he spent most of his time with books, he developed a skill of isolating himself from the world, and he seemed to be harboring a resentment in his heart.

This resentment started about six years ago when a grumpy agent nearly killed him and took one of Dios's ears!

Because he was missing an ear, Dios began to lose interest in scientific research.

Lisa had never met such a strange person before. When she learned that Richie was in trouble, Dios touched his pockmarked face and asked, "I only have one ear, I didn't hear you clearly just now, could you repeat it?"

Lisa repeated herself and showed Dios the note that needed to be deciphered. She was convinced that the person in front of her was the one she was looking for.

Dios's face was quite flushed. After hearing the news, he was not sad at all. Instead, he made a few sarcastic remarks.

“As long as the heart is still pumping blood, this person will suffer, especially in a place like the Barrier. Richie has been doing this for ten years now. He’s like a dandelion, drifting around, looking up at other people’s lives with envy.”

"Can you translate the contents of this note for me?"

“Under normal circumstances, it is difficult to tell his difference at a glance. For example, his walking posture is very special. He always walks with a light and quick tiptoeing motion, and he walks faster than others.”

"Team leader? You can hear me, right?"

"He was still the kind of streamlined, fast-moving, and restless person who never had a fixed work schedule. He would work either while others were sleeping or while others were having fun, but he was always resting while others were working."

“I know that. Mr. Richie asked me to give you this note before he left, saying that only you can understand it.”

"Do you want to hear more strange things? His office lights are on almost all night, he doesn't socialize, and he has a very strange temper. Once, a refined gentleman tried to put on airs in front of him, and ended up getting punched in the face and having one of his ears pulled off."

"That person wouldn't be you, would it?"

Who is it? What do you want?

Dios suddenly looked around greedily, thinking someone was knocking on the door next door.

Lisa didn't know if he was really deaf or deliberately avoiding the key words. In any case, almost every friend Richie knew in the league was strange, and there were abnormalities in each of them.

Dios was definitely the most unusual one. He was hospitable, but he didn't want to answer a single word and kept rambling on and on.

At that moment, a cloud drifted past the window frame. Since the barrier was in the sky, the cloud reached just above the treetops and partially obscured the distant buildings.

Dios suddenly stood up, turned to the window, and leaned out.

“Something’s very wrong! I must be seeing things!” he said.

Lisa asked, "What did you see?"

Dios raised a finger and froze: "It looks like something flew by. Could it have been an airplane?"

"Listen, I'm here because it's urgent."

"Oh, oh, didn't I already tell you everything you asked?"

What did you tell me?

"Something flew by, it was an airplane."

There are no airplanes in this other world.

"No airplanes? Is it because they can't be built?"

"Because it's not necessary."

"Oh, oh, I forgot this is another world."

Lisa was no longer listening, but Dios still wasn't going to let her have any peace, especially since she had shown up while he was tidying up the study.

Light peeked silently through the small crack in the door, and someone outside shook the doorknob, causing the thin golden light to break.

Dios suddenly became very alert, and his hearing didn't seem to be failing him at all. He shouted, "Who is it?"

"It's me! Agent Billy!"

"who?"

"Some people say that an expert in translating classical Chinese lives here. Is that you, sir?"

"You must have misheard. There's only one person here who's missing an ear..."

Lisa patted Dios on the back: "Let him in, he's my agent husband."

Dios had no choice but to open the door and let Biris into the house.

Not long after the new guests arrived, two more people came to the door, both asking if an expert in translating classical Chinese texts lived in the house.

"Are they all people you know?" Dios asked Lisa.

Lisa nodded: "They're all here to test whether you're deaf or not."

Dios seemed to have been kidnapped by the four people. He obediently sat in the middle, holding the note Lisa had given him, biting his lower lip in thought. In fact, his eyes were not on the note, but were wandering around.

A demon, an angel, an elf, and a half-reincarnated human.

A strange yet perfectly fitting combination.

At the same time, Dios began to really think about why the high-ranking officials had asked these four people to get involved in the investigation. There must be a reason.

Lisa asked in a low voice, "Now, can you translate for us?"

Dios, half-holding the slip of paper, suddenly tore it in half, grinning and saying, "Just two meaningless ancient characters, a mask."

Lisa became even more certain that Dios must be hiding important clues about Richie.

"A mask? No way?"

“I understand that your reconnaissance work is time-consuming, but translation takes even more time,” Dios said, his demeanor shifting from foolish to shrewd and cautious. “I taught him some classical Chinese, but it seems he only knows how to spell masks.”

"So, he was just writing it down randomly, and it didn't mean anything?"

"Let me think about it carefully."

Before he could think much about it, he stood up abruptly, ran barefoot to the door, pushed it open, and quickly glanced inside to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"What's on your mind?" Lisa asked.

"Come with me, I'll take you somewhere."

The place Dios was taking them to was actually the research group building.

The entire building is under surveillance. No matter how light your footsteps are, the lights will immediately turn on, as if they had never been on before. However, there is one place that is completely dark. I stood holding my breath in the cold corridor for a long time, but no lights came on.

This is the former team leader, Dios's private office area, a smelly place piled high with goods, so smelly that even beetles would faint if they walked past it.

“The abandoned men’s restroom is just ahead,” Dios said with a smile. “They won’t find their way here.”

Who are they referring to?

"Huh? Didn't Richie tell you that someone planted a listening device on his stunt workbench?"

"Yes, we went to his office and found a bugging device."

"You've been to his office? Are you sure?"

"Um?"

"But his office is right here."