boyutpedia Chapter 212 I was already planning to let you go, but you just kept courting death.
Chapter 212 I was already planning to let you go, but you just kept courting death.
The following day, at the Vatican ruins.
Three military helicopters landed on an open area outside the ruins.
After the propellers stopped spinning, a line of twelve people filed out.
They all wore dark combat uniforms, with their respective national emblems printed on their chests.
The leader was a tall, blond, blue-eyed middle-aged man named Brandon Hawke, the deputy director of the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Following him were several representatives from the Kingdom of Gaul, the Kingdom of John, and the Kingdom of Germania, as well as four fully armed Awakened guards.
Brandon walked across the rubble towards the center of the ruins, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding broken walls. He appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was deeply shocked.
Who could have imagined that this once incredibly sacred place would look like this now?
At this moment, a young representative from Gaul standing behind him couldn't help but sigh.
"The Vatican's two-thousand-year legacy... destroyed just like that?"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look, their eyes filled with sighs, but no one responded.
After a brief pause, Brandon led the group around the edge of the collapsed ruins, and soon they saw the giant crater.
The entire pit, ravaged by disaster, has become a large pit with a diameter of over 200 meters and a depth of at least 50 meters.
The pit walls are covered with traces of building foundations and ground fractures.
"Sir, personnel have been spotted ahead."
Just then, a guard raised his hand to signal.
Brandon looked in that direction and saw several people dressed in priestly robes standing at the edge of the pit.
The one leading them was Domingo.
At the same time, Domingo and the others also saw Brandon and his group.
Having received instructions from Lin Fan beforehand, Domingo immediately put on a "warm and hospitable" smile when he saw this group of people.
"Welcome to all of you who have traveled from afar."
"I am Domingo Casado, the current acting Vatican official."
Brandon did not exchange pleasantries with Domingo, who was welcoming him with a smile.
"Brandon, Special Operations Division, U.S. Department of Defense."
After introducing himself, he got straight to the point: "I believe you already know the purpose of our trip."
It's an open secret that high-ranking officials in various countries have spies within the Vatican.
Of course, Domingo would not admit this and continued to smile:
"I don't know, please enlighten me."
Brandon looked at him for two seconds.
"In that case, I'll be frank: we need all the information the Vatican has on the training of Awakened Ones."
After he finished speaking, the eyes of several representatives behind him all fell on Domingo.
Domingo's smile remained unchanged, but he was cursing inwardly.
They really aren't even pretending anymore!
"oh,"
Domingo drawled, "Well..."
"Please understand, this is not something to be negotiated."
Seeing his hesitation, Brandon interrupted him, took a document from his pocket, and handed it to him.
"This is the joint investigation authorization, which has been jointly signed by the five permanent members of the Security Council."
As a religious and political entity on the verge of collapse, the core assets and research findings of the Vatican should be jointly supervised by the international community.
These words were anything but polite, showing absolutely no regard for Domingo's feelings.
Domingo took the document and flipped through two pages.
It does indeed have the seals of five countries on it, and it looks quite legitimate.
But he flipped through the documents very slowly, so slowly that the remaining members of the Vatican behind him couldn't help but get nervous.
"Mr. Domingo,"
Brandon's tone became more forceful.
"I hope you can understand the current situation."
The Vatican no longer exists; the Pope was taken away by China, and the Vatican City is now in ruins.
It will take your Vatican decades to turn things around, assuming you have the resources to do so.
"Rather than letting this information rot in your hands, it's better to hand it over to someone who has the ability to use it. This will also earn us all goodwill..."
Taking advantage of someone's misfortune, absolutely taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
Domingo never expected that these people would stop even acting now.
"I understand what you mean. But—"
"But what?"
"But everything here no longer belongs to the Vatican."
Brandon frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Domingo's expression became subtle.
"That means the Vatican... has changed hands."
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone on the investigation team changed.
"Change of owner?"
Brandon paused, then his eyes sharpened: "Who?"
Just as Domingo was about to answer, a young voice came from the deep pit behind him.
"I."
Everyone turned their heads at the same time.
At the edge of the deep pit, a boy dressed in a loose priest's robe slowly walked up.
Barefoot, with messy hair, he looked like he'd been picked up from a garbage dump.
The four Awakened guards of the investigation team tensed up almost simultaneously.
They sensed a suffocating aura emanating from the boy, an aura that sent chills down their spines.
For some reason, upon seeing the young man, they felt a more instinctive, primal fear... rising within them.
Lin Fan dusted himself off and looked around at everyone present.
"You're the investigation team?" He looked at Brandon. "You've arrived quite quickly."
Brandon's pupils contracted slightly.
"You are... Lin Fan."
"Oh, you know me?"
Brandon didn't answer the question, but quickly adjusted his mindset.
"Mr. Lin Fan, I am Brandon Hawke from the Special Operations Division of the U.S. Department of Defense."
"The US Department of Defense?"
Lin Fan walked over to Domingo, glanced down at the document in his hand, and asked, "What's this?"
"Investigation authorization form," Domingo handed it over.
Lin Fan glanced at it, but didn't take it seriously, and threw it directly on the ground.
Brandon felt a throbbing in his temple upon seeing this.
"Mr. Lin Fan, I must inform you—"
"Tell me what?" Lin Fan looked up at him.
Brandon took a deep breath and pulled a second document from another pocket.
"This is a temporary agreement reached between the United States and China."
Raccoon City and its surrounding area have been officially placed under the jurisdiction of your father, Lin Jianguo. The United States recognizes its autonomy, and neither side will interfere with the other.
He handed over the documents.
"This is the agreement."
Therefore, our trip was a legitimate investigation conducted within the framework of the agreement. In other words, we are not here to cause you trouble. And everything we have done is reasonable and compliant?
Reasonable and compliant?
Lin Fan took the document and examined it more carefully this time.
There was no signature from my father on it, but there was a signature with the surname Zheng, and it also had the seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.
Therefore, it can be concluded that it is true.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
Alright, since the government has signed off on this, we can only try our best not to cause trouble for the country...
"If that's the case, then you..."
Lin Fan had just opened his mouth when, at that very moment...
"Tch, I thought they were so impressive, but after seeing the documents, they're nothing special..."
The voice came from behind the investigation team.
Lin Fan shifted his gaze over there.
The speaker was a young representative who looked to be in his early thirties, with short, golden-brown hair, a silver earring in his left ear, and an expression on his face that Lin Fan recognized very well.
A sense of superiority.
"Leon."
Before Lin Fan could say anything, Brandon gave the man a warning look.
But that Gallic man named Lyon didn't back down.
He took two steps forward, looked Lin Fan up and down, and said in a casual tone.
"Brandon, you're too nervous."
So what if it causes a disaster? This isn't even our country!
Moreover, what other use could this ability have besides suicide attacks?
He looked at Lin Fan and chuckled.
"Your talent is indeed rare, but with your current strength, you wouldn't even last three seconds against a true S-class powerhouse."
I advise you to be sensible and cooperate with the investigation. Our actions have been approved by the United Nations…”
However, before he could finish speaking, Lin Fan laughed.
There's something off about his smile.
Brandon instantly realized what was happening and yelled, "Leon, shut up!"
He tried to stop it, but it was too late...