Lackey's Seducing Survival Odyssey

Chapter 1717: Finding Clues: Part-2

The Beta Commander lowered his hand after eliminating the spy and returned his attention toward Epsilon as though nothing unusual had occurred.

“Governor Epsilon… The Grand Chancellor, mark my words carefully. If anything happens to Genome Beta, you will face consequences severe enough that even your position may not be able to protect you.

This entire situation could have been avoided had you simply returned Genome Beta instead of allowing matters to escalate to this extent.”

A dangerous light flashed through Epsilon’s golden eyes as he leaned slightly forward in his seat.

“Are you threatening me, Commander Beta?” he asked, his voice carrying a clear warning. “Know your place before you forget the difference between your authority and mine.”

The Commander showed no reaction whatsoever to the hostility directed toward him.

“You may interpret my words however you wish, Grand Chancellor, but that does not change the reality before us. Every suspicious action surrounding this incident somehow leads back to you.

The missing auction data, the attempted abduction, the disappearance of involved personnel, and the countless inconsistencies uncovered during our investigation all point toward Governor Epsilon.

If the evidence currently in our possession were presented directly to the President, then I believe you already understand how serious the situation would become.”

Although Epsilon maintained his composed expression, the increasingly unstable glow within his eyes betrayed his growing irritation. He understood perfectly well what the Commander was implying.

Neither of them truly wanted presidential intervention because the moment the President became involved, the matter would leave the control of both divisions entirely.

The Commander continued speaking before Epsilon could respond.

“Involving the President is the last outcome either of us should desire. Once this matter reaches that level, neither political influence nor personal authority will be sufficient to control the investigation.

Therefore, if there is anything you wish to explain, this would be the ideal opportunity. We can still resolve this matter privately before it develops into something far larger.”

For several seconds, Epsilon simply stared at the Commander through the holographic connection.

“Please involve the President,” Epsilon finally replied with a faint smile. “If that is truly what you wish to do, then I encourage you to proceed.”

Before the Commander could respond, the holographic communication abruptly disconnected. The projection flickered several times before disappearing completely, leaving only the soft glow of surrounding data screens illuminating the chamber.

The Commander remained motionless while watching the empty space where Epsilon’s projection had been. Although his expression was hidden behind a visor, the tension radiating from his posture made his frustration obvious to everyone present.

One of the nearby mech-suit operators eventually broke the silence while supervising the cleanup drones working around the remains of the executed spy.

“Commander, why did you execute him?” the operator asked. “The prisoner could have served as a witness during a formal investigation. We already possess numerous connections leading toward Governor Epsilon, and several divisions would likely support opening an official inquiry. Would it not be wiser to submit everything directly to the President?”

The Commander slowly turned toward the operator before shaking his head.

“If matters were that simple, this investigation would already be over. The problem is that we possess connections rather than proof. Every path eventually leads toward Governor Epsilon, but none of those paths provides undeniable evidence proving he personally ordered the kidnapping.”

His gaze shifted toward the floor where maintenance drones continued removing the last traces of blood.

“The spy was nothing more than a disposable subordinate several layers removed from the actual operation. Even if he testified, he could only confirm that someone instructed him to gather information. He cannot directly connect Governor Epsilon to the crime.”

The Commander released a low sigh filled with irritation.

“Furthermore, Beta Division and Epsilon Division have maintained political hostility for years. If we present weak evidence against him now, many officials will simply assume we are attempting to damage his reputation for political gain.

Instead of helping our case, it could strengthen his position.

He is a clever one when it comes to these kinds of things”

Before anyone could respond, a voice suddenly called out from one of the investigation stations.

“Commander, you need to see this immediately.”

The urgency in the operator’s voice caused everyone nearby to look toward the workstation.

The Commander walked across the chamber while dozens of holographic displays shifted aside automatically to clear a path for him. Upon reaching the investigation station, he noticed three enlarged surveillance images floating above the desk.

“What am I looking at?” he asked.

“We originally believed it was simple visual interference,” the operator replied while manipulating several holographic controls.

“The distortions appeared near the zoo district before the destruction. At first, we assumed they were caused by wind, corrupted data packets, environmental interference, or… even malfunctioning surveillance hardware.”

The images enlarged further until strange black distortions became visible.

“However, the pattern kept repeating across multiple cameras when we analysed for the destruction of the zoo. Once we isolated the anomalies and enhanced the footage, we realised that every distortion possessed nearly identical dimensions.”

The Commander carefully examined the three images.

Although each image came from a different surveillance camera and a different angle, all of them contained the same elongated black streak moving through the frame.

The distortion resembled a large object travelling at extraordinary speed, fast enough that even advanced surveillance systems could barely register its presence.

“You believe this is a physical object moving through the city?” the Commander asked.

“That was our initial theory,” the operator replied. “However, the situation became considerably stranger once we expanded the search parameters.”

Several commands were entered into the workstation.

The chamber immediately filled with hundreds of holographic screens.

Surveillance recordings from every district of Beta City appeared throughout the room, forming a massive web of interconnected footage.

The same black-stripped blurs or distortions appeared repeatedly across the displays, sometimes near borders, sometimes crossing major transportation routes, and occasionally appearing within highly secure sectors where unauthorised access should have been impossible.

The Commander’s attention sharpened as he examined the overwhelming number of sightings.

“These are all the same anomaly?”

“Yes, Commander. After identifying the pattern near the zoo district, we searched the entire surveillance archive for matching signatures. The results produced thousands of potential matches and hundreds of confirmed sightings.”

The operator activated a citywide map.

Instantly, countless red markers illuminated across the holographic representation of Beta City.

The Commander studied the map carefully as the true scale of the situation became apparent.

Whatever had produced those distortions had not appeared only once.

Whatever it was, it had been moving throughout Beta City for an extended period of time while remaining completely undetected by the city’s security network.

“Everywhere?” he asked while looking at the countless red markers scattered throughout Beta City.

“Yes,” the operator replied while bringing up additional surveillance records.

“What makes the situation even stranger is that these anomalies only started appearing after the slave escaped. We reviewed surveillance archives dating several weeks back and found absolutely no trace of these black distortions before the disappearance.”

The Commander’s expression gradually hardened as he processed the implication.

“You’re suggesting that the slave has been moving throughout the city this entire time without being detected?”

“That is currently our most likely conclusion,” the operator answered. “We have already witnessed the speed that slave is capable of reaching. If his movement exceeds the refresh rate of our surveillance systems, then it would explain why the cameras only captured these distorted black streaks rather than a clear image.”

The Commander remained focused on the holographic displays while reviewing the evidence presented before him. Although the explanation sounded absurd at first glance, the available data appeared to support the theory.

The timing matched the slave’s disappearance, and the movement patterns corresponded to locations connected with the investigation.

“Even if the slave can move that quickly, he would eventually have to stop somewhere,” the Commander said after a moment of consideration.

“Nobody can remain in constant motion forever. If we trace the complete movement pattern of these distortions, we should eventually discover where he has been hiding. Begin running predictive route analysis and search for locations where the trail consistently ends.”

The analyst hesitated for a moment.

“We already attempted that, Commander.”

The Commander turned toward him.

“And?”

The analyst manipulated several holographic controls.

“There is a problem.”

The citywide surveillance map vanished before being replaced by hundreds of individual recordings gathered from different districts throughout Beta City. At first glance, the footage appeared unrelated, but after several moments, a pattern slowly became visible.

In nearly every recording, a single figure appeared somewhere nearby.

A young boy wearing an oversized black hat that covered his face correctly from every camera angle.

The Commander narrowed his eyes while examining the footage.

“Who is this?”

“We don’t know,” the analyst replied. “That is precisely the problem. In every camera, his face kept hidden carefully as if he was doing this on purpose”

“Hmm..” The commander hummed.

The analyst continued, “So we checked previous records to see if he was like this; however, this individual did not exist prior to the slave’s disappearance.”

“That alone is enough to classify him as suspicious,” the Commander replied.

“Yes, Commander, but that isn’t the most concerning part.”

The holographic displays shifted once more.

Dozens of surveillance timestamps appeared across the chamber.

“This individual appears nearly eighty-seven percent of all confirmed anomaly sightings. In some footage, he appears minutes before the anomaly occurs. In other footage, he appears shortly afterwards. Sometimes he is captured walking away from locations where the distortions were detected.”

The Commander’s eyes sharpened.

“But that’s a human.”

“That was our first conclusion as well,” the operator replied. “However, after comparing the dimensions of the distortions against the surveillance footage, we noticed several interesting similarities.”

The operator enlarged both the black streaks and the image of the hat.

“Look closely at the shape. The lower section of the distortions is consistently wider while the upper section gradually narrows. The dimensions match the profile of this oversized hat almost perfectly. If an object of that size were moving faster than our cameras could accurately capture, the resulting distortion would look remarkably similar to what we’re seeing.”

The Commander silently observed the comparison.

Now that the operator had pointed it out, the resemblance was difficult to ignore.

The wider lower portion of the blur resembled the broad brim of the hat, while the narrower upper section matched the crown. More importantly, the measurements remained surprisingly consistent across multiple recordings.

“You’re suggesting that this human is an accomplice to the monster?”

“Possibly.”

“Or… the slave himself?”

The analyst paused.

“We cannot eliminate that possibility either.”

“Anyway, It’s only a theory,” the analyst admitted. “However, the timing is suspicious. According to city records, this boy first appeared shortly after the slave vanished. Since then, every major sighting connected to the distortions has overlapped with locations he has visited. There are simply too many coincidences for us to ignore.”

The Commander stared at the holographic image.

The boy appeared completely ordinary.

There were no visible mutations, no monstrous features, and no obvious signs that he was anything other than a normal human wandering through the city.

Yet the evidence continued piling up around him.

After several moments of silence, the Commander finally made his decision.

“Deploy additional surveillance teams and distribute his image to every unit under my command,” he ordered in a cold voice.

“If this individual is responsible for the anomalies, we will discover the truth soon enough. Whether he is human or a monster no longer matters. What matters is finding him.”

The operators immediately began carrying out the orders while countless data streams spread throughout the city’s security network.

Even as the command was issued, the Commander found himself staring at the image a little longer than necessary.

The boy simply looked too normal.

He walked through public areas without drawing attention.

He spoke with others naturally.

Nothing about him resembled a monster.

Yet one detail continued bothering the Commander.

Why hide his face?

In a city where nearly every citizen willingly allowed themselves to be recorded by surveillance systems, a person who deliberately concealed their appearance naturally attracted suspicion.

And… Ironically, Aether had chosen the oversized black hat to avoid attention and move through the city unnoticed.

Instead, the hat had become the single detail that drew every eye toward him.

Sometimes the best way to stand out was to try too hard to disappear.