Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 498 - 495: Indeterminate Matters

Sabotage!

As soon as the worker spoke, Ronald’s expression changed.

He looked at the three people he had rescued and a troubling hypothesis flashed through his mind. Given the current situation, this hypothesis was highly probable.

"..."

Ronald was torn and fell silent; he was unsure whether it was good or bad to voice this hypothesis right away.

Meanwhile, as Ronald grappled with this,

the investigator, who was squatting in front of the workers, had already begun to probe further:

"You’re saying it was sabotage?"

"Do you know who did it? Or have any clues? What in the factory could cause such a large explosion? Besides that, what did you see? Tell me everything!"

The investigator was somewhat agitated.

However, the continuous barrage of questions left the bewildered worker stuck.

It took a noticeably longer time than before for the worker, controlled by the "Spell," to hesitantly speak:

"I... didn’t see who did it, but they must be very familiar with the factory operations to choose the time... when there were fewer people and tamper with the pressure pipes."

"Something explosive might... probably was the raw materials. I just heard people mention... something called methyl-something, it’s very dangerous."

"Other than that... I don’t know."

"..."

It wasn’t easy for the worker to utter such a long string of words.

By the time the questioning was over, more than a minute had passed.

During that time, while listening to these answers, he also adjusted his own state of mind. Once the worker had finished speaking, the initial urgency on the face of the inquiring investigator also began to fade.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, then pulled a hand-rolled cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it. With just one deep inhale, the cigarette reduced by nearly one-sixth of its length.

"Huh—"

He exhaled a shapeless cloud of gray smoke.

After calming his mind, the investigator spoke with a complex tone:

"Mr. Ronald, the Investigative Bureau has always taken it upon itself to ensure the safety of the city of Springs. We are very confident in handling any cases involving the mysterious side."

"But today’s incident..."

"As you said, it’s very likely, or even inherently not much related to the mysterious side. Normally, it should be handled by the police department of the city, but with such a large..."

The investigator’s expression was complex and profound.

At this point, he hesitated, unable to continue.

For this man, the incident he was facing surpassed his understanding—a problem caused by ordinary people, yet the destruction was terrible enough that even a "Caster" would struggle to achieve.

If such a matter were handed over to the city’s police system.

Could they really handle it properly and respond appropriately?

Even his current conversation with Ronald.

As an investigator, was it even appropriate for him to discuss this far with an outsider?

"..."

Watching the investigator’s conflicted expression, Ronald could empathize with his dilemma. Ordinarily, as an experienced investigator, he could have quickly decided on a course of action.

But faced with a situation that challenged his beliefs and understanding,

even an elite investigator from Springs was momentarily lost.

Ronald reflected on this unsettling scene, then spoke up:

"Sir, we should knock this worker unconscious."

"We’ll then ask this child some questions, and there might be some revelations."

The investigator nodded in agreement with Ronald’s instructions:

"Ah, yes, I understand."

Knocking the worker unconscious and awaking the child, he cast the same "Spell" as before with actions as swift and smooth as muscle memory. The awakened child also looked bewildered.

However, this time, the somewhat flustered investigator did not immediately speak.

Instead, he took the initiative to yield the right to ask questions to Ronald.

Ronald stepped forward, and the first question was immediately thrown to the young boy in front of him:

"Kid, how did you hide in the underground vault?"

"I followed big brother Adams."

Ronald glanced at the unconscious worker beside him and continued their dialogue:

"Do you always follow Adams?"

"Brother Adams is the foreman, I usually don’t have the privilege to follow him."

Ronald continued to inquire:

"Then why did you follow him today, he was going to report to the boss, wasn’t he?"

"Because I knew the factory was going to explode."

"..."

As soon as this answer was spoken, everyone around fell into silence.

Even Heloise, who was taking care of a little girl beside them, turned her head to look at the boy at this moment.

For a child worker.

This answer implied too much.

It was understandable that Adams knew the pipes were sabotaged and then ran to report, but how could a usual child have such awareness?

In the oppressive silence that followed, Ronald continued to ask:

"Was it you who sabotaged the pressure pipes?"

"Yes."

"..."

Just as suspected.

Hearing this answer, Ronald realized his foreboding instinct had not been wrong.

The mastermind behind the factory issue and the subsequent explosion was the underage child before him. Otherwise, a mere helper, a child worker, had no reason to detect the issue so quickly and then hide timely with the workers and the factory owner.

The child had known everything in advance.

Scanning the expressions of the others around, which were not looking very favorable, Ronald still proceeded to ask:

"Why did you sabotage the pressure pipes?"

"My brother died working in the factory, I wanted to get revenge on the boss."

"..."

"You..."

Ronald subconsciously wanted to question the child, whether this kid truly understood what his act of vengeance entailed. His move for revenge might have succeeded, but the people who were affected were more than just their boss!

Look at the catastrophic destruction... the number of deaths couldn’t even be counted!

But the words stopped at the tip of his tongue.

Considering the sociopolitical climate, child labor exploitation by factories was almost a socially condoned behavior. This child retaliated in that way, leading to irreversible consequences due to his immature actions.

This was not something Ronald could judge in a few words.

Turning to look at the shocked expression of the investigator, Ronald ended his questioning and finally said:

"I’m going to help with the rescue elsewhere."

"You all... handle the situation according to normal regulations."

As his words settled, Ronald turned around without looking back, heading straight to assist others in rescuing survivors who still had a chance at life.

Compared to the difficult determinations, saving ordinary people still in danger.

That was what he needed to do now.

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