Seriously? Not even a single struggle before just straight-up admitting to everything? As the Aquarius Director lay down and confessed without hesitation, the six division directors who stood up to point fingers simultaneously couldn’t help but blink in surprise.
Even though they had gathered so much evidence with the goal of leaving no room for the Aquarius Director to deny, dragging her straight to memory extraction, her calm confession still caught everyone off guard.
“But~”
After glancing at the six division directors, the corner of the Aquarius Director’s lips curled up as she leisurely said, “While all these things were indeed done by ‘me,’ they can’t entirely be attributed to me. I do have my faults, but it’s not enough to drag me off for memory extraction.”
“Aquarius Director, please elaborate further.”
Hearing this, the Clearing Bureau Director furrowed his brows and warned,
“Also, my time is limited, so don’t play riddles with us. If before the old land’s time flow speed recovers, I still haven’t understood what you’re saying, then I’ll assume you’re stalling for time to prevent me from voting. In that case, my vote will go directly to those who hope to dismiss you.”
“Sorry, an old person’s brain works slow; I tend to explain things carefully, hehe.”
Facing the director’s merciless threat, the Aquarius Director chuckled apologetically and continued slowly,
“Everyone, I’m not as straightforward as Honorable Taurus, nor am I accustomed to being under many people’s gazes, so I’ve never revealed my true identity. But now, since I’ve been pushed to this extent, looks like I’ll have to reveal something myself… Besides being the Aquarius Director, I was also the previous Gemini Division Director.”
…
The previous Gemini Division Director?!
Upon hearing the Aquarius Director’s words, the division directors’ gazes immediately turned toward the current Gemini Division Director, hoping to get validation from him. After a moment of silence, the Gemini Division Director expressionlessly countered,
“According to the bureau’s records, the previous director got trapped in the Great Rift Valley beneath the Wandering Sea while mediating between the sea folk and crustal creatures. Due to getting lost, they accidentally entered the Earth’s core and should have perished.”
“I did die, but not completely… However, this has nothing to do with what I want to say. To avoid being voted out by the directors, I’ll leave these details for later. The Gemini Bureau’s director, like the Virgo Bureau director responsible for guarding the [Thirteen Anthills], also guards a numbered anomalous item called [Twin Mirror Lake]. Its archive number in the General Bureau is 021.
As the former Gemini Division Director, I am the guardian of the [Twin Mirror Lake]. You should be able to verify this, right? You might even recognize my face.”
The Gemini Division Director fell silent again before nodding,
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“That makes things easier.”
Aquarius Director slightly bowed her head and continued explaining,
“Every drop of water in the Twin Mirror Lake is an almost non-existent two-sided crystal. Two hundred billion drops stacked together are only as thick as a human thumbnail, allowing it to be carried on one’s person. When I went on that mediation mission, I brought it along.
That mission was extremely dangerous. Before fleeing into the rift, I thought I was going to die. If my corpse fell into the hands of the sea folk, once they opened the container holding the Twin Mirror Lake, the two hundred billion drops would merge with the ocean and gradually spread throughout the world via currents and evaporation.”
Stopping momentarily, Aquarius Director looked around at the expressions of those present and sighed,
“I mentioned earlier that every drop of water in the Twin Mirror Lake is a natural mirror. What I didn’t mention is that any intelligent creature reflected by these mirrors would instantly split into two identical beings. If the two hundred billion drops merged with the ocean, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In a panic, I had no choice but to drink all the twin waters, rushing straight to the deepest part of the trench and heading towards the Earth’s core, hoping this thing would disappear with me. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen…”
Interrupting the Aquarius Director, the Clearing Bureau Director frowned and asked,
“You’re telling us that after drinking the twin waters, they replicated another you, and all those deeds were done by the other you?”
“As implausible as it sounds, that’s the truth.”
Nodding in agreement with the director’s statement, the Aquarius Director helplessly replied, “This is ultimately due to my negligence and personal disgrace, which I failed to report to the bureau. Instead, I privately pursued the other me, hoping to make amends in my own way.
Unfortunately, the other me, replicated from the twin waters, possesses the same strength as me. Despite chasing him for years, I’ve never succeeded.
But seeing how he acted covertly and caused minimal harm in recent years, and even created anomalies beneficial to the bureau, I selfishly kept this matter hidden.
Sorry, I did violate the bureau’s regulations. As penance, I’m willing to resign from my position as Aquarius Director and continue leading the pursuit of the other me. Is such punishment sufficient?”
“…”
…
Like hell! Isn’t this just cheating? After listening to the Aquarius Director’s explanation, the Red-haired Director couldn’t help but frown, and Beverly, the Leo Division Director, was so angry she wanted to explode. She couldn’t help but stand up and shout angrily: “If your excuse holds, doesn’t that mean anyone could claim there’s a copy of themselves whenever they screw up? And how do we know if what you’re saying is real or not? If I kill you at your house, could I just say there’s a copy of me and get away with it?”
“Not impossible.”
After patiently waiting for Beverly to finish speaking, the Aquarius Director, with a crying face, cheerfully answered:
“As long as you can produce a second [Twin Mirror Lake] and replicate a copy strong enough to defeat me, I would firmly believe that the killer must be the copy, not you. Are you satisfied with this answer?”
“You!!!”
“Besides, there are other ways to verify what I’ve said.”
The Aquarius Director smiled and said, “You all can check the instruments used for sealing in the basement of the Gemini Bureau to see if the [Twin Mirror Lake] has disappeared.
Furthermore, the directors who led the questioning against me may want to compare their records to see if there are any conflicts in timing. Is it possible that when you discovered ‘me,’ the real me was actually doing something else elsewhere?”
“No need to check.”
Rejecting the Aquarius Director’s suggestion and stopping Beverly from saying more, the Red-haired Director couldn’t help but sigh inwardly upon seeing the confident smile on the Aquarius Director’s face.
Checking won’t change anything. Since the Aquarius Director dared to bring this up, she must have an “alibi.” Among the hundreds of records showing the Aquarius Director’s appearances, if just two or three confirm the location of the other Aquarius Director, the rest of the records become useless.
If my guess is correct, the Aquarius Director probably planned her response long before the anomalies were discovered, perhaps even decades ago. During these twenty or thirty years, she likely arranged simultaneous appearances in two places a few times, proving the existence of the “copy.”
And given the director’s status within the bureau, without solid evidence, it’s impossible to drag her in for memory extraction. As for the consequences caused by the alleged copy, she’s already resigned voluntarily. What else can we do? This round of questioning seems like our loss due to insufficient preparation.
Beverly and I only collected evidence for a month, whereas the Aquarius Director prepared for at least twenty years. How could we possibly compete?
(End of Chapter)
