The sunlight outside the building was somewhat piercing, causing Byrne to squint instinctively. After a moment, once his eyes adjusted, he saw Marco leaning against the obelisk waiting for him. His face was still pale, but his spirits seemed much improved.
Seeing Byrne walk out, Marco immediately asked, "How is it? Is the Heart of Blood-Feast dealt with?"
Byrne sat down by the obelisk, returning the amplification rune to Marco as he spoke. "Yes, the Heart of Blood-Feast has been completely purified. I didn't run into much trouble, though the drain on my psychic energy was quite significant."
Before stepping out of the building, Byrne had considered whether to inform the Captain about the information he obtained through the playback. After weighing his options, he decided to keep it to himself for now. Firstly, the method by which he obtained this information was too unique to be easily explained. Secondly, the information itself was incomplete; Lacy's ultimate plan remained a mystery. Speaking up now would not only provide little practical help for the mission but might also arouse the Captain's suspicion.
Marco took back the rune and checked his detector. Seeing the blue light on the display, he was finally at ease. "Let's go. To the ruins of the Governor's Manor."
The two remounted their hover-bikes and traveled along the ruined alleys toward the core of the Old District. The heart of the district was even more desolate than the outskirts. Cracks in the ground were wide enough to fit a fist, and several surviving tall buildings leaned precariously as if they might collapse at any moment. From a distance, the grey-black walls of the abandoned Governor's Manor were covered in marks of Chaos erosion. The tower at the top had long since snapped, leaving only a jagged stump that silently recounted the calamity from ten years ago.
Reaching the site, Byrne stopped his hover-bike and looked up. Unlike the surrounding ruined buildings, the main structure of the Governor's Manor was still intact, though the walls were blackened by soot. Most of the roof had crumbled away, and the main entrance had rotted and collapsed, leaving only two cracked stone pillars standing lonely at the doorway. The Imperial crests originally carved onto the pillars had been gouged out with sharp tools, leaving behind only uneven pits.
Marco parked his vehicle and held up the detector. "They say that back then, Governor Rick found the pathogen of the plague and brought it back to the Manor, hoping to develop a vaccine. Little did he know that the pathogen was a latent psyker. During the research, the pathogen lost control, and the psychic rampage triggered a Warp rift. The appearance of the Warp drew the gaze of the Plague Lord, causing the Dark-corrosion to spread wildly through Lobo City, leading to this disaster that affected half the city. Let's go inside and take a look. I hope we find something."
The two stepped into the Manor. The flagstone path was covered in moss and black dust, emitting a fine crunching sound with every step as if it might shatter. The courtyard was overgrown with weeds; among the knee-high grass lay broken tiles and metal debris. There were also a dozen or so scattered skeletons that had long since decayed, their status as soldiers or civilians indistinguishable.
Marco moved forward slowly with the detector. The blue light on the screen pulsed steadily, occasionally flickering with a weak orange light that vanished instantly. Although this was the epicenter of the Dark-corrosion outbreak, it had been a primary focus for purification teams, so the residual Chaos erosion was actually lower than expected.
Byrne held his "Black Fire," his psychic threads spreading out quietly to scan the surroundings with vigilance. They proceeded to investigate the front hall, side halls, and other rooms. Most of these places contained only abandoned junk and mottled walls. They found no fresh footprints, no residual Chaos energy, and no trace that Lacy Valen had ever been there.
An hour later, the two returned to the entrance of the Manor, both wearing expressions of disappointment. Marco mounted his hover-bike and looked back at the ruins, shaking his head. "Sigh. It seems Lacy Valen either never came here, or he deliberately cleared all traces after visiting. It's still early for our rendezvous; let's check other places."
...
Three hours later, in the New District of Lobo City.
In stark contrast to the ruined desolation of the Old District, the New District—while not as prosperous as Blackstone City—was decent. Upon arriving, the two changed out of their uniforms and put on ordinary civilian clothes. Afterward, they headed to the agreed-upon location to meet other members of the action groups.
The meeting point was an inn in the New District. This was already a known safe house for the Bureau in Lobo City; meeting here was both discreet and secure. After entering, Marco walked straight to the counter. While booking a room, he learned the room number of the other group from the owner. Shortly after, the two arrived in front of Room 309.
Marco knocked three times, paused for a second, then knocked twice more in rapid succession, repeating the cycle three times. A moment later, the door opened. It was a standard double room. On a table by the window lay a detailed map of Lobo City with over a dozen locations marked in red pen. On the other side of the table sat two active detectors, their blue lights pulsing steadily.
Two men lived in the room, one tall and one short. The tall man was burly, with a specialized chain-blade tucked at his waist, giving him a particularly fierce appearance. In contrast, the shorter man looked much more refined, wearing a pair of glasses. After a brief introduction, Byrne learned that the tall man was Buer, the leader of the second squad of the Fourth Action Group, and the shorter man was Gary, his squad member.
Buer spoke first. "Captain Marco, you finally arrived. I thought you had run into trouble."
Marco shook his head. "We didn't encounter too much trouble, though we did find a sabotaged Suppression Obelisk and a Heart of Blood-Feast array in a small building in the Old District. After resolving that, we searched the district but found no sign of Lacy. What about you? Did you find anything?"
Hearing this, Buer let out a chuckle. "Heh, looks like my squad is one step ahead." He then patted Gary beside him and said proudly, "It's all thanks to Gary. This kid is meticulous; otherwise, we wouldn't have caught this critical clue."
Gary lowered his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Captain Buer, it was only my duty. It's not that great of a feat."
Marco smiled, not minding Buer's competitiveness. "What intelligence? Let's hear it."
Gary pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, walked to the table, and pointed to a red-circled location on the map. "The Captain and I dug up a set of remains here. After cross-referencing and confirmation, these remains belong to the 'Pathogen' that was supposedly incinerated by the purification fires back then."