Conan: I'm Really Not the Manipulator

Once the stain is on them, they will not believe it no matter how you explain it afterwards.

The nightmare seemed to never end.

……

…and then?

The black chess piece fell from his fingers and landed in the sink where several dirty bowls were thrown.

The crisp sound and the severe pain in his head brought Hunter back to reality.

He tried to hold on to the edge of the pool, barely able to steady himself, the cold wind blew in from the small window in front of him, the window facing the river outside. His hands trembled as he held on to the pool, and he crumpled the photo.

After that, he lost everything.

The cost of the operation and subsequent recuperation required him to use up all his savings. When he used the remaining money to invest, he was defrauded of all his money.

His wife never left him, but the long-term harassment from the reporter caused her to suffer from severe depression, which required medication to control. However, one of the drugs she often used was problematic, and she soon died of an overdose.

His sister's fiancé had made a promise to her, but when he saw that he was caught up in the controversy, he began to back off and quickly abandoned his sister after hooking up with a wealthy Japanese woman. His sister was already exhausted because of their affairs, and after such a stimulus, she chose to commit suicide in the car.

In the end, even he himself was diagnosed with a terminal illness.

It seemed that his life went downhill from the moment he lost the Silver Star until he hit rock bottom.

——No one could save him, and he seemed unable to do anything.

Hunter still had a headache, but he loosened his fingers.

The photo was wrinkled and showed a middle-aged man with fat hair, greasy ears and a plump body. It was Jack Waltz who reported him at that time.

On the TV not far away, in the new channel, another invited expert was talking freely: "According to information revealed by the police, the people Hunter killed were all his former comrades and enemies, so this is not an indiscriminate attack, but a targeted revenge. Please don't panic..."

revenge?

Hunter looked at the enemy in the photo.

Despite his miserable state, he now has a happy family and a successful career, and is even protected by the police.

It was only natural for him to take revenge on them, and no one would notice anything wrong.

The photo trembled between his fingers for a few seconds, then stopped, and Hunter raised the lighter.

Although the perennially drunk idiot landlord didn't like to watch the news, as long as the rent was paid on time, he wouldn't care what he did here. But after a few days, even the most insensitive would remember that he had a strange foreign tenant, and would come to take a look for peace of mind.

So, he had to end everything today.

The lighter spewed out flames, igniting a corner of the photo, and the charred black color quickly spread upwards, completely engulfing the face of the enemy.

There was no relief on Hunter's face. He looked at the photo quietly. When the fire was about to burn his hand, he let go of his hand and let the small flame fall into the pool.

Suddenly, something flashed in the corner of his eye.

He turned his head and saw the moth that had originally landed on the windowsill.

It seemed to sense a bright fire in the room, so it flapped its wings, flew up unsteadily, and tried to fly towards it.

"boom!"

With a gunshot, the window glass in front of him shattered, and a bullet hit him right between the eyebrows.

Timothy Hunter fell backwards, and this time he never got up again.

Chapter 316: Darkness and Darkness in the Bureau (Part )

Monday morning.

After a night of heavy rain last night, the sky finally cleared up today, and there was not a single dark cloud in the blue sky.

Jack Waltz went to work on time as usual. He adjusted his tie, hugged his wife and said goodbye at the entrance, then got into his Cadillac and headed for Rice Flower.

Today is a weekday, and there are many students and office workers on the road. While waiting for a traffic light, he glanced at the rearview mirror as if unintentionally.

A Mazda was mixed in the traffic, two cars away from him.

Jack Waltz looked away and started the car again when the green light came on.

He walked and stopped along the way, and twenty minutes later, he arrived at his company at 3-chome, Beika-cho.

If no one had known about it in advance, no one would have thought that an explosion had occurred here yesterday. The Mihua Construction Company has rich experience. Even though the weather conditions were bad, they only took one night to fill the ground and replace the trash cans with new ones.

Now there was no trace of anything here, and Jack Waltz felt a little better. He parked his car in the parking lot next to the company and entered the company.

As soon as he entered, the receptionist who had come to work earlier immediately greeted him: "Good morning, President."

"Good morning." He glanced around the room. "Are the police here today too?"

"Here we are." The receptionist said, "We are just following your instructions. Please ask them to stay outside and not enter the company to avoid being seen by customers who come to rent a car and affecting business."

Jack Waltz nodded with satisfaction.

He turned and went upstairs. His secretary just came out of the office and greeted him as soon as she saw him: "Good morning, President. Coffee and newspapers are ready. If you need anything else, you can call me at any time."

"it is good."

He waved his hand casually, entered the office and closed the door behind him.

The office was not big, but it was fully equipped with everything you need. Several windows faced the street, so people staying downstairs could see his back as he sat behind his desk.

Jack Waltz sank down into his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

The newspaper brought by the secretary was placed neatly on the table. He glanced at today's headlines from the corner of his eye. When he saw Hunter's black and white photo and the news headline, he couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.

……

How easy is it to make a person fall to the bottom?

How easy is it to completely destroy all the honor of a person?

Even Jack Waltz himself did not expect that seven years ago, a casual remark he made to a war correspondent who came to the battlefield would lead to such a follow-up.

"Silver Star Medal? You mean Hunter? ... Humph, he shot and killed so many people. It's hard to say whether they were all enemies or some civilians who didn't have time to escape."

At first, he hadn't thought of framing Hunter.

He was just dissatisfied. He was dissatisfied that the man could get the medal of honor and be called a hero, even though he was obviously no less capable than him.

Maybe all they lack is some luck.

however……

"Really?"

The Japanese reporter who asked the question had a sly look in his eyes. When he heard the answer, his eyes lit up instantly and he hurriedly moved closer.

Jack Waltz took a step back, his hand subconsciously reaching for the gun at his waist, and asked warily, "Why are you asking this?"

The reporter saw his movements but was not afraid. He stared at him closely, his eyes shining surprisingly brightly under his messy bangs.

"Mr. Waltz, since you have such suspicion, have you ever thought about reporting Hunter?"

Jack Waltz was stunned.

It is prohibited to kill civilians. This is a rule of modern warfare, but it is also a rule that is bound to be violated in almost every battle.

Take their team for example, there is a group of people around Jack Waltz who like to do that. They also abuse prisoners of war and even shoot videos and upload them to special websites.

No one stopped it. The superiors were indifferent and peers ignored it. After all, the one who took the lead was the only son of an official. It was good enough that others did not join in. Who would have the time to report it?

Jack Waltz should have questioned the reporter's intention in saying this to him, or called his companions to chase him away.

But inexplicably, he didn't do that.

“The Pulitzer Prize will be announced soon.”

The reporter seemed completely unaware of his attitude and mentioned a certain award.

Jack Waltz vaguely remembered that it was some kind of big award in the field of journalism. He frowned and said, "So what are you going to do?"

"Today I took a photo of a child on the battlefield. Even though I chose the right subject, angle, and light and shadow, and it looked perfect at first glance, and my boss said it was the best photo I've ever taken, it was just too 'ordinary'."

The reporter said: "I think it needs a burst point."

During war, what could be more eye-catching than a war hero being a thug who disregarded the lives of civilians?

Especially since these kind-hearted and enthusiastic people had just seen a beautifully photographed image of helpless civilian children on the battlefield not long ago?

"As long as I bring him down, my photos will attract more people and I'll have a chance to win the Pulitzer Prize. Some American media will also rush to buy other materials I've taken..."

The reporter became more and more excited as he spoke, and his shining eyes reminded people of vultures eyeing corpses and rotting flesh on the grassland.

"You can get credit for this, too, Mr. Waltz. And I can give you a share of the prize money."

Jack Waltz's mouth opened and closed for a long while, and then he asked, "Why me?"

The reporter thought he was going to ask a big question and replied nonchalantly: "I asked a lot of people, but you're the only one who answered like this, which makes me think there's a possibility of cooperation."

Then Jack Waltz went and reported it.

He never thought that his report would be successful so easily. The public believed it and were furious. In order to take into account the surging public opinion, Hunter's Silver Star Medal was stripped.

The Japanese reporter won the grand prize as he wished, and at the same time as he got the money, Hunter returned to the battlefield. He saw that he was being excluded and isolated, and he felt uneasy.

Jack Waltz felt guilty and somewhat regretful, but he knew that he could not apologize, let alone admit his mistakes.

If he does this, the public opinion and accusations he will face will be even more insane.

So he made another decision. He asked one of his men to secretly attack Hunter on the battlefield and shoot him in the head.

Even if he survived, such an injury would force Hunter to leave the battlefield completely, with no possibility of returning.

After finishing his reminiscence, Jack Waltz began to browse the reports in the newspaper.

He was indeed shocked when the Suzuki Tower sniper attack occurred. Having been in Tokyo for too long, he was used to all kinds of fancy murders, and his sensitivity to gunfire had declined.

When he saw the wanted poster for Hunter, the police came to his door, and there was an explosion downstairs of the company, he was more worried that his actions would be exposed than that he would be killed.

Compared to death, he feared more about damaging his reputation and suffering the same overwhelming and pervasive accusations as Hunter did in the past.

Fortunately, he received a call from his former commander yesterday evening.

"I know what you did back then. Don't worry, this attack is not Hunter's revenge."