No.12 night

Sisyphus, the Athenian justice who had just taken office for three days, died in front of me, and I was the last person to see him on the scene.

It didn't take long for Sisyphus' guards to find him, and of course I, who was lingering not far away, hesitated whether to inform others.

Minos had a high fever, and the trial of the case should have been handed over to Luni, but Radamandis had not yet left the island, and instead of Luni, he exercised the authority of a quasi-judge.Soon Radha temporarily set up an interrogation stand next to Knossos. He sat in front of me and looked at me with a stern look on his face.

The inspection report of Sisyphus came out, and there were no fatal wounds on his body, but lily of the valley and toxin glycosides were found in his blood.These are two kinds of plant toxins, so he was preliminarily identified as being poisoned; it’s just that the person involved was probably exposed to the poison a few minutes ago, and the sudden muscle relaxation led to suffocation, and it was impossible to rescue him when someone arrived .

No other conclusions can be drawn yet.Crete blocked contact with the outside world, and Rada and the others could not use more sophisticated instruments to analyze the cause of death, so they entrusted a forensic team to take care of him and prepare to take Sisyphus back to Athens for further examination.It seems that the Magic Mountain is not the so-called paradise on earth. Without the strict monitoring of the knowledge base, accidents will happen on the island sooner or later, and there will be no proof of death.

But I cannot explain this to Rada.In fact, I am full of regret for Sisyphus' unexpected death, not only because I can no longer get information from him, but also because he gave me a very good impression from the beginning, his politeness and Mino Judge Si formed a sharp contrast.

Naturally, I became the number one suspect.The citizens from Athens insisted that the court give them justice, and clamored to punish the murderer severely. Some even compared the previous assassination of Sage with this matter, and I seemed to be the heinous Aspros.

Radamandis distrusted me extremely, but it was rare for him not to declare my crime immediately after the incident.I knew he was concerned about my identity, and Minos' illegal arrest of me was always a sharp sword hanging over his head, otherwise he would throw me directly into prison for killing people while I was serving my sentence.

I was temporarily placed under house arrest, and the guards were Radha's earlier subordinates. Of course, Balendain was also inside.When he asked why I didn't defend myself against it, I told him I wouldn't struggle in vain.

"Rada hates me very much. Talking to him is better than going to Minos to complain about grievances. The Athenians are not so easy to fool. Once Sisyphus is taken back to check and find out the medicine that caused his death, he will soon be able to Prove me innocent."

Frowning, Ballendine asked me if I was overconfident.I waved my hand at him: "No matter what the result is, as long as he still dies from poisoning, it will be enough to clear my suspicion. ——As a prisoner brought to the island by Minos himself, I can't get any □."

At this time, someone said at the door: "I'm afraid you can't prove yourself, sir." Both Ballendine and I raised our heads, and what appeared in front of us was a man with dark blue hair, pale skin, and wearing a gold frame. Wearing silk glasses and a thick stack of documents in his arms, he looks as old-fashioned as Minos.As soon as he walked in, he immediately cooled the stuffy room, as if he was holding an icicle from the depths of the polar region.

Ballenda recognized him as the forensic doctor Dieter who came from Athens, but I couldn't make sense of what he said, and I didn't understand why this person suddenly appeared here.

Dieter put down the paperwork, took out a report from it, and opened it in front of me. "Mr. Radamandis is not an official judge, so I asked about the whereabouts of Judge Minos. Mr. Looney told me that he has been ill since the day before and has been staying in the apartment. And you," he calmly raised Rolling his eyelids, "You have been separated from him for almost a day, and no one took care of you for him during this time."

I looked at him in surprise, and heard him continue: "So, strictly speaking, you don't have an alibi. Let me put it this way, will you be clearer about your current situation, sir?"

I couldn't help feeling a little annoyed: "It's not fair for me to draw conclusions like this. Crete forbids poison to go ashore. I don't have any reason to use it to kill judges in the air."

"But □□ can be prepared on the spot." He spoke clearly, and his calmness was terrifying.

"Mr. Forensic Doctor, I think you are joking. Any plant poison needs to be refined. I don't have access to tools. Do you think I can reach a lethal dose by just picking a handful of grass leaves and applying it to Judge Sisyphus? "

I thought I was right, but Dejere was unmoved. "Of course there are such things on the island," he said. "The north slope of Mount Eraklion is the coolest and wettest place on the island. There is a red lily of the valley there. This plant is full of poison, you don't need to worry about it." To extract, sometimes the water soaked in it can kill people."

A thought flashed through my mind.Dieter noticed something strange: "Understand what I want to say, sir——you are the person most likely to have been to that hillside these days besides the judge."

I simply didn't answer, and waited for him to finish speaking once.

But one of Lada's subordinates spoke first: "Why is there lily of the valley on the island? Dangerous goods like this shouldn't be able to be brought on board from the very beginning..."

He was right.Crete's climate is a nightmare for lilies of the valley, which cannot tolerate dryness, and unless someone carefully cultivates them, they will not appear here out of thin air.

"Lily of the valley glycosides - this thing is effective for heart disease, especially for paroxysmal tachycardia, but it must not be excessive. Once the limit is exceeded, normal people will also experience heart failure."

I recalled carefully that Minos did not seem to be suffering from heart disease, and it was even more impossible for him to choose a person with poor physical condition as his subordinate.

Dieter didn't intend to make me think too much.

"The new friend you made at the banquet, Kaludia, he likes the Magic Mountain very much, and he will come here several times a week, but it is troublesome for him to carry medicines with him. Once he forgets, he can only rely on others to help. Maybe you guessed came out—his heart was congenitally diseased, and he was unwilling to replace it with an artificial one. Earlier, Judge Minos authorized us to plant some lilies of the valley here, and harvest them locally for his use; besides, As a doctor, I can also guide him to take medicine under reliable conditions." He adjusted the mirror frame, "It's not just anyone who can get close to it, but for you who are still serving your sentence, staying in Eraklion The mountain will be taken for granted, and it is not difficult to get those lilies of the valley. In addition, fresh raw materials are not needed every time, lily of the valley and lily of the valley, these two crystal powders are found in Kaludia Yes—if he happens to remember to bring his medicine."

I stood up and looked at Dieter.

"If my investigation records are correct, the last person you saw before going to Sisyphus happened to be Kaludia—"

His voice was as dry and slow as quicksilver, and I was almost convinced by him, but luckily I woke up in time.

"But we have to wait for the test to draw a conclusion. If the murder drug is not lily of the valley, I have nothing to do with the judge's death."

Now everyone in the room turned their attention to me.

"I have no reason to murder Judge Sisyphus," I said.

Dieter was in a daze for a while, and suddenly he took off his glasses and smiled at me: "There is no reason, but it's better to be cautious, after all, you didn't say anything to Mr. Radamandis today. I am concerned that he will convict you on the basis of the above conclusions."

His mirror frame landed on the marble table, making a clear hitting sound.

I suddenly realized, and looked at Dejere gratefully.This person didn't come to make things difficult for me. He didn't think I was the real murderer from the beginning, and there were loopholes in my testimony, so he came here to remind me, hoping that I would be prepared to deal with it.

"You should thank Kaludia. He believed in you unconditionally and was willing to provide you with his medical records; it was he who found me immediately after the incident and told me all the information he knew, so I can sit down now. In front of you, I will state your interests for you."

I have mixed feelings in my heart.Until Dieter's glasses inadvertently knocked on the stone platform again, I suddenly remembered something.

"Dever," I said, "I saw Deftolos, they made an appointment to talk in the garden...he was the last person Sisyphus came into contact with."

Dieter's expression gradually became serious.

"Sir, are you sure what you're talking about?"

I stared into his eyes as if I knew there must be an answer there.

—Aspros assassinated Judge Sage many years ago in the same way.

***

Dieter left after recording the testimony.The data from Athens has not been released yet, so I stay put and wait for the results.After Radamandis intervened in the case, Ballendain rarely had time to come over. The main guards for me were Quinn and Gordon, and of course there would be other people during the period.

For example, Babylon, he is a guy who thinks he has good eyes and ears, he often runs out without saying hello, and brings back a lot of news when he returns.

"Athens has lost two justices in one month. Some people claim that the city has been condemned. Words like this are spreading rapidly among the people. I think the jury will have to use special measures soon."

He would talk to himself for a long time, even if no one answered.My mind is dizzy, and I rarely respond to him positively, but this time is an exception.The so-called special method is to cut off the connection between the entire region and the spiritual knowledge base, and trap all the citizens in it like a carpet to deal with the unstoppable chaos.Based on my previous experience, I am quite disgusted with this practice.

"It's just that some good people are taking advantage of the chaos to spread rumors. Is there a need for collective isolation?"

"God's punishment——" he ignored my question, "Who would believe that now? It doesn't matter to me to cut off all the connections of a person who can be taken away by public opinion. It's full of redundant and useless information, do you know how long it takes the judges to update it every time-"

"What I'm saying is that Athens shouldn't be quarantined because of the reckless behavior of one or two people." I spoke again, my tone a lot heavier.

Only then did Babylon realize that I was talking to him. He circled the stone pillar and landed in front of me lightly like a butterfly: "It's not reckless to involve the social aspect; this is incitement, and it won't be too long Could turn into a gangbusters. How would I know, huh? Because I have the data to back it up. If you don't believe me, let's make a bet—"

I shook my head and slumped back to my seat, not intending to dwell on this issue with him.

There has never been a situation like Athens in any area. The Divine Consciousness Database will not add a new judge in a short period of time, which means that the data network in Athens will be left unattended for a long time; but Sage still left a will, Many people place their bets on it, hoping that the late senior will lead them to find a solution.

"The effective sealing period of Sage's secret order is three days. Today, they will open his will." Seeing that I am not interested in the progress of Athens, he turned to talk about other topics.

I realized that Papillon was an excellent source of information, arrogant, confident, and a little bit of vanity, and if necessary, compliment him a few times, so he can go out and find out harder.

"So, you can also know the content of the will for the first time?"

"Of course, I can go directly to the scene, this kind of thing is easy for me—" He laughed, "You can't do it anyway with the current you."

The news he got me this time is that Minos will take over the management of the Athens area.I thought of the presumption rule that Minos explained to me not long ago, and this result is not surprising.

"That guy is not sick at all." Babylon didn't like his boss' brother. "When I went to see him, he was out of energy and was begging Luni for white wine."

"Does he know my situation?"

Babylon opened his eyes wide: "You expect Your Honor to rescue you? No, it's impossible, he's crazy busy, and the city of Athens alone is enough for him."

Athens without judges is like a wild horse, and the information channel without the protection key is like an exposed treasury to the thieves. The outlaws who are usually forced to be majestic and unable to make trouble will spread like a swarm of bees and attack wildly. The fragile protective walls of the inhabitants.People are afraid of missing a little bit of new development, and they are afraid that they will be targeted by hackers and lose all connections.Crazy screams mixed with noisy flames, like Hydra with nine heads spread out, claws and claws over the sea, Athens has become a city of complete disorder.The Athenians who stayed on the island of Crete prayed to put out the disaster as soon as possible, at least until Minos pronounced his will.

But things got worse at night.Babylon came in with a handful of roses in his hand, raising his eyebrows at me triumphantly. "As I expected, there are already signs of riots in Athens. The thieves are rampant and the residents are protesting. Of course, there are also many people in the police team who take the opportunity to ask to leave the spiritual system. Several courts around The police force has been dispatched, and if necessary," he made a clicking movement, "Athens will be paralyzed."

To this end, he also specially recorded a video. "Although Magic Mountain's equipment is too old, it is barely capable of four-dimensional projection."

The first thing I saw was the crowded Acropolis, and there was an endless stream of demonstrators at the foot of the mountain, extending into the distance.A large group of black-clothed citizens stormed the Parthenon—"to seize the right to wear proper mourning for Judge Sisyphus." , filling the concert hall, and eventually the amphitheatre.

"Athens needs a revolution—" someone shouted in the queue.It was a middle-aged man wrapped in a black robe. Although he was so hot that he was about to melt, he still grabbed the hem of the shirt tightly to prevent the skin underneath from being exposed: "We have the right to demand personal safety, and we don't want to receive information anytime, anywhere. risk of leakage."

The camera turned to him immediately, and a row of people in the back seemed to be encouraged, shouting loudly: "Abolish the knowledge bank—restore the electoral system—"

"Kerolos, Korolos, fuck his Korolos—" the middle-aged man moved away from the camera, revealing the fire in the distance, "This is the result of you handing over the right of appointment and dismissal to Korolos."

Undoubtedly, Babylon deliberately picked out those who opposed the Divine Consciousness System, and he found it very interesting.

"You see, they never believed in judges." Papillon laughed. "What is a judge to ordinary people? A poor slovenly, prematurely decrepit, buried in files all day long, who has worked hard all his life. until they lose their own judge. The system can't help convict, it's just a large program at best, and it's enough to take care of the resource allocation. The knowledge bank represents order and good, but the judge symbolizes chaos and evil. See Look at everything a judge touches—preventing leaks, catching criminals, upholding justice—this is the right to judge in the realm of human evil, and people will never give it to the rest of existence other than human beings.”

I was silent, Athens sex both made me physically uncomfortable and aroused a strange feeling of intoxication.The judge never dies—the words of Minos swirled like a ghost, and it pulled up the afterimage of the middle-aged man in black and danced before my eyes.

Babylon was very excited about tonight's unexpected events, but he didn't want to miss what happened on Minos' side. "Forget it." He yawned and patted me on the shoulder, "I stopped by the Royal Rose Garden in Lower Athens, and no one cares about it, so I just picked up something and let them—these roses— Spend the night with you, and when I come back, you will be able to hear the latest developments."

I fell asleep immediately, and wanted to catch him to inquire about the story of the rose garden; but he ran too fast, and by the time I realized it, he had disappeared.

Only the roses brought by Papillon remained on the table, Quinn nestled on the sofa and took a nap, while the others simply lay down against a wall.I leaned in front of the rose and sniffed it, and the rich aroma exploded in my nostrils instantly, and the fresh petals full of water and dew added to the flames.The plants from the Royal Rose Garden really lived up to their reputation. It has a dreamy atmosphere, almost sensual, as if just a few sips will cause people to die unconsciously.

After the trance passed, I rubbed my eyes, but the hallucination continued. There was another person in front of me. The strange thing was that I took his appearance for granted; and I had clearly seen his face. The impression was automatically erased by the brain area for a moment, which made it impossible for me to describe his appearance.

But I knew, as fate would have it, that it was Abfika.At this moment, his blood melts into my veins, like countless thorns piercing my body, the same pulse, sharing the same heart, this person makes me feel very close.

I stopped him.

"It's you." He looked at me. "Is it confusing to see me?"

My throat floated, and I couldn't find the right words for a while.He peeped through the secrets of my heart: "You ask. I know you want to know—"

In an instant, I thought of many questions, but in the end I settled on the night when I first met Minos: "Minos... In your opinion, what kind of person is he?"

With a sly expression on his face, he asked back, "What do you think?"

"I have nothing good to say about this man."

Yabofika nodded, simply sat on the stone platform, raised one leg: "Minos is afraid of heights."

I'm at a loss and don't think this answer has anything to do with my question.

But he continued: "We once set up a viewing platform at a very high place. The soles of the feet are suspended in the air, and the glass is installed. Standing on the top, we can see the abyss below."

High-altitude glass walkways, this kind of display is often seen on the upper floors of skyscrapers, but there are also scenic spots that do it to attract eyeballs.

"You know it's safe to go up, but you can't control your instincts, you will be afraid--Minos is the same, he stepped on those glass for the first time, trembling like a child, hugging the railings, saying nothing Ken kept going. I had to prod him from behind, laugh at his cowardice, tell him not to waste my time. Then I pushed him to the ground where there was a whole wall of glass; There is only a transparent floor, as if it is within reach. We just stop on it, watch the clouds, □□.”

I was dumbfounded to accept it all.He showed me the deepest part of his emotions, peeling off the delicate skin layer by layer.

"...But the path he is going to take now is not like this. It is not like solid glass. What he is stepping on is the unknown, where he can see the bottomless abyss, but it is not guaranteed to be firm. Is it a fragile bridge made of sand, or The phantom created by the foam, no one knows, it can only be tried and done."

I was almost woken up by Babylon, and when he saw me, I was already lying on the floor with a bunch of roses in my arms.

"I'm sorry to disturb your dream, but I have important news to tell you."

I buried my head deeply in the rose, but this time there was no abnormality.

***

After a while, a pot exploded in the room.

Quinn and the others couldn't bear the infestation of roses, and insisted on cleaning them out, and Babylon had to do it himself; naturally Babylon refused to do this, claiming that the roses should be allowed to improve everyone's taste.

When I think back on the experience just now, I feel more and more ominous.A simple dream at night cannot explain the Yabofika I saw. He described the details so vividly, like vines sprouting and growing in my mind.

The only conclusion is that Minos implanted my consciousness.The justice was not content with teasing a prisoner, he had already begun to invade my mind, and the worst result was that Yabo's consciousness would completely occupy my body.

He was shaping me into what he wanted to be.

And Babylon's so-called big news is that Minos is about to go to Athens to bring this noisy city back on track.

"I don't care about everything about him." I looked at Babylon weakly.

Seeing that I suddenly became weak, he didn't react immediately: "This is Sage's request. He asked Tominos to do this in that last letter, as if he had expected something to happen later."

"Then congratulations to him, that's all I can say."

Athens is much smaller than the area under the jurisdiction of Minos, but it is more densely populated and has convenient transportation. You can go directly to Crete along the Aegean Sea.And Crete—I don't know whether to classify it as a city—has the opposite temperament from Athens, which I learned a few days ago.Now Minos has two jurisdictions. On the one hand, it sticks to the old routine, like a glacier that has been frozen for many years;

Papillon told me that acting in charge is not as simple as it sounds.After all, Minos is not an official judge in Athens, and the connection of taking over the entire district will inevitably lead to tedious preparatory work.

"By the way, your justices haven't used 'special means' yet?"

"Minos won't go to Athens, maybe the judges will take corresponding measures." Babylon was a little disappointed, he couldn't witness the scene of Athens being quarantined, "It can't be helped, Minos doesn't like to shut down The connection of others, in the absence of a more convenient solution to replace it, he had to go there by himself..."

My eyes widened: "He doesn't like--turning off other people's connections?"

Babylon knew my details, he spread his hands: "Well, only people other than prisoners."

"He can make them all prisoners, so Athens can be at his disposal," I suggested.

"You know it's impossible." He played with a rose. "By the way, there's one more thing—"

He pointed to the door, where Dejere and Valentine stood, and it seemed that they had just arrived.

"I'll bring you a message." Ballindaine said, "Diegel found some new evidence on Sisyphus. Perhaps what you said earlier was correct."

Sisyphus had several small wounds on his arm, which couldn't be seen without a detector.The wounds are not evenly distributed, and a closer look reveals them to be arranged in a narrow row along the bar axis.

Degere, who had rich experience, recognized what it was at a glance—someone painted the venom on the thorns of the rose and pierced it into Sisyphus' body.

"Lily-of-the-valley isn't the only one that has lily-of-the-valley glycosides," he said.

After further testing, Dieter confirmed that what remained in it was a kind of poisonous arrow wood juice. Once it entered the blood, it would kill a person within half an hour. The symptoms of the poison were exactly the same as those of Sisyphus before his death.And there is no such plant around, and my suspicion is eliminated.I was soon released, but nominally remained on the island until Minos returned.

At this time, Athens was in a mess, and Sisyphus was sent back to Crete for burial, and was buried in a cemetery not far from the north slope.

El Cid was putting a rose on Sisyphus' tombstone when I passed there.Presumably it was the Rugenis rose he had gotten at a banquet, shriveled into shape—who knows?I left them alone and walked quickly across the trail.