# Chapter 8: The Modus Operandi of the Killing Squad
The atmosphere in the room was somewhat strange. The fluorescent light flickered on and off. Scarin picked up the pistol on the table, and without any visible movement, the gun disassembled into parts in his hand, scattering across the desktop.
Laizong picked up the briefcase beside his seat and pulled out a document from inside.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, active duty in the Special Situation Emergency and Cleanup Strategic Forces. On July 15th, during a classified mission, you shot and killed a diplomatic envoy from the Arado Nation, four shots in total. Shell casings were found at the scene. The body of the Arado Nation diplomatic envoy is missing.
Kukulin Bai Ye, answer me: Did the diplomatic envoy 'Elvis Eleanor' have any intention of attacking you at the time of the incident? Although according to witness descriptions, the diplomatic envoy 'Elvis Eleanor' used a weapon first, considering that the witnesses were your comrades, this ridiculous document is insufficient to clear your name.
Attacking a foreign diplomatic envoy, especially one from a non-belligerent nation, is a serious crime regardless of which unit you serve!"
Laizong barely restrained the urge to tear the document in his hands. Of this 14-page document, 80% of the content was blacked out with ink and marked as military classified. Based on this document, not only was Su Xiao not guilty, but he should actually be commended.
"You are defending this country. This is a behavior worthy of respect from all citizens, including myself. But the Arado Nation is our friendly ally, a long-term partner in black gold trade. If we don't give them a satisfactory explanation, they'll lose face."
Clearly, Laizong was not unreasonable. It was just that the interests involved in this matter were significant. The "black gold" he mentioned was actually petroleum.
The Arado Nation was a small country, one of the subordinate states of the Geya Alliance. It provided black gold to the Geya Alliance almost unconditionally, while the Geya Alliance provided military protection.
The Arado Nation had clearly been bullied by the Killing Squad, but they didn't dare to seek an explanation from the Killing Squad. So they could only cause trouble for the Geya Alliance's Ministry of Foreign Affairs—a classic case of picking on the soft target.
As for Su Xiao's identity, after shooting and killing the Arado Nation's diplomatic envoy, the last mission he received was to sit in prison. That was precisely why Su Xiao's file showed him as active duty in the Killing Squad.
"He attacked me first."
Su Xiao spoke. He finally understood what was going on. The current situation was a case of dead men telling no tales. Given the Killing Squad's modus operandi, the two foreign ministries would find it like searching for a needle in a haystack to find the victim's body. The shell casings at the scene were most likely deliberately left behind.
"What evidence do you have?"
Laizong was not hostile toward Su Xiao. On the contrary, he also wanted to resolve this troublesome matter as quickly as possible.
"Everyone present at the time is a witness."
"..."
Laizong was momentarily speechless. There were eight people present at the time: six members of the Killing Squad, one war correspondent, and one merchant from the Arado Nation.
The testimonies of the six Killing Squad members were very consistent. Or rather, they were too damn consistent—so consistent they sounded like the testimony of a single person.
As for the war correspondent, that person was currently receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital in the neighboring city. The Arado Nation merchant was even more baffling. This middle-aged man, nearly 50 years old, only repeated one sentence when questioned: "That diplomatic envoy drew his gun first." No matter how they asked, it was always that same sentence.
"Don't push too hard. Let's wrap this up."
Scarin suddenly spoke. He knew exactly what this matter was about.
"Just a routine inquiry."
Laizong let out a long sigh. He already knew he wouldn't get anything out of this today. Afterwards, he would need to negotiate with the Arado Nation for a month or even half a year.
"One last question."
As Laizong spoke, he pulled out something resembling a radio from his briefcase and pressed a button. This was an old-fashioned tape recorder. For the technology level of this world, a recorder of this size was already quite advanced.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, when you shot and killed 'Elvis Eleanor,' did you feel any guilt in your heart?"
Hearing Laizong's question, Su Xiao felt somewhat bewildered. For a moment, he couldn't figure out what kind of interrogation this was. So he looked toward Scarin.
Scarin gave a slight nod.
"A little guilt. If the gun in his hand hadn't been aimed at me, he shouldn't have died."
Click. Laizong pressed the recorder's button.
"You, step outside first."
Laizong glanced at the slightly plump diplomat, who was sitting on pins and needles. The diplomat quickly left, and when he reached the door, he deliberately kept his distance from Su Xiao.
Bang. The door closed tightly.
"Directly answering 'very guilty' would have been better. I'll start over. I'll handle the aftermath of this matter."
After saying this, Laizong stood up and pushed open the door. The slightly plump diplomat re-entered the room.
Everyone sat down. Laizong pressed the recorder's button. He only needed one sentence.
One minute later, Laizong put away the recorder. The slightly plump diplomat wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Mr. Laizong... is this really... okay?"
The slightly plump diplomat was clearly feeling guilty. Originally, he thought the relationship between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Killing Squad wasn't good, so he had been "especially diligent" in handling this matter.
But now, he was horrified to discover that Laizong, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had actually come all the way to Gakbak Prison to fabricate testimony.
"Otherwise, what do you want? Without direct evidence, Kukulin Bai Ye has been imprisoned in this jail for a month. Now he has expressed deep regret for the deceased. This face has been given enough."
Laizong stood up and began organizing the documents on the table.
"Kukulin Bai Ye, you're released from prison. Sign this."
Scarin pulled open a drawer and tossed a release certificate to Su Xiao. This document was clearly prepared in advance.
"Transportation is inconvenient around here. If you want to go back to Red Capital, you can catch a ride with Laizong."
As things were wrapping up, Scarin didn't forget to annoy Laizong. The relationship between the two was interesting—both friends and foes.
"Fine."
Laizong actually didn't care too much about this matter. But the slightly plump diplomat was very concerned.
"Mr. Laizong, this... isn't good..."
The slightly plump diplomat's smile was now uglier than crying. He didn't want to ride in the same car as a member of the Killing Squad, especially since over the past month, he had repeatedly caused trouble for the other party.
"Shut up."
Laizong's tone was dismissive. He organized his briefcase, stood up, and walked out of the office.
"I'm giving you three days off to go have fun in Red Capital."
Scarin pulled three stacks of red-and-green banknotes from his drawer and tossed them onto the desk.
"Time off?"
Su Xiao folded the newly signed release certificate and placed it in his pocket. This document might be useful in the future.
Scarin's words confused Su Xiao. He was already out of prison, so he was no longer under Scarin's jurisdiction, but rather under the Killing Squad's command.
"That's right. Although I won't officially take office until three days from now, there's no problem issuing orders in advance. Your original commanding officer kicked the bucket. I happened to be handling your case, so the higher-ups transferred me to the Killing Squad. Three days from now, I'll be your commanding officer."
Clearly, Scarin had been promoted. Although the Killing Squad only had a few hundred members and the highest-ranking officer held the rank of Colonel, the Killing Squad was a special forces unit directly under the Presidential Palace. Only two people could command Scarin: the General of the Second Legion, and above him, the President himself.
These two people were busy with state affairs on a daily basis. Because of this, Scarin's actual authority was even greater. Even ordinary Lieutenant Generals wouldn't easily provoke him.