Chapter 397: Chapter 397: Inflicting Pain_1
Two days later, in the old district, at the secret police headquarters.
"No movement today either?" Heinz asked the reporting subordinate.
"None, he hasn’t left the prison at all," the subordinate reported back.
"He really knows how to keep his cool," Heinz closed his eyes.
In the span of two days, Aiden Galahad had stayed hidden in the prison, making no moves.
On their end, it was pretty much the same situation; they could not take any rash actions.
The mounted police force is currently searching inns and rental houses for foreign spies suspected of espionage, and the Heretic Inquisition is in action too. Fortunately, the Royal Secret Police’s Espionage Department still had many members with legal, long-term residence status in the autonomous states. So even after abandoning those temporary strongholds in inns, apartments, and rental houses, they still retained the capability to continue with their espionage activities to some extent. However, there were still significant restrictions compared to before.
"Just keep on surveillance," Heinz continued.
"Sir, have we really not considered kidnapping the prison warden or other high-ranking prison guards?" the subordinate suggested, "They should all have access to enter the cells from outside the prison."
"The problem now isn’t how to enter the prison, but how to get around that monster," Heinz replied, "Our brainwashing and coercion can’t truly control the spirit. If we capture someone, we can only break into the prison with that person in tow. If Aiden Galahad has made arrangements inside the prison, charging into the restricted area would be walking right into a trap, with Silvertown as his home ground within his home ground. The group of Empire pirates caught at Rose Iron Prison before is a lesson learned. Without taking him down, we’re out of options."
"What if we take hostages to coerce him? Now that the entire city’s police force is targeting us, we don’t need to worry about collateral damage," the subordinate offered another suggestion, "Previous observations show he might not have any relatives, but he has some friends, colleagues from a former unit, and quite good private relationships with some subordinates..."
"If one of you were kidnapped and the kidnapper threatened me, do you think I would agree?" Heinz countered, "What can we do if he doesn’t compromise? The abduction cases are still handled by the mounted police, this tactic won’t lure him out."
"Are we just supposed to sit and wait then?"
"Wait for an opportunity; he will make a move sooner or later," Heinz replied calmly.
Aiden Galahad is a master of the divine words... This intelligence is vital; perhaps the prison warden is willing to risk a meeting with these secret police officers because of the secret technique and divinity passed down within the Hofmann Family.
So what he could do now was to use himself as bait... perhaps that could lure Aiden Galahad out for a confrontation.
The door to the basement was knocked on again; Heinz signaled for the person outside to come in.
"Sir, we’ve received a telegram!" one subordinate came in, holding a document bag, "The sender’s name is a shipping company called ’Balance’."
"That’s a response from the informant," Heinz immediately reached out his hand, "Give it to me!"
...
Meanwhile, at Rose Iron Prison, Aiden sat in the summoning space of Abigail, face to face with her.
"Like a stone sinking into the sea," Aiden lamented.
"You can’t say that," Abigail said slowly, "Qiqimora has always kept in touch with me, although she hasn’t made much progress."
"I’m talking about the incident on my end, where the criminal has gone into hiding and left no trace," Aiden sighed, "Now, I kind of miss the times when Qiqimora was around."
If Qiqimora had been there that day, whether it was tracking the secret police to their den or joining forces to capture Heinz, it would have been a piece of cake.
"Although I know this is nonsense..." Abigail paused and continued, "I still want to remind you, sir, that Qiqimora is a member of the witch’s gathering, even though she has been close to you recently."
"Forgive my bluntness, but your organization doesn’t seem very cohesive either. When other members are in danger, you, as the organizer, might not necessarily protect them. You surely can’t expect them to be loyal to you, can you?" Aiden replied bluntly.
"My demands are not high; as long as they don’t betray the gathering, that is enough for me," Abigail said slowly, "By the way, did you come to me just for a chat this time?"
"Mainly two things," Aiden cut to the chase, "First, do you know of the Hofmann family of Gistas?"
"I know them, the noble guards affiliated with the Gistas royal family, who wield judicial power in the kingdom and within the family, inherit the authority of ’order,’ and the power of ’punishment.’"
"You know about them in such detail?"
"Somewhat an old rival, after all, Banquet Forest borders Gistas. Both the royal secret police and the Inquisition have always been monitoring my side, for decades," Abigail replied indifferently, "Of course, it’s the same from my end... Sir, why are you suddenly interested in this family?"
"Earl Hofman is now in Silvertown, and I’ve had some issues with him. I’m thinking of capturing him," Aiden replied succinctly.
"Fighting with the Gistas royal secret police? You do have a rich hobby in your spare time, don’t you?" Abigail teased, "With your skills, you’re not looking for my help, are you?"
Not delving into the cause, it was clear that Abigail had no interest in the matter.
"I just want to inquire about something. The mercury amalgam golem you make, can it handle the power of ’punishment’?" Aiden asked.
"Absolutely not," Abigail answered emphatically.
"I know it definitely can’t cope with ’imprisonment’ and ’exile,’ but if it’s just ’corporal punishment,’ it should be immune... After all, the golem doesn’t feel pain," Aiden tried to suggest his thought.
"The golem indeed does not feel pain, but the suffering inflicted by the power of ’punishment’ is at a conceptual level," Abigail said slowly, "The power of ’order’ forces everything back to a state governed by rules. The power of ’returning’ is aimed at non-sensory materials, while ’punishment’ is directed at sentient beings. The pain inflicted by ’punishment’ is applied directly to the sensory level of living beings. Life has the instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. Avoiding pain is a survival response of life. The mercury amalgam golem does not have the typical ability to reproduce, but it is alive and has survival instincts; it instinctively dislikes certain things."
"Indeed, it is very afraid of sulfur," Aiden suddenly remembered.
"Then the power of ’punishment’ will give it a similar... no, a far more intense pain," Abigail continued slowly, "I advise against using the mercury amalgam golem. If the pain inflicted by the power of ’punishment’ exceeds the limits of control of the core created by Vila, the mercury amalgam golem might go out of control."
"Well, it looks like there’s one less option," Aiden sighed regretfully.
