Chapter 254: The True Identity of 027

Chapter 254: The True Identity of 027

Initially, Lu Heng had no intention of creating a rift with the Creator Organization.

After all, this organization possessed power far beyond human imagination and even had the ability to control an entire nation.

In his previous life, due to his low serial number, he had limited access to core information.

But in this life, with a much earlier serial number, he had gained access to numerous core secrets.

He had a deeper understanding of the true nature of this organization.

In this life, the invited guest with serial number 029 was Kurokawa Tomo, who also controlled the Soulstealer.

After Kurokawa Tomo's death, the Creator Organization invited Ideta Masahiro to become an official member, retaining the serial number 029.

Ideta Masahiro was a director of Sakura Bank under the Sumitomo Corporation and the head of the Oni Warrior Mercenary Company.

The Soulstealer Vessel in his possession was the treasure that truly controlled the Soulstealer.

In other words, the Creator Organization's consecutive invitations had a single purpose: to control the Soulstealer and, by extension, the political landscape of Japan.

As Lu Heng reflected on this information, a clearer picture of the Creator Organization's influence emerged in his mind.

In this life, both Kurokawa Tomo and Ideta Masahiro had been killed by him. What about the previous life?

At least one of these two individuals had joined the Creator Organization and used the Soulstealer to control multiple Japanese politicians.

This meant that, in the previous life, while the Sumitomo Corporation appeared to control Japan's political scene, the true power behind the scenes was the Creator Organization.

This organization was far more complex than he had initially believed.

Additionally, during a conversation between 027 and 013, a new piece of information was revealed.

013 wanted to retrieve the organization's sacred artifact.

027, however, claimed that the so-called sacred artifact was an evil object of the demon Guoming.

When Lu Heng first heard about the loss of the sacred artifact, he had assumed it was a genuine treasure. But it turned out to be an evil object instead.

This implied that it might be similar to the Soulstealer Vessel or an item bestowed by an evil god.

If this was the case, the Creator Organization was far more dangerous than anticipated.

This time, 013 had also been eliminated. Lu Heng wondered if this news would leak out.

If the Creator Organization learned that he had killed 013, along with a werewolf, they would realize that he had already eliminated five of their members.

If the organization found out, he might have to defect like 027.

Moreover, there was something else amiss.

013's body had a hole in the heart area of his chest, and Lu Heng couldn't figure out how it got there.

Thinking of this, Lu Heng turned to Su Muyu and asked, "Did any of those black crows escape?"

Su Muyu replied with certainty, "I saw it clearly; I took down every single one of them. Unless he had the ability to escape my perception."

At this stage, Su Muyu was the most perceptive metahuman among humans.

She needed to have this confidence; if she said no black crows had escaped, then none had.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Heng said, "We still need to find 027. We killed two members of the Creator Organization for his sake. Now that things have come to this, we must uncover his identity."

Su Muyu nodded in agreement and suggested, "I think we should visit Chen Xuesong and Liu Lanying's home. 027's relationship with them is definitely very close, and it's more than just a student-teacher bond.

"If it weren't for the records showing they had no children, I'd even think 027 was their child.

"Even if not by birth, they must have adopted him, so there should be clues in their home."

Lu Heng nodded in agreement, "You're right. Let's go to their address."

...

The next day at noon, Lu Heng and Su Muyu arrived at Chen Xuesong's address as indicated in the records, located in the faculty housing complex of Kyoto University.

The complex was built in the last century and was relatively old.

Due to its proximity to Kyoto University and the presence of a school district, the complex was densely populated.

Using their abilities, they entered the building and made their way to the abbreviated address of Building 1, Unit 301.

The door was locked, so they used their skills to enter.

The furniture inside was wooden, and the room was neatly arranged.

Lu Heng ran his fingers across the table, picked up some dust, and rubbed it between his fingers; there wasn't much.

He deduced, "Someone regularly cleans here."

Su Muyu tilted her head in thought, "Chen Xuesong has been dead for half a year, and Liu Lanying is in a nursing home. Could 027 be the one cleaning this house?"

Lu Heng slowly shook his head, "It's possible, but not necessarily. Chen Xuesong has other relatives, including several nephews and nieces. It's also possible that they come to help with the cleaning. After all, the couple didn't have any children of their own, so this house will likely be inherited by one of the nephews or nieces."

Su Muyu searched around and said, "I wanted to look for some photos, but it seems there are no picture frames in the house."

Lu Heng stepped into the master bedroom and pointed to a spot on the bedside table, "This spot is empty, just enough for a picture frame. It might have been put away. Let's look for other photos; since 027 was so close to the couple, there should be some pictures of them together."

The two searched the house and found two photo albums. They flipped through the pages, examining the photos.

The albums contained many photos of Chen Xuesong and his wife, as well as numerous family photos, including pictures of their nephews and nieces when they were young.

Some photos even showed Liu Lanying holding her nieces and nephews.

After going through all the photos, they could identify all the children as relatives of the couple.

These children had grown up, and an investigation revealed that none of them were high-level metahumans.

Therefore, after examining the photo albums, they couldn't find any photos that might be of 027.

After flipping through both albums, Lu Heng noticed that neither was completely filled.

The first album was mostly full, with the last two pages empty, while the second album only had two pages filled.

Moreover, one album was clearly older than the other.

Lu Heng began rearranging the photos in the albums and, after a few attempts, said, "Actually, all the photos from both albums can fit into this older one.

There was no need to buy a new one."

The old photo album had two empty pages, and the new album only had two pages.

All the photos together would fill up one album perfectly.

So why buy two? Su Muyu also thought of a reason: "You mean, some of the photos were taken away?"

Lu Heng nodded and said, "Yes, in the old album, some of the photos were obviously moved, indicating that someone took away a portion of the photos.

"But after these photos were removed, there would be some empty spaces, which would look strange.

"So this person moved the photos from the last two pages forward to fill up the empty spaces."

Su Muyu pondered and said, "If that's the case, it really seems like Liu Lanying and her husband have a child, but why isn't it mentioned in the records? When we asked their relatives, they all said the couple didn't have any children. If they had a child, the relatives wouldn't be unaware."

This was also the point that puzzled Lu Heng.

Previously, when investigating Chen Xuesong's relatives, they had asked about the couple's situation, and all said they didn't have any children.

Even if it was an adopted child, the relatives would definitely know. It's impossible to raise a child and never let the relatives see them.

The Chen family relatives he questioned couldn't have been lying, as they were directly asked using Mental Control, a skill that ordinary people couldn't resist.

All signs indicated that there should be a child around Chen Xuesong and his wife, but everyone said there wasn't.

Not only that, but Lu Heng had inspected all the rooms in the house and hadn't found any items related to this child.

There wasn't even a room in this house for a child to live in.

After all, this was a two-bedroom apartment, with one master bedroom and the other used as a study.

Moreover, the study had been there for many years, and many of the books on the bookshelf had a musty smell when opened.

What was the problem?

What was the relationship between Zero27 and this couple? Lu Heng and Zero27 had looked into each other's eyes at close range, confirming that they were the eyes of a young person.

With the deep affection Zero27 had for Liu Lanying, willing to face off against Raven 13 without backing down, it wasn't the kind of gratitude one would feel towards adoptive parents.

...

This residential complex was quite old, so there were many elderly people relaxing and playing chess in the shade of the trees in the courtyard downstairs.

Lu Heng and his partner went downstairs and decided to split up to ask a few elderly people about Chen Xuesong's family situation.

A man in his sixties was sitting in a recliner under the shade of a tree, holding a pair of walnuts and dozing off.

This old man looked like an intellectual, as Chen Xuesong was a professor at Kyoto University, and he would likely have more interactions with neighbors of a similar educational background.

Lu Heng approached and greeted him, "Hello, sir."

The old man opened his eyes and, seeing a young man with a polite demeanor, replied, "Hello, young man. What can I do for you?"

Lu Heng sat down next to him and asked, "I'd like to ask you about something. Do you know Professor Chen from Building 1, Unit 301?"

"Of course, I know Old Chen," the old man replied with a cheerful voice, seeming to be a well-connected person.

"Do you know what's going on with his family now?" Lu Heng continued.

The old man frowned and became cautious, "Who are you? Are you trying to pry into secrets? You know you can't ask about Old Chen's work, right?"

Lu Heng quickly explained, "I'm not asking about work. I just want to inquire about his family situation, whether they have any children."

The old man, upon hearing that it wasn't about work, thought for a moment and felt there was no issue. He said, "They don't have children. When they were young, their work got in the way, and they didn't have any. Later, when they wanted to have children, they didn't have the opportunity.

"Having children is also a matter of fate. Without that fate, the Goddess of Childbirth won't pay a visit."

Lu Heng asked, "But I heard that Professor Chen has a child. When Aunt Liu was in the nursing home, a child often went to visit her. Wasn't that their child?"

The old man waved his hand and said, "You must be mistaken. You're probably talking about one of Old Chen's students. He's a professor, and he's taught many students."

Lu Heng continued, "It's not a student. I saw that they were very close, and that kind of closeness isn't typical of a student. Didn't Professor Chen adopt a child later on?"

The old man kept waving his hand, "No, they didn't adopt a child. That's for sure. They definitely didn't adopt one. But..."

Lu Heng, upon hearing the word "but," knew that the information he wanted to inquire about was coming, and quickly asked, "But what?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "In the past, they did want to adopt a child, but they didn't go through with it."

"What was the child's name?" Lu Heng continued.

The old man pointed in the direction of Building 1 and said, "It's the child from Unit 402's family. The Xie family. They were also unfortunate. Professor Xie was also a university professor and used to be a colleague of Professor Chen.

"Later, I don't know what happened, but Professor Xie and his wife passed away, leaving behind a ten-year-old child and a seventy-year-old elder.

"The elder is the child's grandfather. You can imagine how difficult it is for an old man in his seventies or eighties to take care of a young child.

"Professor Chen was a colleague of the child's father, so he often looked after them.

"At one point, I heard they wanted to adopt the child.

"But later, the child's grandfather didn't agree. After all, the Xie family only had this one child, and they wouldn't want to give him away.

"However, if they didn't give him to another family, the elderly grandfather couldn't take care of the child.

"Professor Chen and his wife were kind-hearted. In the end, they didn't adopt the child, but they often helped out. They would even invite the child to come downstairs for meals when they cooked.

"The elder had trouble walking, so Liu Lanying would bring the food upstairs.

"The child lost his parents, but his studies were still decent. He didn't have extra money for tutoring or private lessons.

"Professor Chen was a good man. When he had time, he would personally tutor the child.

"The child's grandfather was grateful and even wanted to change the child's name."

Lu Heng guessed something in his heart but continued to ask, "What did they want to change the child's name to?

"The old man waved his hand and said, 'In the end, I didn't change it, but I gave him a nickname, Shi En.'"

Lu Heng whispered the name, "Xie Shi En."

When the old man mentioned the name change earlier, he had already guessed.

Lu Heng never expected that after searching far and wide, the person he sought was someone he had encountered on the Abyss battlefield.

Although there was no direct evidence to prove that Xie Shi En was 027, Lu Heng was certain that this was the answer.

Moreover, after confirming that Xie Shi En was 027, many previous events began to make sense.

...

Back in Blackstone City, Xie Shi En had appeared and helped him escape the city from the lava abyss.

At that time, Lu Heng had wondered why he showed up to help. And after helping, he didn't ask for anything in return.

Now, he finally understood the reason—because he was 027.

Additionally, when Derek Wolfe was in Blackstone City, he had sensed 027's presence several times, but after several attempts at tracking, he couldn't find anything.

Why couldn't he catch up? The reason was simple.

Xie Shi En was a Psychic Enchanter who could control the air around his body using his psychic force.

In other words, he could release his scent when he wanted to, and if he didn't, he could simply trap the air around him, preventing even the Heaven-Barking Dog from detecting any trace of his scent.

This meant that Xie Shi En could easily play with Derek Wolfe, and by not releasing his scent, he only needed to lead him astray.

Another question was why 027 refused to leave the nursing home, even at the risk of his life?

Although he wasn't the biological or adopted child of Professor Chen Xuesong and his wife, he had been raised by them, and he felt a deep sense of gratitude towards them.

This was also why he could impersonate 027 for so long after Professor Chen's death.

He was the person most familiar with Professor Chen, aside from Liu Lanying.

Moreover, his identity was highly secretive.

On the surface, he had no relation to Professor Chen and his wife, and they were merely neighbors. Even the name Xie Shi En wasn't his real name on his documents.

Shi En was just a nickname.

After finding the answer to Xie Shi En's name, many things became clear, but there were still a few unanswered questions.

First, Professor Chen Xuesong died a month after joining the Creator Organization, and the cause of his death was unknown.

Xie Shi En had infiltrated the Creator Organization under the identity of 027, but what was his purpose? From his actions, it seemed he was opposed to the organization.

So, there was a possibility that Professor Chen's death was related to the Creator Organization, and Xie Shi En's theft of the Sacred Artifact was his revenge against them.

...

After bidding farewell to the old man, Lu Heng met up with Su Muyu and entered the building again, heading to the fourth floor and stopping in front of Unit 402.

Su Muyu sent the Celestial Phoenix to scout the house and reported, "There's no one inside."

Then, the two of them entered using their skills.

Inside the house, they finally saw a photo of Xie Shi En, the very same Psychic Enchanter they had encountered on the Abyss battlefield.

There were not only photos of Xie Shi En but also of Professor Chen Xuesong and Liu Lanying.

The photos taken from Unit 301 were all placed in Unit 402's house.

...

Just then, the door to Unit 402 opened from the outside.

Xie Shi En entered the house, removed his hood, revealing his true appearance, and said, "It's very rude to enter someone else's home without permission."

Lu Heng turned and looked at him, his tone calm as he replied, "I took such a huge risk to eliminate 013 for you, and you left without a word. Is that polite?"

Xie Shi En pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and closed the door, saying, "Since you've found me, there's no point in hiding anything. Let's have an open discussion."

He walked to the kitchen, poured two cups of water, placed them on the coffee table, and said, "Please, have a seat."

Lu Heng and Su Muyu exchanged a glance and pulled over chairs to sit down.

"I just need to confirm one thing. Did you infiltrate the Creator Organization to avenge Professor Chen?"

This question was crucial.

Although they weren't certain if Professor Chen Xuesong's death was caused by the Creator Organization, confirming the reason for Xie Shi En's impersonation of 027 would provide answers to everything.

Xie Shi En remained silent for a long time before finally nodding in acknowledgment, "Yes, it's to avenge the teacher."

Lu Heng continued, "So, does that mean Professor Chen's death was indeed caused by the Creator Organization?"

Xie Shi En paused for a moment before responding, "To be precise, it was initially just my speculation. I didn't know the cause of the teacher's death. I impersonated 027 to enter the Creator Organization and investigate this matter."

Since the documents didn't mention Professor Chen Xuesong's cause of death, Lu Heng was also curious.

"How exactly did Professor Chen die?"

Xie Shi En took a deep breath and answered, "Suicide."

"Suicide?"

Lu Heng and Su Muyu both showed expressions of surprise.

They had considered various possibilities, but suicide hadn't crossed their minds.

Xie Shi En added, "Yes, it was suicide. But the teacher was a very optimistic person, and I couldn't believe he would take his own life. I suspected the Creator Organization had killed him, so I infiltrated the organization."

He sighed and continued, "But later, I discovered that the teacher had indeed committed suicide."

Lu Heng furrowed his brows and asked, "It's not that simple, is it? Your hatred for the Creator Organization couldn't have come out of nowhere."

Xie Shi En nodded in agreement, "Yes, the reason the teacher committed suicide was because the Creator Organization asked him to betray his principles and leak the research data from the Biological Energy Research Institute.

"The teacher refused, but initially, he had willingly joined the Creator Organization, feeling indebted to them.

"So, in the end, the teacher chose suicide, thinking it would settle the matter."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end