Chapter 323: Erasing Trace - Part 2
Many eyes fell at Heero as soon as that question was asked. All of sudden, all the noises disappeared and everyone focused on Heero.
Of course, Heero maintained his calm as he scanned the conference room, scanning the eager reporters that were waiting for his answer.
"Of course, I did not kill them. There is no reason for me to kill them," With an easy smile plastered on his face, he answered the question.
However, his answer disappointed the reporters. Heero claimed he was innocent but he did not explain why he was innocent. There was nothing they could publish to the public with that kind of answer.
Even though disappointed with Heero's first answer the reporters did not give up to dig up something spicier. This was the reason why they were reporters, persistence.
"What about the accusations on the forum? Many posts are saying you are the murderer!" A male reporter in his thirties asked again.
"Mnnn… You are not telling the truth Mr. Reporter. I have read some of those posts and it's not an accusation. It's a speculation, they speculate it was me the murderer because of the conflict between me and Ryan White. You are a reporter and I believe you can differentiate between accusation and speculation! So please don't twist other people's post for your selfish purpose,"
Heero's words stunned the reporter. Just like Heero said, all the posts that spread on the forum were merely speculation.
Another reporter was about to shoot another question but Heero spoke first.
"Furthermore, do any of those posts have proof that I am the murderer?"
That question silenced the entire room. There was no proof or whatsoever that Heero was the murderer. It was just a speculation based on the conflict between Heero and Ryan White.
"Are you done with your question?"
The reporters immediately shut their mouths as they could feel they would be troubled if they tried to corner Heero.
"Good, I will speak now. I am not the killer and I have some suspicion and we are working on it. Maybe you will have a question: why am I clear of the suspicion? It's because Ryan White is with me, why would I spare his life while killing his family?"
"Ryan White is still unconscious and I do believe the murderer is someone close to Ryan White," While speaking Heero took out something from below the table.
He showed the dead Abyss Parasite to the reporters, "I found this inside Ryan White's head!"
As soon as he said that, the cameras flashed out. All the cameramen tried to take a picture of the hairy Abyss Parasite in his hand.
"This is Abyss Parasite and it could affect someone's one mind. This parasite was found inside Ryan White's head, etched to his brain!"
"Do you remember the state of Ryan White in yesterday's battle against me? He was in a state of madness, trying to kill me with all means without considering the spectators' safety. I think all of it because of this parasite! As everyone knows Ryan White we know is not someone like that, right?"
The conference room fell silent. Except for the noise of the camera's flash, Heero's voice filled the room with his statement.
"And so, we are currently investigating the case and have some suspicion that the murderer is someone with a close relationship with the White Household. I hold this conference to assure people that I am not the killer and also request the people on the forum, please don't spread your baseless speculation wildly on the forum,"
After that, a few reporters asked Heero more questions. All of those questions were regarding the Abyss Parasite in his hand. They shifted their focus to the new and an unknown creature, Abyss Parasite.
*** ***
Meanwhile, outside the Star City, to the west of Star City to be more exact.
The same old man and the middle-aged man who watched the battle sneakily yesterday was watching their respective smartwatch.
"Huh, he handles it better than I thought and he suspected the right person, right Butler Rodin?" The middle-aged man smiled toward the old man next to him.
Butler Rodin, an old butler of the White Household and also the culprit behind the White Household mass slaughter.
"Stop calling me with that filthy name! I am no longer that old man!" As he said that out, "Butler Rodin" tore his face and revealed a younger face. The old "Butler Rodin" transformed into a man in his thirties.
"Tsk, I wasted a few years just for this?"
"It was your idea to use your beloved pawn to test him out, Roman!" The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulder lightly.
"I know but who expected this guy to be so f*cking strong. I thought someone with Divine Crow's bloodline would be enough to measure his power," Roman cussed out of frustration.
He had nurtured Ryan White and even gave a Divine Crow's bloodline while sneakily planting the Abyss Parasite. The cost he spent on Ryan White was too much but he got nothing in return.
"The Abyss Parasite and Divine Crow's bloodline, hmmm… You indeed have suffered a big loss here," The middle-aged man grinned and teased Roman.
"Nah, let's go. Who knows he will sniff around and find us here if we stayed longer," Roman started to get worried. He feared the unknown and Heero was the unknown to him.
"Nah, all of this is your idea! You are the one who set the stage and you are the one who also asked me to watch," The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulder and closed his smartwatch.
Despite his words, he agreed with Roman to leave this city as soon as possible.
Roman also did the same thing. He closed his smartwatch and turned around, "He's surely unusual, he knows about the Abyss Parasite! We should be more careful about him,"
"You are right. That's why I told you to leave no trace and you were doing good!" The middle-aged nodded as he pulled up the black cloak and covered his face.
Just like that, the two men left toward the west.
*** ***
Thanks to the sudden conference, Heero managed to calm the masses. All speculations also disappeared after the conference. While the accusations and speculations about Heero slaughtered the White Household disappeared a new topic came up.
Abyss Parasite, the forum went into a frenzy because of this disgusting creature. And because of this creature, Bai Xian Ming, Kim Jung-Mun, and Wu Shitian called out an executive meeting.
Heero was called out to explain about the Abyss Parasite.
"So, what is this meeting for?" He was clueless as to why they called the meeting at this time.
"Shouldn't you explain about the Abyss Parasite?" Wu Shitian was the first one to fire the bullet.
"Explain what? I already explained everything at the conference. What explanation are you looking for?" Heero frowned in return.
Works were piling up, added with this morning's case to investigate the murderer that might be connected to the God Horas' underlings. He was still far from finishing his work.
Moreover, he had to check the Heero Instructors as well. He had to inspect them before getting them to learn the Ki Comprehension, making them qualify to be a real instructor. There were so many works needed to be done but he was called for something they could search themselves online. He was certainly unhappy a little.
"Shouldn't you prioritize us before you tell highly classified information such as the Abyss Parasite to the public?" Hanzo Sojuro questioned Heero's decision.
Heero squinted his eyes toward the white-haired old man. The Hanzo Clan had a grudge against him because of Hanzo Keiji's incident. It was natural for this old man to corner him at such a time.
"Highly classified information? Who's decided that and why should I have to prioritize you guys first? What's the difference between telling you first or just publicizing it to the public directly? It's like I am hiding it from you guys,"
Heero slightly raised his voice and his tone was mixing with frustration. He could not believe they called him for this.
Just as Hanzo Sojuro wanted to refute back, Kim Jung-Mun spoke first, "Stop it! We are calling you here not because of that but we want to know more about Abyss Parasite. Like their habitat and more,"
Hanzo Sojuro immediately shut his mouth when Kim Jung-Mum started to speak.
"I have told everything about the Abyss Parasite at the conference. That's what I know about the Abyss Parasite…" Before Heero could finish his words, his smartwatch vibrated.
He paused and looked down, it was Sun Zhou Yi who called him.
He gestured to Kim Jung-Mun to wait, indicating the call was important and he had to pick it up now. The old man nodded his head and Heero answered the call.
"Ryan White has regained consciousness and Old Man Niadin is currently taking care of him!" Sun Zhou Yi's voice transmitted over the smartwatch.
Everyone in the meeting room could hear Sun Zhou Yi's voice as Heero did not try to hide his conversation with his disciple.
"Alright, I will come to you right now!" After a quick reply, he closed the call and stood up.
While pointing his finger toward his smartwatch, he excused himself from the meeting, "I have to go now!"
He turned around but stopped instantly. Heero turned back and his eyes met with Kim Jung-Mun, "If you want to know more about the Abyss Parasite, you can ask Old Man Dazekh. Purple Mountain Tribe is a long-established tribe, they may have some records about the Abyss Parasite,"
Kim Jung-Mun nodded in response. Then Heero turned his gaze toward Bai Xian Ming and called out, "Grandpa!"
Bai Xian Ming sensed something bad. Heero called him Grandpa only when he wanted something.
"If you want to meet Old Man Dazekh, can you bring King William with you, please~? I have promised him,"
"Don't act cute in front of me, p*ss off already!" Bai Xian Ming waved his hand annoyedly and blurted something unusual out of his mouth.
"Thank you, Grandpa~," After getting the confirmation, Heero left the meeting room directly.