Waking Of A World Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Iron Wings.

Read chapter 15 of Waking Of A World by Victor_WIlliam on NovelPedia.

Back in the real world, Marie and Seo Jun arrived at the Sierra S.E.C.T. Station. The station sat on a wide corner at the end of the street, a large concrete building with rows of windows stretching across its front. It was taller than most of the surrounding buildings. A short set of steps led up to the main entrance, where glass doors opened and closed at a steady pace. People moved in and out: officers in uniform, a few civilians, some pausing briefly before heading inside. A couple of heavily armed patrol cars were parked near the curb, their presence noticeable but not disruptive. Marie’s mind was racing. Her priority was simple: get Liang Shen out of detention and make sure the S.E.C.T. didn’t seize control of the White Crane Office’s current request. According to the latest report from her paper crane, Liang Shen should be alright legally. He hadn’t committed any serious crime or taboo, at least not yet, aside from entering and tampering with the crime scene. But that could be reasoned with, and she could make a case to justify his actions. She took a deep breath and stepped into the station, with Seo Jun right behind her. Seo Jun glanced at her. “You seem troubled. Is something wrong?” “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she replied curtly. He nodded, then added casually, “If things get worse, why don’t we just blackmail the S.E.C.T.? Isn’t that what you usually do when push comes to shove?” Marie turned to him with a look that said he was insane. Then she remembered that he actually was a little insane. She sighed and decided it was better to explain now than later. “You can’t just blackmail the S.E.C.T., Seo Jun. They are the law enforcement of this city. Their authority is absolute. The only reason our Office even has any power is because of the Nexus Association… and the Association only maintains its influence through its cooperation with the S.E.C.T.” She ran a hand through her hair, clearly stressed. “Unless you’re a major corporation with real leverage, a small Office like ours can’t afford to go head-to-head with them. If this gets ugly, I’ll have to find another way around it.” Marie’s mind was already running through her list of contacts in the city. She might need to call in favors sooner than expected. Seo Jun nodded as if he understood, but then added with a shrug, “Well, I still don’t agree with treating the S.E.C.T. like they’re untouchable.” He glanced at her. “I believe someone else would think the same.” Marie nodded absentmindedly. “Yes, yes, I know. The S.E.C.T. is made of people too, people who are supposed to abide by and uphold the law…” She suddenly stopped mid-sentence. “Abide by and uphold the law… huh?” Then an idea sparked in her eyes. “You know what, Seo Jun?” she said, a smile forming on her lips. “Sometimes you really are a genius.” “Hmm?” Seo Jun looked confused. He had simply repeated something she had once told him before. Without explaining, Marie turned on her heel and walked back to the car. She opened the door and pulled out the thick folder the Nexus Association had given her, the one detailing the recent wave of disappearances and the victims’ Aspect awakening records. She had read it before, but this time, something jumped out at her: there was almost no record of active S.E.C.T. investigation into the serial kidnappings. A case of this scale should have clear documentation. The information in this folder was supposed to come from the shared network between the Nexus Association and the S.E.C.T. So why was there such a glaring omission? “But why would they leave something like this out where anyone could notice…?” she wondered to herself. She couldn’t directly complain to the Magistrate Ministry, as they weren’t based in Veston. And to send a complaint to them, she would need to go through the S.E.C.T., which could be problematic. With that, she decided to put the folder down for now and pick up another one. So she didn’t plan to complain directly. But perhaps she could