Volume 4 Chapter 32: The Combination

“Rat-a-tat!” The sudden burst of gunfire sent the scientists inside the carriage into panic. They all shrank behind their seats.

“Heh heh!” Joey stomped his foot, charged forward another two steps, and leaped into the air. A light breeze swirled around him, making his body waver like a leaf in the wind. Dodging most of the submachine gun bullets, he landed right above the two Allied soldiers.

Joey thrust his hands downward, grabbing each soldier by the scruff of their necks. “Crack!” As two blood blossoms bloomed on his chest, the soldiers’ heads snapped backwards at an unnatural angle. Their bodies jerked and crumpled to the floor.

“Rat-a-tat!” The seized weapons stubbornly chattered on, riddling the surroundings and hitting a few unlucky scientists. Wails of pain filled the carriage.

“Dr. Keller, Dr. Leo! What an unpleasant reunion. To be honest, everyone misses you, especially Madame Monica!” Joey turned and stared at the two doctors, his lips twisting into a savage grin.

He dug out the deformed bullets from his pectoral muscles with two fingers. The carriage was too cramped. Even using the Drift Technique, he hadn’t dodged all the bullets. Fortunately, the wind energy swirling around him from the Drift Technique had weakened the bullets’ force, and his gradually enhancing Law Body prevented them from piercing deep enough to damage his organs.

“Lieutenant Gerthard, please don’t hurt Dr. Keller! I was the one who betrayed the Empire; she had nothing to do with it!” The thin man named Leo spread his arms, blocking his wife. He gazed nervously at Joey.

“No, Leo…” Dr. Keller’s expression changed as she grabbed her husband’s shoulder.

“Keller!” Leo glared back at his wife, signaling her to be quiet.

“Such an enviable couple!” A magic circle that resembled a runic mirror abruptly appeared half a meter beside Joey. With a crisp shattering sound, the Serial Killer suddenly materialized behind the pair, his hand resting lightly on Dr. Keller’s delicate shoulder.

“Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny isn’t just a Special Forces commander; he’s also a Lieutenant Colonel in the SS Intelligence Department. I don’t believe a senseless, giant brute could hide a treasonous plan from him.”

Joey moved his head close to Keller’s ear and softly blew towards the beautiful doctor’s ear canal. “That night in Hamburg, you deliberately triggered your husband’s gigantism to spiral out of control, didn’t you? To sneak out and contact Allied intelligence? Right, Dr. Keller!”

“No, not her, it was me…” Leo said agitatedly.

“Shut up, Doctor. I hate being interrupted!” Joey gave Leo Robert a cold look, a flash of crimson deep within his eyes.

“To preserve Madame Monica’s dignity, we never pursued exactly who subdued her with a syringe. But to prevent her having any reaction time, the attacker must have been standing unnervingly close… would the Queen of Sandstorm allow a married man to stand that close to her body, Dr. Leo?”

“Haha, Lieutenant Gerthard, please don’t blame my husband. He’s just too worried about me!” Dr. Keller, firmly under Joey’s control, sighed softly. “I’m the traitor. Since Leo became like that, the thought of betraying the Empire has festered in my mind. Unfortunately, the Aryan Ark Corps strictly controlled researcher movements. Lieutenant Colonel Skorzeny only found us then because I hadn’t been able to enact my escape plan until he contacted us!”.

Watching his wife confess, Leo’s chest heaved violently. He didn’t offer futile arguments this time. Instead, he silently pulled a syringe from his coat, tilted his head back, and aimed it at his carotid artery.

“Leo, when did you prepare that…” Dr. Keller’s beautiful eyes widened in shock at the syringe in her husband’s hand.

“Let her go, Lieutenant Gerthard. Swear you’ll let her go, and I swear I’ll return to Berlin with you to face court-martial!” Leo spoke to Joey with unnerving calmness in his gaze. “Otherwise, I will ruin your current mission!”

“A giant without his senses poses no threat to us!” Joey stated flatly.

“No, Lieutenant Gerthard, you don’t understand!” Leo cast a gentle look at Dr. Keller. “Though my wife resents the Empire for what happened to me, that isn’t the main reason she betrayed our homeland. Two years ago, the Aryan Ark Research Institute received the ‘Super Soldier Program’ files delivered by one of the Empire’s special forces units. Of course, it was incomplete—less than 20% intact…”

“The Hydra Corps!” Joey curled his lip, instantly recalling what Red Skull had once told him.

“Yes!” Leo gave him a surprised look before continuing, “When Keller and I analyzed the information, we were stunned to discover a particular chemical developed in the Super Soldier Program might have a reversing effect on the Giant Formula. Meaning…”

“The Allies developed an antidote to the Giant Formula?” Joey’s eyebrow shot up, grasping Leo’s implication immediately.

“More than just an antidote!” Keller managed a bitter laugh from Joey’s grip. “Once I got Leo to the Allied research lab in Casablanca, we discovered the chemical not only reversed his gigantism but, used in conjunction with the serum, allowed him to keep a clear mind even while transformed!”

“Out of a sense of duty to our homeland, we never provided the Allies with this improved Giant Formula!” Leo stated gravely. “Lieutenant Gerthard, release my wife. When I return to Berlin for trial, I will surrender this formula to our nation.”

Apostle 70053, you have triggered the hidden branch quest ‘Cleansing the Traitor’. This quest cannot be shared and belongs solely to the executing Apostle.

Cleansing the Traitor (Captain-level Hidden Quest): The Gentlemen Alliance’s Leo Robert has revealed the treason committed by Dr. Keller. This is no reason for leniency. Eliminating the traitor Keller Robert has a 35% chance to raise the Apostle’s personal mission evaluation.

Quest Base Reward: 5000 Shattered Crystal, 3 Contribution Points, Low-Level Random Skill Scroll.

Warning: Completing this quest increases the difficulty of the current main story branch quest. Apostle, choose wisely!

Studying the message within his Death Notice, Joey believed Leo. The military train was in motion. Besides the Gentlemen Alliance specifically planted here, it was unlikely any other force would interfere en route. The only possible variable capable of increasing the difficulty of the main story’s hidden branches was a fully conscious giant Leo.

If Leo could use Infrasound and his monstrous strength while clear-headed in such a cramped carriage, even the Queen of Sandstorm would struggle to contain him. Besides, Superhumans from the Justice League would arrive soon. The giant wouldn’t be fighting alone this time.

“I can’t trust a traitor, Dr. Leo!” Joey narrowed his eyes, a fiendish smile curling his lips. “Unless… you give me a pledge of loyalty!”

“Pledge of loyalty?” Leo seemed momentarily confused.

“Yes, a pledge of loyalty!” Joey shifted his gaze to the terrified Allied scientists cowering in the carriage’s corners. “On the battlefield, pledges are simple, Dr. Leo! Transform into your giant form. With your strength, resolving these people shouldn’t take five seconds!”

“No, Leo, you can’t— Mmmmph!” Dr. Keller’s face paled as she cried out to her husband. Her voice abruptly cut off as she felt her throat constrict.

“Time’s ticking, Dr. Leo!” Joey tightened his grip on Keller’s neck, lifting her effortlessly off the ground with one hand. The beautiful doctor kicked her legs wildly, clawing uselessly at his powerful arm. Her face was turning dusky, her eyes starting to roll back into her head.

“Your wife lasts ten seconds in my grip, tops! If those people aren’t dead in ten seconds, she dies! Choose, Dr. Leo!”

“Lieutenant Gerthard, I’m a scientist, not a soldier!” Leo looked desperately at the panicked Allied scientists surrounding him, swallowing hard.

“True, you’re not a soldier. But you are German!” Joey stated coldly. “… Seven seconds left!”

“Arrrggh!” A flash of sorrow crossed Leo’s eyes as he plunged the syringe deep into his neck. A primal, beast-like roar ripped itself from his throat.

…

“Damn it! It’s coming from the last carriage!” Hearing the unearthly, bestial howl echo faintly, the old man with clock-like pupils and the team of Fairy Tale Maidens behind him all paled. They were already rushing in that direction.

Since Dr. Jones sent the warning, the Justice League had reacted fast. The old man had quickly delegated tasks and moved to alert the Fairy Tale Girls Team next door, but the enemy had already struck.

Clang! Simultaneously with the roar, the armored train jolted violently. The old man and the Maidens stumbled, forced to grab nearby seats to avoid falling.

“Enemies pulled the brakes…” Little Red Riding Hood Liv frowned.

“Pity they didn’t know the train has ‘special controls’. Manual brakes can’t stop it completely!” Mira, with her black hair, scoffed.

“But it does slow the train down. Plenty for those Gentlemen Alliance cockroaches to clamber aboard!” Irene flipped her long white ponytail with a cold sneer.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there talking! We need to find that murderer of Professor Kathleen!” Lucy, a cute blonde girl with a heart-shaped face and hair like fire, punched the air, shaking a small fist at her teammates.

“Lucy’s right, girls! Move it!” The old man with clock pupils clasped his hands behind his back. Leaping lightly down the aisle towards the door, the pointers inside his pupils flickered. The sealed carriage door slid open soundlessly.

“Yes, Dean David!” The Fairy Tale Maidens exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

“Irene, why didn’t you tell us Deputy Dean David was on this train?” Once the Dean moved farther ahead, the more spirited Liv immediately turned to ask her companion.

“I heard Deputy Dean David possesses a unique Superpower called the Wheel of Fate. Perhaps he used it not long ago to foresee Professor Kathleen’s fate… and ours,” Irene sighed softly. “Only he didn’t get here in time to save her.”