Chapter 28: Chapter 28
"Old man! What's wrong with you? What's the issue with this information?"
Seeing the old man in such a panicked state, Aya also became somewhat anxious and asked.
Not only Aya, but even the others in the room, upon hearing the commotion caused by the old man, instinctively stopped their actions and looked towards him.
"What's wrong, old man?"
"What happened? The old man doesn't look too good."
"I never expected the usually composed old man to show such an expression."
Whispered discussions spread among the crowd due to the old man's unusual behavior.
Upon realizing this, the old man responded softly.
"It's... nothing."
"But you don't look well." Aya hesitated for a moment and asked, "Should we go see a doctor?"
"No! I'm fine!" This time, the old man's voice sounded firm and loud.
Even Aya, who was usually favored by the old man, dared not speak up due to his demeanor.
Noticing his own lapse, the old man paused for a moment and then softly spoke to Aya.
"Really, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I... just need some rest, that's all."
As he spoke, the old man covered his face with his hand.
He knew that the shock he felt about the information in front of him couldn't be concealed with words anymore.
The expression on his face, changed by his inner turmoil, was enough to reveal everything.
"I'll help you go rest," Aya said, about to step forward.
But the old man immediately raised his hand to stop her and softly said, "No, it's not necessary. I want to be alone for a while. Go attend to your own tasks."
Holding the information, the old man turned and left, not giving Aya any chance to speak further.
Aya remained stunned in her place, feeling unsure of what to do.
She couldn't understand why the kind old man had suddenly changed like this today.
"Is it because of me?"
"Because of the information I just handed to the old man?"
"He changed like this after seeing the information. Does that mean the old man... knows that pirate called Carnes?"
Her thoughts fluctuated as Aya pondered.
Many curious colleagues who wondered what had happened also gathered around and asked her.
"What's wrong with the old man? Even when there are major issues, I've never seen him look this bad."
Aya didn't disclose her own conclusion to the others.
If the old man was hiding something from her, it meant that no matter what it was, he didn't want anyone to know.
In that case, she would also keep this matter confidential for the old man.
Even if her conclusion turned out to be wrong...
"The old man has been under a lot of workload these days. He's already old and not in the best health. Today, he saw information about two new notorious pirates, so he's a bit angry." Aya explained with a smile.
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
"Is that so?"
Aya nodded.
"What else could it be? Alright, everyone, don't gather here. Go back to your own tasks, and I'll go back to mine."
After Aya's announcement, the gathered crowd dispersed and returned to their workstations, busying themselves once again.
---
On the other side.
The old man held the information and quickly made his way to the archive room.
However, his gaze didn't linger on the shelves where the files were stored on both sides.
He walked all the way to the innermost part of the archive room and started searching around.
After meticulously searching for about ten minutes or so.
The old man spotted a dusty file folder placed in a corner
.
"I found it!"
A hint of excitement could be heard in the old man's voice
The old man reached out and took out the dusty file folder.
After brushing off the surface dust, he opened the file folder.
However, as soon as he opened it, a look of disappointment appeared on the old man's face.
Because there was only one page of information in the file folder.
And it only had a few sparse sentences.
It was about an infamous island.
"Is everything taken care of?" murmured the old man, looking absent-mindedly at the information in his hand.
After hesitating for a moment, he turned and walked towards another place.
Unlike the neatly arranged archive room, the old man entered a storeroom.
This room used to be an office but was abandoned after the office was relocated.
It became a storage room.
After searching and rummaging around for a while, the old man still couldn't find the information he was looking for.
However, he noticed something else.
There, in the cabinet, was a small stack of old and yellowed wanted posters!
The stack of wanted posters was covered in dust and an unknown black substance.
The old man took out the wanted posters, which were less than an inch thick.
The topmost wanted poster was in a terrible condition, with several holes in the middle.
But fortunately, some parts were still visible.
Underneath the image on the wanted poster, there was a name boldly written.
Rocks D. Xebec!
Upon seeing this name, the old man's pupils contracted slightly.
"This is it!"
With a somewhat uneasy feeling, the old man carefully removed the first wanted poster.
Under the protection of the first wanted poster, more could be seen on the second wanted poster.
However, it was still damaged in several places.
On this wanted poster, although the figure in the portrait column was somewhat blurry, the features were still discernible.
Despite the damages on both sides of the portrait, it was not significant.
In the wanted poster's image...
There was a grand hall, with numerous fallen bodies around it, and many people standing on both sides, wielding weapons and laughing heartily.
And in the center of the image, there was an exquisite and majestic throne!
It was the throne exclusively for the king.
But in the image, the king was lying next to the throne, in a pool of blood.
A young man had taken his place on the throne.
In the young man's hand, he held a silver-white longsword, with a faint smile on his face.
The old man compared the picture on the wanted poster with the photo in his hand.
The more he compared, the more shocked the old man became.
Cold sweat the size of beans trickled down his face, and his trembling voice trembled with astonishment.
"I... It's exactly the same?!"
"How... How can this be? How can this be?"
"The right arm of Rocks D. Xebec! Carnes, the former vice captain of the Rocks Pirates, the 'Gale Emperor'! He... he's actually still alive?!"
"How is this possible?!"
As he spoke, the old man's eyes trembled violently, and even his body couldn't suppress its slight trembling.
His face was filled with an expression of incredulous shock.
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