Screwllum quickly recognized the figure and explained:
"This is Duke Inferno, Ifrit, a life born from the destroyed planet Tofett, a fire demon race that burns at every moment."
"Ifrit regards Nanook as his emperor and calls THEM his benefactor, yet he has never received even a glance from the Aeon."
"The Annihilation Gang, a group of pitiful madmen."
Dr. Ratio made no effort to hide the contempt in his tone.
"I like Dr. Primitive's evaluation: the value Nanook sees in the so-called Annihilation Gang is perhaps still far less than that of an infant who deliberately smashes a vase."
Stelle was puzzled. "Why?"
Leon: "When an infant deliberately smashes a vase, it is a pure desire for the destruction of objects."
"The Annihilation Gang, however, destroys in order to expand the influence of Destruction, seeking a single glance from Nanook. Their motivation is not pure."
Dr. Ratio: "Fire demons are naturally ferocious. Burning and destruction are their instincts."
"Ifrit is especially evil and cruel. The Eternal Fire Mansion he leads is even mortal enemies with the Jepella Brotherhood, which also belongs to the Annihilation Gang."
Asta fell into deep thought. "Jepella Brotherhood… I feel like I've seen this name somewhere…"
Screwllum: "On the Stellaron Hunters' wanted list, they were accused of involvement in the Jepella Rebellion, which led to the destruction of the Brotherhood."
Stelle was stunned. "The Stellaron Hunters did it too?"
Leon: "It seems Kafka didn't hide any traces."
Dr. Ratio: "The Jepella Palace fell in flames, and afterward Ifrit's forces grew stronger day by day. Do you believe this was merely a coincidence?"
"The same thing is about to happen on the space station. As a fire demon, he naturally excels at the trick of human spontaneous combustion."
"The disappearance of the staff members and the doll were also part of the plan. And after that…"
"That video will soon spread throughout the space station. I think it won't be long before Herta Space Station turns into a sea of flames."
Screwllum hit the core point: "The destruction of trust."
"What needs to be destroyed is probably more than just trust."
Dr. Ratio looked at Stelle. "If you don't want to sit and wait for death, then take action. You can come with me, or go with someone else."
Stelle: "Just the three of us taking action?"
"Otherwise?"
Dr. Ratio gestured with his eyes toward Asta and Screwllum.
"Let the two of them run around and write 'something happened to the space station' on their faces?"
Asta's expression was grave. "…I will stay here and do my best to control the spread of information. I'll leave the investigation to you during this time!"
①: "Go with Leon."
②: "Go with Dr. Ratio."
③: "Investigate alone."
Stelle: "Then Mr. Ratio, I'll have to trouble you to set off on your own. I want to go with my companion."
"Very well."
Dr. Ratio gave Leon a meaningful look, then fell silent for a moment before saying something that surprised Stelle.
"Duke Inferno has declared responsibility for this matter. Previously, regarding the attack on Herta, I apologize for arbitrarily treating you as a suspect. I'm sorry."
The sincerity in his tone was hard to discern, but Stelle couldn't be bothered to argue about it too much right now.
At the very least, this guy didn't stubbornly refuse to admit fault and suffer for the sake of face.
As for whether he apologized because of the pressure Leon applied behind the scenes, that remained unknown.
Stelle: "Let's go, Leon. We'll go find Arlan."
Dr. Ratio said nothing and disappeared on his own.
Leon and Stelle quickly set off and found Arlan.
Seeing familiar faces arrive, Arlan guessed their purpose.
"I'm very sorry this happened… The situation is urgent. Whatever you need, the Defense Department will fully assist."
Stelle: "We need the list of missing staff members, preferably including their detailed information, identity backgrounds, interpersonal relationships, recent activities, and so on."
"The Defense Department has already thoroughly investigated these and found no common points. The Annihilation Gang are a bunch of desperados. It might be indiscriminate attacks…"
As he spoke, Arlan sent Stelle the information she needed and asked:
"Is there anything else I can do?"
Stelle: "I want to find Adler. I heard he's the person in the Species Boundary Department who knows the most about curios."
Arlan's brows furrowed deeply. "Adler… he's missing too…"
Stelle looked at the list and noticed Adler's name was not on it.
Arlan: "At first I didn't pay much attention. After all, Adler is often nowhere to be found."
"But after several system hours with no contact, and even checking surveillance couldn't find any trace…"
"When was the last time you saw him?" Leon asked the key question.
Arlan: "In the Master Control Zone, together with Wen Shiling from the Applied Sciences Department. Do you want me to take you to find her and ask?"
"Adler seemed to have discovered some clues about this matter, but due to uncertainty he hadn't told me yet."
"Maybe Wen Shiling knows. The two of them have always had a good relationship."
Stelle: "Wen Shiling… Alright, I've noted it down."
After temporarily saying goodbye to Arlan, Stelle did not immediately drag Leon to find Wen Shiling. Instead, she went to visit a heavy die-hard fan of Himeko.
This person was named Pamela. She was very well-informed and deeply understood the conflicts and private relationships between staff members of various departments on the space station.
Asking her might allow them to dig up some clues that even Arlan didn't know.
Pamela greatly admired Himeko. When exchanging information with Astral Express crew members, Himeko's photos were the most effective.
Stelle remembered that before leaving the space station and boarding the train, she had even asked Himeko for authorization to give photos to this person…
Seeing Stelle's visit, Pamela's eyes instantly burst with longing.
"Isn't this Stelle! A very important guest has arrived!"
"What do you want to inquire about this time? As usual, one photo of Himeko for one piece of gossip. Guaranteed to be juicy."
"Can I pay on credit? You also know Himeko doesn't like being photographed. Her photos aren't easy to get…"
Stelle began bargaining, so the other party wouldn't think getting Himeko's photos was an easy task.
This was probably called… hunger marketing?
Pamela: "I'd normally turn around and leave if anyone else asked for credit, but you're different. How about five pieces of gossip for one extra photo?"
Stelle held back her laughter and put on a reluctant expression.
"This… considering our past cooperation, fine. But this is the limit. Payment will be settled after I finish handling my matters."
Pamela nodded with a smile. "Pleasure doing business. What do you want to know?"
Stelle took out the list of missing persons Arlan had given her.
"I want to know if there are any dirty deals behind these people, whether they have any shady relationships, and whether they have made any sensitive statements."
"Give me a bit of time. It won't take long." Pamela readily took the list and turned to leave.
Before long, Stelle received the information she wanted.
She read it together with Leon and fell into thought.
These mysteriously missing people really did have something in common.
They had all posted radical statements against the management on the dark web, and they had many supporters.
Once this common point was exposed, it would lead people to associate it with some unpleasant things—for example—
The space station management deliberately retaliating against these staff members.
If this blew up, not only would Asta be in a difficult position, but it would be impossible to clear their names no matter what.
Leon: "While you were talking with Pamela, I asked Dan Heng for some information on Duke Inferno."
"Oh? Let me see." Stelle became energized and carefully browsed through it, not missing even the punctuation.