As soon as the last boiler slowed down and the temperature began to drop, everyone sighed in relief.
— Excellent throw, Mr. Renvel, — John praised, wiping sweat from his forehead.
— Yeah, — Vosen added, looking at the boilers, — if it weren't for you, we would be… well, never mind. The important thing is that it's over.
Sali nodded wearily.
— Thank you, Renvel… You saved us.
Lon just shook his head.
— I'm glad it worked, but it's not over yet.
It really wasn't over yet.
Because of Renvel's memories, he had gained his general engineering knowledge. Even from here, he could see that things with the boilers were far from finished.
They were still in a heated state, and although the pressure had been cut off and the temperature was constantly decreasing, there was a risk of various other problems arising.
Because of this, he didn't relax but kept a close eye on the boilers.
He pointed at them and frowned.
— They're still in an unstable state. We need to adjust them, or in a couple of hours, we'll have another overheating issue.
— You know about this stuff? — Vosen asked in surprise.
— Of course, I work at Air Technical Maintenance — Seon, — he nodded. — I'll carefully check the pressure and temperature, then adjust the system.
Everyone nodded and quietly observed Lon's actions.
He meticulously examined the boilers. Levers, valves, clamps… everything followed a certain logic.
«Alright, let's see what we have here… I've never dealt with anything like this before, but with Renvel's memories, it shouldn't be too hard…»
«And this will also reinforce my credibility…»
But the process turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. Even with Renvel's memories, it wasn't an easy task.
Fortunately, Lon was nothing if not persistent, and he proceeded step by step, stabilizing the system.
Sali and the others involuntarily gaped at the sight.
Lon reduced the pressure in key areas, checked the steam circulation, secured loosened fastenings, and adjusted everything he could. Luckily, it didn't take much time.
Ten minutes later, the boiler room was safe once more.
— Done, — he said, stepping back.
— Now we can really relax, — John smirked.
— Mr. Renvel's skills are truly remarkable! — Vosen praised.
Lon nodded, knowing that his little act had worked.
But then, Sali suddenly called out to everyone:
— What do we do about them?.. — she said, pointing fearfully at the bodies.
The three men turned in that direction and saw the same charred corpses.
There were three of them.
— They died in terrible agony… — Sali murmured quietly.
— Third-degree burns, maybe even worse, — John noted, leaning in closer. — The temperature here was so high that their skin literally boiled.
— And that's not all… — Vosen said, pointing at one of the bodies' necks.
— There are clear signs of a struggle, and a serious one at that.
Everyone followed Vosen's gesture and looked at the corpse's neck, seeing distinct marks from ten fingers.
But that wasn't the most shocking part — there were also ten small but deep puncture wounds, as if they had been deliberately made.
These were undeniable signs of a struggle.
A brutal one, as if the opponents were trying to kill each other.
— This is… — even John widened his eyes slightly.
— These marks appear after strangulation, don't they? — Lon looked at the doctors and asked.
— Yes, but these marks… they're too precise. And these punctures at the end… They were made when their bodies had already started heating up. That's why this is so strange, — Vosen answered with a grim look.
— Are you saying they kept fighting even after they started burning?
— Yes, — Vosen simply replied.
After hearing his answer, Lon's heart went completely cold.
Damn! What kind of lunatics are these?!
— What could have made them fight to the death like this?.. — Sali asked.
— There might not even be a reason. Normal people wouldn't fight in a boiler room, and even if they did, they'd stop as soon as they noticed something was wrong. But these guys didn't stop at all. That suggests they might have been controlled. — John added, frowning.
Everyone exchanged glances.
That did make sense.
A normal person wouldn't act like that unless they were being controlled.
But just as Lon was about to add something, he heard footsteps.
Heavy steps echoed from the corridor.
Sali flinched, and the others frowned.
Several engineers in brown overalls with leather-framed goggles entered the basement, followed by a group of people in structured uniforms bearing the insignia of the Seonn Guard.
A guardsman with golden epaulets, seemingly the leader, scanned the room before fixing his gaze on the bodies.
— Everyone, stay where you are, — his voice was firm. — The investigation begins now.
All those present silently nodded.