Leo handed the cross to Ms. Bice and said, "Ms. Bice, this item looks familiar to me. It resembles the one Mr. Arthur always wore, but I can't be sure. Could you please authenticate it for me?"
"That's right, this is the cross Arthur always wore! He carried it with him every day and never took it off or discarded it! Where did you find this?" Bice asked anxiously.
"Ms. Bice, as you know, I'm quite familiar with many of the guards and staff on the island. This item came from one of the island's staff members, a dark-skinned man who mainly did odd jobs at Kuite Castle... On the day Lord Prometheus and Mr. Arthur met with Mario Kuite, after their meeting, this dark-skinned man was called over. They carried a corpse out of the castle and dumped it into the lava river in the free zone... According to that dark-skinned man, the body was in a body bag, so he couldn't see what it looked like. But this cross fell out from a seam in the body bag. He thought it was something valuable, so he took it! I spent 200 Icefire currency to redeem it!" Leo said, seeking credit.
Bice was no fool; on the contrary, she was sharp and intelligent. Seeing Arthur's cross and hearing Leo's description, even if she didn't want to admit it, the truth was laid bare: Arthur was dead! Bice directly took a black obsidian coin worth 500 Icefire currency from her pocket and handed it to Leo. Leo took it and quickly waved his hand in refusal. "No, no, this is too much. I only spent 200 Icefire currency to acquire this necklace..."
"Take it, Leo. You've helped me a great deal. If possible, please work hard for a few days and inquire about Arthur's whereabouts for me. This extra money is my reward! Also, this matter must be kept confidential!"
"Alright, I promise!" Leo was very happy. He could please the beautiful woman and make a small profit at the same time. He hoped for more such business.
Bice returned to her residence, growing more and more indignant. She went directly to Prometheus's room and roughly pushed the door open. Prometheus was sitting by the window, with a ball of fire the size of an egg in each hand. He was controlling one ball of fire to chase the other in mid-air. This was Prometheus's method of training his abilities; he practiced for several hours every day, believing it was the only way for his powers to grow stronger.
Prometheus saw Bice enter, retracted his flames, and stood up with a smile. "Ms. Bice, why have you come? Is there something you need?"
Bice raised her hand, revealing Arthur's cross. "Mr. Prometheus, I need an explanation. You said Arthur had returned to his country, but why is the cross he always carried here?"
"Uh, perhaps he left in too much of a hurry and dropped it here," Prometheus explained stiffly.
"Don't try to deceive me with such clumsy lies. I already know that Arthur was killed by you!" Bice said angrily.
"Miss Bice, you shouldn't speak carelessly. Everything requires evidence!"
"Heh, this cross was found on a corpse. And this corpse was carried out of that castle after you and Arthur entered Kuite Castle! And since then, no one has seen Arthur again! What else do you have to explain? You must have had some unsavory deal with that Mario Kuite, and Arthur opposed your transaction, so you silenced him!"
Prometheus was greatly shocked. He hadn't expected this woman to be so intelligent, deducing the truth with such accuracy from mere scraps of information! "Ms. Bice, your speculation is ridiculous. Arthur and I are good friends, partners. He is my right-hand man; how could I harm him! Arthur has truly returned to his country! I swear to God!"
"Fine, if that's the case, then quickly arrange a ship. I want to return to my country too! I want to speak with Arthur personally!"
"Ms. Bice, that's impossible! If you want to leave this island, you'll have to wait a while longer, until we've subdued all the ability users on the island. Then, we can leave together!" Prometheus persuaded her earnestly.
"Impossible, I can't wait that long. I want to leave now. Please arrange it for me immediately!"
"Let me consider it..." Suddenly, Bice seemed to realize something. "No, you are not Prometheus! No, that's not quite right. You are Prometheus, but not the normal Prometheus!"
Through her conversation with Prometheus and his behavior recently, Bice judged that Prometheus was likely being controlled! "Then let me see who exactly is controlling you!" As Bice spoke, she clasped her hands together in front of her chest. A milky white halo emanated from her hands, growing denser and more concentrated! This was one of Bice's abilities, capable of dispelling all negative states, as well as charm, control, and other abnormal conditions. Bice called the release of this ability "Purification."
However, at that moment, a stun baton silently appeared in mid-air behind Bice. Immediately, the stun baton struck the back of Bice's head squarely. "Crackling..." The sound of electricity crackled. Even though Bice was an ability user, she couldn't withstand the direct attack of the stun baton on her head. She immediately lost consciousness.
At this moment, a figure emerged from behind Bice, holding the stun baton that had attacked her. "Well done, Alessandro!" The man named Alessandro was not tall, only about 1.65 meters. He was a mixed-race Latino man with curly hair. Alessandro's ability was almost identical to Leo's; both could become invisible. In fact, Alessandro's invisibility was even superior to Leo's. However, the cunning Prometheus had not publicly disclosed Alessandro's skills, instead arranging for him to be part of the US delegation as a regular staff member. This way, no one would notice him, and he could play a crucial role at critical moments! And recently, Prometheus had been taking Alessandro with him wherever he went.