Chapter 1590: City 10
The man named Wultz looked at Ning, nearly dismissing him because of how thin and fragile he looked. If not for that, he would’ve assumed the man to be a worker of his.
“I was sent by the military, sir. I believe you sent a request for more Spark?” Ning asked.
The man’s eyes widened. “Finally!” he shouted. “It only took you military people a week to get off your asses and do your job. Where’s the Spark? My workers need it soon.”
Ning shook his head. “I believe you may be mistaken,” he said. “I am here to make sure that your claims of needing more Spark are valid before I go tell my superiors to send you some.”
The old man grumbled. “Valid this and claim that. You people never get the job done. All you do is sit on your comfortable chairs and make the working man’s life hard for no reason. Just get us the damn Spark so we can finish this job. We’ve been at it for months already. We want some break too.”
Ning was surprised that the man was angry at him. He knew he was angry at the military, but he didn’t have to show it to him for no reason.
He sighed. “Let us get this over with then,” he said. “When was the last shipment of Spark?”
“When we got here. We were put to work immediately once everything was cleaned up around the cities,” the man said.
Ning nodded. “And how much Spark did you receive until now?” he asked.
The man thought for a moment. “I… I will have to look that up. I believe it’s around 2 tons,” the man said.
“No, it was 5 tons in total,” Ning said. He had been given enough information about this job.
“What?” the old man said. “That’s ridiculous. It was like 3 tons at best.”
“If the numbers are wrong, you should confirm it right now,” Ning said. “If the Spark was stolen between a military cart bringing it to you and you using it, you need to let it be known.”
“I…” the man stuttered a bit. “Okay, maybe it was 5 tons. No one stole anything.”
Ning nodded and looked at the construction. His eyes narrowed as he looked all around. The man looked at Ning concentrating on the workers and their job.
“You see how hard my men work? You can go tell your superiors that we need to be treated better. We need more Spark to use here.”
Ning didn’t say anything. He simply observed all the people that were working. “Is this everyone?” he asked.
“What?” the old man asked.
Ning turned to him. “Is this everyone? The workers I mean. Are they all here?” he asked.
“Yes, pretty much,” the man said. “Actually 2 are absent today, but of those that are working, everyone is here.”
Ning nodded. Nearly a hundred different people were working in different sections of the city.
“With 5 tons of Spark and this many people working, the city should have been built way more than just this. You ran out of Spark a long time ago,” Ning said.
“Yes! We ran out of Spark. That’s why we need more,” the man said.
“Yes,” Ning nodded. “You did run out of it, but you also didn’t use all 5 tons of it. There would have to be a lot more improvements to the city with 5 tons of Spark. You used 3 tons, maybe a bit more. A significant portion of the Spark was never used.”
He turned toward the man. “Do you have any knowledge of where the missing Spark went, sir Wultz?” he asked.
“What?” the man asked in surprise. “There is no missing Spark. We used it all.”
“No, I don’t believe you did. Spark is missing here and not a little amount too. This much missing Spark requires me to open up an investigation here and notify my higher-ups of the situation.”
“Do you have any idea where the Spark might’ve gone, sir Wultz?” Ning asked the man.
“N-no,” the man said. “I don’t even believe it is missing, to be honest. You are saying some nonsense right now.
“That’s fine,” Ning said. “I’ll get a Connector to find out the truth from you soon enough. If you are hiding anything, it’s better to tell me right now before others arrive with cuffs and chains.”
“N-no!” the old man said. “I’ve done nothing wrong. Trust me.”
“Then where is the Spark?” Ning asked. “Give me the Spark and I won’t tell anyone anything.”
“No, I don’t have the Spark,” the man said urgently.
“Then I must call a Connector to verify that information. You are okay with that right?” Ning asked. “But once the Connector comes, I can’t keep the information hidden any longer. They will report. I won’t if you tell me the truth right now.”
“Tha-that is the truth,” the man said. “There is no Spark.”
“Then you force my hands,” Ning said.
“No! Please, I’m telling the truth. There is no more Spark left. We’ve used it all,” the man said.
Ning shook his head. “This unfinished city is evidence that you did not use all of it,” he said.
“No, we didn’t use it in the city,” the man said. “We… we used it on something else.”
Ning paused and looked at the man. “What are you saying?” he asked. “What did you use it on?”
The old man grumbled under his breath, not wanting to say anything to Ning. “We… we used it for something good,” he said.
“And what is this good thing?” Ning asked, curiously.
“I… I’ll show it to you,” the man said. “But please, please don’t tell your superiors about this.”
Ning shrugged. “It will all depend on what it is that you show me. I can’t not report a waste of Spark after all.”
The old man nodded. “I understand,” he said. “But I promise you, what we’re doing here is no waste at all.”
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