Lock didn't let his companions know that he had already returned.
He had also informed the military headquarters in advance, so they didn't schedule him for the next day's epidemic prevention work.
Through the tall, thick walls, Lock heard the movements of the two Titans captured by the Survey Corps.
Lock knew he still had time.
Time to do what?
He wanted to teach Annie a lesson and vent some frustration for Marco... He put on a mask and headscarf, blending into the team entering the Trost District for disinfection.
Lock knew that Annie and the other two would soon decide to kill the Titans captured by the Survey Corps for experimentation.
And between the decision and the execution of the plan, there would be some time.
Furthermore, to avoid being discovered by the Military Police Brigade after the successful execution, they had to retrieve Marco's Omni-Directional Mobility Gear, which they had discarded.
Lock wanted to find that item before they did.
The city was so large with so many streets; finding such a thing seemed extremely difficult.
Besides, they might have already secretly recovered it while collecting the corpses.
However, after the Trainees finished their corpse collection work these past few days, they would all be inspected by the Military Police Brigade before returning to their quarters.
This was to prevent the Recruits from stealing belongings left behind by residents who had evacuated in a hurry.
Lock could only gamble that these little spies weren't that professional and wouldn't dare take the risk... "Mikasa, Armin!"
Seeing the two, Connie, Jean, and Sasha quickly hurried over.
Connie asked with a hint of surprise, "When did you guys get back?"
Armin glanced at the Garrison Soldiers supervising at the end of the street and lowered his voice, "We came back last night."
Jean hesitated for a moment before asking, "How's Eren? How did the military decide to handle him?"
Mikasa replied, "Eren went to the Survey Corps."
Armin added, "Commander Erwin proposed to the Commander-in-Chief to let Eren join the subsequent Wall Maria Reclamation Battle, so the Commander-in-Chief agreed to hand Eren over to the Survey Corps' custody."
Jean said with a complex expression, "Is that so? That guy has already gone to the Survey Corps."
Sasha followed up, "Did you see Lock? What exactly did Lock do to be taken to the Royal Capital by the Military Police Brigade just like Eren?"
Armin looked at the supervising Soldiers again, and after confirming they were still dozing, he pulled a newspaper from his clothes and handed it to everyone.
Everyone was immediately stunned by the news of Lock killing an officer, yet they were also moved by his anger.
Sasha asked worriedly, "Then he... how is he?"
Armin consoled her, "Considering Lock's achievements, the military didn't give him a heavy sentence. He should be back soon."
Sasha's eyes lit up, "I'll go tell Annie the good news; she'll definitely be happy!"
Watching Sasha skip away, Connie explained, "Sasha said Annie's been in a bad mood lately; she must be really worried about that guy Lock."
He sighed again, "But Lock is really ruthless, actually beating that bastard Commander to death."
Jean looked up at the sky, "He's probably seeking revenge for those who were killed by that bastard."
...Lock sat leaning against the wall, arms resting on his knees, expressionlessly watching the gear lying on the floor not far away.
He had chosen to tail Jean to find this place.
Lock saw Jean pause by the wall outside this house for a long time, so he guessed that Marco had died in that unnoticed spot.
The setting sun fell through the broken skylight on the roof, perfectly illuminating this relic belonging to Marco.
He looked up through the skylight at the sky and said quietly, "Come, Annie, I'm waiting for you."
...The sun set, and the bright moon hung high.
A heartbroken, homesick person draped in a cloak stepped into the night.
She crossed the streets, orienting herself, and approached the target house.
With her face covered, Annie pushed open the door and stepped softly into the dark room.
Moonlight fell through the broken skylight, shining upon the objective of her trip.
Letting out a soft sigh, Annie was about to step forward when her pupils suddenly constricted—a hand had landed on her left shoulder!
Her body instantly dropped to break free, her right hand darting out diagonally upward like lightning to grab the wrist of the person behind her. Her left foot kicked back at the person's lower body, and with a pull of her right hand and an arch of her back, she slammed them hard onto the ground with a perfect shoulder throw.
Annie's right elbow followed through, smashing down toward Lock's face.
Lying on the floor, Lock rolled to dodge, propped himself up with his left hand, kicked off with his right foot, and raised his left knee in mid-air to strike directly at Annie's chest.
Annie pressed her hands down to block, but was pushed back several steps by Lock's force.
In the darkness, the two stopped simultaneously, silently observing each other across the moonlight between them.
Both were wearing cloaks and white cloth masks, making it impossible to see each other clearly.
Lock kicked Marco's gear into the air.
Taking advantage of Annie's distracted gaze, he instantly charged in close, grabbed her waist, and slammed her right off the ground.
Reacting, Annie hooked her arms around Lock's right arm and neck, her legs also tightly locking around his waist.
Annie's back slammed hard onto the floor; she used Lock's forward momentum to try to snap his neck.
Lock grabbed Annie's arms, resisting with all his might.
During the stalemate, Marco's gear fell back down. Lock performed a scorpion kick, striking the gear toward Annie's face.
Fearing the gear would be damaged, Annie didn't dodge; she lowered her head to take the hit, knocking it onto Lock's back before it rolled to the ground.
Lock forcefully pushed off the ground with his left knee, wrapped his arms around Annie's waist to lift her again, and then leaned back, smashing through a wooden table as they hit the floor.
Annie finally let go in pain, and both rose and turned at the same time to face each other again.
Inside the room, the sound of their heavy breathing was exceptionally clear.
Lock could see a wound on Annie's forehead bleeding profusely, which made him feel a pang of heartache.
It didn't last long before Annie pulled a dagger from her bosom and lunged forward.
Lock didn't dodge; he raised his right hand to grab the dagger. Annie pulled it back sharply, drawing blood, then leaned down to stab directly at Lock's abdomen.
"Puchi!"
The dagger sank into his flesh up to the hilt. Lock grabbed Annie's hand, stopping her from twisting or pulling it sideways.
Blood-soaked and stained, Lock's white shirtwas red.
Lock sank weakly to one knee, and Annie made no further aggressive moves.
She let go, and Lock sat on the ground, gripping the hilt.
"Ha." Lock took a deep breath and moved himself to the wall.
Annie picked up Marco's gear, glanced at Lock, and, after a moment's hesitation, left straight away.
After confirming Annie was far away, Lock took off the white cloth mask and chuckled softly, "Were you afraid that if you took off the mask, you'd see it was me? Annie?"
"Didn't even deliver a finishing blow... truly too sentimental."
With that, Lock tore open his shirt around the hilt; because he had intentionally avoided it, no vital organs or blood vessels were damaged.
"But my intestines are definitely ruptured. It really hurts."
Lock gripped the hilt and, with an absolutely steady hand, slowly pulled the dagger out.
Pressing the white cloth mask against the wound, Lock slowly timed it.
One minute, two minutes, five minutes... ten minutes later, Lock let go of the cloth, and the wound had already vanished.
Lock smiled happily, "Bet you didn't expect that, Annie."
...Once she was sure she was safe, Annie took off her mask, her expression a bit frustrated.
A faint white mist rose from the top of her head, and the wound on her forehead was rapidly healing.
Annie recalled the fight just now... the moves were somewhat similar... but then again, she had never actually seen him use them.
Why didn't I confirm it then?
Shaking her head, she gathered her thoughts and looked at the moon above.
Time was running out; she had to hurry.
Annie put the mask on again and disappeared from the spot.
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