Chapter 681: Intertwined

At this point, those who could enter the scene to investigate were basically considered "professionals."

The Cathedral Monks had their own methods, such as lighting candles to detect Extraordinary power reactions. However, the Detective Agency was by no means inferior in this regard; Agents quickly compiled a preliminary "perpetrator profile" based on the scene, which sounded quite convincing.

"The perpetrator was approximately 6.5 feet tall, with a large and robust build, right-handed, and possessed abnormally high strength and defense. No eyewitness reports matching these criteria have been found in the surrounding area yet."

"During the commission of the crime, he primarily used physical attacks. His weapon was a single-edged dagger, and he engaged in close-quarters and unarmed combat. No signs of using lethal Extraordinary abilities have been discovered yet."

"It is speculated that the perpetrator's Extraordinary abilities likely fall into the 'self-enhancement' or 'manipulation' categories, with a distinct sense of abnormality. His reaction to injuries was unusual; he seemed to feel no pain. Ordinary firearm attacks were ineffective against him, and it's reasonable to assume he can also immunize himself against physical attacks of equivalent strength."

Experienced Cathedral Monks would likely be able to deduce these details progressively as well.

However, Wayne had specifically promoted a variation of the "big company culture" at the Detective Agency. Some information could be directly filled in using templates, making the efficiency look quite different.

It even included some jargon and slang to imply professionalism. When analyzing the perpetrator's movements, it was as if they had witnessed the scene firsthand.

At first listen, it strongly conveyed a sense of "well-trained and experienced."

Even the new Agents who hadn't taken these courses were stunned, while older Agents like Connal silently gloated.

For example, the perpetrator's "body-through-wall" action in the warehouse's guard quarters already gave a rough idea of his height and build.

And based on the emotional reactions on the victims' bodies, from "surprise at being ambushed" to "furious counterattack" and then "frantic escape," the sequence could be vaguely discerned.

Then, by comprehensively judging based on wound locations and the presence of certain features at the scene, a preliminary analysis could be produced. This was essentially like following a process according to a form and applying steps to an example. It could be achieved by doing more practice problems; nothing else, just pure familiarity.

Regardless of whether these things could catch the person,

you just tell me if the Detective Agency's commission seemed worth the price.

Merlin was clearly impressed by this. Although he was the person in charge assigned by the Cathedral, he was willing to cede the lead in the investigation to the Detective Agency at the scene, effectively turning into their assistant.

Wayne had not met some of the Monks before, but after the Detective Agency quickly produced its conclusions, they had no objections, feeling that everyone's goals were aligned and that the words of professionals should be heeded.

However, Merlin still had a question: "Miss Inessa, when you reported to the Cathedral today, you said you had reason to suspect that there might be at least a near-high-level evil Extraordinary Person in the Dock Area. His Excellency the Bishop trusts your judgment, but judging by this scene, does the perpetrator's danger level seem insufficient?"

Inessa had already surveyed the scene and was standing nearby, looking down at the floor, seemingly organizing the clues in her small head.

Upon hearing this, she nodded, "The clue I found earlier came from another case. The victims were people everyone thought had died in a dock accident. Those bodies had characteristics of Extraordinary abilities that I recognized. Currently, I haven't found traces of the same Extraordinary ability here, so I can't determine if it was the same person."

Wayne immediately understood that Inessa had not told the Cathedral the inside story about the origin of her Extraordinary abilities.

So he helped her out: "But so many Extraordinary Person-related incidents have occurred consecutively in the Dock Area recently, with too little time between them. Today's case also sounds too coincidental. I believe we cannot rashly conclude that they are unrelated for now."

Merlin also didn't dare to gamble at this point. The perpetrator seemed to act with ease, and there were no particularly direct Extraordinary ability characteristics at the scene.

It could be a coincidence, or the person might have abilities but chose not to use them, or they could be accomplices. It was indeed impossible to draw a conclusion immediately.

What else could be done?

Investigate.

They still had to keep an eye on the gangs at night, and now another big one had appeared.

Bishop Tiriel was difficult to talk to, and the newly appointed Cathedral treasurer was stingy.

Annoying.

...

As dusk fell, after the Detective Agency had finished dinner in shifts, they still focused on maintaining law and order in the Dock Area.

The search for the high-level evil Extraordinary Person was temporarily left to Merlin and his group. The Detective Agency had reported in a timely manner and would provide support if the situation developed.

Anyway, if that guy ran off or continued to commit evil, the blame wouldn't fall on the Detective Agency.

But if the Dock Area fell into chaos, Wayne might not only lose all his previous efforts but also be held accountable later.

The Agents' reactions were also very interesting. Originally, they only had to deal with ordinary gang members. While busy, it wasn't particularly dangerous.

Now, each of them was afraid they didn't have enough equipment, even their lever-action rifles had no place to hide, so they just wrapped them in cloth and carried them on their shoulders. They were also a bit nervous, worried that they might "win the lottery" like Connal or "Slingshot" before.

To soothe everyone's emotions, Wayne specifically assigned the partners to the actual patrol teams, no longer letting them wander with people based on their own interests.

Lina, that girl, seemed to enjoy a good spectacle and even teased everyone, saying, "This is the real Arena escape level test. Now you know how strong the other Peter's surrender technique really is, don't you?"

Looking on the bright side, even if that hidden high-level Extraordinary Person was still in the Dock Area, judging by how the previous bodies were hidden, that guy didn't seem to intend to cause trouble. He felt much more low-key than those Silent Sect cultists.

The Detective Agency wasn't just starting night patrols today; they hadn't found anything unusual the past two days, so the chance of "winning the lottery" shouldn't be too high.

Let's hope so.

Since Inessa needed to take Merlin and his group to the morgue to see the previously discovered bodies, Wayne went to the Ireland community. While staking out and patrolling, he also handled two tasks at once, incidentally inquiring from the side if the Ireland Violent Group had dealt with more similar incidents.

He was using Lina's trick now, taking candy to find children to try and open a breakthrough.

The child he was looking for wasn't a stranger; it was the one Wayne had rescued from a few gang members two days ago. According to the information provided by the intelligence team afterward, almost his entire family consisted of Ireland Violent Group members, and one of them had already become a small leader in the gang.

Quite criminal,

always felt like there was a future to look forward to.

Just didn't know if it would be a fixed term or life imprisonment.

It made Wayne even suspect that perhaps those few gang members weren't "harming the innocent" but were specifically targeting the child's relatives.

Fortunately, the details weren't important, as long as he could get clues.

However, when Wayne arrived with a small gift, he found that the family's home was actually inconvenient at the moment.

In the room that could tentatively be called a "living room," an area had been cleared, and two people covered with white cloths lay on a thin blanket.

Several family members sat silently around nearby white candles, holding a vigil for the deceased.