After he had a preliminary idea, Wayne did not rush out today. Instead, he returned to his room and re-examined and filtered the list Father Tyrrell had given him.

He didn't have any other intentions; he had just recently noticed the Dock Area and planned to roughly "go through" all the individuals on the list whose addresses were in that vicinity, hoping to resolve them all at once.

Moreover, there were social dances every night these past few days, so it was even more necessary to do some preliminary research. He needed to at least have a general idea in his mind to easily understand the relationships between people.

This would prevent him from unknowingly meeting and greeting someone, perhaps even having a pleasant conversation, only to later discover that they were actually his target.

How impolite that would be.

Originally, "Soften" was assigned to Willie for investigation, but Wayne reconsidered and arranged for "Vortex," who was originally with Lina, to replace him, making it easier for him to inquire about specific local conditions.

Perhaps because Lina's previous actions were too astonishing, "Soften" was a little apprehensive about such a temporary job change. As soon as he entered the room, he began to explain:

"Sir, did I do something wrong? My previous remarks about the white-skinned immigrants were just mistaken views arising from partial understanding. I hope you can give me a chance to correct myself..."

What a mess.

Wayne pointed to a few names he had transcribed from the list, bringing the conversation back to business:

"I'm not here to talk about that with you. You are more familiar with the local situation than I am. Tell me what you know about these people and what we might need to pay attention to if we want to deal with them."

It seemed there were some people on the list that "Soften" didn't recognize, but he scanned the paper several times and still generally understood Wayne's intention, slowly putting his mind at ease.

Then he seemed a little excited, and a little hesitant, "Is our current mission to clear out the gangs in the Dock Area? But many of the 'positions' they represent have actually always been tacitly allowed to exist..."

"Who tacitly allowed it?" Wayne asked.

"Uh..."

"Soften" seemed to not know how to answer either, and after a short pause, he carefully chose his words, "Since it's 'tacitly allowed,' then there's no formal authorization, but also no one has ever pursued or questioned it... The Dock Area has been like this for years, long before I came to Richmond."

"If it has always been like this, then is it right?"

Wayne rarely had the opportunity to quote a famous saying he knew from before his transmigration. Then he generally gave "Soften" a heads-up, "Let's put it this way: there are big figures who are dissatisfied with these people now, and our Detective Agency has initially gathered some clues about their crimes. The next step is to gradually investigate and prosecute them."

After finishing the "homework" assigned by Father Tyrrell, next came Wayne's own "side job":

"Besides the names written above, I also need you to tell me which 'unofficial organizations' in the Dock Area have always been relatively active but are not listed here."

This question seemed easier for "Soften" to answer. He quickly took the pen Wayne handed him and wrote a few names on the paper: "Sheldon-Leach Gang, Jacket Gang, Bison Gang..."

Wayne silently took notes beside him; these might be the types that were somewhat "connected" to Father Tyrrell.

In terms of combating crime, the Detective Agency was required by Father Tyrrell to "not show favoritism." Since objectivity and impartiality were necessary, they naturally had to scrutinize the remaining gangs as well—they just needed to be more careful about their methods.

America at present could be described as "vast and sparsely populated."

Even in the city of Richmond, there were places like the Dock Area where various forces either "couldn't manage," or, more accurately, were "too lazy" or "inconvenient" to manage personally.

Objectively speaking, the Detective Agency, now working with the list, should be considered a pawn used by Father Tyrrell to deal with others.

"Being used" was fine; only truly useless people could completely avoid "being used" in every sense. But Wayne had no intention of becoming a character who could be "discarded at will after being used."

The Detective Agency likely couldn't rely on Father Tyrrell in the future. However, Virginia was so large that as long as the charter previously signed by Corleone wasn't revoked, the Detective Agency could always find a suitable place to establish itself in the nooks and crannies without violating rules.

Since he wanted to "establish roots," he certainly couldn't just clear out the criminals provided by Father Tyrrell. Just as Lina jokingly said, Wayne really did have a bit of a desire to become the "King of the Dock Area."

Relying on the Detective Agency to "single-handedly" take on the local church was a somewhat unrealistic idea, and the two should not become "openly antagonistic" to each other.

Fortunately, politicians want votes, the wealthy want money, and the church itself wants followers. When the Dock Area was previously "unmanaged," these things were probably just a "blind box" draw, but if Wayne handled it, he might be able to make the situation just "a little bit" better.

Once he used investigations and other methods to make things a "fait accompli" during a period when no one was paying attention,

Then, with various forces checking each other, even if "Bishop Tyrrell" wanted to revoke the charter later, he would probably have to think carefully for a while.

—Even with "cricket fighting," there are rules. If someone tried to arbitrarily harm a winning cricket on the field, the other judges probably wouldn't agree.

Wayne now wanted to try to win over those who "disagreed."

The Detective Agency didn't necessarily have to stay in Virginia forever, but "leaving on one's own" and "being driven out" looked vastly different on a resume and would lead to gossip behind one's back.

"These are the unlisted gangs I can think of for now, sir. Please take a look."

After writing down the names of a few Dock Area gangs, "Soften" turned and handed the paper over with both hands, only to find that Wayne made no move, seemingly lost in thought.

"Soften" carefully called out softly twice, "Sir? Sir?"

Realizing that "Soften" had noticed his distraction, Wayne quickly regained his thoughts, taking the paper while smiling to hide his embarrassment:

"I understand. However, they are not our priority for now. Please continue to refine the information on them, and I will ask you more specifically later.

"For now, let's focus on the people I wrote down earlier, starting with 'Jimmy,' whom we just met. I heard he has a 'Mr. Schwartz' behind him. Do you know anything about him?"

Upon hearing this, "Soften" nodded and quickly replied, "I wasn't aware before that James Damody had any connection with Mr. Schwartz. However, Mr. Schwartz is very well-known locally; he is a prominent banker.

"I remember once when I was on a mission, the team leader specifically instructed us that 'the higher-ups' had a very good relationship with Mr. Schwartz, and we needed to avoid damaging his property during our operations..."