Chapter 650: Precaution

Immediately after Peter Clemensa and his group of men in black left, the Detective Agency promptly began to summarize their experiences and strengthen their defenses.

The owl was picked up by Doug from the top of the windmill where it liked to stand guard at night, after he had interrogated them. It could be said that it had fallen in the line of duty.

As a dignified nocturnal raptor, it was roused from sleep in the middle of the night and remained listless, its eyelids drooping.

Peter Clemensa did not specifically explain how they discovered the owl or accomplished this, only mentioning that they had merely put the owl into a state of unconsciousness, with the effect being better on smaller creatures, but it should not have sustained any injuries.

Doug's communication with birds was not particularly precise; he only knew that the owl felt relatively good. Besides being sleepy, it did not detect any particular abnormalities either at the time or after being woken up.

After a brief inspection, they indeed found no injuries, so they poured a few sips of holy water down the silly bird's throat and sent it to sleep.

They could only initially suspect that Peter Clemensa's group likely possessed Extraordinary abilities related to "anti-scrying" or "anomaly detection." Considering the distance from the top of the windmill to the ground, the range of that unconsciousness-inducing Extraordinary ability was not short. It was just unclear how effective it would be on humans.

Although Connal updated his losing streak, he was not disgraced as the participant in the external battle. Inessa and Lina observed the entire process and gained a rough understanding of the ability types and fighting styles of several of the men in black.

In order, the first man in black to fight was relatively suitable for an Arena battle. The range of his Extraordinary ability was roughly a spherical space with a radius of about 7 yards. Connal repeatedly experienced feelings of "supergravity" and "weightlessness" within it, and ultimately lost by being knocked out of the Arena due to the constant switching between these two states.

His Extraordinary ability seemed to have no effect on inanimate objects, but his own movements were clearly affected, though he was more accustomed to the state and could actively switch between them.

The second man in black to fight was clearly from the "holy" domain. He used at least two Extraordinary abilities. One of them was roughly similar to holding an invisible basketball in his hand; when Connal tried to gather spiritual power for local defense, he would feel a repulsive force within the range of the "basketball."

The other was like throwing a sandbag. The "sandbag" could be large or small; a sufficiently large one could directly "break Connal's shield," and if it hit his body, the corresponding part would feel as if it was constantly being burned until enough spiritual power gathered to completely counteract it.

Adding to that was the black slime at the end that could completely envelop a person.

Speaking of the Extraordinary abilities themselves, they didn't sound too flashy, but their power was undeniable, and the results of the actual combat were also irrefutable.

The Agents' advancement in rank and Extraordinary abilities was not something that could be easily resolved, but fortunately, an Arena was just an Arena. In actual combat, the power of firearms could still solve many problems.

Inessa brought up a very convincing example: when the Windsor Kingdom first began to colonize the New World, the more powerful Indigenous people tribes often had a certain number of Extraordinary People. The soldiers in the colonial teams at that time, armed with matchlock or flintlock guns, were still able to establish a foothold and begin to expand before reinforcements arrived.

Thus, guided by this line of thinking, the Detective Agency's on-duty Agents truly began to keep their guns as close as possible. Some traps were even installed overnight.

Since the workshop was, after all, on someone else's Plantation, directly burying high explosives would be a bit excessive. However, it was clearly necessary to set up more sound-emitting warning devices. Traps like nets and tripwires were also very environmentally friendly; even if the police officers saw them, they wouldn't object, and occasionally someone accidentally triggering them would be harmless.

The most exaggerated was Lina, who, worried that Parker might be targeted, wanted to dig a hole in the kitchen late at night to make a fake cabinet. She planned to buy a safe tomorrow to hide inside for Parker to rest in.

She wasn't afraid of Parker being stolen by someone who knew what they were doing; it was hard to say who would need to guard against thieves for a thousand days. But encountering an ignorant thief acting on orders would be troublesome. If Parker were to get a hole punched in him or an arm or leg broken, she felt there would be no place to fix him.

…

The matter of the previous group of Coatle cultists had come to an end. The ritual notebook Lina had acquired had already been handed over to Merlin to be turned in.

The rewards the Detective Agency could obtain this time had an upper limit, and they had secretly acquired some Extraordinary materials. That item was given away as a cover and a favor.

Wayne didn't feel bad about that item, mainly because Lina's description of it was quite apt; she called it "Extraordinary knowledge."

knowledge is something that can be copied. The partners, especially Inessa, had all read it once. As participants in the incident, they also had the right to apply to borrow it from the Cathedral and could completely compile their own identical notebook. There was no need to have any lingering thoughts about that book—if they really wanted a souvenir, it would be better to keep the "snake-head staff" that seemed to be completely useless now.

Besides, that Feathered Serpent didn't seem to be able to defeat the Wise Sage, and its diet during the ritual was unhealthy.

For the Detective Agency, the most valuable part was actually the content Inessa could use to extend the shelf life of Extraordinary materials. There was no need to imitate those Silent Sect followers and try to please It.

Inessa was still kind. The next morning, she hesitated whether to go to the Dock Area to continue assisting the Church in their investigation, lest there be any dangerous cultists of the evil god still at large.

But there were priorities. To ensure that the Extraordinary material left for Wayne wouldn't lose too much spiritual power, and to help guard Parker while Lina went out to shop, she stayed in the workshop to continue brewing the potion, temporarily entrusting the investigation she wanted to conduct to Connal, whose ambition had suddenly soared overnight.

The Detective Agency's overall investigation work, of course, did not stop. Besides supplying restaurants, the remaining luncheon meat was currently booked until next week. "Slingshot" and his team no longer needed to promote it; they still wore Red Armbands and, along with new members, went to the Dock Area to pretend to be busy and show their presence everywhere.

Wayne thought for a moment, then took a carriage directly to the Ireland Violent Group's territory in the Dock Area.

Sellen Guide now seemed genuinely a little afraid of Wayne. When he saw Sanders in the driver's seat of the carriage from a distance in the district, he decisively pretended not to see him, turning his head as if wanting to quickly find an alleyway connected to the street to escape.

Sanders probably noticed as well. The carriage accelerated slightly, and before Sellen Guide successfully ducked into the alley, the carriage quietly stopped beside him. He didn't even greet Sellen Guide, perhaps just sitting silently in the driver's seat, watching him.

Sellen Guide could only timidly and obediently open the carriage door, not daring to sit too deeply: "Mr. Wayne, is there anything I can do for you today?"

"From the way you looked just now, it seemed you had something to attend to?" Wayne asked, knowing full well.

"Mr. Wayne, I previously offended some neighbors when I helped you investigate the plague in the district; three days ago, I went with you to the police morgue to identify bodies, and if anyone spreads that information, it will directly offend the gang. That blonde lady only asked me to find some children to help before, but the result was that on the very night, houses in the district were sealed and requisitioned by the police and the Church."

Sellen Guide sighed profoundly at this point, "If this continues, I might not be able to continue living in the district."

"Everyone who participated in the identification promised to keep it confidential, and I also said I would provide protection for you all."

Wayne felt that Sellen Guide's concerns were somewhat reasonable. "How about I offer you a job? My workshop has recently been producing luncheon meat, which I can provide to you at cost price for you to sell in your district. It's a purely commercial venture; there's no forced sales quota, and you set the price. I only want thirty percent of the profit. If you openly work for me, even if it's just for the sake of my reputation, I couldn't possibly ignore your safety."

The main reason was still the language barrier. In districts like this, it felt like even "Slingshot" and his sales team would find it difficult to truly promote anything.

Trying to have "locals" from the district act as Agents might yield better results.

Sellen Guide's reaction seemed a bit hesitant, as if he was thinking about how to refuse.

Wayne didn't press him: "My invitation will remain valid during the plague investigation period. You can give me your answer after you've considered it carefully. However, I did come to see you today because I need your help with something."

"Please tell me, I'm very happy to be of service." Sellen Guide seemed pleased that Wayne had actively changed the subject.

"It's nothing too complicated. Just like last time, come with me to see Mr. O'Sullivan again—I don't understand the things his subordinates whisper to each other."

Upon hearing this, Sellen Guide's eyes widened. He timidly tried to remind him: "Mr. Wayne, those people who attacked you and were identified in the morgue last time were all working for him…"

"I know." Wayne nodded. "It seems he and I didn't have a very pleasant conversation before, so it's even more necessary to go again. Don't worry, my bodyguard and I are both armed; nothing will happen. In the Dock Area, if we call for reinforcements, people will arrive quickly."

"Ah?"