Chapter 334

Chapter 294: Inference

In the western part of Tivyán, the Coal Ash District.

In the afternoon, on a sparsely populated street, a yellow horse was galloping swiftly, kicking up dust with each step, causing pedestrians ahead to quickly dodge out of the way.

On the galloping horse rode a figure cloaked in black, gripping the reins tightly, urging the horse to accelerate. As he raced down the street, he continuously looked back, behind him billowing a massive cloud of dust that swept through the entire street.

Before the startled pedestrians could utter curses at the reckless rider, the oncoming dust storm engulfed them. In the harsh winds, all the people in the street instinctively covered their faces and sought shelter. Vendors by the roadside shouted as they hurriedly covered their stalls to prevent them from being blown away by the sudden gale, leaving everyone unable to see clearly.

Thus, no one noticed a figure soaring above the storm, swiftly advancing along the street toward the fleeing rider.

Riding the winds, Edmond quickly caught up with the running target. His eyes were fixated ahead, and with a flick of his cane, he summoned a fierce gust of wind that swept forward. This strong wind not only raised larger clouds of dust but also knocked the horse, ridden by the cloaked figure, to the ground. The horse neighed loudly as it crashed onto the ground, and the rider was thrown off.

The cloaked figure cried out upon hitting the ground but immediately struggled to rise and flee again. At that moment, Edmond swooped down from the sky and struck the figure with his cane. The figure cried out in pain and fell again, the hood falling away to reveal the face of an ordinary young man.

“Don’t move. Kneel on the ground, turn your face away, raise your hands, and don’t look at me. If you don’t want your head to relocate, then be careful,” Edmond commanded, pointing his cane at the young man. After a moment of panic, the young man complied, turning to kneel with his hands raised. Seeing this, Edmond couldn’t help but smile faintly.

…

Meanwhile, as Edmond turned to pursue other targets, Adele finally escaped. After evading Edmond’s chase, she immediately slipped into the urban area of the Coal Ash District, weaving through narrow alleys. Once she confirmed that Edmond had not followed, she sighed in relief at the end of an empty alley.

However, it wasn’t long before a sudden sound made her tense up again.

“That was close, Miss Adele. We almost ended up in a direct conflict with the An Yin Bureau.”

Adele turned toward the voice and saw a familiar figure step out from around a corner: a man in a trench coat and low hat, the detective Ed.

“Phew… Yes, that crazed dog almost caught me, thanks to you, great detective… ah no… I should say, great director.”

Seeing Ed appear, Adele felt relieved. Still wearing sunglasses, she knew that the group of seemingly mind-controlled civilians at the storage yard were unmistakably Ed’s flesh puppets. She had witnessed Ed’s talking flesh puppets before at the theater, and she recognized his skill in orchestrating lifelike performances; hence, when those “hostages” appeared, she immediately understood Ed was using his abilities to help her out.

“Regardless of how you put it… Fortunately, that Hunter Captain cares about civilian safety, so this trick worked on him. If he had been a crazed cultist, things would have been more difficult.”

Ed walked over to Adele as he spoke. Back at the Charred Wood Intersection, Edmond had suddenly targeted who he thought was the culprit—Adele—in order to protect ordinary citizens. This made Dorothy certain that he indeed cared about the lives of common people.

If Edmond had truly disregarded the safety of those ordinary people at the Charred Wood Intersection, he could have remained passive and secretly followed Adele, coordinating with his subordinates to investigate or launch an ambush, rather than acting recklessly and alerting her. However, at that moment, he believed immediate action was necessary to prevent potential harm to those people.

Understanding that Edmond cared about ordinary lives and was convinced that Extraordinary Beings were controlling the minds of those citizens, Dorothy quickly devised a plan to use a zombie puppet in a performance to draw Edmond’s attention. Due to the complete absence of the Enlightenment path in the Secret World, only Dorothy’s puppet could speak and move normally, making it impossible for Edmond not to be convinced by her staged act.

After using a standard zombie puppet to distract Edmond, Dorothy had been monitoring and tracking down Adele through the air with her Crow Doll, ensuring that Ed and she would reunite.

“Regardless, thanks to you, we finally shook off that crazed dog… But why did he suddenly fixate on me? And what about the situation at the intersection just now…”

Furrowing her brow, Adele murmured, her expression turning serious. After all this, she sensed that the current situation was quite strange; the sudden loss of control among ordinary citizens at the Charred Wood Intersection and the timing of the Hunter focusing on her were too coincidental. Unsettling thoughts began to surface in her mind.

Observing Adele’s troubled expression, Ed spoke seriously.

“Although Miss Adele, you may not want to hear this, but from what I’ve seen, the events in the Coal Ash District seem very likely to be a trap set specifically for you. The Wolf bl**d Association has probably taken control of your teacher, using her abilities to attract the An Yin Bureau to pursue you, achieving their goals.”

Ed’s words elicited a silent nod from Adele, who then spoke solemnly.

“Yes… you are right. Indeed… from the current situation, we are led into a trap…” Adele said, her face grim, while Ed continued.

“Yes, the incidents in the Coal Ash District were traps laid specifically for you, Miss Adele. We narrowly escaped one of their schemes, and it would be prudent to retreat immediately.”

Adele paused slightly at Ed’s words, then looked at him and smiled.

“If Detective wanted to run away… you would immediately take me with you, rather than discussing this here… So, Ed, what else do you have in mind?”

Adele inquired, and Ed shrugged in response.

“Ah… Miss Adele, you are quite perceptive. Indeed, to me, now is not the time to flee. Those guys setting traps in this area also run the risk of exposure. Now that they have failed this time, it gives us an opportunity. I have never been one to waste chances; their turn ended, now it’s ours.”

Adjusting his collar with a calm demeanor, Ed stated, and seeing the man before her, Adele paused slightly, then continued to smile in response.