Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Investigation

In the morning, in the lower district of Igewent, at a cafe on a certain street, a teenage girl with white hair dressed in a black and white dress sat in a booth by the window on the second floor, continuously adding cube sugar to her freshly served hot coffee.

Taking a day off specially requested from the principal, Dorothy, who had just participated in an “extracurricular practical activity,” was taking some time to relax and summarize the successful activity.

“Huh… As expected, there’s a traitor within the An Yin Bureau who leaked my information to the Holy Communion. They must have been the ones who informed the Holy Communion about my movements.”

While stirring her coffee with eight cubes of sugar, Dorothy thought silently. After the Holy Communion had twice tracked her and twice attempted to harm her, she had become very curious about how they obtained their intelligence.

After confirming with Gregor that the An Yin Bureau required reporting family information and even reasons for leave, and combining this with previous reports about Abbott’s base being cleared beforehand, Dorothy began to suspect the existence of a traitor within the An Yin Bureau leaking information. To confirm this, she devised today’s plan.

Dorothy first used a Crow Doll to track Gregor from afar for several days, confirming the location of the An Yin Bureau. Then, she used an Edric Doll to order flowers from a florist, delivering the message along with the flowers to the An Yin Bureau at a designated time.

Meanwhile, Dorothy had already cleared out number 22 earlier, where a zombie-puppetified Burton awaited the Holy Communion’s emergency contact. Dorothy assumed that upon receiving her tip-off, the traitor within the An Yin Bureau would alert the Holy Communion, prompting the people inside number 22 to evacuate. However, they wouldn’t expect that Dorothy had already cleared out number 22.

Sure enough, the zombie puppet left behind at number 22 received a warning from the Holy Communion to seek refuge. This confirmed to Dorothy that there was indeed a traitor within the An Yin Bureau, and she managed to extract additional information, learning why she had been targeted and roughly locating another Holy Communion base.

“Trying to corrupt Gregor through me? It seems Gregor poses quite a threat to those guys…”

Through this “extracurricular practical activity,” Dorothy gained considerable benefits: intelligence, money, and a book that seemed to be a secret transmission. She planned to read it later in a quiet place.

Sipping her sweet coffee, Dorothy looked down at the street scene from the window, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

“So… You should have arrived by now, Gregor…”

…

In the morning, in the lower district of Igewent, Elmwood West Lane, number 22.

At the entrance to number 22, the police had set up a cordon, keeping the bustling crowd of onlookers outside. Not long ago, when gunshots rang out here, nearby residents had rushed to the police station to report it, and the police quickly arrived to secure the scene.

“Excuse me, Chief Jack, what happened with the gunfire just now? Was it a gang fight? How many casualties were there? Can you give us a general idea?”

“We are currently fully investigating this case. There is no information we can disclose right now. Please wait quietly for the official notification from the police. Excuse me, let us through…”

“Hey! Chief, please wait a moment. At least tell us the general situation inside!”

In the noisy crowd, reporters began questioning the police about the case. The chief responded with generic answers, refusing to reveal any substantive information, as he himself did not know the details.

This case had already attracted the attention of other organizations, so the police could only guard the perimeter and deal with the reporters.

Inside number 22, the smell of bl**d had yet to dissipate. Gregor and Turner, both in uniform, stood among the corpses in the study, silently observing the gruesome scene before them, their expressions serious.

“There are seven corpses, six ordinary people and one Thirster, all dead. The Thirster’s name is Burton Vale, a landlord whose property is in Purple Shirt Town. According to neighbors, these uniformed individuals were servants of the Thirster, all serving the Holy Communion. It’s clear they were working together, possibly even core members.”

As Gregor spoke slowly, they had already conducted preliminary investigations into the house owner’s information.

“According to the information provided by the surrounding residents, the gunfire lasted only about a minute, then nothing else significant happened. Oh… Holy Son above, what kind of thing could wipe out so many people, including a Thirster, in just a minute? Getting rid of such a thing isn’t easy.”

Gregor continued, reflecting on the incident, while Turner frowned and asked:

“Gregor, if you were leading, how long would it take to dismantle this base?”

Listening to Turner, Gregor scanned the surroundings again, then thought for a moment before speaking:

“Seven lackeys plus a Thirster, if not ambushing, leading a direct assault would probably take at least ten minutes, and we don’t know how many casualties there would be. Even without the Thirster, these Holy Communion lackeys become ghostly once they’re marked with sigils, making them extremely troublesome…

“But this is their own base, their home ground, so it couldn’t have been an ambush. The attackers either infiltrated or broke through directly… Regardless, doing this much damage in such a short time is truly frightening…”

Gregor’s expression showed obvious disbelief. Having dealt with the Holy Communion multiple times, he naturally understood how difficult dealing with a Thirster could be.

After Gregor finished speaking, silence fell over the scene. Clearly, they all realized the extraordinary nature of whoever orchestrated this massacre. Being able to swiftly clean out a Holy Communion base and k*ll a core member like the Thirster was not something to be underestimated in Igewent.

“Hmph, indeed powerful… But those guys sent us information about their base, only to find this scene after we arrived. It feels like they’re inviting our Hunters to clean up the mess, as if they’re provoking us deliberately…”

Looking at the scene, Turner said discontentedly, and Gregor tried to calm him down:

“Calm down, Turner. We know nothing about those people. Before we understand their stance, it’s best not to overinterpret… Regardless, the sudden appearance of such power in Igewent means we need to be more vigilant.”

Gregor said seriously, his mind suddenly recalling the existence that had made the Holy Communion wary during his time in Vukan.

Could these two incidents be related to the same entity or force?

Thinking this, Gregor looked out the window at the sky. He felt that a mysterious force, perhaps not inferior to the Crimson Eucharist or even the local An Yin Bureau, was gradually intervening in the hidden world of Igewent.

“Sigh… Let’s conduct a thorough search and bring the bodies back. We need to report the situation here to Mr. James immediately.”