Chapter 59

Fifty-Ninth Hearing

At noon in Igewent, the sunlight shone on the streets of White Pearl Street, but the warmth brought by the sun was hard to spread indoors, especially in Cory’s shop.

Looking at the black hole of the g*n pointed directly at him, Cory felt a chill all around, his heart tightened, and he froze in place. However, having seen the waves before, he didn’t panic immediately but smiled instead.

“Hehe… Guest, what is this…”

“I think one pound is too little; I decided to add your life to the price. Give me an estimate, boss.”

Pointing the g*n at Cory, the man in the trench coat said coldly, and Cory laughed along.

“Oh… Is that so? My previous estimate was indeed off. Please wait a moment… I will re-evaluate it for you right now…” Facing the threat, Cory smiled and slowly placed his hand under the counter where there was a mechanism.

This was a trap door hidden under the floor in front of Cory’s counter. If triggered, it would open and anyone standing on it would fall into the trap below, while also triggering an alarm to alert the assistants in the back of the shop.

As a well-known moneylender on White Pearl Street, Cory always had contingency plans. He had faced threats before, but those who dared to threaten him were either working in the mines or drowned in the Iron Mud River.

Cory pretended to be nonchalant as he reached under the counter to trigger the mechanism, being very cautious and careful, unnoticed from the front. However, the gecko behind the wall observed his every move.

Just as Cory was about to activate the mechanism, the man in the trench coat suddenly glared and stretched out his g*n, pushing the barrel into Cory’s mouth, forcing him to step back and making him unable to reach the mechanism.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

With the g*n barrel blocking his mouth, Cory became even more intimidated than just being threatened with the g*n. Initially calm, he panicked immediately, widening his eyes and making muffled sounds, filled with fear.

“Almost forgot to tell you, don’t try any tricks on me. I see everything clearly. Now, give me a proper valuation. You won’t have another chance. Understand?”

Blocking Cory’s mouth with the g*n, the man in the trench coat continued coldly. Cory nodded frantically, and the man then pulled the g*n out of his mouth and continued pointing it at him.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

After coughing several times, Cory picked up his pocket watch with trembling hands and looked at it in fear. He then looked at the man in the trench coat with terror.

“This… This pocket watch is finely crafted… accurate… I think it’s worth… worth ten pounds!” Cory said nervously. The man in the trench coat remained silent, continuing to look at him coldly, the g*n still held firmly.

“No, no! Ten pounds is too low. Let me re-evaluate… How about thirty pounds?”

Cory continued, but the man in the trench coat did not respond, still holding the g*n steadily.

“Or sixty pounds! Sixty pounds should be enough, right!”

The high-interest lender Cory’s voice began to tremble, but the man in front of him remained unmoved. Finally, Cory could not help but speak again.

“One hundred twelve pounds! One hundred twelve pounds! That’s all the cash I have here! Please spare my life!” Cory said in panic, and the man in the trench coat silently responded.

“Then, give me the money…”

Hearing the man’s reply, Cory quickly nodded and hurriedly opened the safe beside him, taking out the bills and handing them to the man in the trench coat. After receiving the money, the man put it away and pointed at Cory, backing out of the shop slowly and then opening the door to leave.

Seeing this situation, Cory clenched his teeth and quickly rang the bell hanging on the wall. Soon after, two sturdy assistants came in through the back door.

“What’s wrong, boss?”

“I was robbed! A man in a black trench coat just left! Quickly go out and catch those fools! Bring that guy back! Oh, and call more people, he has a g*n!”

“Yes, boss!”

…

While the pawnshop was in chaos, Dorothy stood atop the building opposite, overlooking the shop below. She nodded slightly in satisfaction.

“One hundred twelve pounds… Not bad…”

“It turns out… tuition fees must be earned through hard work.”

As she spoke, Dorothy continued to control the zombie puppet Edric to shake off the pursuing assistants from the pawnshop. With the help of the crow puppet’s aerial view, this was an easy task. Soon, Dorothy had lost the pursuers completely.

After controlling Edric to head to the predetermined hiding spot, Dorothy temporarily released the puppet control and then gradually recalled the other animal puppets. Watching Cory angrily berating his assistants at the door, Dorothy continued to mutter softly.

“Huh… Your business is full of secrets, so you definitely wouldn’t dare to report it. Then, it’s time for the next step…”

As she spoke, Dorothy activated the puppet ring again. Behind her, two figures slowly rose.

One was a bald middle-aged man in suspenders, and the other was a young man in a cap wearing a checkered shirt.

The seven members of the Holy Communion who had attacked and kidnapped Dorothy ended up as seven corpses. Two were mummified, two were destroyed at Burton’s house, leaving three usable corpses. These were two of them.

Controlling the bald middle-aged man and the cap-wearing young man, Dorothy made them descend to the street and start wandering around. Dorothy maneuvered the young man closer to a tavern, where people were drinking amidst the noise.

Dorothy controlled the cap-wearing young man to order a beer at the bar and let the young man wander around the tavern, carefully listening to various conversations. Soon, she found her target—a group of guys boasting together.

“Hey… Have you heard? Something happened in Cory’s shop just now? Someone saw him losing his temper!”

“Cory? Who would dare provoke that guy? They’d be risking their lives…”

“It seems so… Someone saw him commanding his assistants to chase someone, but they couldn’t catch up. Do you think Cory was robbed?”

In a corner of the tavern, a few drunkards were chatting. At that moment, a figure approached them and spoke.

“It wasn’t just a petty thief… Cory just got hit hard…”

Hearing this voice, the drunkards turned around and saw a young man standing by their table, holding a beer and wearing a cap. He had a mysterious expression.

“Got hit hard? Buddy, what do you mean? Are you saying Cory encountered some big trouble?” one of the drunkards asked curiously. The young man looked around and leaned in, lowering his voice.

“Listen, my cousin works at Cory’s shop. He told me that this morning, a strange person came to Cory’s shop to pawn something. Initially, Cory accepted it, but then realized something was wrong and called people to chase after them.”

“Pawning something, did Cory accidentally take fake goods? That would be great news…” one of the drunkards said, but the young man smiled and continued.

“Hehe… It’s far from just fake goods. Those were stolen items, belonging to Burton Ville!”

“The same Burton Ville who’s been all over the newspapers lately! The one who was killed at home with many servants? The purple-shirt landlord?”

Hearing this, one of the drunkards nearly jumped up, and the young man nodded slowly, then slapped the table.

“That’s right… That’s him. Listen, the murderer who killed Burton Ville might be right here on White Pearl Street! Right here among us!”