Chapter 59: Investigation of Death Incidents
Just as the dog, the man, and the woman met in Backlund.
Tingen City.
Klein's mood had been quite good lately.
He had not only resolved the kidnapping case commissioned by the wealthy merchant Elliot, finding the key clue to the Antigonus Family notebook—the corpse of Kady Bieber—but had also received a considerable bonus as a result.
This money caused his tight wallet to suddenly bulge, and it gave him a bit more confidence in his future life.
However, this good mood did not last long.
Just as he was calculating how to use this money to improve his family's life or purchase more divination materials, a dossier from the Tingen City Police Headquarters broke the peace of the Blackthorn Security Company.
"Captain, what is this?" Klein looked at the thick stack of documents Dunn Smith had placed on the table, his brows furrowing involuntarily.
The cover of the file was marked with "Urgent" and "To be investigated" in red ink, exuding an ominous aura.
"Abnormal death reports near the Tingen City slums." Dunn's expression was serious as he tapped the tabletop with his finger. "In the past two weeks, the number of deaths there is five times the normal period."
"Five times?" Klein was startled.
The slums were already the poorest and harshest environment in Tingen; death was not uncommon there. Hunger, disease, gang fights... people disappeared silently every day. Because of this, the police department had always turned a blind eye to death cases there; as long as it wasn't a violent incident causing large-scale panic, they basically wouldn't invest much police force.
But the figure of five times had far exceeded the "normal" scope.
"Yes, five times." Leonard leaned over from the side, rarely putting away his cynical attitude, a hint of solemnity on his face. "The police headquarters' statistician found the data was off and initially thought they had made a mistake. After checking several times, they confirmed how serious the problem was, and then threw this hot potato to us, the Punishers, and the Machinery Hivemind."
Klein took the dossier and quickly flipped through it.
The report was written very sloppily; clearly, the officers responsible for the preliminary investigation had only gone through the motions. Most of the deceased were homeless, unemployed workers, or the terminally ill poor. In the cause of death column, "disease," "exhaustion," or "accident" were written across the board.
On the surface, every report was reasonable and beyond reproach.
But when dozens of such reports were piled together, a lingering sense of eeriness rushed over him.
"Too many, this is simply too many."
Klein's brows furrowed tighter and tighter as he suddenly looked up at Dunn and Leonard.
"Even if it were a plague, it shouldn't be so silent. Moreover, the deceased are scattered; it doesn't look like a concentrated outbreak of an infectious disease."
"Exactly, that's what I'm worried about." Dunn nodded. "Although the preliminary verification shows no issues, I believe we must investigate again. This might require the assistance of divination or Ritual Magic. Klein, you're in charge of this matter."
"I understand," Klein responded solemnly.
He had a faint premonition in his heart that there might be the shadow of Beyonder powers hidden behind this. Was some evil Beyonder performing some kind of Sacrifice ritual? Or was there an out-of-control Monster preying in the shadows?
Regardless of which it was, as a Nighthawk, he was duty-bound.
Old Neil's "The Final Lesson," earned with his professional life, was still fresh in his mind—
The warning of "How not to become a Monster; this is something only we, as 'humans,' can teach ourselves," was branded into his heart.
He couldn't rely solely on divination.
He had to go to the scene, see it with his own eyes, and feel the aura there.
He had to explore the truth behind this shadow of death as a "human."
"I plan to start the investigation from the Lower Street of Iron Cross Street," Klein closed the dossier and said to Leonard.
"Lower Street? That's the worst place in Tingen." Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? The smell there isn't pleasant."
"Because of that, it's even more necessary to take a look." Klein's tone was calm.
He thought of Nairn.
That man who always had a lazy smile but could easily stir up trouble. Nairn had said he was going to Backlund to direct an even grander play.
Klein didn't know what Nairn's grand plan was, but he knew that if he couldn't even protect a corner of Tingen City, how could he face even greater storms in the future?
Perhaps he wanted to witness the most real scars of this era with his own eyes, or perhaps he was moved by some hidden touch from Nairn's words; Klein made up his mind to personally step into that corner forgotten by the sunlight.