Since this involved inhibitors, the Lungmen Guard Department could only be said to have limited knowledge. They had some understanding, but not nearly enough.
When it came to truly understanding the inhibitor market…
Shirou's first thought was the Rhodes Island branch office in Lungmen.
But after thinking it through, he felt that was not quite right. The inhibitors there were supplied internally by Rhodes Island itself so they might not be very familiar with the black-market side of things.
That led him to think of another person he had worked with before, a rather unusual doctor.
Aak.
Although Aak was not exactly a conventional doctor, nor a specialist in treating Oripathy, he had more or less come into contact with the slum's inhibitor trade.
At least, that was Shirou's assumption.
Still, gathering as much information as possible was important.
If possible, Shirou wanted to capture everyone involved in this entire operation in one sweep. So even the smallest piece of information was worth pursuing.
However, it was already quite late, and he was not sure whether Aak was still awake. He could only send a message first, saying he had a few questions to ask.
"If someone is looking for you, you can head back first. I will finish refining the operation plan with Hoshiguma."
Noticing Shirou using his phone, Chen assumed it was someone from Penguin Logistics contacting him.
Being urged to go home… that kind of feeling sounded strangely nice.
It had been a long time since Chen had experienced something like that.
"Huh? If it is Penguin Logistics, I already told them what I am doing. They would not contact me unless it is important."
Shirou paused for a moment, then explained.
"Then what are you doing?"
If no one was contacting him, was he slacking off?
Chen briefly imagined Shirou slacking… then dismissed the idea. It did not fit him at all.
"I am contacting someone I know to gather more information."
Shirou raised his phone slightly.
"I see… That makes sense. You know a lot of people in the slums. Information from acquaintances might be more detailed and accurate than what informants provide."
Chen did not find anything wrong with that.
She and Hoshiguma had already gathered as much as they could. Shirou had not been in the slums or even Lungmen for very long so she did not probe further.
He did not seem like someone with an extensive social network anyway, and his acquaintances were probably just limited to that one shop.
…Speaking of the shop, Chen suddenly remembered a certain purple Cautus who had not reported to the Guard Department in quite some time.
Rope.
If Chen remembered correctly, Rope used to gather and sell intelligence in the slums. Chen herself had bought information from her a few times.
Sometimes she would even give extra Lungmen coins… only to see Rope greeting her again the next day from inside a jail cell.
Now, however, she no longer saw her around.
But Chen knew Rope was living properly at Shirou's shop, finally experiencing the kind of life someone her age should have.
Not struggling on the streets of the slums.
Not risking her life gathering intelligence.
…That was a good thing.
"Oh, right. You can ask Rope. She used to gather a lot of information in the slums so there might be something useful."
Since she had thought of it, Chen decided to have Shirou "make use" of her a little.
If there was information, great. If not, no harm done.
"Got it."
Shirou nodded.
He had heard about Rope's past, but when he thought about the purple "mochi" usually sprawled lazily over the shop counter, it was hard to imagine she had once been such a capable informant.
Still, whatever she used to be did not matter to him.
And he certainly would not let her return to such dangerous work.
At least not until she became an adult.
He sent her a quick message and received a reply almost instantly.
Rope: "I have heard some related information."
Rope: "Most of them are people who hold hostility toward the infected. The exact production location of those inhibitors is unclear but it is certain they are not made in Lungmen and they are imported from outside. That is all I know."
"…."
Reading the message, Shirou suddenly felt he should have asked her earlier.
That way, he would not have had to piece together clues from Chen and Hoshiguma's reports.
After replying with a sticker, he shared the new information with Chen and Hoshiguma.
"So they are imported after all…"
Hoshiguma let out a small sigh of relief.
If they were not being manufactured within the slums, that eliminated a lot of complications.
At the very least, it narrowed down the search area and allowed their support teams to focus elsewhere.
"We still need to consider how up-to-date this information is. Rope has not updated her intelligence network for quite some time so just treat it as a reference."
Even as she said that, Chen pulled out records of inhibitor shipments that had entered Lungmen over the past few months and began examining them carefully.
"Do not mind her, she is always like this. Go ahead and get back to your work. If there is nothing urgent, it is fine to rest for now. You are the main force in our planned operation, so you need to get proper rest."
Hearing Chen's words, Hoshiguma heavily placed a stack of documents in front of her, then turned around and spoke to Shirou.
"Oh… alright."
Originally, Shirou had wanted to say he could continue helping, but since Aak had said he could come over now to talk and Hoshiguma's attitude was somewhat firm, he agreed.
After a quick cleanup, Shirou left the Guard Department office.
It was now past nine in the evening. Normally, people would have finished bathing and be getting ready for bed at this time. He did not expect that Aak would be willing to chat with him at this hour.
What a genuinely kind person.
Soon, Shirou arrived at the location Aak had sent him.
It was some distance from the Guard Department, but for Shirou, who was riding a bicycle, it was not a problem.
"'Lee's Detective Agency'?"
Looking at the sign above and then at the address in his hand, Shirou checked several times before confirming he had not come to the wrong place.
The last place he had gone to was a clinic that Aak had specially borrowed. This was his first time in this area.
He was simply a bit surprised that Aak would be staying at a detective agency.
Shirou parked his bicycle and knocked on the door.
"Coming. You are Aak's guest, right? Please come in."
The one who came to open the door was a tall Perro.
He looked quite large and strong.
Only the pink apron he was wearing seemed out of place.
"Yo, you got here pretty fast! You are here to ask about those inhibitor incidents lately, right?"
On the other side, Aak was lying on the sofa in front of the television. He tilted his head back to look toward the door and spoke to Shirou.
"That is correct. Do you have any impression of this matter, Aak?"
Under the reception of the Perro, who was called Hung, Shirou entered the agency.
The furniture and fittings in the agency were fairly ordinary except for a wooden post in the middle that was somewhat eye-catching.
However, Shirou knew why he was here. He quickly put aside other thoughts and answered Aak's question.
"Hmm… I do have some impression of it. The batch of inhibitors back then was far too low-quality. After I rejected them several times, they stopped coming to promote them to me. Also, do not call me Mr. Aak. Just call me Aak, I am not used to being addressed like that."
As he spoke about what he knew, Aak also corrected how Shirou addressed him.
The two had met several times, and each time Shirou addressed him as "Mr. Aak."
It made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
This time, he was determined to correct that habit.
"I see? Then Aak… do you have any other information?"
Holding the small notebook provided by the Guard Department, Shirou recorded this and continued asking.
Since he had been asked to come here, it meant the other party should have more information.
And the kind that was not suitable to be shared over the phone.
"Yes, but that will require payment. It falls under the agency's work."
Seeing Shirou take out the Guard Department notebook, Aak immediately sat up and said.
Originally, he had intended to provide it for free. After interacting several times, Aak had a fairly good impression of Shirou.
He was certain that this guy would get along very well with Waai Fu.
Moreover, Shirou had a group of infected children to take care of. Aak had thought that perhaps Shirou was investigating such matters for the children's sake, so charging him would not be appropriate.
However, since Shirou was holding a Guard Department notebook, it meant his current position might represent the Guard Department.
If it was for an organization, then charging a fee would be reasonable.
"Payment? Give me a moment."
Hearing Aak's words, Shirou paused. He put down the notebook and took out his phone, preparing to ask Hoshiguma.
"Do not listen to Aak's nonsense. There is no charge for this."
Hung, who had been listening nearby, walked over and pressed Aak's head down, then spoke to Shirou.
"???"
Shirou's hand holding the phone froze in midair, unsure whether he should put it away.
He understood that some information required payment. He had learned this long ago from Yith.
He had already applied with Hoshiguma for funds to purchase intelligence.
As for Aak charging money he was not very surprised.
When Chief Chen obtained intelligence from informants, she would also provide some Lungmen currency or other compensation. After all, leaking information could put these people's lives at risk.
Some of this information might even have been obtained at the cost of their lives.
"Hehe, the payment thing was just a joke."
Knocking his head and sticking out his tongue with an "eh-heh," Aak used Exusiai's signature pose when she made a mistake.
"Mr. Shirou, you are with the Guard Department, right? Providing some verbal information is not too difficult for us, so there is no need to charge. Of course, it also depends on the value of the information, but considering that this incident is rather severe, we will not charge this time."
Noticing Shirou's confused expression, Hung kindly explained.
"I understand. Thank you very much for your help. And please do not call me Mr. Shirou. Just call me Shirou."
Hearing Hung's words, Shirou nodded to show he understood and thanked him for the help.
"Hah."
Seeing Shirou like this, Aak felt a strange sense of déjà vu and let out a laugh.
So you have a moment like this too?
"You two continue talking. I will go make some tea. Shirou, you drink tea, right?"
After patting the sofa Aak was sitting on as a reminder, Hung prepared to make some hot tea for them.
"Yes, I do."
Seeing that Hung had already picked up the tea leaves, Shirou, who originally wanted to refuse, could only accept the gesture.
"Then let us talk about business. Shirou, you are still assisting the Guard Department, right?"
After confirming that Hung had left, Aak continued the conversation.
From what he knew, Shirou had been a newbie at the Guard Department recently and had built quite a reputation even stirring up a wave in Lungmen's intelligence circles.
"Mm."
After receiving Shirou's confirmation, Aak went on, "Hmm… There has indeed been more talk lately about those low-quality inhibitors. I am not entirely sure whether they are the same batch I encountered before, but I can first give you the person who tried to sell them to me back then. I cannot guarantee it is the same group, but you should still be able to get some related information from him."
Aak asked this mainly to probe Shirou's current position.
If he had finished his newbie yet was still acting as an instructor for the Guard Department and helping investigate cases, that essentially meant Shirou was now tied to them.
That in itself was useful information.
"Thanks."
Taking the documents Aak handed over, Shirou quickly glanced through them.
It was a middle-aged male of the Vulpo race. In Shirou's understanding, Vulpo were essentially foxes.
A relatively rare race in Lungmen.
"You are welcome. That is just a lead I am personally giving you. The real highlight is this."
As he spoke, Aak placed a large tablet in front of Shirou.
This was the real reason he had called Shirou over. Compared to simply giving information, data-supported intelligence was far more convincing.
These were analyses of inhibitor samples he had obtained from other infected individuals over the past two days after hearing the news.
"May I ask… Does this data mean that something has been added inside?"
Looking at the dense information, even for Shirou, who had read two of Blood's books…
Most of it was still incomprehensible. However, he did remember the usual composition of inhibitors.
From the parts he could recognize, these inhibitors should still be able to suppress Oripathy, but it seemed that additional substances had been mixed in.
Pointing at the abnormal data, Shirou found it particularly concerning.