The moment the bowler hat was lifted, a face familiar to Byrne was revealed. It was none other than the target he had been searching for—Tim Hawkins.
The Tim in the photograph had clean features and a shy smile, but this version was as pale as paper, his lips a leaden grey. His once clear eyes were tightly shut, and faint purple patterns spread from his eye sockets, entangling his cheekbones like a spiderweb. The low, raspy metallic scraping heard earlier was clearly not his original voice.
Byrne stared at Tim's corpse, his mind racing to process this absurd reality. Captain Marco had tasked them with finding the missing Tim—dead or alive. But who could have guessed that the man in the black trench coat, radiating such a sinister aura, was Tim himself?
Every bizarre moment during the tailing now had a logical explanation. Why did he walk without a sound? Why were his movements as precise as a machine? Why was there no trace of a living presence on him?
As Byrne looked at the face of the man in black, the answers finally came. This man was Tim, but he wasn't alive; he was a manipulated corpse. Tim hadn't simply gone missing; he had been murdered over three months ago and turned into a marionette in someone else's hands.
Byrne pulled out his communicator. While deactivating the Silent State, he pressed the yellow button. Finding Tim's body meant his mission was accomplished, and it was time to contact the Captain. According to their first meeting, the yellow button was for one-way communication directly to Captain Marco's device.
Shortly after pressing it, the communicator emitted a rapid beeping, and the yellow indicator light flashed frantically. A second later, the Captain's voice came through.
"Byrne, contacting me so soon. What happened?"
Byrne glanced at the corpse on the ground. "Captain, I found Tim. But he's dead."
There was a brief silence on the other end for several seconds before the reply came: "Understood. Stand by at your current location. I'll be there shortly."
While waiting for the Captain, Byrne decided to examine the scene since he had nothing else to do. The wall had returned to its dilapidated, mottled state. The entrance formed by the symbol had vanished completely, leaving no trace of energy—as if everything that had just happened was a hallucination. Yet Tim's body and the purple mist still lingering in the air proved the phenomena were real.
Byrne walked to the wall and felt the rough surface. His fingertips traced the gaps in the masonry as he sent psychic threads deep into the wall to investigate, but he only sensed the silence of ordinary bricks. There was no abnormal energy. The entrance had been erased as if it had never existed.
Tim's notebook was thrown inside. What exactly was in it?
He had examined that notebook carefully before, but aside from those riddle-like words, he hadn't seen anything unusual. Unable to figure it out, Byrne set it aside and walked back to Tim's corpse. He chose not to touch it directly, using psychic threads for the probe instead. This was one of the principles emphasized in the Basic Psychic Usage Manual: when facing the unknown, use psychic perception to avoid potential risks.
As soon as the threads touched Tim's clothing, Byrne detected an anomaly. A weak but stubborn energy fluctuation remained on the fabric of the black trench coat—the same purple mist energy that had enveloped him earlier. However, this energy had dissipated significantly and would likely vanish entirely in a minute or two.
As the probe went deeper, Byrne found that the residual energy wasn't just on the clothes but also on Tim's skin, where the concentration was slightly higher. This wasn't surprising, as the eerie mist had erupted from Tim's body.
Continuing his search, he soon discovered a blood-colored symbol drawn at the position of Tim's collarbone. Compared to the symbol on the courtyard wall, this looked like a simplified version. Underneath the skin, Byrne could clearly perceive countless energy tracks, like cracks on a dry riverbed. These tracks eventually converged on a single focal point—the heart.
The heart. Is this the core for controlling Tim?
Just as Byrne was about to move his psychic threads further to investigate, he heard faint footsteps in the distance. He immediately retracted all threads and turned toward the mouth of the alley. Soon, a familiar figure appeared: Captain Marco.
He was still wearing his unremarkable "salaryman" outfit, but his pace was much faster than usual, and his eyes scanned the surroundings sharply. Marco's gaze swept over the alley and finally fixed on Tim's corpse. His brow furrowed imperceptibly for a moment before returning to a calm expression.
He walked quickly to Byrne's side. Without asking for details, he knelt down, held his fingertips a few centimeters above Tim's body, and closed his eyes. Byrne stood by quietly, not daring to disturb him. He could clearly see a faint golden psychic fluctuation radiating from Marco. The Captain's palm released fine psychic threads that instantly covered Tim's corpse. Both the intensity of the psychic power and the precision of the control were far superior to Byrne's.
A moment later, Marco opened his eyes. He withdrew his energy and tapped lightly on Tim's collarbone. The originally dim, blood-colored symbol glowed slightly, manifesting twisted patterns similar to those on the wall, though much weaker.
"Corpse Puppet Sorcery," Marco said plainly, standing up and dusting off his hands.
"Corpse Puppet Sorcery?" Byrne repeated with a frown. This was the first time he had heard the term.
Marco explained, "It's a heretical technique that uses Chaos energy to manipulate corpses. The caster kills the target, carves runes on the body, and injects Chaos energy into the heart as a control core, turning the corpse into a puppet that follows orders."
After saying this, Marco patted Byrne on the shoulder. "I didn't expect you to find Tim by the third day. You did well."
Hearing the praise, Byrne felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his head. "Uh, it's alright. It wasn't just me; Selena helped a lot too. So, Captain, about becoming a regular member?"
Marco smiled. "Don't worry. Since you found Tim within a week, you've completed the task. Congratulations on officially becoming regulars. We'll handle the paperwork when you come to the Bureau tomorrow."
Byrne nodded, then looked down at Tim's body. "So, Captain, what should we do next?"
"You head back to the Tax Bureau. I'll handle the rest from here," Marco replied.
Byrne complied. He took one last look at the mottled wall before turning toward the alley entrance. As he stepped out of the old alley, the afternoon sun cast slanted rays on him, dispelling the lingering chill, but the weight in his heart remained.
Corpse Puppet Sorcery, Chaos energy, eerie symbols... these clues were like scattered puzzle pieces that hinted at an outline but lacked the critical connections. Byrne sighed and rubbed his temples. Since he had taken half a day off, he didn't head for the Tax Bureau but walked toward Wisteria Street instead.
I should go back and check on Old Anton.
Meanwhile, deep in the old alley, Marco finished examining Tim's corpse. He stood up, walked to the wall, and stared at the spot where the symbol had vanished. He whispered to himself:
"Heh. Corpse Puppet Sorcery, the Eye of Deception. Have you finally lost your patience, Thousand Son?"