As all the clues in his mind finally snapped together into a perfect loop, Elias felt a sense of complete clarity.
However, Old Ed's response was rather irritating.
“Excellent reasoning, Elias.”
“You're becoming quite the little hound yourself.”
The muscles in Elias's face twitched.
“Don't make me throw you...”
This time, Old Ed wasn't buying it at all.
“I think it is very necessary to remind you of your current situation.”
“Your good buddy, the Great Detective Brian, is currently doing squats against the door frame of a Seventh Agency carriage.”
Elias froze.
“If that kid can't hold up under interrogation after being caught...” Old Ed added gloomily, “his tongue might slip, and he'll sell you out regarding your presence in Room 517. Don't forget, today's business isn't entirely over yet.”
Damn it! He was right!
Elias's scalp tingled.
He hesitated for a brief moment, then immediately mobilized the spirituality within his body. Using the adhesive properties of spirituality, he moved quickly through the room, efficiently guiding and disposing of his own spiritual traces. This was a cleanup method he had discovered later; though its reliability was average, it was better than doing nothing at all.
Ensuring no residue was left behind, Elias grabbed his case and hurried downstairs.
Just as he reached the lobby, he could see the absurd scene across the street through the hotel's glass doors.
Brian's body was completely horizontal. His feet were braced firmly against each side of the carriage door frame, holding a ninety-degree squatting position as if he were taking a dump in mid-air.
“Hell! Let me go!” Brian's pig-like screams echoed through the alley.
Despite the violent struggle and the piercing noise, not a single passerby stopped to watch. The pedestrians occasionally moving through Knight Lane seemed to have suddenly become blind and deaf. They simply veered away from the area subconsciously as they approached the carriage. It was as if they couldn't see the three men wrestling or hear Brian's heart-wrenching cries for help.
Their perceptions were being forcibly blocked by some kind of power!
Elias immediately narrowed his eyes and quietly activated Spirit Vision. He saw one of the investigators holding an object that was emitting subtle waves—a cognitive interference tool designed to drastically lower one's presence.
To be honest, in terms of stealth and practicality, this thing was much more useful than Moonlight Veil.
Elias's gaze then fell on the two investigators. Under the scrutiny of Spirit Vision, their spiritual fluctuations appeared quite weak. They were both just bottom-tier transcendents at Scale One.
This made sense. After all, Ms. Cecil had taken all the core combat power to the front lines this afternoon to corner Mester. Those left behind to blockade the perimeter and guard the scene were naturally these rookies.
But even if they were rookies, they still represented the state-sanctioned violence of the Seventh Agency. He had to find a way to get Brian out of there; he couldn't let the man be taken back for interrogation.
He quickly put together an emergency rescue plan.
The primary principle was: he absolutely could not risk exposure by charging in and taking direct action. His suspicion in Cecil's eyes had only just been temporarily cleared, and Charlotte could increase his suspicion level at any moment. Furthermore, Brian was Arthur's partner. He absolutely could not reveal his transcendent side to this ordinary person who possessed no spirituality. Otherwise, the subsequent trouble would be endless.
Since he couldn't use brute force, he would have to play dirty.
Remote operation—or as it's more commonly known, telecom fraud.
Closing his eyes, he spoke decisively in his mind.
“Old Ed, you're up!”
“?” The old ghost was stunned, clearly unable to keep up with Elias's jumping logic. “Up for what?”
“With me.” Elias didn't waste words and gave the command directly.
He channeled his spirituality, connecting Mental Message to each of the two Scale One investigators across the street. “Just do as I do.”
Though full of doubt, Old Ed followed suit.
At this moment, it was equivalent to forcibly pulling the two investigators into a group chat.
The best part about the Mental Message spell was that as long as the targets' spiritual scales were not high, they could not reverse-trace the caster's specific location. This gave Elias immense room to maneuver.
Furthermore, Elias had already thought a step deeper. Since he was now one hundred percent certain of John's true identity, the nature of this entire situation had changed. First, he could use this information gap to temporarily direct the Seventh Agency's attention toward the stolen supernatural item. For instance, by spreading false information, he could make the Seventh Agency follow the spiritual trail outside the window and go toe-to-toe with the mysterious person who could use the Freeze spell and took the item!
What was this called? It was called pitting the tiger against the wolf!
Second, he was going to dig a grave in the Lily of the Valley Convent cemetery tomorrow. If any uncontrollable emergency occurred during the excavation, he would have the Seventh Agency there to back him up. Even if there was a risk of exposure, it was better than losing his life. Of course, this was just an insurance policy Elias was placing on the matter. To put it another way, he was handing the Seventh Agency a massive achievement on a silver platter. How could they resist such a juicy morsel?
Plan confirmed.
Elias snapped his fingers in his mind.
“Hey, man! Something was taken from Room 517 upstairs, the one where the guy died. Did you know?”
Across the street, the two Seventh Agency investigators were sweating profusely, trying to shove the suspiciously stubborn guy with the ridiculous posture into the carriage. Suddenly, without warning, the voices of two strangers conversing rang out directly in their minds. It was a young voice that Elias had deliberately disguised.
The investigators' movements froze instantly.
“What the hell?!” One of the investigators looked up blankly, exchanging a look of shock and confusion with his partner.
Mental intrusion?! This had to be some trick played by those Moon Lord believers! But... the problem was, was their team chat crossing signals? Why was it broadcasting directly into their heads? Did they not know they could be caught?
“Hey!” The investigator with the quicker reaction immediately raised a mental defense and barked in his mind, “Who are you people?! How dare you attack official investigators!”
But the two voices in their heads seemed completely oblivious to the warning, continuing their conversation as if nothing had happened.
“Impossible!” Old Ed immediately picked up his cue, his voice filled with very convincing doubt. “This case was previously handled by those idiots from the Old Palace Yard. I never heard anything about an important item going missing!”
The young and the old acted in perfect harmony. Using a method that seemed like an argument but was actually a leak, they crudely directed the focus of the situation toward the upper floors of the Golden Rose Hotel.
“You mean that crazy detective who spent the whole afternoon in 517 today?” Elias let out a disdainful snort. “He's just an ordinary person with zero spirituality! What the hell could he see with that crappy magnifying glass? The spiritual trail by the window upstairs is pointing straight outside!”
While Elias was fiercely arguing and overacting in his mind with Old Ed, his face remained expressionless in the real world as he turned around. Dragging his heavy leather case, he strode to the hotel counter.
With a loud thud, he slammed the brass key onto the desk, seeking a checkout from the young waiter who had checked him in earlier.
“I say, how do you people run this hotel?” Elias put on a look of dissatisfaction. “Even if I was interested in Room 517 before, you should at least send someone to clean it if you're going to scam people! I don't care how many people died in there, but there was thick dust everywhere the moment I pushed the door open!”
He slapped the counter hard.
“Five is my lucky number, and I wanted to borrow some good luck. But what does dust represent? It represents bad luck! This crappy room has ruined my fortune! Right now, immediately, I want a different room!”
The young hotel waiter looked up from behind the counter. Seeing Elias's behavior, his face remained calm, even appearing a bit unsurprised. I told you that room was no good, but you wouldn't listen!
“Certainly, sir. I am very sorry for the unpleasant experience.” The waiter's attitude was beyond reproach as he took back the key to 517. He turned and grabbed the key for Room 315 from the wooden board behind him, handing it to Elias and quickly processing the room change.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the street, the two investigators still dragging Brian heard the clear supernatural clue about the upper floor and the fact that something had been taken by a transcendent. This was a major breakthrough in the case, enough to catch Ms. Cecil's attention!
Their eyes widened instantly, and their breathing became shallow. Then, they heard the conversation continue.
“That detective...”
“That detective has a curse on him—a spiritual curse. Being in contact with him for too long will get you sent to Landon Asylum.”
“What?!” The two men looked down at the screaming Brian and immediately pulled their hands back as if they had touched an electric fence.
The sudden release of force caused Brian, who had been resisting with all his might, to lose his balance instantly.
“Whoa, holy—!” Brian cried out, falling hard on his backside onto the street.
However, the great detective's reaction speed was top-tier. He didn't stay on the ground for a second. Taking advantage of the investigators' momentary daze, he scrambled up on all fours and sprinted away down Knight Lane.
As he ran, Brian didn't forget to look back and mock them wildly. “Hahahaha, you two morons! You're finished! No one can stop the ‘Hound’ from uncovering the truth!”
Rate on N.U.
