Perhaps from the very beginning, things were skewed. Artificial humans?
The Earth Mother Goddess Court and the Funeral Attendant are no fools. Who would engage in such a taboo and thankless task except for some crazy researchers? Could it really be a cult trying to overthrow the Earth Mother Goddess?
Can they? Just by relying on one artificial human?
The motive of the killer needs to be uncovered.
The other side dares to provoke the powerful, absolutely not an ordinary person. He can fight, provided the opponent is within a winnable range. If what appears is something beneath the fog, there is no chance to fight back. This is likely caused by the Life Star Level of the Divine Relic. A time must be found to learn more from Mr. Cancer.
When Li Xin proposed to take a day off for everyone to gather their thoughts, no one opposed, and Travis neither disagreed nor offered any opinions.
Back at the inn, Li Xin ignored the warmth of the Dragon Mother. He wasn't really in the mood. Most of them were missing person cases. Just looking at the pictures of those bodies was enough for them to stomach. This kind of reaction didn't occur even when facing hidden monsters. Yet seeing live humans dismembered elicited strong bodily and mental reactions.
Staring dazedly at the typewriter, Li Xin had no intention of typing. This week is definitely going to be delayed. The reason he thought of artificial humans was due to a subconscious leap influenced by past thinking. Then he followed up by using a dice judgment and subconsciously believed that someone was creating artificial humans. Now there's a problem: Is there an issue with the dice's judgment?
In all the tests so far, if the information or connection isn't strong enough, the dice would clearly enter an idle state and couldn't make a judgment. The content of the judgment is divided into two categories: one is what's already happened, and the other is what's about to happen. Currently, there doesn't seem to be a difference. Whatever conclusion is given always comes true.
The Inner Demon definitely belongs to the category of events that have already happened. If there's variability in what's about to happen, what's already happened won't change.
There are three possibilities: one, the dice is correct; two, the dice is interfered with by a stronger power resulting in incorrect information, which isn't impossible given the strength of the killer; three, the dice didn't correctly interpret the information it provided.
Countless pieces of information swirled in Li Xin's mind, not chaotic but increasingly clear. It's not about bravado; the dice's judgment means the enemy is definitely not one he can defeat at this stage. But he can use the dice's abilities for analysis, assisting Achilles and the Funeral Attendant in uncovering the true culprit. No matter how strong the Hidden Power, it can't confront the Kingdom openly.
Their only advantage lies in stealthy tactics.
What the hell does this damn thing want to do?
Li Xin vaguely felt that he was missing some information. There was a sense that something was about to surface, but it was just missing a little something...
This time's dossier is vastly different from the last. Compared to before, Travis was extraordinarily calm this time, as if he was merely an observer. This wasn't in line with Li Xin's initial impression of this Funeral Attendant captain. From Simmons's words, this Funeral Attendant captain had an excellent reputation and achieved his position without a powerful backing, which required outstanding skills.
Suddenly, Li Xin thought about the classification of the dossiers. They were divided into several piles: solved cases, missing persons, disposed bodies...
Under normal circumstances, wouldn't classifying them by timeline be better?
Thinking from another perspective, as Travis, responsible for this case, four impulsive youngsters suddenly come pointing fingers with orders: he would definitely be annoyed. But if he's a mature and responsible captain, what would he do?
Li Xin suddenly had an idea. Could it be that there's a discovery from Travis hidden in there somewhere? He's observing their abilities.
Li Xin couldn't sleep. He dressed and headed towards the Funeral Attendant base. Without waiting for a carriage, he swiftly maneuvered through the city under the night sky.
Having Achilles's token was convenient. Even in the Funeral Attendant base, it was no obstacle. Li Xin asked a Funeral Attendant to call Travis, believing the captain wouldn't sleep so early. He returned to the archive room to review the dossiers.
The categorization of the dossiers hadn't changed: the characteristics of the missing people, the characteristics of the disposed bodies, the timeline...
The targets of the disposed bodies had a very clear but overlooked commonality: they were all Moncalleta people. Moreover, it occurred mostly in the Inner City, they were older, and all were male.
The missing and deceased sources were more complex, involving both Moncalleta people and immigrants. The main characteristics were youthfulness, including both genders. This pile of bodies was not disposed of but discovered during several Night Patrol operations, although no culprits were captured.
From a comparison of the methods, the skills of these two killers were exceptionally high. Li Xin could only see pictures and the coroner's report, unable to accurately distinguish differences. Yet there still seemed to be differences in technique, which could be verified by Travis later.
As Li Xin was pondering, Travis arrived. Li Xin smiled, "Captain Travis, I'm really sorry to disturb you so late again."
Travis waved his hand, "Mr. Li Xin, we Funeral Attendants sleep very little. After all, there'll be plenty of time for that after death. Judging by your expression, did you discover something?"
"It's hard to say discovery. I just have some questions I'd like to discuss with Captain Travis," Li Xin said. "Are the killers two groups?"
"Oh, why do you say that?" Travis asked, his expression unchanged.
Li Xin bitterly smiled, "You've categorized things so clearly. If I still didn't notice, I wouldn't deserve to be on this case anymore."
"You can't say that. Being able to go through so many dossiers is already commendable." Travis said, a bit surprised at Li Xin noticing so soon. Judging by the physiological reactions of the four, it was clear they were novices; Li Xin was evidently performing best among them.
From the beginning, Li Xin had been very courteous to Travis, never interfering blindly with case matters. This captain was surely the one most familiar with the case, even if in Hedan's capability wasn't the most crucial.
"Captain Travis, His Highness the Prince brought the four of us over more of as a pretext. The ones truly capable of resolving the case are the Funeral Attendants. I'm more of an outsider. Ultimately the credit is yours. I think we can be a bit open with each other." Li Xin stated candidly.
Travis knew his own position. This matter wouldn't bring him any glory; Simmons, Didia, and Celestia would undoubtedly be gilded by it, but Travis wouldn't be ignored since those above still understood who was doing the work.
"How did you get involved in this and become the lead?" Travis suddenly asked. A Night Patrol couldn't possibly have the qualification.
Li Xin helplessly spread his hands, "I didn't want it either, but I lost a bet to His Highness the Prince, so I had to carry on. As for why he made me lead, only His Highness knows. At first, I was hoping to drag it out and wait for His Highness to change his mind. After seeing these dossiers, as a normal person, I want to do my part to catch the culprit sooner."
Travis knew Li Xin wasn't an ordinary Night Patrol, but the specifics of his relationship with the Prince weren't his business to uncover. Travis could sense Li Xin's sincerity; his involvement was more from a genuine intention.
"I've heard well of a distinguished captain in the Night Patrol. Being his disciple, I trust you." Travis said. "These dossiers were indeed categorized by me. My method of classification has been pieced together over the years. I judge the Inner Demon to indeed be two separate entities."
Li Xin nodded, "I'd like to hear more."
"Before the first body was discovered, the Funeral Attendants and the City Guard had already recorded many missing cases over the years. Without clues, they were left unresolved over time until the appearance of the bodies caught the public's attention, prompting increased efforts. The killer was cunning, leaving no traces, initially thought to be accidental. But when the cases reoccurred in rapid succession, the nickname 'Inner Demon' emerged. There was a quiet period, but in recent years it's reemerged, becoming more frequent in the past year and a half." Travis explained, "The City Guard and Funeral Attendants went to great lengths to set up traps. On a few occasions, they traced the killer's tracks, but the opponent always vanished without a trace, leaving no sign, meaning their skills were extremely high. However, through this, we intercepted many victims' bodies."
Li Xin listened silently, and Travis suddenly asked, "Do you think these two groups of killers are related?"
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