"Brad's General Store. Abigail Johnson. Colonel Marlon Stewart. And a few other other places…" Selina read aloud the list in her hands.

"Should we take care of the fake hunters first or should we deal with the wraith first?" Selina turned to Mater, which was walking beside her.

The black cat meowed loudly.

"Master said we should deal with the hunters first. We need to find the origins of those badges. We need to make sure no other Psychics would bother us during the hunt for the wraith." Aurora said.

"Alright then. Let's go ask each and every person then." Selina said.

"Wait." Mater meowed. He called Crow down from above.

Crow turned back into the tall man in a trench coat. "Yes, Master?"

"Take the list and go ask questions. Use the experience you have received from Aaron Cage. I want to see how effective it is." Mater meowed.

"As you wish, Master."

Crow explained the situation with Selina and took the list.

"Won't people panic when they see him like this?" Selina said.

Mater stroked his whiskers and observed Crow. Overall, Crow looked very human. His dark skin can easily be mistaken as a skin tight suit. But those glowing white eyes could scare people away.

"I have an idea. We are going to a general store, right?" Mater meowed.

Brad's General Store was opened by Brad Walsh, the grandfather of the current owner, Timothy Walsh.

Timothy was a young man in his early twenties. Unfortunately, his parents died in a car crash two years ago and he had to take over the store. Business was hard and he didn't have that much experience.

The people of Ines Sota treated him well and helped him manage the store a lot. After two years, he started to be able to run the store on his own.

Then some troublemakers came to his shop, telling him that they were law enforcers and they needed some items in his shops for an investigation. Timothy naively gave them the items.

It was until Sheriff Carter phoned him that he knew he was tricked.

Timothy was checking on his notebook. "Ugh! Those items would set me back a few weeks at least."

The bell above the entrance door rang and Timothy looked up. He couldn't help but stare at the tall man that just walked in.

Timothy was at least 1.70 meters. But he would be only around that man's shoulders. The man wore a long trench coat with a fedora pulling so low it covered his eyes.

"How can I help you, sir?" Timothy gulped instinctively.

"Do you have a pair of safety goggles?" The man answered.

"We have those on the shelves, sir." Timothy pointed to an aisle down the store.

Crow went down the aisle and picked a pair of dark tinted goggles. He put his fedora down to reveal a clean bald head. Timothy observed Crow closely. It really did look like Crow was wearing some sort of skin tight suit that went over his entire head.

Crow put on the pair of dark goggles. It covered the shiny white eyes of his.

Crow then walked to Timothy. "How much?"

"30 credits, sir." Timothy said.

Crow nodded and pulled out a few bills to give Timothy. He had received these just a moment ago from Selina.

Crow then took out Selina's Ankh Badge. "You saw this before?"

Timothy stepped back a little and reached under his counter.

"Relax. I am not the same as those fake hunters. You can call Sheriff Carter and tell him I am with Miss Isles."

Timothy still pulled out his shotgun. "Please wait here, sir."

He took out his phone and called Carter while still aiming the shotgun at Crow's general direction.

"Hello, sir? I have a man here with a similar badge from those scammers before. He said he is with a woman named Isles.

Yes… Yes… They are actually law enforcers? I understand, sir."

Timothy hung up the phone.

"I apologize for the precaution, sir. I have to be extra careful after what happened earlier."

"No hard feelings. You must be Timothy Walsh, correct?"

"Yes, sir. And you are?"

"Crow… Cage. I am a private investigator working with the police. I have a few questions about the fake hunters you have encountered."

"Ask away, sir."

Selina, Mater, and Aurora watched everything from the glass window outside. Crow looked so professional that Selina had to clap her hands.

"He looks so good in that costume. He is so much more of a detective than me." Selina couldn't argue Mater's choice of wardrobe. Crow just looked that good.

They saw Crow grabbing a notebook and a pen then started to scribble something down on the paper. He nodded along while Timothy was speaking.

Crow finished a few minutes later and went out. He showed the notebook to Mater. On it was a portrait of the fake hunter that spoke with Timothy.

"This is one of them. Timothy didn't have a good look at the rest." Crow said.

The portrait was that of a woman with a short undercut hairstyle.

"Woah. You are really good, Crow!" Selina said.

"Did Aaron Cage's memory also teach you this?" Mater meowed.

"No, Master. I learned to collect evidence and interrogate from him. But this portrait… It just feels natural to me. I think I was a painter of some sort in my past life."

Mater stroked his whiskers in deep thoughts. 'Crow was a high school student before he died. If he is already this good as a student, he must have a bright future ahead of him. He shouldn't die like that.'

"Do you feel any hate toward the one who killed you?" Mater said.

"I do, Master. But alongside that hate, I also feel something else. It's almost a lock in my heart. I feel that if I was able to finish whatever that thing in my chest is, I would gain something."

Mater grinned widely, showing his sharp cat teeth. "You feel correct, Crow. Similar to me and Aurora. You are a creature of Chaos. To become stronger, you will need to open that lock that holds you back.

It is the main way we grow, develop, and change. The system of Lock and Key.

Do not worry, Crow. We will give that murder of yours a visit soon."

Mater then turned to Aurora. "And also the people that put you in that Embryo back in David Rendell's house. We will settle all of our debts.

After all, I am your Master. And a Master always takes care of his servants."

"As will we, Master." Aurora and Crow talked in unison. They placed their hands on their heart and bowed to Mater.

Timothy watched everything from within the store. From his view, Aurora and Crow looked like they were bowing to Selina.

"What exactly is that woman?" He couldn't help but wonder.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.