Chapter 604: The Accident
The next day at noon, when Wayne saw the news in the workshop that “a crane collapsed in the Dock Area late last night, killing over a dozen laborers on the spot,”
The first thought that came to his mind was, “Could someone be trying to frame me again, and this time they’re playing such a big game?!”
He was somewhat suffering from “scapegoat PTSD” due to the reporter case and the “haunting incident.”
Fortunately, the dock where the accident occurred this time did not belong to the Sailor Gang’s territory. Instead, it was controlled by another major gang that the Detective Agency had not yet “conquered.”
Because it was far enough away, Wayne hadn’t even met their gang leader. If anyone dared to pin the blame on him this time, Wayne and Lina might as well go smash their place in the middle of the night and show others how professionals commit crimes.
Pulling the timeline back a bit, Wayne’s day had been quite leisurely so far.
After hyping up the salesmen in the morning, he burrowed back into the workshop, waiting for his arrangements with the Sailor Gang to take effect.
The formula research in the workshop was basically finalized by this point. While it might not have maximized profit, the taste and cost-effectiveness had initially met Wayne’s “feasible” passing grade.
The remaining subsequent improvements would require time to slowly mature. For example, Wayne and the chef had kept samples of sauces and processed cheese and luncheon meat from various different formulas, observing their spoilage according to the production date. In Wayne’s opinion, in an era without refrigerators, if the shelf life could be extended to be measured in “weeks,” then even a slightly inferior taste would be considered a victory.
In fact, the biggest constraint in this regard was “sales.” If sales were large enough, then simply sealing them in cans after steaming and boiling would immediately meet the shelf-life standards.
However, the cost of producing canned goods in small batches was not cheap. Even without using more complex tinplate, simply using glass jars with lids would at least double the current cost of luncheon meat. At least for now, the workshop’s sales couldn’t support the “small profits, quick turnover” approach.
Therefore, for short-term sales, the bulk luncheon meat could remain safe at room temperature for two days, processed cheese could barely last a week, and pasteurized sauce, unopened, could remain stable for at least a month.
It was still difficult to “sell nationwide,” but “city-wide sales” no longer had to worry too much about quality issues.
By the way, Miss Harley’s initiative was quite strong. She had just finished talking with Wayne yesterday, and this morning she went to the restaurant to find Inessa.
Wayne was not yet sure how their conversation went, but the Agent who delivered goods to the restaurant said that he saw Inessa take Miss Harley upstairs at the time.
Then, just as Wayne contentedly emerged from the workshop to rest, he encountered Lina, who was dismounting from a carriage.
Uncharacteristically, she wasn’t as energetic and seemingly ready to tear the house down as usual. Instead, she had a blank expression, as if deep in thought.
“What happened?” Wayne asked.
“Hmm…” Lina thought for a moment. “Can you and Inessa still go to the Cathedral to inquire about news?”
Wayne roughly estimated, “If it’s not confidential information, I think so.”
Lina led Wayne into the archives before continuing, “Last night, the Wise Sage warned me. It was like a mosquito’s ‘bite,’ not as dangerous as a bee’s ‘sting,’ but more serious than a sudden ‘jolt.’ I think there might be some danger approaching, but it’s not necessarily aimed at us.”
Wayne’s current trust in the Wise Sage might even be higher than his trust in the Holy Spirit.
After all, while the Holy Spirit theoretically could suppress other deities, it was basically a deity that “lived in stories.” In practice, it might not be as reliable as the Wise Sage behind Lina—the Wise Sage was almost on call, and when something happened, it really made its presence known…
So Wayne also became serious, and together with Lina, he reviewed the latest intelligence she had gathered from her outing last night until just now.
And then came the scene where he started suffering from “scapegoat PTSD” again today.
“Are you sure the danger is coming from the Dock Area?” Wayne asked Lina, confirming as he went through the news brief in his hand.
Lina looked up and pointed to the map on the wall: “The direction of the warning at the time was roughly along this line. If it extends all the way from the workshop, it doesn’t pass through the Cathedral, nor does it go through any special places. I feel the Dock Area looks the most suspicious.
“If the problem isn’t in the Dock Area, then the distance might be even farther, and the approaching danger even greater. That’s why I wanted you to inquire at the Cathedral. If something happened within the city, the Cathedral shouldn’t be completely unaware.”
There wasn’t much new information in the brief. Wayne finally refocused his attention on the accident. “Could this accident be problematic?”
“I’m not sure yet…” Lina rummaged through her small pouch and popped a candy into her mouth. “This morning, I pretended to be a victim’s family member and went to see a few bodies that hadn’t been removed from the scene yet. It felt like a normal murder and cover-up, not something an Extraordinary Person would do.”
“I see.” Wayne’s head, which had just started to nod, paused there, then lifted again. “What do you mean by ‘normal murder and cover-up’?”
More than a dozen people dying at once—if it made it into the newspapers, it would be called a “major case” or “important case,” wouldn’t it?
“Probably a case done by ordinary people…? The Wise Sage wouldn’t give a warning for something like that.”
After Lina finished speaking, she slightly rephrased her words, “That wooden crane frame was so tall and heavy; directly hitting someone definitely wouldn’t cause those kinds of injuries. Moreover, its remnants after collapsing were very strange. Assuming it wasn’t hoisting a heavy object at the time, then the direction it fell was incorrect. But if it was hoisting a heavy object, then the heavy object didn’t create craters around it. It doesn’t make sense.”
Wayne had already put down what he was holding: “If that’s the case, then I need to go take a look.”
“You’re going to handle this too? I thought you left all the investigation work to Willie,” Lina complained.
“More or less. I’m not investigating the case, but it’s necessary to go and see the situation firsthand,” Wayne said, then began walking towards the door. “At the same time, I’ll confirm the area the Wise Sage might have warned about along the way, and then go ask at the Cathedral.”
Anyway, the gangs in the Dock Area were going to be dealt with sooner or later. Although it wasn’t the turn of the ‘Erlan Violence Group’ that had the accident last night, this didn’t stop Wayne from collecting their dirt first.
That way, whether he wanted to “recruit first” or “fight first,” he would at least have a suitable reason.
