Chapter 620 Elimination
Late at night, Wayne and his team had returned to the workshop. Members who had been cursed at the scene and received emergency treatment were helped to rest one after another.
After Inessa escorted everyone to their places, she changed into a senior Hunter's hunting attire, preparing to set out again. Besides the necessary equipment, she also wore a bird-beak mask.
The bird-beak mask was not an Extraordinary Item; it was purely used to conceal the face and alter the voice.
In civilized society these days, people would consider a "lady not wearing a skirt and only pants in public" as improper. However, the Hunter Association's hunting suits prioritized "tradition" and practicality and were only custom-made for Hunters whose strength and contributions met the corresponding conditions. In fact, they were gender-neutral. Therefore, to avoid unnecessary worldly troubles, wearing a mask became a common practice for senior female Hunters in the Association.
As Lina, who was responsible for staying and guarding the workshop tonight to prevent follow-up sneak attacks, she quickly noticed Inessa's movements: "Are you leaving now? Aren't you going to rest a bit more?"
"It's fine not to sleep occasionally," Inessa's voice was a bit muffled at this time, indistinguishable by gender. "The Silent Sect member tonight seemed to act very proficiently. He might not be the one presiding over the ritual in their team, but more like a frontline 'enforcer.' Judging by his rank, this configuration should be considered a high-level team within their sect. If possible, I still hope to discover more ritual nodes as soon as possible to confirm their action plan."
Lina did not try to persuade her further and casually pulled out a small scroll from her bag: "Be careful. These are the addresses of two residences and one safe house of the intelligence team in the Dock Area. If necessary, you can ask for their cooperation or go there to rest."
Inessa took the items and climbed onto the driver's seat of the carriage. "You be careful too. The Silent Sect members might not be strong in direct confrontation, but their curses are often troublesome and easily cause additional losses. If you find any clues, it might be necessary to arrange for someone to stay at the workshop after dawn."
"No problem. This Plantation is far from the city. If I find any suspicious individuals, I can just have the owls air-drop high explosives over there. I'll try my best not to let them get close. It's even more convenient during the day; the crows guard the house more sensitively than even hunting dogs, and they'll even harass our own people."
"That's good. And you might also need to pay attention to Wayne's condition. His rank isn't high yet, and he doesn't seem to be a follower of the Holy Spirit or any other deity. Coatle is a higher existence after all, and the curse that erupted earlier seemed to be influenced by It. Even if it's just a projected phantom, It should never be underestimated as an ordinary Demon. Wayne treated so many people in one go, and the method was close to absorption, so he might be enriched with infection."
Lina nodded upon hearing this, her eyes shifting slightly. "Speaking of that, it truly is a bit miraculous. From my observations, in the Kankakee State area and around their town, it seems there isn't any widespread faith other than the Holy Spirit Church. I haven't seen Wayne pray to anyone normally, yet he can be completely unaffected by Coatle. Wild Extraordinary Persons are most prone to problems in this regard."
"Perhaps it's related to his habit of drinking holy water, but it's always good to be cautious. Some Extraordinary Persons carry residual influences of higher existences as they progress to higher ranks. If not dealt with promptly, the longer the time and the deeper the extent, the more troublesome the problem often becomes." Inessa paused here, pondering, "As for the spread of hidden beliefs in the Blackstone Town area..."
"What? Did you find something?" Lina asked curiously.
"No, you've always been more sensitive than me in this regard. I just thought of the higher Demon we saw near Blackstone Town before, but its status should not be enough to suppress the influence caused by Coatle..."
As Inessa spoke, she had already lifted the reins in her hand. "In any case, for safety's sake, you should observe more closely these days. If there's nothing, that's even better. Maybe it really is the Holy Spirit providing protection."
"Don't worry. The Sage has only remained silent about suspected Holy Spirit influences. Under normal circumstances, if another higher existence were causing influence near me, I would detect it in time."
"Mm."
With a flick of the reins, the carriage slowly began to accelerate. Inessa recalled the situation around Blackstone Town earlier, her thoughts even drifting back to a time even before that.
"In the Kankakee State's Blackstone Town area, a group of cultists is likely hiding, plotting a bloody sacrifice to summon a powerful Demon..."
Aside from the cave where the higher Demon was found earlier, there were no other suspected sacrificial ruins near Blackstone Town, and the basic beliefs of ordinary townspeople were also very "pure."
If one were to speculate on the worst possible scenario, assuming the entire Blackstone Town was merely one ritual node of a massive magic array, then the rank requirements for the ritual's conductor would be too high, and the consumption involved would be enormous. And once such a higher existence descended, it would likely cause natural disasters or anomalies directly in the area, and even ordinary people couldn't possibly be unaware.
Inessa shook her head slightly, clearing her mind. The probability of some situations occurring was too remote; there was no need for groundless suspicion.
She endured the gradually weakening curse damage and effects on her body, feeling the slight loosening of the Exorcist Association's restraints, and refocused her thoughts on the map of the Dock Area in her mind.
The Silent Sect's large-scale sacrificial rituals had many different array layouts. Overall, they often formed symbolic images like an Ouroboros, a circular cross, an hourglass, or a gate to the underworld, signifying "death," "resurrection," or "eternity."
Assuming that small wooden house was one of the nodes, there were still many possibilities to rule out...
...
"Mr. Schwartz, please forgive my abrupt visit late at night, but that Wayne is simply too much.
"I have already restrained my subordinates from obstructing the work of the City Health Committee, but he repeatedly and deliberately arranged for people to conduct inspections in our territory. Not only did he arrest a group of our Sailor Gang members and tie them up in the small square for public humiliation, but tonight he even arranged for people to blow up our disguised warehouse used for temporary storage of some sensitive goods.
"If I hadn't cleared it out in time and evacuated the personnel beforehand, I'm afraid tonight alone would have already caused you enormous losses."
The gang leader, who had rushed from the Dock Area to the estate overnight, was visibly enraged, while the banker opposite him, dressed in comfortable pajamas, silently sipped the hot tea promptly brought by the butler.
After a short while, the teacup was placed back on the exquisite saucer. Mr. Schwartz's tone was leisurely, "How many people did he send?"
The gang leader seemed not to have expected this question. After a brief thought, he quickly replied:
"They were divided into two groups, the first seemed to be around ten people, and the second at least twenty. According to what you told me before, this means all the people under his command were dispatched. You didn't see how arrogant they were; they blew up the warehouse and simultaneously set off many fireworks, as if waiting for our people to clash with them, and then they would probably be ambushed by the second group on the spot."
"He must be unable to hold back any longer." Mr. Schwartz still looked confident. The lawsuit accusing him of killing the reporter was about to begin. Although someone from their Detective Agency had recently been assisting the prosecutor in prosecuting gang members, the prosecutor, out of consideration for this relationship, had repeatedly delayed his public prosecution on the grounds of too many cases and incomplete evidence, but it couldn't be delayed for too long. Once the verdict was announced, he would basically go to prison, and the collapse of his Detective Agency would only be a matter of time."
The gang leader clearly didn't think so: "But now, relying on the City Hall's authorization, he's taking the opportunity to massively arrest and publicly humiliate gang members in the Dock Area. If he can blow up our warehouse tonight, he might blow up our docks tomorrow. Even if he and his people are gone by then, our Sailor Gang's prestige in the Dock Area will certainly be greatly damaged. Once other gangs get other ideas, it's very likely to affect some of your business."
The teacup was picked up again, and Mr. Schwartz gently blew on the hot tea: "Did you come so late just to make me listen to your complaints?"
"Of course not!"
The gang leader felt his groundwork was sufficient, and then humbly changed the subject, "I've spoken with O'Sullivan of the Ireland Violent Group. He's willing to act with us to secretly teach that Wayne a lesson, to make him and his people suffer a bit before going to prison."
Mr. Schwartz frowned slightly: "This is not what civilized people do. He still has some background in Richmond and some connections with the Beaton Family and the Fisk Family. If it's not handled cleanly enough, accidents can easily happen."
"I am not questioning your decision." The gang leader's neck bent even lower. "But gangs also have their own way of survival. If we don't make some kind of response, once the Sailor Gang loses its deterrent power, every time we transport goods in the future, someone will probably spy on us, which would be even more troublesome."
Mr. Schwartz was too lazy to refute this guy's nonsense. These gang members were simply short-sighted and each more arrogant than the last: "All of Richmond's upper society knows you're my man. If you attack them now, aren't you trying to embarrass me?"
The gang leader quickly added, "You don't have to worry too much. They haven't just offended us in the Dock Area these past two days. According to the current method of inspection, I estimate they will soon provoke all the gangs. Then we can secretly act, making him lose most of his subordinates before he goes to prison, like this."
The half-cup of hot tea was drained in the dead of night, and Mr. Schwartz stood up in thought.
There were indeed some gentlemen in Richmond who had quite a few complaints about this Wayne and the Beaton Family. If he were given a slight lesson beforehand, it might earn them more goodwill. He began walking towards the bedroom without looking back:
"I didn't hear you say any of this; these are all your own ideas, none of my business. Tomorrow, a ship of Frank's goods will dock. You can keep a few boxes of red wine and get some pistols; discard them after use. Then just say those boxes of wine were stolen, and someone will handle it."
"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Schwartz."
This guy has been managing the Sailor Gang for several years, hasn't he? If he's still useful, keep him for another two years. If his ability is insufficient, then replace him.
Gang members are always like this; sitting in the same position for too long makes them prone to Peng Zhang and too opinionated.
