Chapter 634 Undercurrent
The Detective Agency actually had a general, albeit vague, direction in their search for the cultists, which was at least better than the previous needle-in-a-haystack approach.
The abandoned residence used by the cultists was rented, and by inquiring with the local 'real estate Agent' in the community, they could find out when they first rented it and the physical characteristics of the person who paid the rent.
Based on the ritual handbook Lina found, and retroactively analyzing the completion of the magic circle, it was basically determined that they arrived in the Dock Area around that time.
A group of suspicious foreigners, likely smuggled in by ship, who clearly intended to cause trouble in the Dock Area from the very beginning and were not short on cash (at least at the time), would very likely look for additional residences locally to set up as backup 'safe houses'.
Otherwise, being unfamiliar with the place, if they encountered any unexpected situations, blindly running would only make it easier to fall into a trap, which is not the style of dangerous professionals like the Silent Sect—after all, an organized 'group of people' often acts differently from a 'single person' fighting alone.
Now, with a rough timeframe for the initial rental and the current residence as a reference, the search for their safe house has narrowed considerably.
Moreover, they had set up so many magic circles during this period; Extraordinary materials were hard to trace, possibly brought by them, but they clearly couldn't bring everything. For example, the source of the rotten meat and offal used to feed rats in the 'garbage hill courtyard' is worth investigating.
Wealthy families have servants, and Plantations have slaves; there are plenty of people who want good food, so it's impossible for it to be discarded casually. In American cities of this era, opportunities to find large quantities of meat in the trash cans of wealthy communities were rare, let alone in the Dock Area, where it was unthinkable.
So, logically, that meat was either bought by them in secret, or it was stolen, swindled, or robbed. The former involves a transaction partner, the latter involves a victim. In any case, it couldn't have fallen from the sky, otherwise even Wayne would want the Agents in the workshop to stake out and pick it up.
The same applies to other items. In short, anything that interacts with the real world will never be without a trace.
Compared to criminals who just show up somewhere and start causing trouble without warning, these guys who have been planning for a long time are actually easier to find.
Thus, with Inessa and Lina focused on this, Wayne did not rush to find the cultists.
He chose to socialize with the gang bosses, prioritizing confirming the identity of the people who ambushed him last night.
Since Wayne had already sounded out several gangs before, many gang leaders knew that Wayne had a grudge with the Sailor Gang.
When Wayne visited and personally recounted his experience of being attacked in the middle of the night, they all tacitly placed the suspicion on the Sailor Gang, implying in their words that 'the culprits must be them.' They didn't even need Wayne to say much, and the conversation was very pleasant.
Hmph, a lie told often enough becomes the truth.
Let the Sailor Gang also taste the feeling of being framed.
However, one thing is one thing; having a scapegoat doesn't mean the matter can be easily dismissed.
The group of people last night really fired more than one shot at Wayne as soon as they met. Wayne felt that at least some of them had a strong murderous intent towards him, and it was still necessary to confirm their identity and purpose.
Therefore, Wayne's plan actually consisted of two steps: first, regardless of the truth, try to pin all the blame on the Sailor Gang.
After dealing with them, if there was another true culprit, he would then claim he made a mistake and then present evidence to legitimately launch a second wave.
This should not cause the other gangs in the Dock Area to explode all at once, and the Detective Agency could continue to play innocent for a while longer.
After all, the attack did happen, and it wasn't a setup by Wayne himself, so taking advantage of the situation could only be considered 'reciprocity.'
With this idea, while conspiring to accuse the Sailor Gang, Wayne also laid a groundwork for his subsequent plan.
He claimed that he killed many of their people last night, and the attacking gang should have suffered a loss in strength. He also said that several survivors escaped, and where their gunshot wounds were likely located, asking these gang leaders who wanted to expand their territory to help find evidence.
"Mr. Wayne, rest assured, the Sailor Gang's territory is not far from mine. Starting today, I will send my subordinates to help search every day."
"There are still survivors? I will keep an eye on the Sailor Gang. If I find them, I will definitely tie them up and send them to you, Mr. Wayne, for your personal disposal."
"Such gunshot wounds are not easy to treat, Mr. Wayne is truly brave. I have many doctors in Richmond that I cooperate with. I will send someone to remind them later not to sell medicine to the Sailor Gang's people anymore."
Wayne dismissed all their words as nonsense, but even though these gang leaders might not genuinely want to help Wayne, they were clearly interested in testing their peers' strength or kicking them while they were down.
Although the Detective Agency did not intend to get involved in instigating discord, if the gang leaders ever started thinking, 'whoever gets the territory first gets to keep it,' Wayne would be happy to see them start fighting.
...
According to the message, when Merlin returned to the Cathedral, he initially thought Tiriel would focus on the incident where Wayne and the two monks were attacked by suspected gang members last night.
However, after hearing the briefing, the Bishop's true focus remained on the plague in the Dock Area.
"You did well this time. Not only did you detect the signs in time, but you also destroyed all the magic circles before the ritual was completed, thereby maintaining the public order and stability of Richmond and saving many innocent lives."
Tiriel first nodded in affirmation, then continued to ask, "Are the residual effects of this ritual still significant? Is there still a risk of it truly spreading into a plague?"
Merlin briefly assessed: "When destroying the ritual magic circles last night, some rats suspected of being contaminated still escaped. But overall, I believe the risk currently seems largely controllable, and the likelihood of a widespread plague outbreak in the city is already low."
"What are Wayne's thoughts?"
"Miss Inessa had experience dealing with the Silent Sect when she was in Windsor. Her view is also similar; the main concerns are that the cultists have not been completely apprehended, and that those problematic rats might infect ordinary citizens. Wayne suggested last night that if we are worried about the rat infestation, we could offer a limited-time bounty in the Dock Area for fresh rat tails. But he also said that the price should not be too high to prevent speculation and profit, and to avoid a large number of laborers temporarily abandoning their jobs in the short term, which would affect order. It's best to control the amount to a level that can mobilize housewives and children."
"I understand." Tiriel nodded slightly. "By the way, what about Miss Lina's situation? What are your observations?"
"Although she is not close to the Church, she is not averse to contact with clergy, and there is no discernible malice in her daily words and actions. I suspect she may have other beliefs besides the holy Spirit, or she is a shallow believer of the Holy See, basically fitting the characteristics of an unattached Extraordinary Person from the Old Continent. Judging by her partner status in the Detective Agency, she should possess qualities and abilities recognized by Wayne and Miss Inessa, and her rank should not be low."
"It's similar to Tom Hagen's conclusions recorded in the archives... Merlin, if that group of cultists from the Silent Sect continues to lie low in Richmond and look for an opportunity to perform the ritual again, are you confident you can stop them in time again?"
"I am confident. Miss Inessa's experience in the Hunter Association has been a great help, and Wayne has already found the ritual handbook used by those cultists, so we will have more foresight when dealing with similar threats in the future. Even if a higher-ranking intruder appears, we are not completely powerless to resist."
"Very good."
Tiriel was about to continue when Warren Lechter, the Cathedral's newly appointed treasurer, quietly walked into the reception room, respectfully standing by the door, head bowed and hands clasped, indicating he was waiting.
So Tiriel pondered for a moment and then prepared to end the conversation, "Merlin, you go continue with your work for now; try to resolve this incident as soon as possible."
"Yes!" Merlin lightly tapped his chest a few times, drawing a holy triangle, then bowed and retreated a few steps before turning to walk out the door.
Before leaving the reception room, he heard Warren Lechter already beginning to report to Tiriel:
"Your Grace, Senator Walter has invited you to dinner at his home tonight. It is said that Mr. Schwartz, the banker, has also been invited. Should I go and respond to his butler now?"
"Walter? His news is still so well-informed..."
