Nina went to school, and as she had done many times in the past, the girl once again believed her uncle's promise that he would stay home until she returned.
Maybe she has long been unconvinced, but she still insists on holding faith.
Duncan stood behind the window on the first floor of the antique shop as he watched Nina's trotting figure quickly make a turn around the corner and disappear from his field of view.
Uncle Duncan would wait for her to come home at the store, as he promised.
"Ai, come here." As soon as the thought flashed in his heart, a green flame stream streaked through the air and materialized before Duncan.
Through the connection established by the ghost fire, Duncan could clearly perceive the position of the dove and the state she's in. Although it was not yet possible to fully share the five senses, this level of perception could already do a lot of things.
Duncan lowered his head and stared into Ai little mungbean eyes: "You are actually very smart. Not only can you fully understand my words, but you can also do many things, right?"
The dove immediately flapped its wings proudly: "Loyalty, loyalty!"
"Then I have a bold idea right now. I want you to try it." Duncan smiled, then took out the sun talisman that had now become a "cultist approach alarm" from his pocket.
He carefully wrapped the badge with a cloth to prevent it from being exposed to ordinary people and then tied it to Ai's back with a strip of fabric.
"Go fly around town, and when the badge heats up, search for the place that resonates. Preferably directly to the building," Duncan explains his intent, "I will keep track of the location from my end… Right, first fly around the lower sector and the Crossroad. Don't go to the upper sector yet since I'm not familiar with that area. I can't determine the address based on the positioning alone."
The dove flapped her wings and tilted its head: "Make some fries?"
Duncan grimaced: "If you can locate one place, then I will bury you with fries."
Without saying a word, the bird flapped its wings and rushed out the gate as if afraid the owner would regret the agreement.
The ghost captain watched with a smile as the bird flew away in the sky. With his tracking ability of Ai improved, the man could clearly perceive the dove's movement through the ghost fire. Then by matching the approximate location in his head to a map, Duncan should be able to pinpoint anything they find along the way.
Exhaling softly, he leans back against the counter to comfortably wait. He promised Nina that he wouldn't go out "asking for danger", so it's only natural he kept his promise. However, he never said anything about not writing report letters to the authority from his home…..
To be fair, this was a better solution since Ai could cover more distances and increase the range by wandering the city. Of course, this method also had disadvantages, and that was not being able to gather intel from the cultists.
But Duncan didn't care much about this regret. According to the experience of attending the last rally, those cultists who could easily be found were actually a group of minions that were disposable by those in charge. The big fish would need to be uncovered differently, hence why the ghost captain would change the plan.
Also, let's not forget Ai had more ability than just flying around with a sensor – her job was express delivery….
Imagine finding a big fish who was unprepared. Ai could swoop in and transport the foe onto the Vanished. By that point, haha…. There's no escape for the poor sucker by that point. Duncan could take his sweet, sweet time interrogating the prisoner.
Then to top things off with a cherry, he hadn't experimented with transporting live humans yet… Duncan wouldn't kidnap random people off the street for his own gains, but he wouldn't have any qualms about experimenting with ruthless cultists that committed mass murder.
When necessary, even pure trash could be suitable "consumables".
Duncan leaned back in his chair and relished in his own ingenuity. The only problem now was to consider how he would explain this to Nina why the authorities would issue so many reward bounties to her uncle.
As the man dwelled on the matter, another idea suddenly popped up: is there such a thing as banks in this world that's developed into the industrial age?
This was the inevitable result and a necessary condition for developing the world's economy.
Although this world's banking system should be far less convenient and widespread than on Earth, the minimum account function should still be there.
And of course, the original owner of this body did not have a bank account. The man hadn't done well in life so it's pointless to do so. What's more, the bank services are usually reserved for those living in the upper sector since those like Nina's family had little spare funds to speak of. Even so, banks are technically open to all walks of life regardless of one's status.
As it so happens, there's a bank at the Crossroad that he could visit.
Making up his mind, Duncan intends to make a visit within the next two days. His activities are going to expand rapidly at this rate. It's crucial he got the foundation down before things really gathered steam. Besides, giving a bank account number in the report letters would mean he could skip leaving his personal address directly on the papers.
Of course, whether this was feasible will have to be tried later, after all, the original owner of his body has little experience with the city-state security department (or strictly speaking, much positive experience), but Duncan thinks it was reasonable enough.
In this dangerous world, anonymous reporting should be a normal choice for many enthusiastic citizens working under caution.
As for today… he's going to stay in the antique shop and relax. He still hasn't personally opened up this business yet, so it's about time he got to it.
Duncan stretched and got up from behind the counter, then slowly came to the main door where he flipped the sign to the "open" side against the window glass.
...
Near the Crossroad, inside the dilapidated and abandoned factory, guardians of the church had already pulled up a blockade around the area when Inquisitor Vanna arrived with her blessed sword strapped to the waist. She's being accompanied by two storm priests as they descend the stairs to the basement floor.
Here, everything remained the same after they received a report and discovered the rally, which was promptly cordoned off until now.
In the huge basement, the disgusting smell of blood was particularly thick. Mix this smell with the pungent sting of burning chemicals and decapitated parts of the dead strewn along the floor, such a scene would terrify even the strongest of hearts. However, the female inquisitor wasn't one of those weak souls. She's focused and frowning because there's no traces or clues of the attackers here.
It was a one-sided crushing battle. The assailants far outweighed these cultists, who were basically ordinary folks. Also, the attack appears to be sudden and abrupt with many of the cultists unable to resist or react in time.
Who is responsible?
Wild transcendents with whom these cultists have a personal feud?
Or another powerful heresy order?
Perhaps some kind of out-of-control bloody sacrifice that has gone berserk?
The young inquisitor was lost in thought.