Henry, who was eating dinner, got a call from Middendorffi.
"You say there is something on Creator?"
Henry paused in his chucking and frowned, "What is it? Is it dangerous?"
Middendorffi returned, "Not sure."
"Not sure?"
"I don't know if it intends to hurt anyone, and I don't know if it's connected to those cases." Middendorffi returned, "I didn't ask about that."
"All right. I guess it's useless for you to ask, naturally, he won't give you any more information since he was just questioned by the police this afternoon." Henry said, "But since it has come out, and so far I haven't heard of any injuries to his parents, doctors, or police officers who have seen it, should ... it not be that aggressive? By the way, what were you trying to do by calling me? To talk to me?"
Middendorffi said, "I wanted to see it face to face."
"Huh?" Henry said, "Hasn't that Adams president invited you... What, he won't let you see it?"
"I don't think so." Middendorffi paused momentarily, suddenly realizing that it would be too much of a waste of time to go on like this, question after question. But in this round of dialogue, it was clear that going on like this would not achieve what Middendorffi wanted.
So, instead of continuing to go along with Henry's question, in a rare move, he turned to, "Henry, that thing has a name."
"Has a name? What is it?"
"I can't tell you."
"... Hmm?" Henry realized something was wrong, "Why can't you tell me?"
"The name has ... a kind of energy." Middendorffi said slowly while considering the wording, "All you have to do is know its name, and it will ... come to you."
"What?!"
Henry swished up. The sound of the stool rubbing against the floor was extremely harsh, but Henry didn't care, "You mean, this thing spreads by name? Knowing the name is ... Then Creato's family, the doctor, and the police who investigated him this afternoon, and even the other police who saw the transcript and knew about the case, aren't they all 'infected'?"
"They should be. I haven't seen them in person, but I presume so."
"And what about you?!"
Henry's anger flew up, and he tucked in his keys and headed out the door, ignoring his half-eaten boxed lunch, "You won't tell me about yourself if I deliberately don't ask you, will you? Do you know its name? Did you get passed on by that thing, too?!"
"..." Middendorffi didn't know how to answer this question for a moment.
He glanced once again at Eli, who was sitting beside him. Although this phone had no amplifier, it was as if Eli could still see the plea for help in the back of his eyes as he sat and waited for him to speak.
"Middendorffi, open up and give me the truth!" Henry's end relented first, he "bang!" As he walked away, he closed the door with a bang and asked, "And Eli? Does he know the name yet?"
"... He knows it too." Within ten seconds or so, Middendorffi had thought it through, and the reply became firm, "But he should be fine; that thing can't get to his body."
"That means you're not okay, right?" Henry frowned, "Can he help you with that?"
"Don't know yet." Middendorffi returned, "After I heard that name and knew it had been given to someone else, I didn't continue communicating and immediately hung up looking for you. In case the name spreads around the police department ..."
"OK, OK, OK, I'll get them to close that message immediately. And on Creato's side, too ..." Henry was halfway through his sentence when he realized that he was wasting his time talking to Middendorffi about this now, so he turned the conversation around, "And don't you guys run off; you can start by asking Eli if he can fix This thing. Then stay home and don't leave until I hear from you; I may have to pick you all up, understand?"
"Understood." Middendorffi, thankful that Henry wouldn't keep asking, answered decisively and then hung up the phone.
The cabin was quiet once again.
Middendorffi hung his head and looked at the darkening screen while Eli waited good-naturedly for Middendorffi to speak.
Sure enough, it didn't take a minute for Middendorffi to meet Eli's eyes, "Can you, can you fix this 'Suzanne'?"
"Where do you mean 'Suzanne' at Creators?" Eli said, extending his index finger and tapping Middendorffi's brow, "Or yours here?"
This, which stunned Middendorffi for a moment, also caused Eli to rub his finger unconsciously even after he withdrew his hand.
However, Middendorffi didn't think much of it and quickly returned, "Both."
"Yeah?" Eli's attention turned back from his fingers, and he looked Middendorffi in the eye, "You need me to help you with it?"
"Of course." Middendorffi gave a slow blink as if to clarify and as if to emphasize, "It's not like I can attack the 'other.'"
"... Good." Eli, as if amused, ticks the corners of his mouth slightly. Middendorffi presses on, "Can you fix it?"
Eli: "Can't."
Middendorffi: "..."
"I mean, I'm not sure it's fixable yet, but I can give it a shot." Eli returns to that cold demeanor, displaying his usual highbrow behavior, "I'd have to see other people who have also been 'haunted' and compare them before I can determine if it can be fixed."
"Good." Middendorffi, not doubting, raised his hand to send a message to Henry.
About an hour later, Henry drove downstairs and picked up the two men.
***
Henry, Lupin, Middendorffi, and Eli arrived at the CID at night.
The place was still lit up, and many CID officers stayed behind. They were temporarily forbidden to leave the police force, and everyone, on the principle that they had stayed anyway, discussed the two Creato-related cases with great vigor.
Once everyone was gathered in the conference room, Middendorffi and Eli went in, while Henry and Lupin were left outside and not allowed to observe. Also, everyone else in The Collector was not permitted to hear any more about the incident. Everyone has been informed that something strange is spreading, and if you know its name, you will be haunted by it.
Members of the Collectors who were already at home from work said in the group, "This thing can spread far and wide, and the Creator didn't post it on the Internet?
Someone asked: [But even if thousands of people know about it, so what? What are the consequences of being infected by this thing?]]
Henry: [Creato could be linked to twelve lives right now.]
Crowd: [... You're right.]
"If what's inside Creato is that vicious, what's the point of mass spreading and differentiation?" Lupin put down his phone and looked at Henry, who was sitting on the side waiting together, "If Creato's friends all had this thing inside them, and he killed them, what was the point?"
Henry thought momentarily, "When you say that, it reminds me of a pretty old horror comic."
"What?"
"Fukujang." Henry said briefly, "It's possible to replicate many of them, but they hate each other, so they'll kill each other."
"According to you, then these cases should have nothing to do with that church of theirs." Lupin said, "But the police told me that members of this church have been insisting that Creato must be innocent. And some of them are always asking to see Creato, very much in that ... frenzied sense of crazy cult members wanting to see the central figure."
"That's true. If this damn thing's goal is to kill the parasitic subjects of the other alters, it should be planted on the others by any means possible." Henry stroked his chin, "And there hasn't been a similar case as significant as these cases yet, and there's no apparent mutual hostility in the CID, so it should be ... okay for now?"
"Let's see if Eli can fix this first." Lupin sighed, "But just now, Bear said that no matter whether it can be solved, he would like to see Creato in the state in which that thing appeared. This case can be officially transferred to the 'Collector' Co-ordinator; think of a way to push it later.
Henry said, "'The Collector' stepped in, and Bear and the boys had this deal flying."
"It's already gone. Didn't you hear Bear already won't let him see Creato just because the doctor thinks the thing is a second personality?" Lupin snorted, "This Shi guy dares to jump across the room left and right even when treating people with special skills, and he's not afraid of retribution."
"Alright, we'll talk to the case team later." Henry returned, "If Creato's connection to the two cases sits, even if he's still hospitalized, the police will keep him under control and won't be able to see anyone else easily."
Lupin said, "You're going to have an in-depth chat with the CID about this; it's a safe bet they'll accidentally say that name so that you can be careful."
"If I know it, I know it." Henry didn't find it hard to face, "Now that Bear's been hit, how can I shrink back and cower? We can't just let them two contract workers rush ahead, and we hide in the back; what kind of 'collector' would that be."
"Ugh, you're right." Lupin sighed softly, "Then let's talk to Bear and the others about this later so they can talk to us about them if they have any ideas."
Henry spun his phone, "In that case, I should have followed them in earlier ..."
But the two only had a short time to fiddle outside before the conference room door opened.
The first to come out was Middendorffi, and the two of them hurriedly got up to greet him, "How's it going?"
"Confirmed." Middendorffi nodded once, "They all know that name, and indeed, they are all infected by that power."
His tone was calm, but Henry and Lupin blanched at the sound, "They're all ...? Can that be fixed?"
Middendorffi didn't answer directly but looked at Eli, who came out after him. Eli's reply was also dry, "Can't."
Henry and Lupin's faces worsened, and Henry frowned, "Then don't delay here; go back to the unit, call back the guys who can fix it, and let the guys see if they can get rid of what's on Bear's body. Suppose they can get someone to come down to the police station. I'll chat with the police force and get 'The Collector' involved in the case."
Lupin was about to follow up with something when Middendorffi suddenly chimed in, "No."
It was the first time Henry and Lupin were rejected so categorically by Middendorffi that they froze and asked why.
Middendorffi could have been more decisive this time and was silent for a while. Henry saw that he couldn't tell him why and was thinking of getting to the bottom of it for a moment when Eli spoke up.
"Because of what's on Bear and these cops, the traces are still faint. It can only be sensed, not seen, much less come out of him like the one on Creato. If it's not at that level, others probably won't even be able to tell, much less eliminate and deal with it." Eli says these words calmly and reasonably before glancing at Middendorffi, "Right?"
Middendorffi: "... Right."