At 1 PM, with a gentle breeze blowing, Wen Wen, dressed in a black trench coat, stepped out of a taxi and arrived at the front door of a villa. This was the residence of the woman who had called him earlier.
Although this case didn't seem to involve anything supernatural, Wen Wen decided to take it on anyway... because this family had money.
The man of the house, Mr. Wilson, was a mining tycoon from the Afri District. With a family that literally owned mines, they were certainly not short of cash.
A year ago, while on vacation in another city within the Hua Province District, they got caught up in a troublesome case, and Wen Wen helped them resolve it, so they were already acquainted.
Now they had settled in Furong River City, ready to enjoy a peaceful life.
Speaking of settling down, over a hundred years ago, the Federation had abolished the concept of nation-states, dividing the world into ten different districts instead.
These districts included the Hua Province District, where Wen Wen currently lived, predominantly inhabited by people of Asian descent; the White Bear District, sparsely populated with rugged residents; the economically developed Meiji District; the wildlife-rich Auba District; and the India District, known for its knack for producing surprises...
Altogether, there were ten districts, and citizens of the Federation could live anywhere they chose. So, while the Hua Province District was predominantly Asian, it was also home to a significant number of other ethnic groups.
Business opportunities that involved food were not to be missed, especially not those involving wealthy families like the Wilsons, so Wen Wen rang the doorbell of the villa.
After a short wait, a middle-aged maid opened the door and led Wen Wen inside, where he was soon introduced to Mrs. Wilson, Melissa.
Melissa was a woman with dark skin and curly hair, not considered beautiful by the standards of the Hua Province District. However, in the Afri District, where most people had similar features, she might be seen as quite attractive, at least by Mr. Wilson.
"Mrs. Wilson, you mentioned that your husband is missing. Have you reported this to the police?" Wen Wen asked, pulling out a small notebook to take notes.
"I did, two days ago. They keep telling me they're searching, but they haven't found anything yet. There are some things I couldn't explain over the phone, and I didn't want the police to know. You're the only one who can help me," Melissa said, wiping away a tear.
Wen Wen internally rolled his eyes. If she thought he was the only one who could help, why wait two days after reporting it to the police? Valuable clues could be harder to find now that time had passed.
"Alright, I'll do my best to find him. Was there anything unusual before Mr. Wilson went missing?"
Despite his annoyance, Wen Wen accepted the case. He was stronger and more capable than he had been before, so even if several days had passed, he was confident he could still solve the case.
Mrs. Wilson hesitated before saying, "There was nothing unusual before he left, but he did leave a recording."
Wen Wen stroked his chin thoughtfully. So, he left on his own?
"Let me hear the recording."
Melissa had the maid leave the room, then took out a recorder and pressed play.
"Melissa, I'm going away for a while. Don't worry."
Wen Wen's keen ears picked up the sound of violent banging in the background. So, was Wilson being coerced into saying this?
"D*mn it, stop moving around! Listen, don't tell anyone I'm leaving. I've got some issues to deal with, but I'll be fine soon."
There was a faint sound of metal scraping in the background.
Wen Wen raised an eyebrow. He didn't sound like someone who was being coerced. A person under duress wouldn't sound this firm.
"God, how do I get this thing off me..." The last sentence was barely audible, as if Wilson was moving away from the recorder.
After listening to the recording, Wen Wen's interest was piqued. This might not be a simple missing person case.
"Where did you find this recording?"
"In my husband's study. The room was a mess. Could it be that he was kidnapped?" Melissa asked nervously.
Wen Wen shook his head. "It's too early to tell. Take me to your husband's study. I might be able to find some clues."
When they arrived at the study, Wen Wen saw that it was indeed a mess, as Melissa had described. It looked worse than if a thief had ransacked it, with some areas appearing to have been hacked apart with an axe.
"Have the police been here?" Wen Wen asked as he began to examine the room, putting on a pair of gloves.
"They have," Melissa replied, looking at Wen Wen cautiously. "Will that be a problem?"
"Some valuable clues might have been destroyed, but it's not a big deal. Please leave the room; I need to conduct a thorough investigation."
Normally, Wen Wen would use this as an excuse to ask for more money, but his mind was elsewhere now. He had noticed something intriguing.
The damage in the room was strange. It didn't look like someone had been searching for something, nor did it look like a struggle had taken place. It seemed more like someone had destroyed things just for the sake of destruction.
This kind of purposeless destruction was similar to how a pet might wreck a home out of boredom—completely random and senseless, just on a much larger scale.
As Wen Wen ran his hand over a spot where it looked like an axe had struck, his pupils contracted.
It was a bookshelf that had been hacked apart, which wasn't surprising since bookshelves aren't particularly sturdy.
But what was surprising was that the steel nails used to hold the wooden shelves together had also been sliced clean through, just like the wood!
No ordinary person could do that with an axe!
And certainly not with a chainsaw!
Combining these marks with Wilson's statement about something being attached to him in the recording, Wen Wen was nearly certain this was another supernatural incident!
Finding clues that pointed to a supernatural event excited Wen Wen.
The Hunter Association had access to a lot of information about supernatural cases, but most of these were already under the Association's surveillance. Wen Wen could certainly handle them, but there was a risk that the bodies might disappear afterward. Even a slight risk was something Wen Wen wanted to avoid.
So this case, involving a supernatural incident that only he was aware of, was perfect. He could capture whatever was attached to Mr. Wilson and confine it in the Containment Facility, gaining another power in the process!
"Now that I've confirmed this is a supernatural case, everything makes more sense. Something has attached itself to Mr. Wilson, but it and Mr. Wilson are separate entities that can't control each other...
Mr. Wilson was probably worried about how he looked and decided to hide for a while...
So what exactly is attached to him?"
Wen Wen searched the room again and found an open, empty wooden box. The inside of the box bore metal scratch marks, identical to the ones on the damaged furniture.
He brought the box to Mrs. Wilson and asked, "Do you know what was in this box?"
Melissa examined it and hesitantly replied, "I think it's one of the items he brought back from the Afri District. It's a pair of metal wings he found in the mine. He thought they were beautifully crafted, so he brought them home to keep."
Wen Wen's eyes lit up. This must be it!