Transcendent Spiritual Ability Users and investigators were entirely different groups; they belonged to national forces, possessed more powerful spiritual abilities than investigators, knew more about the transcendent realm, and only Transcendent Spiritual Ability Users had the ability to use Holy Relics, while investigators could only use Spiritual Guns.
"Forensics has checked over the body on the ground; it's not a Transcendent Spiritual Ability User. Once we get back and check the fingerprints and DNA, we should know who it was," Bader said.
"That doesn't make sense, even if..." Diana said, hands on her hips, looking at the body on the ground with confusion.
"Even if it's an unlawful Transcendent Spiritual Ability User, they wouldn't stoop to killing an ordinary person, let alone using a Holy Relic," Bader added.
Bader was right—becoming an investigator or a Transcendent Spiritual Ability User was no easy feat for an ordinary person. One had to pass numerous exams and screenings to qualify for "Spiritual Energy infusion" and even after being evaluated, had to register with the Administration Bureau and be subject to strict controls.
All Transcendent Spiritual Ability Users would be organized into PWAT, the Spiritual Ability Administration's CPA or FPI departments. Some might even join parts of the state police systems as high-ranking officials, essentially becoming part of the federal police system or the army.
Meanwhile, all investigators worked for various Spiritual Ability Enterprises either becoming Black Box Hunters or private Spiritual Guards. Considering career paths, personal prospects, and the degree of regulatory scrutiny, the possibilities and motivations for Transcendent Spiritual Ability Users and investigators to engage in unlawful activities were minimized.
"Is this Black Person one of the civilians that fled? I saw a lot of 9mm standard pistol casings downstairs earlier," Diana expressed her doubts.
"Can't confirm that; at least we haven't found any 9mm pistols here," Bader replied.
"Right, take a look at this."
With that, Bader tossed the dagger in his hand to Diana.
The dagger spun through the air in an arc and, with a swoosh, turned into a small orange diamond, which Diana caught with her left hand. Focusing her spiritual energy, she turned it back into a dagger.
She examined the exquisite dagger, inwardly marveled that it was an orange-level Holy Relic!
Diana quickly pulled out a card-like camera device and pressed the button towards the dagger:
[Blasphemous Dagger]
[--Extracted]
[--Extracted]
[--Used]
This was the Blasphemous Dagger?! She was startled; the Spirit Explosion Effect here had been caused deliberately! This dagger was an extremely dangerous Holy Relic that was generally not used as a weapon because it had a one-time effect. Namely, after performing a binding ritual, by stabbing a sacrifice's heart, it created a Spirit Explosion Effect within a certain range and temporarily opened a door to the "Great Void" in the Spirit Explosion Space...
"But... why are there no entries?" Diana looked at the display screen with some confusion.
"I don't know either. It's my first time encountering something like this. You CPA manage a multitude of Holy Relics; have you never seen anything like this?" Bader shrugged.
"Never. The production of Holy Relics and the principles behind their effects have always been a mystery. They can't be replicated or repaired, let alone extraction of entries," Diana said incredulously.
"The forensic team confirmed that the Black Person's heart is still there; he isn't the sacrifice. But the Spirit Explosion Effect absolutely occurred, and the dagger's special effect was activated. The question is, we haven't found the sacrifice... And why did an investigator from Weber Spirit Production arrive first at the scene? What's the connection here? Hmm, if this Black Person was a fleeing civilian, then where's the investigator's gun..."
Diana thought for a moment and said, "This doesn't add up. We haven't seen the body of the sacrifice, and we can't even be sure if this body is really that of a fleeing civilian?"
"I'm wondering how many people were here at the time..." Bader speculated.
"Maybe that civilian, or someone else, took the Holy Relic left by the human-faced dog's body and fled," Diana added.
"I'm more concerned about the two missing handguns than the Holy Relic," Bader mused.
The two fell silent for a while. Watching the forensic expert pack the corpse into a body bag, because the wound on the Black man's throat was quite large, the head accidentally fell off while bagging it.
"This is not just a simple case of a spontaneous Spirit Explosion any longer. It involves three homicides, one missing person, and the loss of a Spiritual Gun. I think this case should be under the jurisdiction of the FPI," Bader said. After all, as an FPI officer, he was responsible for investigating homicides related to transcendental supernatural phenomena and the whereabouts of each Spiritual Gun.
"A bunch of Spiritual Power Relics have gone missing, Bader, and obviously, this is a man-made Spirit Explosion Space. Their intention couldn't be clearer—they aim to enter the Great Void in search of more Holy Relics, and probably other strange items... This violates the Transcendent Contact Regulations and the Holy Relics Supervision Act, the CPA has the right to take over this case too," Diana retorted without yielding, since any case involving the Holy Relics and contact with the Great Void was indeed under the jurisdiction of the CPA.
In fact, incidents involving the Spirit Explosion Space with casualties and missing Holy Relics never occurred in isolation, so it was inevitable that the CPA and the FPI would clash with each other.
Diana and Bader both knew that all the clues in this case pointed to that missing sacrificial victim. Find him, or his body, and they would be able to clarify what had actually happened here.
"So, how do you plan to start your investigation? Are you going to scare the CEO of Weber Spirit Production with your large-caliber revolver?" Bader mocked.
"Beating around the bush isn't my style, Bader. I prefer straight punches," Diana responded neutrally.
"Then let's see who's faster, Magical Diana. I'll use my brain, and you use your muscles—fair competition," Bader said candidly.
Diana snorted and turned to walk out the door.
Watching Diana's back, Bader squinted his eyes, seemingly contemplating some other scheme.
...
At an abandoned factory in the Lower District of Opportunity City.
6:42 AM.
A sharp Wide-blade Sword was thrust violently into the fontanelle of an aggressive stray dog, and a spray of thick red blood and white brain matter splashed onto the ground. Chen Ke stepped on the dog's head and pulled the sword out, wiping it on the dog's fur.
With a "whoosh," the Wide-blade Sword disappeared from Chen Ke's hand in a flash of white light, turning into a small white diamond.
After leaving his hiding place, to get through this long night, Chen Ke traversed the abandoned factories scattered throughout Opportunity City.
He had found some clothes to change into in the wardrobe of his hideout. He was currently dressed in a brown jacket and dark blue jeans with a white short-sleeved shirt underneath and wore dark green hiking shoes on his feet. He was also carrying an Assassin's red triangular bag on his back.
As the taxi driver had said, these abandoned factories had indeed become nesting grounds for many monsters. Speaking of monsters, they were actually just wild dogs and cats that had been demonized due to the influence of Spiritual Energy.
They had undergone some changes in appearance and were unrecognizable from their original form; they were entirely black, with teeth protruding outward and claws that had become incredibly sharp.
However, unlike the human-faced dogs he encountered in the building, after roaming through several abandoned factories and killing hundreds of demonized cats and dogs, Chen Ke found that these creatures did not leave behind Holy Relic diamonds upon their death.
Moreover, these monsters did not have means to attack human sanity; the only danger they posed was their teeth and claws. This could be very fatal to ordinary people, but the impact on Chen Ke was not significant.
Chen Ke did not use Parker's Spiritual Ability Pistol, instead summoning the executioner's bloodletting short sword using his lifespan. His primary consideration was that the bullets were running low, and he wanted to save them for a critical moment. Also, during midnight, the noise produced by firearms was simply too loud, and Chen Ke did not want to attract unnecessary trouble.
But in the heat of battle, he increasingly realized how great the advantage of Holy Relics was in fighting these kinds of monsters.
For instance, this executioner's bloodletting short sword, upon striking a wild dog, would create a wound that continually bled. Many of the wild dogs were not killed by Chen Ke's blade but bled to death after being stabbed once.
Chen Ke could hardly describe the sharpness of this sword; he hardly needed to exert much effort when piercing the flesh and bones of the wild dogs.
The only potential drawback of Holy Relics was probably just the necessity of fighting at close quarters.
In addition to a deeper understanding of Holy Relics, he also realized that he didn't need to eat or sleep, as if he were an everlasting machine never ceasing to run.
After a night of intense fighting, Chen Ke barely maintained a balance in his lifespan. The deep blue sky started to lighten, the slumbering city was awakening, and Chen Ke left the abandoned factory, leaving behind a ground littered with wild dog corpses.