Chapter 62: Detective Perspective

Howard decided to head to the Gularqike family personally; he had met with their Patriarch, Pulasouw, once before and had not sensed any aura of evil or the like from this person in charge of the Corpse Guild in the Songqisangdeqijia Hive City.

But just now, as his vehicle brushed past a transport vehicle entering the Gularqike family mansion, he had an extremely uncomfortable feeling; his spirituality sensed chaos and madness.

Howard knew the Corpse Guild was a major guild in the Hive City, managing the trade and production of Corpse Starch.

Tens of thousands of people are born and die in the Hive City every work cycle; if these corpses were not processed in an orderly fashion, plague and disease would run rampant throughout the Hive City.

Furthermore, the corpses are sent into massive Grinders to be converted into Corpse Starch, which is the food source for most ordinary people in the Hive City; once a problem arises, the Hive City will be significantly affected.

What's more, Ninglu had also issued an order to stimulate population growth in the Hive City.

The route Howard set had its destination happen to be its starting point, and he donned his Precision Power Armor at top speed.

He then took a vehicle to the Gularqike family mansion, and at a distance of one kilometer from the mansion, he opened his communicator and issued orders on the Fifth Regiment's command channel.

"Rat Catching Operation, begin!"

He then immediately switched to the First Platoon's communication channel and issued an order.

"Mihawu, your First Squad, come in with me."

"Other squads stand by; do not let a single one escape."

"Understood, Leader."

The brown-haired, brown-eyed Mihawu immediately led his squad out from the shop where they had been lurking.

The Warriors of the First Company were all elites who had experienced dozens of battles since the regiment's founding.

The First Platoon was the elite of the elites; the wealthy Howard had equipped every Warrior with Carapace Armor, and their weapons were also precision-crafted.

Howard led his men straight to the iron gates of the Gularqike family mansion.

Guards had long since spotted him and, through his Precision Power Armor and his facial features, recognized the de facto controller of Songqisangdeqijia.

They immediately sent a message to Patriarch Pulasouw and opened the gates to welcome him, the guard fawningly saying.

"Lord Howard, Patriarch Pulasouw has already..."

Howard had no time to listen to his nonsense and directly barked.

"Move aside!"

Following this, he led his men straight into the Gularqike family mansion.

After walking a few dozen steps, he saw the transport vehicle parked in front of a warehouse of several hundred square meters.

The "Magistrate" frowned; he did not have the strange feeling from before, as if it were just an ordinary transport vehicle.

At this moment, Pulasouw, wearing a gray robe embroidered with red Ravens and carrying a Bone Staff, came running over at a trot.

As he ran, his gray-white fat quivered, like a running mountain of flesh, and he said breathlessly.

"Howard... Lord..."

Howard tapped his left hand twice on the center of his brow to activate his Spirit Vision, his ice-blue eyes sweeping over Pulasouw, causing the person in charge of the Corpse Guild to shiver involuntarily.

The "Magistrate" sensed a faint, lingering aura of evil on him, but he did not question him directly.

"Treasures dedicated to King Ninglu have been stolen from my Hive Tower, and my men saw the thief flee into your home."

"Move aside immediately, or else you are harboring a thief."

Hearing this, the nervous Pulasouw breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't that the thing he was worried about had been exposed, but rather that a daring thief had stolen something.

He knew the preferences of this "King" and did not doubt Howard's words.

【Damn thief, of all places to run, you had to run to this area.】

"Lord, you must be mistaken; even if I had eaten all the Corpse Starch in the entire Hive City, I wouldn't have such guts."

"You may search as you please, but that villain certainly didn't run into my mansion; my family's guards didn't discover anyone sneaking in."

"Move aside."

Howard's tone was cold as he led his men and charged into the warehouse.

Upon entering the warehouse, he discovered a Grinder in the center and hundreds of corpses, and he immediately shouted.

"Search!"

"Yes!"

The Warriors of the First Squad faithfully executed the Leader's orders; they did not let a single place go, even searching through corpses that were somewhat rotten and emitting a foul stench.

Howard noticed that although there was gray Fear in Pulasouw's aura, there was more blue calmness and rationality, so he knew that place must be hard to find.

The "Magistrate" stepped forward, searching the warehouse carefully.

Twelve minutes later, Mihawu came to Howard's side.

"Leader, nothing found."

Pulasouw walked up to Howard and said with a smile.

"Lord, you see, this warehouse is full of corpses, and the Corpse Starch after grinding is all for my servants to eat."

"Even if a thief really did escape into my mansion, it's impossible for them to hide in these corpses, let alone hide precious things here."

Howard did not speak; his extraordinary ability "Detective Perspective" had already sensed something, and he walked quickly toward the Grinder.

Pulasouw opened his mouth, wanting to say that his men had already checked it, but he did not want to arouse Howard's suspicion, so in the end, he said nothing.

Howard arrived before the Grinder, squatted down, and looked at a drop of blue in the dark red blood on the ground.

"Detective Perspective" gave the "Magistrate" investigative abilities far exceeding those of an ordinary person, allowing him to detect abnormal factors and grasp inconspicuous traces.

【It is impossible for corpses to have this color; the ground Corpse Starch is not right.】

He immediately stood up and said to Mihawu.

"Take all the Corpse Starch away."

Howard noticed that the Fear in Pulasouw's aura rose instantly.

"Lord, the things you are looking for are extremely precious; how could they be mixed in there?"

"No fool would throw precious treasures into Corpse Starch."

Howard, through the other party's reaction, had already confirmed his judgment; he raised his arm and aimed the Heavy Stubber at Pulasouw.

"What, are you going to stop me?"

Pulasouw swept a glance at the family guards from the corner of his eye, then looked at Howard and his Warriors, wisely choosing to give up.

"Come with me."

Howard took his men and escorted Pulasouw back to the Hive Tower.

At the same moment, armed conflicts erupted in several locations across Songqisangdeqijia.

The hidden Tzeentch Cultists were wiped out by the Warriors of the Fifth Regiment after a brief resistance.

Only then did Howard take out his communicator and switch to the Captain of the Guard's channel.

"Take your squad and move out immediately to stabilize the situation in the Hive City."

Two standard hours later, Howard, having received the inspection report, arrived at the interrogation room, looked at Pulasouw, and sneered.

"You mixed a reagent into the Corpse Starch; those who eat it will undergo physical mutation."

"Now, will you confess honestly, or do you need my men to help you recover your memory?"

Pulasouw's face turned ashen; he gritted his teeth and said nothing.

One standard hour later, Howard stared at the Data Slate in his hand, the image on it being a brown-haired young man with deep-set eye sockets and a faint, mocking smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Issue the order: put out a city-wide warrant for Bartoshi."

(End of chapter)