Chapter 18: On‑Site Investigation

Lei En tried three more icons, figuring out their functions.

One is a camera that can capture the scene before the eyes as a photo and store it, and it comes with a photo library, though it's empty for now. Another seems to be a translation dictionary, Lei En isn't sure, because nothing changes after opening it, perhaps the usage is wrong.

The last one is more interesting—it's a music player!

Lei En has always liked music; as a child his mother forced him to learn piano. Though he wasn't very good, he still knows a bit about music, and when hanging out with friends and colleagues he can sing a few songs, earning applause.

He opened the music player and found nearly a thousand songs, all ones he had previously downloaded onto his phone.

This was a big surprise for Lei En.

He eagerly selected a song; a familiar melody rang in his mind, and as he listened he became absorbed, suddenly missing everything on Diqiu, feeling somewhat sad.

After listening to a few songs, Lei En let out a soft sigh and turned off the player.

The sky brightened quickly.

Lei En hadn't slept all night, yet he was bright‑eyed; after having breakfast in the hotel lobby he headed out.

Aisi Bo Ge and La Mu Qi are dead, so he can return to his apartment openly, but considering the bag of money, the longsword, and the shotgun he obtained last night are inconvenient to carry, he didn't check out immediately; he hid them in his room to deal with later.

He now needs to go back to the apartment to show his face to the landlord, otherwise the landlord might report him to city hall and cause trouble.

Boarding a bus back to his Los District apartment, Lei En knocked on the landlord's door on the first floor.

A fat middle‑aged man in pajamas opened the door, a newspaper tucked under his arm; seeing Lei En, his expression turned a bit impatient and he asked, "Lei En, what's up? Did the pipe break again?"

Lei En had previously come to him twice about a leaking pipe; it's an old problem of the building.

The building is several decades old; the pipes are severely corroded and unfit for use. Replacing them all would cost a fortune, and this stingy fellow can't bear to spend the money.

"Lun Ni, good morning."

Lei En smiled and said, "The rent is due the day after tomorrow, but I'll be busy these few days and might not be in the apartment, so I'm paying you early."

As he spoke, he handed over the prepared 120 copper‑coin notes.

Lun Ni's expression softened when he heard it wasn't a pipe issue; he cheerfully took the money, nodded and said, "It's fine to pay a few days late, but early is better. I'm having breakfast, Lei En, would you like to join?"

"Thanks, Lun Ni, I've already eaten," Lei En replied bluntly, then politely took his leave.

The landlord's stinginess is notorious on the whole street, yet he always pretends to be generous. If he really accepted the breakfast invitation, he'd later find a way to claw the money back.

Returning to his third‑floor apartment, which had been empty for almost half a month, a thin layer of dust had settled.

"If I'm going to stay, I'll have to clean up."

Lei En spent half an hour cleaning the whole room, then freshened up and changed into clean clothes.

He was about to leave to find an alchemy shop for a soul test when he heard a conversation between two people on the street.

"115 Keshom Street, Captain, we've arrived."

It was a clear, delicate female voice; judging by it she seemed under thirty, exuding confidence. The clank of metal plates accompanied her steps, clearly she wore armor, and her heavy footfalls sounded distinct from anyone else's, easy to recognize.

Responding was a deep‑voiced man: "It's this apartment building, that's right,"

"We're going up to room 308 on the third floor."

Yet the man's steps were extremely light and agile, like a cat.

Lei En was startled; his apartment number was indeed 308!

"These two are here looking for me?"

He instantly pinpointed the source of the sound; a light and a heavy footstep echoed up from the first‑floor lobby, and they had already entered the apartment and were swiftly climbing the stairs.

From the footsteps one can tell that both are likely super‑normal beings; escaping is unlikely.

Moreover, this is the third floor; even with a body far beyond ordinary, jumping down would cause injury and they couldn't run far.

"They absolutely must not flee, or it'll be a confession without a fight."

A flurry of thoughts raced through Lei En's mind, guessing the two were officials sent out; they had traced last night's manor owner to Aisi Bo Ge.

The reason they came for him was probably because they'd been to the sword school, knew he once assisted Aisi Bo Ge, and thus came to investigate.

"They moved so fast—within hours they traced me here; they must have discovered that Demon altar, which is why they're so keen."

Lei En felt relieved inside that he hadn't brought the money and shotgun back to the apartment, or it would have been trouble.

While pondering, his mind settled.

Soon, a knock sounded.

Lei En calmly opened the door and saw a man and a woman standing outside.

The man was in his thirties, wearing a black leather jacket and trousers, a gun sling at his waist, a wide‑brim felt hat resembling a cowboy hat; his features were ordinary, with a slight hooked nose, a few shallow forehead lines, rugged eyebrows over deep black eyes.

Behind him stood a fully‑armed female swordswoman.

She was tall and graceful, with delicate features, golden hair tied back, wearing exquisite silver armor, bearing a two‑handed sword; her breastplate bore a golden scale, the holy emblem of the god of justice.

"A fourth‑rank ranger wielding a soul gun like a shooter, and a third‑rank female holy swordswoman!"

Lei En had already activated his Soul Eye, seeing their super‑normal professions, yet his face showed astonishment as he asked, "Gentlemen, you…?"

The leading man pulled a card from his jacket pocket and said, "I'm Bo Luo Ke of the Public Security Bureau Demon Extermination Squad, and she's my teammate Fu Li Da; this is my ID."

Bo Luo Ke didn't intend to hand the card to Lei En for inspection; he merely displayed it for a second or two before pocketing it.

An ordinary person couldn't make out the card's details, yet upon hearing the visitor's affiliation, they wouldn't dare to press further.

Longshande's Public Security Bureau is similar to the former world's police department; the law enforcers are usually called security officers. Within it, the most special division is the Demon Extermination Squad, handling cases involving Demons or cults.

Squad members are all super‑normal, numbering five to ten, paired with various professions, and always operate as a group when out.

Bo Luo Ke's display of his ID card made Lei En feel an inexplicable familiarity.

"Isn't this the scene we often see in movies?"

If Bo Luo Ke suddenly shouted "FBI" now, Lei En wouldn't be surprised…

He muttered inwardly, but outwardly pretended a bit nervous, quickly flung the door wide and said, "Please come in, sir, what brings you here?"

Bo Luo Ke entered the room while Fu Li Da stayed at the doorway, giving Lei En a deep glance before withdrawing her gaze.

Bo Luo Ke surveyed the room; its layout was very simple and clear, yet he couldn't discern anything, so he asked, "You know Aisi Bo Ge * Fu En, right?"

"Yes." Lei En said truthfully, "I used to be his assistant, but only for half a month."

"Why only half a month?" Bo Luo Ke asked in a deep voice.

"Um…" Lei En's mind rang with alarm bells; this was the only place he might slip up. He didn't know how Ai Si Bo Ge reported to the Swordsmanship Hall after killing himself.

The most likely scenario is that Ai Si Bo Ge said nothing, pretending not to know his whereabouts. Another possibility is that Ai Si Bo Ge reported to the Swordsmanship Hall, deeming himself unsuitable for the assistant role and having already resigned.

Bo Luo Ke, seeing Lei En stammering, furrowed his brows and said authoritatively, "This matter is crucial; you'd better tell the truth, or I'll have to take you back for interrogation."

"No, no, no…" Lei En waved his hands hurriedly, saying fearfully, "Sir, I'll speak."

"On the night half a month ago, Lord Ai Si Bo Ge and La Mu Qi came to me, asked me to arm myself and go with them to handle a big affair—a money‑making one, but it might involve killing. I was terrified, slipped away while they weren't looking, fled to the countryside overnight and stayed there for a long time, only daring to return this morning."

Lei En gave a half‑truth, half‑lie answer, dodging the previous question so as not to conflict with the Swordsmanship Hall's account.

Bo Luo Ke listened without reacting, his gaze fixed on Lei En, which frightened Lei En into lowering his head, his body trembling slightly, before he said, "You actually managed to escape; that's resourceful. But why didn't you report it?"

Lei En replied timidly, "I didn't dare, and I have no evidence."

He lifted his head, "Sir, was Ai Si Bo Ge captured?"

"He's dead," Bo Luo Ke replied expressionlessly, "And your classmate La Mu Qi is also dead. They were both cultists; consider yourself lucky you weren't dragged in."

"Ah…" Lei En's face showed shock, then he quietly exhaled in relief.

Bo Luo Ke, seeing him like that, lost interest in further questioning, turned and left the room, waving to the female holy swordsman, "Let's go."

Lei En watched the two leave, and only after their silhouettes vanished at the stairwell did he close the door.

He wiped his forehead, noticing his palms were wet, and couldn't help admiring his own acting, shaking his head and muttering, "For the sake of my life, this was all forced out!"

Below, Bo Luo Ke and Fu Li Da had already left the apartment, and the two began to talk.

"Fu Li Da, did you find anything?" Bo Luo Ke asked in a low voice.

"No, Captain. My psychic detection is normal; he's just an ordinary person, unrelated to the evil god," Fu Li Da replied.

"Then we don't need to worry about him."

Bo Luo Ke hummed, continuing, "The kid didn't tell the whole truth; he's not a transcendent, yet he escaped from a Second‑rank Shadow Warrior, so there must be something hidden. But since he has no link to the evil god, let's drop it; further investigation is of little meaning, lest we scare the youngster."

Their footsteps gradually faded away until they vanished completely.

Lei En's expression was complicated, his heart filled with lingering fear, and he silently memorized the names of those two transcendants.