Chapter 21 Aftermath and Invitation
Zouteland Street, Blackthorn Security Company.
After several night watchmen who had been out returned, the commotion downstairs quickly ceased. Dunn Smith showed his credentials, and several police officers on the scene immediately began to disperse the surrounding people. They learned that the security company's staff had simply forgotten to take soundproofing measures during training. The North District residents who had enthusiastically reported the case gradually left, and the streets returned to their nighttime tranquility.
"So, it was just the three of you who killed Madam Sharon?" Dunn Smith asked slowly, looking at the messy reception room.
Frye and the others who returned to the Blackthorn Security Company behind him couldn't believe that they were in front of the place they left an hour ago.
In the room filled with the smell of gunpowder, the carpet was littered with bullet casings and broken glass, leaving no place to stand. The decorative mirror on the wall was left with only the copper frame and the remaining mirror surface, which looked like it had been gnawed by a dog. The originally smooth walls were covered with bullet holes. The frosty spears stuck in the sofa and overturned tea table had not melted yet. Waves of coldness swept in with the breeze outside the window, making everyone feel as if they were in winter.
The once warm and familiar reception room appeared before everyone like a post-war ruin.
In the center of the ruins was a corpse lying on its back on the carpet, with its upper body covered by a tablecloth. The perfect curve of its chest showed that it was a woman, which made people imagine the wonderful scene under the tablecloth.
Unfortunately, the dried blood that seeped through the tablecloth made Xiga and others quickly give up this idea. Only Dunn approached the corpse with a sullen face, squatted down, lifted the tablecloth and took a look.
"Yes, thanks to Ms. Daly being here. Her psychic skills have successfully restricted Mrs. Sharon, otherwise we would not have had a chance." Leonard said as he stood by the window. At this time, the only intact sofa in the reception room had been given to Daly. He was too embarrassed to compete with the tired Angel for the remaining armchair, so he had to maintain his gentlemanly demeanor and lean against the wall to rest.
"Ms. Daly is simply spiritually exhausted and is resting. Other than that, we are unharmed." Leonard explained considerately as Dunn's eyes kept glancing at Daly, who was lying on the sofa.
"Ah? Well... I'm just glad I didn't ask Daly to go with you. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the two of you to fight against Madam Sharon... Oh, and where's Conley? Didn't he come out of Chanis Gate to support us?"
Hearing the captain's abrupt change of subject, Leonard winked at Angel, who was sitting nearby, and his meaning was clear: "See, I just said that."
Under Dunn's gaze, he quickly put away his playful smile and replied seriously, "Of course not. I guess the gunshots were heard, but everyone knows that Chanismen is more important than anyone else. He won't come out to support us."
"Well, very good. Now let's report what exactly happened here. Xijia, go to the police station across the street and ask Inspector Victor to come over. Tell him that a home invasion murder occurred here and the intruder was shot dead after attempting to kill. You can hint to him that this involves many important figures in Tingen. Luo Yao, go to the armory and replace Brett. Have him come out and clean up the reception room. Frye, send the 'Vascular Thief' back to Chanis Gate."
After receiving the order, several people left the reception room.
Dunn stood beside the sofa where Daly was resting, listening to Leonard's detailed description of the battle. His eyes occasionally swept over Mrs. Sharon's body, the sleeping Daly, and Angel who was sitting and resting nearby, his brows sometimes furrowed, sometimes relaxed.
Meanwhile, Brett, who had been replaced, returned to the reception room with Frye. Brett sighed, "Oh my God, what happened here? Even robbers couldn't destroy it so thoroughly!" and began to clean up the broken glass on the floor with a broom. Siga also returned to the reception room with a middle-aged policeman.
The man was wearing a standard police uniform with two stars on his shoulders. He was tall but thin, with a short black beard.
Seeing him come in, Dunn took the initiative to greet him: "Sorry, Victor, I have to trouble you again today."
"You talk as if you've never troubled me before... Oh my God, what on earth happened here?" The inspector called Victor stepped into the door of the reception room and immediately made the same exclamation as Brett.
"Well, late last night we received a call from the police. Cole Granger, who lives on Daffodil Street, is suspected of being involved in more than a dozen murders and incitement to murder..."
Dunn explained the whole incident to Inspector Victor and took him to Mrs. Sharon's body to "open his eyes."
Seeing Mrs. Sharon with only half of her head left under the tablecloth, Victor's pretended calm expression finally broke and he revealed an expression as if he had seen a ghost.
"It's really Madam Sharon, Sharon Hoy... I saw her at the mayor's charity dinner. She was the center of attention at the party. I never thought she was connected to a cult. Those old guys would have nightmares if they knew."
"Then I hope their nightmares aren't disturbed by Madam Sharon, who only has half a head left."
Dunn made a horror joke with a calm expression.
"Victor, you're the first person besides the person involved to know this. I think you understand what this means. I'll have two team members accompany you to Mrs. Sharon's home to search for evidence of her crimes. Leave the information related to extraordinary powers to them, and you can write the rest in the report."
Inspector Victor's pale face quickly turned rosy as he listened to Dunn Smith's words. Perhaps only the impending achievements and power could allow a person to overcome fear so quickly.
Angel watched coldly from the side. This Inspector Victor had obviously often worked with the Nighthawks and knew a lot of things that ordinary people shouldn't know. However, it was still beyond his imagination that a socialite like Mrs. Sharon was actually a Beyonder of a high Sequence. Dunn used this to quickly grasp the situation and get the result he wanted.
It seems you are more suitable to be an instigator...
After quickly discussing everything, Inspector Victor couldn't wait to leave. He wanted to rush back to the police station to organize police forces and seize any "evidence" that might exist in Mrs. Sharon's home before the news of her death spread.
Siga and Fry followed Victor. They would follow the police back to Mrs. Sharon's house and collect all items related to extraordinary powers to prevent the police who were rummaging through the drawers from coming into contact with these items and causing new casualties.
"This body... Madam Sharon's remains, what should we do with it?"
Back at the door of the reception room, Inspector Victor seemed to have just remembered this matter, stopped and turned to ask.
"As usual, we will examine it to ensure that the mysterious power does not pose a threat to ordinary people, and then hand it over to the police." Dunn answered without turning his head. He was half-crouching beside Mrs. Sharon, observing the corpse carefully.
"Okay, okay, I'll be leaving first. I'm afraid I'll be busy tonight..."
When Victor heard the word "mysterious power", his body stiffened. After saying goodbye, he quickly left the security company. His back looked like someone was chasing him.
Dunn ignored Inspector Victor who left in a hurry, but continued to stare at Mrs. Sharon on the ground. His focused expression made Angel almost think that the person lying on the ground was Ms. Daly.
"Brett, don't clean up yet. Make some tea for the captain and us. We've been busy all night and everyone is thirsty."
Seeing this, Leonard said to Brett, who was still cleaning in the reception room.
Your excuses are too lame...
Angel knew that something must happen next that ordinary people couldn't see, so Leonard found an excuse to get Brett away, but this didn't stop her from giving a bad review of the poor performance.
After Brett left, Leonard also stood beside Mrs. Sharon's body, crossed his arms, and looked down.
Although Angel didn't follow, his eyes were focused on Mrs. Sharon and his curiosity grew.
As the three of them watched, tiny specks of black light gradually appeared beside Madam Sharon's body, floating in the air like dust, moving without wind.
The black "dust" gradually became thicker, gradually covering the corpse, and then seemed to be gathered together by an invisible hand, forming a round object the size of an eyeball.
No, this is the eyeball. Its outer milky white sclera is covered with bloodshot. The pupil is not covered by the eyelids and is wide open. As it slowly turns, its gaze sweeps across Angel, making her feel cold all over.
Fortunately, this was not a living evil creature. After spinning a few times in the air, the "eyeball" lost its buoyancy and fell directly onto Mrs. Sharon's graceful body. It slid to the ground, rolled for a distance on the carpet, and was grabbed by Dunn, who had been squatting and waiting for a long time, through his gloves.
He took out an exquisite wooden box from the inner pocket of his windbreaker and carefully put the "eyeball" in it. The moment he closed the box, the chill that spread throughout Angel's body disappeared.
This reminded her of the mysterious, jelly-like object left in the Cole family's basement the night she first woke up in this world. Undoubtedly, this was the Beyonder characteristic left behind by Madam Sharon, a Sequence 6, after her death.
Unlike when Cole "died", the Beyonder Characteristics that Mrs. Sharon expelled weren't incomplete gelatinous forms, but rather formed "eyeballs" that seemed to have life. Angel didn't know which was normal, so he had to bury this doubt in his heart for the time being.
She also plays the role of a newly minted Beyonder, asking the question at the right moment: "What is this thing? Is it some kind of creature?"
"It's an extraordinary item left behind by a deceased Extraordinary... Well, if an ordinary person accidentally comes into contact with it, they're likely to go mad or even die on the spot. That's why I didn't let the police take her body away right away."
After putting away the wooden box, Dunn seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his body relaxed, he stood up from beside Mrs. Sharon, turned his head and said.
"I asked Fry and the others to accompany Victor to search Mrs. Sharon's house because I was afraid that the police might come into contact with extraordinary items while searching for evidence or other items of interest, which might lead to additional incidents."
"Over the past year, most of the mysterious incidents we've solved were triggered unintentionally by ordinary people. Active attacks by Beyonders like tonight are actually very rare. At least we haven't encountered any this year."
Leonard added on the sidelines.
Dunn stood up from Mrs. Sharon's body and returned to the sofa in the middle of the reception room. Seeing that there was no place to sit, he simply stood and said to Angel with a serious expression:
"Madam Sharon is dead, but Cole Granger's whereabouts are currently unknown. Tomorrow, I will contact the Sanctuary, the Mandated Punisher in Tingen City, and the Mechanical Heart to jointly issue a wanted order. Now, let's discuss your next options."
choose?
Angel felt a little confused. She raised her eyebrows and waited for Dunn's next words.
"For a 'survivor' of an extraordinary event like you, especially one that is likely to involve the 'Witch Cult', we generally recommend that you remain anonymous, sever ties with your family and friends, and leave Tingen City under the church's arrangement to live in another city, leading a new, safe and worry-free life.
"The church has some anti-divination and anti-tracking measures in place, but this kind of protection isn't absolutely safe against Beyonders who possess various means. There have been instances in the past where protected individuals have been found and killed by cult avengers."
Angel licked her dry lips; this was exactly what she was most worried about.
Dunn seemed satisfied with her reaction. He smiled, spoke more slowly, and continued, "Another option is to join us and become a Nighthawk."
Um?
Angel was stunned.
She had been in this world for less than a week, and the events that followed had left her no time to think about long-term arrangements, especially Mrs. Sharon's "invitation", which had once made her try to give up her identity and residence and flee to another place.
Although she finally made up her mind to confront it head-on and got a good ending, Angel was still a little confused about her future life.
His identity had been forged at a cost of forty pounds, and Hagrid, the "Wild Heart," swore it would be fine, but it wasn't certain it would withstand scrutiny from the Night Watchers. Once he joined the Night Watchers, he would inevitably face even stricter scrutiny. If his identity was exposed, he could end up in jail at best, or end up like Madam Sharon at worst.
On the other hand, as long as one can become an official Beyonder, not only can one have the protection of the official organization, making the witch sect behind Madam Sharon afraid to act rashly, but one can also learn a lot of secret knowledge of the mysterious world that is not passed on to others, which will help one return to the original world.
Besides, even if he refused to join the Nighthawks, would he really avoid official scrutiny? After the incident with Madam Sharon, he was undoubtedly on the list of the Church of the Evernight Goddess. Even if he moved to another city, he would still face endless surveillance and restrictions. Perhaps they were hoping the Witch Cult would come looking for trouble with him so they could follow up their investigation.
As his thoughts raced, Angel glanced at Leonard who was watching the fun on the side, and remembered that he had intentionally or unintentionally told him about "joining the Nighthawks" this afternoon. It seemed that this guy had already received the news.
Indeed, from the perspective of others, joining the Nighthawks was undoubtedly the best option. Having an official identity, a legitimate income, and the protection of Beyonders was better than living the rest of his life in anonymity. Unfortunately, for him, running away might be the only answer.
She was about to decline when she recalled the words of the mysterious visitor in the confessional at St. Selina Church after dark.
“Those who face their fears and move forward will be rewarded.”
Did he or she anticipate the choices he or she now faces?
After hesitating for a moment, Angel spoke under the expectant gazes of Dunn and Leonard.
"that……
“What are the pay and benefits like?”
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