Investigation at My Door

Rayne tried three more icons and figured out what they did.

One was a camera, which could take pictures of whatever was in front of him and save them, along with a photo library. For now, however, the library was empty. Another seemed to be the Translation Lexicon, though Rayne couldn't be sure, because nothing happened after he opened it. Perhaps he was using it incorrectly.

The last one was more interesting. It was actually a music player!

Rayne had always liked music. When he was young, his mother had even made him learn to play the piano. Though he wasn't very good at it, he still knew a little about music. Whenever he went out with friends or coworkers, he could sing a few songs at the KTV and earn a round of applause.

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

This was a huge surprise for Rayne.

Full of anticipation, he played a song. A familiar melody rose in his mind, and as he listened, he became absorbed in it. He suddenly missed everything on Earth and felt rather melancholy.

After listening to several songs, Rayne let out a soft sigh and closed the player.

Dawn soon arrived.

Rayne hadn't slept all night, yet he was still full of energy. After eating breakfast in the hotel lobby, he went out.

Esberg and Ramsey were dead, so he could return to his apartment openly. However, considering that the bag of money, longsword, and shotgun he had obtained last night would be inconvenient to carry, he hadn't checked out immediately. He had hidden them in the room for now and would deal with them later.

He needed to return to the apartment and show his face in front of the landlord. Otherwise, the landlord might report him to City Hall and cause him trouble.

After taking a Public Bus back to his apartment in Los District, Rayne knocked on the landlord's door on the first floor.

A fat, middle-aged man in pajamas opened the door. He had a newspaper tucked under his arm, and when he saw Rayne, his expression turned impatient. "Rayne, what is it? Did the pipes break again?"

Rayne had gone to him twice before because the apartment's pipes were leaking. It was a long-standing problem in the building.

The building had been constructed decades ago, and the pipes were badly worn and long past usable. Replacing them all would cost a fortune, and this miser was completely unwilling to spend the money.

"Good morning, Mr. Lenny."

A smile appeared on Rayne's face. "The day after tomorrow is when my rent is due, but I've been rather busy these past few days and may not be at the apartment, so I'm paying you in advance."

As he spoke, he handed over the 120 Copper Liso banknotes he had prepared.

When Lenny heard that it wasn't a problem with the pipes, his expression relaxed. He happily accepted the money and nodded. "Actually, being a few days late with the rent wouldn't matter, but paying early is even better. I'm having breakfast right now, Rayne. Would you like to join me?"

"Thank you, Mr. Lenny. I've already eaten." Rayne refused him flatly, then politely said goodbye.

This landlord's stinginess was famous throughout the entire street, yet he always liked to pretend he was generous. If Rayne really accepted his invitation to breakfast, Lenny would certainly find a way to deduct the cost of that meal from him later.

Back inside his third-floor apartment, Rayne found that nearly half a month without anyone living there had left a thin layer of dust everywhere.

"If I'm going to live here later, I'll have to clean up."

Rayne spent half an hour cleaning the entire room. He then washed up and changed into clean clothes.

Just as he was about to leave to find an alchemy shop for a Soul Test, he heard a conversation between two people on the street.

"115 Cosham Street, Captain. We've arrived."

It was a clear, pleasant female voice. Judging only by her voice, she should have been under thirty. There was a confident note in it. As she walked, metal plates clanked against one another, clearly indicating that she was wearing armor. Her footsteps were very heavy, and the sounds they made were unlike anyone else's, making her easy to identify.

A deep male voice replied, "This is definitely the apartment building. Let's go up to Room 308 on the third floor."

The man's footsteps, in contrast, were extraordinarily light and nimble, like a cat walking.

Rayne was startled when he heard this. His apartment was precisely Room 308!

Are these two here for me?

He immediately pinpointed the source of the voices. Two sets of footsteps, one light and one heavy, came up from the lobby on the first floor. They had entered the building and soon reached the stairs.

Judging from their footsteps alone, these two were very likely both Transcendents. Escaping would be difficult.

Moreover, this was the third floor. Even with his physical abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, jumping from the third floor would still injure him, and he wouldn't get far.

"I absolutely can't run. Otherwise, I'd be giving myself away."

Various thoughts flashed through Rayne's mind. He guessed that the two had been sent by the authorities and had discovered that Esberg was the owner of the estate outside the city last night.

They had come looking for him because they had probably visited the Swordsmanship Hall and learned that he had once been Esberg's assistant. They were here to investigate and question him.

They moved so quickly. They traced me here within a few hours. They must have discovered that evil god's altar, which is why they're taking this so seriously.

Rayne secretly congratulated himself for not bringing the money and shotgun back to the apartment. Otherwise, he would have been in trouble.

As he thought, his mind gradually settled.

Soon, a knock sounded at the door.

Rayne opened it calmly and saw a man and a woman standing outside.

The man looked to be in his thirties. He wore a black leather jacket and trousers, with a gun holster hanging at his waist. On his head was a wide-brimmed felt hat resembling a cowboy hat. He had an ordinary appearance, a slightly hooked nose, a few faint wrinkles on his forehead, and a pair of dark, deep-set eyes beneath coarse eyebrows.

Behind him stood a fully armed female swordswoman.

She was very tall and slender, with delicate features. Her long golden hair was tied behind her head, and she wore exquisite silver armor. A greatsword was strapped to her back. A golden set of scales was engraved on her breastplate—the holy symbol of the God of Justice.

"A level-four Ranger wearing a Soul Gun like a Gunner, and a level-three female Holy Swordsman!"

Rayne had already activated his Soul Eye and identified their Transcendent professions. Yet his face showed shock as he asked, "My lords, you..."

The man in front took a card from the pocket of his leather jacket. "I'm Pollock of the Demon Extermination Squad of the Public Security Bureau. She's my teammate, Frida. This is my identification."

Pollock had no intention of handing the card to Rayne for inspection. He merely displayed it in front of Rayne for a second or two before putting it away.

An ordinary person wouldn't have been able to see the contents of the card clearly. Besides, upon hearing the visitors' identities, a normal person wouldn't dare press the matter.

Longshande's Security Bureau was similar to the public security bureau of Rayne's previous life. The law enforcement officers people usually encountered were called Sheriffs. Within the Security Bureau was a particularly special department: the Demon Extermination Squad, which specialized in cases involving demons or evil cults.

The Demon Extermination Squad members were all Transcendents. Its membership was maintained at between five and ten people, with various professions represented. Whenever they went out, they acted as a group.

Pollock's display of his identification card gave Rayne an inexplicably familiar feeling.

Wasn't this the sort of scene he often saw in movies before?

If Pollock suddenly shouted "FBI" now, he wouldn't be surprised either...

What a classic.

On the surface, however, he pretended to be somewhat frightened. He quickly opened the door all the way and said, "Please come in, my lords. May I ask what this is about?"

Pollock entered the room, but the Holy Swordsman Frida remained outside. She gave Rayne a deep look before withdrawing her gaze.

Pollock looked around the room. Its furnishings were very simple and everything was visible at a glance, but he couldn't find anything. He asked, "You know Esberg Fern, right?"

"Yes." Rayne answered truthfully, "I used to be his assistant, but only for half a month."

"Why only half a month?" Pollock pressed in a deep voice.

"Uh..." Alarm bells rang in Rayne's mind. This was the only place where he might expose himself. He didn't know what Esberg had told the Swordsmanship Hall after killing him.

The most likely possibility was that Esberg had said nothing and pretended not to know where he had gone. But there was another possibility: Esberg had reported to the Swordsmanship Hall that Rayne was unsuitable for the position of assistant and had dismissed him.

Seeing Rayne hesitate and mumble, Pollock frowned and said sternly, "This matter is of vital importance. You'd better tell the truth, or we'll have to take you back for questioning."

"No, no..." Rayne hurriedly waved his hands and said fearfully, "My lord, I'll tell you."

"On the night half a month ago, Lord Esberg and Ramsey found me and told me to bring my weapons and go with them to handle something major, the kind that could make us rich. But there was a chance we'd have to kill someone. I was terrified, so I ran away while they weren't paying attention. I hid in the countryside for a long time and only dared to come back this morning."

Rayne answered with a mixture of truth and lies, avoiding the earlier question so his story wouldn't conflict with what the Swordsmanship Hall had been told.

Pollock showed no reaction after hearing it. He stared at Rayne until Rayne lowered his head, his body trembling slightly. Only then did he ask, "You actually managed to escape. You must have been alert. But why didn't you report them?"

Rayne replied timidly, "I didn't dare, and I had no evidence."

He raised his head. "My lord, has Esberg been arrested?"

"He's dead." Pollock replied expressionlessly, "Your classmate Ramsey is dead too. They were both members of an evil cult. Consider yourself lucky that you weren't dragged into it."

"Ah..." Rayne looked shocked, then quietly let out a breath of relief.

Seeing his reaction, Pollock lost interest in asking further questions. He turned and walked out of the room, then waved to the female Holy Swordsman. "Let's go."

Rayne watched the two of them leave. Only after their figures vanished around the stairwell did he close the door.

He wiped his forehead and found that his palm was soaked with sweat. Unable to help admiring his own acting, he shook his head and thought, To save my life, I was forced to get this good!

Downstairs, Pollock and Frida had already left the apartment building, and the two began talking.

"Frida, did you discover anything?" Pollock asked in a low voice.

"No, Captain. My Mind Detection found nothing unusual. He's just an ordinary person and has nothing to do with the evil god," Frida replied.

"Then we can leave him alone."

Pollock snorted and continued, "That kid didn't tell us everything. He's not a Transcendent, yet he escaped from a level-two Shadow Dancer. He must be hiding something. But since he has nothing to do with the evil god, forget it. There's no point investigating further, and we might frighten the young man."

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

Rayne wore a complicated expression and was shaken with lingering fear. He silently memorized the names of the two Transcendents.