It had to be said that AI Auto-Battle truly understood players' needs. Its efficiency was terrifyingly high.
"But what was Caslathdi doing at the church?"
Ryan was deeply puzzled by this.
She had specifically arrived in Berman City ahead of schedule, so she must have had some purpose. Ryan remembered that, in the game's storyline, Caslathdi had come to Berman City to win over Mayor Bill. Bill had been classmates with her mother, and the two had a very good relationship. Caslathdi's mother had also played a major role in Bill becoming mayor.
But what Caslathdi did not know was that Bill had secretly sided with the Second Prince long ago. He would later make a huge move during Berman City's storyline, ultimately becoming the major boss who had to be defeated.
He had hidden himself even more deeply than Adler. Even now, no one knew Bill's true situation.
Considering the changes to the storyline, Caslathdi might have already contacted Bill in secret. After pondering for a moment, Ryan simply decided to have "Lin Qi" follow the storyline.
Since she had become involved with Caslathdi, "Lin Qi" now had a legitimate reason to step into the open. He could not throw away the game's advantages. Since Ryan himself had no intention of following the storyline, he might as well let "Lin Qi" do it.
On the surface, she was a priestess of the Gate of Janus and Caslathdi's good friend.
In secret, "Lin Qi" was Ryan.
If she could latch onto the main storyline, gathering resources would become easier as well. Otherwise, raising himself would be far too slow.
"No rush. I'll settle the class advancement first."
At midnight, "Lin Qi" heard the echo once again. After following the usual procedure, the evil spirit that appeared this time had reached lv10.
After clearing the evil spirit and successfully obtaining an Ancient Evil Spirit Remnant fragment, Ryan set up AI Auto-Battle and exited the game.
Over the next two days, the entire Bureau of Governance threw itself into investigating the incident at 228 Black Ding Street.
During that time, Adler gave Ryan plenty of information about the Hand of Darkness, allowing him to claim credit for taking down several of their secret hideouts. As the investigation continued, the incident at 228 Black Ding Street gradually became clearer.
On the afternoon Caslathdi was scheduled to arrive in Berman City, the Bureau of Governance, urged on by Adler, closed the case of the Heretical Rituals incident and classified it as anti-Empire violence carried out by the "Mafia."
As the name suggested, the Mafia was a criminal syndicate that had been entrenched in Berman City for a long time and was notoriously infamous.
They were simply perfect scapegoats.
Jonathan did not offer any opinion on this. Based on his and Ryan's meticulous deductions, the full course of events at 228 Black Ding Street should have been this—the ritual prepared by the Hand of Darkness had been discovered by Janus, and the two sides had engaged in a fierce battle. The previously suspected third party was very likely someone from the Gate of Janus who had been hiding in Berman City.
This was because Jonathan had received news from within the Burning Covenant that High Priestess Lia Mansdeka had personally promoted a Nun to become a new priestess. Clearly, that gun-wielding Nun had made no small contribution at 228 Black Ding Street.
See? Everything fit together perfectly!
As for whether that was truly the case, Jonathan still needed more time to investigate. But his superiors would not give him that much time, so closing the case first was necessary.
After the case was closed, Ryan's outstanding performance led the General Bureau of Governance to consider promoting him to work there. However, Jonathan rejected the proposal. He immediately gave Ryan the position of Deputy Captain of Criminal Investigation Division and added him to the Core Personnel List of East District at the Bureau of Governance.
With that status, the General Bureau could no longer casually transfer him away. Of course, the main reason was Jonathan's forceful attitude. As for how he had flipped the table with the General Bureau, Ryan had no idea.
In any case, a promotion and a raise were good things for him. There was no reason to refuse them.
"Come on, Ryan. Her Highness the Princess will arrive in Berman City soon. Come greet her with me."
Inside the Bureau of Governance, Jonathan waved at Ryan and reminded him, "Remember to bring your gun."
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