An arrest warrant had been issued, but no one had been arrested.
The Butler Family had not interfered with the investigation. Instead, the key figure, Arthur Mills, had died at home one step ahead of them.
The man's body lay sprawled across the study floor, twisted as though he had still been trying to grasp something in his final moments. He wore a dark brown dressing gown, but its front was soaked with blood, which had pooled beneath him in a spreading dark red stain.
"According to the medical examiner's preliminary findings, Mills died about an hour after the arrest warrant was issued."
Inspector Lestrade crouched down and gently pulled open the dead man's collar with his gloved fingers.
A horrifying wound gaped in the dead man's chest, precisely over his heart on the left side. Its edges were slightly pale, clearly showing that some kind of sharp weapon had pierced him in an instant.
"The fatal wound is on the left side of his chest. One stab pierced his heart."
Ye Yan stood in the study doorway. Noticing the hesitation between Lestrade's brows, he asked quietly, "Is something wrong?"
"Something's very strange."
Lestrade stood up and removed his gloves. "There are only his own bloody fingerprints on the weapon. And..."
His gaze swept over the tidy desk before shifting to the tightly locked windows. "There's no trace of anyone else at the scene—not even a single extra footprint."
Ye Yan shrugged.
"So, under normal circumstances, this case would initially be classified as a suicide, right?"
If fingerprint analysis existed in this era, they might have found some clues at the scene. As things stood, they could only track down the culprit through the traces left behind.
Lestrade nodded.
"Exactly. But Mills couldn't have killed himself."
With that, he crouched down by the corpse's head and pointed at the dead man's twisted face. "Look at his expression."
Arthur Mills's eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated, his entire face frozen in an expression of utter terror.
"And the blood spatter on the dead man's hands. This is absolutely not what you'd see with a suicide."
Ye Yan walked slowly toward the corpse and gazed at the dead man's rigid fingers. "Destroy the body, and there'll be no witnesses."
"That makes it even clearer that our investigation was right." Lestrade's voice echoed through the empty study. "The killer really did come from the Butler Family, and he's clearly panicked."
The two exchanged a knowing look.
"Since the other party used an ability to cover their tracks, it would only be reasonable for us to use one too, wouldn't it?" Ye Yan asked.
Lestrade shook his head. "According to Article Twelve of the Supernatural Management Act, evidence obtained by using abilities without authorization is inadmissible. We must first determine whether this case involves the supernatural."
"So, I've already requested a supernatural review from the Administration." He lowered his head and glanced at his wristwatch. "It's about time. They should be sending someone over soon."
Just then, a police officer walked in.
"Inspector Lestrade, the reviewer sent by the Administration has arrived. He's a mid-level investigator."
"A mid-level investigator?"
Lestrade jerked his head up and instinctively tugged at his tie. The small gesture betrayed his surprise.
It was only a minor review. Why would the higher-ups send a mid-level investigator?
The same question flashed through Ye Yan's mind.
The sound of footsteps approaching from outside answered it.
Because the person who entered wasn't a stranger.
Ye Yan saw the familiar slicked-back hair, and his previously relaxed posture immediately tensed.
James Smith?
What was he doing here? And he was a mid-level investigator?
What kind of low-level nobody was that supposed to be?
So he really was lying to me last time.
Smith adjusted his glasses and looked at Ye Yan, his eyes gleaming shrewdly behind the lenses. "Young man, we meet again."
Lestrade looked at Ye Yan. "You two know each other?"
"More or less."
Ye Yan answered vaguely. He wasn't sure how to explain his relationship with Smith to Lestrade.
He admitted that Smith had saved his life.
But Smith had only been carrying out orders. The person who had truly saved him should have been Holmes. Without that phone call, Smith wouldn't have cared whether he lived or died.
What a calculating man.
Ye Yan really didn't want either himself or Inspector Lestrade to get involved with Smith.
From Ye Yan's tone, Lestrade could tell that he wasn't particularly warm toward the mid-level investigator. So he treated Smith with the same ordinary courtesy he would show anyone.
"Then I'll begin the supernatural review of this location. Please sign these documents as witnesses."
Smith took a document from his briefcase. The paper bore the Administration's red emblem.
Ye Yan and Lestrade signed their names.
Smith accepted the document with satisfaction and put it in a folder. Then he opened the briefcase he had been carrying.
Inside was a glass case.
A moth that looked dead lay inside, its wings an unnatural grayish white.
"Please draw all the curtains, block the gaps beneath the doors, and make sure no light gets into the room."
Ye Yan was a little confused, but seeing how accustomed Lestrade seemed to the procedure, he did as instructed.
The heavy curtains were drawn, and the gaps beneath the doors were blocked.
The room plunged into darkness.
Ye Yan heard Smith's footsteps. He was slowly pacing around the study in an odd rhythm.
A faint buzzing sounded, and a light suddenly flickered in the darkness. Ye Yan peered closer and saw that the moth inside the glass case had come to life.
Now its wings glimmered with a dim, murky light.
The glow brightened and faded, like some eerie signal lamp or the final flare of a life struggling on the verge of death. Each flutter left a fine dusting of phosphor on the sides of the case, sparkling faintly in the darkness.
"You can turn on the lights now."
So, the review is over already?
Ye Yan turned on the lights. The sudden brightness made him squint.
When he looked at the glass case in Smith's hand, he saw the moth frantically hurling itself in every direction. Its wings had broken, but it kept slamming into the glass.
"What's that?" Ye Yan asked.
"Don't worry about the Light-Phosphor Moth. It's a consumable. Once it's been used, it'll go mad and smash itself to death."
Seeing Ye Yan's curiosity about the Light-Phosphor Moth, Lestrade continued to explain. "The Research Institute created it by crossbreeding a moth Abomination brought back from the New Continent with an ordinary local moth."
"It only lives for seven days. Even if it isn't used as a tool, it'll soon die on its own."
So it's a species from the New Continent.
Ye Yan understood at once.
"Then the review confirms that this place has indeed been affected by the supernatural."
Smith locked the glass case inside his briefcase and turned to Ye Yan. "You can use your ability to investigate now."
Before you continue