Carlo stood up. "But silencing them is too brutal. We are respectable people. Let's try a different approach, find a higher-ranking official to pressure them."
Just then, footsteps echoed down the corridor. Byrne walked over and, seeing Isaac pinning Freddie to the ground, paused for a moment. "... What's going on here?"
"The bigwigs have arrived." Carlo gestured with his chin toward Byrne.
Isaac released his grip, Freddie got up from the ground.
Byrne recognized Freddie and frowned slightly. " Freddie of the Harrington... what are you doing here?"
Byrne turned to Carlo: "How much did he see?"
Who knows?
Byrne was silent for a moment, then said to Freddie, "Come with me."
Freddie followed Byrne, with Isaac and Carlo trailing behind.
The four returned to the lounge. Mrs. Ismondton sat on the sofa, holding a glass of water. Councilor Ismondton whispered words of comfort. Seeing Byrne bring his men in, he stood up. "Mr. Byrne, are you done?"
"You'll have to ask Schuster." Byrne closed the door. "Sit."
After everyone was seated, Byrne looked at Freddie and said, "What you just saw is not something you should be involved in."
"I know," Freddie said calmly. "I won't make things up."
"If I hear any rumors coming from your side, I'll speak to your father." Byrne pointed to Carlo, "This is Carlo Schuster, the head of the Joint Investigation Bureau's Ninth Special Investigation Section."
Freddie abruptly looked up, quickly turning to Carlo, his face flashing with undisguised surprise. He seemed about to say something, but then swallowed his words.
Isaac noticed the change in Freddie's expression; it wasn't just simple surprise, but also a hint of... unexpected delight? As if he had heard an unexpected name and was momentarily at a loss for words.
What's going on?
Byrne turned to Carlo: "How's it going?"
"The maggots are under control and won't be running rampant for now, but your card room won't be usable for a while. Once the Joint Investigation Bureau arrives, they'll take that pile of stuff back to study and see if they can find any clues."
Where is the perpetrator?
"The method is similar to that of the Ghoul Cult; Maggot Locomotion Technique is one of their common techniques. As for who exactly did it, it's still too early to say."
Byrne frowned. " The Ghoul Cult... If it was them, why did they attack me?"
"That's quite strange," Carlo said. "These kinds of underground Cult attacking government officials don't really benefit them, except for attracting more intense manhunts, unless someone pays them to do it, or you have some leverage that forces them to act."
"However, this reminds me of the reason I came to play cards tonight."
What is the purpose?
" The Joint Investigation Bureau Section Two is currently handling a case that might be related to the Ghoul Cult. They need the City Police Force's cooperation in conducting surveillance and interviews. Rano, I'll put in a word and see if we can coordinate something."
Byrne frowned even more. "So you came to play cards tonight with a mission."
"It was kind of a side effect, I guess, since I was just killing time anyway. But now it seems like this trip was quite opportune, otherwise you might have been caught in the crossfire tonight, or maybe you wouldn't have been at all."
Byrne snorted coldly, while Isaac listened from the side, pondering the matter in his mind.
The attack on Byrne, combined with Carlo's "mission," seemed to be an attempt to disrupt Joint Investigation Bureau and the City Police Force.
However, upon closer examination, this approach would actually backfire. If a City Police Force chief is assassinated, regardless of who the perpetrator is, the City Police Force will not let the matter rest and will inevitably intensify their search efforts. Furthermore, the Joint Investigation Bureau, as the specialized agency responsible for unusual events, will also lead the investigation.
In this way, the two sides would be forced to cooperate due to a common enemy, which would run counter to the attacker's objectives.
Carlo tapped the armrest. "Besides, that corpse explosion just now, apart from being disgusting, wasn't that much in terms of lethality."
Byrne frowned even deeper. "So, they're not after my life?"
"That's interesting, isn't it?" Carlo shrugged. "Using the Ghoul Cult's signature methods, they made a big show of things, but in the end, all they did was annoy the City Police Force chief. It didn't seem like they were trying to stop anything; it looked more like they were fanning the flames."
"Stirring up trouble..."
"Think about it, a City Police Force chief gets bombed and covered in maggots in his own club. If the news gets out, where will the City Police Force's reputation be? Your people will definitely be determined to find out the truth. The Joint Investigation Bureau can't just stand by either, after all, the methods involve unusual events, and the two sides already have friction. Now that they've both been humiliated by the same incident, they should logically join forces to investigate."
Byrne scoffed. "You mean, someone wants the City Police Force and the Joint Investigation Bureau to cooperate?"
"Or maybe they just want to see both sides busy with this, diverting attention elsewhere." Carlo shrugged. "Of course, it could also just be some madman's whim; anything is possible until there are more clues."
Byrne didn't press the matter further. After a moment of silence in the lounge, Mrs. Ismondton asked in a low voice, "So... can we go back tonight?"
Byrne snapped out of his daze, "Once our men arrive and take your statements, you can leave. Ismondton, you've been frightened tonight; I'll send someone to take you home."
Isaac stood by the window and noticed several carriages approaching, presumably the City Police Force or the Joint Investigation Bureau.
Soon, a commotion came from the corridor, footsteps approached, and a knock sounded on the door.
He walked to the door, opened it, and stood a tall, thin man in a long black trench coat, with a narrow face and deep-set eyes.
It was Chief Morris, whom I had met in the Joint Investigation Bureau lobby before—the one whose resurrection plan was ruined by Carlo.
Isaac paused for a moment, then Morris's gaze swept past Isaac, across the group in the room, and stopped on Byrne, giving a slight nod. "Captain Byrne."
"Commander Morris, you've arrived quickly," Byrne replied.
Isaac stepped aside from the doorway, Morris entered the lounge. "Who summoned the Foul Spirit outside?"
Isaac said, "I summoned them to control the maggots that came out."
Morris glanced at Isaac, then at Carlo, Carlo leaned back in his chair. "You came fast. Looks like your reaction time was pretty quick."
Morris ignored Carlo and said to Byrne, "Captain Byrne, I need to know the specifics."