With that, An Shu looked at the captain. “Captain, please apply for authorization from the higher-ups. We need to go to the Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency to get their records.”
“These cases are too bizarre. They happened in such a short span of time, all of them ruled as accidents, and the victims all have something in common. This is definitely not a coincidence.”
“I need to know what these victims did at the matchmaking agency and who they met. Only with this information can we continue our investigation.”
“Captain, please!”
Looking at the bloodshot veins in An Shu's eyes and her resolute gaze, the captain recalled the string of accidental cases that had occurred recently. He pondered for a moment, agreeing with her deduction.
“Alright, I'll submit the application. Before the approval comes down, you go get some sleep.”
“Glasses, take over An Shu's work for now. Organize all the victims' profiles and the evidence of them visiting the Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency. Get everything ready.”
Hearing the captain agree, An Shu nodded repeatedly. “Okay! Thank you, Captain. I'm going to sleep right now.”
“Sure, leave it to me.” The glasses-wearing investigator and An Shu essentially worked as back-ups for each other, so it was normal for them to take over each other's tasks.
The Bureau of Investigation's approval efficiency had always been high, especially when it came to cases involving potential anomalous hazards, which were fast-tracked with green lights all the way.
An Shu had submitted the field investigation application in the morning, and just after two o'clock in the afternoon, the approval notice arrived.
It authorized members of the Special Investigation Unit to intervene on-site for screening. If necessary, they could exercise their investigative powers in accordance with the law, forcing the matchmaking agency to cooperate and provide relevant files.
An Shu had slept for over three hours. Her exhaustion had faded slightly, the bloodshot veins in her eyes had receded, and most of her energy had returned.
After a quick wash, she walked briskly toward the office. From a distance, she saw the young investigator, Xiao Wen, sitting at his desk, waiting for her with an eager look on his face. He was clearly unable to contain his excitement about going out into the field.
“Xiao Wen, let's go. We're heading to the Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency.” An Shu tapped on his desk.
She instructed him, “Remember, our goal this time is to retrieve the recent client files. Do not directly mention the names of the deceased. We want to avoid alerting the people involved and tipping them off.”
Xiao Wen immediately stood up, straightened his posture, and nodded vigorously. “Understood, Sister Shu. My mentor already briefed me. He told me to keep my mouth shut and cooperate fully with you.”
The two changed into civilian clothes, grabbed their Bureau of Investigation badges and some small, portable instruments, and drove to the Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency.
They walked into the matchmaking agency. The lobby was bright, and several staff members wearing matching uniforms were attending to clients in an orderly and warm manner.
An Shu pulled out her Bureau of Investigation badge and presented it to the receptionist, her tone serious. “Hello, we are from the Bureau of Investigation. We are here to retrieve your agency's recent client files. A retrieval notice was delivered to your agency half an hour ago. Please cooperate.”
When the receptionist saw the badge, the smile on her face froze instantly.
After logging onto the website to verify its authenticity, she quickly stood up. “Hello, hello. Please wait a moment, both of you. I will notify our manager right away.”
Compared to the authority of ordinary law enforcement agencies in the real world, the Bureau of Investigation's enforcement powers in this world of anomalous forces were far greater.
After all, no one knew if behind seemingly ordinary people and events lay bewitching evils, cult forces, or other anomalous entities.
If the Bureau of Investigation's operational authority were too limited, they could easily be delayed or obstructed by various excuses, or even covertly suppressed by anomalous forces, making it impossible to carry out their investigations.
Therefore, as long as a Bureau of Investigation badge was presented and verified as genuine, most businesses and individuals would actively cooperate, not daring to show any negligence.
Before long, a capable-looking, middle-aged woman wearing a professional suit walked over. She was the manager of the Yuanxin Matchmaking Agency.
With a professional smile on her face, she said respectfully, “Hello, investigators. I am Lin Jie, the manager here.”
“I wonder which period's client files you need to retrieve? We will fully cooperate.”
An Shu got straight to the point. “We need the profiles of all clients who registered and participated in blind dates at your agency within the past month, both male and female.”
“Alright, alright, no problem.” Sister Lin nodded quickly.
She turned and instructed the staff member beside her, “Hurry and compile all the client files from the past month. Print them out and bring them to the investigators.”
The staff member left as instructed. Sister Lin warmly invited An Shu and Xiao Wen to sit on the sofa and wait, even having someone bring them two cups of warm water.
“I'm so sorry, both of you. Please wait a moment. There are quite a few files, so compiling them will take a bit of time.”
About ten minutes later, the staff member who had left earlier returned carrying a thick stack of paper documents, gently placing them on the coffee table.
“Investigators, Sister Lin, all the client files from the past month are here.”
“There are a total of one hundred and twenty-seven profiles—seventy-two male and fifty-five female. Each profile contains the client's basic information, registration time, and blind date records.”
Lin Jie smiled at An Shu and said, “The materials are all here. Please take your time looking through them. If there's anything else you need, just let me know at any time.”
“Alright, thank you for your trouble. We will leave on our own once we're done, so there's no need to stay with us.” An Shu nodded, signaling that Lin Jie could go back to her work.
Lin Jie tactfully agreed and left with the staff member, though her eyes would occasionally glance back toward them. She was clearly still a bit worried.
Once Sister Lin was far enough away, An Shu and Xiao Wen immediately stopped chatting, divided the files into two piles, and began going through the male client profiles.
The files were organized very neatly, arranged chronologically by registration time, making them easy to search through.
Next came the cross-referencing, and the two quickly noticed something.
Si Diyi, Jie Zhuoshi, Wa Yeyao, Zhai Laiyi, and the suspected Hai Bugou had varying numbers of blind date partners listed in their profiles, but their most recent blind date partner was the exact same person.
A woman named Bai Ci.
“Sister Shu, this Bai Ci is highly suspicious.” Xiao Wen said, as this was basically putting the clue right out in the open. “Should we go find this girl right now to ask her some questions?”
An Shu shook her head, gesturing for him to calm down. “Don't rush. Let's find this girl's profile first and look over her basic background.”
“Besides, we aren't sure yet if she's the one with the problem. Charging in to find her might tip her off, and it could even be dangerous.”
The two quickly found Bai Ci's profile among the female client files.
Opening the profile to examine it closely, they saw that Bai Ci's recorded background was completely ordinary, offering no valuable clues whatsoever.
An Shu did not stop there. She immediately logged into the Bureau of Investigation's internal information network.
The internal network had records of everyone associated with anomalous incidents.
This included, but was not limited to, survivors of various anomalous events, individuals suspected of cult involvement, and those whose recent movements or behavior in key monitored areas had been abnormal.
Using the identification details registered in the file, An Shu began searching the internal network to see if there was any record of Bai Ci.
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