Only a night had passed.
There was no change outside the Thorn Flower building, but the interior of the cave had altered quite a bit.
Lynch did not keep his distance to send messages via the lift; instead, he entered the cave alone, carrying a fresh water melon he had specifically bought at the docks.
These were typically stored by the dozens for drinking water during long voyages, hence the name water melon. They were rich in various vitamins and plant fibers, and contained a large amount of moisture, making them the perfect gift for Maya. For this, Lynch did not hesitate to pay a high price to buy one.
【Heh, a high price of one penny.】
Lynch’s expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't heard a thing, and he handed the large water melon to the pleasantly surprised Maya.
The reporter was, of course, not surprised by a mere melon; she simply thought she wouldn't see anyone for a long time, yet someone had broken in on the very second day. It was fortunate she hadn't been asleep, or else they could only have met in her dreams again.
Although he thought her ignorance of the melon's price was a bit silly, well... never mind.
While Maya took the opportunity to tidy up her gift, Lynch looked around.
It seemed the witness protection program was being carried out quite smoothly; Mr. V had already allocated quite a few supplies.
A portable tent, a full set of camping gear, several changes of clothes, and even a set of cosmetics—though certainly not from any luxury brand.
Looking at Maya again, she had actually applied light makeup today. Why wear makeup in an environment where it was pitch black and no one could possibly visit?
This caused a tangible question to nearly sprout from the top of Lynch's head. Were all women this crazy?
He would ask the policewoman about it next time he had the chance. Hopefully, he wouldn't get his foot stepped on.
“Printing presses, as far as I know, there are seven in total in Rhine City. Four are controlled by the four major newspapers, one is at city hall, one is at the Duke's estate, and the last one is at Lucas Bookstore.”
After listening to Lynch's explanation, the reporter thought for a moment, then asked with a puzzled expression:
“However, you might have a slight misunderstanding about printing presses. It is not so easy to produce printed materials.”
“Oh?”
“Printing is a major project, and the costs are extremely high. Normally, you have to print five thousand to ten thousand copies at once to lower the cost. No newspaper office with a printing press would allow the machine to be used just for a few scraps of paper.”
“Hmm? What if it is the client’s request? They paid for it.”
“It is not a matter of money. Turning the machine off after printing a few sheets causes significant damage to the equipment. No one would be willing to do that unless the price offered was high enough to offset the damage to the machine. But such a thing is too outlandish. If someone were doing something so counterintuitive, it would have spread through the industry long ago. But there has been no movement, which means no one is doing such a foolish thing.”
Hiss, did I think wrong?
Lynch pondered for a moment and asked, “Could there be no exceptions?”
“There is one, actually.”
“What?”
“First, they printed tens of thousands of copies at once.”
Lynch shook his head. With so many identical cards, just storing them would be a problem. Doing so would be purely asking for trouble.
“Then the second possibility: if one owns their own printing press, then of course they can use it however they like. At most, the workers operating the machine might be suspicious, but if handled well, it wouldn't cause the news to leak.”
“Did the other party buy a printing press specifically for this?”
“Not necessarily.” Maya reached out and said, “Let me see the printed material.”
“Better not.” Lynch shook his head. “The image on it carries a sense of mystery. It is not good for ordinary people to look at it.”
“Is it bad for a ghoul to look at it?” Maya smiled. “Things are already like this, what is there to be concerned about? Besides, you have done so much for me; can’t I help you?”
Lynch gave a wry smile, choked for a moment without being able to speak, and honestly pulled out the pattern to hand over.
After flipping through it several times under the light of a kerosene lamp, the reporter said thoughtfully, “It is not a newly purchased one. It is clearly an old machine.”
“Can you tell?”
“Of course, the difference in printing quality is too obvious; you can tell at a glance.”
“Alright, maybe I am just blind. In any case, this means one of the controllers or owners of those seven machines is involved in this, or perhaps it is even that Jefferson himself?”
“That is the most likely possibility, but other special cases cannot be ruled out.”
“Let’s ignore the special cases for now. Can we narrow the scope down further?”
“Well, the machines at city hall and the Duke’s estate can be ruled out. Those two don’t have many opportunities for use, and the quality should be about the same as a new one. The one at the bookstore can also be excluded; the machines used for printing books have different effects and are quite specific. What remains are the printing presses of the four newspapers. The one at our office can be ruled out; I am too familiar with that one, the color is lighter than this. The Rhine Daily can be ruled out; their machine is missing a corner.”
“Huh?”
“Not the machine, but the images printed by that machine. The top left corner is missing a bit of ink. It is hard for someone who doesn’t know to notice, but we all know.”
As she spoke, Maya pulled two sheets from the large pile of yesterday’s and today’s newspapers provided by the Watchers and tossed them to Lynch. Lynch looked at them repeatedly and finally confirmed it.
He couldn’t see it at all.
“So, only two candidates remain?”
“Actually, only one. The remaining two newspapers are the Lande News and the Rhine Commercial Daily. But the Lande News headquarters is in Norin, and the management of the Rhine branch is very complex; it is not something a few individuals can decide. The Rhine Commercial Daily is different. It mainly publishes commercial information between the countries of Lande and Friedman, and it was founded by a few Rhine merchants themselves.”
Lynch’s heart skipped a beat, and he said in a low voice, “Are there any other clues?”
“I don’t know much about this newspaper office. Several of the actual controllers are quite low key and rarely show their faces. Not many people have seen them. It is said they got their start from trade with the Kingdom of Friedman, and they still have a fleet of ships that travels between the two countries for trade from time to time.”
Lynch’s expression darkened. He had already realized the severity of the problem.
If these controllers were behind this, and they had an international trade fleet, they could hide the stolen items on a trade ship and send them to the Kingdom of Friedman as soon as they succeeded. It seemed the official faith of that country did not include the Black Night Church, and the church's control was significantly weakened there. Once the items were shipped over, it would be difficult to get them back. It appeared their courage to steal from the Black Night Church was because they had this escape route.
The possibility was too high to ignore.
“Phew, thank goodness for a professional like you, otherwise I would never have thought of this.”
“I am glad I could help.” The reporter breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I feel much better now.”
“Don’t worry, stay here safely for now. I am working on a way to solve your problem, and I already have some clues. I am waiting for news from the other side, and I will notify you as soon as there is progress. Thank you for your help today.”
Removing his hat and bowing deeply, Lynch hurried out of the underground cave and rushed to the Black Night Cathedral at Crown Square as fast as he could.
After a short secret meeting, five carriages charged out of the cathedral, galloping toward White Bird Port—the harbor in the Twin Towers District.
Halfway there, a fast horse rode toward them, bringing the news they had been scouting for.
“The fleet of the Rhine Commercial Daily happens to be docked at White Bird Port, currently replenishing supplies. They will set sail soon, heading for Levis Port in Friedman.”
I’ve caught up with you this time. Don’t even think about running.
Rate on N.U.
