32 Fox Lane

"Look, it's that one peering around the alley entrance."

Under the fierce gaze of the officer, Lynch pulled her into a passageway between two buildings not far from the cafe, pointing toward a group of children peeking out from behind a pile of debris outside Fox Lane.

There were over a dozen children, ranging from seven or eight to over ten years old. Their identities were uncertain, but they were likely children of the local residents.

Lynch recognized one of the little rascals who had participated in the robbery that afternoon; he was the first one to swing a tree branch at Martha to lure him into the trap, which reminded him of poor Martha and her sore backside.

"The photo mentioned in Donnie's note must have been passed to him by Martha. Maya had already gone into hiding by then, so it's unlikely she contacted Donnie directly; otherwise, she wouldn't have needed Martha to deliver it. And since Martha didn't know Donnie, it would have been hard for her to arrange a meeting spot. There is a high probability it was delivered directly to his home. Therefore, Martha likely knows Donnie's address."

"But you didn't ask her."

"Well, I didn't dare to," Lynch frowned. "A few days ago, Drunken Peter was likely just acting as an intermediary for me, and he ended up dead in a bizarre suicide. I'm very worried that if I asked that child, she would suffer the same fate as Drunken Peter. So I wanted to ask you first if that could happen."

"It could."

"Huh? It really could?"

"It's not one hundred percent, but the possibility exists. It's not because she is involved in the incident itself, but because she is close to us. When we consciously seek her help, conceptually, it's no longer 'us obtaining information from her,' but 'her investigating information with us.' This automatically forms a collaborative relationship in form, allowing the mystery to contact Martha as an individual along the concept of 'joint investigation.' Moreover, Martha has had prior contact with mystery, making her even easier to erode."

"Hmm? But she was the one who knew the information first, and we only obtained it later. Isn't the timeline backwards?"

"I asked you a similar question when we first met. I reminded you that in the world of mystery, the sequence of time is often chaotic. What truly matters are the causal relationships we cannot understand. Your informant was also implicated because of a similar conceptual link. So your worry is justified. This is why mystery must stay away from ordinary people. It seems you have started to learn to think like a mystery hunter, avoiding involving ordinary people as much as possible."

"According to what you're saying, as long as it's not Martha, it's just information retrieval rather than a joint investigation, so this problem won't exist, right?"

Lynch stared at the children in the distance from within the passageway, his smile as sinister as a deviant.

"I understand."

The two exchanged a strange look, whispered to each other for a moment, and then the officer quietly left the passageway.

"Hey, you lot, what are you trying to steal again?"

Several dirty children were huddled at the alley entrance. The older one was still peeking inside when a sharp shout suddenly rang out from behind them.

The children didn't even look back. With a shriek, they expertly scattered, not forgetting to warn the one at the entrance: "Ah, someone's coming! Robert, run!"

"Stop right there!"

The terrifying enemy behind them let out a roar like a dragon. Following the sound of footsteps, she actually gave chase, scaring the children so badly that their screams intensified as they dove into the narrow alley between the low buildings.

The child who had been peeking into the alley was clearly targeted by the pursuer. After several changes in direction failed to shake her off, he finally ducked into an empty corridor, managing to escape the terrifying enemy.

Phew, thankfully she didn't follow in. That was truly terrifying.

"Right? I think she's quite terrifying too."

"Yeah, yeah, it's just... w-w-w-who is that!"

"Hehehe, I've found you, you delicious little brat."

The child was so scared by the voice appearing behind him that his legs went weak. Then, a cold hand gripped the back of his neck, causing him to let out a gasp, roll his eyes back, and faint on the spot.

Lynch's figure emerged from his concealment behind him, lifting the boy up by his collar. Officer Natalie also walked into the corridor with a strange expression, though she kept a distance from Lynch, occasionally glancing at him sideways.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I find that even though these are perfectly normal abilities, why do they seem so sinister and wretched when you use them? And it always makes me feel filled with a sense of crisis, as if something terrible will happen to me in the future," the officer clenched her fists. "Maybe I should just lock you up before you commit a crime."

"Lock up this little brat instead," Lynch quickly shook the child in front of her. "This kid is extremely bad."

"How is he?"

"No movement now. I reckon he was scared to death. Anyway, he's useless. Let's chop him up and throw him into the Lande River."

"Don't chop me up! I'm not dead! I'm not dead!" The child immediately hugged his head and cried out loudly.

"Still daring to scream? I'll teach you to play dead!" Lynch slapped him on the back of the head—the feel was quite good—and followed it with another slap. "I'll teach you to put a sack over my head, throw rocks at me, and rob me! Don't think I've forgotten; you were the most active one that day."

"Ahhh, stop hitting me! I was wrong! I won't do it again!"

"Alright, stop hitting him. He's still a child; don't actually scare him out of his wits," Officer Natalie sighed, walked over, grabbed the child's hand, and said with feigned heartache, "Just cut off his hands and break his legs, then let him go. Don't make things difficult for him."

"Help!" The child was scared to tears on the spot, struggling desperately to pull his hand away, but how could the strength of an ordinary child resist a rank-three Soul Severer? The officer's hand remained unmoved.

The officer sneered, "Know fear now? Then behave. Tell us the address of Donnie Narton, and we'll let you go."

"Who's that? I don't know him! Let me go, I won't do bad things anymore, spare my life!"

Seeing he couldn't break free, the little boy's eyes darted around. He suddenly shrieked for mercy, his voice loud enough to be heard several streets away.

However, there were police not far outside, yet not a single one came over to look.

Authority, Concealment, ability, phantasmal sound—the voice couldn't get out at all.

"Scream! Go ahead and scream. If you can make anyone outside hear even a peep, I'll count it as my loss. Hmph, even if you scream until your throat breaks, no one will come to save you," Lynch slapped the little brat's head again and said impatiently, "Enough, shut up and listen to me. If you scream again, I really will chop you up and throw you on the roadside. People here are poor; if they see meat, they won't care whose it is. They'll definitely take it home to fry into meat patties."

"No..." The child was about to scream, but remembering the terrifying consequences, he immediately covered his mouth and didn't dare to make a sound.

"We didn't come to find you just to beat you up. We have something we need your help with. Listen, Martha is facing great danger right now. She needs you. Only you can save her."

The little boy was clearly stunned; he stopped covering his mouth and just stared at Lynch cautiously.

"From yesterday afternoon until now, you haven't seen her, have you? That's because she's encountered danger and can't get out at all." Lynch pointed at himself and Officer Natalie. "Why do you think we knew you were here? It's because Martha asked us to find you to save her."

The little boy blinked, saying nothing.

"Your name is Robert, right?" The officer secretly glared at Lynch, then let go of the child's hand and stroked his head with a serious expression. "If that's the case, we haven't found the wrong person. Martha asked us to find Robert to save her."

Tsk, you were playing along just as happily, why glare at me?

Lynch pouted secretly, then added, "We are friends of her mother. I live on the second floor of their house, which is why she trusts me to come find you for help. Now, only you can save that girl. Are you going to let her expectations down?"

"W-w-what should I do?" the little boy asked in a small voice.

"You see the police outside? They are all here to silence Donnie. Once they find Donnie, Martha will have no hope at all. We are also looking for Donnie, precisely because he has the only way to save Martha." Lynch patted the little boy's shoulder seriously. "Kid, Martha's safety rests entirely on your shoulders."

"But I really don't know Donnie Narton, sir."

"I know, Martha doesn't know him either. But you know the reporter lady, right? On the 13th, you helped the reporter lady deliver something to someone. That person might be Donnie. Where did you deliver that thing to?"

In truth, Lynch wasn't sure if this child had gone with Martha to deliver the photo, but if he lived nearby, it was very likely he had tagged along. There was no harm in trying.

"Oh, him? I remember," the little boy immediately straightened his back and patted his chest, saying, "I have a great memory. He's at 32D Fox Lane."

Found him.

Lynch breathed a sigh of relief, exchanged a joyful look with Officer Natalie, and the two gently bumped their fists together, smiles appearing on their faces.

At least they could beat those bastards to it.