Cooperation (Two Chapters in One)

“I have a plan.”

These were the first words out of Lynch’s mouth upon meeting Mr. V, the head of the Rhine branch of the Watchers. In front of Mr. V and Officer Natalie, Lynch recounted everything he had discovered today.

“In summary, supplying materials for the Norin-Rhine Railway project represents immense profits. For the sake of those profits, this man is willing to trample over all order in this world.

“We don’t know the exact details yet, but to meet production deadlines, he brought in some kind of mystery and has been feeding it a person’s entire existence every day. This has been going on for over a year. At least three to four hundred people have died because of it—and have been completely forgotten after death. A few days ago, that relic underwent an unexplained change, its appetite growing larger and larger. I suspect this means the mystery relic has shifted from an active state into an uncontrolled state, dramatically increasing its threat level.

“Even so, to guarantee output, Grant still insists on continuing to use the relic’s effects to reap profits. I don’t care to judge whether such behavior of trampling over order is right or wrong based on personal preferences, but as a citizen who could be affected by it, I oppose this disruption of order. Furthermore, I believe that as guardians of order, you Watchers should oppose it as well. So I hope we can cooperate—at least to put a stop to this inhuman slaughter first.”

Mr. V maintained his stiff, solemn expression, resting his chin on his interlaced fingers as he listened quietly to Lynch’s words. Only after Lynch stopped did V shake his head slightly and speak with utmost sincerity:

“I agree with everything you’ve said, and your conjecture is very likely true. However, Mr. Levive, you must understand that this is impossible. If you could provide even a single piece of indirect evidence, I could find a way to intervene, but everything you’ve told me is purely speculation. If it were an ordinary person, that would be fine, but the man you are targeting is Chairman Grant.

“Grant is no ordinary citizen. Among the identities you ought to know, he is one of the leaders of Rhine City’s industry and a representative figure of all the wealthy in Rhine, which is how he attained the position of Speaker of the House of Commons. Among the identities you ought not to know, he is one of the representatives of non-governmental forces exercising parliamentary power—a tool pushed forward by all the wealthy elite to counterbalance the royal authority.

“You should understand what consequences would arise if we, as an agency under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family, were to charge into his factory and conduct a massive search given his status. At that point, the outcome of the investigation wouldn’t even matter. Even if conclusive evidence were ultimately found, the act itself would be enough to deal a devastating blow to the Watchers.”

“That’s precisely why I said I have a plan,” Lynch said in a low voice. “Direct confrontation is meaningless. We know nothing concrete, we cannot torture them for answers, and they will never tell us voluntarily. We cannot find the relic, nor can we do anything to them. But right now, an excellent opportunity happens to present itself.”

“Oh?” The motionless Mr. V raised an eyebrow.

“Grant mentioned during the meeting that he would contact the supplier as soon as possible and send someone to handle the matter. He will act on this tonight, and tomorrow at the earliest, he’ll dispatch people to resolve the problem. I suspect these people will very likely be from the Rangers. Taking advantage of this time difference and information gap, if I disguise myself as a member of the Rangers, we might just be able to extract the key clues.

“However, it wouldn’t be feasible for me to disguise myself as a Ranger alone, nor am I familiar with official protocol, making it far too easy to blow my cover. I need the support of my partner so that both of us can go in disguise together. Furthermore, even if we pry out the clues, with my status, I wouldn’t be able to stop them anyway. We still need you to step in and handle it.”

“But that brings us right back to the issue I just mentioned.” Mr. V shook his head. “We cannot step forward.”

“A direct raid to investigate a case is certainly out of the question, but what if we change the approach?” Lynch had watched plenty of police procedurals in his past life, and he gave a sly smile. “As Watchers who received a report from an enthusiastic citizen, you identified the problem with utmost urgency and risked your lives charging into the Grant Screw Factory solely to contain a hazardous object.”

Resting his chin on his hands, Mr. V narrowed his eyes and offered a faint smile. “Preventing dangerous relics from disrupting order is indeed our duty as Watchers. What’s more, this hazardous object has affected the railway project. To protect the normal production of the screw factory, there was simply no time to notify Chairman Grant in advance, leaving us no choice but to bring the mystery relic under control as swiftly as possible. Let us hope Mr. Grant will not blame us for failing to give prior notice.”

“So?”

“Natalie has been granted a temporary half-day off this afternoon. Whatever you two decide to do, I, as her superior, have no authority to interfere. If you plan to play some role-playing games, I recall there are official badges confiscated in the past stored in the vault, some of which seem to belong to certain special departments—unless my memory fails me.” Mr. V spoke in a stiff, serious tone. “If during your date you happen to encounter a dangerous mystery relic and require backup, Natalie knows how to contact us. We will arrive immediately to protect the innocent workers.”

Lynch stood up, took off his flat cap, pressed it against his chest, and bowed deeply.

“No need to thank me. Several hundred lives... that has crossed the line.” Mr. V remained in his original posture, his voice exceptionally low. “Let’s see how far you can take this. It all depends on the two of you.”

With reinforcements arranged, the next step was figuring out how to deceive their opposition.

The two first went to the vault and retrieved two Ranger badges and relatively fitting Ranger uniforms. At Lynch’s request, they also requisitioned a carriage that had its badges deliberately removed.

Fully prepared, before three-thirty in the afternoon, the carriage carrying Lynch and Officer Natalie appeared outside the factory gates. Without uttering a word, the coachman drove the carriage straight into the factory grounds. The three overseers on duty at the entrance hurriedly rushed out to block the carriage, but before they could even speak, an indifferent voice drifted out.

“Go notify Frank. We have arrived.”

“Who do you think you are, demanding to see our manager? I—I—I—spare me!”

The overseer had barely leaned near the carriage window when he saw a dark, gaping gun muzzle pointed straight at him, scaring him so badly his legs turned to jelly.

“Do not ask what you should not ask. My companion does not possess my patience.” The voice inside the carriage was cold and flat, void of any emotional inflection. “Go notify him at once. That lord already briefed him; he knows who we are and is eagerly waiting for us.”

“Yes, yes, right away!”

The overseer stammered in response. The moment the gun muzzle pulled back, he turned and sprinted toward the factory interior. The carriage did not wait at the entrance either; the coachman had the horses trot at a gentle pace, slowly heading toward the two-story building. As they approached the building, the graying Manager Frank hurried out alongside the overseer to greet them.

Inside the carriage, Lynch and Officer Natalie exchanged a look, lightly bumped fists, and then leaped out of the carriage.

“How did you get here so quickly? Isn’t this too fast?”

Before even reaching the carriage, Manager Frank’s questioning voice came forward. He looked thoroughly puzzled—the chairman had left less than two hours ago, so how could he have dispatched people so quickly?

Imitating Ranger Walker’s demeanor, Lynch pulled the brim of his hat low, shooting a cold glare from beneath it. He furrowed his brows and wagged a finger at the overseer, wearing an impatient expression that clearly said to get lost. Once the overseer scurried off at Frank’s gesture, Lynch tipped his top hat, nodded slightly, and spoke with a trace of mockery:

“Good day, Mr. Frank. How pleasant it is to still see you.”

Hm? Why answer off-topic? Manager Frank was about to press further when he suddenly realized something was amiss with that statement.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“At least we still know you exist. Heh, that means you haven’t been chosen as today’s target just yet.”

Damn it, my fears were real! Manager Frank forgot all suspicion and asked with a stiff expression, “Is it really possible that it could expand to us today?”

“What do you think? You must have suspected this possibility yourself, right? Heh, congratulations, you guessed right. Otherwise, why do you think we rushed over today when His Excellency Grant originally said it would be in a couple of days?” Officer Natalie brought back the exact demeanor Lynch had seen during their first meeting, sneering coldly. “If not to preserve your existence, we wouldn’t bother working overtime—money’s useless if you vanish anyway. You’d better cooperate fully. Otherwise, we can’t guarantee anyone will remember you tomorrow. Who knows, maybe tomorrow everyone will wonder why our factory doesn’t have a manager. You’ve probably seen scenes like that plenty of times, but we haven’t seen it happen yet.”

I knew I was sharp and perceptive enough—it really could threaten me. Manager Frank turned pale. Casting aside all remaining doubts about the two, his smile looked more wretched than crying.

“Don’t make such a face; we rushed here specifically to keep you alive,” Lynch said in a slightly softer tone, looking Frank up and down nonchalantly as he offered some consolation. “It seems that lord truly values you. Terrified that something might happen to you, he urged us to act today and was even willing to pay us extra. That doesn’t happen easily.”

To think the chairman—such a sting... money-loving man—was actually willing to spend extra money for my sake. Well, I do generate massive profits for His Excellency after all; he truly values me. The manager unconsciously revealed a self-satisfied smile and gestured toward the two-story building. “Please step inside, both of you. I will have to trouble you this time.”

The two quietly let out a sigh of relief. Following Frank into his luxurious office on the first floor, Lynch glanced around. Every piece of furnishing was exquisite; no wonder the man cherished his life so much. People like this were easy to fool once their weaknesses were seized.

Having formed his plan, Lynch sat on the sofa with Officer Natalie and stopped the manager’s intention of pouring tea. Both of them pulled back their collars, revealing the Ranger badges pinned to their linings.

“Having seen it is enough. Don’t ask why it’s us who came. If you know, you know; if you don’t, it’s better that way.”

Frank immediately adopted a look of realization, smiling with tacit understanding—though heaven knew what he had actually understood.

“How should I address the two of you, Officers?”

“I am Number One, she is Number Two. Calling us that is enough,” Lynch said nonchalantly. “If you’re still alive tomorrow, remember that you saw no one today.”

“Understood, understood,” Manager Frank chuckled nervously with a pale face. “I’ll definitely be alive, haha.”

“Let’s hope so. First, tell us: what exactly is going on?”

“Huh? Did that lord not beforehand...”

Officer Natalie kept a straight face and cut off the manager’s rising doubts, her icy voice laced with sternness. “What do you think? Do you want that lord to explain the details on your behalf?”

Before his doubts could even take root, they were boldly shut down by the female officer. Manager Frank smiled awkwardly. “Of course not. My apologies, I was thoughtless.”

“Dealing with those things is extremely dangerous work. The slightest discrepancy in information can multiply the danger we face exponentially. Therefore, much of the information must be cross-checked to ensure we can keep you alive.” Lynch pulled out a pocket watch, checked the time, and asked teasingly, “When does the night shift end? Six o’clock? There are two hours left. If I recall correctly, the disappearances are mostly concentrated during the night shift. You really don’t seem in a rush, but we are. If something happens to you, we won’t get our bonus.”

“I am in a rush, truly!” Frank was almost on the verge of tears, only now realizing his life was still hanging by a thread. These two were the lifelines the chairman had paid top dollar to hire; if he missed this chance, the chairman wouldn’t impulsively hire someone else again.

“If you know you’re in a rush, then cooperate and don’t waste your own time. How about this: lead us there, and explain the specific situation as we walk.”

“Officers...” Seeing their utter confidence, coupled with the fact that their words referenced the very confidential details he had reported, and considering his own cherished life was on the line, Frank hesitated for only a fraction of a second before discarding all suspicion. He stood up obsequiously and said, “Alright, please follow me.”

Exchanging a glance with Officer Natalie, Lynch pressed down his top hat to conceal his face, letting a faint smile show in the shadows.

Step one: success.

Without concealing his actions from the two, Manager Frank opened the door, looked left and right, and upon confirming that no attendants were around, swiftly pulled out several books from the bookshelf along the wall. A flurry of clicking sounds echoed from inside the wall, after which the bookshelf shifted, revealing a pitch-black staircase spiraling downward.

However, Manager Frank did not descend. Instead, he turned to look back at Lynch and Natalie. Seeing that the two remained seated calmly on the sofa, he nodded in relief. “Alright, please follow me, officers. I will take you there.”

Lynch narrowed his eyes. Keeping his composure, he followed Frank out of the office alongside the officer, walking all the way to a warehouse at the end of the hallway. They watched Frank personally push aside several empty crates, after which a trapdoor opened in the floor, and the gas lamps on both sides lit up automatically.

“Please assure the chairman that the entrance was designed entirely according to his specifications. If that bookshelf just now isn’t opened first, this place will be completely locked down.”

Officer Natalie stole a glance at the straight-faced Lynch, asking silently with her eyes. Lynch gave an imperceptible nod.

Indeed, as the automated secret passage opened, he had already sensed prominent mysterious filth wafting up from below.

They had finally located the objective.

And even more crucially, the filth was suffused with heavy violence and chaos—clearly not in a normal state.

The mystery relic was out of control.

Yet these people were actually still using it. They were nothing short of devils.