Cooperation

The moment Elias let those words slip out.

“Holy shit!”

“Are you actually insane?!”

Old Ed's panicked voice rang out in his mind.

“Has your brain been fried by industrial exhaust?!”

“Do you really think she won't dare to arrest you?!”

“The authorities could definitely convict you for what you did in Hastings Port!”

Elias didn't even blink.

His eyes, hidden in the shadows of his derby hat, remained calmly fixed on the female investigator a few paces away.

“Relax,” Elias replied rationally in his mind.

“She won't arrest me.”

“Or rather, she can't arrest me right now.”

He slightly adjusted his grip on his cane, feeling the solid touch of the cold metal.

“If the Seventh Agency had actually come tonight to close the net and arrest me...”

“They wouldn't have used my sister's safety to perform these boring psychological tests and pressure tactics.”

“She could have just led a team to corner me in an alley.”

“There would be no need to stand here in the freezing wind in the middle of the night, playing these indirect word games with me.”

It was exactly as Elias had surmised.

Standing opposite him, Cecil was clearly taken aback by Elias's move.

A rare flash of bewilderment crossed her sharp eyes.

What was going on?

They were in the middle of testing and pressuring each other.

Why did this guy suddenly throw up his hands and demand to be arrested?

Had his psychological defenses collapsed, leading to a direct confession?

No.

This wasn't a confession!

From beginning to end, this guy hadn't said a single piece of substantial, useful information!

He hadn't admitted to the Hastings Port murder, nor had he admitted that the commotion in the treatment room this afternoon had anything to do with him.

He had simply tossed out a vaguely philosophical piece of nonsense: No transcendent is innocent.

How the hell was that a confession?!

Furthermore.

Cecil gritted her teeth inwardly.

She knew very well that under the current objective circumstances, she couldn't arrest him at all!

The reason was a severe lack of evidence.

Although the Seventh Agency was seemingly the supreme supernatural law enforcement body in the Kingdom of Velen, they still had to follow a chain of evidence.

Otherwise, those Dawn Heralds and Storm Judges would use it as an excuse to make things difficult for them.

As for a forced arrest and a coerced confession?

Cecil was unwilling to do it, and even more so, she looked down on such methods.

It would only expose the essence of incompetence.

If it were just the incident at Hastings Port...

She couldn't convict him for that. In fact, because he had killed a cruel cultist, the agency might even reward him.

Elias could firmly claim that he had been attacked by a crazed cultist and, fearing for his life, had acted in self-defense.

And the stolen goods?

Currently, that was merely a deduction.

If Elias insisted he had never seen any stolen goods at the time...

What else could be said?

All the existing clues and spiritual residue, at most, only proved that Elias had entered the cultist's room.

That was what they called an isolated piece of evidence—it wouldn't stand.

And as for this afternoon...

The strange battle that took place in Mester's Treatment Room was an even more headache-inducing cold case.

The lack of evidence was absolutely appalling!

The scene only left behind combat traces of two Moon Lord believers.

And after the battle ended...

The suspect's spiritual trail extended toward the ruins.

But the fatal problem was...

A large number of ordinary people had been spectating at the time.

Their mixed, faint biological spirituality was like a mudslide, directly burying the environment.

The already weak transcendent escape route had been trampled into oblivion.

Even with the expensive alchemical items like “spirit-revealing agent” in Cecil's possession—which could mark specific spiritual characteristics with high precision—it was impossible to track anyone in such a chaotic scene!

Moreover.

The most logically jarring doubt facing Cecil right now was—

Based on the concentration of spiritual residue and spell traces at the scene...

The suspect who dealt with Dr. Mester in the treatment room this afternoon was a Scale One.

But now...

The Elias standing before her...

Judging by the spells he used, was a solid Scale Two!

A supernatural item to suppress spirituality?

No.

From the logic of actual combat, that made no sense at all!

Why would he deliberately suppress his mental Scale during a life-and-death struggle?

One had to realize that suppressing one's mental Scale when facing supernatural creatures was essentially a suicidal act of giving up resistance!

Not to mention...

That was a battle against a higher-ranked opponent!

There had even been an infernal demon at the scene!

Hiding one's strength in such a high-pressure environment?

That wasn't playing possum; that was truly becoming a pig to be eaten until not even the bones were left!

So.

If she forcibly anchored the suspect from this afternoon to the Elias before her as the same person...

There was only one logically consistent conclusion:

In the short few hours since leaving the treatment room, the other party had consumed a potion.

And he had successfully survived the risk of losing control and going mad, undergone a smooth Audience, and performed a perfect Scale promotion!

Was that possible?

In this perilous supernatural world where every promotion was accompanied by extreme danger...

A promotion speed as easy as drinking water was practically a fairy tale!

But the most critical crux of the problem was...

No matter how Cecil deduced or suspected in her mind...

These wild guesses could not serve as evidence in court!

Without evidence, everything was empty talk.

“Oh?”

After a brief silence, Cecil quickly adjusted her mindset.

She carefully organized her words, trying to regain the rhythm of the conversation.

“Since Mr. Rockland is so cooperative with our work...”

She spoke intentionally in a mocking, bureaucratic tone.

“Why don't you start by explaining what you were doing near Mester's Treatment Room this afternoon?”

Cecil tilted her chin slightly.

“Conveniently, we can talk slowly on the way.”

Just as she finished speaking...

The sound of rapid hoofbeats and the roar of wheels crushing the cobblestones suddenly came from the end of the street at the edge of the square.

A four-wheeled carriage painted with the black emblem of the Seventh Agency arrived at high speed, looking like a steel beast charging out of the night.

Before the carriage had even come to a full stop...

Four investigators in uniform black coats, carrying the heavy scent of gunpowder and spiritual fluctuations, hurriedly jumped down.

Their expressions were grim, their movements efficient.

The leading investigator didn't even look at Elias; he ran straight to Cecil.

He lowered his voice and whispered something quickly into Cecil's ear.

Elias's brow furrowed slightly.

He could clearly see that as the subordinate reported, Cecil's eyes, which had been as calm as a deep well, suddenly widened.

A flash of complex emotion crossed her pupils.

Shock, and gravity.

Then.

Cecil nodded expressionlessly and waved her hand, indicating she understood.

The subordinate immediately took his orders and retreated.

Following that...

The three investigators formed a triangular formation, faintly surrounding Elias in the central area under the streetlamp.

Everyone's hands were placed on their sidearms or supernatural items—seemingly casual, but with muscles tensed.

The atmosphere dropped to the freezing point in an instant.

A thick, murderous intent made the surrounding smog feel viscous.

Cecil turned her gaze back to the surrounded Elias.

Her eyes no longer held the testing gaze from before.

“So, Mr. Rockland.”

Cecil made a gesture of invitation, her tone icy.

“Shall we talk on the way?”

“You blew it!”

In Elias's mind, Old Ed's tone carried a hint of annoyance.

The old man was complaining incessantly, his voice full of despair.

“Why do I feel like things are just getting good?”

To Old Ed's surprise...

Facing this dead end where escape seemed impossible, Elias's tone didn't contain the slightest panic. Instead, it held a strange composure.

He replied quickly in his mind.

Then.

Elias slowly raised his head, putting on a look of bewilderment.

“Explain what?”

“Talk about what?”

These two abrupt counter-questions caused the three investigators who were about to move to freeze for a moment.

Then.

Elias directly dropped a bombshell big enough to cause an earthquake in the entire supernatural circle of Hope County.

“Are you saying I should explain about me sending my sister to rest this afternoon?”

“Or...”

Elias paused, looking at Cecil with innocent eyes.

“Should I explain about me sleeping in your room?!”

The moment those words came out...

The three investigators were like people hit by a Freeze spell.

They froze in place, their heads turning in unison toward their superior.

A peculiar expression immediately appeared on all three of their faces.

What kind of bold claim was this?!

Officer Cecil's room?!

Sleeping?!

Can we even listen to this case anymore?!

Are we going to be silenced?!

As for Ms. Cecil herself...

Her beautiful face turned bright red at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It was so red that even the tips of her ears seemed to be dripping blood!

Extreme shame and the despair of social death instantly shattered her proud rational defenses.

“You... what kind of nonsense are you talking about?!”

Cecil's voice cracked, filled with panic and exasperation.

Even when facing an out-of-control demon, she had never had a breakdown like this!

Elias shrugged his shoulders in a very punchable manner.

“Didn't you ask me what I was doing this afternoon?”

Cecil barely managed to calm her emotions.

She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes again...

Although the flush on her face remained, her gaze had regained the absolute calm of an elite investigator.

She waved her hand, signaling her three subordinates to break the formation and step back.

Then, she looked directly into Elias's eyes, her tone more serious than ever before.

“Fine.”

Cecil spat out the word through gritted teeth.

“We'll set the matter of the treatment room aside for now.”

“You should also realize that I'm not here today to arrest you.”

Her gaze gradually became profound, as if she were re-evaluating the dangerous and extremely difficult man before her.

“On the contrary.”

“I want to seek your cooperation.”