"Got it done?"

Li Rui squatted on the curb, turned his head when he heard footsteps, and asked.

"Yes, I’ve already obtained some intelligence, and they said the rest would be ready within three days," Cheng Mingyue replied.

"What kind of intelligence? Tell me about it."

"After the explosion case, a lot of people were inquiring about it. Initially, it was the reporters, but in this place, the Holy Judgment High Court is the ultimate authority, so most people were silenced."

Cheng Mingyue said, "They gave me a list. These are people who are interested in investigating, and some are hired by the Gold Digger Association to investigate."

Li Rui glanced at the list: "Didn’t they say that such organizations would keep their employers’ secrets?"

Cheng Mingyue laughed, "How would I know? Maybe you have a bigger influence."

Li Rui didn’t reply, he looked at the list for a while and said, "The ones crossed out are dead?"

"Yes, most were silenced by the Holy Judgment High Court, and some others might have found a way to save their lives. But... it’s not easy for us to dig anything out."

Li Rui scratched his head, thinking about where to start.

The simplest and most direct method, of course, is to infiltrate the Holy Judgment High Court, but doing so is too reckless, and the success rate wouldn’t be high. Once discovered, one would have to rely on force to escape. The good thing is, the advisers’ level in the three major countries is roughly at the Holy Judgment High Court’s first-class level. Except for the few top layers like the Holy Blade and the Shepherd Leader, there shouldn’t be many other opponents.

However, it is important to watch out for the Western Kingdom and Polar Alliance. Vons has arrived, so surely there are others from the Church, and it’s conceivable that the Western Kingdom is also trying to investigate. After all, if Dragon Country can get the intelligence, the other two countries have no reason not to.

If violence is truly used, the variables would be quite numerous, and he doesn’t want things to become uncontrollable unless absolutely necessary.

If he doesn’t infiltrate personally, the only option is indirect investigation, which is quite difficult because it’s already been a few days since the incident, and the Holy Judgment High Court’s follow-ups should have taken effect.

Cheng Mingyue saw him silent, fulfilling the assistant’s duty by offering a suggestion: "I think we can take time to understand the people on the list. Even if they’re silenced, it doesn’t mean no intelligence can be obtained."

Li Rui nodded: "You’re right, even if they don’t talk, their friends and family might know something. Using both coercion and temptation, we might find some clues."

So, the next morning, the two of them split up to begin investigating the informed persons on the list.

In Li Rui’s opinion, solving things with money would be best, as it’s the most convenient. Unless absolutely necessary, he doesn’t wish to resort to other means.

But in reality, things were even more challenging than expected. After half a day, he had "visited" seven people, all of whom had either died unexpectedly or gone on trips, nowhere to be found.

By evening, when he met with Cheng Mingyue to exchange information, they found the situations to be identical.

"It seems like the Holy Judgment High Court is dead set on covering things up,"

Li Rui said, "There’s still half the list left; we should finish it by tomorrow."

Cheng Mingyue said, "Well... accounting for those who’ve left, I think there’s someone we can try."

"Who?"

"This guy named Tony King."

"King? From Dragon Country heritage?"

"Kind of. He was born in the Holy Judgment High Court," Cheng Mingyue said. "Even though he’s also away, his grandfather at home said he didn’t go far."

Cheng Mingyue said, "Unlike others who have fled to the ends of the earth."

Li Rui took the person’s data to look at for a while, then nodded instinctively: "A private detective? In that case, I’ll find him tomorrow, and you continue checking on the others. I’ll visit Detective Wang."

.....

Wang Xiangru was born in a remote small town under the jurisdiction of the Holy Judgment High Court. His parents were Secret Realm agents, unfortunately, he himself didn’t bear the imprint.

This left him very frustrated, but his grandfather who raised him felt relieved. After all, Wang Xiangru’s parents died in the struggle among the Extraordinary.

In the chaotic land, daily deaths of low-level Extraordinary are not unusual.

Initially, Wang Xiangru had no clear goal, never aspiring to become a detective or anything similar. He chose this profession because he met many talents and insiders while pursuing a way to get the imprint, finding out things unknown to ordinary people.

If he had any superpower, it would undoubtedly be his exceptional social skills. Even those noted Extraordinary in the area got along well with him.

Because of this, the clergy from the Holy Judgment High Court chose to visit him and advise him, rather than making him disappear on a dark, windy night.

At this moment, he was vacationing in a small city called Binhai.

It’s a tourist city because it is close to Sapphire Lake, a large inland lake with a beach stretching dozens of kilometers.

Along this line are many famous resorts, though Binhai City wasn’t one of them. Precisely because of the tranquility, he chose this place.

Of course, there was another reason for selecting this location. There’s a small newspaper here that reports rumors and gossip, having very informed sources, so he frequently comes here to gather information.

This time, however, he just instinctively came to a familiar place.

"It’s over. Can’t touch it again. Carelessness can lead to death."

He leaned back on the beach chair with a chilled light beer, with the azure sky and water in front of him.

Based on the information he received, almost everyone who was involved in the explosion case had disappeared.

Wang Xiangru knew very well what was going on. In fact, he was lucky to survive; the priest of the church was quite friendly with him and didn’t use drastic measures.

"Hey, Bamonde, how have you been lately?"

Suddenly, he set down the beer and stood from his chair, calling out to a man approaching from a short distance.

The man, hearing his voice, turned around immediately with a smile.

"Wang, what are you doing here?"

The man’s skin was quite white, and he only wore colorful beach shorts. His upper body was covered in tattoos, making the number 35 on his upper arm less conspicuous.

"Just resting up,"

Wang Xiangru replied casually, "I really missed the beer here."

"You’ve got good taste," Bamonde said. He was a local, passionate about beer, despite his wealth—few people knew this.

He liked this person; even though he was an advanced Extraordinary himself, they maintained a good relationship.

"That matter, you’re not investigating it anymore?" He didn’t specify what matter because it didn’t need to be explained. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Wang Xiangru instinctively glanced around to ensure no spies from the Holy Judgment High Court were present, but quickly realized that with someone like Bamonde around, no one could approach unnoticed.

So he didn’t realize that a young man in a baseball cap was crouching behind a flower bed not far away.