"How dull. The people in the city-state are all so weak."

"Sevi, you can’t expect them to be like us, used to blood and slaughter. They... uh."

CLICK.

The smug sailor felt a cold touch on his head. As someone who spent his years at sea, he recognized the dangerous aura—it was the familiar feeling of being targeted by a Sea Monster...

"And then?"

Holding Tina with one hand, Wei’en pressed a firearm to the man’s forehead with the other and asked coolly, "They... oh, no, that’s not right. What happens to *us*?"

RATTLE, RATTLE.

Before the sailor could speak, the others who saw what was happening drew their weapons—guns and swords alike—and fixed their cold stares on Wei’en.

Their leader pushed through the crowd and sized Wei’en up. "You there... ah, Mr. Investigator from the Secret Investigation Department. Please, lower your weapon. He was only joking."

"And... if you are willing, I will apologize to you on his behalf."

[You are the target of Colins Vazquez’s killing intent. Evaluation: Survival Points +3.]

[...]

[You are the target of Elno Vazquez’s killing intent. Evaluation: Survival Points +3.]

Wei’en glanced to the side, then slowly holstered his firearm. "No need for an apology. To be honest, I was just joking as well."

’No wonder I’ve been feeling some odd stares. So it was them... I’ll have to be more careful.’

’And here I thought Collins and his men had left Caster City State after yesterday. I didn’t expect them to still be here, hiding in plain sight.’

The Sailor Chief, a man of obvious skill, bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your understanding."

"However, this is a city-state, not the open sea. You need more than just courage and bravado here. You also need etiquette and a noble character."

"You’re right. I’ll keep them in line."

Wei’en nodded. He had gotten the answer he wanted. He turned and led Tina toward the tavern.

’It’s only been a day, but my power has grown by more than just a little. If Collins and his men really want to attack me... they might be in for a surprise.’

"Should we make a move? He’s still alone," Elno asked, his gaze cold as he watched Wei’en’s departing back.

Collins shook his head. "No. This is a critical time. If we interfere with the higher-ups’ plan, neither of us will be able to answer for the consequences."

"Then let him live a few more days. I can wait..."

As for the sailors, every single one of them looked like they wanted to kill Wei’en.

"Boss, why didn’t you make a move? He’s just one guy, and he’s got that liability with him. I..."

SLAP!

Before he could finish, the Sailor Chief slapped him across the face and growled, "I told you all to keep a low profile in Caster. Are you trying to get yourselves... fed to the fishes?"

"No, that’s not it, I..."

"Get back there and behave yourself!"

"..."

Wei’en overheard some of the commotion behind him. It seemed these people hadn’t come to Caster by chance.

’Are they from the Black Pearl?’

’Or are they a different group altogether?’

’If it’s the former, I’ll have to dock some points from my impression of the Black Pearl. Truly powerful people aren’t this loud.’

’If it’s the latter, it’s clearly nothing good...’

’But what does any of that have to do with me? I’m just an ordinary Investigator in the Caster City State, and an even more ordinary Intelligence Officer for the Ghost Soul School.’

Lost in thought, Wei’en soon arrived with Tina at the tavern where the crime took place—the Sno.

The provocatively dressed women at the entrance saw the pair and swarmed them enthusiastically. "Sir, care to come in and have some fun? The prices are low, and we do a good job. A real bargain."

"That’s right, you and this... uh, miss, you can enjoy our services together..."

Wei’en flipped open his coat to reveal his firearm. "Here about yesterday’s case."

"What a pain. Bad for busi—"

Seeing the firearm, the enthusiastic women wisely backed away, their faces full of disdain.

"Tina. ’Do a good job.’ What’s that?"

Wei’en looked at Tina’s impassive face, momentarily at a loss for words. "That ’do a good job’... probably just means the things in this tavern are high quality."

"Tina knows. Mr. Clown, you do a good job."

Wei’en: "..."

’Oh well,’ he thought. ’I just hope that if Mr. Clown ever hears that, he takes it as a compliment...’

"Mr. Investigator, you’re finally here! Quick, come with me."

The tavern owner saw the two of them enter and immediately began leading them deeper inside, chattering nonstop.

"You people from the Secret Investigation Department are just too much. Not only did you break everything inside, but you also blew that damned aberration to pieces! Now there’s disgusting stuff everywhere..."

The polite smile on Wei’en’s face lasted only until he opened the door to the stinking room.

The dark, damp room was filled with a thick, putrid stench. Shattered chunks of flesh, green ooze, and twisted tentacles were scattered everywhere.

The surrounding walls were covered with cracks and dark red bloodstains, traces left as if something had been torn apart with immense force. It was clear the tentacles hadn’t caused this.

’I finally understand why Lisi always calls the people from the Combat Department lunatics...’

The tavern owner took one look, dry-heaved, and bolted after tossing out a "I’ll leave you to it!"

[Devourable Origin detected. Use Soul-Devouring Magic?]

Hm?

Wei’en saw the message. ’I didn’t think I could devour Origin,’ he thought, surprised.

’Well, that makes cleanup much easier.’

With that thought, he signaled for Tina to wait outside while he faced the horrific, bloody scene alone.

[You have used Soul-Devouring Magic to devour the aberration’s Origin. Your own Origin has been enhanced. Evaluation: I’m very curious, what did it taste like? Special Reward: Origin +0.01.]

"Baba, stinky!!"

Wei’en ignored the pained expressions on his little Xiaoxis’ faces. ’If you want to grow up, you have to learn to endure it, my sons.’

However—

’0.01 points of Origin? That’s all??’

’I remember when I devoured those Undead Creatures, the least I got was 0.1 points of Origin Power, and the most, like from Ognian, gave me a full 1 point of Origin.’

"Either it’s because it’s been dead too long and the Origin has dissipated, or because aberrations just don’t have much Origin to begin with, or..."