New Gods of North America.

Chapter 600 Alienation
Back at his carriage, "Inflation" was still guarding nearby.

On the way back to his previous temporary dormitory, Wayne first briefly explained the situation to "Inflated" and then offered his opinion:

"You've seen that kid before, so keep an eye on him in the future. If you or your informants encounter him in the dock area again, try to persuade him to leave. Don't hurt him."

The monk seemed convinced that the detective agency was responsible for the "gang haunting." This time it was fine for now, but it would be best to try to prevent the same thing from happening again.

"Inflation" nodded in response, then Wayne thought for a moment, his curiosity starting to resurface: "But they were heading in that direction just now, and it's so late, why would people from the cathedral be in the dock area?"

"They're probably on some kind of secret mission..."

The “inflated” tone wasn’t entirely certain. “The cathedral doesn’t usually participate directly in the management of the dock area, and that’s not the location of the official dock… I’ll start gathering information on this tomorrow and submit it to Miss Lina in the briefing.”

Wayne was just asking casually; he'd be lucky if the cathedral didn't cause trouble for the detective agency anytime soon.
So he wasn't particularly concerned about the issue: "Just keep an eye out from the sidelines, there's no need to specifically inquire, lest it attract the attention of the cathedral. Given the situation in the dock area, if something really happens, there should be some word of it."

"Yes."

……

The next morning, Wayne told Inessa and Lina what had happened.
Lina was the first to object: "Why is she doing it again... I clearly told her last time not to act on her own, but she just won't listen to me."

"You've already made contact with that 'female ghost'?" Wayne asked.

“Yes, it was about a day or two after you told us to go and ‘talk’ to them. I specifically brought that kid to the restaurant to question you, partly hoping he would remind them that he was being watched—it’s not hard to follow a kid.”

“How come I didn’t know about this?” Wayne recalled. “It was never mentioned in the briefing.”

Lina put one hand on her slender waist. "You told her yourself to be careful and not to involve our detective agency anymore."

Wayne understood. "You were too lazy to write down what you did, so you didn't record it, right?"

“I asked you beforehand if you wanted to bring the person back, but you clearly didn’t want to get involved… Besides, the person is a family member of a city official, and the workshop is within Richmond’s boundaries. I would definitely try not to keep any written records of this kind of thing.”

"So you were just too lazy to write it, huh?" Wayne grumbled before quickly changing the subject. "That 'female ghost' is actually a relative of a city hall official?"

Lena gestured for Wayne to come closer, and then put her arm around Inessa's shoulder, lowering her voice: "She's Quinn, the tax officer's daughter."

"It's her?"

Wayne was slightly disappointed. "After reviewing it last night, I was thinking of trying to recruit them if their extraordinary abilities were suitable. Now it seems unlikely."

The daughter of a city hall official… that’s a salary that’s hard to set. Inessa, expressionless and practiced, pretended to poke at her, and Lina next to her quickly withdrew her hand, saying as she dodged, “I think you could give it a try, she might be willing to participate.”

Well?
Just as Wayne was about to ask Lina, "What do you mean?", Inessa paused for a moment, then spoke to Wayne:

"We should be more cautious about recruitment. Based on your description of her extraordinary abilities, she is likely an extraordinary being in the 'Abyss' realm, just like 'Inflation'."

"Is there a problem?" Wayne tried to confirm the situation.

Inesa seemed to carefully consider her words: "The reason why the Hunter Association specifically targets Extraordinary users in the 'Abyss' is not only due to the natural opposition between the two domains, but also because as they use their Extraordinary abilities more often, their minds or bodies gradually develop in an unpredictable chaotic direction, resulting in irreversible 'alienation'."

"That kind of 'alienation' is different from 'loss of control'. It's more like the 'wear and tear' of a machine, which is something that will inevitably happen with repeated use of the ability. Therefore, the risk of extraordinary individuals in the 'Abyss' realm going out of control is much higher than that of extraordinary individuals in other realms—which is why I privately reminded 'Inflation' before that he should try to avoid using extraordinary abilities."

It actually has this characteristic?
If we equate "out of control" with the "death" of an extraordinary person, then "alienation" sounds like the "cancer" of an extraordinary person, who is born with a tumor, only waiting for it to grow or manifest...

Applying this to the Hunter Association's logic, it's not hard to understand why they're targeting the "Abyss" area: since it's bound to go mad sooner or later and become a menace, why not send it away in advance?

It's only because Inessa is reasonable enough that the American Hunter Association isn't as "orthodox" as it used to be; otherwise, the graves of those who feel "inflated" would probably be overgrown with weeds by now.

But if that extraordinary ability is really useful, it feels like a waste not to recruit it...

Wayne paused for a moment, "Will the mutation process be very fast?"

"Not necessarily. One of the characteristics of the 'Abyss' realm is that 'some consequences are uncontrollable.' Some mutations have a 'plateau period,' which can be relatively stable for a certain period of time, ranging from a few days to several decades. In fact, some extraordinary abilities in the 'Abyss' realm take effect through 'active mutation' in a short period of time, such as Arthur Iverson, whom we met in Blackrock Town."

Hmm? Who is this person?

Wayne recalled for a moment before remembering, "Oh, it's that $500 mutated gorilla covered in tumors, the gang leader who could blow up a shed with one punch. It chased the carriage for half the night back then."

Inessa continues to educate the public:

"According to statistics from the Hunter Association, the average time from when Extraordinary Beings in the 'Abyss' realm are infected at Rank 0 to when they finally lose control is usually less than 5 years, with nearly 70% dying within a year. However, there are also about 3% of cases of long-lived mutations. One of them is said to have lived to at least 160 years old and was a stable source of raw materials for many of the Hunter Association's early Extraordinary Weapons."

Hiss... "Stable source of raw materials"—that sounds a bit unsettling...

As expected of the Kingdom of Windsor, even the Hunter's Guild, which is supposed to maintain order, has a long and distinguished tradition of being "inhuman"...

Wayne weighed the options in his mind for a moment, "I'll go talk to her first. Even if it's just to remind her to stop 'haunting' me."

(End of this chapter)