New Gods of North America.

Chapter 622 Forcing

Back at the dock area, the sales team didn't need to sell luncheon meat today, because the stock they hadn't had time to bring over had all been packed up and taken away by the butlers or managers before they set off.

Merlin's men arrived earlier than Wayne's group. On their way, they saw monks already walking through the streets and alleys, exchanging the latest information with each other.

The detective agency went through a simple grouping process, with one experienced person mentoring one newcomer. They could immediately start working without needing to go through the procedures in detail; they just needed to learn by observing.

As usual, Connor led his men to first take a look around the Sailors' area, and then each group inspected the housing according to their assigned zones, especially checking vacant houses outwards from the location of the incident last night. Wayne, on the other hand, took Sanders to James Damody's gang hideout to see if there had been any changes or new discoveries by the gang members in the past two days.

Upon meeting, before Wayne could even ask any questions, James Damotic preemptively spoke up: "I heard there was a gunfight and explosion in the Sailors' territory last night. A distillery was destroyed in the middle of the night, and people wearing red armbands were reportedly seen in the vicinity before and after the explosion."

“It was my men who did it; I was there at the time.” Wayne knew what he wanted to ask and answered simply and directly.

What else could we say? We could say that we encountered a cultist who could summon an evil god, that we blew up the big house, that the guy blew up the small cabin himself, and that the people in the cathedral were also involved.
The first part, revealing information about the extraordinary world to ordinary people, will result in a deduction of points for "professional ethics," while the second part, involving unnecessary clarification, will result in a deduction of points for "social skills."

Then we can only put everything on the shoulders of the detective agency. Those who know, know; those who don't, just need to know the general outline.

Let the gangsters guess for themselves.

After saying that, Wayne didn't give the other person a chance to ask further questions and directly steered the conversation to the important matter, "Any progress on the things I asked you to do?"

James Damody was quite sensible in this regard; his smile faded slightly, and he lowered his head to answer the question:
“My men have conveyed your message to the leaders of the allied gangs. A few seem to be observing, but no one has explicitly opposed the plague screening. As for having us arrange for people to check our respective territories… I have at least arranged for my men to do that, but unfortunately, there are no results to report to you yet.”

Wayne figured this guy probably hadn't sent any men to help with the investigation, so it seemed he wouldn't get any useful leads from the gang today.

He quickly stood up: "No news is good news. But please help me pass on two messages to those gentlemen—first, investigating the plague is a very important matter now, and I suggest everyone temporarily set aside their prejudices; second, if our people discover the problem first, they won't care whose territory it is when dealing with it, and if anyone tries to obstruct them, it won't just be as simple as being chained up in the small square and publicly displayed. What happened at the Sailors' Guild's place last night is a case that can be used repeatedly."

“Yes!” James Damody also stood up.

Wayne forced a smile and said, "It's always more dignified to do things yourself than to have someone else do them for you."

Damn it, we outsiders almost lost our lives last night, and you local bullies are still not doing anything?
Once I have some free time, I'll help you optimize your environment. Apart from the Sailors' Group, I'll start with the laziest members.

……

Upon re-entering the Erlan settlement, Wayne and his group first went to the address to locate the guide from the previous day, to avoid wasting time due to the language barrier.
When the latter first saw Sanders, he tried to run away. He jumped out of the back window and before he could even stand up, he saw Wayne waiting under the eaves.

After approaching obediently, he dared not take the payment Wayne had given him anymore. He carefully handed the dollar coin back to Wayne, saying, "Please feel free to ask me anything. I will do my best to cooperate. I don't need any payment."

"Take it if you want it." Wayne didn't reach out to take it. "Have gang members come looking for you?"

“No, no, no.” The guide named “Ceren” shook his head repeatedly. After Wayne stared at him silently for a few seconds, he quickly told the truth, “They just gave me some advice and didn’t do anything else.”

“Very good, then let’s continue. Today, we’ll focus on checking the empty houses in the neighborhoods around you, including those that are dilapidated, abandoned, or haven’t been used recently. We’ll also do a quick check of residents along the way, and pay special attention to any newcomers with Windsor accents who have recently been seen.”

At this point, Wayne added, "Tell those who came to advise you that I don't want to see my advisor get into trouble before the investigation is complete, or they might take their anger out on all the gangs in the area."

The guide was clearly startled and quickly put on a smiling face: "It's not that serious. Everyone in the neighborhood knows each other, and checking for the plague is a good thing. They should understand."

"That would be best, let's go."

To be fair, the living conditions in the Erlan settlements are somewhat similar to what are known as "family compounds."
Those who manage to become street thugs and petty criminals in the neighborhood are mostly second-generation or later generations of illegal immigrants. Although their lives are not very good, they often do not have to struggle to survive like the first generation.

Although they also use mules and horses, their families are considered "mule and horse aristocrats" in a certain sense among illegal immigrants, at least they can sustainably make a living and support family members who are not engaged in any productive work.

The guide Wayne chose seemed to be one of the best. He knew the neighborhood like the back of his hand. He could not only casually recount old stories about the neighborhood from many years ago, but also point to any house and tell you the basic family information of the residents. He knew more than the tax collectors in the city hall.

"Newcomers are often not picky about their accommodation and work. Many only stay for a few years and then try to leave. Those who can stay permanently generally have some relatively stable livelihood. Therefore, there are not many houses in our community that are completely vacant. It is common for several people to sleep in the same room in many families, living more crowded than rats."

"Regarding the rats you mentioned earlier, I specifically asked about them privately at the bar last night. It seems like no one seems to have any particular feelings about them; they feel there are still just as many rats in the neighborhood as before."

After walking to the end of the street, Wayne still hadn't found anything. The guide quickly offered an explanation, as if afraid of angering Wayne.
No thugs came to bother us today, and most of the residents at home were very cooperative. In fact, to clear their names, they even asked Wayne and his men to come in and check.

Wayne began to doubt whether there was a problem with his investigation approach. He briefly recalled the events of the previous night, as well as the previous incident at the dock:

"The gangs here must have hideouts for their daily meetings, right? Are there any houses that are usually empty? And haven't a lot of people died at the docks recently? Could it be that some of them actually lived alone, and then their houses became empty after they died?"

"Ah..." the guide stammered a little, "That latter situation is unlikely. Having empty lodgings isn't actually a bad thing for everyone; people will be moving in again soon. As for the situation within the gang, I'm not too sure..."

Wayne pondered for a moment, "Where does the leader of that local gang usually hang out at times like this? Take me there to have a chat with him?"

"This...isn't that a bit inconvenient?"

“Very convenient, extremely convenient.” Wayne put his arm around the guide’s shoulder. “Why are your legs so weak? Don’t worry, he’ll welcome us.”

Forget it, checking each one individually is too inefficient, and waiting for James Damody to relay the message is also a waste of time.

Let's just go after whoever's territory it is. We can be a bit domineering, but resources are limited, so we can only make do with what we have.

(End of this chapter)