New Gods of North America.

Chapter 681 Interweaving
Those who can enter the scene to conduct an investigation at this point can generally be considered "professionals".
The monks of the cathedral had their own methods, such as lighting candles to test extraordinary strength reactions, but the detective agency was in no way inferior in this regard. The detectives quickly compiled a preliminary "portrait of the murderer" based on the scene, which sounded quite convincing.

"The perpetrator was approximately 6.5 feet tall at the time of the attack, with a large and robust build, right-handed, and exhibited unusual strength and defensive capabilities. No eyewitness reports matching these descriptions have been found in the surrounding area."

"He primarily used physical attacks during the crime, employing a single-edged dagger as his weapon. He engaged in close-quarters combat and unarmed attacks, and no evidence has yet been found of him using lethal extraordinary abilities."

"It is speculated that the extraordinary ability used by the murderer should belong to the category of 'self-enhancement' or 'manipulation,' with obvious abnormality. His reaction to injury is abnormal, and he seems to have no pain. Ordinary firearms attacks are ineffective against him. It is reasonable to speculate that he should also be immune to physical attacks of the same intensity."

The experienced monks in the cathedral should be able to deduce these details gradually.

However, Wayne specifically promoted a variant of "company culture" in the detective agency, where some content could be directly applied using templates, which made a big difference in terms of efficiency.

It even included some technical jargon and slang used to imply professionalism, and when analyzing the killer's movements, it was as if the author was present at the scene.
Upon first hearing it, it sounded quite like someone who was "well-trained and experienced".

Even the new agents who hadn't taken these classes were completely taken aback, while veteran agents like Connor smugly gloated.

For example, if the murderer had previously demonstrated the ability to "walk through walls" in the guard's quarters within the warehouse, then their height and build would be roughly known.
Based on the emotional reactions on the bodies of the deceased, the sequence of events—from "shock at being ambushed," to "angry retaliation," and then to "frantic escape"—can be vaguely discerned.

Then, based on the location of the wound, the presence of certain characteristics at the scene, and other factors, a comprehensive judgment is made to arrive at a preliminary analysis result. This is essentially equivalent to going through a process using a table or following the steps in an example problem. Practice makes perfect; there's no other way than familiarity.

Regardless of whether these things can be used to catch people,
Tell me, does the detective agency's request seem worth the price?

Brother Merlin was clearly susceptible to this tactic. Despite being the person in charge sent by the cathedral, he was willing to relinquish control of the investigation to the detective agency, effectively making them cooperate with the investigation.

There were some monks Wayne had never met before, but after the detective agency quickly came to a conclusion, they had no objections. They felt that everyone was now aligned on the same goal, and they should listen to the advice of professionals.

However, Brother Merlin still had doubts: "Miss Inessa, when you came to the cathedral today to report, you said you had reason to suspect that there might be at least a high-ranking extraordinary villain in the dock area. His Holiness the Bishop trusts your judgment, but judging from the scene, the murderer doesn't seem dangerous enough?"

Inessa had already surveyed the scene once, and was standing to the side with her eyes downcast, seemingly organizing the clues in her little head.

She nodded after hearing this. "The clue I found earlier came from another case. The deceased was the person everyone thought had died in the dock accident. Those bodies had extraordinary ability characteristics that I recognized. I haven't found the same extraordinary ability traces here yet, so I can't determine if it was the same person who did it."

Upon hearing this, Wayne knew that Inessa hadn't told the cathedral the part about the origin of her extraordinary abilities.
So he helped out: "But recently so many things related to extraordinary people have happened in the dock area, the time intervals are too short, and today's case sounds too coincidental. I don't think we can hastily conclude that they are not related."

Brother Merlin dared not gamble recklessly at this moment. The murderer seemed to have handled the crime with ease, and there were no particularly obvious signs of extraordinary abilities at the scene.

It could be a coincidence, or they might have the ability but be too lazy to use it, or they might be accomplices. It's really impossible to draw a conclusion right now.

What else can we do?
Just check.

I still have to keep an eye on those gangsters at night, and now this big guy has appeared.
The Bishop of Tyrell was difficult to talk to, and the newly appointed cathedral treasurer was stingy.

Annoying. ...

As darkness fell, the detective agency members finished their dinners in shifts and continued to focus on maintaining order in the dock area.

The task of finding the high-ranking villains has been temporarily left to Brother Merlin and his team. The detective agency has already reported the situation and will provide support if any further developments occur.

Anyway, if that guy runs away or continues to do bad things, the detective agency won't be blamed.
But if things get chaotic in the dock area, Wayne could not only lose all his previous efforts, but he could also be held accountable for the details later.

The agents' reactions were also quite amusing. They were originally dealing with ordinary gang members; busy as they were, there was no real danger.
At this moment, everyone was afraid that they didn't have enough equipment. They didn't even have a place to hide their lever-action rifles, so they just wrapped them in a cloth and carried them on their shoulders. They were also a little nervous, worried that they might end up like Connor or "Slingshot" before, accidentally "hitting the jackpot".

To appease everyone, Wayne specifically assigned the partners to specific patrol teams, so they would no longer wander around independently based on their own interests.

Lina, that girl, didn't seem to mind making a scene at the funeral. She even teased everyone, saying, "This is the real test of your arena escape skills. Now you know just how strong Peter's surrender technique really is."

On the bright side, even if that hidden high-level extraordinary individual is still in the dock area, judging from the way the corpse was hidden before, he doesn't seem to have any intention of causing trouble. He seems much more low-key than those evil god followers of the Tranquil Church.
The detective agency isn't just starting its night patrols today; they didn't find anything unusual the past two days, so the odds of winning probably aren't very high.

I hope so.

Since Inessa was going to take Brother Merlin and the others to the morgue to see the bodies they had found earlier, Wayne went to the Ellan community to conduct a stakeout patrol while also trying to find out if the Ellan gang had handled any more similar cases.

He was using Lina's tactic now, taking candy to the children to try and find a breakthrough.
The child they were looking for wasn't a stranger; he was the one Wayne had rescued from several gangsters a couple of days ago. According to the intelligence team, almost his entire family were members of the Erlan Gang, and one of them had already become a minor leader within the gang.

It's quite a punishment.
I have a feeling that there's some hope for the future.

I just don't know if it will be a fixed term or indefinite.

This made Wayne wonder if those gangsters weren't "harming innocent people," but rather targeting the family members.

Fortunately, the details aren't important, as long as we can get some clues.

When Wayne arrived with a small gift, he discovered that the family's home was actually not very convenient at the time.

In the room, which could be tentatively called a "living room," a space had been cleared out where two people covered with white sheets lay on a thin blanket.

Several family members sat silently around the white candles, keeping vigil for the deceased.

(End of this chapter)