She is not an investigator.

A man in a white uniform scratched his cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed.

He is a Special Investigations officer from Yanka and was previously responsible for giving opinions at the Joint Forces meetings. Although he seems impressive, the actual status of Special Investigations officers is not much different.

So he felt a little embarrassed about calling Alex, who was on vacation, to work overtime.

Especially since the other party is known for their bad temper.

"Tsk..."

Alex clicked his tongue in annoyance, but he didn't seem to have any intention of hitting anyone, which made Alex breathe a sigh of relief.

"so…"

Alex tapped the table in front of him, asking with some confusion.

"I remember you have quite a few special operations agents here, so why is it my turn to help?"

"Actually... our current situation is quite awkward."

The man shook his head somewhat awkwardly.

"Due to the unique nature of the city of Byanka, our manpower has always been quite scattered, and the shortage of personnel has been a persistent problem. Under these circumstances, the Witch Academy is willing to provide some support and assistance in maintaining order, so many of our special operations agents are actually witches..."

"So they can't help?"

"Yes, but on the condition that they cannot leave the city. As for the dangers and chaos outside the city, we are also very short-handed... We cannot deal with them immediately. We can only deal with the hidden dangers within the city first before we can try to suppress and eliminate them."

"—Inside the city?! What happened in the city again? How did this city become so chaotic?"

"No, it's nothing serious."

He touched his chin and said something rather strange.

"Our security system detected one... no, two, two extremely dangerous and unfamiliar entities that suddenly appeared last night... It's very strange, we had never noticed them before, and they seemed to appear out of thin air, without a trace, yet they are extremely dangerous."

At this point, Alex frowned. If this were indeed the case, then dealing with matters within the city would be far more important than dealing with the riots outside.

The danger that suddenly appears in the city is far more dangerous than some armed thugs. No matter how rampant those people are, they can't ultimately try to break into the city. But the other situation is exactly the opposite.

It's as if all their defensive measures and methods would be rendered useless in the face of this entity that directly infiltrated the city. If it were detonated, the scale of the damage and destruction would be unimaginable.

Compared to Molkens, whose order and stability were built on a precarious balance due to long-term infiltration and reform, the city's stability was already precarious.

But not Yanka. This city is special enough that it not only carries the livelihood of countless generations, but also the survival and safety of two races.

Have you found any clues?

"The exact location has been discovered."

The man waved his hand, and someone tossed him a document.

“During our investigation and survey last night, we found two pieces of information, both in the same location.”

The document in his hand was covered with a bunch of incomprehensible drawings. The only thing Alex could understand was the location that had been modified layer by layer on the map before it was finally determined.

"That place is..."

“An ordinary street, nothing special or noteworthy… no, if I had to say, there was one: a streetlight was out.”

"That's all...?"

That's all.

The man nodded and tossed the documents onto the table.

"The specific time was around 10 to 11 p.m., but due to technical reasons, our investigation wasted a lot of time. We didn't arrive at the scene until around 11:30 p.m., and we didn't find anything worth mentioning."

"—"

Alex fell silent, pondering the importance of the matter and the best way to resolve it, as well as whether similar situations had occurred before.

But in the end, no.

"Perhaps it's... a security system glitch? After all, this system has only been implemented recently."

"If that were the case, that would be great. But our current operations are basically based on the system's reconnaissance, and its accuracy is generally not wrong... Even if last night's was a false alarm, why would it be a false alarm twice? It can only mean that something must have appeared that night, before any of us had a chance to react."

"Ugh... this is driving me crazy."

Alex sighed and rubbed his head, which was starting to ache.

"What did headquarters say?"

Upon hearing this question, the man adjusted his glasses and said in a low voice.

"They said they would give us a reply, but it would take some time, and the reply itself might not be reliable."

"They're going to use those toys again... but it seems like there's really no other way... Ugh, so annoying! Can't I just have a proper vacation?!"

"Calm down, calm down..."

Alex suppressed the urge to kick the table in front of him and irritably rubbed his head.

"Tell me... how can I help?"

"Ah, it's very simple. Although we are currently short-handed, we are not completely without manpower. Our biggest problem right now is that our intelligence work is very poor. We can only rely on rumors to understand the specific situation outside the city, and we have very little specific information about those thugs. That's why you are just right for this job."

Alex raised an eyebrow, indicating that he understood what Alex meant.

"You want me to go out alone, investigate those guys, and bring back the information?"

“I’m so glad you understand what I mean… Of course, I know it’s dangerous, so please make sure you’re safe before you act. We’re also willing to offer some material assistance to help you with your work.”

"Tsk...Alright, enough with the nonsense. Remember to organize the intelligence you have so far...And equip me with a weapon. I don't want to use this stick to test the toughness of those bullets."

"Of course, of course..."

The man chuckled sheepishly, not forgetting to adjust his glasses.

The Bizarre Stage Play – The Book of Secrets: Chapter Thirty-Six, The Crime Scene

"Do you come here often? You seem to know the area very well?"

In the wilderness outside the city, Isabella led the way, followed by Igris and Wilson.

She walked very fast, and seemed to know the way very well, even on routes that were basically indistinguishable in the wilderness. She must have traveled this route many times.

"I guess I just have a better memory of it? After all, it's been a long time since I've been here... Will you be jealous? About me having other friends?"

Igris didn't answer; she was too lazy to answer. The question itself sounded nonsensical enough, like why Igris would be jealous because she had other friends.

How many friends she has is not really any of Igris's business. In fact, if this slightly eccentric phantom thief could make more normal friends, Igris would probably be much happier.

The premise is that she can become a little more normal because of it.

"Ignoring me is not a good idea..."

Isabella complained, but she didn't stop walking. Even though she did appear relaxed enough, almost like she was on a picnic, she was actually still a little worried inside.

There could be many concerns, such as whether they would encounter danger on the way, or whether they would arrive too late to find the bodies.

Even if she could say it lightly, that her friend had died, and even joke about it, Igris was unwilling to believe that she truly considered him a friend and was even willing to risk danger to come here just to collect his body.

That's probably why Isabella was always very talkative along the way, and always trying to strike up a conversation with Igris.

Although she wasn't in the mood, it has to be said that Isabella was actually a pitiful fellow.

"Ah, it's just ahead. Can you see them? Those houses, that's our destination."

Finally, she stopped and pointed to the town that appeared in the distance.

The town was still some distance away from them; at least from here, Igris could see practically nothing more than the buildings.

"Looking at it this way, I suddenly feel a little melancholy... After all, it's been a long time since I've been back. I never thought that after finally coming back, it would be to collect someone else's corpse."

Isabella clicked her tongue in amazement, then looked at Igris and took her arm.

Igris didn't try to pull away, letting Isabella pull her along. The latter noticed this and laughed happily.

“I still have to say, Igris, I’m so glad you were willing to help. You’ve been a great help to me, but I don’t have much to give you in return, if you don’t mind…”

Isabella was cut off from her words by Igris's action.

"You'd better tone it down a bit, at least in the eyes of outsiders."

"Oh...I know, you're shy. It's okay, we can talk properly when we're alone together."

Isabella blinked, playfully released Igris's arm, and continued walking briskly.

She was behaving strangely, Igorice could tell that this wasn't her true personality. Perhaps she was trying to hide something, but it didn't matter, they were already here.

"Ugh……"

"She was in a bad mood."

Seeing Isabella walking far ahead, Wilson came to Igris's side and whispered a reminder.

His stern face always made him seem somewhat unapproachable, but in reality, it was quite the opposite.

“I know…of course I know. It’s not just that she’s in a bad mood; she’s probably very sad. She just lacks a way to vent. That’s not surprising; she’s never been a strong person.”

"You know her very well."

"...Of course, I know her very well, just as she knows me very well. We are very good friends, which is why I came here to be with her."

Wilson nodded silently, hesitated for a long time, and then said somewhat hesitantly.

"She's a lucky one."

"Maybe."

Saying such things at this time is not a good idea, at least not in front of Isabella.

"I hope everything goes smoothly for us. I don't want to get into any more trouble."

Igris sighed and quickened her pace to catch up with Isabella.

Soon, as the three of them moved forward faster and faster, the somewhat old and dilapidated town finally came into view.

Everything here is very backward; even the roads are just ordinary dirt roads, not to mention there aren't many streetlights in the whole town.

This is definitely not a good place to travel. At least in Igris's opinion, apart from being quiet, the environment here has basically no advantages.

"Welcome, welcome to Dead Eye, an old and dilapidated town."

Isabella walked ahead and spoke to Igris and Wilson behind her.

The town was quiet, eerily quiet; you couldn't hear any sound except for the wind.