Mysteries: Arcana Wars

"Detective Mitchell...you...are not going to arrest me...?"

Sadie held the bag in one hand and held the table with the other, leaning forward slightly and turning her head to ask tentatively.

"Catch you? Why would I catch you?"

Leonard didn't even look up.

"Did I catch you stealing something while I was on duty? Or did I have a case assigned to you?"

"No, no, I am a good citizen, why would I steal anything?"

Sadie smiled guiltily, but in Klein's eyes, it seemed that she was trying to hide something. After a few awkward laughs, she asked cautiously again.

"So... you really aren't doing that... that... sting operation?"

"Besides the regulations that require me to answer the police call, what else do you have that's worth my overtime? Or are you going to sacrifice yourself to force me to investigate my boss, Nicolo Hawke?"

It is your duty and you should do your best, but you should not ask about anything that is not related to your duties, you should not listen to any cases that you are not responsible for, and you should not care about anything that happens outside your working hours. As long as you are off work, the lives of people in the world have nothing to do with you.

This was Leonard's creed before he woke up. In Klein's opinion, compared with the traditional police, he seemed to be a little passive, but just focusing on solving cases and being loyal to the regulations had already beaten most of the Sivellas in terms of professionalism.

"Oh, pity my husband who has suffered all his life... He is an honest, hardworking, law-abiding man..."

"Stop acting. What are you still pretending for? Speak to me properly!"

Leonard frowned, slapped his pen, and stared at Sadie expressionlessly.

"Are you going to continue lying when you come to report the case?"

"Hey, no, no, how dare I?"

After repeated attempts, Sadie finally confirmed that she would not be arrested suddenly because of this incident, and she relaxed completely. The pitiful, weak, helpless and resentful woman's demeanor just now disappeared in an instant. She directly leaned forward with her hands on the table, showing a flattering smile and cunning eyes.

This acting skill, comparable to Sichuan Opera face-changing, made Klein marvel at the infinite wisdom of the working people. It was obvious at first glance that he was a seasoned thief.

Leonard is accustomed to such petty thieves' tricks.

Whenever these old foxes from the marginalized areas are arrested or ask for help from others for something, they always act like weak and helpless victims to win sympathy. Some newly recruited young police officers will feel sorry for them and just give them a verbal warning.

But in fact, these old foxes don’t care about going to jail at all. They will be brave again after serving their jail time. If they have never eaten a bowl of fried fish from Sivelas, they would be embarrassed to say that they are living on the margins.

All they care about is being detained once, which means they will lose several days of stealing money.

Perhaps under this sad attack, Sheriff Hawke reluctantly agreed to take a look at her, but unfortunately this was of no use to Leonard.

You are all thousand-year-old foxes, what else can you play for me?

Well, now that I have gotten such a big favor, I won’t pretend anymore.

"This story started a few days ago."

Sadie began to talk to the two of them, but when she saw Leonard's cold face, she was still a little afraid.

"We were at Greenwood Bookstore, looking for a target... We were preparing to start our day's work at Greenwood Bookstore..."

Before they had said a few words, Sadie discovered that not only did Leonard remember a word, he even reached out his hand to her.

"Jewelry tribute."

He knocked on the table again.

"Put it up. I saw you hide the package."

"Didn't you say you didn't want a 'gift'?" Sadie became nervous.

"I don't want any gifts, but will you return the tribute obediently? If you think I am embezzling it, you can go with me to the Church of Night to return the things later.

"I don't like to meddle in other people's business, but unfortunately I am in charge of this tribute case."

Sadie put on an aggrieved expression, reluctantly put the package on the table and pushed it aside.

"What else?" Leonard pointed at Sadie's chest, "I told you that holding it will only bring you bad luck."

Sadie looked reluctant as she pulled the last ring out of her breast pocket and put it in her bag.

After several attempts, Sadie finally began to tell the story honestly.

The missing person is Robert Russell, Sadie Russell's husband, the father of a boy, and also the "old man" who has been in and out of Sivella's field seven times. His main crimes include stealing wallets, stealing batteries, stealing communication terminals, stealing fiber optic cables, etc.

Nicolo Hawke had long since left frontline work, but if he had not been blinded by the "high-paying promises" and the weak-arm tactics, and had scanned the woman's face on the terminal, he would have discovered that Sadie Russell's resume was also very rich, about the same as her husband's.

They are indeed a couple.

Robert Russell is a tall and thin man with deep eye sockets. He has undergone prosthetic reconstruction of his right hand and right leg. So the couple each has their own duties at work. Sadie, who has flexible original fingers, is responsible for stealing and cheating, while Robert, who has prosthetics, does some simple hacking and disassembly.

In fact, their family conditions were not sufficient to afford two excellent prosthetic devices. Robert only used the basic model that met daily needs, which is the cheapest body replacement option for most disabled people. Advanced multifunctional prosthetic devices and prosthetic devices that surpass physical functions are still priced sky-high in the market.

"How did Robert's limbs get broken?"

After searching the archives and finding no answer, Leonard simply asked.

"Oh, this, it was because I stole something by mistake a few years ago... I offended someone a few years ago..."

"...What happened when you stole something a few years ago?" Leonard forcefully pointed out Sadie's cover-up.

"Yes, when we were stealing a few years ago, we stole from someone we shouldn't have. Robert was taller, and he was a step slower when he went through the tunnel. He was caught somehow, and then the man chopped off Robert's exposed hand and foot."

After his true colors were exposed, Sadie decided to give up and openly described his "epic" career of stealing.

"Damn it, we later found out that the bastard was a big shot who crawled out from some dark hole deep in the dungeon. Damn it, if we had known earlier we would have found someone else to kill him."

The woman's tone became increasingly rude, but her demeanor didn't change much as she mentioned this, as if she was just confiding some daily annoyance to a neighbor while doing laundry.

Among the crude words, there was regret for the reckless behavior, relief for the two men having saved their lives, and reflection on improving their skills in the future, but the only thing he never thought of was stopping.

She even pointed at Leonard while she was talking, and spoke in a low voice, half threateningly and half exaggeratedly.

"Detective, let me tell you, I doubt that those legends about the underground city are true. There really are some amazing people with super powers underground!

"I saw it with my own eyes. We had clearly gotten rid of that big shot! But he appeared at the tunnel entrance in the blink of an eye. When we blinked, Robert's hands and feet flew out!"

It seems that they stole a Beyonder with a bad temper, Klein concluded in his mind.

As Leonard was entering the information, Klein took out two gold star coins and fiddled with them, doing a few simple divinations.

The images and revelations obtained are rather fragmentary.

Klein first saw Sadie and Robert wandering around a bookstore called Greenwood, and then someone came up to talk to Robert. When Sadie reacted, Robert had already walked away with the stranger.

Then the scene changed, and the divination was interrupted. Klein could only see Robert in a dark and depressing place, breathing hard and in a very bad condition. However, the intermittent and blurry images prevented Klein from obtaining more useful information about the location.

The police station where Leonard worked was a little far from Klein's apartment and beyond the control of the secret doll. Divination there would be more accurate and safer.

Klein signaled to Leonard that he already had an idea, and after a brief dream communication, the two of them came up with an investigation plan.

Looking at the two people in silence, Sadie couldn't help but interrupt.

"How's it going? Detective, can you find it?"

"I have an idea. We should be able to find it, but we may not be able to come back alive. Be mentally prepared." Leonard replied.

"Will this be difficult, detective? Could it be that he was captured by those big shots in the underground city? I say, detective, you should do it according to your ability. If you really meet someone from the underground city, then forget it. I will just accept my fate."

"Forget it?" Klein raised his eyebrows. "Don't you really want to find your husband?"

"Of course I want to, but I know the situation is very dangerous."

Sadie spun her coffee cup around and then downed the remaining bitter coffee.

"The slums where we live are full of entrances to the underground city. They are too close to the underground city, so the nickname "Border Zone" is not random. A few deaths every day is not a big deal.

"But you, detective, if this matter is indeed related to the gangs or some cultists in the underground city, you'd better run away quickly. After all, the living are always more important than the dead."

If they really met, it's hard to say who would be the one to escape...

Gold coins flew between Klein's fingertips, and some premonitions arose. He asked.

"If we find the criminal, will you seek revenge?"

"Revenge? Why should I seek revenge?" The woman looked at Klein as if he was a fool who didn't care about his own life. "Whether Robert is alive or dead, the days ahead are more important. Since those people were able to kidnap Robert, they are certainly much more powerful than us. If I go looking for trouble with them again, will I be wasting my life?"

Then why should I go looking for that man? Sadie suddenly thought that the living are always more important than the dead. Whether that man comes back or not, the days of not being able to make ends meet will be a more serious disaster.

Or, in fact, she doesn't need to spend so much energy and money to look for the man who has a high probability of never being found. She has a son to raise at home and things to steal. She can just punch those thugs who speak dirty words to her in the slums on the border.

“…Maybe I still want an answer…”

Sadie looked at the two people going away and talked to himself.