The haze has not dissipated, the bustle of the past has been replaced by hatred and paranoia, and prosperity no longer favors this half-dead city.
Here is Yodun.
The former seaport pearl has become an incubator for conflicts among various countries to intensify.
The protests continued one after another and could be heard across several streets. The city guard was busy and isolated them from the Municipal Square.
Daniel stood by the window, holding the long cigarette rod in his mouth, looking into the distance.
The scene in his eyes was one of thick smoke and chaotic flow of people.
"This is not the period of the Eight-Year War. The city-states in the entire Western Continent, including the red earth, are petitioning the empire."
Next door to his office, the voices of colleagues arguing reached Daniel's ears through the poorly soundproofed walls.
"Gordon has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time to make the empire the target of public criticism."
"What do the Prime Minister and the Cabinet think?"
"What else can you think? Her Majesty the Queen has not spoken. They, including our bureau, must do their part and catch the culprit of the disaster."
……
Dardaniel was not interested in such political topics. He turned around and wanted to close the office door, but a female clerk suddenly jumped to the door.
"Inspector Martin! Someone is looking for you outside."
"Call me Dardaniel, Ms. Kayla, how many times have I told you."
"Ah~! Sorry sir!"
Dardaniel waved his hand impatiently and blew out smoke from his mouth, causing the lady at the door to retreat.
"Who is looking for me?"
"She was waiting in the lobby. It is said that she came to get back her belongings."
Just hearing these words, Daniel didn't know who the other party was.
But when he arrived at the lobby and saw the visitors, he understood everything in an instant.
"I didn't expect you to come to visit me, Miss Herman..."
Abigail was half-body wrapped in bandages and wore a black coat. She was sitting alone on a seat near a giant pillar in the hall. Her weird outfit made other people passing by couldn't help but look at her.
Hearing the sound, Abigail looked at Dardaniel and struggled to hold on to the pillar to stand up.
"It seems that your body has not fully recovered, so you should sit down!"
Daniel persuaded her to go back, then sat on the other side and asked her, "Why aren't your family members with you?"
"Aunt..." Abigail's vocal cords were permanently damaged, and her speech was still hoarse and difficult. "She was somewhere else, and I came here by myself."
"Okay! You are here to visit behind your back, what do you need me to do for you?"
Abigail's throat moved. She swallowed hard and almost choked herself.
After slowing down for a while and organizing her words, she said: "I...I came to you to take back...that statue."
"Statue? What kind of statue?" Daniel narrowed his eyes, his heart was like a mirror, everything was clear, but he just pretended to be confused.
Abigail hesitated for a long time, and finally told the fact that the statue belonged to her.
She had no choice but to tell the truth so that she could have a chance to get her things back.
After listening to Abigail's story, Daniel's face was full of confusion.
"So that sculpture belongs to you, but why did you come all the way to Jotun and bring such a weird and evil thing with you?"
Abigail was very anxious, but it was very difficult to speak. It took a lot of effort to explain clearly.
After hearing this, Dardaniel stood up and covered his forehead, muttering: "You mean, this sculpture is actually a cult item seized by the Velen Police Station. You were also present at the time, and later the sculpture was handed over to a professional collector.
In your hands, and that collector happens to be your friend... In order to write a newspaper article, you asked him to use it as material, right?"
Abigail pinched her throat and nodded.
"So, you brought the statue to Professor Carmen to get professional guidance from him?" Dardaniel speculated.
Abigail didn't know how to explain it. She wouldn't expose Miju and Mr. Yi's secret, so she just followed Daniel's guess and agreed.
"Hey! It's a pity. I didn't expect that this thing has nothing to do with Professor Carmen. This will make it more difficult for us to solve the case. Why didn't you explain it clearly last time?" Daniel asked, staring into Abigail's eyes. p>
The latter was slightly stunned, and thought silently: You didn't even give me time to explain last time, so you just called it a day and ran away.
Daniel stood there smoking a long cigarette hastily. He stopped a young colleague who happened to be passing by and asked him to go to such and such a place to get something.
Not long after, the young man came to the hall carrying a cardboard box and handed it to Daniel.
"Ah~! Miss Abigail, your things are all in there, please take inventory."
Abigail opened it and saw that there were exactly the things she wanted to find.
The sheep skull statue, incense, and even some personal belongings are still there.
"You know, it's very difficult for objects to be preserved in that kind of environment."
Danielle delivered the things to Abigail.
"Thank you... thank you..."
Abigail had a little difficulty holding the cardboard box.
When Daniel saw this, he asked her to wait a moment and prepared to ask a subordinate to send her back.
"Why would you... return it to me..."
Abigail expressed confusion about Dardaniel's behavior, while the latter showed a look of pity on his face.
"I sympathize with your experience and know that it is very painful, so I really can't bear to seize your property anymore."
After finishing speaking, he took another puff from the long cigarette, comforted Abigail, and immediately went upstairs to find his subordinate agent.
"Agent Calgar, I have an errand for you."
"Yes, Inspector Martin!"
Daniel frowned immediately when he heard the title, but he didn't bother to correct him.
"There is an injured lady downstairs in the hall, and I need you to take her home."
"Send a lady home?" The young subordinate expressed confusion about Daniel's order.
Daniel's tone instantly turned cold: "Yes, but after sending her to her address, I want you to immediately change your attitude towards this lady and monitor her as a suspect!"
When the subordinate heard this, he was stunned. Daniel woke him up and asked, "Any questions?"
"Detective, why don't you just arrest her for interrogation?"
"Do you even need to ask? At present, I don't have enough evidence to detain her rashly, but my hunch tells me that this lady is inseparable from the Blackwater disaster in Jotun!"
Dardaniel shook off the cigarette ashes and looked at the hall below from the railing of the corridor on the second floor: "It's definitely not a coincidence that she happened to appear at the ceremony. That statue reeked of evil invisible arts... This woman actually knew how to do it.
She came here specifically to ask for it, there must be some unknown reason inside it... Don't worry, you will most likely discover the true purpose of the statue while you are monitoring her."
The subordinate understood his boss's purpose. He put on his coat energetically and asked one last question before going downstairs.