"Xio, you're back."
Fors turned around lazily, poking her head over the back of the sofa, curiously sizing up her friend.
Xio usually left early in the morning and only returned exhausted when it was pitch black. Her early return today was quite unusual.
"Xio? Why the long face?" Seeing that her friend's mood was clearly off, Fors shed her lazy demeanor, sat up, and asked worriedly, "What happened?"
"Sigh—" Xio hung up her coat and let out a heavy sigh.
"Did you run into some difficulties with a mission?" Fors guessed. She sat up from the sofa, forced a smile, and consoled her, "Just take it easy. Look at me, I lost all the royalties from my last book in the stock market, but I'm still—I'm still living just fine, aren't I?"
She forced a smile onto her face, but it was clearly insincere. Her heart was aching over those three hundred pounds. To forget reality, she had been drifting in and out of sleep for the past two days; this was a rare moment of clarity for her.
Xio lifted her eyelids, glanced at the smiling Fors, and ignored her comment, speaking instead in a deeper, drawn-out voice: "I went to Scott's firearm factory today, and I ended up—hearing some bad news."
The smile on Fors's face instantly froze and quickly vanished. A strange feeling of unease gripped her. "Wh-what news?"
"Scott ran into trouble," Xio said in a low tone.
"What?! He ran into trouble!" Fors's sleepiness vanished instantly.
"What kind of trouble? Is it serious? Is his life in danger?!" She shot up from the sofa, hurried barefoot to Xio, and due to the height difference, she had to slightly lower her head as she anxiously pressed for answers.
"Uh—" Xio was stunned by her intense reaction.
This reaction seemed familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before—
"Ahem." Fors realized her lapse in composure and coughed twice. "Scott—he's also my friend. It's perfectly normal for me to be concerned about his safety."
She calmed herself down and pressed, "So, what exactly happened? Tell me quickly!"
"Here's what happened." Xio looked Fors over, saw her undisguised anxiety, and sighed. She then fully recounted the details to Fors: the news she heard from Old Kohler today at the Logot Firearm Factory, and the subsequent visit she paid to the police station, where she only received vague warnings and reassurances from Scott.
"Ah—how could something like this happen?" After listening, Fors's face instantly turned pale and downcast. She fretfully tugged at her voluminous brown hair and paced in place. "Locked up by the police—and it involves a case with important figures—"
Why is she so unlucky lately! She lost all her money, and now someone she cares about has been framed and locked up in the police station—
Heavens! Is it my ill-fate day recently?! Fors screamed internally.
"Scott told me not to get involved. He said it's complicated and the waters are deep—" Xio clenched her fists until her knuckles were white. "But—but I still want to help him. "Xio, what are you planning to do?"
"I plan to—go find Miss Audrey Hall. In this situation, only she can help Mr. Scott—" Xio stated her intention.
"Miss Audrey—" Fors pursed her lips, then sighed as well.
"It seems—that's the only way."
As a bestselling Author, she couldn't think of a better idea either. High-level matters could only be resolved by people of the same high level. And besides the kind Miss Audrey Hall, they didn't know any other nobles or influential figures.
She glanced at the nightgown she was wearing and said, "Wait for me, I'll change my clothes and go with you."
"That's strange. Why isn't there any news about such a major event in the newspapers?"
Klein stared at the Backlund Daily in his hand, feeling puzzled.
The newspaper was completely dominated by news of the stock market crash, with not a single mention of human trafficking or child abduction cases. He had originally thought the Capin Villa incident would at least make the front page, but it hadn't even caused a ripple.
"Those girls—they should all be safe, right?"
After leaving Capin Villa, he specifically performed a divination, confirming that the rescued girls were all—
Safe.
"And that James Scott—I haven't seen him since that day."
"Could he have been—arrested by the official people?" Klein suddenly thought of something and felt inexplicably guilty.
"His condition clearly wasn't good then; he was obviously affected by the gas explosion."
"That explosion certainly would have attracted the official Beyonder squad, and Cherwood Borough is the Punishers' territory—"
"If James Scott didn't manage to escape then, and was caught red-handed by the Punishers—*hiss*—"
A cold sweat slid down his forehead. He didn't dare to dwell on how the Punishers would treat a wild Beyonder who appeared at a crime scene where intense Beyonder combat and an explosion had just occurred.
And—this might even be his fault.
"Divination—no—"
He pulled out the business card Scott had given him when they parted ways that day.
"I should—go to his factory myself to confirm."
The detention room.
"The 'Fate' Pathway truly experiences great ups and downs."
"From the 'Lucky One' who enjoys good fortune, to the 'Calamity Priest' who attracts Calamity, and now the 'Winner' who can manipulate luck—it seems that the next Sequence might be related to a more fundamental and terrifying 'Ill Fate.'"
"The 'Winner' advancement ritual must act as an anchor, intended to prevent the advancer from becoming lost in the pleasure of interfering with the flow of fate after suddenly gaining the ability to manipulate luck. It also serves a balancing function."
"I'm probably the only person to have advanced inside a 'prison.'"
Lorne was still in custody. Although he had successfully advanced, he still had no clue how to resolve his own troubles.
Based on the information retrieved from Capin Villa, he had likely become entangled in high-level disputes, just as Queen Mystic had said. Specifically, a conflict between the kingdom's law enforcement agencies and the Church.
Clearly, the Church had discovered some clues and wanted to investigate the matter thoroughly. However, the kingdom's law enforcement agencies, including the police department, certainly wouldn't allow it. After all, based on the information Lorne currently possessed, a Deputy Director of the police department and a Member of the House of Commons had previously "enjoyed" the "services" Capin provided.
"The gas explosion should have also affected Capin's study. With the physical evidence gone, they shouldn't have proof that I knew about this."
"But sometimes, the facts don't matter; what matters is what the people above think."
"However, for the Church to be so invested, there must be Beyonder factors involved. I remember the Pathway owned by the Loen official seems to be 'Arbiter,' the same as Xio's—"
Lorne fell into thought, but he gave up moments later. There was too little information currently available to draw any useful conclusions.
The only certainty was that he, the sole current and potential eyewitness, or "living human evidence," had naturally become a target of contention between the official and the Church. This struggle had continued until now without a resolution.
"Wait—they wouldn't just—to silence me—" Lorne's face instantly turned cold.
"They shouldn't, right? A suicide by six gunshots would just be a clear admission of guilt, wouldn't it?"
Just as Lorne was analyzing the situation, the voice of a police officer came from outside the Door.
"James Scott, you have an interrogation."
Interrogation—Lorne focused his attention.
It seemed they had reached an agreement.
Passing through the dark corridor covered in mold, Lorne arrived once again at the same interrogation room as last time.
The interrogation officer who met his eyes was the same rigid-faced Beyonder in the black shirt from last time.
In addition, there was a tall, imposing figure with a fierce aura leaning against the wall with crossed arms, seemingly intending to observe.
A Punisher, at least Captain level—Lorne understood immediately.
"Before the interrogation begins, we need to meet with a few witnesses," the interrogation officer said coldly, staring at Lorne.
"Witnesses?" Lorne frowned slightly, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
"Hurry up! Get inside, all of you!"
—
Accompanied by sounds of shoving, several teenage girls were brought in somewhat roughly by several Punishers who appeared to be wearing police uniforms.
Lorne knew these people. They were the girls he had rescued from Capin Villa.
Seeing them crying and terrified, Lorne's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Hmph, despicable.