"How is it?"
"Have you found any useful clues?"
Leo Vargas didn't even look up when he heard the question, speaking directly, "No useful clues. The deceased, 'Damian Flint,' was a member of the Triad Gang and was somewhat well-known in this area."
"He was killed around eleven last night at the corner of the adjacent street, and his body was later dragged here and abandoned. As for the cause of death, he snapped his own neck. According to nearby residents, he had some interaction with the killer, but it's unclear what exactly was said."
"Two streets away from here, the bodies of four of his companions were found. The cause of death was a single shot from a high-powered firearm."
Hearing the 'Commissioner's' explanation, a clean-cut young man in a Loen Kingdom police uniform asked curiously, "Doesn't the wound on his chest look more fatal? Having such a large hole blasted into him, yet the primary cause of death was the killer snapping his neck—how much hatred must there be! Do you think he was a Beyonder? Otherwise, how could he possibly have the strength to run away after being hit like that?"
As the words fell, Leo Vargas looked up and sized up this unfamiliar young policeman with a curious gaze.
The older policeman nearby explained, "Leo, this is a newcomer who just joined, 'Brandon Harlow.' It's normal that you don't recognize him."
"Alright, Brandon, he definitely isn't one of those Beyonders you're talking about. Go help out over there first; I'll call you if I need anything."
With the veteran officer's dismissal, Brandon Harlow had no choice but to leave reluctantly and follow the other officers to investigate.
Once he saw the boy leave, the veteran officer turned and explained, "He was forced in by the higher-ups. The moment he arrived, he looked for ways to meet Beyonders, but his family also sent word asking us not to let him come into contact with those things."
"I really don't know why these young masters want to become Beyonders so badly. Isn't it better to just stay home quietly?"
"You've seen the cause of death; for us, the method of death is indeed too strange. That's why I asked someone from the 'Special Department' like you to come and take a look. Do you want to take over?"
"I feel like he should be one of those Beyonders, and he was also killed by a Beyonder."
As the veteran officer finished speaking, Leo Vargas nodded directly and said, "You're right. He was indeed a Beyonder. Although seven hours have passed since his death and his spirituality has dissipated, it's undeniable that this corpse is different from an ordinary person's."
"Once you finish organizing the materials for this case, you can just give them to me. I'll report it to the Church of Storms later. If there are any similar cases recently, transfer them together."
Hearing Leo Vargas's words, the veteran officer stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and said, "I've heard that similar incidents have occurred in the Docks District recently. But as you know, my authority only allows me to investigate records for nearby streets. You'll need to go to the General Bureau to pull the files and check for yourself. As for here, I'll have someone write up a report for you."
Leo Vargas nodded slightly upon hearing this and said, "I understand. I say, isn't your police station planning to change its management model? Every time I handle a case that isn't in the same district, I have to run through several offices. If you're not tired of it, I certainly am."
Looking at the man's complaints, the veteran officer lowered his head and said, "There's no other way. Right now, one district is divided into dozens of sub-districts. One office might manage several adjacent sub-districts, or it might manage several that are very far apart. We find it troublesome too, but that's how it's arranged, and there's nothing we can do about it."
Listening to the veteran officer's explanation, Leo Vargas cursed directly, "Those idiots with the IQ of a 'Curly-Haired Baboon'—haven't they thought of any optimization plans! If this continues, I'm afraid collecting all the data in the future will take a whole week."
"Based on the information you just provided, I now need to go not only to the East Borough Police Station but also to the General Police Bureau, then to the Docks District Police Station. After collecting the data, I have to go to the Firearms Investigation Department to see if any high-powered weapons have gone missing recently."
"It's a real headache. Sometimes I really wish they were standing in front of me so I could give them a good beating."
The veteran officer smiled and nodded at Leo Vargas's obvious impatience, saying, "Then that wish of yours might be hard to achieve in this lifetime. You'd be better off praying to the 'god of storms' for someone to design a new, more efficient management method to get rid of those useless officials; at least that has more hope."
"It's a bit unrealistic to want all the relevant officials to stand before you. I've been on the job for over twenty years, and there are some departmental superiors I still haven't met to this day."
After saying this, the veteran officer patted Leo Vargas on the shoulder and said, "Let's go. Since it's been confirmed that this was the work of a Beyonder, we'll have to rely on you guys from here on out."
Leo Vargas was about to turn and leave after hearing this, but the veteran officer grabbed him and said, "Investigating with you so early today, shouldn't you treat me to a meal as a gesture of thanks?"
When his sleeve was grabbed, Leo Vargas instinctively tried to shake off the veteran officer's hand, but found the grip was firm. He said helplessly, "Dean, why are you doing this again? Every time I meet you, you want me to treat you to a meal. Your weekly salary plus various subsidies has already reached 3 pounds and 10 soli, hasn't it? You're not short of money at all."
...East Borough, inside a breakfast shop on Iron Cross Street.
"Ugh... a sip of hot soup like this in the morning is truly comfortable."
Leo Vargas watched as the veteran officer finished his meal and wiped his mouth with a paper napkin, then said directly, "Dean, why are you being so frugal? Based on your income, even if you can't have a feast every day, having meat soup every day wouldn't be a problem."
The veteran officer, Dean, didn't answer Leo Vargas's question but asked directly, "How will your Church of Storms handle this matter?"
Hearing Dean's question, Leo Vargas lost interest and said, "How else? After reporting it to the Church, a specialized squad will investigate and resolve the issue."
"What, do you not want us to investigate this?"
Seeing the obvious probing intent in the words, the veteran officer Dean shook his head and said, "If it weren't for the fact that a Beyonder was involved this time, we would have closed the case long ago by labeling it as gang infighting."
"I've worked here in East Borough for over sixteen years and I know that someone dies here almost every day. But as a policeman, what I want to see most is that the people dying every day are preferably gang members."
Sensing that Dean clearly had more to say, Leo Vargas smacked his lips and said, "We can't decide such things; perhaps only a god can. As for this case, you don't need to pay too much attention to it. The Church isn't a charity. If the deceased were ordinary civilians, we'd usually take over directly. For gang members, it depends on whether there's a squad that's free and willing to take it on."