Suddenly, Yang Zicang’s gaze swept over a pile of documents, and his fingertip precisely extracted one from the stack.

“Is this one asking us to investigate a company? “

Schmidt glanced at it. “Mm-hm, there are indeed a few. Probably because nobody’s manning our investigation firm’s office, so people wanting to commission us have come directly to the leased compound. “

“Looks like these folks are pretty well-informed in White Violet City. Is there anything worth my time? Preferably something simple—I don’t want any more complications right now. “

Several forms were deftly picked out by Schmidt. Even without examining the contents closely, dealing with these documents daily meant he could efficiently sort them into categories.

“They all seem rather troublesome. If I had to pick one, I’d recommend this ship-related one. It shouldn’t take more than two days, and isn’t He Yishu going to need to handle his paperwork anyway? “

“His paperwork can be sent over by courier. “

Yang Zicang said without even looking up; he knew that postmen had certain privileges—even using the mysterious ability of “Fogfolk ” to deliver mail could produce a radiance in the process. What an enviable job, really; in fact, doing this work himself would be perfect.

He suddenly picked up a service assistance application form.

“This one’s good. “

Karl also looked over, and Schmidt frowned, saying:

“This is a corporate espionage case. Investigating it will take time and effort. Why do you think it’s good? Could it be… you chose it because it’s related to technology? Give it up. Even in peacetime, the technology developed by these companies stays within safety limits. Let alone now. “

“That’s not it. “

Yang Zicang flicked his finger against the paper. “The reason I choose it is that this engine manufacturer’s R&D address is in the southeastern corner of our city. Go notify the applicant now—I’ve taken this assistance request. “

“Are you sure? ” Schmidt cast a puzzled glance at him but, without further persuasion, pulled open the wooden door and went out.

……

On the old street in the afternoon, coal smoke and mist from the light rain drifted through the lanes and alleys.

In a three-story old building, a man in a black wool coat pushed open the door with a creak. He took off his gloves and tossed them onto an oak table cluttered with papers, letting out a sigh.

A few heads in the office looked up from behind their desks.

“How was it, Thomas? “

Thomas Rowan placed a somewhat worn old briefcase onto the desk, shaking his head.

“No luck. Too many people. “

“Ah… then, what do we do now? ” the clerk who spoke trailed off. “Should… should we call the police? “

“The police? Hah… what else can we do? We just have to accept the loss. “

No sooner had he finished speaking than a man in a mid-length blue uniform from the Fogfolk leased land knocked on the open wooden door behind them.

“Is this Mr. Thomas Rowan? “

“Yes, I am, ” Thomas Rowan, a pale-faced man in his forties, turned around in surprise to look at the newcomer.

“A senior investigator from Hirst Investigation Agency, codenamed ‘Dustcloak,’ has accepted your commission. Please follow me back to the leased land; you can ride in my car. “

As soon as the postman finished speaking, Thomas Rowan grabbed his old briefcase excitedly and, without even having time to put on his gloves, followed the exclusive tenant-zone postman, hurrying quickly down the stairs.

……

Inside a sparsely furnished meeting room within the leased land.

Yang Zicang sat behind a large oak office desk, his back to a high window that was set with frosted glass. The afternoon sunlight fell upon his shoulders and the neatly trimmed outline of his beard.

The door was pushed open gently as Thomas strode in quickly, his face still flushed from the hurry of the journey.

His keen gray-blue eyes fixed on the “Fogfolk ” behind the desk.

Seeing that face, exactly as it had appeared in the newspaper—the same beard, the same age—Thomas immediately perked up with excitement!

He had actually managed to secure an appointment with a hero, none other than the esteemed “Honorary Fogfolk ” himself!!

“Let’s start with introductions, sir. And while you’re at it, tell me exactly what trouble we’re facing here? ” Yang Zicang opened in a steady tone. “I gather your R&D leak is connected to a ‘turbocharging engine’? “

The man realized in an instant that the other party must have deemed his case particularly troublesome to pick it out from so many others on the list.

Fogfolk truly did love a challenge!

“I… I’m Thomas Rowan, ” he stepped forward, pulling prepared documents from his bag, “Technical Director of Rowan & Acklein Mechanical Engineering Company. We suspect the design blueprints for our new turbocharging engine have been stolen. “

A flicker passed through Yang Zicang’s eyes. “A turbocharging engine, indeed. “

In this era, such an engine wasn’t considered top-tier technology, but because the application mentioned an invention-related matter located near the southern district, Yang Zicang had chosen it.

Behind the desk, Yang Zicang took the documents and gestured for him to sit before leafing through them. They consisted of a few pages of copied blueprints and a handful of letters.

“About two weeks ago, we received a sample drawing from our partners at a Moriko City manufacturer. They claim it is a new design from a company called ‘Aipis Industries.’ But we can tell from the exterior that this is almost a complete copy of our prototype—only a handful of non-core parameters were revised in negligible ways. “

Thomas’s tone carried a strong sense of grievance.

“Our patent application is still under review. If they manage to register it first, we might lose the medium-sized marine vessel market in neighboring countries. “

“What about the possibility of an inside mole? ” Yang Zicang asked as he continued examining the documents.

Thomas’s mouth fell slightly ajar. No wonder he was called a “hero. ” His questions hit the bullseye every time.

“I truly appreciate you, a man from the Mist State, opening such an investigation firm here in White Violet City. “

After uttering a compliment, he hesitated for a moment before adding:

“Our R&D department is quite small. Our technology team has fewer than ten people, and I’ve known each one of them for years. But I can’t completely rule anyone out… that’s why I need you to uncover the truth, and find out who they’ve been liaising with. “

“Alright, let’s start the investigation from the factory floor. “

Yang Zicang planned to have Karl enter the Rowan & Aklein factory as a “technical consultant ” for intelligence gathering.

Karl, who initially felt a bit conflicted, underwent a hasty physical transformation at the hands of the arriving Mr. Hearst. In no time at all, he was stripped of every trace that screamed “fake technical advisor, ” his look completely overhauled.

He shed his usual getup of simple, loose t-shirts perfect for throwing punches, and instead donned an outfit befitting an engineer.

A slightly worn dark brown rough-textured suit, a pair of plain glasses perched on his nose, his hair oiled and combed back, and a notebook in hand—he appeared professional, with a slight scholarly air.

When Yang Zicang saw him step out of the door, his eyes lit up. “Not bad at all. “

“Heh heh, well of course, isn’t that what they mean by ‘clothes make the man’?” Hurst clapped his hands together with a hint of pride.

Karl glanced at himself in the mirror. Having no clue about the company’s development history before, he praised this native who had easily transformed his entire aura just by swapping outfits.

“You’ve really got a knack for it, brother. No wonder Old Hurst became our first employee. The boss sure knew talent when he saw it.“

“Ah, uh… haha, thanks for the compliment.” Hurst rubbed his hands together awkwardly, occasionally casting sidelong glances at the “Hero” gentleman serving as the company’s “Senior Investigator.” Deep down, he felt a flutter of excitement, like meeting a hidden star.

Karl waltzed straight into the factory’s core area under the guise of an “externally hired technical consultant.“

Here, top-secret items like blueprints and design modifications were hard for ordinary workers to get their hands on easily. They had to borrow them following strict rules and regulations, only accessing job-specific components and batches for creating the engine parts needed for production and development.

Relying solely on these work processes to piece together a complete set of blueprints would be a time-consuming and painstaking chore, easily tipping off anyone watching.

So Karl and Thomas quickly ruled out the grassroots and most mid-level technical workers here.

“Who’s that guy?“

“I heard he’s a technical consultant hired by the tech department. He’s a Fogfolk.“

Hearing the term “technical consultant,” the factory workers all nodded knowingly. In any major factory or large-scale project aiming to avoid trouble, these figures were almost always in the picture.

Technical guidance is one thing; another legend has it that these people are actually here to oversee research, development, and construction to ensure they don’t exceed certain limits.

After almost half a day, Carl’s notebook was already filled with entries. He tucked a business card into it like a bookmark and closed the folder.

-｛Distributor April, Bernard Bo Weng is observing my current life experiences.｝

“So, Mr. Carl? What do you think? “

Thomas asked anxiously.

He’d initially been somewhat expecting the hero to come in person, never imagining it would only be his assistant.

This Fogfolk standing beside him had spent the entire afternoon doing things Thomas had long since done himself. He really couldn’t figure out what this man could possibly investigate that he himself didn’t already know.

‘What do I think… I wish I knew what to think.’

Carl grumbled inwardly, but his face brimmed with confidence as he said:

“The hero said that if we record everything here, we’re bound to uncover some clues. So then, let’s move on to the next phase. “

“What phase? “

“Why, having individual chats with them, of course. “

“Huh? Mr. Carl… ” Thomas hesitated, “We haven’t revealed our investigation; right now, you’re just a technical consultant. “

“‘Just a technical consultant’ can’t have chats? Come on, call them over one by one. I have a plan. Start with that tall fellow over there. “

-｛Distributor February, Qiluo February has reviewed my life experience and declined to acquire this incident.｝

By the wall, Thomas turned his head to look at the workers who were doing their tasks scattered around the factory, occasionally breaking into the noisy @clang of metal colliding.

The middle-aged man turned back and said, “We’d better go over there ourselves. The workers are in a foul mood, especially since the parade just ended; now’s exactly when their arrogance is at its peak. “

Karl let out a “tch, ” rubbed his nose, and followed him over.

“Slater, mind a few minutes of your time? “

“What’s up? And who’s this? “

“This is Mr. Karl, a senior technical consultant specially hired by our company. He has extensive experience in precision machinery and power system optimization, especially in refining manufacturing techniques and overall product performance. “

“Why say all that? I’m just a bolt-turner. “

Thomas’s hand froze stiff.

“Just a few questions, ” Karl said. “Have you been to the South District recently? Or do any of your relatives live there? Especially around the Baijin Mountains—any family of yours there? “

“What exactly do you want? “

Slater, who had been reluctant at first, was taken aback. Faced with Karl’s sudden look of displeasure, he spoke with some timidity:

“You—you’re not some secret detective from the police station, are you? Or a private eye? Did I get mixed up in some murder case? “

Karl’s eyes shed their murderous intent as he let out a sinister laugh. “Just answer honestly, and we’re good. “

Thomas nearby stood petrified, jaw hanging open, frozen on the spot.

As several people obediently cooperated with the burly “technical advisor, ” even the old technician who usually despised the office-dwellers in the technical department began tremblingly answering everything he knew without reservation. A man who had been secretly watching from afar became a bit restless.

Andrew, retrieving an encrypted file from the archives, nervously nearly placed a locked blueprint directly onto an oil-covered engine that was still being assembled.

Having just finished questioning another person, Karl glanced around, taking in every subtle reaction from those nearby.

“Next is… “

“I’m a bit tired, let me go rest over there. “

Karl pointed to where Andrew was fiddling absentmindedly and nervously with a metal tool, his back turned to them.

Thomas looked over, puzzled — could that be someone worthy of suspicion?

He suddenly began to grasp the purpose of Karl’s actions, and his admiration swelled. This really was a viable method!

Karl, too, felt a certain admiration for that cheap “chairman ” of his.

Who would have thought these utterly vapid questions would actually prove effective?

Karl flipped open a blueprint of a rival’s equipment prepared by the technical department and walked over to Andrew, the file distributor. He deliberately slowed his pace, his leather shoes tapping against the oil-stained cement floor, each “clack ” regular and clear, every step falling like a hammer on Andrew’s pounding heart.

“Mr. Andrew, right? “

-｛Distributor March: Sage-Chestnut is scrutinizing my life experiences.｝

At this moment, Karl truly seemed like a technician who was highly professional in technical details.

“For that preliminary machining process of the main shaft turbine blade blank you’re touching with your hands, do you happen to know approximately what the spindle speed and feed rate of the steel milling cutter should be? “

“I… ” Andrew’s face twitched as he turned his head. “I’m just a document clerk; I don’t understand the technical details. “

After answering that instinctively hiding his focus on the technology, his heart leaped. He saw the displeased expression on the face of the “Technical Advisor’s ” companion, the head of the technical department.

“Ah, I—let me take another look. Oh, it’s this one~ I didn’t pay attention earlier with all those parts mixed together. “

Andrew turned and took a closer look at the thing he had touched.

It was a very routine technical question; any engineer involved in this project should be able to talk about it at length, or at least state some basic reasoning for the process selection. If he claimed to know nothing about it, it would indeed attract attention.

He pretended to have just noticed it and said, “Approximately twenty-four hundred revolutions per minute, and the feed rate is about zero-point-one-five millimeters per revolution. “

Only then did Thomas’s expression soften. If someone truly that ignorant was working in the factory, it would be an insult to the hiring manager.

Andrew also relaxed with a sigh of relief.

But just then, he suddenly felt a chilling murderous aura envelop him out of nowhere.

He lifted his head, and in that moment the “technical advisor ” before him seemed like a cold-blooded beast ready to hunt him down at any moment.

Under the suffocating pressure of menace, a frigid voice inquired:

“Planning a trip out to the south of the city soon? You surely know some familiar faces over there?! “

-｛Distributor San-yue·Xianli, drawing on their abundant experience, indicates I am in the process of birthing a resplendent new prelude.｝