Maple Sugar Street, packed with dessert shops and handmade ornaments, was widely considered a lively stretch where the rent was affordable.

The glass revolving door of “Allen & Partner’s Attorney Office, ” situated in the middle of the block, shuddered with a deep hum. Two burly men in black leather jackets bounded “clomp-clomp-clomp” up the wooden stairs.

Upstairs, a young lawyer in a bow tie came rushing out of the break room.

As he watched the two men with “Conscription Bureau ” patches on their sleeves stepping closer on the solid wood floor, the young lawyer unconsciously began to tremor, shaking like a sieve.

“Don’t be scared, friend. We’re here for other business today. “

Spilling coffee down the front of his suit, the young lawyer stammered, “R… really? Wh-what for? “

The burly man grabbed his arm, scanning the office workers who hurriedly averted their gazes and pretended to be busy. “Just come with us and you’ll find out. “

The young man’s legs gave way, and his coffee cup went rolling across the floor with a clatter.

……

Inside a house that looked quite plain and honest…

Click-clack, click-clack, clatter.

Suddenly, the chatter of the typewriter ceased. The silver-haired old lawyer turned his head, pushed his reading glasses down his nose with a finger, and peered over the rims at the two men standing in the doorway.

……

At the crossroads where the Hertzen Maritime Commercial Bank of the South City and the Holzberg National Bank stood.

The door to the office, crammed with papers, was suddenly shoved open. An intern sorting documents looked up just in time to grab at the papers threatening to fly away. Two armed men stood guard before the double doors. A gentleman in a top hat, with a pocket watch chain on his chest, alighted from a black sedan outside.

The setting sun enveloped every corner of White Violet City.

From law offices all across the city, figures filed out, converging on a large courtyard in the southwest.

……

……

At the Stone Mill, two training squads from the Gendarmerie stood guard behind the roadblocks at the village entrance.

A small car came chugging and wobbling up. Everyone—the guards and the villagers—turned to look. It was one of those rare boxy vehicles seating only four or five, even more uncommon than a truck.

And right now, there were only two people inside it.

Hurst incredulously allowed Anxi to help unbuckle his seatbelt. He turned his head to look at this man who had only been working at his shop for a few days.

“You actually drove this damn metal box over here—it’s terrifying. It’s way faster than a carriage. “

“Less talking, get out now. “

“Are wereallygoing to investigate this place? Look, they’ve even got guns. ” Hurst, deaf to the plea, pointed up ahead.

“I can floor the gas and mow them down right away. Who’s afraid of that? Get the hell out. “

Anxi leaned over, yanked open the passenger door, and, after struggling to shove it wide, pushed the terrified man out—who had been stiff with nerves as he experienced “high speed” for the first time in the front seat.

Off in the distance, the villagers saw a well-dressed city man tumble from the car, followed by another man who was also sharply attired.

The training squad leader recognized the division’s vehicle and jogged over.

“Who might you two gentlemen be? “

“We’re from the Hirst Investigation Agency. Assigned by the division headquarters to investigate the specific situation here. My name is Anxi. ” Displaying his false ears, Anxi presented an official document from the division. A few men from the Security Service glanced at it, promptly clicked their heels together, and snapped a military salute.

Hurst scrambled up from the ground unsteadily, bracing himself against the hood. “I, I’m Hurst. To all you gentlemen of the Security Service. “

The captain of the guard immediately released the document that Anxi had been holding, and made his way quickly to the front of the vehicle, trying to force a very kind smile while greeting Hurst in a soft and gentle tone.

“So you must be the expert from the professional detective agency. Mr. Hurst, I take it you’re the head of the detective agency, right? Please, come this way. Let me give you a brief rundown of the situation here. “

“No, no, ” Hurst said, waving his hand as he caught his breath, then jerking his chin toward Anxi, who was standing off to the side, wearing a waiter’s suit. “I’m not the boss of the Hurst Detective Agency. He is. “

“Huh? ” The captain looked Hurst up and down—dressed in a formal suit and leather boots—then glanced at Anxi, who, in his waiter-style jacket and dusty shoes, didn’t look like he’d had a good meal in days. The captain’s face twitched a few times.

……

The villagers on the other side of the barricade saw these two unusually dressed men exchange a few words with the guards, then cross the barricade and head their way. Immediately, they tightened their grips on their hoes and gathered together in alert.

“Stop right there! Cross the ditch, and we’ll strike! “

“Everyone, good folks, ” Anxi called out, waving both hands with a warm smile. “We’re from the Hurst Detective Agency. We’ve been commissioned by the 47th Division to look into the situation here~ Don’t worry, our agency has already arranged formal negotiations between you all and the Land Office! “

Hurst, trailing two steps behind, looked in astonishment at the bloke beside him.

He’d learned en route that he was part of an investigation, and one, at that, which this audacious character had volunteered for by blustering into divisional HQ with his own bill of sale in hand.

Yet he hadn’t expected the guy to talk such a big game, brokering negotiations… Wait, would this wind up landing him in hot water? He wondered.

Hearing this in unison, the few dozen villagers standing there by the culvert burst into commotion.

“Good heavens, they’re the ones from that detective agency? “

Joyous expressions quickly dawned across many of their faces.

What? They knew an investigation team was coming? Hurst stared in astonishment as the crowd’s demeanor shifted in an instant.

Anxi’s face brightened suddenly. The distribution rep was paying attention to his side of things again. This operation was a go! See, this was what it meant to learn from the pros!

A few villagers came over and, seeing the heartfelt smiling on Anxi’s face, felt an inner warmth.

“You really came… ” A trembling old man grasped Anxi’s hands, with glistening tears.

It was a rare kindness in these parts to find someone willing to speak up for the honest common folk. The crowd began pouring out their grievances all at once.

As Hurst listened, a feeling of foreboding crept in. What was this about a ‘former senior investigator’ carrying our injustice,’ and ‘he’d told the truth all along,’ boasting the ‘mighty speed of his actions with an official order straight from Army HQ’…

Hurst stepped forward in slight bewilderment. “What senior… “

Anxi immediately turned his head and shot him a glare. “What would an ordinary employee like you know? The senior investigators in our company must maintain confidentiality. What if they’re targeted? “

The villagers who had been unconsciously mentioning certain things about Yang Zicang suddenly snapped awake!

That’s right—how could the senior figures of an investigation company casually reveal their identities? Those who had started to speak loosely suddenly clamped their mouths shut.

“Huh? So our Hurst Company actually… ” Hurst swallowed the rest of his sentence.

So it wasn’t just two of them, thought the twenty-year-old who had worked as a tailor for over a decade.

……

That night, Anxi and his companion settled down in the village.

On the other side, Yang Zicang stayed with Old Pipe-smoker and Darui at Stone’s place, the man with the amputated leg.

The old woman had run all over the village that afternoon, gathering a rich array of dishes to cook a hearty evening meal for the Fogfolk. Stone grew increasingly restless, wanting to offer a toast at the table yet seeming unaccustomed to such gestures, stammering somewhat at a loss for words. But fortunately, Old Samson, being a man of considerable experience, skillfully livened up the atmosphere around the table. Even with only an oil lamp for light, everyone gathered around ate to their hearts’ content.

Near midnight, Yang Zicang lay down on a straw-filled bed covered with a warmer, old bedsheet. A faint light flickered on his chest as he contacted Yao Xiaoqin, who had stayed behind in the seaside village, briefly catching up about how many of the events recorded in her memoir she had changed that day. Then, a sharp ray shot toward him.

“Anxi’s looking for me. Let’s leave it at that for now. Get some rest early, Xiaoqin. “

{Elder Dust Brother, you sleep early too, okay? I really want to come over to you soon. So envious that you’re nurturing Radiance again. }

“Don’t worry, when other opportunities arise, I’ll try my best to get you involved too. First, you focus on your end—once you accumulate enough, Radiance should emerge from there as well. “

{Mm-hmm, it’s so wonderful to have Elder Dust Brother. I wish I could always be by your side~ }

Yang Zicang rolled over in bed.

｛Goodbye, goodbye. Anxi is urging me now.｝

{Mwa mwa. }

“Bye-bye, ” Yang Zicang said from the old bed in the corner of the room, waving his hand.

{See you tomorrow. I’ll wait for you. }

On the other end, Yao Xiaoqin stood in another room, raising both hands above her head and arching them into the shape of a heart.

Finally, Anxi’s link connected.

{President, are you busy? }

“Yeah. There was someone else just now, ” Yang Zicang said casually, only realizing he’d imitated Loki. Tata Mingqi’s tone afterward. “Ahem—it was Yao Xiaoqin. I was checking in on her situation. “

{Ohhh, it was her. I thought when you said ‘someone else,’ you meant nearby villagers. President, where are you now? }

“Qiaoshi Village, not far from your place—just over a ridge. How are things? “

{A few people came at nightfall. They found us and first demanded to see our qualifications. }

Yang Zicang frowned.

{I said I was in the city and would show them the credentials when this business was finished and we returned together. Then the other person beside the first one said they couldn’t find our registration records—that there was no investigative company called by that name in all of White Violet City. I told them we were from Steel Town, which had already been raided when Feldheim’s army came through, and the records might not even be findable. }

“Oh? Hmm… ” As Yang Zicang was mulling over a solution, Anxi on the other end of the mental link had already started laughing.

{Never mind them. I just told them our credentials are already being reissued and they’d get them when we’re back. They had nothing more to say after that. }