There was no stopping it now.
Don’t even ntion waiting for the printmaker to repair the magical formula; the second floor from the front desk had collapsed, bringing with it the main door, both pressing down into ruins.
A perfectly fine building, now exposed with a not insignificant gap.
If not for the headquarters building of the investigation bureau undergoing special treatnt, such extensive damage would normally lead to the collapse of the entire building!
anwhile, with the loss of ability to expel idlers from the front entrance,
this scene was thoroughly exposed on Long Beach Street.
Anyone passing by was shocked by the exaggerated sight.
Right next to the police departnt.
The building had collapsed?
Looking at the investigation bureau’s building collapsing with a gap like shoddy tofu-dreg construction, it was impossible for anyone to ignore.
"..."
In the silence, Ronald looked at the investigator beside him.
Those who stayed behind at headquarters clearly hadn’t expected such an event to occur.
The investigation bureau might appear as an ordinary building.
But in reality, the defensive magical formulas left inside were nurous, and the building materials were specially reinforced. To flatten such a large area with such exaggerated effect was almost fanciful.
The only explanation was that the opponents had made the necessary preparations in advance.
The acid released from the exploded corpse earlier must have been specially treated to target the defenses of the investigation bureau.
Considering the double-crossing investigator we encountered last night.
It seems these cult magicians had been preparing for more than just a day or two.
Of course, the people left at the investigation bureau were not completely helpless.
Facing such a situation, it took less than a minute for soone to walk out from the back of the investigation bureau’s building, and then quietly enter the police departnt next door.
About ten minutes later, the communication between the two parties was complete.
The governnt’s overt forces took the stage.
Police officers who were originally stationed at the police departnt headquarters quickly deployed, and soon set up barricades around the investigation bureau’s building.
At the sa ti, guards who prevented ordinary people and unethical journalists from approaching were also deployed.
Seeing this setup, ordinary people could only walk around.
After another ten minutes or so, Ronald noticed a figure hurrying from a distance.
—It was the investigator who had left this morning.
Many people had gone to the cetery in the suburbs for a funeral that morning, and they were supposed to return around this ti.
Since he was on duty at the front desk, Ronald rembered that this was one of them.
As for why only one person ca over, there was a good explanation.
In the current situation, the investigators returning to the bureau en masse would inevitably attract more attention from the public.
It would be better to send soone to sneak in and pass the ssage.
The person approaching the headquarters now was likely responsible for this task.
Soon, the investigator successfully bypassed the barricade and ca to the building.
With a grim nod towards Ronald, he walked directly into the devastated building.
The investigator’s actions were very swift.
After a few minutes of passing information, every remaining mber at the headquarters had received their new tasks.
So were ordered to guard the damaged front door, others to protect vital docunts or items in the bureau, and others to inspect the ruined hall to investigate the opposition’s details and background; except for those like the data library guards who couldn’t leave their posts, there wasn’t anyone idle in the building.
Even Ronald, a temporary worker,
had received the task "to go notify Detective Swift to imdiately head to the investigation bureau to stage a scene."
After gathering his belongings, Ronald officially began working.
First, he made his way to the back door of the investigation bureau’s building.
From the early stages of the explosion, soone had been guarding this to prevent unidentified individuals from entering or exiting the building.
Then, Ronald approached and said,
"Please open the door, I need to run an errand."
The investigator guarding the back door looked at Ronald.
Recognizing him as a colleague who had worked at the front desk in the past few days, he naturally stepped aside:
"Be quick and careful on the road."
"No problem."
Nodding to the investigator guarding the back door, Ronald steadied his hat on his head before he quietly left the building that had beco the focus of attention.
——
Swift Lewis.
Ronald had t him before on the Dongfeng, and they occasionally stayed in contact— a famous detective from Greenwich.
Privately, this detective was also a well-known figure on the mysterious side.
Due to his profession, Swift often collaborated with the investigation bureau or provided so help, so it was reasonable to invite him over for matters like today’s.
Ronald had previously been in contact with Swift.
He naturally knew the location of his studio.
Over half an hour later, after passing through several blocks, Ronald reached a comrcial street in Greenwich.
——Ruby Street 12.
In front of him was a simple two-story building.
Like many famous detectives in detective novels, the place where this great detective worked also served as his residence, with the first floor used for the office and the second floor for living.
Besides himself, he had two assistants working with him.
Approaching, Ronald knocked three tis on the front door politely, following local custom.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Is Mr. Swift here?"
"Just a mont."
A young voice responded from inside.
After a few breaths, the studio door opened from the inside.
Standing in front of Ronald was a young boy dressed in a white shirt and suspender jeans, looking no older than twenty, and due to the increasingly cold weather in Greenwich, he was also wearing a coat.
Ronald recognized this boy.
He was an apprentice under contract with Swift, nad Carol.
Seeing Ronald standing at the door, Carol moved aside to clear the way into the studio:
"Mr. Ronald?"
"How co you’re here today, do you need sothing from Mr. Swift?"
Ronald shook his head and did not step inside.
"I have urgent business with Swift. Is he available now?"
Hearing Ronald’s hurried tone, Carol’s face showed a hint of trouble as he scratched his chin:
"Well..."
"Early this morning, Mr. Swift left the studio."
"He happened to have a case involving an inheritance dispute to handle."
"..."
"Did he ntion when he might return?"
"No," Carol shook his head, "Such matters often require finding soone to notarize after clearing things up, and according to past situations, Mr. Swift might not return until very late."
Hearing this, Ronald continued to press:
"Tell the address, I’ll go find him."
Carol imdiately shook his head:
"Mr. Ronald, as detectives, we must protect our clients’ privacy."
"I can’t..."
"You can!"
Ronald decisively interrupted Carol’s refusal and took a step forward, staring seriously into his eyes: "I’m not here for personal matters today, but to deliver a very important task to Swift!"
"..."
"Alright... okay."
Faced with Ronald’s assertive attitude, Carol honestly divulged Swift’s whereabouts.
"Ron Avenue."
"He’s at Mrs. Keast’s house at 51 Ron Avenue."
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