Martel City which was also known as the foothold No. 3B47 was an ordinary B-grade foothold in Division 3.
It was an ordinary foothold because be it the economic prosperity, the culture or some other aspects, the B-grade foothold was of moderate level in Division 3.
The landlocked foothold was far from the Peaceful Ocean and the Abyss Brink, which were the two moderate danger zones and were the most dangerous areas surrounding the foothold. To some extent, it was considered a stable place for the elders to stay.
This was also the reason why very few of the strong people would stay there. Aside from those who were stationed outside the foothold, most of them were on immortal-level and above. They would not stay at the foothold for a long period of time unless they were on duty or due to some exceptional condition.
If not for the serial murders, many of them might have never heard of Martel City.
Before Lin Huang received that information, of course, he himself had never heard of the city before.
After getting the news from the black market and further a.n.a.lyzing it with b.l.o.o.d.y, Lin Huang soon arrived at Martel City along with b.l.o.o.d.y.
However, on the first day when they arrived at Martel City, their investigation was hindered.
"What f*cking rules are these?! One must be at least on immortal-level rank-4 to be qualified to investigate the serial murder cases? One must get the approval from the Union Government in order to access the detailed information of the case and carry out the field investigation?" Lin Huang was standing at the lobby of the Union Government division at Martel City. Just as he saw the content displayed on the big announcement screen, he was triggered. "Can"t I lend a helping hand?!"
"We"re actually here to look for the tinder of the triple mutated monster…" b.l.o.o.d.y thought to itself. However, it articulated something different instead. "It"s understandable why the Union Government set these rules as the killer is capable of killing an immortal-level rank-3. I guess that these rules are established because they didn"t want the investigators to be the victims. Moreover, without any restriction, anyone can simply enter the crime scene, and it"ll adversely affect the investigation."
Of course, Lin Huang knew the reason behind it. He was upset about it because even after using the Transformation Card to improve his combat strength, he only managed to get to immortal-level rank-3. Even then, he would not be qualified to earn the investigation pa.s.s from the Union Government.
"What should we do in order to get the investigation pa.s.s without which we won"t be able to get a complete set of information regarding the case?" Lin Huang frowned deeply. It was an electronic investigation pa.s.s which would sync to one"s Emperor"s Heart Ring. There was no way to get it illegally.
"The only way is to look for a qualified person or those who have gotten their pa.s.s to bring us in," b.l.o.o.d.y suggested a solution. "It"s stated in the announcement that whoever who owns an investigation pa.s.s can bring an a.s.sistant along during the investigation. Since our main purpose is to go to the crime scene, just look for a person who needs an a.s.sistant. I"m a summoning monster, and I can go in together with you."
"That"s a brilliant idea." Lin Huang just thought of asking Yang Ling to make him a fake pa.s.s. However, what b.l.o.o.d.y suggested was indeed a better choice.
Lin Huang turned back and was about to walk towards the door where the receptionist was standing. Just as he wanted to ask about the application of the investigation pa.s.s, he heard chatter from a group of people. He immediately stood still and looked in the direction where the discussion was heard.
"I"m here to apply for the investigation pa.s.s for the murder case," said a man who was standing at No. 1 counter. He did not say it loudly. However, when he said "murder case" and "investigation pa.s.s", Lin Huang and b.l.o.o.d.y"s attention were caught.
"Found it!" Lin Huang grinned as he patiently waited for him to complete the application.
In less than two minutes, the man had completed his application. He then left the No. 1 counter and headed towards the exit.
Lin Huang observed his face. He was a man around the age of 30. He had dark skin, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. He was about 1.8 meters tall. However, he was big-boned and muscular which caused him to look as if he was slightly shorter than Lin Huang who was only 1.78 meters tall.
"Bro, are you here to investigate the serial murder cases?" Lin Huang took a step forward, blocking his way.
"Yes, I am. I just got the investigation pa.s.s." The man was momentarily stunned, and soon, he nodded his head. "Why are you looking for me?"
"My name is Lin Xie. May I know your name please?" Lin Huang extended his hand and greeted.
"If you"re here to sell any products to me, I"m sorry, but I"m not interested. You"re kind of brave to promote your products at the Union Government office." The man took a glance at the officer as if he was about to call the guards.
"Bro, I think you"ve misunderstood me. I"m not a promoter." Lin Huang was nervous. "I"m actually interested in the serial murder cases. However, due to the restriction imposed on the combat level, I"m unable to apply for an investigation pa.s.s. Therefore, I can only rely on the quota given to the a.s.sistant. I hope that I could get it from you…"
Before Lin Huang could even finish his words, the man answered, "The a.s.sistant quota? I"ll just give it to you if you want it." Lin Huang thought that the man would request for something and that he would have to spend some time bargaining with him. Unexpectedly, he got it with ease.
"You suddenly blocked my way, so I thought that you"re trying to promote your products. It"s good that you"re not. It"s good that you"re not…" The man was relieved, smiling with his mouth wide open. "By the way, my name is Xia Hou. Let"s work together on the murder cases."
"Eh, why did he suddenly change his att.i.tude?" Lin Huang thought to himself. "Could he have been hurt by a promoter in the past?"
"To be honest, I was fooled by a promoter last time. That"s why I"m afraid of strangers who suddenly block my way…" Before Lin Huang could ask, Xia Hou was friendly and volunteered his history about being fooled by a promoter before Lin Huang.
After listening to Xia Hou"s tale for more than half an hour, Lin Huang was speechless.
Despite Xia Hou being rather strong as he was an immortal-level rank-4, he could be cheated easily. Just by encountering an eloquent speaker, he could be easily convinced. This was the reason why he was fooled by many of the promoters for hundreds of time over the past ten years, causing him to buy a lot of unnecessary stuff.
Also, it was the reason why he was afraid of the promoters.
"Can"t you say no to them if they persuade you to buy stuff that you don"t need?" Lin Huang gave a simple suggestion.
"Sometimes, the items are really appealing when they promote it." Xia Hou looked helpless. "For example, they would suggest using a bar soap to wash clothes, to take a bath, to induce vomiting (during food poisoning), to be used as a lubricant (don"t get me wrong, it"s used for stuck zippers)... It can even be carved…"
"You don"t even need some of the functions at all! What"s the point of having tons of bar soaps at home? For fun?!" Lin Huang thought to himself. He knew that the man was brainwashed after listening to what the promoters said and regretted each time after the purchase. However, the next time he b.u.mped into another promoter, he would be brainwashed again and fooled by the promoters.
Lin Huang knew very well that the problem did not arise from the promoters. It was Xia Hou"s problem instead. There was a pit in his brain. No, to be more accurate, it was a black hole. This was the reason why he was fooled every time and had never been able to learn from his mistakes.