Only after Aella's figure vanished beyond the agency door did Ryan's tense nerves completely relax, his back already soaked with cold sweat. Slumping in his chair, he looked at the small location tracker on his wrist, his heart filled with helplessness and anxiety. Being targeted by the Equilibrium Council's ESP detective and labeled a key suspect undoubtedly made his already difficult investigation path even more treacherous.
"Boss Old Grey, did you know Detective Aella was coming?" Ryan turned to look at Old Grey behind the desk, puffing away on a cigarette, a hint of accusation in his tone. He always felt Old Grey seemed to know everything but had been deliberately keeping it from him.
Old Grey slowly exhaled a smoke ring. The greasy smile on his face faded slightly, his eyes becoming deeper. "People from the Equilibrium Council always act swiftly. The Linden disappearance case involves dark magic; they couldn't possibly ignore it. I expected them to come to the agency, just not this fast, and not to single you out as a suspect."
"Is the supernatural energy on me really that obvious?" Ryan instinctively touched his chest, where the protective charm Old Grey gave him lay close to his skin. A warm thread emanated from it, offering some comfort.
"To ordinary people, completely unnoticeable. But for an ESP detective of Aella's level, the energy on you is as obvious as a bright light in the dark," Old Grey stubbed out his cigarette, took a bottle of whiskey from a drawer, poured two glasses, and pushed one towards Ryan. "She's a werewolf descendant. Her sense of smell and perception far exceed a normal human's, easily distinguishing various supernatural energies."
"Werewolf descendant?" Ryan's eyes widened. The image of the faint golden aura around Aella and the subtle bestial energy within it flashed in his mind. So those anomalies True Sight detected were due to her special identity.
Just then, the agency door opened again. Aella returned, her expression even colder than before. Her gaze locked onto Ryan. The golden aura around her shimmered faintly, and a sharp, oppressive pressure once again filled the agency. "What were you and Old Grey just discussing? Plotting something?"
"We were just discussing matters related to the case," Ryan said, forcing calm into his voice while instinctively activating True Sight. In True Sight's vision, Aella's golden aura grew denser, and a pair of faint, virtual wolf ears seemed to shimmer behind her—clearly, she was angry.
Aella took a step forward. The powerful aura made it hard for Ryan to breathe. Her eyes were full of suspicion, her tone sharp. "I verified the clues you provided. Philip did indeed mention Dr. Caron. But this doesn't prove your innocence. The intertwined dark magic energy and system bond energy on you—looks very much like collusion with dark forces."
"I am not colluding with dark forces!" Ryan stood up abruptly, his voice heated in refutation. "I'm just an ordinary intern who got caught up in this case by accident, was hunted by Marcus, and would be a corpse now if I hadn't luckily escaped!"
"Luckily escaped?" Aella's lips curved into a mocking arc. "An ordinary intern luckily escapes pursuit by a dark magic user? Do you think anyone would believe that?" The golden aura around her intensified. A faint sound like a distant wolf howl seemed to echo in the air. Clearly, she was using her werewolf aura to intimidate Ryan, trying to force the "truth" out of him.
Ryan felt a powerful pressure bearing down on him, his body trembling slightly. But he knew he couldn't back down. He took a deep breath, focused, and pushed True Sight to its limit. Staring intently at Aella, he suddenly spoke, "Detective Aella, rather than suspecting me here, maybe you should reconsider the flaws in your own reasoning. You say I collude with dark forces. Then can you explain why the strange symbol in the villa wasn't left by Mr. Linden but was instead set up in advance by Marcus?"
Aella's movement froze abruptly, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple," Ryan's tone grew firm. "I observed that strange symbol carefully in the villa. It was drawn on the right inner wall of the wardrobe, a very concealed location. If it were left by Mr. Linden, he wouldn't need to hide it so well. Moreover, the dark magic energy around that symbol was identical to the energy from the tattoo on Marcus's wrist, clearly from the same person."
He paused, then continued, "More importantly, using True Sight, I saw the energy fluctuation from that symbol was spreading outward, not converging inward. This indicates it wasn't used to summon something but to mark a target and transmit energy. Marcus set up that symbol in the villa in advance to locate Mr. Linden, facilitating the kidnapping."
Aella's expression grew increasingly grave. She stared hard at Ryan, disbelief in her eyes. The details Ryan mentioned were things she hadn't noticed. She had originally thought the symbol was evidence of Linden's collusion with dark forces, never imagining it was a marker set up by Marcus.
"How would you know this? How can you see magical energy fluctuations?" Aella's voice held a note of wariness. She suddenly realized this seemingly ordinary intern might not be so simple.
Ryan's heart tightened. He knew he'd said too much. He couldn't very well tell Aella he was bound to the Shadow Pawn System and possessed the True Sight skill. He quickly covered, "I just reasoned it based on the scene. I majored in criminal investigation in university, so I'm sensitive to such details. As for magical energy fluctuations, Boss Old Grey told me some basics about the supernatural world before. I was just guessing."
As he spoke, he shot a glance at Old Grey. Old Grey immediately understood. He stood up and said, "That's right. Ryan here may be an intern, but he's very talented in criminal investigation. I did tell him some basic knowledge about the supernatural world, so he'd understand better for handling related cases in the future."
Aella's gaze shifted between Ryan and Old Grey, clearly still suspicious of their words. But the reasoning flaw Ryan pointed out forced her to re-examine the case. After a moment of silence, she slowly said, "Even if what you say makes sense, it doesn't completely clear your suspicion. That symbol's power is immense. An ordinary person touching it would not survive. Not only did you survive, but you also escaped Marcus's pursuit. That in itself is suspicious."
"I don't know why I survived either," Ryan said helplessly. "I just accidentally touched that symbol, then was pulled by a powerful force and lost consciousness. When I woke up, Marcus tried to kill me to silence me. I was forced to run for my life."
Aella stared at Ryan for a long time, as if trying to find any flaw in his expression. But Ryan's face held complete sincerity, with no sign of lying. Gradually, the golden aura around her receded, the oppressive pressure fading.
"I will continue investigating this matter," Aella finally said. "If what you say is true, I will clear your name. But until the investigation concludes, you must strictly adhere to the previous rules. Cooperate fully with my investigation at all times. Do not leave Newstar City, and do not contact any suspicious individuals."
"I understand," Ryan nodded, sighing inwardly with relief. Although Aella still didn't fully trust him, at least she was willing to re-investigate. That was significant progress for him.
Aella said nothing more, turned, and left the agency again. This time, her steps were slower, clearly lost in thought about Ryan's words.
After Aella left, Ryan completely collapsed into his chair, gasping for air. The confrontation with Aella felt more nerve-wracking than being chased by Marcus. "Boss Old Grey, thank you for helping me out earlier."
Old Grey smiled, sat back down behind the desk, and took a sip of whiskey. "Don't mention it. Your performance just now was quite good. Staying calm under Aella's intimidation and pointing out flaws in her reasoning exceeded my expectations."
"But Aella still doesn't fully trust me," Ryan said, a note of worry in his voice.
"That's normal," Old Grey said. "The Equilibrium Council always acts with caution, especially in cases involving dark magic. To make her fully trust you, you must find more evidence to prove your innocence while also uncovering the truth behind Linden's disappearance."
Ryan nodded, a firm resolve settling in his heart. He knew he had to find more clues about Dr. Caron quickly, complete the side mission issued by the system, and improve his strength. Only then could he establish himself in this dangerous supernatural world, clear his name, and protect himself.
Just then, the system's prompt sounded in his mind: "Host successfully identified high-level ESP detective's identity and pointed out flaws in case reasoning. Obtained extra reward: 20 Shadow Points + True Sight (Elementary) Upgrade Opportunity. Upgrade True Sight immediately?"
Ryan's heart leaped with joy. He hadn't expected the confrontation to yield extra rewards. He immediately thought, "Upgrade immediately!"
As his thought finished, a warm current suddenly flowed into his eyes. His vision grew sharper; supernatural energies around him became more distinct. He instinctively looked at Old Grey. In True Sight's vision, he was astonished to see a faint golden light shimmering around Old Grey. Within the light was a trace of ancient, powerful magical energy, completely different from Aella's werewolf aura but equally potent.
Old Grey noticed Ryan's gaze. A meaningful smile appeared on his face. "Seems your abilities have improved again. Ryan, the supernatural world is far more complex than you imagine. Don't trust anyone too easily... including me."
Ryan's heart jolted. What did Old Grey mean? What was that ancient magical energy on him? Could Old Grey's identity also be more than it seemed? Countless questions flooded Ryan's mind, giving rise to deep suspicion towards this seemingly greasy agency boss.