Because the initial action needed to be kept secret,
from the time Ronald left the house, he had maintained a very ordinary appearance,
just like any ordinary passerby.
He walked slowly on the streets of Blenheim, heading straight for Long Beach Street where the Investigation Bureau was located.
Although his emotions were somewhat mixed, Ronald was clear about his current position.
Stabilize his mindset.
Slow progress was what he should be doing.
A minute after parting with his companion,
the sound of a carriage hurried along behind Ronald.
He pretended to glance nonchalantly.
The taxi carriage carrying Nicole and Swift passed by his position and continued forward.
Silently watching his two colleagues gradually disappear from sight,
Ronald’s footsteps remained steady and calm.
With his current speed,
it would take him between twenty and thirty minutes to leave the wooded road and reach the location on Long Beach Street.
As long as there were no unexpected events during this period,
he would be able to observe the entire process when he arrived at the bureau and clear himself of any direct involvement even if something went wrong.
Even though he was slightly impatient, Ronald continued to advance steadily.
Everything that followed went smoothly.
When the time reached twenty-three minutes and fifty-one seconds,
Ronald stood by the roadside of Long Beach Street, where the Blenheim Investigation Bureau was located, just as before.
The carriage Nicole and Swift had taken arrived.
After necessary procedures, they must have been reporting to the higher-ups of the bureau about various issues concerning the warden by now.
The two priests they had successfully rescued were brought before them.
This solid evidence would also ensure the credibility of the information.
Ronald stepped forward and pushed open the grand door of the Investigation Bureau.
At this moment, the street was about to enter the night, and the sky in the distance had also turned a pale azure.
Yet here in the hall of the Investigation Bureau, they were just coming into a busier work period.
—Nighttime is the most natural protection for the mysterious side.
Regardless of inside or outside the city.
Ordinary people mostly wouldn’t stroll the streets leisurely after nightfall.
This situation with very few people,
naturally provided a layer of free protection for the secrecy of the mysterious side.
Therefore, including ordinary members of the mysterious side and those government-working investigators, everyone liked to carry out more frequent tasks during this quiet time.
Take the current Investigation Bureau, for example.
When Ronald entered the hall, he rarely saw three investigators simultaneously inside. One was responsible for the front desk work, while the other two sat in the rest area on the left, reading newspapers and seeming to also be waiting for something.
And on this side of the Investigation Bureau.
When Ronald walked into the hall.
The three all looked up in his direction.
After all, Ronald had previously done temporary work in the bureau and was somewhat familiar with everyone. Thus, after confirming the visitor was Ronald, the investigators resumed their previous tasks.
Seeing no reaction from the investigators, Ronald silently walked to the front desk.
"I’m here today to report a recent change in work."
Hearing Ronald’s words,
the investigator at the front desk looked up at him with a hint of surprise:
"Ronald, didn’t you just report a change in work not long ago?"
"Don’t tell me there’s a problem with the ’Ginkgo Leaf Business Alliance’, it’s no joke!"
Ronald smiled and shook his head:
"How could there possibly be a problem with the commercial association?"
"It’s me, it’s my fault,"
"Because I was incompetent over there, I was temporarily suspended."
—— This was the excuse Ronald had thought of on the way.
He had reported once before when he went to work at the Ginkgo Leaf Business Alliance, and although it was a few days late now, it could still be considered an excuse, at least it wouldn’t raise any suspicions.
Sure enough, after hearing Ronald’s explanation,
the investigator at the front desk, though somewhat puzzled, still sighed while pulling out a form from beneath the counter:
"Actually, it’s no problem if you don’t report this."
"It’s rare to see someone willingly come to report these days. You should know how to fill this out, I don’t need to teach you, right?"
Ronald immediately nodded:
"Of course, I’ll bring it back to you once I’m done."
The investigator nodded:
"Go ahead, the sooner you finish, the sooner you can go home."
"It’s getting late already."
With a slight smile towards the other person, Ronald sat down in the resting area on the side of the hall with pen and paper and began to bend down to write his report.
The Blenheim Investigation Bureau always did a thorough job on such forms.
For the change report form Ronald held in his hand, there were three pages to fill out.
Of course, this also served as a perfect way for him to bide his time.
Line by line, he wrote his personal information and the specific circumstances of his recent job change, silently calculating the time in his mind.
Starting from when the operation in the warden’s dungeon had ended.
Nicole and Swift had brought the priest to the Investigation Bureau, and given the normal pace of official business here, the results would probably come out within fifteen minutes. He could quietly wait here.
While Ronald continued to fill out the form, another investigator in the rest area spoke to him:
"Why would the Ginkgo Leaf Business Alliance stop employing you out of the blue? I heard they are usually generous and respect the contracts they sign."
Ronald looked up at him.
This investigator, named Jick, was someone he had nodded to back when he was working at the bureau.
This conversation was likely just friendly chatter.
As Ronald also wanted to delay for a while, he set down his pen and nodded as he explained:
"They don’t intend to break the contract with me."
"But last weekend, there was a problem at the exhibition site in the suburbs, so the head of the chamber decided to temporarily terminate this exhibition."
As he said this, Ronald’s face revealed a bitter smile.
He shrugged helplessly:
"When the exhibition ended, I, who was employed for it, was of course out of a job."
Hearing Ronald’s explanation, Jick leaned forward, comforting him by patting his shoulder:
"We always encounter some unexpected incidents around here. Just find another job, don’t take it too hard."
Ronald responded immediately:
"That’s what I think too."
"But since there was an incident at the exhibition, I thought it better to be safe. I felt coming to the Investigation Bureau to report was more appropriate."
Kay responded approvingly:
"It’s always good to be cautious."
The two exchanged a few more words before Ronald bent down to continue writing his personal information on the paper.
But just a few minutes later,
the moment he had just finished the first page of the form, the main door of the Investigation Bureau was violently pushed open from the outside.
A deep sound came from the door.
The attention of the four people present was simultaneously drawn by the noise.
At the wide-open door of the Investigation Bureau,
the cold winter wind gusted into the hall, significantly lowering the temperature inside.
At the same time, the figure of Warden Bach Krichens
stood at the doorway.