"Wave after wave, this is never going to end..."
Groups of three were in motion, and their eagerness to pursue someone was very apparent, with no reservations.
There wasn’t even a need to glance over the balcony.
Ronald could confirm that these must be the pursuers sent out by the investigator, and the target was most likely Deke, who had just sneaked upstairs.
The choices laid out before him were straightforward now, he could only make use of what he had on hand.
Setting down the teacup, Ronald grabbed Deke.
He roughly gauged his own strength, then took two steps toward the balcony.
Ronald hurled Deke into the air, then delivered a fierce kick right into the man’s chest.
This time, Ronald held nothing back.
As the kick landed, he acutely felt the breaking of bones and the shattering of internal organs.
Deke was undoubtedly doomed.
Or rather, the moment Ronald’s kick connected, Deke was already devoid of life.
The balcony on the third floor of the rental apartment directly faced the Wis River.
Of course, Ronald’s kick couldn’t land him on the riverbank.
Hearing the splash, Deke’s body sank into the flowing waves of the Wis River.
Seizing the opportunity, Ronald also took a look at the three people rushing towards him.
Their dress and demeanor, as well as the energy in their movements, made it clear that they were indeed from the investigation bureau, and as soon as Deke’s body hit the water, someone immediately prodded the river’s surface with a stick-like object.
It was obvious the three people were here to capture Deke.
Standing on the balcony, Ronald didn’t linger too long. With a heavyweight lying in his own home, he knew full well that what he had done was far from sufficient.
He leapt down from the balcony in two strides and immediately confronted the three investigators.
"Are you three chasing this guy?"
"Mr. Ronald." Recognizing Ronald as he appeared before them, the three local investigators naturally knew him. Except for the one still probing at the riverbank, the other two exchanged glances, and someone stepped towards Ronald.
They had probably seen Deke being thrown straight out from the third floor.
The investigator was more serious than usual as he spoke to Ronald:
"We were ordered to capture a criminal posing a significant threat to public security, but that move you just made..."
Ronald responded crisply:
"The man I just kicked down works at the Oak Theater in Seat 37. If I’m not mistaken, his name should be Deke, introduced to me by Alita initially."
Ronald then assumed a frowning, contemplative expression:
"Wait a minute! If that guy worked at the theater, could this have anything to do with Alita? She’s not in any trouble, is she?"
The investigator hadn’t anticipated that Ronald would redirect the conversation in this direction with just a few sentences.
In his perspective, this was a topic to be strictly avoided.
Even if it came up during questioning, the other party should tread carefully.
And now Ronald was the one bringing it up?
While the investigator was momentarily stunned, Ronald stretched his hand toward the Wis River.
"I wasn’t aware of the situation earlier, so I may have used excessive force. Let’s pull him up now. Starting from the relationship between Earth and the sky, we will begin to form our understanding..."
Ronald moved so quickly that the three investigators didn’t even have a chance to react.
A short incantation recited, and Deke’s body floating not far in the Wis River was pulled out of the current by the force of Star Traction and then dropped in front of Ronald and the three investigators, scattering droplets along its path.
Under the silent black shroud of night, the investigator who had been examining the riverbank stood up.
His face took on a somewhat embarrassed expression as he nodded to Ronald.
Then he went over to inspect the unfortunate Deke’s body more closely.
With magic of not particularly great strength lingering on his hands, the investigator quickly concluded his examination of the body and then nodded to the other two to confirm:
"No problem, it’s this guy."
Ronald immediately interjected:
"So what exactly happened tonight?"
"I just reclaimed something for the church from the theater this afternoon, why did this guy suddenly attack me tonight, and Aleda should be alright, right?"
Ronald had deliberately crafted his lines.
While asking, he also revealed his activities for the day, as well as his complete ignorance of other matters.
Faced with three investigators on a capture mission,
this was the best approach he could take for the moment.
And sure enough, the investigator’s reaction to Ronald’s series of questions proved effective.
As the leader of this group of investigators,
the man he had just spoken with frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over the body on the ground.
After pondering for a few seconds, he then put on a businesslike demeanor:
"Mr. Ronald, the events of today are of great importance, and I am not at liberty to disclose details to you. However, if you are really concerned, tomorrow’s Capital Daily should provide some answers to your questions."
Midway through his sentence, the investigator took a couple of steps back and whispered a short phrase, then his expression became even more serious.
"Lastly, I’d like to verify some things with you."
"You... go ahead and ask, I’ll read the newspaper myself tomorrow," muttered Ronald, eventually adopting a cooperative stance.
Though the investigator deliberately kept his voice low,
from the movement of his lips, it was clear that he had activated the spell of the lie detector without any doubt.
The investigator began to question:
"This Deke, do you know his specific purpose for coming here?"
"I’m not sure, but I think it might be because of my relationship with Aleda?"
"And Ms. Aleda, whom you mentioned earlier, have you seen her today?"
"I haven’t interacted with her for several days, specifically..." Ronald pretended to ponder, then nodded affirmatively, "In any case, today, or even within a week’s time, I definitely haven’t met with Aleda."
"What were your thoughts when you decided to kill Deke?"
Faced with this question, Ronald deliberately furrowed his brows and made an impatient gesture:
"You wouldn’t be in the best of moods either if someone showed up in the middle of the night with a knife and stabbed at you as soon as you met, right?"
"Please forgive the disturbance."
After listening to Ronald’s answers to the three questions, the investigator did not continue to probe.
He turned back and quietly exchanged a few words with his companions—’That was Ronald’ , ’Confirmed no lies, that’s good’, ’Mind the limits’—before the trio decisively took Deke’s body and bid farewell to Ronald as they departed.
Watching the three investigators disappear into the night,
Ronald let out a slight sigh of relief.
His hand reached for his pocket.
Only in this moment did he remember that in his rush to come down, he hadn’t even brought his key.