Pressing the gun against the waist of the middle-aged woman, Nicole led the two into the house.
Ronald followed in the rear, glancing around at the streets of the residential area before he promptly closed the main gate.
"Move over and squat down."
Hearing Ronald lock the door behind her, Nicole did not let her guard down.
After instructing the woman to stay put in the corner of the wall,
the young female investigator then sternly demanded:
"Tell me, what exactly was that screaming three days ago?"
"Even if you aren’t from around here, you should understand what this means!"
Nicole’s tone was extremely firm, conveying an ’if you dare lie, I’ll shoot without hesitation!’ vibe.
Trembling slightly, the middle-aged woman made no attempt to hide the fear in her eyes and hurriedly explained:
"It was a statue, a statue that my grandfather left behind!"
"Three days... three days ago in the morning."
"I was just cleaning the house, minding my own business."
"And then, a decorative statue that my late grandfather had left started quivering on the table, and it emitted that shrill, piercing scream."
"At that moment, I was terrified and didn’t dare touch it."
"Then after a while, the statue fell to the ground, shattered, and everything went silent."
Frowning slightly, Nicole pressed further:
"Then why didn’t you report this to us?"
Glancing fearfully at Nicole, the middle-aged woman shakily explained:
"I... I was scared..."
Hearing such a response, a glimpse of resignation showed in Nicole’s eyes. After pausing for two seconds, she spoke again:
"Where are the fragments of the statue now, and don’t tell me you threw them away."
The middle-aged woman immediately responded:
"I didn’t dare touch the fragments, and they’ve just been lying on the floor, covered with a cloth."
Nodding, the woman led them toward the back of the house.
They hadn’t walked far inside the house when they stopped at the doorway of a room adjacent to the dining room.
Standing outside the door, one could see a piece of cloth on the ground next to a very clean table, hiding some scattered items beneath.
"Is this what you’re talking about, the fragments of the statue?"
Nicole immediately asked, and the woman instantly replied:
"I haven’t dared to touch this thing for the past two days. I’m showing you now..."
As she spoke, the woman stepped forward and reached out to lift the cloth, but at that moment, Nicole loudly halted her action.
"Stand up straight and step back!"
"Don’t get near that thing!"
At the same time, the young investigator kept the muzzle of her gun firmly aimed at the woman without shifting for a single second.
Then, Nicole instructed Ronald behind her:
"Ronald, find a long stick or something to lift the cloth with, but remember not to directly touch that thing."
Ronald nodded and left, quickly picking up a pair of fire tongs hanging beside the fireplace from the hallway.
Returning to the spot, the situation was still Nicole pointing the gun at the woman, who was shivering and too frightened to move, silently watching the investigators at work.
Exchanging a glance with Nicole, Ronald stepped forward and carefully lifted the cloth with the tongs.
In an instant, an intense sense of dizziness surged within their minds.
Ronald pulled back the curtain, and the two of them saw the fragments on the ground.
Among the identifiable pieces, some looked like bat wings, and others resembled octopus tentacles.
As his brain swirled with confusion, Ronald realized what had happened.
Although he had hypothesized it before, he had not expected that this famed literary work from earth would appear in this world right before him so soon.
The business of Lalaiye Candy Company...
Really was broad indeed!
Unlike Ronald, who was shocked by the origins of this thing, Nicole’s response was much quicker and more intense.
Without any hesitation, enduring the intense pain, she immediately pulled the trigger in her hand.
The sound of the bullet being fired rang out in the room.
No longer muted by the runes, the sound of the bullets entering flesh was crystal clear.
"Damn investigators!"
"Why did you come to interrupt me at this time?"
At that moment, the woman who had been timid just before changed completely.
She completely ignored the pain of the bullets piercing her body.
With an expression of madness and hostility on her face, her wounds began to ooze green blood, taking on the appearance of a ghastly monster.
With a forceful push of her feet, the woman lunged at the young female investigator before her.
Because they were too close, and her mind still wracked with intense pain,
Nicole only managed to fire another shot at the woman before being knocked down to the ground.
The two quickly tangled together on the floor, wrestling with each other.
Punches and kicks followed, and from the young investigator girl, gunshots continued to sound, with bullets entering the enemy’s body at close range.
However, these wounds that would be fatal to an ordinary person with a single bullet seemed to have no effect on this woman.
Even as blood splattered, she remained undeterred, entangled with Nicole.
"Ronald, be careful!"
Cursing the situation in front of her, Nicole reminded Ronald while lightly scratching her own body with her finger.
— The spell took effect.
In the next instant, an overwhelming force burst from the frail body of the young girl.
With just one kick, Nicole sent the woman flying in front of her, crashing heavily into the wall nearby and even causing her and the bricks to collapse into the adjacent room.
"Starting my day with such a thrill, huh!"
Nicole jumped up from the ground, supporting herself with one hand, her face looking terrible.
While reaching into her pocket for bullets with her left hand, her gaze also turned to the shattered wall behind.
However, the woman’s figure...
Didn’t stand up behind the broken wall of the room.
The whole room was empty and silent, as if nothing had ever appeared here aside from the traces left from their struggle.
Just as she was about to warn her new partner who had come with her, Nicole immediately sensed something was wrong with herself.
Ronald, who should have taken some action during her struggle with the woman,
had vanished from the room at some unknown time!
The young female investigator immediately recited a spell, activating the emergency spells she had prepared on herself earlier.
Based on the information and experiences she had gathered,
It was either that she had fallen into an illusion created by the enemy or her pained brain had been affected.
Right now, the first priority was to protect herself and then to rid herself of the abnormalities.
As for Ronald, with whom she was investigating the situation...
She could only place her trust in her new partner.