Chapter 26: Investigation
Morden looked around him for a bit, trying to decide how he should actually go about the information gathering that he was just about to begin.
"I guess I should begin with random strolls and probably the commercial area."
If Morden had a full idea on something, it would probably be how much information spreads in the Commercial area; the best means of information spread isn’t through the news but the Market sellers.
It was like that when he was back on earth, and it’s the exact same way now.
With that plan in mind, Morden delved through his memories and quickly found out where the Commercial area was. He didn’t have to think too much, though, since he was able to quickly get information regarding it.
’He must have been very familiar with that area,’
He turned on his heels and started for the Commercial, not with the intention of buying anything but with the thought of stealing as much information as possible.
Flowing River City, where Morden was currently located, was divided into two almost equal halves by a flowing central river.
One half had the Residential Area, the commercial area, certain organizations, and finally the slums on the outskirts.
The other half was much different, though; instead of the Residents Area, it has the Political Area. Instead of the Commercial area it was filled with Industries on one part, and there’s no slum there.
No one actually knows why it was divided like that, but it has been that way as long as anyone could remember.
On his way to the commercial area, Morden had to pass by the bank of the flowing river where he could see lots of people doing a myriad of activities.
Some sat there peacefully, while others fished; others just strolled along like he was doing.
"Really peaceful," he muttered with a smile.
The Commercial area was quite far from where he previously was, as it took him about 30 minutes to actually get to the outskirts, and it didn’t disappoint him in any way.
He hadn’t fully stopped into the area when he could already hear the chants and advertisements of various market people.
"Come over here ma, we have absolutely beautiful t-shirts that will fit your son well."
"But I don’t have a son."
"Patronize me ma, today might be your lucky day."
Morden looked down at himself and confirmed that he was wearing very ordinary-looking clothes, so he was sure to not attract any of the market woman’s attention.
"The more plain-looking, the easier it is to blend in."
With that, he slipped into the area fully with his ears fully perked.
The Commercial area could also be said to be divided into multiple areas.
There was a section filled with small stalls and private marketers; there was another section where there were things like Auction houses and merchants’ houses; and finally, a really expansive Mall.
The area with small stalls was precisely where Morden was heading.
He started by slowly walking between stalls, making sure he didn’t attract any attention. He made sure to focus on stalls that were mainly run by women.
About thirty minutes later, he finally heard the news he had been searching for.
"Anna, did you hear about the family that was stabbed to death in that abandoned building?"
"I surely did, Simone; my husband couldn’t stop talking about it all morning."
"Mine too, especially since it was located so close to where we lived."
"Ohh really, I heard you just recently moved, where do you live now?"
"Ohh, we now live in the Bandi district; it is much safer than that Chlori district."
Morden’s ears couldn’t help but twitch while he listened to the two women speaking; what he didn’t realize was that he had subconsciously stopped in front of another woman’s stall.
Noticing the person standing over her stall, the woman immediately began advertising her wares.
"Hello, Uncle, don’t you think this beautiful lacy underwear will look absolutely beautiful on your partner?" she said while raising a pair to his face.
Snapped back by the woman’s voice, Morden hurried his steps to get out of there as soon as possible.
"Phew, it seems the incident had happened in the Clodi district; that’s really close to our place," he muttered.
"Let’s see if we can get more information."
After that, Morden proceeded to move from area to area, listening to people’s conversations, hoping to find some more useful information.
In the end, he managed to find out that there was actually a red light coming from the building and also that someone saw a man run out of there.
The last part was something Morden didn’t believe, as he felt it was very unlikely that it actually happened; by the end of it all, the sun was already slowly setting.
"I better head back now."
On his walk back home, Morden mentally began thinking of how he would actually visit the place.
He knew he just couldn’t waltz in like that; the area was probably locked down at this point.
His thoughts were enough distraction for him, and in the blink of an eye, he was back home.
"I am exhausted," he said while crashing on the couch.
"I better rest for a bit then," his eyes turned sharp.
He rested for about thirty minutes more, and by this time, the sun was mostly set at this point, and then he sat back up and got ready to actually plan.
Before he started, he used his ability just like he did in the battle against the mountain lord.
[Intelligence +20(temp)]
With that boost, he currently has a whopping 40 points in his intelligence, making him a Literal genius at this point, and then the thinking began.
"The incident happened in the Clodi district that’s close to here but also mostly different."
"The houses over there are close together, so it will be easier for someone to move from A to B quicker."
"Since they stay in an abandoned building, that means they aren’t doing well, so the person probably wasn’t hired to kill them."
"Unless it was someone they were owing, but I feel that’s unlikely."
"I think whoever did this had something else underlying; there has to be a connection."
In his mind was now a sprung crazy frenzy, and the more he thought, the clearer his plans actually got.
"I have it now,"
"Ritualist, vengeful spirit, or creditor, whoever is behind this, tonight I will find out," he said with his eyes blazing.