bookbashuk Chapter 23 Decisions Following the Investigation
Chapter 23 Decisions Following the Investigation
In just half a month, Luo Qiu had already mastered the Clarity Technique.
Not only Clarity, but I also made a preliminary grasp of Swiftness the night before last.
Currently, there are four runes engraved in his sea of consciousness: Light Perception Enhancement Rune, Attachment Rune, Speed Enhancement Rune, and Wind Element Rune.
In addition, his strength also increased significantly after consuming the extraordinary items he had collected.
Search Target: 0002
【Mental Power: 17.1】
[Mana Points: 34/34]
[Talent Data: Unknown]
Luo Qiu had tested it; using Clarity consumed 0.5 mana per minute, while using Swiftness consumed 3 mana per minute.
In other words, at his current level, he can maintain Clarity for one hour, or use Swiftness for 11 minutes.
The effects of both techniques were surprisingly good. After using Clarity, looking around 200 meters was like using a magnifying glass. After using Speed, his speed could increase by 30% compared to normal.
Witchcraft is so much more convenient.
Moreover, when using witchcraft, he does not need to chant long incantations or make any hand gestures. He only needs to use his mental energy to connect the runes, and the witchcraft will be automatically activated, with a success rate of nearly 100%.
Although he had passed his youthful and impulsive days, Luo Qiu sometimes found it difficult to control himself after experiencing the taste of witchcraft.
With only a few familiar agents around and suspecting that the rat was a supernatural being, Luo Qiu secretly activated his Clarity spell.
The image within the field of view is constantly magnified.
Luo Qiu first looked at the tattered quilt.
After scanning the quilt cover for a long time, where the grime had hardened into clumps, I finally caught a trace of it.
As the rats moved, their claws accidentally snagged the threads of the blanket and coat, which Luo Qiu has now discovered.
There are probably dozens of such marks, more than ten of which are quite special. They are not the result of the quilt thread being pulled out and stretched, but rather they are directly broken into two pieces.
Luo Qiu could imagine several, even a dozen, rats quietly climbing onto the homeless man's blanket at night. During their climb, some rats snagged loose threads on the blanket, struggling and flailing their claws, while others, with exceptionally sharp claws, even pierced directly into the blanket…
After observing the condition of the quilt, Luo Qiu continued to use his Clarity Spell to focus on the front.
As the tunnel extends deeper into the ground, the dust is thick, yet there are significant differences between the various areas covered in dust and sand.
Near the bedding, the dust was extremely unevenly distributed. In some places, the dust was mixed with sand, and in other places, the dust had clumped into mud... those were the marks left by various footprints.
The footprints left by the two detectives in the morning were messy and covered the area within ten meters around the bedding.
Further on, the rat paw prints became clearer, large and small, eventually disappearing at the sewage grate.
On a sewage grate, Luo Qiu found something else.
A mouse hair.
A mouse hair, about an inch long, was caught in the serrated edge of the grating.
However, it was not ordinary mouse fur. The fur was not grayish-brown, but almost pure black, and it was twice as thick as ordinary mouse fur.
Upon first seeing it, Luo Qiu couldn't even be sure if it was rodent hair.
However, after sorting through these subtle discoveries, Luo Qiu had a gut feeling.
Of those rats, one of them definitely became a transcendent being. After becoming a transcendent being, it was as if it had evolved; its claws became sharp, its fur hardened, and it even became much larger than an ordinary rat.
However, the danger posed by the other party to ordinary people at this time should not be that great.
Extraordinary beings, including humans, only experience significant changes after Sequence 3.
Able to communicate with the Shadow Realm, capable of elementalization, and transcending biological limits...
This change is more obvious in animals, but much more subtle in humans. Before this, even if there was some evolution, it was only more pronounced relative to other individuals of the same species.
Luo Qiu was certain that the extraordinary rat had not evolved to Sequence 3.
So, can a rat that's at most Sequence 2 stop a bullet?
She quickly dismissed the idea. At the same time, Luo Qiu made a decision.
I need to go and see those rats myself.
First, he wanted to see extraordinary beings. Since his awakening, he had been hiding in the shadows, absorbing broken extraordinary items, and carefully avoiding those extraordinary beings.
How can this be acceptable if you don't even have a little bit of extraordinary combat experience?
At this moment, the extraordinary mouse arrived just in time.
Secondly, he has run out of resources.
He has absorbed all the gem fragments and coal lumps in the past two weeks.
He still needs three points of mental energy to advance to the first rank, and it will take another month through meditation. However, he is not satisfied with the speed boost brought by his talent.
Of course, the current situation in Fog City is not suitable for him to look for special cases everywhere, and he will try to restrain himself when there is no opportunity.
But this time, isn't it just a coincidence?
Maybe we'll reap some rewards.
If you're lucky, you can kill the rat without any trouble, obtain the extraordinary item, and avoid exposing yourself.
Even with the worst luck, the rat uses his extraordinary abilities to arouse suspicion from other agents, allowing him to escape unscathed and leave the Fog City.
With manageable risks and attractive returns, what is there to hesitate about?
……
When Luo Qiu turned around and looked at the three of them again, Smith, Ellis, and Cole were still waiting for his orders.
However, Luo Qiu was about to disappoint them for the time being.
"Let's not rush into action today."
"Not going?" The three were speechless.
"Going down now is too hasty; we need to prepare reports and apply for some things."
"First, reliable boots. They should be sturdy, ideally able to protect against scratches from sharp objects, and also slip-resistant and waterproof. Sewage pipes are full of sewage; you'll slip and fall after just a couple of steps in ordinary leather shoes."
"Second, a first-aid kit. It shouldn't just contain gauze and iodine; it should also include a tourniquet and rubbing alcohol. If someone is injured down there, it's best to treat them on the spot."
"Third, rat poison. The kind the subway company used before will do; take several packets. If there are really a lot of rats down there, we can put out the rat poison first, and then go down in two days."
"Fourth, firearms and ammunition. We need to bring pistols and have plenty of bullets. We're not professionals at rat extermination, so in case of any unforeseen circumstances, we need at least one handy weapon."
Fifth, find a cat.
Luo Qiu spoke quickly, and Cole jotted down these points in his notebook with lightning speed.
They were so focused on the investigation before that they hadn't considered these details, but now that they've heard these points, they find them very useful.
Of course, Cole paused for a moment when writing the last point.
Finding a cat to assist their investigation seemed a bit ridiculous. But considering the cat's talents, he thought the suggestion was indeed useful.
In the end, he faithfully recorded it, and then said:
"Okay, I'll apply for these things... but I can't guarantee when they'll be approved. You know how slow our investigation bureau's procedures are, senior."
"Can we bring these things ourselves?" Smith knew the case was urgent, so he blurted out the suggestion.
Upon hearing this suggestion, Cole and Ellis immediately frowned.
It wasn't that they didn't want to prepare their own supplies, nor that they weren't anxious about the case; rather, they knew that doing so would have unpredictable consequences.
Fortunately, Luo Qiu spoke up again at this moment, calming all worries.
"Just submit the application. Don't worry, it'll be quick this time. We just need to prepare for tomorrow's operation."
……