Reliable intelligence network? Ed was a little confused.
The White Oak family is the biggest local gangster in Silvermist City and has already developed an intelligence network exclusive to the family, so this is probably Catalina's idea.
God knows what she wants to do with information...
"With all due respect, sir, what is your purpose...?"
Of course, the Divine Bureau has its own intelligence network, but it certainly cannot be shared with Catalina.
"Now it's our turn to show off our skills. I heard that Silvermist City has been very uneasy recently. You work in the detective agency, so you must have heard about it, right?"
Yes, it was quite uneven. The whole city was just a hair away from being blown up.
"Maybe it's just rumors, you know... people always like to catch rumors and spread rumors."
Ed calmly put the files on the table into the drawer and said calmly.
"But if you look at the recent series of spontaneous human combustion incidents and the horrific serial murders, I guess there must be some evil force behind these things." Catalina looked serious.
"So what you mean is...?"
I don’t know what Catalina is thinking about, but the life and death experience in the underground fortress does not seem to stimulate her dream of knighthood at all.
"What I mean is that we can turn into masked heroes and contribute to the peace and tranquility of Silvermist City without revealing our true identities. People will remember the brave and fearless 'Blackadder', and His most loyal attendant—what do you plan to call him?"
"..." Ed gave her a look, hoping she could understand it on her own.
But Katarina didn't look at him at all, she just lowered her head and muttered to herself:
"As my partner, the prefix of the title should also be related to the color - how about calling you 'Gray Hat'?"
"Good guy, luckily it's not another color... No, wait a moment..."
Aide only answered half of the sentence, and quickly made a stop gesture to prevent her from taking the topic further:
"With all due respect, Lady Catalina, this may be a 'very creative' idea, but what exactly do you want the intelligence network to do?"
He still hasn't figured out Catalina's purpose. Could it be that the other party wants to use the Divine Bureau to investigate some clues?
Compared with the Oakland family's all-seeing, black-and-white approach, the Bureau's intelligence advantage is probably only a complex intelligence network composed of various informants, and a huge and efficient Difference Engine database.
Judging from Frank's case, the Census Bureau's intelligence network is not airtight, and there is still the possibility of being penetrated.
However, there is no conflict of interest between the Bureau of Investigation and the Oakland family. Both parties can maintain the same opinion on most matters, and it is not a bad idea to share intelligence to a certain extent——
But it was obviously not his and Catalina's turn to push this matter forward. At the very least, Mr. Eaton, Ms. Olivia, or even the Lafayette Branch Chief had to come forward to pull the strings...
"Don't you understand yet? We need to find out information about those lurking evil elements from places like bars and find their hiding places, and then we can give them the punishment they deserve."
Katarina looked surprised, like a teacher looking at a student who can't calculate that one plus one equals two.
It seems that I think too much...
Ed desperately put the pen cap on his forehead, thought for a moment and then pointed:
"Okay, let me give you an idea -"
"...Those newsboys on the street, you should know that they go everywhere - bars, cafes, back alleys, and they are all little people. For a few pennies, you can get the fresh news from their mouths. , hiring them as helpers is absolutely worth it.”
This is not nonsense. In fact, part of the Divine Bureau also comes from these newsboys and beggars wandering the streets. They are indeed well-informed, but most of the time it is difficult to tell whether the intelligence they provide is true or false, and they are likely to be used by woodcutter and fishermen gangs to deliberately convey misleading information.
But for a guy like Catalina who simply wants to play role-playing games, the tidbits in the hands of these scouts should be enough to satisfy her curiosity.
"Hmm...sounds like a good idea. Why didn't I think of it before?"
Catalina's eyes were bright. After seriously considering the feasibility, she nodded with satisfaction:
"Then I'll take my leave first. Recuperate well, Ed. After I find clues to where the evil is hiding, the second adventure of our legendary journey will begin."
When Quinn comes back, I'd better have her break my other leg too.
"Aren't your family members worried about this?" Ed sighed.
"You don't have to worry about this, I can handle it myself."
Catalina looked confident. She gently opened the door of the detective agency, turned around and ordered:
"Farewell, my loyal attendant, remember to take good care of my armor."
Click. The door is closed.
…
It was getting late, and Ed limped back to the room and bolted the door. It started to rain lightly outside the window, and it gathered into droplets of water and fell down along the eaves.
Quinn and Mr. Eaton probably won't be back until the rain stops.
Thinking of this, he took out the elf sacred object, the "Eye of Mentilosa" from his pocket. The changing crimson color was like a dying sun, but also like a vigorous heart.
"Pannet gemstone, the rarest red in the world - alchemists respect it as the 'Philosopher's Stone'."
"Philosopher's Stone..."
Ed was thinking about this thundering title, but suddenly realized something was wrong——
That was not the flame text that appeared in front of me, but the female voice that came from in front of me.
Looking forward, I saw a girl dressed in red and black sitting on the wooden chair at the desk. Her long hair, as dark as night and as bright as stars, reached her waist, with a hair tie at the end.
"Good evening, my dear good sir." Her lips parted slightly, and her voice sounded like the sound of a spring.
"Sylvie...what's going on?"
Only then did Ed confirm the identity of the girl in front of him. Only the guy who claimed to be the personality matrix would call himself that.
"How should I explain this to you?"
Sylvie's garnet-colored burgundy eyes held a faint smile. She changed to a more elegant sitting posture, as if she was treating the broken wooden chair as a throne:
"You can understand this as...one of the updated contents of the Keeper Program 2.0. But you can still use your mind to talk to me as before. After all, we are one, aren't we?"
Although Sylvie's appearance was a bit unexpected, it was at least within Ed's understanding. After all, the gender of the other party has been confirmed since choosing the name "Sylvie" - if the personality matrix really has a gender.
However, he didn't expect that the other party would be so... beautiful?
So, this is your projection? Is it based on a real person, or is it completely fictional? he asked with consciousness.
"This is the image preset by the program. I'm afraid I don't know if there is anyone in the world who looks like me."
As Sylvie explained, she gently brushed the tabletop of the desk with her palm:
"But, do you think I'm just a projection?"
Then, under Ed's stunned gaze, she gently raised a pen...
