Gun of Ashes

This opponent is like a ghost.

In Lorenzo’s vision, the whole world had become filled with countless overlapping images, and the red phantom was striding among them, like a creature lurking beneath the ice, ready to appear from anywhere and then dive away, leaving Lorenzo and his team unable to follow its trace.

For the first time, Lorenzo felt the difficulty of this case.

”Speaking of which, there’s one more thing: why did the demon leave behind writing?”

After a brief moment of thought, Lorenzo posed a new question. This was also the aspect Lorenzo couldn’t fathom at the moment.

Why would the demon leave behind writing...or was it meant for someone to see? Leaving a message of revenge to inform someone that he is coming, that they are next?

”I think I have a clue now.”

Lorenzo suddenly said, and then looked at Joey.

”Your Purification Mechanism has been covering up this case, right?”

Joey nodded.

”Everything related to the demons is under the Purification Mechanism’s seal. Even if some things can’t be concealed, our media guidance department will embellish the incident, like misleading others to think it was a gas explosion.”

”So no one besides you knows about this series of cases now?”

Joey nodded again.

”We can’t find the next victim; there might not even be a next victim, like if this demon has already finished its revenge.”

”We could try releasing information, maybe attract that potential victim and catch them as they appear.”

Lorenzo’s eyes lit up.

”And perhaps we could tie the entire case together because of this.”

Joey’s expression turned serious too, calmly saying.

”This is very risky.”

”Risk comes with reward, right? Maybe before we even act, that potential victim might come looking for us.”

”Then, Lorenzo, as you said, what if the demon’s revenge is over? Wouldn’t we be just startling the snake by beating the grass?”

Lorenzo denied Joey’s words.

”My thoughts just changed; I’ve thought about that possibility, but no, if that demon’s revenge is over, there’s no reason for it to leave behind a message of revenge, right?”

”There is only one conclusion: the revenge is not over.”

Lorenzo looked outside the car window at the bloody scene, the brutal crimson everywhere.

”Of course, it’s also possible we guessed wrong from the start, that maybe the demon left writing as just an art performance? After all, all our conjectures are based on our assumptions.”

Lorenzo was not some mastermind detective; he could only deduce everything based on his assumptions, finding the most realistic option among all possibilities.

Thinking of this, Lorenzo couldn’t help but wish he were one of Shangdafeng’s Demon Hunters, different from his invincible nature. Those Demon Hunters’ powers could momentarily foresee the future—what an easy tool for solving cases.

Lorenzo had once seen a mysterious Shangdafeng Demon Hunter, who mystically pointed at a Florence map and casually found the next crime location on it.

”Are you sure you want to do this?”

Joey asked again, confirming with Lorenzo.

”Yes, and we don’t even need to reveal the exact cause of death; we just need to inform those on the revenge list that their friend is dead. They might figure something out themselves or come to us. Whatever the outcome, it will affect the demon’s actions, and that’s enough.”

Lorenzo spoke again, picking up the file once more, ready to discover the connections among these people within the time bought. He also knew this plan was just a desperate move, as the potential victims might not care about the news at all.

So the hope for solving the case still circled back to the original point, those connections among people.

”Joey, I’d trouble you to step outside for a moment; you probably don’t want to see what’s next.”

Lorenzo said as he took out a delicate metal box containing rows of rolled cigarettes.

”Hmm? I’ve heard about this; they say your cigarettes are like a hallucinogen, giving you ’inspiration’.”

Joey looked on with some curiosity, to which Lorenzo nodded.

”Humans can’t imagine things they haven’t seen, so we need a bit of help.”

Lorenzo said, taking out a cigarette but not lighting it. He hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

”Of course, sometimes what humans can’t see is actually a protection for us because we shouldn’t be looking. Our brains can’t handle those things, like when you look at a complex pattern and the image’s impact prevents you from distinguishing any detail. Beneath each pattern lies countless marks, looping endlessly—you’d go mad.”

Joey felt a nameless chill, looking at Lorenzo, unclear on why he was saying this suddenly, but seemed to understand something, nodding with a worried gaze as he left the car.

”So peering into those things always requires a price.”

Lorenzo murmured, lighting the cigarette.

In front of him, Watson smilingly sat in the spot Joey had just vacated, her appearance becoming clearer as Lorenzo inhaled the Wind Tobacco, then the light vanished, and everything plunged into darkness.

”Lorenzo, you said you wouldn’t touch Wind Tobacco again, deepening the bond with darkness, yet here you are again.”

Watson’s voice echoed back and forth in the dark, but Lorenzo didn’t respond. With the cigarette in his mouth, he quietly looked at the file in his hand.

Each time Lorenzo inhaled Wind Tobacco, he would sink deeper into that darkness, but now was no time for hesitation, as the appearance of that inferior Secret Blood had fully awakened Lorenzo’s murderous intent.

Breathing heavily, feeling the spiciness in his throat, and ignoring the mocking laughter of the woman that constantly echoed, he wasn’t disturbed.

He indeed had many chances to turn back. He could have easily ignored the demons’ matters. With Lorenzo’s strength, he could live well anywhere, but he didn’t, because he believed in something, believed in seeing things through would bring something, so he’s always wielded the Nail Sword, burning the white-hot Purifying Flame.

He believed so and was willing to fight for it, even if it meant sinking into the deepest parts of that darkness.

Thus the entire darkness shattered; Watson’s pale hand grabbed a broken piece and handed it to Lorenzo.

Rovi, Doron, Hughes, the Ed couple...

Their faces were cut into countless pieces in the shattered darkness, yet fine strands forcefully pulled them together. The text on the file also seemed to come alive at this moment, rising and spinning, disordered in Lorenzo’s eyes, then rearranged into a new pattern.

The same words but arranged differently tell a new story. In the gaps between those words, Lorenzo vaguely saw that blurred point, now just lacking a critical line to tie them together.

Doron and Rovi from the same hometown, the file said they initially tried to connect with Lower City District gang members. For unknown reasons, Doron left and became a store employee, while Rovi became a factory worker and eventually joined a gang.

The gang they contacted remains unidentified...

Lorenzo sharply looked to another corner of the broken screen—a while ago, Hughes’ gang was still a small group, expanding only recently...

Nameless lines connected the three, finally leading to the Ed couple.

The darkness shattered, and Lorenzo dropped the cigarette butt, looking with a tired gaze at the car’s ceiling.

Doron and Rovi both had ties with Hughes, and Hughes’ business in the Lower City District was smuggling, likely the same as Lorenzo’s previous contact with the Ende Town operation; these three unluckily probably smuggled something.

Then hypothetically, Rovi and Doron initially involved themselves in Hughes’ business and smuggled something, before Rovi and Doron did one job and left, cutting ties with Hughes...what was the Ed couple’s role in this connection?

Coughing forcefully a few times, the post-smoking feeling wasn’t good, making his entire being seem sluggish. Lorenzo opened the car door, calling out to Joey.

”Has he arrived?”

This incident happened in the Lower City District; if anyone reliable was here, it would surely be him.

”I arrived while you were drawing inspiration just now.”

Bola appeared from beside the door, smiling at Lorenzo.