The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

Page 107

Since the attackers chose to target the priests of the Lamp Cult, they would naturally have prepared corresponding covert measures in advance.

Without a doubt, that guy is a professional.

Only first-time offenders and mentally unstable thugs would return to the scene after committing their crimes to admire their work. Those who truly make a living through assassination and robbery usually disappear immediately after confirming their target's success, silently going into hiding…

Until the ripples of the growing pains are forgotten by society, until the next opportunity to act arrives.

Seeing that Vivian had finished taking her statement, Haida began her own questioning.

"Dorothy, do you object to 'empathy'?"

"That depends on the depth of spiritual resonance."

“If it’s about completely sharing memories and thoughts, I certainly won’t accept it… but if it’s just about recreating fragments of yesterday, then it’s fine.”

Dorothy looked at Haida, wondering what this head of the Hunters was up to.

"Please rest assured, I am not capable of deep spiritual resonance. What I need now is your psychic access to amplify the effect of 'profiling'."

With that, Heda extended her hand to Dorothy.

"Ok."

Considering Fran's free treatment, the priest of the Church of the Lamp finally accepted Haida's proposal.

Dorothy placed her hand on Heda's, and the sharing of psychic knowledge began.

For a fleeting moment, Haida's expression underwent a subtle change.

Although she had always maintained her composure, she was far from being as gloomy and numb as she was now, exuding an aura of darkness and treachery.

Tong En, standing to the side, raised her hand to cover her lips in surprise.

It was too similar… In just a moment, she transformed from a reliable funeral maid into a terrifying thug. As if yesterday's attack could be repeated at any moment.

Heda lowered the non-existent brim of her hat, silently raised her other hand, pinched her index finger and thumb together, and hovered it in front of Dorothy's eye socket in an instant... as if she was about to remove the eyeball that had just been installed on her.

Dorothy resisted her instinctive urge to stop and watched her quietly.

Haida then made a grasping and peeling motion in the direction of Tong En.

With this action, the waitress felt a sudden jolt of fear, as if her heart had skipped a beat.

Yes… that was the very action that pulled her spirit out of her body. Unlike that person, Haida did not have any actual contact with her.

After completing all this, Haida's aura began to weaken, as if she had suffered considerable damage. She released Dorothy's hand and made a move to escape from the Mirror of Enlightenment Club.

"call."

With a deep breath, she stopped moving, ceasing her profiling and empathy. Her breathing and expression returned to their initial state.

"Although I haven't been able to obtain specific information about the attacker, I have a basic understanding of his characteristics... Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Dorothy."

"No need to thank me, it's what I should do. I hope it will be helpful to your investigation."

Dorothy waved her hand.

She already found contacting the Misty Society troublesome, so it was naturally best that the Hunters were willing to help find the murderer... These hunters were incredibly efficient, ruthless, and extremely persistent.

Upon hearing this, Childe glanced at Fran beside him almost imperceptibly.

What a pity... We originally planned to have Professor Terence experience dream divination in early January. But after this incident, the Mirror of Enlightenment Club will have to close for at least half a month, missing Dr. Fran's usual part-time work hours.

After completing the routine questioning and taking of statements, Haida left with Fran and Vivian to begin organizing the investigation and search.

Child also left the club soon after.

He was an eyewitness, and also the representative of Baibei who came to observe the proceedings... Having understood the situation sufficiently, there was naturally no need to linger any longer.

As for finding clues or traces left by the criminal, forget about it.

The mirror image recorded his movements, leaving not a single hair behind in those places.

He was like a nightmare that descended silently, appearing abruptly and disappearing without a trace.

-

A small raven perched on Vivian's index finger, preening its glossy, fine black feathers with its beak.

Vivian took out a few birdseeds and placed them in her palm. The crow nimbly hopped down and devoured the birdseeds in a few breaths. Although its movements were large, they were quite precise, and it did not hurt Vivian's skin.

The secret technique 【Calling Bird】 requires a bird as a carrier, with corvids being the best choice. The reason is quite simple: corvids generally have larger brains and are more intelligent, making them better able to carry the secret technique array.

Fran also became somewhat interested in watching Vivian feeding the birds.

"Vivian, what secret arts project have you been studying lately?"

"It's a second-tier mid-level secret technique called [Raven Avatar]. Just like the name suggests, it allows you to transform into a raven. However, the specific principle is actually quite different from Transfiguration... As for the spiritual materials, you can apply to the Secret Court."

Vivian thought about it carefully, and then felt that Dr. Fran might not need her explanation...

Fran nodded, quite agreeing with her choice of program.

"This is indeed a very interesting secret technique, combining concealment, portability, and deception... It is very suitable for the Secret Service."

"Unfortunately, the Secret Court's secret techniques are not recorded in the Ash Codex, and I don't have any readily available information. However, there are some scattered documents in the archives that I can help you look for; some of them are quite interesting..."

As she said this, her amber eyes flickered slightly, as if she had thought of something interesting.

-

-

Transitioning.

Chapter Four: Son of Suju

When the topic of arcane arts came up, Vivian was somewhat surprised by Fran's wide range of knowledge.

Although she already knew how incredibly knowledgeable the doctor was, secret arts were ultimately a discipline that required a great deal of time to accumulate.

The capacity to absorb mystical knowledge is directly related to one's mental strength, which makes "reading extensively" a luxury that is often unattainable.

Rather than trying to understand the obscure and profound, a reckless reader is more likely to become lost in uncontrollable fantasies, losing themselves and degenerating into some kind of fanatical evil spirit…

"Does Dr. Fran also know about the secret arts of the Secret Court?"

"Well... I've actually forgotten most of it."

Speaking of this, Fran scratched his cheek, looking rather regretful.

She lost many things in that somewhat hasty separation experiment twenty years ago…including some of her memories and mystical knowledge. The Ash Canon, "The Silence of Proverbs," which Heda now holds, was created from her fragmented memories.

This is why Fran appeared as a landman when Heda was trapped in the illusion of a dream in Norrington. Because the scriptures the nun carried with her... were part of the doctor's spirit.

The past is too painful to recall...

If Fran hadn't lost the academic work she had plagiarized from Fabius Bayer, she could now even begin preliminary research on Primarchy, or try to get her hands on the manufacturing process of the Imperial Guard.

Fran touched his lips with his index finger, trying quite hard to recall the lost documents on his bookshelf.

"Although I've forgotten a lot, there are still many surviving documents from the Secret Service. I remember there should be some related to this. Some lost, isolated pieces, or fragments of books from different periods..."

Upon hearing this, Vivian's expression turned somewhat strange.

Why do you have our Secret Service's information, and why do you tell a Secret Service agent like this so casually... Director Haida, aren't you going to do anything about this?

Vivian looked at Haida with a hint of pleading, while the nun looked away from her gray-chestnut eyes, pretending not to have heard their conversation.

Oh no, it seems like these two are in cahoots...

Having received no help, she could only try to politely decline Fran's offer of assistance, hoping the doctor wouldn't look at her with that intrigued, lab rat-like gaze...

“Um, Dr. Fran… I’m about 50% complete with my studies on the Raven Avatar, and I don’t plan to switch to that at the moment.”

Fran shook his finger upon hearing this, clearly indicating that he did not intend to interfere with the research she was currently handling.

"Of course, there's no need to switch specializations; the sunk costs are too high. But... don't you want to have more options for your future studies in secret arts?"

"Although the Secret Court's current secret techniques are all products of iteration and almost all of them have good practicality, sometimes... old things from a lost era can also bring unexpected surprises..."

"Stronger concealment, more efficient information transmission, and some lethal arcane arts that drive the shadows..."

Listening to the doctor's gentle and persuasive words, Vivian was inexplicably moved.

Then she realized something was wrong.

Vivian, Vivian, as an agent of the Secret Service, have you forgotten even the basics of "Investigator Fieldwork General Knowledge"? Accepting this offer rashly might end up like Sister Heda, subjected to strange things...

"cough."

Just as she was lost in thought, Haida coughed softly beside her.

Of course, she wasn't aware of what the agent was thinking at that moment, but rather wanted to offer Vivian some of her own advice.

“Dr. Fran can be trusted…in most cases.”

After all, Fran was once the mentor of Medical Secretary Viola and personally ended the Great Plague. Although his words and actions are often eccentric, he is mostly principled and quite easy to get along with...

Fran was deeply moved to hear Heda speak up for him. It would have been even better if there hadn't been a qualifier after that.

Seeing that Haida had vouched for her, Vivian finally felt a little more at ease and agreed.

"...Then I'll have to trouble Dr. Fran."

"It's no trouble at all. I recently completed a rather important study, and I'm feeling a bit unaccustomed to having so much free time... I happen to need some mentally taxing work to help prevent Alzheimer's."

Fran smiled rather cleverly, thus settling the matter.

The Secret Court's secret system is unique, independent of the Ash Codex, and she had done a lot of research in this area in her early years.

However, that's a part of his memory that's been lost... This doctor now has basically nothing that he can use directly, except for some basic third-class secret techniques. That's why Fran is now so keen on creating teaching materials and writing a diary.

"Dr. Fran, do you have any clue about the identity of the attacker?"

Seeing that Fran had finished talking about the secret arts, Haida then asked her for her opinion on the case.

"They came prepared, and they were very professional."

She seemed to have already prepared her answer, and did not hesitate to reply.

“This is a tough case, and there won’t be any more foolish murderers waiting at home for investigators to come to their door... If he had booked his ticket in advance, he would probably be on the steam train leaving Norrington by now.”

"Or he may have chosen to escape by carriage or on foot. But once he leaves the city, it will be very difficult for the hunters to track him down."

After all... he left nothing behind.

Leaving aside tangible items like flesh, hair, and personal ornaments, even information such as names, tone of voice, and spiritual characteristics is completely unknown. Under these circumstances, the effectiveness of divination-based mystical arts is reduced to almost nothing.

Although Haida captured some characteristics of the criminals through profiling, it was not even enough to create a portrait for the wanted poster.

Unless... his luck is really that bad, and he comes into direct contact with Haida.

In close proximity, the psychic resonance of a profiling talent can, to some extent, identify their identity.

"It seems this will be a protracted battle."

"Back at the Funeral Court, I need to update the status of the quest letter and mark him as a long-term target. I'll also remind the hunters stationed abroad to keep an eye on him."

Haida's tone remained calm and steady, but there was a hint of excitement hidden within it.

In most cases, hunting dogs enjoy the moment of pouncing on their prey and tearing it apart. But sometimes, even just following the scent can bring these best friends of humans genuine joy.

The hunters at the funeral parlor also understood this principle well...

Fishing without success is certainly frustrating, but the process itself can be enjoyable. With sufficient preparation, experience, and patience... a fish will eventually bite.

-

Two days later, at No. 03 East District, the "Xunfeng" Cafe on Spoon Leaf Street.

Two men dressed in winter clothes stood by the counter, watching the waiter brew coffee.

The girl, dressed in a silk gauze dance dress, placed the copper kettle containing coffee into the boiling hot water. As the soluble substances inside began to boil and rise with the heat, she deftly lifted the kettle and poured the coffee into a porcelain cup on the side.

Following this process, repeat three times until the porcelain cup is finally filled.

"Oh...it's like coffee is constantly flowing up from the bottom, it's amazing."

A boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old watched with great curiosity as the girl drew latte art on the coffee, as if he was learning for the first time that coffee could be made in this way.

“Albert. Watch your manners. This isn’t Loretown.”

The tall, thin man next to the boy gave him a brief reminder before beginning to explain the principle.

“‘Sand Bath’ is an extraction process in the style of Attila. Compared to the extraction method using high-temperature steam, the aroma is more intense, and I personally prefer this flavor... Of course, the latter also has its unique flavor.”

Nigel spoke slowly and deliberately, while the waitress in a tutu at the counter placed four coffees on a tray.