Instantly, Barton’s hair stood on end. Although he couldn’t be sure that he smelled blood, his spiritual perception told him that this was the smell of blood.
Vernal encountered some misfortune? Just like the archaeological team that I was in back then? No, there’s no blood on the envelope. How can it emit the smell of blood? After a brief, extreme fright, Barton stood up immediately.
As an ordinary person, he had only one reaction when facing such a situation.
That was to call the police!
As Barton took the envelope and left his seat, he suddenly remembered something.
There were clear rules of how to deal with such situations within the Loen Relic Search and Preservation Foundation. If a project were to produce a phenomenon that was terrifying or incomprehensible, employees were to immediately halt everything and report to the Compliance Department. They would be responsible for the follow-up.
Barton didn’t understand why he needed to go to the Compliance Department. From what he knew, this was a department that handled provisions and audit projections for any violations of the rules. It had nothing to do with handling unknown dangers.
However, the founder of the foundation, Miss Audrey Hall, didn’t make many changes during the internal auditing of the departments. She only added this one clause. Therefore, the higher-ups didn’t wish to argue with her over this.
And obviously I’d prefer to meet the head of security… Barton muttered as he walked out of his office, heading straight for the Compliance Department at the end of the corridor.
Knock! Knock! Knock! He tried his best to compose himself and knocked on the door three times in a gentlemanly manner.
“Come on in.” A voice without any uniqueness came from inside.
To be frank, Barton didn’t know much about his colleagues at the Compliance Department. He only knew that they were cold and heartless. They acted quickly and easily caught any parasites within the foundation who tried to cheat the foundation for funding.
Taking a deep breath, Barton turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.
In his mind, the Compliance Department likely worked in an abnormally dark environment. Everyone maintained their silence and exchanged a few words from time to time, deciding the fate of a project and its principal investigator. However, the first thing that entered his eyes was bright sunlight, colorful decorations, and an open and bright setting.
“What’s the matter?” A black-haired, brown-eyed employee with no special features from the Compliance Department greeted him.
He was wearing a thick black coat, which didn’t seem to be able to withstand the cold winter weather in East Chester.
In addition, Barton sensed that the voice of this Compliance Department employee had a Backlund accent to it. Either he was born there, or he had stayed there for quite some time.
He isn’t cold, mechanical, and difficult to get along with. He even feels friendly… As such thoughts flashed through Barton’s mind, he said hurriedly, “A partner of ours seems to have encountered a situation!
“The letter he sent only consisted of an envelope. There’s no content inside, and there’s the smell of blood coming from it.”
The employee from the Compliance Department didn’t show any change in expression. He nodded and said, “Show me the envelope.”
Barton passed Archaeologist Vernal’s “letter.”
Only then did he realize that he was being rude. He hurriedly asked, “I’m sorry; how should I address you?”
The employee from the Compliance Department raised the envelope and carefully looked at it against the sunlight. He then casually replied, “Pacheco Dwayne, deputy director of the Compliance Department, an experienced solicitor. Just call me Pacheco.”
Without waiting for Barton’s reply, Pacheco lowered his arm and said with a serious expression, “Indeed, there are some abnormalities.
“A preliminary conclusion is that this letter is from the Clough Hotel in the city. I once lived there for some time, and I know that they like to emboss Lavender Castle on their envelopes and paper.” “Do we need to call the police?” Barton blurted out.
Pacheco shook his head.
“Not for now. Let’s go to the venue to confirm the situation.
“This requires your assistance. I don’t know that partner.” “…Alright. I’ll go with you.” Barton hesitated. After exiting the Loen Relic Search and Preservation Foundation and boarding a rental carriage, Barton found the silence rather awkward. He took the initiative to ask, “Pacheco, you’re from Backlund?”
“No.” Pacheco shook his head. “I’m from Midseashire. I just happen to have lived in Backlund for nearly fifteen years.” “Why did you leave Backlund? I heard that it’s the city most suitable for lawyers to develop their career,” Barton said casually.
Pacheco smiled and said, “But it’s also a place full of competition.
“Alright, I was just joking. I was once a personal lawyer and partner of Framis Cage, a steam car mogul. Later, he invested in the Backlund Bike Company, and I began to work as the company’s legal advisor.”
Barton was suddenly enlightened.
“Miss Audrey has a large number of shares in that company. Did you get to know her because of that?”
“That’s right.” Pacheco sighed. “In the war, Framis unfortunately passed away. His estate fell into dispute. As his friend, I helped his widow and children obtain quite a large share. As a result, I offended some people. This made my situation in Backlund become difficult. Fortunately, Miss Audrey extended an olive branch to me and invited me to East Chester County to work at the foundation as deputy director of the Compliance Department.”
With Pacheco telling him such matters, Barton felt a closer bond with him.
He was slightly puzzled and asked, “Why did they target you? You were just carrying out your duty as a friend and a lawyer.
“Those people should aim at the widow and children of Framis Cage.”
Pacheco laughed self-deprecatingly and said, “I used some inappropriate methods. “Also, Framis has other friends to take care of his widow and children.”
As they chatted, the rental carriage arrived at the Clough Hotel in Stoen City.
The location of the hotel was rather good. The street was beautiful and quiet, and they only needed to walk for ten minutes to reach the most bustling streets in the city.
After entering the hotel and finding the boss, Pacheco asked directly, “We’ve come to find a friend named Vernal.”
Through their casual conversation, he had already grasped the general situation of the target.
The boss frowned in puzzlement.
“If I remember correctly, there shouldn’t be any customer here named Vernal.”
Barton quickly added, “He’s a little taller than me, and he looks very well-built. His nose is always very red, and his body often reeks of alcohol…”
He described the characteristics of Vernal in detail.The boss recalled and looked at the attendant beside him.
“There’s a guest like that,” the attendant replied immediately. “He lives in Room 309.”
Under the attendant’s lead, Barton and Pacheco arrived outside the room and knocked on the door.
The knocking echoed, but there was no movement inside.
Just as Barton was about to suggest calling the police again, Pacheco suddenly bent down and picked up a white, soft tuft of hair from the crack at the bottom of the door.
No, it wasn’t hair. It resembled the condensation of fog. With Pacheco’s fingers touching it, it spread out and merged into the air.
At the same time, Barton, whose spiritual perception was slightly different from ordinary people, vaguely heard a faint male voice:
“Tamara… Tamara…”
