Chapter 445: Chapter 445 Sharing Something Interesting_1
Rose Iron Prison, warden’s office.
"After repeated verifications, the target had a son, who died young at the age of nine in the year ’57. That same year, the individual divorced and has since remained unmarried, leading a solitary life..."
Aiden finished reading the letter and turned the paper over and over, but found no hidden messages, just this simple report.
This report essentially summed up as: "Nothing out of the ordinary."
It seemed the secret police didn’t take the hints he had given seriously at all.
Considering the promptness of their reply, they indeed had their spies arranged within the Empire. After Heinz had taken up his deal, they also investigated Professor Dodge’s personal connections, including his family composition, but nothing caught their attention.
This was only to be expected since Professor Dodge in fact had no family left—his son had died, and then he directly divorced his wife, all of which happened almost a year prior to his arrest and imprisonment for researching forbidden arts.
Aiden couldn’t help but fall into a quandary; the clue left by Melissa had stalled at the very first step. However, in some way, this also precisely indicated that it was not a false lead. If it was misinformation that even Melissa herself was unclear about or meant to deceive him for her amusement, it wouldn’t be so obviously fake; a qualified piece of misinformation would lead one around in circles to a dead end.
But if even the Empire’s most elite secret police couldn’t find anything, where should he begin his search?
While contemplating, Aiden took the opportunity to look through the remaining letters.
Then, he came across an interesting letter that contained only one sentence:
"Visit the prison before next Tuesday. Stop by for a visit, as there are important matters to discuss."
The signature was a false name that he recognized, belonging to the identity used by the secret police director Heinz Hoffman when operating in the autonomous states.
Aiden wondered for a moment. There was no need for Heinz’s letter to be sent separately from the secret police liaison’s response. Aiden’s commission would always end up in Heinz’s hands, from whom he would delegate local spies for investigation. The liaison could have simply included his response with their report.
Yet the man sent his letter separately, as if he didn’t want his subordinates to know about it.
Considering that his head was still firmly attached and he still found time to visit Sera, it seemed his negotiations within the kingdom were going relatively smoothly. The new king, at the very least, could not do anything to them at the moment. Whether they would become restricted and used by the opposition was another matter.
There was actually no need for Heinz to meet with Aiden just to visit Sera. If everything was in place and there was a need to discuss how to get Sera out of prison, then indeed he would need to meet. But such matters didn’t really require bypassing the liaison in the autonomous states. The people Heinz currently had in Silvertown were assuredly those he trusted; as these people were closer to Sera, he wouldn’t take unnecessary risks in his choice of personnel, despite the protection of the Rose Iron Prison.
Unless, what he wanted to talk to Aiden about was something even his subordinates were not privy to.
Could it be related to Mr. Dodge? Aiden instinctively thought along those lines.
He had just inquired about Professor Dodge’s family when Heinz "happenstance" decided to come and discuss matters with him in person... it might not be a coincidence.
It looked like Heinz perhaps knew some information too sensitive to pass through others. If that was indeed the case, it was something to look forward to with "anticipation."
Aiden continued with his work when he heard Abigail’s voice: "Do you have a moment, warden?"
He immediately took out the Great Witch’s token; an object kept on one’s person and continuously activated with magic power. Abigail could at any time convey a message to him or pull him into a meeting, at times the transmitted voice audible only to the bearer.
"Got news?" Aiden asked.
"Not exactly, but Qiqimora has found something interesting and wants to have a chat with you," Abigail replied. "Is it convenient now?"
"Please."
A dense fog immediately enveloped the area, and Aiden’s vision projected the summoned space, with only Abigail, Qiqimora, and him at the long table.
"Missed me, Warden?" Qiqimora greeted Aiden enthusiastically, visibly holding a cigarette between her fingers and puffing away.
"Let’s skip the pleasantries. I almost started to wonder if you’d been taken out by someone after such a long silence," Aiden responded.
"That’s a bit much, I’m not a wanted criminal," Qiqimora said with some dissatisfaction. "Even if I were, there aren’t many who could catch me."
"I’m not talking about Bounty Hunters and Heretic Inquisitors, but Mr. Bloodcoat and Professor Dodge—either of them could take you out in an instant. Cut to the chase, whose trail have you found? Mr. Bloodcoat’s or Dodge’s?"
"Neither. I’ve just come across something very intriguing that I thought I’d share with you," Qiqimora said with a smile.
"Alright, let’s hope it’s intriguing enough," Aiden replied.
"I’ve been searching here for a month, basically with no results, then Abigail suggested that I switch focus—instead of obsessing over chasing a guy whose hiding skills outmatch mine by following scant clues, I should look for something in this city that made it worth his while to stay for two years."
"A sound judgment," Aiden nodded in agreement.
"I had Abigail help me a little, and we expanded the search area. Then we discovered a military base on the outskirts of Sunset City," Qiqimora said mysteriously.
"That’s hardly surprising; it’s a border city, and what country doesn’t station troops in strategic border areas? Especially since there’s a war raging just beyond the border," Aiden frowned. "Is that what you consider interesting?"
"Hold on, the interesting bit is inside the military base! They’ve hollowed out a mountain to construct an experimental facility," Qiqimora said, lowering her voice suddenly despite there being only the four of them present.
"Stop playing coy and tell me what experiment it is. You must have seen it for yourself," Aiden demanded.
"That I haven’t, as some interference prevented me from reaching the core area," Qiqimora explained.
"What?" Aiden became alert.
"The core area of the experimental facility is a vast chamber that I couldn’t enter. It seems that someone has tampered with it; my phasing through walls doesn’t work there," Qiqimora answered.
"The influence of authority forces?" Aiden squinted.
"Either there’s someone stationed there whose level is no lower than Qiqimora’s, or there’s a not-so-low-level Divine Artifact exerting its power continuously inside the chamber," Abigail said.
"An experimental facility related to authority forces, conveniently located in Sunset City, inaccessible to ’Void’ authority for easy investigation..." Aiden pondered for a moment and then nodded. "That does seem likely! That could be why Dodge stayed there, because he couldn’t easily breach it either! I see, that’s indeed a very interesting clue."
"What if I told you the authority forces were only used for confidentiality because the real content of the experiments is too stimulating? Wouldn’t you find that even more interesting?" Qiqimora suggested.
