The days of being a spiritual mentor in Meiman.

Chapter 4258 Possession by an Evil Spirit (Thirty-Eight)

Kent frowned. He hadn't expected that all of this could be traced back to such a distant era. He said, "What's the story behind this case?"

The sheriff sighed, a look of reminiscence on his face, and said, "That must have happened when my grandfather was young. Back then, acrobatic performances were just emerging, and circuses were still a novelty. This flying angel had a great talent for acrobatics from a young age. After seeing an acrobatic performance in a big city with her parents, she started practicing at home. She mastered all sorts of stunts and was already quite famous in the town when she was only a teenager."

"Later, she went on to learn more professional acrobatic performances, and as soon as she stepped onto the stage, she gained countless fans. She could even be said to be the founder of a school of acrobatics."

"During her performances, she met many like-minded friends, and together they formed an acrobatic troupe, which later evolved into a circus, namely the Qile Circus in Daxi Valley Town."

"However, with more people comes more conflicts. In the circus, Sattan's colleague, the animal trainer Gingers, had a serious conflict with her due to jealousy, or perhaps because of unequal distribution of profits. Finally, on a dark night, he broke into Sattan's house, killed her entire family of four, and set the house on fire. This was a major case in such a remote place. The truth was quickly uncovered, Gingers went to prison and never came out, while the circus was taken over by the family of clown performer Berg."

This statement contained a wealth of information. Kent took a while to understand it before realizing that the clown performer Berg, whom the sheriff mentioned, was likely Linda's great-grandfather, or rather, old Berg's father. However, since their ages at conception were uncertain, he could also be her great-great-grandfather, or old Berg's grandfather. In any case, it was definitely related to their ancestors.

“There are actually many suspicious points in this case,” the sheriff said bluntly. “Back then, there were no criminal investigation methods at all. In such a small place, no one cared how the police investigated the case. Anyway, someone died, and whoever didn’t get along with him was arrested. Ginger was the person who didn’t get along with Satyan the worst, so he became the murderer.”

"Okay. So, what about the case file? Can I see it?" Kent actually wanted to show the case file to Batman; he was an expert at this kind of thing, and he could always find out the truth as long as there was a clue.

The sheriff shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, back then, an unidentified person sneaked into the police station, set a fire, and burned down the entire archives room. At that time, there were only paper case files, and after the fire, there was nothing left."

"Could this be the work of the real killer?"

"I don't know about that. All I know about this case is what's been passed down by word of mouth within the police station," the sheriff said, shaking his head. "If this case weren't so famous, I wouldn't know about things from so long ago."

Kent's brow furrowed even deeper. He had hoped to uncover more clues, but now it seemed to reveal even more mysteries. However, his instincts told him that Gingers wasn't the real killer; the real culprit was Berg, who ultimately profited. There wasn't a single good person in that family.

"So the woman who called for help on the phone was Satyan?"

"If, as you say, there are circus advertisements in the background... In those days, circus advertisements were usually broadcast during prime time on radio programs, and that's exactly when the murderer committed the crime. So it's indeed possible that it was the former Flying Angels."

Kent pondered. While the phone call was supposed to be the clue leading him to the town, it seemed there might be other plot points yet to be triggered. For one thing, in the storyline, Bruce's daughter was missing, and they hadn't yet encountered any clues related to her.

Kent thought for a moment, then asked, "If Satyan's ghost is real, where do you think she would be?"

The sheriff was taken aback by the question. He said, "How would I know? If you hadn't given me this camera, I wouldn't have known that ghosts actually exist."

Kent scratched his head. He was genuinely envious of Batman's sharp mind; with so many clues in front of him, he just couldn't figure it out.

“Since she called you, why don’t you ask her?” the sheriff said. “If a camera can capture images of ghosts, then a phone call might be able to call ghosts too. Why don’t you just ask her?”

“Yes.” Kent immediately realized. “I’ll go back now and ask her tonight. Oh, and this is for you.”

Kent shoved the camera into the sheriff's hand and said, "Don't worry, there aren't any important photos here. It's just that your wife seems to have something to say to you; you can use this to communicate with her."

The sheriff's expression was complicated, but he still left the camera behind, watched Kent leave, then picked up a notebook from the side, pointed the camera at the notebook, and whispered, "Honey, if you have anything to say, write it here."

After leaving the police station, Kent returned to his office. His colleague was a little surprised to see him, saying, "Weren't you on annual leave? Why are you back so soon?"

"I'm really worried," Kent said frankly. "Is that harassing phone call still coming in?"

"Of course there are, it's the same time every day, right on time, but no one dares to answer except you," the colleague said, shaking his head.

Kent felt relieved. He knew the phone call wasn't just about leading him to the town; it must have served another purpose. He went back to his apartment, took a shower, changed his clothes, and then went to a fast-food restaurant for a big meal to replenish his energy.

He glanced at his health bar, relieved that he hadn't lost much health. After all, he had been diligently playing his role in the story, and hadn't strayed far from the mark. Perhaps that was why he hadn't died even when he faced the evil spirit head-on.

He touched his chest and said, "Don't worry, little guy. No matter how complicated this is, I will dig them all out. None of them will escape."

That evening, Kent waited by the phone. As soon as the time came, the phone rang, and Kent answered immediately. Fortunately, there were hardly any colleagues on the night shift; he was the only one left in the office. This time, Kent didn't repeatedly ask "Where are you?" but instead said directly, "Hello, are you Flying Angel? I feel very sorry for what happened to you, and I really want to help you. Can you tell me what to do?"

The woman's scream stopped abruptly, followed by silence, then a crackling sound of electricity coming from the other end of the line, and then a sudden "beep" that startled Kent.

Then, the numbers on the keypad started lighting up. Kent quickly grabbed a pen to copy them down, and then realized it looked like a phone number.

After the numbers finished displaying, the call was disconnected. Kent hesitated for a moment, looking at the phone number, but still picked up the receiver and dialed. The phone rang continuously with a busy tone, as if no one was answering, but it wasn't automatically disconnected either.

At that moment, Kate, who had just finished teaching Linda to drive, dropped her off, and returned to Aunt Kane's house, suddenly heard a sharp, piercing telephone ring.

The ringing bell, like a death knell, echoed endlessly in the empty, old house. Kate broke out in a cold sweat, but thankfully she was a puppet and her legs wouldn't go weak.

Kate took a deep breath, mustered her courage, thought about the ugly face of that evil spirit, and finally walked towards the direction where the phone was ringing. She then discovered that the ringing was coming from the clock hanging in Aunt Kane's living room, the one that rings every ten o'clock.

A clock was ringing like a telephone, a bizarre phenomenon that made Kate forget her fear. She began to wonder, if this really was a telephone, then which part was the receiver?

Kate didn't know either, so she could only try. She reached out and touched the pendulum of the clock, and sure enough, a voice came from within: "Hello? Satyan?"

Kate immediately recognized Kent's voice. She exclaimed, "What? It's me, it's Kate!"

Kent was also taken aback. The two remained silent for over ten seconds, unsure how to express their surprise. How could someone make a phone call to their teammate like that?
Kent knew his brain probably wasn't the best, but Kate, as Batwoman, was certainly better than him. So he told Kate everything that had happened in Westville.

Kate reacted almost immediately, saying, "Linda."

"what?"

“Linda is the only living person in town. Not only is she not afraid of evil spirits, but she has also escaped water pollution and poisoning. But she herself is not anything special, which proves that someone is helping her. It is very likely that it is the ghost of the flying angel, Satan, that you mentioned. This also explains why the phone call went to Aunt Kane’s house.”

Kent had too few clues and was still somewhat confused. Kate didn't have time to tell him everything, so she said, "Linda drove away from town. I suspect she's going to Westville. Find her. If it really is the ghost of the Flying Angel protecting her, then she must know a lot. Go quickly!"

Kent hung up the phone and rushed out of his office, heading towards the only highway into Westville. However, he calculated the time in his mind. Although the town wasn't close, it took several hours from day to night; he could have driven there long ago, and going now would probably be too late.

But to his surprise, not long after he arrived at the intersection, he saw a figure walking towards him. The person was wearing a red dress, walking briskly and quickly, and carrying that signature harpoon in her hand.

“Linda!” Kent called out.

Linda saw him and seemed a little happy. She walked over quickly and said, "What are you doing here?"

“I’m waiting for you here. Kate called me and said you went into town. She was worried about you and asked me to come and pick you up. But she said you drove here. Where’s your car?”

“I’m not a very good driver,” Linda said, sounding a little frustrated. “I accidentally drove off the road, so I had to walk.”

"Are you alright?" Kent asked quickly. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

Linda shook her head and said, "But I've been walking for a long time, and I'm a little hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

"Yes, I'll take you out to eat."

Ten minutes later, the two were seated by the window in the fast food restaurant. Watching Linda wolf down her food, Kent didn't know where to begin. After a moment's thought, he finally said, "You..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the wrapper containing the hamburger, which Linda had tossed aside, gradually unfold, revealing rows and rows of writing on it. Kent's eyes widened.