Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 346 Killing the dog and striking at its heart
The view you are seeing is not complete.

To uncover the truth, we must return to reality itself.

These two sentences, which De La Shau relayed to Milo, originated from the thinking eye of the Golden Rule Church.

……

Milo sat on the steps in the backyard of the South City Law Enforcement Office, staring at a kind-looking old sheepdog tied to a pillar, and briefly fell into deep thought.

It seems that the Eye of Thinking has indeed foreseen some truths, some truths that it had not yet realized.

Based on the old man's memory of the sheepdog's appearance, Milo was certain that the sheepdog in front of him was indeed the one that had accompanied the old man all day long.

This seems to overturn all previous speculations.

The entire law enforcement team, including Milo, believed that the old man had been killed by the sheepdog. The law enforcement office in Glen had been searching for the sheepdog for the past month, and finally, they found the stray sheepdog in the woods next to the town.

Its fur was messy, it had become much thinner, and it was very listless.

But no matter how you look at it, it couldn't possibly be the mutated creature that Milo saw in the old man's undead perspective.

So, when was this theory of animal berserk behavior first confirmed?

Upon careful reflection, Milo realized that from the old man's perspective, he hadn't actually seen the sheepdog transform into that bizarre, vicious canine creature; it was merely a thought that lingered in the old man's mind before his death.

Milo's deductions were interfered with by the deceased's consciousness from the very beginning.

In addition to the series of messages from Investigator C, it was actually Mida who first proposed the theory of animal berserk behavior, which was a preconceived notion. Milo also followed Mida's judgment to deduce clues about the case.

……

"Then they're all wrong."

Milo patted his head.

The animal that killed the old man was not a sheepdog, but another creature; the berserk dog was not a mutation of the sheepdog.

But what about the series of similar cases that Investigator C collected from surrounding cities?

The autopsy report showed that they all died from being mauled by some kind of wild animal.

It can't be that all 23 incidents were coincidences.

A month has passed, and it is only now that it has been discovered that there was a misjudgment in the case concerning Glenn, which should not have happened.

Milo recalled once again the sense of familiarity that had arisen in his heart when he first came into contact with this case.

The victim, torn apart by a wild beast, was certain that the familiar feeling came from there, but he just couldn't understand why he felt this way.

"Um……"

He sat alone in the yard, chin in hand, staring blankly at the dog.

The sheepdog, which had lost its owner and was once a suspect, lay on the ground with its eyes half-closed, looking pitiful. Milo felt that if you threw it a cigarette right now, it would immediately learn to strike a match.

……

Soon after, Enid also ran over from the law enforcement hall.

She was aware of the Glenn case, and she was in charge of much of the information gathering work during this period.

Enid rubbed the sheepdog's head:

"Little dog, little dog, why have you been missing for so many days? You must have been starving in the woods. What could have scared you like that..."

Regardless of whether Enid's human language could soothe the dog, as her fragmented words reached Milo's ears, his troubled eyes immediately brightened.

"Sheepdogs are a very intelligent breed, right?"

He asked Enid.

“Yes, very smart.” Enid nodded at Milo. “We had one when I was little, and my father always said that before I was seven, my brain wasn’t as sharp as a dog’s…”

"follow me."

Before Enid could finish speaking, Milo jumped up and started walking back, then turned around and added, "Take it with you too."

Enid was puzzled, but she still untied the rope from the pillar, took the sheepdog, and followed Milo.

In the basement below the law enforcement hall, Milo had Enid lead the sheepdog up onto a chair.

Rick joined in from the side.

Six months have passed, and his life rhythm has not changed much. Fortunately, his physical shape and appearance are still barely within the range of a normal person. His skin has become paler than before, but since he usually works in the basement, no one around him has any suspicion.

Upon seeing the sheepdog for the first time, he let out a strange cry:
"Wow, what a dirty dog."

After he finished speaking, he began to tidy up the many instruments on the dissection table.

Enid's brows immediately furrowed, and she stared at Rick warily before turning to Milo and asking:
“You’re not planning to dissect it, are you? I don’t agree!” However, Milo ignored him and instead instructed Rick to bring out some evidence left behind by the old man who owned the sheepdog, including the old man’s pipe and torn pieces of clothing.

He placed all these odds and ends in front of the sheepdog.

Then, with practiced ease, he first extended his hand for the dog to smell. Once the dog was familiar with the scent of his hand, Milo began to gently stroke the dog's head again and again.

Visibly, the sheepdog curled up, its expression becoming very sad.

……

"This is... killing the dog's spirit!" Rick said inappropriately, only to be glared at by Milo and Enid at the same time. He shrugged and shut his mouth.

Unbeknownst to anyone, the cracks on Milo's forearm beneath his sleeve began to glow faintly with a green light.

As time went on, the sheepdog became increasingly restless. It picked up its owner's torn clothes, curled up into a ball, buried its head under its paws, and trembled.

...

Five minutes later, just as Enid was immersed in the sorrowful atmosphere of empathizing with the sheepdog, Milo suddenly snapped his fingers, and the sheepdog jumped up and began wagging its tail at Milo.

"You...how did you do that?"

Enid's eyes lit up, as if she had witnessed something amazing.

Perhaps for a little girl, being able to communicate effectively with small animals is a very exciting thing.

Milo replied casually:

"I helped it recall the crime scene."

This is the truth.

Enid's earlier remark reminded Milo that the sheepdog must have encountered something it considered terrifying and dangerous because it had chosen to hide in the wild for a whole month.

Then Milo remembered something else: his Dream Attraction ability should also be effective on animals. Although he had never tried it, hybrids are not strictly speaking human. Since Dream Attraction is effective on hybrids, then it should be no problem on more common animals.

The reason I haven't tried it yet is simply because Milo has no idea what is most frightening from the perspective of small animals.

But for the sheepdog in front of it, what could be more terrifying than a fellow creature that had torn its owner apart?

Milo's judgment proved to be correct.

He now finally understood why the dream-guided could not receive detailed memories or sensory information from the dream-guided object, because that information was meaningless to the controller.

From the perspective of the Great Old Ones, the behavior of humans that they dream of is like Milo dreaming of sheepdogs. It is directed at beings of a lower level than themselves. In the presence of differences in consciousness and thought levels, the most real and effective thing is emotion, and it must be the deepest fear.

For example, a sheepdog can remember the scent of the rabid dog that killed it, but Milo doesn't need to know what that scent is like. After all, as a human, he doesn't have such a keen sense of smell to help him track down the killer.

But a sheepdog can help Milo do that.

……

"I think I need to go to Glenn."

Milo took the rope from Enid.

"Can I come with you?" Enid immediately perked up and patted her chest confidently, "I promise I won't cause you any trouble, I'll do whatever you say."

But Milo could not possibly take her to find that mutated, vicious dog that was two heads taller than an adult when it stood upright.

He nodded to Enid:

"Okay, then you stay at the law enforcement office. When it's time for your patrol, go out on patrol with them. Don't forget you have a hearing to attend this afternoon. I'll be back early."

Upon hearing this, Enid's face immediately fell.

Milo also casually mentioned the hearing, which made Enid, who was already feeling down, even worse.

But this was a law enforcement office, not her home in Valrocan, so she had to obey orders.

Despite her disappointment, Enid nodded.
"Then you pay attention to safety."

Rick, standing nearby, added earnestly, "Yes, be careful. The thing that killed that old man was no ordinary creature; its bite force was at least ten times that of an ordinary coyote."

Milo patted Rick on the shoulder: "You're right. Pack your things and come with me."

"Hmm—eh?"

The latter paused for two seconds, then sensed something was wrong and began to speak faster:
"Hey, no, I'm just a logistics coroner, not suited for frontline investigations. Besides, I haven't touched a gun in years... How about..."

However, Milo didn't give him a chance to make excuses. He grabbed the leash and headed towards the stairwell, leaving Rick with only one unquestionable statement:
"We'll be departing in five minutes."

Rick immediately became even more frustrated than Enid...

(End of this chapter)