The Villain Saint is my secondary account

"This allowed all the unsuspecting servants in the mansion to testify that I had met with 'Madam' late that night, while Viscount Tekkadi, who met with his old lover in Coral Harbor, had a seemingly 'perfect' alibi."

"So how was the evidence finally found?"

Ella and Detective Ford chatted as they walked side by side down the stairwell toward the police station lobby on the first floor.

"Although I had never actually met Mrs. Tekady, fortunately, our detective patiently described the image of Mrs. Tekady in the case file to me after my humbly inquiring, which made me realize the problem."

As Mr. Ford spoke, he patted Inspector Greg’s shoulder affectionately. “Although Mrs. Tekati was also wearing a veil and gloves when she summoned me, and was covered by a thick robe that obscured her figure, I noticed that the size of her shoes under her skirt was different from the one recorded in the file. On the standard mahogany floor of the bedroom, she stepped on a board half a size wider than Mrs. Tekati’s size 36.”

"This small detail made me realize that the person I met was likely not the same person as the deceased. Once I realized this, it was not a problem to deduce his true identity by following the clues in the case file."

"So that afternoon I asked Greg to find the maid, and our detective friend was indeed happy to help."

"Help you my foot! Why didn't you tell me earlier that you have a brother who works in the royal family?"

Greg looked sullen, clearly annoyed at being tricked by Sherlin Ford.

"Don't say that. Now we're practically good friends who have worked together."

Mr. Ford grinned.

As they spoke, the group arrived at the lobby of the police station. At that moment, Greg suddenly noticed a beautifully wrapped birthday gift box on the front desk.

The gift box, tied with a pretty ribbon bow, sat quietly on the counter, as if it had been there for quite some time.

"Hey, Acreia, who's that for?"

Greg called out to the young detective sitting at the front desk, who was receiving a steady stream of people reporting crimes.

"what?"

Overwhelmed with work, the young detective, called Akrea, turned around and saw the box. "Uh? When was this placed here? I'm not quite sure... Oh, I understand, sir. Don't worry, we'll take care of it for you soon."

"Why is the police station so lively tonight?"

Ella looked at the large group of people in the lobby and asked in surprise.

"Recently, the security situation in Fog City has been a bit chaotic. Ever since the appearance of the Ripper, for some reason, there has been a gradual increase in cases of monster attacks, robberies, and thefts."

Ford explained to Ella.

"However, tonight, it's probably because a carriage carrying gold coins overturned on King Street this afternoon, and a group of people went to pick them up. They were notified by a notice that the coins were marked as being from the vault, so they came to register and return them."

"...that damned Ripper."

At the same time, Greg muttered a curse under his breath, clearly indicating that he had been working overtime frequently lately because of these messy things.

Despite grumbling, Greg approached the counter, examined the birthday gift box, and found a small greeting card at the ribbon bow.

To the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (*＾ワ＾*)

This is the text written on the front of the card, along with a hand-drawn little emoji. Greg turns the card over, and the back shows a firework-shaped pattern.

"What's this……"

"boom"

A loud bang suddenly erupted, and an invisible sound wave instantly spread throughout the entire hall.

Then, colorful ribbons fell from the sky like a shower of flowers, floating above the heads of everyone in the hall who looked astonished.

Chapter 124 A Little Surprise

Despite the deafening bang, the birthday gift box wasn't a bomb, but a small firework filled with ribbons. Like the sly smile of the god of mischief, it made everyone present's hearts leap into their throats.

Greg's heart nearly stopped until the colorful ribbons gently covered his thinning hair, and a blush of shyness slowly crept onto his rugged face.

"Dog shit!!? Who the hell did this?!"

Greg's roar echoed through the lobby, silencing the other group of young detectives and the man who had come to return the gold coins.

"Don't rush, Detective, look, there's another letter in that box."

Ford brushed the confetti off his head and said, “To be honest, I was startled too… Madam, oh, you look perfectly fine.”

Beside Ella, Orfindo had already pulled out a black umbrella after the "explosion" and held it over Ella's head, so the falling ribbons only landed on the umbrella.

Under the umbrella, Ella remained calm, composed, and elegant, like a young lady from a wealthy family.

Greg picked up the letter from the exploding gift box, casually opened it, and saw these few words written on it.

"First of all, I am delighted to invite everyone from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to participate in a fun cat-and-mouse game."

"This is the first gift, a small firework, as a surprise I prepared for everyone, offered free of charge."

"I hid the second gift in the industrial area because the constant exhaust fumes there created an eternal haze that shrouded the city. So I thought maybe I could do something to make the night sky in Valencia see stars and the moon."

"Therefore, members of the Royal Police, you have one hour from now on to find this little gift of mine before the seventh chime of the Clock Tower echoes along King Street."

"Or perhaps, I will be fortunate enough to witness an even grander fireworks display tonight."

Greg, clutching the letter in his hand, glared at the tense young detective Acreia at the front desk with a murderous look in his eyes, and said, word by word, "Who the hell put this at the front desk?"

"I don't know... I really didn't notice, sir!"

Akrea looked like she was about to cry.

"Quickly find someone to question everyone in the lobby to see if anyone witnessed who brought this thing here... Also, damn it, report this situation to the chief immediately, without delay."

Greg, suppressing his anger, gave the order; it was clear he wouldn't be leaving work that day.

Even if it's just a prank, he has to report it if there's even the slightest possibility of a real bombing.

"need any help?"

Mr. Ford glanced at the letter in Greg's hand. "Oh, oh, papyrus from Watson Workshop. Nobles favor this kind of paper that is both fragile and expensive, requiring elaborate craftsmanship to demonstrate their status."

Greg paused, glancing down at the letter in his hand. "Of course I know it's papyrus... but how did you manage to tell which factory it came from?"

"Handmade papyrus undergoes an additional polishing process compared to that produced in steam-powered factories. Because the polishing technique is not as uniform as that of steam-powered machines, the surface sheen will show slight differences."

Ford explained, "And as far as I know, the Watson workshop in the Fog City leaves such a thickness at the edge of the paper so that it can add some fancy borders as required."

“I have indeed seen the letter paper that Watson Workshop supplies to the nobility; it has extra decorative patterns on the edges.”

Greg rubbed the edge of the papyrus; it was indeed thicker than regular papyrus. "But this one doesn't have that?"

"This indicates that the raw materials were taken directly from Watson's workshop and have not yet undergone any decoration or processing."

Ford's lips curled into a slight smile. "The person who sent the letter went there."

Greg's mouth gaped open, and after a moment of stunned silence, he immediately turned to Detective Akrea beside him and said, "Immediately gather the detectives on duty and form a team to head to the industrial area!"

Seeing Greg busy running around, Mr. Ford turned around, took off his hat, and gestured slightly to Ella, "I'm sorry, beautiful lady, it's probably inconvenient to escort you to the street corner now."

"That won't be necessary,"

Ella stroked her chin. "I'm also a little curious about this case."

"You seem quite interested in solving cases?"

"Well, because I've been involved in quite a few of these recent cases,"

Ella raised an eyebrow slightly. "I have a feeling that this sudden case is related to some things I'm investigating."

"Oh, so this is what women's intuition is?"

Ford laughed.

"It's a rational analysis!"

Ella crossed her arms. "I'm all about logic."

"Haha, it seems I misjudged."

Ford nodded politely, "Madam, your mystery is truly enigmatic."

Meanwhile, a large group of people who had come to the lobby were detained in the police station for questioning. Although some complained, there was nothing they could do. Greg dared not release them all before finding the suspect who put the explosive gift box.

Meanwhile, another detective squad, fully armed, was waiting to depart in the lobby corridor.

Ella glanced around and noticed that there were actually two players in the detective team. She couldn't help but wonder, "Does the police station now have otherworldly travelers as an asset?"

"Yes, we recruited some travelers from other worlds this month, and their various strange abilities are quite useful."

After assigning the tasks, Greg turned around and answered Ella's question, "Like now in Fog City, the otherworldly travelers there can pass on messages to the other one who is waiting here at any time."

"Oh."

Ella nodded.

Players' presence is no longer as weak as it used to be; nowadays, it seems like they can play a role in everything.

Greg then invited Ella and Detective Ford to the office area behind the lobby. Ford, without a doubt, might be of great help with his reasoning abilities.

As for Ella, Ford only extended a polite invitation and didn't expect her to be willing to help. But since she accepted, Ford figured it was just to have a pretty girl to feast his eyes on and make tonight's overtime work less bitter.

The field team set off for the industrial area in a grand procession. About forty minutes later, the front line received a message from the players that they had found a package containing ten kilograms of concentrated explosives made from unstable crystal ore hidden in Watson's workshop.

The news startled Ford; if this thing exploded, it could at least send the entire factory flying into the air.

"Damn it, that bastard who wrote the letter is serious."

Without Ford, Greg, in a moment of desperation, might have only thought of sending people to search the entire industrial area... It took them forty minutes to pinpoint the specific factory, although this included travel time, but it was clear that an hour was definitely not enough to search the entire industrial area.

If it weren't for Ford's guidance, Chongqing would probably have been adorned with a spectacular fireworks display tonight.

But this was only the second gift, because a second message came from the front lines immediately afterward: they found another letter in the explosive package.

Chapter 125 The Night of the Full Moon

"It's not over, right?"

Although Greg had expected it, he still felt a bit of a headache when news came from the front lines that there was a second letter.

What was the content of the second letter?

"Sir, they haven't said anything yet,"

The player in charge of communications, who was being questioned by Greg, stared straight ahead. Although he couldn't see it, Ella knew he was looking at the system communication panel in his field of vision.

"They didn't say anything? What are they waiting for?"

Greg frowned.

"Forehead……"

After a pause, the player replied, "No, they checked the letter, and there was nothing written on it."

"what?"

Greg's lips twitched. "That bastard's playing us, huh!?"

"of course not."

Just then, a high-pitched and childish voice suddenly rang out in the office.

"Who? Who's speaking?!"

Greg glanced around, but all the detectives in the office wore expressions of astonishment.

"Who's speaking? I suppose you're shouting that, Detective?"

"there."

Reclining in his armchair, the nonchalant Sherlinford casually pointed to the table in the center of the room. "Look down there."

The nearby detective immediately bent down and found a conch shell glued to the inside of the table under the table.

"The phonograph conch".

Ford named the device, saying, "This little thing is like a phonograph; it can pre-record sounds and then play them back at a specified time."

Play a pre-recorded audio? Greg's expression was complicated. "But..."

Before Greg could finish speaking, the conch shell spoke again, "But how does he know everything I say? Detective, that's what you're trying to say, isn't it? Hahahaha!"

"Damn it!"

Greg cursed angrily, his face flushed red. The feeling that his every move was anticipated by the other party disgusted him.

"How stupid! It's because I can predict the future!"

The voice from the conch shell continued to mock.