Ch'en sat there, her brain cells burning at a frantic pace as she tried to translate the "vengeful spirits" Jeanne had described into a term a normal person could understand. She needed a plausible way to hoodwink the people coming in to report the cases.
The reason she thought in terms of "hoodwinking" was that even Ch'en had no positive feelings toward those thugs. If it weren't for the responsibilities of her position, she would have been tempted to just close the cases haphazardly.
After thinking it over, she decided the two guys who blew up were easy enough to explain—at most, she could just say the L.G.D. didn't know the details. Who knew what kind of secret research those two had been conducting in the shadows that resulted in them blowing themselves up?
The biggest problem, however, was the internal situation in Lungmen. The case files for those gang members who had died under bizarre circumstances were already piling up to the ceiling. Ch'en sat there deep in thought, her tail swishing irritably behind her with a restless thud, seemingly still unable to find a suitable excuse.
"Here's a suggestion: since those guys were affected by my Originium Arts, most of them definitely have inseparable ties to that company. You could investigate from that angle, or just report directly to your superior."
Looking at the contemplative Ch'en, Jeanne offered a hint. Given enough time, Ch'en would have realized this herself, but her current state was clearly affected by a lack of sleep.
It was also possible that she truly wanted to resolve this incident cleanly, perhaps trying to accomplish some of her own goals in the process of solving these cases. Jeanne had heard that Ch'en always wanted to impose stricter control over the slums and the areas where the gangs held sway, even once having L.G.D. officers and the Rat King's subordinates work together on certain matters.
The result, however, was that those officers ended up dead in the slums. Ch'en found it impossible to believe that it was entirely the fault of the Infected and had nothing to do with the local gangs.
The problem was that they couldn't find any leads, and the Rat King was unable to help in that regard. He might be the man who controlled Lungmen's dark underbelly, but he wasn't the "God of Gangsters." If he helped the L.G.D. move against gang members—or even sent them to prison—his status as a mob boss would suffer. Even as the Rat King, he had to be mindful of such things; while he had the power to eliminate those who defied him, he knew that wasn't always the best solution.
However, taking advantage of the current chaos—especially with the massive vacancies in the gangs leaving them unable to look after themselves—the L.G.D. might finally have a chance to reclaim the authority to set the rules in the slums.
"You have a point... but now isn't the time to talk about that! I can settle those details with that 'Char Siu' once I get back to the L.G.D."
Ch'en suddenly realized she wasn't at the station and it wasn't work hours. She was here with Jeanne, and more importantly, Jeanne was about to leave.
"Aiyah, work has kept me so busy these last few days I've become a bit muddled. Is there anything else you need to buy before you leave? If you need anything, I can take you to find it."
Ch'en looked at Jeanne, who had finished packing, and noticed her luggage was pitifully sparse—just one small suitcase that wasn't even full.
"That won't be necessary. I've pretty much bought everything I needed during my walks these past few days."
Jeanne mentally went through her shopping list. She had gathered almost everything, including the request from the Yetis to bring a cart of cabbage back for their "Big Sister" (FrostNova). Jeanne had satisfied their request to feed their leader to some extent; she had actually bought two heads of cabbage specifically to hand over to the Yetis right in front of FrostNova's face.
She did it for no other reason than to see how FrostNova would "discipline" them. On the boring snowy plains, watching FrostNova handle the Yetis qualified as top-tier entertainment—certainly more interesting than watching tumor-beasts fight or pack beasts baring their teeth.
"Ah, right. Do you know where I can get good painting supplies? They don't need to be particularly expensive; they're for children, so something cheaper is fine."
Suddenly, Jeanne remembered something Alina had mentioned before she left. Alina had said they were running a bit low on paints and tools for teaching the children to draw, though she'd said she would find a way herself. Since it was just mentioned in passing during a casual chat, Jeanne had noted it down but had forgotten as things got busy.
Truth be told, stores selling paint on the main shopping streets were few and far between. Thinking about it, no such shop could afford the rent on a commercial street anyway.
"I actually don't know any off the top of my head, but you could check out Academy Street. There's an art academy there, so there are bound to be shops selling those things."
As Ch'en spoke, she took out her phone to ask a colleague who had studied art. That person was sure to know where to find high-quality, low-cost goods, mainly because he often complained about how he was "dirt poor" back when he was a student. According to him, if he hadn't nearly starved to death studying art and been rejected by art institutions, he never would have run off to become a police officer! His dream had been to be an artist.(Fumina: Phew...Crisis avoided)
"There is one shop. Tell me what you need and I'll contact them. They support home delivery."
With that, Ch'en helped Jeanne contact the merchant. Honestly, the shop was incredibly cheap; Jeanne bought a massive pile of supplies with home delivery included, and it cost her less than 3,000 Lungmen coins. It made Ch'en wonder when Lungmen's cost of living had become so low. She only felt at ease when her colleague guaranteed that while the items were cheap, the quality was solid.
"To be honest, I really didn't expect Lungmen to have things this cheap."
Not long after, Ch'en watched a young man drive up in a vehicle. After confirming the order, she spoke to the delivery youth.
"We keep a low profile. We're just a small workshop, after all—can't compare to those big factories."
The delivery youth looked a bit nervous upon seeing Ch'en, appearing worried that this might be some kind of "sting operation." The key reason the prices were so low was actually that they employed Infected workers, naturally using low prices to attract customers.
After finishing his sentence, the youth rode off without looking back. He didn't dare chat with the police; what if he slipped up and they checked their credentials? Employing Infected workers was a massive headache, with trivial clauses and various red tape that could easily drive a small workshop like theirs into the ground.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back first. Really, there's an endless string of meetings waiting for me."
Seeing that the time was right, Ch'en prepared to leave. She had only taken half a day off and still had work to do upon her return.
"Wait a moment, take this."
Jeanne casually handed a bottle of Holy Water to Ch'en. She kept this on her person at all times now because you could always trust the power of Holy Water.
"Mix ten milliliters into your water and drink it every month. It's good for your Oripathy."
Seeing there was no one around, Jeanne leaned in and whispered into Ch'en's ear. Upon hearing what Jeanne said, Ch'en's expression turned into one of profound shock.
"How did you know..."
She had always thought she'd hidden it perfectly. Her condition showed no signs of worsening, and she had never displayed any symptoms in front of others. She never expected that after only a few days of interaction, the person before her would discover the Oripathy she had hidden for years. Had she slipped up somewhere?
"Don't forget, I'm living with the Infected now. I know a lot about this disease."
Jeanne spoke softly, easing some of Ch'en's anxiety.
"Then I'll head back first. Next time you come to Lungmen, I'll properly thank you for everything you've done for us!"
Ch'en rode away on her bike, her mind racing as she thought about the medicine Jeanne had given her.
Standing at the entrance, Jeanne watched Ch'en depart, mentally ticking off the final item on her checklist. Although she knew Wei Yenwu had medicine to treat her, Jeanne had given her the Holy Water out of caution. It didn't matter if Wei Yenwu found out; this stuff was essentially a "specialty of Laterano." Since Wei Yenwu likely knew she held some status in Laterano, he wouldn't suspect anything beyond that.
"Eh, Jeanne, you went out? Have you seen my sister? I've been looking for her forever and can't find her."
Upon returning to the room, Jeanne ran into Exusiai, who was searching everywhere for her sister—likely wanting to spend as much time together as possible before they had to part again.
"Your sister? She went out. She said she was going to catch up with some old friends today."
Recalling what Lemuen had said that morning, Jeanne passed the message along to Exusiai.