Chapter 115: Chapter 115
Alvin walked into yet another bar in the Eastern Borough. This was the bar where Xio and he once captured the Swindler Arnold. Arnold unexpectedly was the piece of the puzzle that helped him understand the circumstances of his predecessor's death.
He spotted Xio in a corner of the bar, looking worried. He walked up to her, and said, "Good morning. It seems you got my message"
Xio looked up and nodded at Alvin. Then she asked, "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Don't come to my bar for the next few days. That explosion has attracted some official Beyonders and they are probably going to stick around for a while" said Alvin.
Xio listlessly nodded.
"Is something the matter?" asked Alvin.
Xio looked like she wanted to say something, but stayed silent.
"Is the mission for today evening still on?" asked Alvin.
"Yes it is" she replied.
"Do you know now where the meet is happening?" asked Alvin.
"I do" she said weakly.
"But you can't tell me? I thought it was strange that the people who commissioned you did not use any restrictions to prevent you from talking about the jobs and getting help. It seems that they finally got around to it while giving you the location?" guessed Alvin.
Xio nodded after some hesitation.
"If it's the Beyonder power belonging to one of those 2 people who require arbitration, then they would have used it the previous time. So I am guessing it's a borrowed mystical item which they used?" guessed Alvin further.
"Yes" said Xio after another pause.
"Well, it seems like you cannot voluntarily leak information, but can confirm it if someone guesses it correctly. I think know which pathway's ability you are affected by" said Alvin.
"What is the solution?" asked Xio.
"I think you mention that the meeting was after 10 right? At 9 30, have a drink in this bar and go to the meeting. I will protect you" said Alvin.
"So if you follow me of your own violation then the agreement won't affect me?" asked Xio.
"Don't leave any obvious clues, or down your caution against people following you. Go as you normally would for a mission. Trust me, I will not lose you" said Alvin.
"Thank you" said Xio gratefully.
"So tell me about the mystical item. Or is it a secret too?" asked Alvin.
Xio considered for a while and said, "No. It was in the form of a paper clip. Terms were written in the contract, regarding my arbitration, secrecy, and some other stuff, and a paper clip was attached to it. I signed my name on it at the person's request. When I got home and tried to talk about it with my friend, I realised I couldn't reveal anything at all" said Xio.
After talking some more with Xio and promising her he would come by at 9 30, Alvin left.
Alvin returned back to the bar. He made sure to approach openly, without hiding himself, as he had no desire to face the supposed defence system, even though he was curious about them.
He quickly reached underground, where he saw Sven going through some documents while Harrold was sitting to the side. Both of them looked up at Alvin when he walked in.
"Alvin! It was a fine job you did today. Fred told me all about what you both found. We have already applied to have Sealed Artifacts with divination effects to take a look at that unexplained tunnel" said Sven.
"Thank you, captain. My informants are looking into Mach Gore and the Red Knife Gang. Meanwhile, this is the information on violent incidents in the last few days, with seemingly a large amount of gunpowder being used" said Alvin, as he handed over a few of the files that Frank gave him.
Sven received the files and quickly liked through them. He then put them down and asked, "What do you think our next step should be?"
"We have two ways to go about it. We could focus on the Red Knife Gang. I can have a lot of information on them by tonight. Based on it, we can try and capture some ring leaders. From there, we can find out why they were looking to buy a large amount of gunpowder from the Baccardi Gang. Even if they weren't the ones who dug that tunnel and stole the gunpowder, the person who commissioned them to buy it directly in the first place is probably the one who did so. We can track them based on what they know" said Alvin.
"What about the second way?" asked Sven.
"The second way is recommended only if the first way turns put to be a dead end. If the Red Knife Gang has no idea who commissioned them to buy the gunpowder or those in the know have already been silenced, then the next set of clues is with the backers of the factory. The various traps and tripwires installed there seems to have been installed in the last week. Hence, it was probably a backup in case the thieves, whom I think they assumed entered from the second entrance inside the factory, came again. And this Beyonder or team commissioned by the backer of the factory not only has a week's headstart over us, but they have direct access to the factory and probably a powerful underground network in the surroundings. They might have also dismantled the Red Knife Gang and severed those clues already. We can lure them out by setting off a few of the traps in the factory, catch them, and extract whatever the results of their investigation have been so far, and use what we found out to lock into the miscreants. And once we lock into them, they are as good as finished, isn't it?" said Alvin.
"Your plans make sense. Harrold, inform the rest that we may be moving tonight. Alvin, have your informant drop the information you find into the post box outside. We will retrieve it" said Sven.
"Should I request MI9 to get us information on the Red Knife Gang captain?" asked Harrold
"With all due respect, MI9 is heavily influenced by nobles. And the backer of the factory may also be a noble. So it's best to not alert him before we get some definite results" interjected Alvin.
"There is no need for you to join the attack on the Red Knife Gang. The few of us will probably be overkill. You can meet us tomorrow morning here, and we will share the results" said Sven.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone