Diana Prince ducked under the yellow caution tape and saw an all-black office building emanating an eerie green halo. Under 30, she was fit with a firm stride, and her gaze was as sharp as a knife.
Opportunity City's County Police had surrounded the building, and several black vans from the Psionic Weapons And Tactics (PWAT) teams were parked on the side of the road, with the white letters "Psionic Weapons And Tactics" printed on the side of the vans.
They had set up a temporary command center and, it seed, had already sent people inside.
"I'm Lieutenant Morgan," said a soldier wearing the characteristic black combat uniform of PWAT, his temples graying, his tone and expression all business, and a specially modified MP5 hanging at his waist.
"CPA, Diana," Diana replied, flashing her own badge, which was embedded in a leather case with a striking dark yellow circular shield badge, below which was a row of letters that read "Central Psionic Authority."
Diana glanced at her watch, 10:50 PM.
"Alpha and Bravo teams have cleared the building, took only six minutes. We are currently trying to harmonize the frequency. The Spirit Explosion Effect occurred about half an hour ago; we arrived quite promptly," Morgan briefed Diana on the specifics.
"I see ambulances, are there civilian casualties?" Diana asked, looking at the white ambulances in the distance.
"I suggest you go in and see for yourself," Morgan replied.
"Is the light seam still stable? I don't want to be stuck in there for hours like last ti," Diana asked, looking at the several light seams opened by the Spirit Explosion Device.
"FPI people were in there first, along with the forensic team. The Spirit Explosion Space is very stable this ti," Morgan pursed his lips, indicating for Diana to look toward another black SUV.
That SUV's door was emblazoned with the bold white letters "FPI"; Diana let out a long sigh, clearly aware that it was a vehicle of the Federal Psionic Investigation Bureau.
Because the CPA and FPI both fell under the jurisdiction of the Administration Bureau, with partially overlapping departntal functions, there was occasional friction between the two.
"Those guys are always lingering around," Diana muttered as she walked toward the light seam, tying her chestnut wavy hair into a ponytail.
She unzipped her brown leather jacket and pulled out a uniquely shaped revolver, opened the cylinder to check the bullets. It was a modified Chiappa Rhino 60DS revolver, firing .357 Magnum bullets.
"It's safe inside now," Morgan called out, watching Diana's retreating figure.
"Occupational habit," Diana responded without looking back, leaping into the light seam.
With a whoosh, Diana leaped through the light seam into a hall glowing with green light, imdiately seeing the bodies of human-faced dogs scattered all over the floor, and about a dozen PWAT mbers dispersed around the hall, holding their guns at the ready.
A human body lay near the hall's service desk, outlined with white chalk, and the bloodstains on the ground had long dried. The forensics team was taking photos and collecting information.
Diana counted the number of human-faced dog bodies on the ground, then glanced at the bullet holes in the nearby floor and columns, forming her own conclusions.
"This guy was really unlucky; killed so many human-faced dogs but still couldn't escape with his life," said a forensic investigator wearing glasses, pausing his work to talk to Diana.
"Is there anything on him that could prove his identity?" Diana asked, examining the body closely.
"There's a wallet. He was a D-grade investigator from Weber Spirit Production, nad Parker," the forensic investigator took out a clear evidence bag containing Parker's wallet.
"Where's his gun?" Diana inquired.
"I didn't find it," the forensic expert replied.
Diana frowned.
Every ti a spiritual gun fires, it sends a coordinate signal to the "gun managent departnt" of the Administration Bureau. This signal isn't electronic but a kind of spiritual energy band, stemming from the spiritual power infused by the investigator while channeling the weapon, which wouldn't be shielded even in a Spirit Explosion Area.
In fact, the reason why the Administration Bureau could dispatch PWAT so quickly to control the situation was exactly because Parker had fired the first shot.
Soone must have taken that gun.
"There were definitely two people here at the ti because we collected two types of shell casings, one white with the Punishnt attribute and the other a 9mm regular bullet casing," the forensic expert explained, pulling out another evidence bag full of casings.
So, was Parker protecting another civilian at the ti, and after Parker died, that civilian took Parker's gun? Diana speculated secretly. A person without spiritual power couldn't use a spiritual gun, so that civilian's fate was likely far from good.
"Did that civilian escape?" she asked.
"It's very likely they escaped, because we also didn't find Parker's gun on another body," the forensic expert answered.
Diana's eyebrows shot up. Another body? She had a feeling this case wasn't simple.
"What about the Holy Relics? With so many people-faced dogs dead here, there should have been so dropped, right?" Compared to Parker and the firearms, Diana was actually more concerned about the Holy Relics, since collecting all Holy Relics and archiving and preserving them is the Central Psionic Authority's main function.
"I don't know, we didn't see any Holy Relics diamonds when we ca in. You should ask Bader from the FPI. He's on the eighth floor conducting an investigation with another forensic team, maybe he can tell you sothing useful," the forensic expert shrugged.
"Oh, Bader, who else could outrun him..." Diana sighed at the ntion of the na. He was an officer of the FPI—they were always the first to arrive at the scene of a Spirit Explosion, beating the CPA to get the Holy Relics diamonds.
In fact, the FPI also has the right to recover Holy Relics, but they do so under the guise of "seizing" and "guarding."
Ascending elevators in Spirit Explosion Space is quite unwise, so Diana climbed the stairs through the security passage to the eighth floor. Four PWAT mbers were on guard in the hallway, and she arrived at a slightly more spacious office, where several forensic experts were investigating the body of a black man lying on the floor. A few steps away from the body, a tall black man in a dark suit leaned against a desk, toying with a diamond.
That was Bader.
Diana knocked on the door as she entered, drawing the attention of everyone inside.
"Diana, I knew you'd co. But I didn't expect you to be this late," Bader said with a smile.
"I'm sure you had your fun without , Bader. Tell , how many Holy Relics did you gather tonight?" Diana replied irritably, knowing that the diamonds burst out by the dogs downstairs had surely been "seized" by him.
"Oh, you're wronging this ti. I'm afraid the situation is a bit complicated. Take a look at this."
Bader spoke and with a flick of his wrist, the small diamond in his palm suddenly transford into a dagger.
"Holy Relics... where was this found?" Diana inquired.
"In his throat," Bader said, glancing at the corpse on the floor with his eyes. The black man had his face chewed off by the people-faced dogs after death; it was a grueso sight.
"Murder? Is the killer a transcendent spiritual ability user?" A chill ran down Diana's spine.
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