Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 176 Key Clues
"Mr. Xia Nan, I've been at the Iron Bucket Toad Tavern for the past two days. If you need any help from me, just let me know!"

“Although our entire Badger Gang may not be as powerful as you, there are some trivial matters that are inconvenient for someone of your status to handle, which our brothers are quite good at.”

His dark eyes reflected the image of Tie Tou disappearing around the street corner.

Xia Nan withdrew her gaze, took a step, and thought she would go back to Jeff's house first and then make a decision after lunch.

But after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped.

As if he had thought of something, he looked around to identify his location, and with a few steps, he changed direction.

If Ben "The Strainer" wasn't lying, he hadn't seen Buck for a long time because of their encounter during the hunting season.

By the time I returned to Newme from Riverdale, the Buck family incident had already occurred.

Although the cause of the incident was learned from the other party, it increased the possibility that the other party was infected with "beastification syndrome".

However, it did not provide any useful clues about Buck's current location.

Therefore, Xia Nan decided to go back to Greytree Lane again to find Buck's neighbor, a girl named "Harriet," and ask her for some other information.

Ideally, we should know which sheriff was in charge of handling the scene with the guards.

Even if they don't want to have any contact with the official forces due to the current chaotic situation among the upper echelons of Newm City, they have no choice but to do this in order to complete their advancement mission.

If possible, after meeting the sheriff, Xia Nan also wanted to ask him for some information about "beastification syndrome".

Although I have made the most of my spare time over the past six months to catch up on all kinds of knowledge related to supernatural powers, I can only say that I have a superficial understanding of this ancient and terrifying curse.

Perhaps some new clues will be discovered during the investigation.

As I was thinking this, a series of rapid and hurried footsteps suddenly came from the wide street in front of me, accompanied by the sharp sound of metal scraping and colliding.

My gaze instinctively followed the direction from which the sound came.

What came into view was a squad of guards wearing standard Newm City armor and with one-handed iron swords hanging at their waists.

Unlike in the past when it patrolled, it was not as calm and composed as it used to be.

The guards were walking much faster, almost jogging, and their expressions were particularly serious.

In just a few seconds, he crossed the street where Xia Nan was, and his figure disappeared into the buildings behind him.

And their direction seems to be...

Ghetto?
Xia Nan was taken aback.

His upgraded perception, reaching 7 o'clock, seemed to have made him realize something.

The original plan was instantly scrapped. He turned around abruptly and, almost instinctively, followed the direction the guards had gone.

I wasn't wrong.

As Xia Nan followed at the end of the guard team, the buildings on both sides of the street became dilapidated once again.

The road became increasingly narrow, and the surrounding environment gradually became cramped and dirty.

It felt as if I had already walked through it once before; the sense of déjà vu was incredibly strong.

Then, Xia Nan saw a huge crowd of onlookers, and heard wails and cries of pain in the air.

Even though it was a bit dilapidated, it was still a brick and tile bungalow that stood out from the crowd in the slums.

Now, it, along with several thatched huts and sheds around it, has been reduced to a collapsed ruin filled with the stench of blood.

With a furrowed brow, Xia Nan stepped past the crowd, his gaze sweeping over several rather daring figures who were picking up valuables amidst the chaos of the ruins.

His nostrils flared as he carefully sensed the direction from which the stench of blood was traveling in the air.

They searched and stopped near the back door of the house.

[Gravity Control] took effect silently, and without him exerting much force, the fallen bricks and stone walls in front of him were easily lifted up amidst a flurry of dust.

A mangled, bloody corpse was revealed.

Fortunately, the face was still relatively intact, although it was covered with a layer of stone dust and powder, making it look somewhat sloppy and difficult to recognize.

But having just met, Xia Nan recognized the other person's identity at a glance.

Just a few hours ago, "Spoon" Ben was trembling and trying to explain to himself that he didn't intentionally push his teammates down!
Xia Nan's gaze was focused, and his face remained expressionless.

Without any sign of disgust, he bent down to examine the other person's injuries.

There were obvious wounds on his abdomen and arms, and his chest was slightly sunken, as if he had been hit by a heavy object. It was unknown how many of his ribs were broken.
There was a small wound on his forehead, oozing blood, but it should just be a scratch and not fatal.

What truly extinguished Ben Wallace's life force and caused his complete death was the massive wound on his back that almost pierced through his entire body, revealing his flesh and internal organs.

Xia Nan is not a detective or forensic doctor, and cannot judge the whole story based on these superficial and simple traces.

However, after transmigrating, the experience accumulated in battles, combined with the location of the fallen corpse and the wounds on his body, gave him a vague guess about what happened to Da Ben.

First, there is direct combat.

Born as an adventurer, even if he is a bit older, he still has a certain level of combat ability and courage.

Faced with an enemy attacking him, without equipment or weapons, Attack Nobunaga's first reaction would most likely be to engage in close-quarters melee combat.

The injuries he sustained on the front of his body provide some evidence of this.

After fighting the enemy, Ben should have quickly realized the difference in strength between them and turned around to try to escape through the back door.

As a result, the attacker caught up from behind and, before he could leave the house, killed him with a single blow.

He already knew this from Ben's initiative.

This middle-aged adventurer, who had little habit of saving and often squandered his gold coins at the card table and bar, had offended many people because of his work for the gang over the years.

Even when Xia Nan came over, he mistook him for an assassin hired by his enemy to settle scores with him, and was so frightened that he almost ran away on the spot.

These days, encountering such a thing doesn't seem so unexpected.

but……

No sooner had he left than he was attacked and killed.

Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?

He's not exactly a god of death, so he can't just die wherever he goes like those famous fictional characters from his previous life, can he?

"Hello, please make way."

As I pondered, accompanied by the sound of the sword sheath rubbing against the armor, a male voice came from behind me.

Turning my head, I saw a tall guard in standard uniform.

Perhaps it was from Xia Nan's equipment and the ease with which he lifted the brick wall that one could discern some of his strength.

The guard was exceptionally polite in his speech, and did not even make close contact with Xia Nan, but stood a few feet away from him, speaking in a calm tone.

With exceptional observational skills, he had discovered almost every detail on the body in just a few minutes, and there was no point in staying any longer.

Xia Nan nodded slightly to the other person and then stepped aside.

His eyes searched the surrounding ruins for any useful traces, while he could hear the conversations of several guards and nearby residents not far away.

"Sir, I really didn't... Just now, he..."

"Make your point clear!"

Yes! (Swallows)

"The person living in this house is a retired adventurer, I think his name is 'Ladle' or something."

"As you know, we usually avoid such important figures like him. We've been living here for so long, and we haven't even dared to say a few words to him."

"Hurry up, don't waste my time!"

"Yes, yes! Just now, two groups of people came." "The first group consisted of two people. The one leading the way was a bald man who looked fierce and menacing. He didn't look like a good person at all. The one following behind was younger, and judging from his attire, he should also be an adventurer."

"I stayed in the house for a while and then left. I didn't hear any strange noises."

"Then, not long after those two left, another man wearing a burqa came. He was incredibly strong. When he knocked on the door twice without getting a response, he simply smashed the door open!"

"Then there was a series of crackling and popping noises inside the house, and I could hear a few screams. I don't know what happened inside. The house was shaking and even collapsed."

"I didn't dare stay any longer. I packed up and left as soon as possible. I don't know exactly what happened after that."

Alone, a burly man in a burqa, the dead Ben...

Xia Nan focused his attention on carefully memorizing the account of a resident who lived nearby and witnessed part of the attack.

I already have some ideas in mind.

Before the gaze could extend further, searching for any remaining traces in the surrounding ruins, it suddenly stopped.

Not far ahead, on the surface of a wall brick half-hidden among a pile of stones—

There was a deep claw mark left!

The five toes are parallel, with the middle one longer than the two sides.

And the claw marks he found at Buck's house...

It's exactly the same!
……

……

On the sofa in Jeff's living room.

Xia Nan pondered, gently stroking the "Death Line" ring on his right index finger.

Feeling the smooth, cool touch of the ring face, I pondered in my heart.

I thought the trail had gone cold, and I was even considering whether to talk to the sheriff who was handling the case.

Unexpectedly, on the way back, they encountered a patrol team heading to the slums, and due to their senses, they followed them as if possessed.

Then they discovered the already dead Ben, and the claw marks left on the walls of his house.

According to nearby residents' descriptions of the attacker, the murderer who killed Da Ben was likely the burly man in the hooded robe that he and Tie Tou had encountered on their way out.

"What a coincidence..."

Xia Nan muttered to himself.

Unfortunately, things were too rushed at the time, and the two sides didn't have much contact. Perhaps not wanting to cause any further trouble, the other party ignored Tie Tou's cursing and turned away directly.

Otherwise, the subsequent developments might be different.

Of course, this is a story for another day.

After this trip, things gradually became clearer.

Based solely on the accounts of residents who witnessed part of the incident, it might not be possible to determine the attacker's identity, given that Ben Affleck had indeed offended many people during his lifetime.

But if we add the claw marks we found later, then we can be certain:

The person who attacked Ben just now was the same murderer who killed the Buck family that night.

In fact, the person he accidentally bumped into when he left earlier was Buck himself, who was infected with "Beastification Syndrome"!

My emotions were surging; I was just one step away from completing the advancement task.

Xia Nan suddenly felt an urge to rush back to the slums right now and search it thoroughly.

But the next moment, he instantly calmed down.

After two trips, he had gained a basic understanding of the complexity of the slums in the lower city.

Even if you bump into someone face-to-face, you can easily get rid of them by simply going into an alley and wandering around a couple of times.

The cramped environment filled with shacks made it difficult for Xia Nan, who possessed the high mobility of the [Fang Hunt], to maneuver effectively.

As things stand,

The good news is that I've confirmed my mission objective is still in Newme, and there's a possibility that I can complete the advancement mission.
The bad news is that they still cannot pinpoint the exact location of the other party, making capture difficult.

In any case, compared to yesterday, his task has made great progress.

Since it was near the slums anyway, Xia Nan planned to ask Iron Head to mobilize the Badger Gang members to see if they could find anything.

As she pondered this, a light and cautious footstep sounded, and a somewhat thin shadow, illuminated by the lamplight, enveloped Xia Nan, who was sitting on the sofa.

"Mr. Xia Nan, it's time for lunch."

Jeff's daughter, "Lilina," called softly, her hands behind her back.

I stayed at their house for two days and found Xia Nan to be quite easygoing. This girl, who seemed a bit shy on the outside, seemed to have opened up a bit more with the new guest.

When we bump into each other, I'll greet you and maybe exchange a few words.

"Okay." Xia Nan smiled and nodded, stood up from the sofa, and started walking towards the restaurant.

From the kitchen, two voices could be faintly heard.

"Mom, don't buy sulfur grass anymore. Our teacher said that some vendors are just using the kind that grows in the sewers to fool people."

"What does your teacher know? Does he go to the market to buy groceries himself? Isn't it always the maid who does the shopping? Don't listen to his nonsense!"

"Mom, it's true. Several of my classmates who have connections have said so..."

Sewers, plants...

Xia Nan suddenly stopped walking, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

What came to mind was the scene yesterday when Ironhead led him to the Badger Gang's hideout, introducing him to the unique plants in the Newme sewers:

“Iron scab moss, grind the dark red crystalline particles on its surface into powder, and apply it to the wound to speed up healing.” Ironhead raised his index finger and lowered his voice, “But be careful not to use it for a long time, otherwise it may cause the skin to rot and leave permanent scars at the wound healing site.”

And this morning, when Tie Tou was grimacing from the impact and painedly cleaning his clothes, dark red crystalline particles drifted down as he casually patted his hand.

"Iron scab moss..."

"He's hiding in the sewers!?"

Xia Nan suddenly turned around and rushed straight towards the gate.

Of all the people he knew, none knew the Newme Sewers better than the Badger Gang.

He planned to have Tie Tou take him to the Badger Gang's base again to ask their leader, "Eight Fingers," for help; he was sure they would get something out of it.

Perhaps hearing his footsteps, Mrs. Daisy also came out of the kitchen carrying a pot of mushroom soup as she passed by.

I didn't ask him where he was going, I just stood at the kitchen door and called out twice:

"Finish this bowl of cream of mushroom soup before you go. I added two extra slices of cheese today, and the taste might suit your liking even better."

The steps paused.

back.

He took the bowl with both hands and drank it all in one gulp.

Xia Nan casually wiped the foam from the corner of his mouth and gave Mrs. Daisy a thumbs up.

They rushed toward the gate once again.

　Double monthly passes at the end of the month! (peeking)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)