New Gods of North America.

Chapter 541 Key
It was completely dark, and the restaurant, with its doors and windows closed, was now only lit by lamps.

Although several partners put the matter of investigating old cases on the agenda,
But in terms of urgency, things like "overturning a verdict" and "investigating inside information" are definitely not as urgent as "current cases".

For example, in the case that Inesa is investigating now, the "murderer" who was tried before has been hanged for almost half a year, and the "deceased" died even earlier. Both parties are currently in a stable mood, and the case has been publicly characterized in the newspaper.
Apart from the Tyrell priest who gave the list, who might ask about it later, no one else would come to urge the progress.

The main reason was that Reverend Tyrell had given such a long list of names in one go. If there were only a few cases, the detective agency might have "worked overtime to solve them as soon as possible."
Now “one case” is just “one line” on the list, and there are at least dozens of lines on several pages of the list. There’s no need to rush.

——When the workload seems too huge, once a person is flattened, the pressure will not seem that great, because there is no point in being anxious anyway.

Therefore, the detective agency's initial plan was to set up a "case handling team" that would be relatively independent from the "headquarters" and the "office" responsible for the security of the steam train route.
It is a relatively special temporary office, led by partners, but the specific members are not fixed.

At present, the detective agency has only so many people. At least in the short term, in principle, no more than two "case-handling teams" should be specially assigned at the same time.

The headquarters is responsible for commanding and dispatching which specific people are responsible for which case. If the agents are transferred to the "case handling team", it is equivalent to "short-term rotation training" and they will return to their original positions after the case is solved.

Therefore, "If you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools."
At this moment in the basement of the restaurant, the detective agency is recruiting new members.

Because these captives have already learned about the rules of the detective agency from Doug, and have expressed their desire to join.
So now things have come to the final stage before they join the company - interviews with partners.

The space in the basement is limited, so everyone sits on the floor with something to cushion their feet.
Wayne and his two companions were on this side, and a few prisoners who were still wearing simple shackles were on the opposite side. The two rows of people were not far away, and in the middle was placed the shackle key representing "freedom".

Inissa seems to be following the path of the Hunter Association, probably mainly because of her personal style. Now she looks like a good-tempered and gentle teacher:

"Have you all thought it through? As the 'price' for leaving your original organization and not going to the church to accept punishment, you must serve in the detective agency for a corresponding number of years. The specific number of years will be determined based on the 'past experiences' you confess.

"During your service in the detective agency, we will not proactively inform detectives who are not aware of the situation of your identity. On the surface, you will all be managed as 'peripheral members' and receive basically the same treatment. However, you must be aware that this 'trust' is equivalent to 'obligation'.

"You will not have to follow more rules than ordinary detectives. But once you violate them, especially if you are judged to have intentionally harmed the detective agency, the punishment will definitely be heavier, and you may even be directly regarded as 'betrayal'."

Although it is unclear whether these captives have listened to her or not, and whether they can realize the "decisiveness" behind the "gentleness" of Inissa, a senior hunter,
At least they all listened attentively, nodded repeatedly, and had expressions of "I have learned a lesson" on their faces.

In fact, Wayne originally intended to "treat" the captives differently from the normal members who joined.

However, after entering into the actual detailed planning level, he found that this was essentially contradictory to the policy he wanted to copy, which was to let the prisoners "eliminate their doubts and fears". Therefore, the specific rules were quickly upgraded to "Version 2.0". In order to allow the prisoners to better integrate, no obvious distinction was made on the surface.
Instead, an "internal file" is established, and the headquarters and some key detectives supervise and control the actual management process according to their authority, so as to prevent them from always being regarded as "alternatives" in the detective agency, which will probably cause trouble sooner or later.

Both approaches have their pros and cons. All I can say is that after weighing the pros and cons, Wayne chose to trust the wisdom of his predecessors and follow their "practical and effective" approach, not employing people if you doubt them, and trusting people if you employ them.

Inesa also prefers this plan. She believes that "punishment" and "crime" are equal. If a person commits a crime and formally accepts the punishment, then according to the rules, he should not be punished a second time for the same thing - probably "those who deserve to die can be beaten to death, but those who do not commit the death penalty do not need to be labeled as 'sinners' after they have reformed."

Lina was still a little dissatisfied with this "mixed membership" plan, and still felt that she could not be completely assured. However, considering that the detective agency was indeed short of staff at the moment, and that there might be a large number of members of this kind in the future, and that it was impossible to keep an eye on them all the time, she agreed reluctantly.

According to the process, after the partners emphasize the "rules" for the last time and the captives have expressed their opinions, the next step is to "get the keys and unlock the shackles."

It means that they officially confirm their choice, regain their "freedom" and become a member of the detective agency.

Just as the captives reached out their hands towards the middle of the floor, ready to pick up the key,
Wayne's spiritual intuition suddenly sounded an alert, and his vision of simple lines responded by opening. Then he saw that on the ceiling of the basement, many "lines" suddenly emerged from the void.

He almost jumped up and ran while pulling out his gun to defend himself.
But if you take a closer look, with such a strong pressure and the "lines" in this style, isn't this the "wise sage"? !
And it was definitely not "Himself" who came. The intensity of the pressure was far inferior to the "real thing", and "it popped up and then shrank back again". The difference was even greater than the gap between "real video" and "picture circulated on the Internet" - outsiders might not be able to see it, but Wayne was experienced in this area, and he almost died on the spot.

After calming down a bit and turning around, I saw that Inissa was about to move but then stopped, now looking at Lina with a frown on her face. I had no idea what she was doing.
The captives' reactions were indeed even stronger. Some were so frightened that they rolled and crawled to the wall, but one of them was already covering his nose with a look of disbelief, as if he was wondering why the partners of the detective agency would turn against each other at this time.

Lina now looked as gloomy as a witch:

“Our detective agency may not be what you previously thought it was, so we must make you aware of this.

"This is both the final 'reminder' and my last personal question - do you dare to confirm your 'commitment' under the 'witness' and sign a 'contract' with us?
"The consequences of betraying the detective agency will be far more terrible than you can imagine. If you cannot mend your ways, then going to the church to accept punishment may be a better choice for you. It's not too late for you to give up this 'key' now, and we won't blame you for it."

When the captives heard this, they were stunned for a moment, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Instead, it was the "Nosebleed Brother" who first covered his face with his hands, then tentatively crawled slowly on three legs towards the key, and finally took it in his hand.

"This is better. At least I don't have to worry about being threatened and controlled by them again after joining you."

(End of this chapter)