New Gods of North America.

Chapter 599 Following
Sanders released the pigeons he had brought with him on the carriage and left a message for the workshop saying he wouldn't be home for dinner that night.
Wayne kept his distance and followed the brat, intending to see for himself how other people's houses were haunted.

It was still early, and the child was clearly not in a hurry, walking leisurely, occasionally glancing around to see if anyone was following them.
Although the boy wasn't very professional, it was still a bit troublesome to keep following the carriage. To avoid being discovered, they occasionally had to anticipate his route and detour to the next intersection to wait for him.

Fortunately, Wayne wandered aimlessly through the dock area and encountered "Inflated," who was gathering intelligence there.

These guys, who came from local intelligence organizations and are now members of Lina's intelligence team, have become quite arrogant. They've completely copied some of Lina's tactics.
After understanding Wayne's needs, he used his spare change to mobilize a few street kids he already knew in the dock area, and asked the "local bullies" to help him follow the "cross-river dragon".

With the surveillance work being done by someone else, Wayne was spared a lot of trouble. He then "swelled up" and went to their dormitory to rest for a while, planning to take over later that night and also check on the intelligence team's usual work.

After passing through a deep, narrow, and smelly alley, "Swell" led Wayne through the back door into a house. The layout of the house here seemed a bit cramped, and the wooden walls looked dilapidated, but the advantage was that it was located in the middle of a row of houses, with the street in front and the alley behind, making it difficult for others to surround it.

A pigeon coop hung in the corridor. "Swelling" glanced at the cigarette ash on the ground, casually stuffed a handful of beans into the coop, and introduced it to Wayne as he led the way:

"Housing in the dock area is cheap. This is our public accommodation in the eastern part of the dock area, and there is another one in the western part. The staffing quotas for the two accommodations are separate, and they are not used together under normal circumstances. In addition, there is a backup safe house, which is only used in emergencies. Normally, the emergency medicines, firearms and ammunition stored there are only updated periodically."

Wayne was somewhat speechless; what kind of intelligence team was Lina setting up...?

However, a cunning rabbit has multiple burrows, and the intelligence team's daily operations seem to be closer to a solo operation mode, so being cautious is not a bad idea.

"Swell" watered the flowerpots on the windowsill, then Wayne indicated that there was no need to make a fire to brew coffee, just have something to drink. He then poured Wayne some wine, lit the kerosene lamp, and began writing today's intelligence record.

Wayne was genuinely curious about how Lina had instilled such self-discipline in them. "Do you do this every day now?"

"Inflated" turned and sat up straight. Wayne gestured for him to relax, and then "Inflated" continued answering:

"The specifics depend on the division of labor. Sometimes we also stay overnight at our accommodations in Richmond. However, the process is generally similar: we go out to gather intelligence, make contact with our respective informants, and then summarize and report as soon as possible."

Wayne thought for a moment, "Do you feel there's any difference between now and before when you were with the postal system?"

"Well……"

"Expansion" pondered for a moment, "Although we're both on missions, Miss Lina makes us plan our escape routes in advance if we encounter danger, and she also regularly reports on the detective agency or other groups. I don't know how to describe it... but I feel more like a member of an organization now, and I know what I'm supposed to do."

What Wayne really wanted to ask about was the difference in specific methods, not these things.
But hearing the word "inflation" reminded Wayne of the changes that occurred after a group of agents were taken to Atlanta by Lena and returned.

Lina is quite charismatic in a way; she seems to easily become the leader of any group of mischievous kids she goes to...

Taking into account her professional experience and religious background...

Damn it, she said I looked like a missionary. It's no wonder she was imprisoned by the Holy See.

Sending Lina to lead an intelligence team whose members don't even have a uniform skin tone is truly a perfect match in every sense of the word.

After the compiled intelligence for the day was taken away by the pigeon, "Swelling Up" started making arrangements to prepare dinner for Wayne and Sanders, who had finally found a place to park.
This place is a temporary dormitory for those who don't live here often. The bachelors are usually very easygoing and don't even have complete cooking utensils. But with sausages and chef-supervised reconstituted cheese and sauce, it's delicious even when eaten with boiled potatoes.

The kids "Zhang Zhang" hired were fairly reliable; roughly every hour or so, one of them would come and update the location, exchanging some food from "Zhang Zhang" in the process.
When Wayne felt it was about time, he pulled the last kid to arrive and got into the carriage. They arrived near the alley where the dirty kid had been dozing off earlier, and the surroundings seemed quite familiar.

After confirming the situation, "Inflated" gave the kid his change, and Wayne briefly recalled the map of the dock area before asking Sanders next to him, "Have we been in this area today?"

The coachman was clearly more concerned with the route and direction. Sanders nodded in agreement. "If I remember correctly, the place where 'Slingshot' and his crew set up their stall today is at the end of that alley."

It really is back on the Sailors' territory...

Stalking children and watching ghost stories don't require many people; these "inflated" individuals also frequently appear in the dock area, and some avoid showing their faces if possible.
After the kids left, he was left to guard the carriage in the alley, with Sanders acting as his bodyguard, while Wayne took over to continue keeping watch.

The dirty kid didn't stay for long before sneaking out of the alley. He seemed even less familiar with the area than Wayne, mostly walking on the "streets," only hiding in the alley when he might run into a passerby. Wayne guessed he was probably afraid of being discovered or robbed, making it easier to follow him. He just needed to keep parallel to him in the alley.

There are quite a few strange part-time jobs in the dock area. Walking along the dark alleys, it's actually more lively than the main streets. You can often see prostitutes waiting for customers in some alleys, and there are also some people standing there alone or in groups in the dark, their intentions unclear.

Wayne and his men quietly dealt with the group that surrounded them with knives, and the rest were relatively safe.

When the Dirty Kid seemed to have reached the vicinity of his destination and began to confirm which house it was, Wayne quickly chose a high spot—actually, he climbed onto the top of a dilapidated shed—and saw the Dirty Kid waving a slingshot and "shaking an electric fan" over there.

In a minimalist visual landscape, a swirling "point of light" spins into a circle, then a "shooting star" flies up, a dirty child runs away, and something is thrown into a window.

That thing felt like a hornet's nest. Once you flew in, it quickly exploded. The "spots of light" spread into a swarm of bees and gradually rose and disappeared. There seemed to be a very thin dotted line extending above the "swarm." It wasn't very long, but the other end of the line seemed to disappear into the void.

To the naked eye, those dots appear even more ethereal, their outlines somewhat resembling the legendary Medusa. Unfortunately, the resolution and contrast are quite low.
The situation largely matched the known intelligence, and it did indeed have a remote control feel to it. Soon, a terrifying noise, like something out of a horror movie, came from inside the house, followed by the sounds of things being smashed, shouting, and gunshots.

Unfortunately, the "swarm" had already disappeared into a room out of sight, so the rest of the scene could only be imagined; there was no live horror show to watch.

Wayne stared at his pocket watch to roughly confirm the duration of the other party's extraordinary ability. He planned to go back and check with Lina to confirm the situation and ask the female ghost why she hadn't behaved yet. He also planned to talk to the other party to find out if her extraordinary ability could transmit information back.

If dropping a ball could detect spies, then using it solely for "haunting" would be a huge waste.
If they had partnered with the owl and dropped the stuff over the old secret base, Wayne and his crew wouldn't have needed to sneak in a few days ago. They could have just done a quick reconnaissance and run away, leaving the people inside to figure out how to catch the ghosts.

Just thinking about it is quite useful.

Lost in thought about these things, Wayne and Sanders quickly turned the corner in the opposite direction, taking a shortcut back to the carriage.

Before they could disappear back into the alley, a carriage came from the other side of the intersection.

The carriage appeared to be just passing by; it came from a distant direction and wasn't heading towards the "haunted" place.
But the people in the car clearly recognized Wayne. After stopping by the roadside, the car door opened, revealing several monks in uniforms identical to those of the bishop's guard—one of whom Wayne had just seen a few days ago.

The effects of the "haunting" noises were now spreading through the nearby neighborhoods, with many houses lighting up and curious figures appearing in their windows.
The monk who had been sent to warn the detective agency "not to use extraordinary abilities on ordinary people" had clearly also noticed the neighborhood that had been "awakened in the middle of the night."

He seemed to have intended to greet Wayne or something, but after observing the neighborhood for a moment, his gaze quickly returned to Wayne: "Looks like someone over there has been frightened by the 'evil spirit' again?"

Ah this...

That was one thing, but now, just as the detective agency is about to clash with the sailors' gang, a "ghostly" incident occurs on their territory that very night.
And to make matters worse, he was still nearby when he was run into by the monks who had come to convey the cathedral's will...

Wayne was slightly speechless. "If I said I came here tonight to investigate a ghost story, would you believe me?"

The monk placed his hand on his forehead: "I hope so... If Bishop Tyrell hadn't given instructions beforehand that if similar incidents kept happening in Richmond, the cathedral would definitely have followed up, or at least arranged for the exorcists' guild to investigate."

Wayne understood what the other person meant. "Don't worry, I promise there won't be a next time! Hmm... I think there won't be..."

"...Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."

After the monk finished speaking, he sighed helplessly, shook his head, and closed the car door.

Seeing this, Wayne breathed a sigh of relief and waved to the carriage from where he was, "Please give my regards to Bishop Tyrell."

It was a false alarm. Once the car had driven a little further away, Wayne quickly sped away, leaving this troublesome place behind.

(End of this chapter)