abnormal mutation

Chapter 134 Detective Colin

About an hour later, the secret passage was finally dug through.

After confirming there was no danger, Louis jumped in with several law enforcement officers, while Bratton remained motionless.

"Weapons, large quantities of weapons..."

"They even have steam cannons..."

A commotion arose below, with exclamations of surprise. Such a large-scale arms smuggling operation was extremely rare.

A few minutes later, Louis climbed up, looking disheveled, with a smug smile on his face: "Mr. Otto, is there anything else you want to say?"

“So there really are weapons.” Roland said with his arms crossed and a half-smile. “Officer Louis is really forgetful. I just arrived in Almosid today, no, yesterday. We even met at the station.”

"So what? The Northern Union Merchant Guild is smuggling arms and escalating the war on the Sass Continent. You're probably the new person in charge," Louis said with certainty.

"You know that too? How do you know these weapons will be shipped to the Sass Continent? And how do you know it was the Northern Union Merchant Guild that did it?"
"Did the law enforcement officer make a judgment based entirely on guesswork, or did you take bribes?" Roland smirked, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Louis's expression changed drastically: "You..."

"Shut up!" Bratton shouted, interrupting Louis.

He looked at Louis with surprise and disbelief, as if he were seeing him for the first time:

"What are you talking about? We are law enforcement officers, not detectives. We need to be based on evidence when we speak and act!"

“Isn’t this the evidence?” Louis pointed to the secret passage and said matter-of-factly, “This batch of weapons is hidden under their villa.”

"Don't you do your homework before you go out? Is this the quality of an enforcer?" Annabeth couldn't help but sneer. "This place was just rented by the Northern Union Merchant Guild less than two days ago."

“Impossible!” Louis said with certainty. “Roland’s name is clearly on the property certificate. I had someone investigate.”

Bratton said solemnly, "I don't know about this, but even if it's true, it was just changed."

"I'm handling Richard's case, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that this property belonged to the Richard family until two days ago."

The Hitler Empire has always adopted a "contract registration system," with no property certificates or property taxes, only transaction taxes, which are handled by the municipal government. As long as the owner pays the tax, they can transfer the property to whomever they want without needing the "transferee's" consent.

Louis was stunned. Bratton was always meticulous and would never lie to him.

The surroundings were completely silent. Many law enforcement officers lowered their heads silently. At this moment, they felt no joy at solving a major case, only shame. It was truly a clumsy farce.

Bratton could tell from his colleague's expression that the law enforcement agency had been used as a pawn again, so he immediately changed the subject: "Have you finished searching other places? Show me the records."

An enforcement officer strode forward and handed him a report: "Sir, we only found one box of potions related to the extraordinary, and no sealed artifacts or magical items were detected."

Bratton put away the report without even glancing at it. Roland had just arrived today and knew all his whereabouts perfectly well. The fact that he hadn't been found meant that everything had been handled properly, and the so-called danger accusation was naturally unfounded.

Anyone can possess sealed artifacts, and even without reporting them, the authorities generally don't bother with them unless there's a major problem. However, high-sequence sealed artifacts must be monitored; otherwise, it could lead to serious trouble if a catastrophic issue arises.

“Mr. Otto, thank you for helping us crack this major smuggling case.” Bratton, a master of the art of language, glossed over the matter, “Do you possess any dangerous items with an energy level of III or higher?”

He did not invoke the law, and believed whatever Roland said; he did not want to make a big fuss.

"Danger?" Roland replied, seemingly changing the subject. "I was chased twice by the High Sequence Seventh Apostle. Does that count as danger?"

I did tell others what the Seventh Authority and the Thistle Merchant Guild did, but it didn't involve any extraordinary knowledge. Is that dangerous?
Isn't the Seventh Authority a cult? You ignore the unrest they've caused, but instead accuse those who expose the problems?
Did you know that the Thistle Flower Merchant Guild's cannibalistic practices involve eating people? Isn't that dangerous?

Bratton felt a headache coming on: "This...we'll investigate and verify. Next, we need to seal off the backyard; hopefully, it won't cause any inconvenience to your life."

"Whatever," Roland said, not wanting to make things difficult for him, considering how he had managed to control the situation earlier.

He waved his hand, signaling everyone to go back; it was broad daylight, time for breakfast. Today's events were strange; it seemed like a clumsy frame-up, but what if the Paradox Worm, the Big Mouth, the Chaos Sphere, the Substitute Doll, the Throat of Gluttony, the Codex of Tyranny, and other such items were found?

The law enforcement officers certainly won't be so accommodating. I'll probably be fine, but the ownership of these items is uncertain. It's legal and legitimate for the authorities to contain and seal these items.

'Could it be that someone wants to use the law enforcement officers to take the items back?' Roland pondered for a while, not ruling out this possibility.

If Bratton weren't here today, given Louis's character, a conflict between the two would be highly probable.

He's definitely not afraid. The worst outcome would be killing someone and running away. A law enforcement officer like him, who's just a mediocre law-bearer, can't do anything to him.

Judging from the outcome, he suffered no loss; the law enforcement officer made a fool of himself, and the gunman got into trouble.

Many chambers of commerce are involved in the arms trade, and the Northern Chamber of Commerce also has a gun trading license and numerous gun shops.

However, this new weapon has already touched a raw nerve with the empire. It's outrageous that it was smuggled overseas before the army even received it. If an investigation were to be launched, countless officials would likely fall from grace.

'No, if law enforcement officials were to publicly claim that I helped solve the case, wouldn't the arms smugglers hate me to death?'

The fact that his weapons were seized as soon as he moved in is indeed difficult to explain.

"What came to mind?" Percy walked over, his expression grave. "The Seventh Authority or the Thistle Merchant Guild?"

"It's hard to say, perhaps it's someone else." Roland shook his head slightly. Judging from the results, neither of the two families benefited, and their styles were also different.

This brutal approach reminded him of the newspaper's tricks against the law enforcement officers and the Thistle Flower Merchant Guild back in Ice River Town.

But he knew he had to be more proactive. Even without sufficient intelligence support, he needed to keep his opponents busy. He needed to get the pieces occupied first, and the hive and "worker bees" could expand gradually, setting up the framework first.

At that moment, the butler rushed in: "Sir, a man who calls himself Colin has come to visit and is waiting in the living room."

“Colin?” Roland’s gaze was vacant. The name reminded him of the old priest in Ice River Town; the two names sounded very similar.

"Is it that great detective?" Percy's expression shifted.

"Why don't you go and see for yourself?" Roland smiled faintly and stepped into the living room.

As soon as he entered, he saw a handsome young man standing under a crystal chandelier. He had blond hair and yellow skin, wore a yellow trench coat, and exuded a dashing and unrestrained air, looking more like an artist than a detective.

“Mr. Otto?” Colin turned around, took off his top hat, and bowed slightly. “You are much taller and more imposing than I imagined.”

"You know me?" Roland asked curiously.

"You underestimate yourself. The Northern Mystic Circle isn't big, and quite a few people know you. The downfall of the Upside-Down House has delighted countless people," Colin laughed heartily.

"Have a seat," Roland gestured, seemingly unfazed by the compliment. "Detective Colin must be very busy. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to make friends with you. Are you satisfied with this villa?" Colin said, taking out a folded document, unfolding it, and placing it on the table.

Roland had amazing eyesight; with a casual glance, he could see the contents clearly. It was a property deed with his name and the transferor, Colin, prominently displayed on it.

“Mr. Colin is really generous, giving away a property worth tens of thousands just to make friends, but I can’t accept it. It’s better to speak frankly.” Roland waved his hand, his expression unmoved.

This garden villa commands a monthly rent of over a hundred German dollars. Based on an annual rental yield of 6-8%, it's worth at least twenty to thirty thousand German dollars. There's no property tax in the German Empire, so properties in prime locations tend to retain their value.

“Ah…” Colin chuckled dryly, glanced at the servants around him, and said nothing.

"You can all leave now," Roland waved his hand, dismissing the others.

Seeing this, Percy and Annabeth wisely left.

(End of this chapter)