Millennium Witch.

Chapter 57 - Case
After paying a deposit of 5,000 credits, Yvette and Carter completed the commissioned transaction and arranged to meet the female reporter who was the client at the bar the next afternoon to discuss the details of the operation.

Unlike the rumored ruthless middleman who always devours people without spitting out the bones, Carter seems to still have some humanity left, constantly implying that if Yvette can't do it, it's better to pay some deposit than to lose her life.

Clearly, in his view, this nameless young woman's level of madness was comparable to that of the female reporter who had been the client, and she was involved in the case of a serial killer.

Yvette naturally understood his thoughts. It was only because she had the Black Eye ability as a trump card that she would not have considered high-risk commissions even if she had become a mercenary during the last dream.

After leaving the bar, Yvette rented an apartment in the Bayard district through an agency and looked up information about werewolf killers.

This is a notorious criminal who committed a murder just last month. Since his first operation six months ago, he has killed at least eight people, including a highly skilled rune compiler. He earned the nickname "Werewolf Killer" because witnesses discovered he could switch between being a giant wolf and a human.

According to information released by the police, the source of the werewolf killer's abilities is unknown. No major company has disclosed that it possesses similar technology, and even if it does, it would certainly be military technology that requires strict regulation and would be difficult to circulate among civilians.

Given the werewolf killer's haphazard and indiscriminate killings, many people speculate that the werewolf killer's origins may lie with a mad scientist, a common theme in urban legends.

……

The next afternoon, the sky over Agasher was overcast, but it didn't rain; instead, it simply cast a somber gray over the city.

Pushing open the door of the Floating Light Bar, at Carter's gesture, Yvette saw the client of this operation, a young female reporter who looked like she had just graduated from university.

She was dressed in standard business attire, carrying a small bag, sitting in a corner, sipping a cup of hot coffee.

When Yvette sat down in front of her, she looked a little dazed. After a while, she reacted and said, "Little sister, don't tell me you're the 'nameless' lady who came to accept the commission."

Yvette hummed in agreement and nodded slightly.

"Really??" The female reporter's expression immediately stiffened. She imagined many scenarios of the female mercenary who would take the job, guessing that she might be burly, with a face full of scars, more like a tough man than a woman, or perhaps a seasoned cyber mage, her whole body covered in glowing magical machinery.

But she never imagined that she would see a beautiful, innocent-looking 16 or 17-year-old high school girl.

She really does look good, dressed in a chic black top and skirt, like a little black rose that hasn't fully grown yet, and she's all naturally beautiful...

She secretly admired it in her heart, then turned her face dark and looked towards the bar.

“Don’t look at me, Miss Eileen. No one else would take this order except this one.” Carter said innocently as he stood behind the bar, wiping the glasses. “At least Miss Nameless is a genuine mage.”

Hearing the teasing tone in Carter's words, the female reporter childishly pouted, looked away, and introduced herself to Yvette: "Hello, my name is Erin Parker, I'm a reporter from 'Byrd News,' nice to meet you, Miss Anonymous."

“Hello,” Yvette said.

Such a concise response left the air momentarily silent.

Not knowing how to make small talk, Miss Eileen went straight to the point, saying, "I hope you can protect me while I investigate the werewolf killer's identity, at least until AJSP arrives... Can you do that?"

"can."

“Um, let me ask you something first. You know about the Werewolf Killer, right?” Miss Eileen emphasized. “He’s not just a murderer who poisons ordinary people; he also killed a mage of considerable skill. That mage worked at Black Tower Medicine and was injected with a high-quality ‘Active Rune Set.’ From a mercenary’s perspective, he seemed to be among the top experts… You know that, right?”

"know."

"So you still think you're capable of taking on this task?" Miss Eileen raised her voice slightly at the end.

"can."

"..."

Faced with the silver-haired girl's calm and concise reply, Eileen remained silent.

Well, she wasn't one to judge by appearances. Since the nameless lady insisted that she had the ability and was the only mercenary willing to take the job, she didn't need to show any more distrust.

After hesitating for a moment, she decided to reveal her secret, lowering her voice as she said, "Well, during the investigation, we might not necessarily be attacked by the werewolf killer... it's just a possibility. If you encounter him while you're alone, just tell him my name, tell him that it's Erin Parker from 'White Sand High School' investigating, and maybe... maybe he'll let you go."

Yvette raised an eyebrow slightly. She thought that this Miss Eileen was not acting on a whim. It seemed that she had some personal connection with the werewolf killer.

Before Yvette could speak, Eileen added, "This isn't the right place to discuss this in detail. Let's find another place to talk."

Ten minutes later, the two stood in a deserted corner by the Lorne River, facing the filthy water filled with floating garbage. Various shuttles flew overhead, many carrying parcels, like a swarm of busy bees.

“I roughly know who the werewolf killer is,” Eileen said.

Yvette hummed in agreement, gesturing for Eileen to continue. As a bodyguard, she wasn't actually required to participate in the investigation; her job was simply to guard against danger. But since the client was willing to share some confidential details, she figured she might as well listen.

“He might be my high school classmate, Tennyson Norton, a boy from a poor family, who used to be...on good terms with me.”

A look of reminiscence appeared in Eileen's eyes, but seeing the change in Yvette's gaze, she quickly added, "But we weren't in that kind of relationship. He just had a crush on me. He never confessed, and I never accepted him."

Evie nodded and continued listening.

"After graduation, he didn't go to university and went straight to work. During that time, my contact with him was completely cut off."

"About six months ago, during the first Werewolf Killer's attack, the police captured a blurry image showing a partial profile of the Werewolf Killer's human form. Although he was wearing a mask, I still felt that his profile, hair color, and eyes looked remarkably like Tennyson's." "Then, out of curiosity, I tried to contact Tennyson, but received no response for a long time. Finally, feeling something was amiss, I went to Tennyson's house and learned that he had disappeared last year. The police investigation concluded that he had been scammed online, believing in a lucrative job, and was sold to the Rusty Bone Free State. He was either still alive but living a life worse than death, or already dead, his soul and body separated and used as experimental material by cultists."

Upon hearing this, Yvette's heart stirred, and some information about the Rusty Bones Free State came to mind.

While there are some small countries in Kuroshio Island, there are three major countries that are considered significant.

First, there is the United States of New Eden, one of the world's two superpowers, which is the birthplace of "Black Tower Pharmaceuticals" and "Lintui Biotechnology".

Secondly, there is the Kuroshio Federation, a small country located on the northeast coast of Kuroshio Island. It mainly relies on the "Kuroshio Corporation" as the economic backbone of the entire country, somewhat like the relationship between South Korea and Samsung.

Third is the Rusty Bone Free State, a country even smaller than the Black Tide Federation. Its society is chaotic, lacking super-corporations, but it is the birthplace of the infamous cult "Holy Spirit Sect." Due to the extreme evil and danger of its forbidden necromancy research, which requires extensive human experimentation, the Rusty Bone Free State is also known as the "Land of Human Traffickers" or the "Land of Scammers."

However, because the prospects of necromancy as described by the Holy Spirit Sect are indeed tempting, such as the resurrection of the dead, immortality, and skeletal laborers, even though it is all just empty talk and touches on the bottom line of human ethics, it still has many believers all over the world, which is quite a headache for governments around the world.

Eileen continued, "...but I think the story about being sold to Rustbones is false. If someone were sold to Rustbones, the normal procedure would be to force them to call home and extort money from their relatives. But the Tennyson family didn't encounter this situation."

"I suspect the truth is that Tennyson must have had a painful experience and then some extraordinary encounter that led him to become what he is today and gain immense power. His reason for killing so insanely might be to take revenge on those who wronged him, or perhaps he wanted to send a message to the outside world in this way."

Finally, Eileen's eyes hardened, and she said earnestly, "I want to crack these information, find the underlying reasons behind the werewolf killer's operation, and then reveal the truth to the world... I hope you can help me, Miss Nameless."

……

As an impatient young woman, Erin Parker took Yvette to a community park in the Bayard district that very evening after hiring a bodyguard.

That was the place where the werewolf killer committed his first crime; the victim was a homeless man who had pitched a tent in a park.

According to an elderly woman living nearby, she was sleeping that night when she woke up to strange and terrifying noises. She opened the window and looked out, only to find a giant wolf tearing at the body of its deceased victim in the park, its eyes bloodshot and frightening. However, after she screamed in terror, the wolf immediately fled, disappearing without a trace as if it had vanished into thin air.

This was all information the police had already gathered, and when they went to visit again, Eileen didn't find anything new. Besides, six months had passed, and asking again would probably be less accurate than asking the police's publicly available information.

Over the next few days, accompanied by Eileen, Yvette traveled throughout Agasher, visiting the remaining areas where the werewolf killers had committed their crimes.

During the process, Eileen also spent money to retrieve CCTV footage from some areas with better security, but she did not find any trace of Tennyson in the footage before and after the incident.

Eileen's investigation suddenly came to a standstill.

She found that the results of her independent investigation were not much better than those of the police, and she did not find the information that was expected to be related to Tennyson.

The only saving grace was that she didn't become the werewolf killer's next target, but in a sense, this also showed that Eileen's investigation was indeed useless.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. On the evening of the last day of the quest, they returned to Bayard empty-handed. As the two walked along a path by the Ron River, Eileen heard Yvette ask, "Will the quest continue tomorrow?"

This is clearly asking if they want to pay more, calculated at double the rate, which is 2 per day.

Eileen shook her head in frustration. As a novice reporter, she realized she didn't seem to have the talent to be a detective. What AJSP couldn't find, she couldn't find either. Continuing would just be a waste of money—her savings were only a little over 5 yuan, and although her parents were wealthy, they were too embarrassed to ask for help.

Seeing that her first employer seemed very upset, and considering that she hadn't had much room to maneuver these past few days, Yvette thought for a moment and decided to offer some extra support. She said, "I have a suggestion."

"Um...what?"

Yvette said, "Since you think your old classmate Tennyson Norton is a werewolf killer, why don't you just investigate Tennyson's disappearance directly?"

Eileen paused for a moment, her first reaction being that this made a lot of sense, but then she quickly thought of something and said, "No... this doesn't seem like it will work."

Then, seeing that Yvette didn't understand, she explained: "The Tennyson disappearance case involves the Holy Spirit Cult, and related information is prohibited from being accessed... Even the victim's relatives can only know the AJSP's investigation results on their own, and cannot get more information. The reason seems to be to prevent people from coming into contact with the cult and becoming their followers."

“Okay.” Yvette didn’t say anything more. She could have obtained some inside information directly through hacking, but that was outside the scope of the commission.

So, after five uneventful days, Yvette's first job as a mercenary came to an end, and it was hard to say whether the result was good or bad.

Although I received the commission as usual, which is equivalent to getting 5 credits for free, it doesn't really prove my ability. I'll probably still be labeled as a newbie by the middleman, Carter, though a very lucky one at that.

Looks like I'll have to take on another challenging commission...

Why not just go and catch the wanted criminal? For example, find clues about the werewolf killer, kill him, and you can get the AJSP 100 million bounty and immediately prove your abilities...

Looking at it this way, the clues provided by Miss Erin Parker were actually quite useful, and there isn't much difference between bounty hunters and mercenaries; both can make quick money...

Yvette pondered silently in her heart.

In order to save her energy these past two days, she directly purchased relevant intelligence on the gray market from Carters and discovered that obtaining military-grade equipment was much more difficult than she had imagined.

For example, a military spellcasting unit capable of casting 10 spells has an official price of 25, but its price on the black market can soar to over 80, which is an outrageous premium. She already has a lot of 50 credits, but she still can't afford it.

Therefore, just three days after the commission ended, while still worrying about saving money to buy equipment, a sudden message from her former employer, Miss Eileen, made Yvette's pupils shrink slightly.

It was a voice message, spoken in a low voice, filled with barely concealed terror and panic. Her voice trembled with tears as she said, "Miss Unknown... I... I think I saw Tennyson... He's... in the house across from mine... watching me..."

(End of this chapter)