"Dealing with these things is really troublesome, but thankfully, I finally got it done."
On the rooftop of the tall building, Dorothy sat on the ground, muttering as she looked at a pile of maps and blueprints in her hand. For the past few days, she had been staking out and monitoring here to figure out the An Yin Bureau's situation. Every day was a repeat of extremely tedious reconnaissance work, followed by even more tedious recording work.
By the end, Dorothy felt like her mental state was getting a bit problematic, but thankfully, she finally finished.
Now, by monitoring the An Yin Bureau's hidden entrances and exits, aided by the Knower's innate super memory ability, Dorothy had memorized the appearance and information of most of the Iggwente Secret Agency's members. Now... it was time to start the next step.
While thinking this, Dorothy snapped her fingers, and then at the stairwell not far away, several men walked up, each carrying a long wooden crate on their shoulder.
Dorothy controlled her human Corpse Puppets to walk in front of her, then had them put down the long wooden crates on their shoulders, arranging them neatly in a row.
Next, Dorothy controlled the Corpse Puppets to take out crowbars and pry open the lids of the wooden crates. Inside the four wooden crates lay four dogs of different sizes and breeds.
These were all Edrick's test subjects. Dorothy had selected a large batch and transported them to Igwinte, and these dog corpses were among them.
Looking at the dog corpses before her, which hadn't decayed even after several months and looked as if they were merely sleeping, Dorothy let out a sigh of relief. Then, she had the human Corpse Puppets lie down and released control. Afterward, she spent an additional two points of "enlightenment" to enhance the control limit of the Corpse Puppet Ring, raising all four dog corpses in one go.
Under Dorothy's control, the dog Corpse Puppets shakily stood up from the wooden crates and, after looking around, walked in front of Dorothy.
Looking at the brand new Corpse Puppets in front of her, Dorothy smiled slightly. Then, she took out a paper packet from her clothes. After opening the packet, inside was reddish powder, which was exactly the "Cup" potion Dorothy had obtained from Clifford not long ago.
Dorothy held the powder in her hand and extended it forward. Subsequently, the four Corpse Puppet dogs gathered around and began to sniff the powder. During this time, Dorothy spent an additional point of "enlightenment," allowing her to control and perceive the dogs' precise sense of smell.
Afterward, Dorothy re-wrapped the powder and put it away. Then, she controlled the four Corpse Puppet dogs to go downstairs one by one, disguised as stray dogs, spreading out in the corners around the block.
"Well... now it's time to wait for your off-duty hours..."
Dorothy stood up on the rooftop of the building, muttering as she looked at the Cypress Fir Building in front of her.
...
Underground in the Cypress Fir Building, inside the Iggwente Secret Agency.
On the ceiling of the spacious underground area, an unusually large gas chandelier emitted a strange orange-yellow light, illuminating the dim basement. Under the light were over ten busy staff members, handling the paperwork for the various extraordinary events, large and small, that occurred in Igwinte every few days.
In a corner of the vast underground space, filled with shelves of miscellaneous items, a young man with gray-brown hair, wearing glasses, and a gentle demeanor sat before a desk, intently filling out a form with a pen. As he wrote, his expression seemed to become somewhat anxious, and his brows couldn't help but furrow.
"Hoo..."
Letting out a long sigh of relief, the young man named Brandon stopped the pen in his hand, rubbed his temples, then touched his forehead, finding it covered in fine sweat.
Looking at the sweat on his hand, Brandon's brows furrowed even deeper for a moment. Then, he glanced with the corner of his eye at the bright orange-yellow light emanating from the distance, a hint of disgust inadvertently showing in his eyes.
"Hey... Brandon, the 'Light' in the east corridor is burned out, do you have any more?"
At this moment, a slightly overweight man in work clothes came up to Brandon, slapped the table, and asked Brandon. Seeing this, Brandon reluctantly said.
"Oh, that... yes, I still have some. I just got them from the Church not long ago. Wait here for a moment, and I'll go get them for you."
While speaking, Brandon stood up and walked to an iron door behind him. He used the key on his person to open the iron door and walked in. Not long after, he came out again, holding a small box.
"Here." Closing the iron door behind him, Brandon placed the small box on the table and said. The man in work clothes in front of the table also picked up the box directly. Seeing this, Brandon opened his mouth to ask.
"Joseph, I remember there wasn't supposed to be any 'Light' in the east corridor before, when was it installed?"
"Oh... that, Mr. James had them installed last week. Besides that, he also plans to install a few more. It's expected that the north hall and west corridor will have them too. He's currently negotiating with the Church about this, and it should be settled soon," said the man in work clothes named Joseph. Listening to his words, Brandon asked curiously.
"What does Mr. James suddenly need so many 'Light' for? It doesn't seem necessary..."
"Who knows... Anyway, he's the director, and we don't get to question his decisions. Alright, Brandon, I'm leaving now." Saying this, Joseph walked away with the box, leaving only Brandon sitting in his original spot, his expression slightly gloomy.
Suddenly, Brandon's expression changed slightly, and his breathing began to quicken. He stood up from his seat and left his position, walking towards a corridor on the side.
"Miss Buma, I'm going to the washroom. If anyone looks for me, please ask them to wait for a moment."
"Okay, you can go, Brandon."
After greeting the people around him, Brandon continued forward. In the process, he inadvertently detoured around the bright light in the middle of the underground hall, avoiding getting too close.
After entering a relatively dim corridor, Brandon quickened his pace and soon arrived at a washroom door. After opening the door, he walked inside and then closed the door tightly.
Upon entering the washroom, Brandon didn't look for the toilet but went directly to the sink. Leaning on the sink with his hands, he watched himself in the mirror, breathing heavily, his expression showing complete distortion.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."
After taking a few breaths, Brandon stood properly in front of the sink. Then, he took out a small cup and a test tube from his clothes. Inside the test tube was red powder.
Next, Brandon took out the cup, turned on the faucet on the sink, and began to fill it with water. During this process, his hand had already begun to tremble slightly, and his rapid breathing accelerated even further.
Due to his trembling hands, Brandon's process of filling the cup with water was not smooth. He knocked the cup over twice, wetting his sleeves. After closing his eyes and calming himself down for a moment, he finally succeeded in filling the cup with water on the third attempt.
Turning off the faucet, Brandon placed the water he had finally managed to fill onto the sink. Then, he opened the test tube and carefully, tremblingly began to shake the powder from the test tube into the clear water in the cup. After successfully shaking in some powder, Brandon re-stoppered the test tube opening and put it back into his clothes.
Next, Brandon suppressed his trembling and steadily raised the cup with both hands. The powder had already dissolved, and the entire cup of water appeared light red. Finally, Brandon drained the water in the cup in his hand.