"You look bad, Mr. Francis."

Looking at Francis in front of him, Fang Zheng sighed, then he made a gesture, and soon Ryoko Asakura came over and served him a cup of coffee. In fact, as Fang Zheng said, Francis looks very embarrassed at the moment, his face is pale, sweating profusely, and even a little disheveled, looking like a lover who was discovered by the owner and then jumped out of the window to escape when he was cheating.

"A little coffee first, maybe you'll feel better."

"Thank you, thank you........."

Francis took a deep breath, then picked up his coffee and took a few sips, finally relaxing, and then he looked at Nimfu and Ryoko Asakura beside him with some uneasiness.

"Well, I have some personal matters........."

"It's okay, Mr. Francis, they're my assistants and know a lot about it."

"Yes, that's right........."

Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Francis nodded, then he put down the box in his hand, took out a document from his arms, and handed it to Fang Zheng, at the same time, Francis told Fang Zheng about his experience these days.

After the nightmare in Innsmouth, Francis was also greatly stimulated, and in order to divert his attention, he gave up the next trip and immediately began his own journey to find his roots. He finds his family in Arkham and begins to trace his ancestry, before Francis discovers a piece of information that shocks him.

His mother's family ——— ancestors had married a woman in Arkham with the surname Marsh. And the surname Marsh is the surname of the people who actually dominate Innsmouth that Francis heard from the drunken old man in Innsmouth. Not only that, but the old man had previously told Francis that the patriarch of the Marsh family had married one of those terrible monsters that had climbed up from the bottom of the sea, and had given birth to three children, two of whom remained here because they kept their monster shapes. The last daughter, because she was still in human form, was sent to Europe to study, and then the patriarch played some tricks to get a man living in Arkham to marry her.

Hearing this, Francis felt creepy, which reminded him of some unbearable past, although they were just some vague memories, but for some reason, Francis was very frightened at this moment.

One of the monsters was a human-looking woman who was married to a man who lived in Arkham. And in his own family, his mother's ancestor——— that is, his maternal great-grandmother's generation, did marry a woman surnamed Marsh.

But at that time, Francis only felt that he was too nervous, and that the memories he had left on him in Innsmouth were too deep, so he thought about it.

But then, when he saw what his uncle had shown him about his great-grandmother's jewelry, Francis almost broke down.

That weird style, the horror and distortion that people can barely look at, although it is extremely exquisite, it is also extremely terrifying......... It was the same jewellery he had seen in the previous town as he had seen in Innsmouth! These exquisite creations were rumored to have come from the depths of the sea and were the gift of a great god, but at this moment, in Francis's view, they were simply demonic messengers.

"I, I don't even know what to do......... I passed out at the time, and then I woke up, and I, I didn't know who to turn to, so ......... Mr. Van Helsing, please help me, what can I do, I, will I be like those people in Innsmouth......... No, I don't know, but I won't ........."

"Well, calm down, Mr. Francis."

Fang Zheng reached out and patted his hand gently.

"You're worried about whether you're going to be a diver......... Okay, I can't give you a word for sure, but if you think about it, from your maternal great-grandmother to the present, there is actually no one in your family who has become like that, do you know that maternal great-grandmother? ”

"No, I don't know......... I heard that she died very young. ”

"So let's not talk about her yet, but what about your mother? What about your maternal grandparents? ”

"My Mother ........."

With that, Francis gradually became calmer.

"My mother is also normal, ah, by the way, my mother never takes us back to my grandparents' house, but when my grandfather comes, she always welcomes him very warmly, and my grandfather is very kind to me......... Grandmother......... I haven't seen .........."

"So you don't have to worry so much, do you still have the brooch I gave you?"

"Of course, sir."

As she spoke, Francis pulled out the brooch.

"It seems to be something very valuable........."

"That's right, for you."

"Huh?"

"It has the power to drive out evil, so if you keep it by your side, you can rest assured."

"W-that's embarrassing........."

Despite his embarrassment, Francis put the brooch back in his pocket, and his expression looked much more relaxed.

"But, sir, I still want to continue investigating, that ......... What exactly are those monsters? I was scared, I always felt that if I left it alone, something even more terrible would happen........."

"It's okay, it's on me, I'll go find someone to investigate."

"Huh? Mr. Van Helsing, aren't you going to investigate it yourself? ”

"I'm not very good at investigating this nonsense."

Fang Zheng spread his hands and shrugged his shoulders, he had never been interested in being Conan.

"I'll delegate the responsibility to the professionals, don't worry, I'll let you know if anything happens."

"That's good......... That's my phone number, so please contact me if you find anything. ”

"No problem."

"As for the cost ........."

"Let's talk about it then, we are also acquaintances, and we won't cheat you."

You don't have much money, so you might as well go to the Fed.

After entrusting the matter to Fang Zheng, Francis seemed to relax a lot, and quickly said goodbye and left, as for the box he brought, it was his maternal great-grandmother's jewelry, because he felt so disgusting that he didn't want to stay with him, so he simply handed it over to Fang Zheng for safekeeping, and then left.

"It's really interesting."

After Francis left, Fang Zheng opened the box, took out the contents and carefully examined it, this small box contained four pieces of jewelry, namely bracelets, earrings, brooches and rings, as Francis said, each of them is a beautifully carved work of art, and as Francis said, each of them is full of some kind of twisted malice.

The twisted ring looked like an octopus's tentacles entwined, and the gem looked like a living eye......... Well, this thing does give nightmares.

"How do you feel?"

Out of curiosity, Fang Zheng questioned Nimfu and Ryoko Asakura, however.........

"Very peculiar jewelry."

"It looks beautiful."

The two stared carefully at the gesture in front of them, but did not give a particularly low evaluation.

"Don't you feel like there's something wrong or disgusting?"

“………………”

The two looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, but it seems to me just ordinary jewelry, master."

"The information entanglement is very stable, and I don't feel anything out of the ordinary, master."

The two responded in their own different ways.

Well......... Does it have something to do with their race?

After all, whether it is an almighty angel or a humanoid interface, it can be regarded as a kind of machine in the final analysis......... For them, this may be the same as a computer getting image information through a camera, and it doesn't feel anything special about it.

"So master, how are we going to investigate next?"

"I'm not going to let you investigate."

However, Fang Zheng waved his hand.

"Huh?"

"There's no internet in this world, Nimfu, and it's hard for you to play a role in gathering information."

"I, I can ......... through the phone line"

Speaking of this, Nimfu also hung her head helplessly. Indeed, in this relatively backward world, even satellites have not yet appeared......... She's going to gather information!

"Then leave it to me."

"No, I have a professional candidate, you might as well stay and take care of Nimfu."

Fang Zheng refuses Ryoko Asakura's request, and the devil knows what will become of her so-called "search".

"I'll go out now, and I'll make you dinner."

"No problem, master, what do you want to eat?"

"Whatever, you can do it."

Ryoko Asakura's cooking skills are still very good, and there are not many people around Fang Zheng who can make good dishes, and there are not even five of Ryoko Asakura. And among them, except for Xia Shi, it is impossible for anyone else to cook three meals a day for three hundred and sixty-five days.

In fact, Satian's tear craftsmanship is also good, but ......... Well, it's just good.

"Understood, then let's eat hot pot, I will prepare fresh ingredients."

Facing Ryoko Asakura's report, Fang Zheng waved his hand, then picked up the jewelry box and walked out of the door.

Arkham City is not too big, nor is it small, but Fang Zheng has been idle these days and has nothing to do with it, but he is also clear about the situation in this city. And now, the reason why he went out, as he said before, is that this matter is going to be handed over to professionals to deal with.

What is a Professional?

Detectives, of course!

Unlike the copycat offices of Kogoro Mori, the detective office in front of me looks like the usual one in old-fashioned movies, with old-fashioned folding curtains covering the glass and allowing you to see the light of the room, and on the table, a man in Western clothes is sitting and napping.

Well......... It's not quite the same as Sherlock Holmes, but forget it.

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng stretched out his hand and knocked on the door, and then saw the detective who was napping inside and was suddenly startled, and then hurriedly woke up, patted his face hard, and then looked at the door.

"Please come in."

"Excuse me."

Fang Zheng pushed open the door and walked into the room.

"Excuse me, this is the Valentine Detective Agency, right?"

"That's right, I'm Nick. Valentine. ”

The man in front of him smiled and stood up, and the other party was making a gesture.

"Sit down, would you like a whiskey?"

"No, I don't drink."

"Oh, you're a Puritans?"

"No, I'm not religious, I just think drinking alcohol is not good for your health."

"That's a shame, drinking is one of life's great pleasures."

Detective Valentine picked up the bottle, poured a glass of wine into his glass, and drank it down.

"So, sir, what's the matter with you?"

"Well, I have a commission."

Fang Zheng reached out and took out a piece of jewelry from his arms and placed it in front of Valentine. Valentine's eyes narrowed at the sight of the jewelry.

"............... this?"

"Interesting stuff, right?"

"It's really fun, and it's ......... I'm sorry, I think this stuff is a bit too funny. ”

Valentine's eyes narrowed, staring at the brooch——— which, unlike the ring, was carved into a grotesque monster with an octopus head, its knees bent as if it were sitting on the toilet, and its eye sockets were delicately carved. But for some reason, Detective Valentine felt sick and even sick to his stomach when he saw this thing.

"Well, that's what I thought too."

Fang Zheng picked up a handkerchief and put it on the brooch, and after not seeing the brooch, Detective Valentine breathed a sigh of relief, and then he picked up the wine glass and took another sip of wine, finally dispelling the anxiety that came from nowhere.

"So, this gentleman? You want me to ........."

"In fact, the jewelry was given to me by my client to help him with some things."

"Your client? Are you also a detective? ”

"No, I'm a mercenary."

"Mercenary ........."

Faced with this unexpected answer, Valentine seemed a little surprised.

"To put it simply, combat is my job, but investigation is not, so I'm coming to you, Nick. Mr. Valentine. ”

"So, what do you want me to investigate?"

"As for the pattern of that brooch, I can tell you that the pattern on this brooch comes from an evil sect, and my client and I are tracking down this sect, but as I said before, I am a mercenary, not a detective. It's my job to fight head-on, but on the other hand, it's a bit of a hassle for me to investigate. ”

Fang Zheng spread his hands helplessly, the information deviation of this world gave Fang Zheng a headache, and the results given by the confession were all garbled and useless. And the spells of the prophecy system were completely unavailable, so in desperation, Fang Zheng had no choice but to use this method.

"So, I hope you can go and look for clues about this cult and their location, etc., but I want to warn you beforehand, this is very dangerous work."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng reached into his arms, and then took out a stack of Franklin.

"I can pay you enough, but you don't need to take the risk, you just have enough information and give it to me."

"It sounds like an easy one."

"It's easy indeed, if you're not afraid of death."

“……………”

Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Valentine was silent for a moment, then he stood up and stretched out his hand to Fang Zheng.

"Then, I took this commission."