Probe

Alexander quickly arrived at the slums' Zone C outside the city, and by now it was well past 10 PM. The narrow, dimly lit alleys were nearly devoid of people. Such places often teemed with criminal activity during the late hours, while ordinary families had long locked their doors and windows. In this setting, a young man in a black shirt leaned against a wall, waiting.

"Where is it?" Alexander's tone was urgent. Duke retrieved a small memory card from his pocket and handed it over. Then he discreetly stepped back.

Alexander didn't seem to notice this detail. He took the memory card, eager to insert it into an electronic device with an LCD screen. However, when he plugged the memory card in, he found the screen of the device remained blank.

"Well, actually, it's not this card; it's mine." Duke didn't feel embarrassed by this. He reached out to take the memory card back.

The situation wasn't unfolding in the direction Duke had feared. Alexander wasn't one of Greg's people; otherwise, he might have acted against Duke already. Additionally, Duke had prepared a backup plan in case this happened.

"What trick are you playing?" Alexander rubbed his stubbled chin, looking at Duke with a mix of confusion and amusement.

Duke didn't explain. He whistled softly, the sound cutting through the silent night. After about half a minute, a timidly dressed little girl emerged from the alley and handed a black memory card to Duke.

"Take it; it's this one." Duke handed the memory card to Alexander again.

Seeing Duke offer the memory card once more, Alexander found the situation somewhat exasperating. He held his waist as he laughed and scolded, "What trick are you playing here? You're still trying to..."

Alexander halted midway through his sentence, because he understood Duke's intention.

Though this young man was not very old, he was highly vigilant. He had sensed Greg's threat long before they arranged to meet.

If Alexander were also working for Greg, he would surely attempt to neutralize their threat after receiving the item. Duke's second step of preparation involved having Monica retrieve the memory card in advance. Once extreme measures were taken against them, Duke could use it as leverage to secure their survival.

Alexander gazed at the pair of siblings standing before him silently. The subtle unease from earlier, due to being suspected, had disappeared. Before their meeting, this young man had already prepared himself for a life-or-death struggle. After some reflection, Alexander realized he had been a bit impatient just now.

Upon reviewing Duke and Monica's files, he learned that these two were orphans, dependent on each other. Their files had been registered only three years ago, and they hadn't received any official assistance before that. Even the slum dwelling they lived in was purchased two years ago. During the time when kids their age normally grew up under the protection of their parents, these two had likely experienced countless hardships to survive.

"Rest assured, I won't let anyone harm you." Alexander wore a kindly smile. His teeth had yellowed somewhat from years of smoking, but his gaze was gentle. 

With that, Alexander inserted the memory card into the device, and a form appeared on the screen. With just a glance, his brows furrowed, and his expression grew serious. He was in charge of investigating the case, so he was quite familiar with the names of the two previous infected individuals. He quickly located them on the list.

"These two marked as 'Accepted,' they were the infected individuals from Zone C, right?" Duke asked. To Alexander's surprise, Duke had also noticed this detail. He nodded in agreement.

"Just with this, Can he be convicted now?"?"

After a moment of thought, Alexander spoke slowly, "Constructing a conviction requires an entire chain of evidence. With just this, we can ascertain that his subordinates are connected to these two infected individuals, but to secure a conviction, we might need more."

Alexander considered for a moment before adding, "But don't worry, the country's stance towards infected individuals is severe! These clues are enough for me to interrogate him; I have ways to make him confess. We don't need to resort to torture, especially in the era of awakened individuals. Making people speak the truth isn't difficult, especially someone like Greg who isn't awakened."

Though Alexander sounded confident, he wasn't as casual as he'd been before. He wanted to ease Duke and Monica's minds.

While this evidence clearly indicated a link between Greg and the infected individuals, it was only an indirect connection, and the intermediary was deceased. Hasty action would only alert Greg. Alexander's plan was to investigate the other people on the list first. As long as there were still people alive on the list, they might be able to uncover the true meanings of "Accepted" and "Declined." Of course, the worst-case scenario was that all the people on the list had already disappeared.

Seeing the list, Alexander reassessed the danger posed by Greg. Everyone on the list was awakened individuals! Although they were all low-level elderly awakened individuals, many of them were disabled. If this group were murdered, it would be a grave crime. But if Greg were truly behind the appearance of the infected, he might not hesitate to eliminate these people.

"Martha, I'll send you a list. You take a team to find the people on it and protect them. Then, inform the other colleagues to investigate the connections between these people and Greg." 

Alexander took out his phone and began assigning tasks. However, he realized that his actions might be a step behind Greg's.

"Wait, there's someone nearby."

Alexander suddenly noticed an address on the list that was right here in Zone C of the slums. He considered it unusual for an awakened individual to live in the slums and found it necessary to trust local resources, which were currently scarce. Plus, he happened to be in the vicinity.

"Both of you..." Alexander looked at Duke and Monica, somewhat vexed. He realized he might have spoken a bit too boldly earlier. Once again, he admired Duke; this young man was highly sensitive to danger.

"Tagging along with you ,might actually be helpful."

Alexander smiled. It seemed Duke had grown more confident after the previous incident. While he held Duke in high regard, it appeared that Duke was still a bit inexperienced.

Soon, the three arrived at the address marked on the file. The building before them was completely different in style from the slums—a refined two-story house with a small courtyard below. However, the courtyard was pitch-black at the moment, devoid of any figures.

"I'm afraid we're a bit late." Alexander glanced around and quickly deduced that someone had lived in the courtyard not too long ago. There were no cobwebs on the door, and the plants in the courtyard looked well-maintained, indicating regular care.

Alexander walked into the courtyard, while Duke glanced around. This courtyard was on the edge of the slums, with a forest nearby. The scenery was quite good, though the potential threat of wilderness creatures could arise at any moment.

At this moment, Duke made a new discovery. In the nearby woods, a faint red light was flickering.