A Stalker

Leo had acquired all the information he could from the bartender and had decided to leave, but then he suddenly felt a pair of eyes pinned on him. His perception had greatly improved under the power of the realm of iniquity but never did Leo expect them to have gotten this strong.

Leo did well to hide his emotions as he began pondering who this person could be. His eyes sneakily glanced around, but he couldn't find anyone in the crowd. Whoever was stalking him must be skilled at blending in to an above-average extent.

To think that his life would be in danger just by taking in his first high-profile case.

Leo sighed but wasn't brought down by this.

If it was in the past, he would be terrified and probably quit immediately. He might have even been too lazy to take any of this seriously. But things were different now.

Leo decided to play a little game with his stalker and find out who they really were.

He pushed all the unnecessary thoughts aside and bid the bartender farewell before moving to another part of the club.

Leo pushed into the crowd almost abruptly, vanishing from the viewpoint of whoever was watching him. He then began walking around within the crowd with no destination in mind. Instead, Leo just moved randomly while secretly marking those who could potentially be his stalker.

Soon enough, Leo narrowed down the suspects and began paying attention to their movements.

A staff member coincidentally moved in the direction of Leo with drinks on a tray and Leo had crafted a scheme. His eyes let out a red flash as he activated the charm skill and began speaking.

"I apologize for my rude behavior, but I would like to ask you a few questions. I hope you don't mind." Leo said with a strange look in his eyes.

He might have his attention on the server while speaking, but his spiritual eye was placed on the figure currently searching for him through the crowd.

Ever since Leo moved he could feel that particular person following him. However, the person was still looking around as if he wasn't eyeing him.

Leo had positioned himself in a way in which the staff would block his figure with his body. As a result of that, he was able to turn around and see who the stalker is. While he couldn't pinpoint where the stalker was at the moment, he could still predict their general location.

"Sure, what do you wish to know?" The staff asked with a smile.

"It's about the murder that took place here a week ago. My condolences to the victim and his loved ones. As an investigator driven by my passion for equity and peace, I must know every important detail about the events of that night if I'm going to help him get justice." Leo said in a sad tone, controlling the mood of the conversation immediately. Anyone who looked at him would feel as if truly, Leo was saddened by the murder.

After partying all night with Rachel, he realized that in the realm of iniquity, his Empathy ability had become slightly different. Unlike before when he could only feel the mood, right now his Empathy ability acted like a double edge sword, allowing people to feel his at the same time. While this may be considered a major flaw at first glance, Leo didn't seem to think that way anymore after an hour of putting it to use on Rachel; she was having fun because he was having fun.

Being able to allow people to fall into your flow of emotions was a dangerous thing if you could control your emotions. This was the system's way of making him stronger while forcing him to improve on himself.

With the staff trapped in his emotions, he was moved to reveal everything he knew. The more he talked, the more his eyes reddened as he looked like he was about to weep.

Leo listened carefully and admitted that the story from Lyson and the bartender, was somewhat identical, but one noticeable difference came when he least expected it.

"Wait, what did you say?" Leo's eyes flashed with shock.

"I said when I was sent to deliver more drinks to their table. I got close enough to the victim and noticed red rashes on the back of his neck. It looked like he was having an allergic reaction from something, I don't really know." The staff said with a confused look on his face which made Leo smile.

Bingo!

"Do you think it's beer?" Leo asked with a raised eyebrow.

He didn't want to insinuate anything and simply wanted to get the honest opinion of the staff.

"Allergic to beer? Impossible, those three have been here a couple of times and this has never happened. It looked like he was poisoned or something like that." The staff said and Leo frowned.

Drugged!

Leo concluded in his mind. Tyler had drugged Jimmy, but his motive for this remains unknown. Leo knew it was something work-related, but he wasn't sure why exactly.

Hmph!

Leo snorted disdainfully as he noticed the stalker inching closer by the second. He silently nodded in confirmation, right now he was sure he had a stalker on his tail but planted by whom?

Leo frowned.

He wasn't sure if the man was just a stalker or an assassin. Even with the system and even with his physical upgrades, he still lacked the raw fighting talent nor has he engaged in any form of training.

"Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom real quick."

Leo said to the server before quickly walking away and vanishing into the crowd. As he did so, Leo swiftly took a bottle from the server's tray and left. He squeezed himself through a packed crowd and walked into a long poorly lit hallway.

'He's still on me.'

Leo frowned and quickened his pace. He took a sharp left turn and entered the male bathroom as if he really needed to take a piss.

The bathroom was dimly lit, and the walls were covered in graffiti. The smell of urine and stale beer hung heavy in the air. Rather than a bathroom, Leo felt like he was walking into a den of filth and grime.

As he walked towards the urinals, Leo noticed that the floor was sticky and covered in puddles of water. The sink was overflowing with paper towels, and the mirror was so dirty that he could barely see his own reflection. He couldn't believe that anyone would allow a public bathroom to get this bad. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to dwell on such thoughts.

Thud.

Leo hears footsteps approaching from the hall behind. He frowned as quickly entered the first cubicle out of all eight in the room. Ignoring the disgusting sight below, Leo held his breath and listened in silence.

Clank.

The sound of the bathroom door opening sent shivers down his spine. Leo stood in the cubicle, emptying the contents of the bottle to mimic the sound of someone urinating, while silently listening to the sounds outside. If Rachel could see the look on Leo's face right now she would be terrified.

For the first time in his life, Leo was in a position where his life was at risk and the threat was just in the same public toilet as him.