Chapter 592: Spiritwing Reappears
Chapter 592: Chapter 592: Spiritwing Reappears
"What more evidence do you need? There’s no concrete evidence for this kind of thing. My lost supplies appeared at your stall—that’s the best evidence. Besides, your squad did visit the South District recently. Am I wrong?" Liam Grant demanded.
The claim that they just picked up supplies on the road was ridiculous in itself. He was certain Timothy Wallace was lying.
Timothy laughed in sheer frustration. "So what? Even if we collected supplies out there, just because you say they’re yours, we’re supposed to play the good Samaritan and hand them over?"
"So you admit it," Liam said.
"Admit my ass!" Timothy couldn’t hold back his urge to throw a punch, but his teammates held him back.
"Captain, fighting isn’t allowed inside the base. The security team is already waiting outside!" the squad members behind him urged.
Timothy swallowed his anger and said, "I’ll say it one more time. Our squad didn’t collect any supplies in the South District. You have no proof and no leg to stand on. Don’t think you’re such a big shot just because you hold some cushy desk job at the base. Now, you better get the hell out of here!"
"Isn’t it simple to prove?" A woman stepped out from the crowd. It was Fern Spencer, who lived across the alley. "People haven’t been going out much lately. The dashcams in the cars should still have the previous route records saved. We’ll know once we check them, won’t we?"
"Does he dare to check?" Liam narrowed his eyes.
"Check it! Whoever backs down is a coward!" Timothy immediately ordered his men to drive over the squad’s vehicles.
There were plenty of onlookers and just as many willing to help. Sure enough, the dashcams still retained the previous route records. Liam and the crowd watched the footage intently, completely oblivious to a faint, nearly transparent, yellowish-brown thing landing on his back.
This scene happened to be witnessed by Orion Thorne and Declan, who were standing on the second floor, too afraid to go down. Orion excitedly slapped Declan’s arm. "Quick, quick, the camera, the camera!"
It was unmistakably a Soul-Attracting Butterfly!
Declan snapped back to his senses and immediately pulled a camera out of his spatial storage, rapidly snapping photos of the scene. This camera had been left in the house they rented, along with some food and water supplies. Perhaps Nina Jacobs feared they would refuse, so she had left the items for them in this manner.
Little did they expect the camera to come in handy so soon. The Soul-Attracting Butterfly rested on Liam’s back, lingering for a long time. Orion and Declan’s faces were flushed with excitement.
This was the evidence the Ainsworth Family Head had ordered them to find. As long as they handed it over, their mission would be complete.
"He really is the one who murdered Chloe Ainsworth!" Orion felt a massive boulder lift from his chest. He and Declan slumped against the wall of the empty corridor, sharing a relieved smile.
Hidden within the crowd, Nina waited until she was certain the two had captured the scene and left before using her Control to call the Soul-Attracting Butterfly back.
Inside the courtyard compound, Liam’s expression had turned exceedingly ugly. None of the vehicles’ dashcams showed that the Aether Squad had ever been to the cemetery. They had indeed gone to the South District, but they turned back immediately upon arrival.
"Well?" Timothy felt a profound sense of vindication.
"It seems I was mistaken," Liam said, frowning.
"Apologize and pay for emotional damages, or none of you are leaving today!" Timothy blocked the main gate of the compound, cutting off Liam and his group’s exit.
Meanwhile, Nina and Fern had already slipped away from the scene.
"That guy really made a fool of himself. Still, your idea was brilliant. I didn’t even remember dashcams were a thing," Fern praised with a smile, following behind Nina. She had happened to run into Nina while coming to watch the drama, and it was Nina who suggested the idea.
"I heard the Fern Squad recently formed an alliance with Soul Slayer?" Nina asked. The clamor behind them grew faint; she acted as if she had merely been a casual bystander.
Fern froze for a few seconds. She hadn’t expected Nina to know about that. "Well, Caleb Carter is going to participate in the training camp, so he asked me to help keep an eye on Soul Slayer. Plus, the Fern Squad doesn’t have many members, so we just decided to form a temporary alliance to look out for each other."
However, under these extreme cold conditions, she didn’t dare lead everyone outside lightly. Earning Crystal Cores right now was incredibly difficult.
"We’ll be heading to the South District to kill zombies over the next couple of days. If you’re interested, you can tag along," Nina said.
The South District had numerous branching paths. Having more people guard the various alleys would provide an extra layer of safety.
Fern’s eyes lit up at Nina’s words. "Sure! It’s a deal, then!"
Being able to go out with Stella’s members meant they would be safe even if it were raining knives outside.
That evening, two people arrived outside Stella’s door. They were bundled up tightly and asked for Nina.
Chase Gallagher took one glance at them and said, "Come in."
Orion and Declan didn’t expect to be let in so easily. Little did they know, Nina had been waiting inside for them for quite some time.
"I take it you have good news?" Nina poured them each a cup of hot tea.
The house was incredibly warm, and Declan felt his stiff limbs finally relax. The two exchanged a glance before Orion spoke, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Thanks to you, Miss Jacobs, we’ve found the most direct evidence."
"Oh? And what is that?" Nina asked.
Orion mysteriously pulled out a photograph. The picture featured Liam, and zoomed in, a bizarre, transparent yellow butterfly could clearly be seen resting on his back shoulder.
"Is this the butterfly you mentioned before?" Nina feigned curiosity.
"Yes, there’s no mistaking it. Vincent Ainsworth showed us a specimen, and this is exactly what a Spiritwing looks like," Orion said with absolute certainty.
"Does having this butterfly definitively prove he killed Chloe Ainsworth? Also, who is Vincent Ainsworth?" Nina asked.
Declan immediately replied, "Vincent Ainsworth is Chloe’s father, and the Family Head we mentioned before. The moment the Spiritwing moves, he knows."
"Right. Whoever the Spiritwing lands on is undoubtedly the killer. He told us this himself; all we had to do was verify it," Orion added. Vincent had stated that whoever was capable of killing Chloe was definitely not a simple person, so instead of immediately sending people for revenge, he opted to investigate in secret first.
"I see. So what’s next? Are you planning to head back?" Nina asked, secretly committing the name to memory.
No direct revenge, only investigation. Perhaps this Vincent Ainsworth had other motives.
"If you want to go back, you should wait a couple more days. After all, it’s too dangerous for just the two of you to travel back alone," Nina said.
This was exactly what the two were most worried about right now. However, if they couldn’t make it back within half a month, they would likely die from the poison. Still, what did Nina mean by waiting two more days? Was there some turning point on the horizon?
"Alright, we’ll listen to you, Miss Jacobs. We’ll wait another two days and see," Orion replied.
"When you do head back, I can help you out. I only ask that the two of you keep my involvement a secret," Nina said.
"Of course. This matter has nothing to do with you anyway, Miss Jacobs, and you’ve already helped us so much." Orion immediately understood.
Nina’s reluctance to be known must stem from the things Sherry Renner had said back then. It truly went to show—one should never casually cross a woman.