Chapter 52

Late at night, at St. Paul's School.

Sister Monica personally escorted Qin Ran to the small chapel and then boarded her exclusive carriage, with the school guard captain serving as the driver. The school guard captain's face was unwilling, but he could not disobey Sister Monica's orders. To complete the task quickly, almost as soon as Qin Ran got into the carriage, the school guard captain flicked the reins.

Crack!

With a sharp sound, the carriage quickly disappeared into the night.

Watching the carriage disappear, Sister Monica turned and returned to the small chapel. Her guardian knight, Gonglansen, stood in the shadow of the candlelight, remaining vigilant.

After a full ten seconds, Gonglansen finally stepped out of the shadows.

"Just as Qin Ran said, they are constantly monitoring the entire St. Paul's School!"

"They must be using something like a telescope—there aren't many people who can see in the dark!"

"Those people are really audacious!"

The guardian knight couldn't help but snort coldly at the end.

"Did they get distracted by Qin Ran?"

Sister Monica sighed softly, her voice filled with worry.

"Don't worry, if Qin Ran chose this plan, he must be confident!"

"Besides, everything has gone according to Qin Ran's plan so far!"

"We just need to wait for Qin Ran's news quietly!"

The guardian knight comforted the former saintess.

"I hope so!"

Sister Monica said, slowly walking towards the statue of the goddess and praying again.

Gonglansen's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He walked back into the shadows.

The former guardian knight, now a night watchman.

His glory had long faded, and his radiance had dimmed.

The forgotten vow of protection, once forgotten, now became crystal clear.

Because he was now facing his own heart.

For Gonglansen, one accident was enough.

He would not allow anyone to approach Sister Monica casually again.

...

In the city at night, the streets were empty.

The carriage could travel at high speed.

So, just ten minutes later, Qin Ran returned to his residence.

The school guard captain didn't even want to say goodnight to Qin Ran and drove the carriage away again.

Qin Ran watched the departing carriage and shrugged helplessly.

He knew that making the stubborn man friendly with him would be a beautiful wish.

At least, in the short term.

Pulling up the collar of his coat to block the cold night wind, Qin Ran walked straight to his second-floor residence. There was no need to go through the first floor; the stairs were outside, leading directly upstairs.

The door was a single wooden one.

Above the door frame hung a small, two-palm-sized, crookedly written sign that read "Qin Ran Consulting," a sign that looked completely undistinguished.

Even though it had his name on it, Qin Ran's lips twitched when he saw it for the first time.

If he could, he would rather not have such a sign.

Taking out his key, he opened the door and walked in.

The room consisted of an outer room and an inner room, with an independent bathroom.

The outer room served as a living room, office, and dining room, and was relatively tidy.

The inner room was a simple bedroom.

Qin Ran was satisfied with this arrangement.

Qin Ran didn't have a cleanliness obsession or OCD.

But no one would like a messy, dirty, and chaotic room.

There was nothing worth noting in the room.

When Qin Ran returned last night, he had carefully checked everything.

Therefore, upon entering the room, Qin Ran went straight to the bedroom, half-lying on the bed, waiting quietly.

Waiting for those who were obsessed with the millennium-old wealth of the Dawn Church.

Qin Ran believed that they would definitely come to him.

Because he was the best detective in the city.

Moreover, he had appeared at St. Paul's School for two consecutive days. If yesterday's incident could be attributed to the disappearance of Altria Hunter, what about today?

Not only did he stay for a full day, but he also received a proper reception from Sister Monica, the principal.

These things were enough to make those people speculate.

After all, no one would go to a detective for no reason.

There must be something that needed the detective's help.

What in the entire St. Paul's School required the involvement of a detective?

The millennium-old wealth of the Dawn Church!

There was no other possibility!

As long as they thought this way, they would definitely come to him!

Qin Ran was confident.

If not tonight, then tomorrow!

Setting a standard for how long he would wait, Qin Ran made a decision.

If this standard was exceeded, he would need to activate his backup plan.

Fortunately, it seemed Qin Ran wouldn't need to do that.

About twenty minutes later, his E+ level perception clearly heard the sound of his door lock turning.

It wasn't the sound of a key turning the lock.

It was the sound of another metal object.

Not shrill, but enough to raise Qin Ran's alertness.

Drawing the M1905 and a dagger, Qin Ran silently walked out of the bedroom and stood behind the door, leaning against the wall.

Click!

A sharp sound, and Qin Ran's door was opened.

Following the gap in the door, a figure cautiously walked in.

The figure's gaze swept the room and then looked towards the bedroom, carefully walking towards it.

Throughout the process, the figure did not notice Qin Ran, who had entered a stealth state behind the door.

Seeing the figure's actions, Qin Ran confirmed that it was just one person and frowned slightly.

According to Sister Monica's description, there were at least two of them.

If only one appeared now...

The thoughts in his mind did not make Qin Ran hesitate; he had already anticipated this result.

Silently walking behind the figure, he pressed the M1905 directly to the back of the figure's head.

Instantly, the figure's steps froze.

"I have no ill intentions!"

A slightly sharp voice sounded.

"I can explain!"

"I'm listening! But my patience is limited!"

The figure seemed to hope that Qin Ran would lower his gun, but Qin Ran ignored it.

Instead, he pushed the gun forward forcefully.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"We came for cooperation!"

"The secret of the Dawn Church!"

Faced with the threatening gun, the figure quickly spoke.

Hearing the figure's words, Qin Ran's lips curled.

To save his life, the figure was clearly trying to trick him.

Using vague words to pique his curiosity—knowing that the Dawn Church wouldn't tell him anything, the figure would use something like a part of the Dawn Church's history, a book, or even a handwritten note by a pope to敷衍 him.

If Sister Monica and Gonglansen really knew any information about the Dawn Church's millennium-old wealth, everything would go as the figure expected.

But unfortunately, the figure had no idea that Sister Monica and Gonglansen truly knew nothing about the Dawn Church's millennium-old wealth.

Even if it weren't for the appearance of the figure and his companions, Sister Monica and Gonglansen would have continued to treat it as a legend.

However, in the figure's eyes, this meant that Sister Monica and Gonglansen knew the general location of the Dawn Church's millennium-old wealth but couldn't determine the exact location, so they had to search quietly. When competitors appeared, Sister Monica and Gonglansen had no choice but to seek help from an "outsider" like him.

The figure and his companions believed they could win over this "outsider."

Using the Dawn Church's millennium-old wealth as bait!

After that, they would naturally use methods like killing him to silence him.

Qin Ran was well aware of this.

So, Qin Ran gave the figure the most direct response.

Bang!

Crack!

Qin Ran kicked the figure in the knee, and the sound of bones breaking immediately followed.

The figure opened his mouth to cry out in pain.

But before he could make a sound, Qin Ran covered his mouth and punched him hard in the stomach.

Bang!

[Kick: Caused 30 points of health damage, opponent's joint dislocated...]

[Punch: Caused 20 points of health damage, opponent fell unconscious...]

Looking at the unconscious figure, Qin Ran tore off the mask covering his face.

Bathed in the faint light from the window, Qin Ran examined the figure.

Triangular eyes, a flat nose, a thin and small build, and hair that was half black and half white.

Unremarkable, even somewhat ugly.

Qin Ran searched the figure's body.

A dagger, a flintlock pistol, a monocular telescope, and a set of lock-picking tools were all he had.

The dagger, flintlock pistol, and monocular telescope were nothing special.

But the set of lock-picking tools, contained in a palm-sized leather pouch that looked like a wallet, surprised Qin Ran.

[Name: Lock-picking Tools]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attack: None]

[Attribute: Dexterity Lv1]

[Special Effect: None]

[Requirement: Lock-picking (Basic)]

[Can be taken out of the instance: Yes]

[Note: It is made up of hairpins, wires, and a long-handled screwdriver]

...

[Dexterity Lv1: Increases lock-picking success rate by 10%]

...

"An attribute item!"

This was the first attribute item Qin Ran had obtained in the formal instance.

"Indeed, only extra tasks that exceed the normal scope can more easily yield good things!"

Qin Ran sighed.

Then, his gaze turned to the uninvited intruder.

Qin Ran would not forget how easily the figure had opened his door.

Lock-picking!

Qin Ran was more than 50% confident that if he killed the figure, he would drop this skill book.