The detective is dead, I did it.

Chapter 18 The Kamen Rider Who Passed By

This is the formal procedure for detectives to solve cases.

Charlotte hadn't used it on those cultists before because their personal information had already been corrupted by the evil god, so there was no need to specify it.

Those criminals with superpowers don't need to be designated, because once they awaken their abilities, the information on their identity cards automatically changes to that of criminals.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to call these people born criminals.

Detective detectives only need to use this ability when dealing with ordinary people who commit crimes.

"This is so fantastical! How can I do that?"

"You're not there yet." Charlotte stood up, put the card away, and said, "Only detectives at Sequence 5 or higher can do it."

"Then what's the use of this?" Li Ang asked curiously.

"While identifying individuals, it can also assist armed detectives in upgrading their skills."

"If armed detectives want to improve their rank, there are only three ways besides constant training: kill demons, kill cultists, and kill identified criminals or ordinary people with special abilities."

"The latter requires the personal designation of the detective."

"Therefore, armed detectives cannot function without reasoning detectives. Not to mention, for criminals with special abilities, only reasoning detectives can find the real culprit."

She took the card out of her pocket and handed it to Li Ang. "Did you feel it? Theoretically, after I designate these people as 'criminals,' you should become stronger after killing them."

Li Ang took the card and stared at the blurry face on it. He could vaguely make out the appearance of the person he had killed earlier.

Then he did feel it; a faint force seeped from the edge of the card into his fingertips and then flowed into his body.

The power increased slightly. Not much, but it was definitely there.

"What is this? Leveling up by fighting monsters?" Li Ang couldn't help but complain.

"That's an interesting point," Charlotte didn't deny. "But you have to remember, detectives can't just appoint anyone. They have to have actually committed a crime first."

"What if they didn't commit a crime?"

"Then the card won't be generated, and you'll become a disqualified detective. Disqualified detectives will be expelled from the association." Charlotte's smile faded, and her tone became more serious. "There are many rules in this world that can be exploited, but this one won't. At least, not for detective detectives."

Charlotte guessed what Leon wanted to ask.

If detectives can designate ordinary people as criminals, and then armed detectives kill them to level up, does that mean detectives can arbitrarily designate an innocent person as a criminal, and then have armed detectives kill them, thus achieving a faster leveling-up method?

The detective's meaning was also very clear: no.

"I understand." Li Ang handed the card back to her. "Let's go, there are three more."

The second group solved the problem just as smoothly.

Three thugs stopped at the alley entrance to smoke. Li Ang crept up behind them from the shadows and killed them one by one with a knife. Charlotte followed up and did the same, generating three more cards.

Li Ang felt that faint power surge into his body again, which even improved his night vision.

"Next up is another group."

Li Ang nodded and led her around to another street.

It was a slightly larger house than before. The first floor was a dilapidated tavern, and the second floor had been converted into several cubicles where the girls they had captured were imprisoned.

"There are quite a few of them, at least a dozen." Charlotte stood next to Leon. "How do you plan to fight?"

"Just shoot it in."

"Hmm? Why have you suddenly become so reckless?" Charlotte looked at Li Ang suspiciously.

Although Li Ang's physical abilities are quite good, especially after awakening his abilities, which further enhanced them, it was still very difficult for him to deal with more than a dozen people at once.

The fact that the other party chose to temporarily avoid confrontation when surrounded by more than a dozen cult members was a very wise choice.

“It’s not recklessness.” Li Ang pointed to a small window on the side of the tavern. “That’s the back door to the kitchen. Once you go in, the storage room is on your left. It’s full of barrels of wine. It’s a very narrow space; only two people can come in at a time. We’ll trap them in the aisle and beat them up.”

Charlotte nodded knowingly. "It seems you have indeed been planning this for a long time."

"...I told you not to say that."

The two went around to the back door of the kitchen, gently pried open the door, and squeezed in sideways. Charlotte followed behind him, and at the same time, she had an old-fashioned flintlock pistol in her hand.

The aisle of the storage room was indeed very narrow, with barrels of beer piled up to half a person's height on both sides, emanating a sour smell of cheap beer.

"Hey! Go get some wine." A command came from the hall not far away, and then a figure slowly appeared at the end of the corridor.

Upon seeing this, Li Ang quickly shrank back. When the other person got close to him, he covered his mouth with his hand and then slit his throat!

"Pochi? How come you're so skilled? You're not actually an assassin or something, are you?"

Charlotte finally asked the question that had been lingering in her mind.

This man's technique was too skillful, and he showed no remorse after killing people. Even if the people he killed were scumbags or cult members, he shouldn't have been so calm.

"Actually, I used to be a bounty hunter, until I got shot in the knee," Li Ang said casually.

"I can't tell at all." Charlotte clearly didn't believe it, but she also knew that the scene wasn't the best opportunity to ask, so she silently raised her pistol.

Li Ang saw this but didn't speak. Instead, he moved the lifeless body of the man in his hands to the corner. "This is the first one."

After a while, seeing that the man still hadn't returned, a shout came from the hall again: "Hey! What are you doing? Hurry up and bring the wine over!"

After receiving no reply, several figures stood up and walked together toward the storage room.

It was no longer possible to resolve this issue quietly, so Li Ang simply appeared openly in front of them.

His appearance startled the thugs, who instinctively yelled, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm just a passing fake knight," Li Ang said, uttering words that no one could understand.

But they immediately realized that the man in front of them was up to no good, so they drew their weapons and charged at Li Ang.

The bald man at the front of the charge swung his knife at Li Ang, who dodged to the side and slashed back, the blade cutting across the bald man's shoulder, blood splattering onto the wall.

The remaining thugs became even more frenzied upon seeing this and swarmed forward.

Although there were many people, the aisle was too narrow. If they rushed forward, they would only get crowded together. Li Ang was like a bloated sandbag, and with a series of stabs, the thugs in front of him screamed in agony.

One of them struggled free, brandishing his knife and charging back, but just then—

A gunshot rang out.

His head exploded, splattering blood and brain matter all over the wall. He didn't even have time to scream before collapsing to the ground.

Li Ang turned around and saw that Charlotte's old flintlock pistol was still smoking. She slowly took out gunpowder and iron pellets from her pouch and began to load the bullets.

"Assistant," she said as she loaded her weapon, "I'm pleased with your boldness. You've only just awakened your abilities, yet you dare to face so many people."

"Although I could wait until I'm stronger before dealing with them," Li Ang said, deflecting a cleaver and stabbing the man in the stomach with his other hand, "I have an old saying: a gentleman doesn't hold a grudge overnight."

"A gentleman doesn't hold grudges overnight?" Charlotte loaded her gun, raised it, and aimed at another thug. "That sounds like something from the Ming Dynasty next door. Perhaps you've read books from the Ming Dynasty?"