Chapter 143: No One Is Allowed to Leave.

Chapter 143: No One Is Allowed to Leave.

Wu Heng paused and turned to look at Gomez.

After everyone else left, he asked, "What are your orders, Steward?"

Gomez frowned at him and then asked, "Where were you last night?"

Wu Heng raised an eyebrow and replied directly, "At home. You're not suspecting me, are you?"

"What's your take on this situation?" Gomez continued.

"I don't have much experience analyzing cases like this. I wouldn't want to mislead things with a guess," Wu Heng responded bluntly.

"Can you communicate with the dead?"

"I can!"

"Good. Come with me."

The two entered another room, where a corpse lay on a bed, covered with a white cloth.

"Begin," Gomez instructed.

Wu Heng nodded and cast [Speak with Dead].

The corpse suddenly sat up, its eyes looking toward them.

Gomez stared at the corpse and immediately asked, "Who killed you?"

The corpse answered, "A swarm of rats."

"Who controlled the rats?" Gomez pressed.

The corpse hesitated for a moment, "I don't know."

"Who do you suspect?"

"A companion or enemy of a wanted criminal. There was no clear target."

Being a captain in the Guild was no easy task.

The more criminals you captured, the more enemies you made.

Many captains or members would periodically request transfers to other locations for this very reason.

It was clear that Fisher was in a similar situation.

He didn't even understand who his target was before he was killed.

Gomez thought for a moment and asked, "Who did you meet with yesterday?"

"My squad members, a woman from the tavern, and Roch from the Spikes Gang."

A gang member.

Gomez's brow furrowed slightly.

"What did you discuss—"

"Steward, that's the last question," Wu Heng reminded him.

Gomez nodded, reconsidering for a moment, then asked, "What did you notice during the fight with the rats?"

"There were many rats, and they were wet. I think I was poisoned; my senses were dulled, and I couldn't escape."

After answering, the corpse fell back with a thud.

"Steward, five questions are the limit when speaking with the dead," Wu Heng reminded again.

"Hmm," Gomez nodded and asked, "What do you think?"

Wu Heng thought for a moment and said, "At the moment, it seems we should start with the Spikes Gang. This man Roch might know something."

"Fine, you're in charge of this investigation. Find Roch for me."

"Understood, Steward!"

They left the room, and Fisher's body was covered with the white cloth and carried out.

Outside, Duke and Marta stood waiting.

They saluted the Steward before walking over to Wu Heng.

"Captain, what happened to Fisher?" Duke asked.

All the squad members had been called over.

They gathered in layers around the scene.

"He was killed by a swarm of rats," Wu Heng explained as they walked out.

"A rat swarm? There aren't any rats in the inner city. Someone must have been controlling them!" Duke analyzed while walking beside him.

"That's what I think too. Let's go. The Steward has given us a task: investigate a gang," Wu Heng continued walking.

"Oh, got it!"

Duke and Marta quickly followed him.

They headed toward the outer city.

......

At the Spikes Gang headquarters.

Inside the hall.

The gang's "Sister-in-law," Wen Mansa, was no longer wearing her usual long gown and shawl. Today, she was dressed in leather armor, her ample chest tightly bound.

Gone was her usual glamour, replaced with a more businesslike efficiency.

Beside her stood a figure.

The person was fully covered, wearing a rare iron-bucket helmet with dark eye slits, making it impossible to see inside.

Judging by the figure, the person seemed quite thin.

On both sides sat the gang's key members, along with some captains and squad members in the back.

One person spoke up, "Sister-in-law, the Boss told us to come last night, but now we can't find him. It's hard to keep the gang together like this."

"Yeah, Sister-in-law. I asked the night guards, and they said the boss did come back last night. So where did he go?"

"We haven't had any income lately, and the brothers are all waiting to bring money home to their families."

One person spoke, and the others quickly chimed in.

Wen Mansa scanned the room and said, "Roch left last night. The Spikes Gang will continue as usual, with me in charge."

The hall fell into silence again.

The key members exchanged quick glances.

One of them said, "If the Boss's gone again, there's nothing to discuss. I say we keep things as they were—each person manages their own men, and we'll wait for the Boss to return."

Someone immediately agreed, "That's the plan. I've heard that a lot of gang members in the outer city have been reassigned to help the Iron Guard Knights deal with the 'Warhammer Gang.' The city's been pretty chaotic lately. Sister-in-law, you should avoid going out."

"Yeah, let's keep it this way for now. We'll deal with it when the Boss returns."

"That works!"

The rest weren't stupid either.

Roch had come back last night, called a meeting, and now he was gone again.

Either he was dead, or he had caused some massive trouble and fled.

Roch was gone, leaving a beautiful woman behind. How could she possibly hold onto the gang?

Outwardly, they still addressed her as "Sister-in-law."

But inwardly, they were already calculating how to carve up the gang or take her for themselves.

"Since when does the gang's business need a vote? I'm still here, and it's not your place to make decisions," Wen Mansa slammed the table and shouted.

"Tch! Sister-in-law, you should take care of yourself. The gang's business is for men."

"Sister-in-law, take care. I've got things to do, so I'm leaving."

"We're leaving too."

Several people stood up, leading their men out.

Wen Mansa stood abruptly, watching them leave, but there was nothing she could do.

......

Just as they were about to leave.

The main door suddenly swung open.

A few figures walked in.

They collided with the subordinates who were about to leave.

"This is the Spikes Gang. If you want to live, you'd better not barge in," one of the gang members said, full of bravado.

Wu Heng scanned the room, then looked over at Wen Mansa, who had stood up to see what was happening.

He spoke directly, "No one is allowed to leave. The Adventurer's Guild is conducting an investigation."

"Oh, the Adventurer's Guild? When did you get so cocky that you think you can investigate a local gang?" one of the key members sneered.

Wu Heng glanced at him.

"Anyone who leaves will have a bounty placed on them by the Guild. Let's see how much you're worth then."

Everyone froze, and no one dared take another step.

Being marked by the Guild meant becoming an enemy of the world.

No matter where you went, there would be people hunting you down, and you'd be on the run for the rest of your life.

It was a serious threat.

......

Inside the hall.

Wu Heng sat at the head of the table, with the gang members seated below him.

He asked directly, "Who is Roch?"

The gang members were startled.

It was indeed related to Roch.

What had he done to make the Guild come after him?

All eyes fell on Wen Mansa.

Wen Mansa stood up and said, "Roch isn't here. He left last night."

"Left? Where did he go?"

"I don't know. He left in a hurry."

"Did he meet anyone last night?" Wu Heng pressed.

"He met with someone, but after their conversation, he left."

Wu Heng's eyes swept across the room, "Hmph! Captain Fisher of Squad 8 was killed last night. Before his death, he met with Roch. What do you all know about this?"

The faces of the gang members changed instantly.

Killing a Guild captain was a huge deal.

It seemed Roch wasn't just dead—he had fled in the middle of the night.

"Captain, we had nothing to do with this. Roch fled last night because of something he did," one of the gang members quickly distanced himself.

Another chimed in, "Yeah, if we were involved, we would've run too."

Wu Heng looked at the chaotic scene.

He continued, "Now, who's in charge of the Spikes Gang?"

The room fell silent, and then they all looked at Wen Mansa, "She's our Sister-in-law."

Wu Heng nodded, "Duke, Marta, separate them for questioning. Don't stop anyone who wants to leave—just make sure you remember their faces."

"Got it, Captain," the two began selecting people.

Wu Heng then turned to Wen Mansa, "You, come with me. I have some questions for you."

A few key members were separated for individual questioning.

Wen Mansa followed Wu Heng into a back room.