Chapter 161: Clues and Bones

"So, you're saying a Danger Girls detective was investigating the victim—then vanished in the middle of their investigation?"

After listening to Karl's explanation, Johnson was starting to piece things together.

"To add a bit more context—when the detective started investigating, the victim was still alive."

Karl glanced at the gruesome crime scene inside the perimeter.

"And now… this just got interesting."

"A detective looks into someone—then that person ends up dead in a City Center alley… and the detective goes missing."

Johnson muttered to himself, realizing this case wasn't as simple as he first thought.

"Looks like my initial guess was wrong. This… probably wasn't a Scav job."

Considering City Center's Scavs had just been wiped out recently, there was no way a new crew had already gotten bold enough to make a detective disappear.

"Mind if I take a look at the victim's file, Lieutenant Johnson?"

"Since you're already involved… sure."

Johnson handed over the file without much hesitation.

Technically speaking, even those directly involved in a case wouldn't be allowed access—but NCPD had long stopped caring about rules like that.

And Johnson? He cared even less.

Karl skimmed through the file, memorizing the important details.

He had zero intention of handing it over to Ken'ichiro, who was basically just standing there like background decoration.

After a quick read, Karl returned the file to Johnson.

"The victim was from Santo Domingo, and he only operated around that district in the past few weeks. But his body was found here, in City Center."

Karl looked over at the report again.

"The file says there's no surveillance footage showing him walking out of Santo Domingo."

"So that means…"

Karl started piecing things together.

"He either had a way to bypass security cameras… or he was driven to City Center."

"Or, someone stuffed him in a trunk and dumped him here."

In Night City, there were only so many ways to get around—

Walking, driving, or public transport.

And if the victim had used the metro, there'd be ID records from his travel card.

But there weren't.

That meant the only real possibilities left were walking or being driven.

"Technically, he could have taken an AV, but considering his financial situation? Unlikely."

The victim was just a delivery driver, a low-level worker who still had two years left on the payments for his company transport.

The chances of him affording an AV were practically zero—so it was only worth considering if every other possibility was ruled out.

"What was the detective investigating him for?"

Johnson and Karl were bouncing ideas back and forth, searching for any lead.

"Apparently, he was having an affair with a married man. The husband suspected his partner was cheating, so he hired a professional detective to investigate.

You know how it is—most private detective work isn't about solving crimes. This kind of domestic case? That's their bread and butter."

"An affair, huh?"

Johnson wasn't particularly surprised.

Relationships were free-form in this era.

Hell, even genders weren't fixed anymore—so this kind of thing was just another Tuesday.

What he was considering, though, was the possibility of a revenge killing.

"What if it was a crime of passion? Maybe the detective found proof that the husband's partner was cheating—so…"

"The husband was checked out. So was his partner.

After the detective went missing, the agency investigated both of them.

It was just a misunderstanding—the so-called affair was with someone else entirely."

"…There goes that lead."

Johnson frowned.

Back in his younger years, he was actually damn good at solving cases.

But as time passed, he realized it didn't matter.

No matter how much evidence he found, no matter how airtight the case was, the suspects always walked free.

So he stopped caring about investigations.

Instead of wasting time digging for clues, he just fired first.

Rather than investigating, he trained his aim.

And now? After years of letting those skills rot, trying to pick them back up again was… difficult.

Ken'ichiro stood silently beside them.

Still not speaking.

But his cybernetic eyes flickered every now and then—clearly processing streams of data, probably transmitting everything he saw somewhere else.

Karl, knowing full well this job was a test, wasn't paying any attention to his so-called superior.

He already knew what this was.

Arasaka types love their stupid trials.

He'd experienced it once already—just indirectly.

Now?

This was just the real deal.

Not like it mattered.

Compared to this pointless evaluation, Karl was genuinely interested in the detective work itself.

Playing Sherlock Holmes every now and then wasn't bad at all.

With external leads running dry, Karl decided to switch approaches.

Instead of focusing on the victim's connections, he turned his attention to the victim's body.

He had already reviewed the autopsy reports—

But there was one thing those reports had missed.

Karl stepped past the police line, crouching down—

His full focus locked onto the scattered chunks of flesh, blood, and bone.

Every piece of knowledge he had ever gathered began piecing itself together in his mind.

Johnson didn't interrupt him.

He simply stood there, watching—curious to see what Karl would find.

Karl's eyes scanned the scene methodically.

He analyzed each shattered bone, mentally reconstructing where they originally belonged in the human body.

And then—

He found something.

Rising to his feet, Karl carefully stepped along the bloodied ground, moving toward a particular spot before crouching down again.

From the scattered bones, he plucked one out—

At first glance, it looked identical to the others.

Bloodstained, broken, insignificant.

But Karl knew better.

He held it up, turning to Johnson.

"Found something interesting."

Holding the bone up, Karl motioned for Johnson to take a look.

"This isn't from the victim."

"Not from the victim?"

Johnson stepped closer, narrowing his eyes at the fragment in Karl's fingers.

"You saying we got a second body?"

"No."

"Then—"

Karl pinched the bone fragment between his index and middle finger.

Then, with a small amount of pressure, he snapped it in half.

He held up the broken edge for Johnson to see.

"This isn't human bone."

"...Not human?"

"Yeah. Most people wouldn't recognize it."

Karl grinned.

"But I do.

Because just a few days ago? I personally chopped some up myself."

He dropped the broken fragments into Johnson's open palm.

"This," Karl said, "is pig bone."

"...Pig?"

Johnson's initial surprise quickly gave way to deep thought.

Because this was where things got interesting.

Smuggling pigs into Night City wasn't easy.

It was expensive.

Very expensive.

And yet—

Here they were.

Pig bones, mixed in with a murder victim's remains.

.

.

.

📢 Important Announcement! 📢

From now on, there will be 20 chapters ahead available on Patreon for early access! 🎉🔥

Also, we're excited to announce our new translation of the Harry Potter fanfiction: The Rebirth of Harry Potter! ⚡📖

🔗 Join here: www.patreon.com/c/MrMagnus

Thank you for your support! 🙌