Chapter 81: 80 - Investigations

"Hey, you over there, with the machete...question, are you responsible for the killings that've been reported in this area?" I inquired with a yawn. 

Today was the 25th of August, a week after the Wights attacked the Sanctuary, particularly the South Quadrant. And since then, Director Silva had been giving me investigative missions to carry out. I'd caught two criminals so far, a thief and...another thief, so yeah, two thieves to start with. 

The annoying part was that I couldn't just kill them...no, I needed to find them, get proof that they're the criminals, and then bring them into X-Warrior HQ to Director Silva. After that, it was out of my hands. 

I completed both my first two assignments within the same day that I was issued them...how, you ask? Simple, by setting a Save point at the start of the night and then doing it over and over until I got it right. I had to use Load three times for the first one, and twice for the second one. 

The South Quadrant is pretty different to the North Quadrant where I'm from, which is split into several districts, each specializing in a different aspect. But the South Quadrant was like a regular city from before WWIII, with all kinds of buildings and stores randomly mixed together. 

Maybe it's because I'm more used to the way the North Quadrant is structured, but I prefer the organized layout compared to the way things are structured here in the South Quadrant. 

Well, anyway...my third investigation was of a serial killer, young women had been found raped and brutally murdered in alleys in a certain area in the South Quadrant. So I arrived here, set a Save point like I did with the previous two assignments, and then began searching through about half the alleyways in the area. 

In my first attempt, I didn't find anything, so I went back to my save point and searched the remaining alleyways...and I found a dead body, which appeared to have been killed fairly recently...so I went back in time for a third attempt and made my way to that alley...but of course, the woman didn't show up, since while her body is still alive, she's now a vegetable on the inside, thanks to me going back in time after she died. 

However, just as I'd hoped, the killer did show up. I was hiding behind a dumpster when I heard footsteps approaching, and I peeked out to see a guy impatiently tapping on his I-Watch...it didn't take me long to figure it all out. 

The guy was tall, well-built and had attractive features...I'm guessing he seduces young woman online and then asks them to meet up with him, before butchering them...he had a machete on his back, and the way his eyes were restlessly darting around made it clear that he didn't want to be seen. 

Should I set myself a new Save point? Nah, no need, I'll play it safe, just in case. Because I'm going to go for a very unsafe approach in confronting him... 

"Hey, you over there, with the machete...question, are you responsible for the killings that've been reported in this area?" I inquired, as I started recording with my glasses lens. 

He jumped with a startled look on his face, taking a couple of wary steps back and glancing towards the street. 

"I wouldn't run away, if I were you...see, I took your picture just now, so why don't you and I have a little chat?" I suggested with a smirk, stepping forward. 

"Who are you? Did Jen send you? Is this like a prank or something?" He replied, acting innocent.

But it was obvious that he was lying, his gaze kept shifting about and he was starting to sweat, even though it was a pretty cold night tonight. 

"You never answered my initial question, my guy, so I'll answer your questions after you answer mine. Tell me...are you the one who's been killing young women in this area?" I inquired with an icy smile. 

"Haha, v-very funny," He replied, rolling his eyes unconvincingly. 

"Yeah, hilarious. Oh, you know what else is funny? The fact that you're carrying a machete, care to explain?" I pointed out with a raised eyebrow. 

"Th-this is, uh, for protection." 

"You don't say. Well, I'm convinced, you're definitely innocent! But, just in case, I'm gonna send your picture to the police, I'm sure you won't mind, since you're obviously not the killer...oh, can I have your name and address too?" I asked with a smile. 

"Tch...fuck it, killing guys is a real turn off, but I can't let you live, you inquisitive cockblocker!" He growled, drawing out his machete. 

Okay, that's a confession...I'll just make doubly sure and then capture him... 

"So, I take it you prefer to kill girls?" I asked in an innocent tone. 

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"No shit, Sherlock! They react way better than guys, and on top of that, they've got pussies to fuck! I can't get hard over a guy, I just don't swing that way, and besides, asses are for shitting not for fucking," He replied with a shake of his head. 

I've heard enough, this guy is pure scum. As he shot towards me with his machete raised... 

"<Activate Anomaly, Tier Three: Cut>," I chanted inaudibly, 'selecting' his entire body. 

As soon as I activated it, he instantly vanished. He's not dead though, he'll reappear just fine when I activate Paste. Though I was pretty tempted to kill him anyway. Okay, that makes three in three, not a bad start for someone who's a total amateur at this. Guess I should head back to the X-Warrior Zone now... 

...

"That was really fast...it's barely been two hours since you left for the South Quadrant," Greeted Director Silva with a slight look of surprise, as I knocked and entered her office, "So, did you succeed?" 

"Well, yeah, I wouldn't be here otherwise. And it may have been two hours for you, but it was about three times longer for me," I replied with a tired sigh, "Anyway, just like with the last two, I can bring this one out whenever I feel like it." 

During the first assignment, I quickly realized that using Tier Three would make capturing my targets so much easier, so I was kinda forced to reveal that power to Director Silva. Though I told her that it was a power that let me store and remove anything in an alternate space instead. I mean, it's close enough. 

And besides, this way, I still get to hide the Copy power. Using Cut and then Paste first removes the 'selection' and then makes it reappear in the specified location, while using Copy and then Paste doesn't affect the 'selection', it simply makes a duplicate of them...though I can't duplicate organic matter. 

Of course, there are some limits to what my Tier Three powers are capable of...I can't make a duplicate of a building, for example. I still don't know what the exact limit is, the biggest item I made a duplicate of is my bed...which I regret, because I now have two beds, which I pushed together to make into one, but my room feels really cramped now. 

I can't undo a duplicate even if I want to. And if I try to use Cut twice without using Paste, nothing will happen, I can't Cut something without first Pasting whatever I previously Cut. Anyway, the approach I used today, I'd used against the previous two as well...though in both those cases, I pretended to be a fellow thief that wanted to team up. 

With the first one, he was all for it, while the second one was the opposite, and tried to attack me to teach me a lesson for 'intruding on his territory'. So far, all three assignments had been resolved without violence...which definitely wouldn't have been the case if it wasn't for Tier Three. It just might be my most useful Tier yet, and that's saying a lot when the other two tiers are going back in time and stopping time. 

"Nicely done, Kilzachs, you're doing much better than I expected...that is, in terms of speed, not in terms of success. I was quite confident that you would be capable of successfully pulling this off, I just didn't expect you to resolve these issues so quickly," Remarked Director Silva with a smile.

"I mean, I can't really take credit for that, I definitely would have taken a lot longer if I didn't have my Anomaly powers, I'd have been forced to approach things differently too," I replied with a shrug. 

"Well, I still have to acknowledge the fact that you've been resolving the assignments I give you in record time, none of the other X-Warriors that I have investigating have even completed two assignments yet, let alone three. The main reason is evidence, gathering solid proof is proving to be a challenge for many of them...meanwhile, you manipulated and provoked your suspects into confessing by directly approaching them...that's definitely a high-risk approach, but since you've used it successfully twice already, I can't really say anything...did you do the same with this one?" She inquired curiously. 

"Yup, I got the confession recorded. Gotta say though, unlike the previous two, I was really tempted to rough this one up a bit...you'll understand what I mean when you watch his confession," I replied with a frown. 

"Well, considering the states his victims were left in, that's hardly surprising. Alright, then, let's go drop him off, shall we?" She suggested, standing up with a sigh, before adding, "Hey, I'm curious...why do you go for such a risky approach? It seems like it's now worked three times in a row, but...what if you get it wrong?" 

"Actually...it's not risky at all, not in the slightest. And no, I'm not going to elaborate," I remarked with a slight smile, before adding as I held up two fingers, "I will say this much though...I have more than just two powers." 

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