Genshin Impact: The Road to Reversal

Chapter 569 Smoothing Things Over

"A child trafficking case where someone uses an orphanage as a front to gain legitimacy? Or is it an unsolved case from 200 years ago?"

In the guard room, the officers were utterly shocked after hearing Claire's account.

Clementine nodded: "That's right, I know you all find it unbelievable, after all, this is an answer from 200 years ago, and it was solved by my teacher Phoenix, but that's the truth."

After a moment's thought, a seasoned police officer asked, "Lady Clementine, it's not that we don't believe you, but if you say you have evidence, why wasn't it mentioned in the original case file? And where... did this evidence come from?"

“Oh, Miss Clover found this by chance in an abandoned house while dealing with the daily affairs of the Knights,” Zixuan explained first.

Although many people know the names of the Six Evil Saints, few have heard of the Memory Stone. If she were to tell the truth that the evidence came from the Memory Stone given by a demon, it would certainly cause a lot of controversy. Therefore, she chose a more cautious explanation.

Fortunately, she had already organized the information engraved in the Memory Stone beforehand, and together with the relics found in the abandoned house, it was enough to form a complete chain of evidence.

Clementine nodded immediately: "Yes, according to the Knights' report, we were investigating a 'paranormal event' in an abandoned house. Although we did not find the strange thing Mr. Glenn mentioned, we unexpectedly discovered a hidden basement. Inside, we not only found the victim's belongings, but more importantly, we found some tattered documents that recorded transaction information, personnel lists, and some accounts. Although they were not very clear, the signature on them was indeed that of Talduffer himself."

"But that only proves that the abandoned house was a hidden hideout overlooked by our predecessors 200 years ago, not enough to prove that the network is still operating today," the veteran guard continued.

“But this is shocking enough,” a young guard said. “Who is Talduffer? A well-known philanthropist 200 years ago, but now he’s become the kingpin of a child trafficking ring! What will people think if this gets out?”

Another guard stepped forward and said, "But Lady Clementine is right. This matter is of great importance. We must act immediately and dig these maggots out of the glacier's soil!"

"Calm down, Carl."

The older officer placed his hand on his younger colleague's shoulder, his brow furrowed as he looked at Claire.

“Sir, the evidence points very clearly, and we do believe it. But as Walmart said, this matter is far-reaching and... spans two hundred years. Those who participated and knew about it back then are probably long gone. Even if some of their descendants remain, they must be very well hidden and act cautiously. The list and clues we have are, after all, from... an ‘accidental discovery,’ and their authenticity and timeliness need to be carefully verified.”

He paused, his gaze sharpening: "More importantly, sir, how do you plan to proceed? Will you conduct a covert investigation, gradually infiltrating, or..."

Claire understood the veteran officer's concerns. Releasing an old case prematurely, especially one that had been definitively concluded by Phoenix himself and was already considered a "heroic case" by the public, would not only trigger unnecessary panic and a crisis of trust, but also allow various speculations and rumors to spread like a plague.

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly heard familiar footsteps behind her.

"You don't need to worry about that," a cool voice came from the doorway. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Peruvier slowly walking into the guard room.

"Pepe!" Claire's eyes widened in surprise.

Peruvier nodded slightly to her, then looked at the old police officer: "All the files and evidence related to this case were collected by my teacher before her death. They say that there were indeed many doubts about the case back then. It's a pity that before we could organize them, my teacher perished in the Sangyang Rebellion. I only recently discovered the relevant manuscripts and clues left behind by my teacher in a commission that the Knights received. At the same time, I combined the clues and found that the location of her remnants overlapped with those organizations."

"Furthermore, we have already grasped their recent activity patterns and several key strongholds. This operation is not simply about revisiting old cases, but also about severing a poisonous vein that is still secretly eroding the foundation of the glacier."

Peruvier walked up to Clover, her gaze cold and chilling.

"So you should understand this explanation, right? Or do you doubt the teacher's manuscript and our paladin's judgment?" she said, one hand on her hip.

Sensing the pressure from Peruvier, the veteran officer immediately bowed and said, "I wouldn't dare! I had no such intention. With Lord Phoenix's posthumous manuscript and the personal supervision of two Holy Knights, this matter must be beyond doubt!"

"Hmph, then it's settled." She put her hand down and said, "The identity of the Knights is easy to attract attention, unlike the Guard Regiment which is good at disguise and reconnaissance. Therefore, the next operation will be taken over by Clementine. As for what your superiors in the Guard Regiment have to say, I will take care of it for you."

"I will follow your instructions." The veteran officer completely dispelled his doubts and bowed respectfully.

Peruvier nodded slightly, then turned to Claire, a hint of gentleness appearing in her cold gaze.

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes, thank you, Pepe," Claire said with a smile, then turned around.

She took a deep breath, then said seriously, "So, what's the next step..."

……

After everything was arranged, Claire, along with Zixuan and Zhao Heng, walked out of the guard unit and stopped on the street. At this time, Peruvier was standing quietly waiting by the shop across the street.

"Pepe!"

Claire hurried across the street and ran to Peruvieri, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

Peruvieri turned around, waved, and smiled, "Is everything arranged?"

Clementine nodded: "Yes, thanks to you this time. But according to the images in the memory stone, didn't you go back to the past? And how did you know we were here?"

Zixuan walked over and explained, "It's very simple. Didn't we explain it before? Although Diablo's power can take people through time and space, the time spent traveling to the past is frozen in reality. So no matter how long it takes, you will eventually return to the point in time when you left."

Peruvieri chuckled softly: "That's right. As for why we found this place, we have to thank that demon for guiding us."

“Diabolo?” Zhao Heng asked.

“Yes, we went back to the castle and heard that you went out, so I came out to look for you. I didn’t expect to run into that guy on the way. He said that you found the vengeful spirits of Rocco and the other children in the abandoned house. To help them, you personally investigated the case from back then, including your specific actions. I guessed you might need my help, so I came.”