nownovels Chapter 48 Victory
Chapter 48 Victory
"If I were Zerrell, I would definitely do my research on the surrounding area when choosing a place to live. Judging from his choice of residence, he is a very cautious person."
I don't think someone as cautious as him could have missed this excellent vantage point overlooking his house, yet he did. That doesn't make sense!
While sipping his coffee, which was no longer too hot, Evan chatted amiably with Fors and Hugh.
As Fors and Hugh listened to Evan's analysis, their faces grew increasingly red, because it was indeed the truth, and they couldn't offer any reason to refute it.
"Since Zeryl knows this is a perfect location to monitor his house, what is the best thing he can do about it?"
Moving? That's the worst option. His current place of residence isn't easy to find. Apart from the difficulty in dealing with this surveillance point, it doesn't have any major flaws. And even if he moves to another place, there's no guarantee that there won't be various unpleasant surprises.
So after thinking it over, putting myself in his shoes, the best solution was actually to buy the room.
While Fors and Hugh Deercha were still able to sit still after hearing the first part, they couldn't sit still at all after hearing the second part. They both stood up and looked at Evan in shock because they had never met the landlord in the entire process of renting this room. They had only met the lawyer who was in charge of managing the room.
When they contacted the lawyer who had booked the room and requested to rent the property, the lawyer said that the landlord would only rent it out for a maximum of one month and required at least two weeks' rent to be paid in advance. Only by agreeing to these conditions could they rent the room. In contrast, the rent for this room was slightly cheaper than the surrounding area.
The maximum rental period is one month, and at least two weeks' rent must be paid in full upfront. These two conditions effectively exclude most potential tenants. Those with money want stable housing with long-term leases, while those without money cannot afford to pay two weeks' rent upfront.
But these two conditions perfectly met Hugh Deercha's expectations and requirements.
Because they were confident that they could complete the task given by Evan within a month, and that canceling the lease after a longer period would cause a lot of trouble, they didn't think much about it and immediately signed an agreement with the lawyer and paid the deposit.
But now, after Evan's explanation, they all realized that this might be a trap deliberately set by Zeril. He could use this method to verify whether he was being monitored. If someone accepted such harsh rental conditions, who else could it be but a monitor on a mission?
Hugh Deercha and Fors were deeply moved and couldn't calm down for a long time. Fors was greatly shocked, never expecting that things could develop in this way. It far exceeded her imagination. They could even say that the mission was over before they even started working. This experience broadened her horizons and greatly helped her future creations, providing excellent material.
Hugh Deercha, on the other hand, was more annoyed, annoyed at his own carelessness for falling so easily into the trap set by others, and even more heartbroken that the big job he had finally landed was going to fall through.
Evan sat opposite them, taking in their expressions and guessing what they were thinking. He chuckled to himself, thinking that the two of them were still too green.
Just as Hugh Deercha was hesitating and about to speak, Evan spoke first:
"Alright, don't overthink it. This is your first time handling this type of task, so it's normal to make mistakes. The most important thing now is how to fix them."
Hugh Deercha's eyes lit up. Evan hadn't declared the mission a failure; she still had a chance!
"I gave you the task yesterday at noon. Besides renting this house, did you do any other investigation?" Evan asked Hugh Deercha.
"I personally followed Zeril and found that he spent most of his time doing his own detective work. From yesterday until now, he has looked for the cat twice, caught someone cheating once, met with three clients, and found a few kids to help him gather information."
To be honest, I didn't find him engaging in any espionage activities. His activities were all tantamount to detective work, making it difficult to arouse suspicion.
As she spoke, Hugh Deercha handed Evan the report that she had dictated and Fors had recorded. She had originally planned to have someone deliver it to the Brave Ones Bar the next day, but it was better to give it to Evan directly now.
Evan flipped through Hugh Deercha's latest investigation findings, mainly focusing on the detectives Zeryl had taken on and the children who were helping him gather information.
Hugh's work was very effective. In just one day, she roughly figured out the identities of Zeril's several employers and the names of the children. Evan saw a description of Ian Wright, who was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with bright red eyes and wearing an old brown coat.
Hugh Deercha even added a note after Ian Wright's description: He may have been trusted by Zeril and helped Zeril manage the other children.
From this perspective, Hugh has done his job admirably. Evan believes that as Hugh Deercha continues to investigate, the situation around Zeril will likely be clarified soon, provided that the effects of stepping into this room's trap can be eliminated.
After listening to Hugh Deercha's account, Evan also finished reading the materials in his hand. He closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes, and pondered what to do.
Not long after, Evan opened his eyes and said to Fors and Hugh, who were staring at him but not daring to disturb his thoughts:
"There are two ways to mitigate the impact of this trap. One is to investigate overnight which bank the lawyer transferred money to Zerrell from. I believe that given Zerrell's cautious behavior, the lawyer likely only met him once, and he was wearing makeup. Therefore, the transfer of rent was not a face-to-face transaction, but rather a transfer through a bank account."
If I'm not mistaken, if a long-dormant account suddenly receives a sum of money, the bank should send a letter to the address provided in the account to inquire, so Zeryl won't have to go to the bank to know that someone has rented the room.
So you could find the bank and ask them not to notify Zeryl that money had been received in his account. However, this carries a significant risk. If Zeryl discovers you're monitoring him in this room even once, he'll immediately realize he's been exposed, because most people don't have the ability to interfere with bank operations.
Fors and Hugh Deercha listened to Evan's approach, exchanged a glance, and were once again certain that Evan's family was definitely rich and powerful. No one without money and power could come up with such a method. Ordinary people would never think of ordering a bank to do things, because in the eyes of ordinary people, no matter which bank it is, it is the boss.
Moreover, when Evan considered this method, he clearly focused on the potential consequences rather than how to get the bank to comply. This further demonstrates that in Evan's mind, getting the bank to cooperate was not difficult.
Meanwhile, Evan was still thinking about possible solutions, oblivious to the brainstorming exchanged between the two opposite him, or perhaps he noticed but didn't care.
"Another option is to use this report you drafted today to quickly investigate all of Zeril's detective commissions and find leverage points to exploit."
For example, this client helped a woman find evidence of her husband's tax evasion. The client hoped to find evidence of her husband's crimes and send him to prison. This is not normal. The woman's family is rich and powerful, so there must be an inside story behind this.
You can then find a way to leak this matter to the husband and secure his commission, thus giving you a legitimate reason to monitor Zeril.
The downside of doing this is that you will be basically in the open from now on. Zeril will know of your existence, and he may constantly test you and outwit you. But the biggest advantage is that he will not suspect that his identity has been exposed.
I entrust you with the right to decide which method to use; what method do you wish to adopt?
Fors and Hugh Deercha exchanged a glance, understanding each other's choice. They both wanted the second option, unwilling to give up on the very first day of the mission, while the first option was too risky, and they weren't confident they could keep it a secret from beginning to end. However, Hugh Deercha still had reservations and cautiously asked:
"If we adopt the second method, it will be difficult for us to continue investigating Zeril's possible spy network. After all, if he knows we exist, he will definitely be wary of me and reduce his activity frequency."
After hearing this, Evan smiled, knowing that they had chosen the second method, and did not deliberately hide anything or explain:
"I've already hired another experienced person to do the cleanup work. If you choose the second method, it will also help him attract Zeril's attention."
There's no need to worry about whether Zeril will reduce its activity frequency. As you all know, the Kingdom's ironclad warship "Pritz," which conquers the seas, has been officially launched and commissioned into the navy. This has already triggered a new round of arms race among the countries of the Northern Continent, and spies from all countries are operating like crazy. Zeril will be no exception.
Based on your report, I believe that Zeril also received orders from the Fussac Empire to gather intelligence on the ironclad ships.
After giving Fors and Hugh some final instructions on how to proceed, Evan left the apartment building. Again, because of the golden gaze, no one 'discovered' him.
When Evan returned home, he found that Robert had arrived earlier and was washing up in the bathroom. Curious, Evan asked Mr. Hope:
"Why are you back so early today? I heard you usually don't get back until after 11 o'clock."
Mr. Hope helped Robert prepare his clothes after washing up, while answering Evan's questions with a smile:
"Mr. Robert won a great victory in Parliament today and is very happy, so he returned early."
"Oh? What kind of great victory did you win?" Hearing Hope say this, Evan became even more curious.
"Actually, it's nothing. Today, some members of parliament objected to the Duke of Negan's bill to lower the standards for land ownership by nobles of all ranks, forcing the Duke of Negan to temporarily withdraw the bill, which made him look a bit embarrassed."