Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 291 Testimony of the Master of Meidan Pavilion

Chapter 293 Testimony of the Master of Meidan Pavilion

"I can understand the conjectures made by the two of you from your own perspectives."

Faced with the two elderly people's seemingly unquestionable assertions, Officer Jenny spoke patiently.

"But as I told Zina and the others at the attic, if the prisoner who placed this android head here was acting according to normal human thought and his ultimate goal was to demonstrate, then the location of the rooftop attic is far too remote—"

"Ha, perhaps. Demonstrations with a specific purpose often pay attention to these details."

Mei Dan chuckled, interrupting Officer Jenny directly. He, who was not sensitive to the subtle differences between the intelligence agencies and the police system, continued.

"But, young policewoman, I think you should also know that in this world, much hatred is aimless and completely irrational."

The old professor, with his signature mocking expression, snorted dismissively and began his long-winded discourse: "Whether human or Pokémon, at some stage in the beginning of life, there will be a period where they cannot control their violent tendencies. This latter stage even recurs with evolution. At this time, it is necessary to rely on the moral contract established between groups to restrict and punish these inner darknesses, and to persistently educate them so that we can consciously restrain this instinctive violence and become life forms that can be accepted by society."

"That's a classic theory of original sin. Is this really a field that a biology PhD should be researching?"

Miss Officer Jenny remained noncommittal, wiping the unidentified liquid simulating blood from her hands with a napkin she had prepared earlier, and crossed her arms as she looked at the owner.

"The behavioral logic of biological communities naturally falls within the scope of biological research. Of course, I am not an expert in this branch of research; I have only dabbled in it." The old man was unusually modest.

Officer Jenny from the intelligence department nodded: "Really? I think that using acquired concepts like 'good' or 'evil' to summarize innate biological instincts will always lead to errors, no matter how you argue it out, just like using black and white to describe gray. But that's irrelevant; we can discuss it further later. How does what you've said relate to our previous topic?"

"Of course there's a connection. No matter how bad my personality is, I wouldn't go so far as to talk nonsense and waste time at such a crucial moment."

Contrary to his words, Mei Dan appeared unhurried, crossed his legs, and continued his sermon: "If we consider worldly morality as a cage that confines the evil in human nature, then those religions in the general sense..."

It's like dismantling this once-functioning iron cage into pieces. Using a magnificent hall, elaborate rituals, and new rules masquerading as doctrine, sacred words, and divine revelation, they constructed a new, flamboyant cage, completely different from the previous one. Through the carefully arranged gaps in those cages, people can see the deities they pray to.

"What do you mean?" Officer Jenny asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, during this process of replacing the cage, certain evil aspects of human nature may very well take the opportunity to break free. Just like when we debug a program in a computer, if we want to add something new to the code, it will inevitably conflict with other parts of the original code, and various oversights will arise. Running the program will likely result in errors eight or nine times out of ten, not to mention that they want to drastically replace the entire system."

"So you mean that the moral order established by religion might conflict with our existing value system?"

Officer Jenny tried to understand it in her own way.

"Within different 'iron cages,' certain bottom lines that we consider inviolable may be easily trampled upon by fanatical religious believers; while other things that we originally thought were unimportant may become the Achilles' heel of those who worship gods. To put it bluntly, does accepting religion make people single-minded and neurotic?"

"Heh, to be able to summarize it so simply and clearly, you must have encountered guys like this before, right?" The curator added, "The more immature a new religion is, the easier it is to educate a bunch of idiots with extreme ideas. For example, those guys who attacked my mansion with bricks in Binhai City before."

"So, Master Meidan knew the identities of those fanatical theists?" The intelligence officer, intrigued, raised one eyebrow.

"My dad and I knew all along!"

With her hands on her hips, Winnie interjected in a manner befitting her father, suggesting she was present when Medan was harassed.

"I'd say those guys' identities were clear from the start. After all, they stuck condemnatory notes on stones and threw them into the house through the broken window."

"What did it say on the note?"

"Oh dear, it had a bunch of curses written on it, like 'You'll be punished by heaven sooner or later, and your soul will never find peace after death,' nothing profound at all." The girl said with a lively laugh, "Speaking of which, I thought there were some kind of hidden code, acrostic, or reverse cipher on the note, and I studied it over and over for a long time—but of course, I didn't find anything."

The museum owner rubbed his forehead and continued, "And at the end of that note, he brazenly listed his affiliation—the Arceus Society, the most notoriously foolish new religion in the Sinnoh region. Hmph, being threatened by a bunch of guys like that, it's impossible to even feel angry."

Officer Jenny naturally followed up with, "Wasn't breaking a window with a stone already quite dangerous? According to Mr. Medan, they had also threatened us with paint before. Didn't the police intervene then?"

"It's not that I didn't want to call the police," the curator scratched his graying hair. "It's just that, given the situation at the time, it would have been more convenient to contact Hayden directly. After all, my speech videos were still circulating online back then, and even if I dealt with those guys from the Arceus Society, it might still attract more troublesome people afterward."

At this point, Meidan nodded to Mr. Hayden beside her, who responded with a nonchalant smile.

"I see. So you moved into the Forest Mansion like that."

Officer Jenny nodded repeatedly, seemingly quite satisfied with this information that was completely unrelated to the headhunting incident.

At this moment, Cynthia noticed that Officer Jenny, who worked as an intelligence agent for the Sinnoh League's intelligence agency, was actually gathering information step by step, even though she seemed to be just chatting aimlessly with Medusa.

This search method is completely different from that of police detectives. Officer Jenny may seem harmless, but she is like a hypnotic device that can make people unconsciously open their hearts, accepting all the information revealed by those involved in the case, regardless of whether it is true or false.

However, with so much information overwhelming us, will the final answer to the matter really be revealed? And what kind of truth will ultimately emerge?

As Zhu Lan pondered, the conversation between the intelligence officer and those involved in the case continued back and forth. "Alas, looking back now, my laissez-faire approach at the time was indeed flawed. Indeed, one should not be lazy."

Mei Dan turned her gaze to the human head model that was gradually being forgotten by everyone, and shook her head and sighed.

"Mr. Medan, are you so sure that the prisoner who placed this head in the mansion was a fanatical follower of the Arceus Society?" Officer Jenny asked rhetorically.

The old man nodded: "Of course, I understood it the moment I saw this model."

He said solemnly, "If it weren't to intimidate me, this blasphemer who has no regard for God, why would they dye the wig of this human head model the hair color of a member of the Galactic Group?"

"Indeed. If it were just the hair color, that would be one thing, but even the hairstyle has been adjusted to Team Galactic's standard style. This is definitely a detail that cannot be simply attributed to coincidence." Officer Jenny, who also had short, dark green hair, nodded in agreement.

"Team Galactic has been desecrating mythical relics, wantonly denigrating gods, and attempting to capture legendary Pokémon in the Sinnoh region. Such evil deeds are now common knowledge. And now, they have placed a bloody Team Galactic head in my attic. Their intentions are self-evident."

"You think it's intimidation? But this mansion is located in such a remote area, far from Binhai City. How did the intimidator find this place and then climb over the surrounding woods to enter the mansion?"

"Is it really that unbelievable that those people could pinpoint the address of a retired university professor from the vastness of social networks, and then follow the trail to find out where we lived after we moved? At least the moving company kept track of our migration route. We should actually thank this Forest Mansion; its remote location kept them somewhat calm, preventing them from doing anything even more outrageous," the old man shrugged.

"But if that's the case, why would they hide the head in an attic where it wouldn't be easily visible?" Officer Jenny continued to press.

"This is of course because those cowardly intimidators dared not step into this Forest Mansion. Therefore, they hastily left their intimidation tools in the deserted rooftop attic and fled. This behavior is so similar to the previous act of throwing a stone through the window. Ambitious yet self-deceiving, enthusiastic yet clueless, this is the way fools take revenge."

"So that's what you were thinking, Mr. Curator—"

The intelligence officer hesitated, seemingly feeling she could extract no more information from Mei Dan, yet still reluctant to leave, she turned back and pleaded.

"Master Meidan, may I ask you one last question?"

"Fine, ask away, as long as I can answer." Mei Dan proudly raised her chin.

"Could your current research be related to this bionic head case?"

Officer Jenny asked the question that had been bothering her ever since she stepped into the mansion: "What exactly are you researching, sitting in your basement room in the Forest Mansion every day?"

"That's two separate issues," the curator shook his head bluntly. "I can only say that what I'm researching has absolutely nothing to do with the case. It's a research secret, and I'm sorry I can't disclose it."

Officer Jenny then turned her gaze to Hayden, who, as the financier, was certainly aware of the research her old friend was engaged in.

"He wasn't lying." Old man Hayden just sighed and continued, "Although my old classmate is clearly terribly wrong about the heads."