He couldn't imagine how much pain Ethan Bolton had endured, yet at that moment, he still managed to warn him. Henry Thompson felt it was anything but simple. Maybe... the next target of the Blood Shadow would be himself!

"Six people, plus me, maybe seven in total. What do we all have in common?"

"A span of ten years, and the pace is getting faster. If I count myself, that's seven people. Except for me and Ethan Bolton, there doesn't seem to be any connection among the rest. Are these random targets, or is there a clear purpose?"

Henry Thompson gently rubbed his forehead and looked through the files in front of him. These were the complete dossiers of the six people, as well as some clues he had gathered over the past year through various channels.

It had been ten years since the first death. Maybe there were more before that, maybe not—Henry Thompson had no way of knowing.

A ten-year span made it very difficult to investigate many things.

"Gender? Age? Occupation? Identity? Mutual contacts?"

Henry Thompson had gone through these files many times. He had never found any conventional common ground among them. These were completely unrelated people.

"Why did the Blood Shadow want to kill them? Did they threaten the Blood Shadow, or was there another motive?"

Countless doubts filled Henry Thompson's mind.

Of course, there was another reason to keep investigating... revenge!

Ethan Bolton was dead, and no one cared, but Henry Thompson did.

There were too many uncertainties with the Night Watchers. If he could have found any effective clues, or had a good way to deal with a Blood Shadow that no one could see, Henry Thompson would never have pinned his hopes on the Night Watchers to kill the Blood Shadow. He would much rather do it himself!

"Henry Thompson, looking at those files again?"

Across from him, Anna Brooks saw Henry Thompson open that familiar file once more and couldn't help but ask.

Over the past year, she had seen it many times. Henry Thompson was always looking at that file, and it was getting thicker and thicker, almost worn out from his constant reading.

But every time she wanted to take a look, Henry Thompson would quickly close it.

She had only caught a vague glimpse—it seemed to be some personal information about a few people.

Henry Thompson looked up and gave a pure smile. "Sister Na, just browsing."

"Tch!"

Anna Brooks scoffed. "Just browsing? You've been looking at it for almost a year?"

This guy, sometimes he really wasn't honest.

"You've been looking at it for so long, Henry Thompson, what are you trying to find? There are so many veteran inspectors here, but you don't ask them. You just bury your head in this by yourself. You're a rookie—what can you find? Why not let me take a look? Maybe I can give you some advice. Don't worry, I won't leak anything."

Anna Brooks grinned. "So, how about it? Let me see?"

She really was curious!

Henry Thompson hadn't wanted anyone to know he was investigating this before, worried it would attract the attention of the Red Shadow. But now, since he hadn't found anything, and had already reported the case to Jack Smith, it wouldn't hurt to let Anna Brooks take a look.

After thinking it over, Henry Thompson finally said, "Go ahead, but let's not trouble anyone else."

He didn't want too many people to know he was focused on this.

Anna Brooks was also a newcomer, not so sensitive or sharp. If others saw these files, they might quickly connect them to old cases and realize Henry Thompson was investigating the self-immolation case.

Letting Anna Brooks see was also because Henry Thompson had been looking for so long without any results. He didn't know if it was because he was too involved and couldn't see clearly, or if there really was no connection.

Maybe, as an outsider, Anna Brooks could spot something?

Well, Henry Thompson honestly didn't have much hope—he was just unwilling to give up after so long with nothing to show for it.

"Don't worry!"

Anna Brooks immediately beamed with joy. At last, she had a chance to see Henry Thompson's little secret.

Afraid he would change his mind, she quickly leaned over, snatched the file from Henry Thompson's hands, and started flipping through it.

A moment later, Anna Brooks said, "Henry Thompson, what exactly are you hoping to find in these files? I took a look—there's just too much. You recorded every little thing. This could be a memoir! What result are you hoping for?"

After thinking for a moment, Henry Thompson replied, "Common ground! The common ground among those six people!"

Anna Brooks was speechless.

She looked through it carefully. Six people, all different ages, different jobs and identities, both men and women, different circles.

And the ones who died earliest had been dead for ten years!

The most recent one died a year ago.

Where was the common ground among these six people?

So, all this past year, Henry Thompson had been looking at this? He really was... too idle.

But when she glanced at the last person's file—Ethan Bolton, a student at Silver City Ancient Academy—Anna Brooks vaguely understood something. Henry Thompson's main purpose was probably because of this person, right?

"Ethan Bolton, died July 22, 1729... That seems to be not long after Henry Thompson dropped out, or was it around the same time?"

Anna Brooks studied it for a while, and thinking of Henry Thompson's withdrawal from school, she seemed to have figured something out.

A student at the Ancient Academy, giving up a bright future to drop out—no one had ever understood why. Now, seeing this file, Anna Brooks felt she might have a clue.

With that thought, Anna Brooks, who had been reading the file just for fun, became much more serious.

Did Henry Thompson suspect that Ethan Bolton was killed because of him?