New Gods of North America

Different price points in transactions often correspond to different levels of accompanying services.

Typically, the higher the premium, the closer the service is to 'making friends,' where the other party is not only willing to spend time communicating with you in detail but even seems to be considering things from your perspective.

Conversely, the lower the premium, the closer the service is to a 'farmers market,' with clear price tags and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.

The real estate agency Wayne found was no exception.

Given that the rental properties in this area primarily cater to the working class employed in the commercial district, the agency's office walls were plastered with information on both available and rented properties, resembling a 'wanted' poster wall in a police station.

Each listing was written on a sheet of paper, detailing the property's address and basic information, such as size, layout, and whether it included furniture.

Some of these listings had large circles drawn around them in red ink, with notes indicating 'rented as of [date]' below.

The staff didn't offer overly enthusiastic service, allowing potential customers to freely enter, exit, and browse the publicly displayed property information.

They would only proactively approach customers when they sensed a clear ability to pay or a strong intention to make a deal.

Although specific tenant information was kept confidential, and the final rental prices were not readily disclosed, the real estate agency didn't mind customers knowing which rental agreements they had recently facilitated.

After all, this served as proof of the real estate company's capabilities and strength.

A high number of completed transactions indicated that they could select the most suitable residence for customers, while a wide distribution of properties meant they had sufficient market recognition and share.

This made the detective agency's investigation much easier.

Wayne was busy dealing with an agency employee who judged a customer's purchasing power based on their attire and 'whether they had a servant with them,' while Inessa and the two detectives browsed the property information on the wall.

After paying a small fee, Wayne even received a stack of past property listings from the employee, hinting that 'if you haven't found a suitable property, it might just be because you came at the wrong time, not because the agency doesn't have enough options to offer.'

Simple techniques like 'data-driven price discrimination' or 'minor magic tricks,' before they become widely known to the public, are actually quite effective.

Inessa quickly noticed that the records in the past property listings didn't match the completed records publicly posted on the wall.

After confirming this, she secretly tugged on Wayne's sleeve, signaling that she had found a clue.

After regretfully telling the employee that 'they needed to consider it further,' Wayne and the others quickly left the real estate agency.

Inessa then spread out a map of Richmond inside the carriage and began drawing a simplified, enlarged map of the surrounding blocks on white paper:

"The past property listings they provided are updated weekly.

Two rental properties disappeared simultaneously in the first week of two months ago, but they weren't found in the completed records on the wall.

I think they're worth paying attention to.

"We went to that street just now.

Based on the distribution of house numbers and the density of their arrangement, the distance between these two addresses isn't too far apart.

It should probably be in these two locations, matching the characteristics of setting up a 'surveillance point.'"

Wayne was more inclined towards practical action in such matters.

Now that they had a clue, they just needed to confirm it once to know if it was accurate.

...

After the carriage and several detectives passed by the suspected locations one after another, the surveillance points set up by the local agents were quickly discovered.

In this day and age, what respectable person living in this area would stay inside all day, craning their necks to look at the street scene during working hours?

They don't go out to work, nor do they rest or do housework at home.

Looking at their appearances, although it might seem a bit offensive, they certainly don't look like artists who could receive funding from wealthy women.

And it's impossible to coincidentally encounter two households of artists at the same time—after all, this is Richmond, not the main gathering place for artists.

Georgeberg, where the 'academy' is located, might have this possibility, as there are more poor students and art students there, and a higher concentration of wealthy women.

Feeling one's way across the river by touching the stones is easier and more accurate than wading through the water yourself.

A more accurate terrain map was quickly redrawn:

"There were previously four rental properties in this vicinity, all individual floors or rooms that were split off from entire houses.

Since the local intelligence organization chose these two locations, then from the perspective of visibility and route conditions, the area they're monitoring is probably in this area, which is these two key buildings.

"The most likely are these rooms on the side of this building that are close to the alley.

I just don't know if they're rented out individually or as a whole.

If it's the latter, then we can already lock down the target."

Wayne observed Inessa's reaction as he spoke his analysis.

After listening, Inessa recalled for a moment:

"The real estate agency does have transaction records for this place.

The transaction time was within a week before those two surveillance points were set up.

Assuming they followed the target here, then the target should live in this location.

"This building is rented out separately.

That transaction record shows that the other party rented one of the suites on the second floor.

Jumping out of the window would lead to the alley you mentioned.

This suite has a living room and a bedroom, with a separate bathroom, but the kitchen is communal, and there's also basic furniture."

It's convenient to have a human computer by your side.

Once the specific location is determined, verification is just a matter of a day or two.

In fact, that evening, Ryan, who had been pretending to read a newspaper on the street corner and had already smoked two packs of cigarettes, saw the legendary 'man in a trench coat.'

Slightly deep blond hair, blue eyes, likes to use his hand to hold his hat when walking, and frequently looks back and around at the corners and before entering, highly vigilant.

If you just brushed past him on the street, it might not seem suspicious, but after the detectives observed from several positions, they felt that he looked like someone who was haunted by a ghost in a horror movie.

From the perspective of solving the case, this guy has obviously met the conditions to be taken back to assist in the investigation and can already be 'bagged,'

However, if considering following the vine to find the melon, then a more reasonable approach would be to continue playing the long game.

Wayne was still struggling with this 'either/or' choice, and then the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was wrong.

Judging from the setup of the surveillance points, the local agents seem to have been keeping an eye on this guy for more than just a day or two, far earlier than the assassination attempt began.

Even this guy's last move seems to have been a change of location after the previous operation ended, but he was unintentionally bitten on the tail by the detective agency.

The local intelligence organization doesn't seem to be on the same side as them, otherwise there would be no need to set up extra surveillance points.

But if they hadn't noticed any signs before, wouldn't that be a bit too derelict of duty?