Ch.22Correction) Chupacabra! (3)
by fnovelpia
#022
This wasn’t a problem that would be solved by just standing around in a daze.
Dexter picked up his lantern and began slowly examining the surroundings, searching for evidence that might be somewhere.
Walking at less than half his normal pace while thoroughly searching the pasture, Dexter was able to locate where the cow had collapsed.
“I can see why they’d mistake it for a chupacabra.”
Dexter said, illuminating the area with his lantern.
It seemed the attacker had been in a hurry to consume blood and couldn’t finish it all, as there were visible traces of a large blood pool spread across the ground.
The soil and grass around the area had turned black in a distorted circular shape, and a few large blowflies were buzzing around.
“Were they in a hurry?”
If the perpetrator was an alien rather than a human, it meant they had to attack livestock in a residential area to consume blood.
“An alien that needs to drink blood when in a hurry.”
Dexter was thinking about the aliens he had seen so far.
‘Obviously not from planet Aedes, and Wobble Volat? Not that either. What other similar aliens are there?’
There are aliens that survive by consuming bodily fluids from other life forms, similar to Earth’s mosquitoes.
However, an alien prepared enough to come to Earth wouldn’t make such a mistake.
‘It’s like someone with a chronic illness going on a trip without bringing their medicine.’
Whatever the case, it was clear they were in a great hurry. With this in mind, Dexter swept the area with his lantern once more, then examined the fence right beside him.
It was a wire fence made of thin metal wires.
Typically, fences around pastures carry electric current, so one shouldn’t touch them carelessly.
Knowing this, Dexter called out to Agent Himena, who was standing at a distance.
“Agent Himena.”
“Yes?”
Agent Himena responded in a slightly loud voice.
“Was this electric fence turned on the day of the incident?”
“The electric fence? Um… I think they said it was on all night. It was turned off when we were investigating.”
Based on Agent Himena’s response, Dexter made a deduction.
‘An alien unfamiliar with Earth culture might not know about electric fences.’
The unidentified alien might have made a mistake when entering and exiting the pasture.
Dexter began to search more carefully, shining his lantern around the fence.
Agent Himena watched Dexter with slight puzzlement as he focused solely on the fence, but she decided to leave him be, trusting that his actions, given his much greater experience, had purpose.
“……”
After about 30 minutes, just as Dexter was starting to get bored, he noticed something strange on a section of the fence post that had a sharp edge due to incomplete finishing.
There was a shimmering, like an opaque glass film, on part of the post.
It was a small section, about the length of a finger joint, difficult to spot even at close range unless carefully examined.
Peculiarly, it blended with the surrounding objects, which was probably why the investigation team had failed to discover it.
‘This, could it be.’
When Dexter touched that part with his hand, he felt the texture of a smooth fabric, and the area around his finger began to shimmer.
“Found it.”
There was also a transparent liquid slightly dripping on the fence post.
“Agent Himena, over here!”
“Did you find something?!”
Agent Himena, with a beaming smile, hurried over and began looking around.
“What is it? What did you find?”
“Just a moment. Do you happen to have something like a ziplock bag for collecting evidence?”
“Ziplock bag… Ah, here.”
Dexter took the ziplock bag that Agent Himena pulled from her coat pocket and carefully removed the fabric stuck to the fence post, placing it inside the bag.
The effect wasn’t visible through the vinyl material of the ziplock bag, but when placed on his hand, part of his hand shimmered like a heat haze.
Agent Himena’s eyes widened at this phenomenon she had never seen before.
“Wow, what is this?”
“It’s fabric made from perception-inhibiting fiber. I’ll explain in detail shortly. Do you have a cotton swab as well?”
Using the evidence collection cotton swab provided by Agent Himena, Dexter wiped the transparent liquid from the post and held it out.
“This also seems to be evidence, so have it examined in the lab. Let me know when the results come in.”
Dexter handed over the evidence nonchalantly, then felt awkward as he noticed Agent Himena staring at him intently without any reaction.
“What’s wrong? You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“You found something in less than an hour that the investigation team couldn’t find!”
Dexter felt embarrassed.
“This was just a lucky find, so there’s no need to praise me too much.”
“Still! You should be proud of yourself!”
“If we didn’t create such situations in the first place… Never mind. Let’s head back to the car and talk, now that the investigation is done.”
Even someone as thick-skinned as Dexter felt a bit embarrassed receiving praise for something he considered trivial.
As soon as the two sat in the car, Agent Himena took out the perception-inhibiting fabric from the ziplock bag and spoke.
“So, what did you say this was?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like—a fiber designed to make it difficult for human eyes or cameras to observe. If you wear clothes made from this fiber or wrap yourself in it, the covered parts become blurred and take on the colors of nearby objects. It’s similar to the camouflage of chameleons or octopuses.”
“Ah, an invisibility cloak! That’s totally an invisibility cloak!”
“Well, I guess so?”
Dexter had never read or watched Harry Potter, so he didn’t understand the reference and awkwardly brushed it off.
“The issue is that perception-inhibiting fiber is expensive even in space, and I don’t understand why it’s here on Earth.”
Dexter said, examining the perception-inhibiting fabric that Agent Himena was holding.
“Is it very expensive?”
“Not only is it expensive, but the technology to create perception-inhibiting functions in fabric is only possible on a few planets. It shouldn’t be on Earth.”
It’s an extremely rare fabric that’s not entrusted to just anyone.
Even Dexter had only seen it a handful of times, so investigation was necessary.
Dexter entrusted the perception-inhibiting fabric to Agent Himena for now and said:
“I’m not sure. We’ll need to examine that item first, especially that liquid.”
Agent Himena nodded at Dexter’s words.
All that remained was to submit the evidence Hughes found to the headquarters’ lab, but Agent Himena was momentarily lost in thought.
‘Has anyone ever helped me this much before?’
There had been some, but most were employees working for Agent Himena’s family.
Some people approached her with eyes full of desire, with ulterior motives to use her for other purposes.
But Dexter was different.
Honeygood Prison is a workplace with 12-hour shifts, from 6 AM to 6 PM.
No matter how physically impressive Dexter might be, it was clear he must be tired.
While Dexter might not think much of it, for Himena, who was born into a good family and received a high-quality education, it was only natural to give a reward proportional to the help received.
“Um, Mr. Hughes.”
“Yes.”
“We seem to have some time before we need to submit this to the lab. How about dinner? My treat.”
“Really? Sure, let’s do that.”
Himena carefully studied Dexter’s expression as he answered without much hesitation.
It wasn’t a servile smile or unpleasant eyes, but a cheerful and pleasant smile.
Agent Himena was grateful that Dexter had agreed to her sudden dinner proposal without making fun of her.
Agent Himena had always thought she could divide people who dealt with her into two categories.
‘Men who try to use me and men who find me uncomfortable.’
Most people saw Himena’s family background rather than Himena herself.
Because her family was so prominent, many people either tried to use Himena or felt uncomfortable and kept their distance.
‘But Mr. Hughes is different.’
From their first meeting until now, he had consistently been someone who joked around without formality.
Because of this, in Agent Himena’s heart, she had thought of him as just a frivolous, glib person.
But from this moment on, it was a bit different.
Her impression had changed from an unreliable man to someone somewhat trustworthy.
Of course, this was a ranking she would keep to herself, not revealing to anyone.
Himena was speaking warmly to Dexter, who had no idea she was thinking this way.
“What would you like? Chinese food? Indian food? Home cooking?”
“Why are you suddenly so excited? Let’s eat whatever you like, Agent Himena. Don’t we need to go back to headquarters anyway?”
Agent Himena, who had been enthusiastically talking, suddenly deflated as soon as Dexter spoke.
“W-well, that’s true…”
“What’s wrong? Why are you sulking again?”
“Because you brought up work, Mr. Hughes…”
Agent Himena pouted.
“Ah, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Tsk. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Of course not. Let’s get going. The restaurants will close at this rate.”
“How would you know where I’m going?”
“Most restaurants close after 8 PM, don’t they?”
“I’ll take you somewhere that doesn’t close early, then!”
Agent Himena stepped on the accelerator and promptly left Raztek Ranch.
Startled by the sudden acceleration, Dexter complained.
“Whoa, take it easy.”
“You said restaurants are closing!”
“We could always go to Taco Bell.”
“I know a Chinese restaurant that’s really good! It’s called Joyful House, and it stays open late, but I still want to get there quickly!”
‘Was she always like this?’
Dexter wondered where the haughty, cold, and profanity-laden Agent Himena had gone.
‘Well, this is more comfortable, I suppose.’
Just as Dexter was leaning his head against the headrest, trying to relax and sit comfortably, it happened.
A car that Agent Himena was trying to overtake suddenly increased its speed.
“Huh?”
“Wow, what a dangerous move!”
Before Dexter could react, Agent Himena increased her speed in the opposite lane, opened her window, stuck her head out, and shouted:
“Drive properly, you bastard! You’re dead if I catch you!”
Dexter gulped.
‘She’s still the same after all.’
* * *
The two people emerging from the Chinese restaurant had satisfied expressions.
“I should come here more often. It’s delicious, isn’t it?”
“Right? It’s good, isn’t it?”
“Especially the Kung Pao chicken. They make it well here.”
“Hehe.”
“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I had a delicious meal and saved on food expenses.”
“What are you saying? It’s only natural since you helped me.”
Dexter just grinned in response to Agent Himena’s words.
“I’ll drive you back to the prison. Please get in the car.”
As Agent Himena opened the car door, Dexter sat down and began rummaging through his pants pocket.
Then he took out a thinly folded plastic bag from his pocket and started picking up trash in the car.
“What, what are you doing?”
“It’s messy.”
“Where did you get that plastic bag?”
“I asked for a spare bag.”
Dexter pointed to the restaurant outside the window.
“Just… wait a bit. Let me pick everything up.”
Dexter spent about 5 minutes collecting all the trash, including what was scattered in the back seat, before finally sitting down.
“Now we can go.”
“This is so embarrassing, really.”
“What’s embarrassing is driving a car full of trash, not anything else.”
Since Dexter’s statement was the truth, Agent Himena had nothing to say.
“Now you’re more like yourself, Mr. Hughes.”
“Why? Do I have to criticize others and leave them speechless to be myself?”
“Yes. You understand well.”
“Oh, come on.”
‘Seeing how she catches on to my intentions, I guess I can’t tease Agent Himena anymore.’
Dexter stuck out his tongue.
After enjoying their meal, the two arrived at Honeygood Prison, conversing non-stop from the Chinese restaurant.
“Today was fun. Though it was brief.”
Agent Himena said with a bright smile.
“I had fun too, but next time, I’d like to meet for a better reason. Not because of pride making you seek help from an outsider, but for something lighter, like a casual date.”
When Dexter teased her lightly again, Agent Himena pouted and said:
“I know you’re joking.”
“If you know, then please let’s meet for a better reason next time. And that’s for real.”
“…What? Are you actually asking me on a date?”
Instead of answering, Dexter made an annoying expression and shrugged, causing Agent Himena to click her tongue.
“Tsk.”
“Send me the investigation results by text. Or call if texting is difficult.”
“Alright. Thank you for your hard work today. See you next time.”
“You too, Agent Himena. You worked hard today.”
Dexter grabbed Agent Himena’s hand and placed a light kiss on the back of it.
“……!”
“There was orange sauce on the back of your hand.”
As Dexter pointed to the back of Agent Himena’s hand, she stared at it blankly before responding in a flustered voice.
“What?”
“Just kidding. Take care.”
Dexter quickly got out of the car with a grin, leaving behind a flustered Agent Himena.
‘She still falls for my jokes.’
“Tsk, next time we meet, I won’t fall for your pranks!”
Dexter waved to Agent Himena as she drove away.
It had been fun.
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