The agent skipped all the Riddler's dialogue, so when Linda stormed angrily out of the room, he had no idea what had happened. He wanted to ask but felt that he would only trigger more riddles, so he decided to act instead.
He followed Linda, and of course, she did not notice him. Although such tracking skills might not be considered part of the character's abilities, the definition of such skills is quite vague. After all, everyone can track someone, whether or not they are discovered; it cannot be said to involve any special skills.
Actually, given Linda's current emotional state, the agent was unlikely to be discovered, even without using any techniques. So she did not lose any health points.
Soon enough, he realized Linda was heading to the cemetery. This made him hesitate; it wasn't out of fear of being discovered, but with the certainty of an evil spirit there, visiting a cemetery was definitely not a good choice.
But after contemplating, the agent decided to follow. After all, it was daytime, and he had visited the cemetery during the day before without triggering any hunting actions. Plus, he had gone with Linda before, ruling out all variables. So, he followed her.
Upon arrival, he found Linda wielding a shovel, digging up a grave.
The agent watched from a distance as Linda seemed to be digging up her father's grave. She was very strong, and with a few swift moves, she uncovered the grave and took something out, placing it in a bag, and then headed back.
After she left, the agent didn't dare to linger alone in the cemetery, so he followed her back to the house. He saw Linda go into the workroom alone, leaving the item there. Throughout the time, she stayed in the workroom, and the agent found no chance to go in.
He patiently waited until evening. Knowing Aunt Cain was watching over Linda, she would never allow her to stay out or miss sleep. As expected, when it got dark, Linda directly returned to her room to sleep, while the agent entered the workroom.
Upon entering, he was faced with a terrifying scene. The workroom table had been cleared, and now it was filled with bones.
The agent was not unaccustomed to such sights, but the problem was these bones were very small; obviously not adult bones, they seemed more like those of a kitten or puppy. But from the shape of the skull, one could tell they were human bones, likely those of a child.
The agent approached for a closer look and discovered that Linda seemed to be attempting to reassemble the child's bones, but obviously lacked the knowledge, as it didn't resemble a human at all.
The agent had extensive knowledge in this field. He immediately categorized the bones, slowly piecing them together. He usually started by assembling other parts of the body before adding the skull.
Just as he arranged all the bones and was about to take the skull, upon touching it with his index finger, a memory flashed before his eyes.
"Is Linda alright? She was crying a lot earlier."
"She's fine," a woman said, "It's her first time giving birth; it's natural to cry a lot. But she's an excellent girl, both she and the baby are very healthy. Just look at our little John, he will surely be as outstanding as his father."
"How is Berg doing?"
"Him? He's just a coward! Linda giving birth to the elder's child is an honor for our family, yet he only knows how to hide in that workroom, messing with his worthless wood! I'm sick of it!"
The image gradually became clearer. The agent discovered it appeared to be the perspective of a small baby held in someone's arms. Someone was quietly soothing him, and then a woman's face flashed through the view, it was a slightly younger Aunt Cain.
Digesting the immense amount of information from the conversation took the agent some time to understand what was going on. But soon thereafter, even more information emerged.
Aunt Cain was holding the baby as she entered the workroom, where a man was busy working. Upon seeing her, the man hesitantly said, "I think we should maybe..."
"No. I've said it, this is Linda's honor! Moreover, the elder would not agree."
"I've promised him to serve another year as a missionary, leaving next month. Don't attribute this child to Linda, it would ruin her."
"You damned idiot! Why can't you understand? This wouldn't be her stain, but her honor!"
"What honor?!" The man finally exploded, "Giving birth to a first child at less than 14 years old, what honor is that?!"
"It's the elder's child!" the woman screamed, "If I hadn't been injured, how could it have been that little wench's turn?! He dared refuse the elder's favor! Were it not for having only this one daughter, I would have beaten her to death long ago!"
The man appeared very pained, saying, "I really don't understand why you do this. I originally… I originally…"
"You might've escaped? You cowardly bastard! Why do you always want to escape your family?! We're already married, if you dare have other thoughts, not only you but your daughter will meet a grim fate!"
After saying that, the woman left with the child. The man watched her leave, his vision starting to turn blood red.
After the memory ended, the agent stood still in silence for a long time. He felt justified in his habitual avoidance of the plot—it was unfolding too quickly. By the time he realized what he heard, it was too late.
He lowered his head to look at the infant's remains, forcefully closing his eyes. It turned out that the child buried next to Linda's father in the grave marked "Berg" wasn't Linda's brother, but her son. And Linda had him when she was less than 14 years old, perhaps just capable of reproduction.
Moreover, it seems to be because Aunt Kane couldn't have children herself but wanted a child from the elder, so she made Linda bear one. It's easy to imagine this process wasn't voluntary.
The agent's mind was buzzing. No wonder Linda harbored such malice towards the egg-laying salmon. Anyone who has endured such an experience couldn't possibly have any affection for the idea of "reproduction."
Looking at it now, perhaps Aunt Kane forced her, and Linda didn't dare to retaliate against Aunt Kane, thus venting her resentment on the salmon. She may have tried killing fish before but was stopped by Aunt Kane. It wasn't until outsiders arrived that she fulfilled her wish.
Now it can be confirmed, this is a heresy. Because Linda's father mentioned words like "Missionary."
And from his few words, it's discernible that her father wasn't willing to do this, just unable to resist. He may have even attempted to escape before but was caught and brought back.
But the strange thing is, Linda's father is a local, while Aunt Kane is an outsider. How can the local want to flee while the outsider is so devout?
Instinctively, the agent felt it should be related to that "elder." It's likely that after they got married, the elder brainwashed Aunt Kane, causing such things to happen.
However, since the child was the elder's, and Aunt Kane valued him greatly, how could he die prematurely at 4? How did Linda's father die?
Though clues have emerged, more mysteries have also surfaced. The agent pondered and quickly came up with directions for investigation.
Aunt Kane's side shouldn't be disturbed initially, because no matter what, forcing her own daughter into such things, she couldn't possibly be a good person. She must have deep connections with that evil spirit, and investigating her rashly could lead to danger.
Regarding Linda, groundwork has already been laid. Though it's unclear what exactly she's up to, it's likely revenge against those who wronged her before. This could indeed cause trouble for the evil spirit, but if she's entangled with it, the agent shouldn't get too close.
That leaves two investigation directions: one is Linda's father, the other Linda's son. Both are deceased now, with no risk of revival, making the investigation relatively straightforward.
The child died at 4, probably not much to find, but Linda's father lived long enough as a local to leave traces behind. At least, this workspace left by her father should hold some clues.
The agent began searching the workspace. It was a mess and hard to find anything useful. So he started turning over the cover, thinking the dustier it got, the older it might be, and more likely left by Linda's father.
First, move the boxes outside, then the rain cover. Inside, there are two layers of shelves. After going around these two shelves, there's a box at the back that looks somewhat familiar.
The agent suddenly realized, this is just like the box from the circus warehouse, all black and somewhat old, seeming to be from the last century.
He took his gun first and found something to pry the box open, but no body inside, just a pile of odds and ends, looking like handcrafted props.
The agent rummaged through and found a ragged Joker costume, then something familiar, the surprise box they discovered in the bank vault.
"So it came from here," the agent muttered. But the surprise box he found in the box was unfinished, the varnish was done, but the scare toy wasn't install. Upon inspection, it was not a manufactured item. Linking this to Linda's father being a craftsman, the agent reckoned this must have been made by her father.
He continued digging and found a wooden pony. As his fingers touched it, another memory flashed before him.
"Little Zidane, look at this! Dad made it for you, do you like it?"
"I love it! It's so cool! I've got my own horse! I'm gonna be a cowboy! Yay!"
"So you want to be a cowboy, huh. How about I buy you a real horse later?"
"Sure! I'm going to ride it to the ocean! Dad, have you seen the ocean?"
"Of course, saw it touring before. I even swam in it. There are big sharks in the sea and squids..."
"Awesome, I'm going to swim in the sea too! But didn't you say the circus can't go on?"
"Yeah, the circus isn't doing well, probably will close down. But no worries. You'll go around preaching someday, you can go swim then."
"What's preaching, Dad?"
"It's spreading the gospel so everyone can live a happy family life. You'll understand when you grow up."
The agent sees a handsome blue-eyed man holding the wooden pony, swaying it in front of the memory's owner. This handsome man calls his son "Zidane," the same name as Linda's father.
So this handsome, blue-eyed man is Linda's grandfather. But he mentioned circus touring, might he have been a circus performer too?