Chapter 168 - 107: Exposed (2)
Lisi reminisced, "I remember, not long after I first joined the Secret Investigation Department, I followed Old Jack and, uh, Roger on a mission to a village outside the city."
"That village was about the size of two Basil Districts, but the conditions were terrible, even worse than Laos District. Almost every day, someone would turn into an aberration from the red moon contamination."
"Still, it was much better than the unsheltered wilderness—a place where people could just barely get by."
"I see."
Kali nodded thoughtfully. ’There must be plenty of heretics beyond that high wall who need to be judged, right?’
"Don’t worry too much about people and things that aren’t right in front of you, Kali."
Lisi said seriously, "I, for one, hope you become the Saintess of the Dawn Church. If that happens, as your hometown, the situation in the Caster City State would surely improve."
"I... I’ll do my best."
’Saintess...’
A trace of confusion flashed across Kali’s face. ’Can I really become a true Saintess?’
"Let’s get back to the case."
Seeing her troubled expression, Lisi changed the subject. "Yesterday, when we arrived at that textile factory, we’d already noticed something was wrong with many of the workers. We also found some footage of workers carrying corpses."
"On top of that, there’s the disappearance of the factory’s head, Mr. Michelle. We can now confirm that before he went missing, he met with a suspicious person..."
"The next step in the investigation is to find that suspicious person and the people who left through the secret passage... What are your thoughts?"
Kali hesitated for a moment. "I... I think the workers might know something. When we were questioning them yesterday, a few of them had very... very strange expressions."
"The workers, you say..."
Lisi pondered, "In that case, let’s head back there for another look after Wei’en and the others get here."
’She agreed?’
’Does that mean my line of thinking is correct?’
Joy lit up Kali’s face. A moment ago, she had been worried she’d said the wrong thing and influenced Lisi’s judgment...
"It seems you’re starting to get the hang of an Investigator’s work. I’m sure that with a little more time, you’ll become a qualified Investigator."
"I’ll work hard to learn."
Just then, Lisi noticed two figures approaching in the distance and her expression relaxed. "They’re finally here."
Kali saw Wei’en and Tina as well. She stood up and waved. "We’re over here!"
Wei’en and Tina, following the direction they found with their spiritual vision, took half an hour to reach the factory district.
It had to be said that the Yidrisu District was much larger than other districts. After passing through several residential areas, they came upon a series of widely spaced factory buildings.
Interestingly, however, Wei’en discovered traces of Bone-Eating Worms here, which he hadn’t seen in a long time.
[As your Resilience level is greater than 8, the Bone-Eating Worm’s attack has failed!]
[...]
Since leaving the residential area, he had been attacked by Bone-Eating Worms at least eight times. Unfortunately, these worms could no longer provide him with any rewards.
"Wei’en, we’re over here!"
Hearing Kali’s voice, Wei’en waved back from a distance. He then saw Lisi and Kali running toward them, so he and Tina waited where they were.
"Vice-Captain Ruan, it’s the captain’s daughter’s birthday today. What gift are you getting her?"
"That doll, of course. I’ve been saving up my gold pounds just for it."
"A single doll costs 1 gold pound and 5 shillings. That damned textile factory, have their hearts become aberrations?"
"..."
’Hm?’
A squad of City Guards happened to be passing by Wei’en, and he sized up the pale-faced men.
’Is it my imagination?’
[You have been targeted by Ruan Calio’s killing intent. Assessment: A host parasitized by a Bone-Eating Worm. He desires to capture you and offer you to the Bone-Eating Mother Worm. Reward: Survival Points +1.]
[...]
[You have been targeted by Zairul Pinedo’s killing intent. Assessment: A host parasitized by a Bone-Eating Worm. He desires to capture you and offer you to the Bone-Eating Mother Worm. Reward: Survival Points +1.]
’Ten sources of killing intent?’
’Ten City Guards?’
Wei’en frowned. ’Are all of these men controlled by Bone-Eating Worms?’
He thought for a moment, then drew the flintlock from its holster at his waist and blocked the City Guards’ path. "Gentlemen, could you wait a moment?"
The lead City Guard wore bronze-colored armor, which signified his rank as a captain. He saluted with a normal expression and said, "Sir Investigator, you’re blocking our way. Is there something you need?"
"Your way?"
Wei’en shook his head as he loaded his flintlock. "I’m afraid not. I’ve already been attacked by Bone-Eating Worms several times. Since we’ve run into each other, I can’t just let you leave so easily."
"Hm?"
"HISS!"
A dark aura flashed across the City Guards’ faces. Their eyes flickered between clarity and a daze, as if they were receiving some kind of command.
But the lead City Guard was still smiling. "I think there must be some misunderstanding..."
"A misunderstanding?" Wei’en laughed. "With those stiff, unnatural expressions and strange body movements, you really think you pass for normal people?"
Hearing this, the City Guards dropped the act. Ferocious expressions appeared on their faces. "You really deserve to die, Sir Investigator."
"You should have just said that from the start."
"Kill him!"
"HISS!"
BANG, BANG BANG...
Against these City Guards, who were only a cut above ordinary people, Wei’en took them down one by one, each with a single shot.
They didn’t even have a chance to trigger their death traits. In the blink of an eye, he had dealt with nine of the City Guards. He left only the leader alive, planning to wait for Lisi and the others to arrive and see if they could get any information out of him.
[You have used a flintlock to kill Zairul Pinedo (Bone-Eating Worm Host). Assessment: Pathetic scum. Special Reward: Survival Points +2, Marksmanship +1.]