Chapter 279 Bleeding Scars

572

The ruins of the God War.

The "Future" was covered with stars and sailed slowly on a safe route. "Star Admiral" Cattleya was sitting in the captain's cabin and gradually approached the location of the "Sun Bird" according to the clues given by "The World".

"This is an unfamiliar sea area...'The World' knows more information than I, a pirate at sea..."

Is this the benefit of being a favored person of the gods? He was even able to communicate with an angel and obtain a drop of the angel's blood... Cattleya looked at the routes in silence. She pushed up her glasses and looked at the sea outside the window directly in front of her.

"Dong dong dong!"

The wooden door was knocked, and the crew's voice sounded loudly outside the door:

"captain!"

"This is the third day today!!"

"It's so hot! Can we just wear shorts?"

It seemed that the target island was getting closer and closer. Cattleya turned her head and raised her voice and ordered: "Okay, everyone, get ready!"

…

On the dirt road on the outskirts of West Bailang, a carriage clattered along.

The wheels and horse hooves raised a cloud of dust. Secret Puppet Enzo was driving, and Klein was sitting next to him, flipping through the newspaper in his hand.

Ms. D rested in the carriage and looked at her luggage.

In the current Southern Continent, people from the Northern Continent can still get preferential treatment in the large cities in the central and east-central parts that have not yet been recaptured. Only when entering the territory of the Balam Empire will there be some danger.

The information transmission in this world is too lagging. It has been almost a month since the news from the Northern Continent arrived at the Rhoside Islands, and it is difficult for the Southern Continent to see the negative information and situation changes in the Northern Continent, lest the resistance here become The ears are clear and the eyes are clear.

Obviously, I couldn't trouble Ms. D to go back to China now and find the edition of the newspaper that was published more than a month ago. All we can do is ask the other party to find the official newspaper published by the Fusac Empire after they return, hand it over to the Aurora Society, and pick it up themselves.

"The essence of the 'Great Smog' is a vicious population cleansing..."

Klein felt that his brows had not opened since he came to the Southern Continent. These words weighed heavily on his heart, making it impossible for him to become relaxed no matter what.

Haven't you thought of this possibility?

No, obviously I have thought about it... It is said that the large smog mixed with polluted smog that caused mass deaths occurred in the East District, not the factory area, which itself is very telling.

"The Fusac Empire thinks this is malignant. Does that mean that people still have 'benign' population clearing in their minds?"

"Haha, it's probably a war or land reclamation or something like that..."

Klein read the Dutan language part of the newspaper in his hand without difficulty, and passed the time by reading the news from the Southern Continent last week.

The skills acquired from the Marionette can be used almost directly. The feeling of mastering a language in an instant made him sigh and recall the painful language learning experience.

The sound of horse hooves was heard, and they were moving forward on the dirt road neither fast nor slow.

From time to time, you can see ragged Southern Continental people on the roadside. These wanderers are all alone, wearing clothes made from sacks. Some were alone, and some had their families with them, walking toward the southwest like them.

They were numb and sluggish, moving forward slowly like machines or living corpses. Even if they were almost stepped on by horse hooves, they would not react in any other way. Only the occasional children still have some sparkle in their eyes, but they are not as lively as they should be at this age. Instead, they reveal a shrewdness and calmness that makes Klein's hair stand on end.

When the first person appeared in Klein's field of vision, he stopped the car and gave the person a piece of dry food bread, receiving several stuttering thanks.

"They are refugees, refugees."

When Klein parked the car for the first time, Ms. D also got out of the car and spoke to these refugees in relatively proficient Dutan dialect:

"You see, they have calluses on their fingers. They are either farmers or handicraftsmen... They are from the east, and many people are coming from there. After the independence of the Balam Empire, the people of the Southern Continent were oppressed even more fiercely. and exploitation, their land was taken away from them, and the unlucky ones were kicked off the plantations and had to go west.”

After asking for information, Ms. D returned to the car and pulled up the curtain. Her presence would cause uneasiness and panic among the refugees.

When the second and third people appeared on the way forward, Klein also walked down and delivered some food.

After Ms. D’s prompting, Klein noticed that many people had calluses on their fingers and palms, perhaps textile workers.

"There don't seem to be that many mechanical textile machines in the Southern Continent."

Klein said with emotion: "Because of the introduction of machines in the Northern Continent, the female textile workers have marched many times." Unfortunately, it was of no use.

Ms. D smiled: "But the legislation stipulates that textile workers in the Southern Continent cannot work for private businesses outside the company, otherwise they will be whipped and paraded through the streets."

Klein was speechless again.

Before he had gone ten miles, he had already used up all the dry food he had bought just in case. He could only ask the horses to speed up and reach another city for supplies as soon as possible. Fortunately, they were all mid-level Extraordinaries who would not get hungry easily.

At this moment, his mood was still relatively good.

But soon, the fourth, fifth, sixth... countless ragged people in need of help appeared in front of him.

Even if all the dry food is given out, it is not enough. Even if all the cash he carries is exchanged for dry food, it is not enough.

When you find one ant on the ground, you will soon find countless more. After leaving the identity of Dwayne Dantès, when the perspective gradually drops from the aristocracy, upper class, and extraordinary world to the common people, poor people, and slaves, it is like inadvertently glancing at one's own feet, surrounded by the huge number of ants and their The corpse was horrifying.

He didn't try to give food to one or two of them, because that might make things worse.

Wanderers fall down as they walk, some stand up, and some never wake up. They lay there, waiting for stray dogs and vultures, and feeding the wild animals was the last good thing they could do.

Klein could only remain silent, silent.

The carriage clattered forward and entered the wilderness, leaving the dust, people, and gorgeous world far behind.

573

Inside Gulain City.

After several hours of sorting and summarizing, the Red Gloves collected and classified all the communications of Ince Zangwill’s main contact Ulika over the past few months.

Faced with the pursuit and interception of the Red Gloves, Ulika chose to cut off her tail to survive, but still failed to escape. Before she died completely, she was channeled by the Red Gloves and obtained specific information.

"The last time Ince Zangwill communicated was in early April? Then he disappeared completely..."

Based on Ulica's testimony, Sost found letters corresponding to March and April. The writing on them was quite messy, probably written in a state of extreme emotion and instability.

These words even shook Soest's spirituality, so he could only take a few glances:

"Ince Zangwill felt that his loss of control was getting worse...Ince Zangwill said that he had hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, but these hallucinations did not belong to anything he had ever seen... Inducing corruption? "

Seeing these words, Sost had already started to feel dizzy and his ears were ringing.

He had no choice but to look away and silently recite the goddess's name several times in his heart. After regaining his mood and spiritual stability, he continued to read:

"Ince Zangwill said that his auditory hallucinations always encouraged him to release his inner evil thoughts and satisfy his desires..."

"He tried to recall when he started to experience these changes, but he couldn't think about it anymore..."

"He always feels that another personality has emerged in him, which will wake up after he falls asleep and kill..."

After quickly browsing a few pages, Sost put down the letter again. He pressed his throbbing temples, took a deep breath, and turned his eyes to the other red gloves.

"What do you think?"

Leonard was quite sensitive to several of the words and spoke first: "Captain Sost, Ince Zangwill mentioned in the letter that he began to have tendencies towards depravity, lust and killing after losing control? According to past reports, Comparing the records, these behavioral tendencies do not appear to be manifestations of the 'Corpse Collector' or 'Sleepless One' pathways, but rather resemble the criminals we have dealt with before, that is, the Devil Path!"

Sost nodded appreciatively:

"Your observations are very keen."

"You mean that Ince Zangwill may have been contaminated by demonic pathways?"

Daly Simone habitually rubbed the silver ring on her ring finger with her fingers, thinking about supplementing Leonard's guess: "I think your guess is very reasonable. However, if you can pollute a demigod, Sealed objects should be at level 1 and above, and should be in contact with them for a long time. The same applies to extraordinary people..."

"We have all participated in the hunt for the 'Apostle of Desire' Jason Belial. Demons in Sequence 5 have treated killing as normal as breathing. If Ince Zangwill is accompanied by a 'devil' demigod , it is impossible to disappear forever.”

"That's right."

Sost nodded again: "Based on the inferences you two made, I think we can ask a new question..."

All the red gloves looked over with bated breath.

Sost glanced at the pieces of letter paper in his hand from the corner of his eye, moved his fingers slightly, picked out a few, and held them up in front of everyone:

"Perhaps Ince Zangwill has not disappeared."

"...It's just that he suffered some contamination and made some...unexpected actions that went against the church's long-standing understanding of him. Therefore, some of the things that happened will be naturally considered by us to be consistent with Ince Zangwill has nothing to do with it.”

Did you do something inconsistent with yourself, so you were ignored by us during the investigation?

Leonard frowned and began to think about the files on recent affairs handled within the church, looking for any doubts in them. However, he had stayed in Backlund and the northern part of the Loen Kingdom for a long time, and his knowledge of the cases was limited.

In his mind, Pales Zoroaster snorted:

"coastal."

Others also fell silent, digging for possible clues from their memories.

Seeing that everyone was thinking, Sost raised the corners of his mouth and opened his mouth: "Everyone——"

"I see!"

As soon as he said the first word, Leonard suddenly realized something and suddenly attracted the attention of all the red gloves.

"I understand, captain, you are right. Ince Zangwill slipped away from our surveillance through some special behaviors, perhaps with the help of 0-08. We could have passed the surveillance A coincidence happened to find him, but now, this idea has led us in the wrong direction. Ince Zangwill may have asked for some help from 0-08, but because 0-08 has always had a death-written holder His nature, which he may have been pretending or forced to change, has now become pollution, even making him crazy and on the verge of losing control."

"Yes, so..."

"So we should make a hypothesis now... Through Ince Zangwill's own letters and confessions, we tentatively assume that the pollution he received is the 'demon' path. At the same time, probably by coincidence-"

Leonard paused and emphasized the word "coincidence", which made all the Red Gloves present, including Sost, feel a chill at the same time——

Could everything we are doing and thinking now be a coincidence that is being written by 0-08?

We came to Gulayin, captured Ulika, and just got news and letters from him. Is this a script?

"Do you still remember the file from last month? The southeastern coast of the kingdom..."

Leonard's face became more solemn, he pursed his lips and said, "There have been many strange murders, and the victims were killed in many different ways. They were often tortured before death, and it was horrific, and The murderer has not been caught until now... Combined with the 'Apostle of Desire Case' that made a lot of noise in Backlund last year, this incident was also considered by the local church to be a demon's promotion ceremony."

After finishing speaking, Leonard licked his lips, walked to the coffee table, picked up a cup of tea and drank it in one gulp.

Sost took a deep breath and added:

"The latest case occurred in Enmatt Port, and the murderer is still at large."

Dai Li looked at the two of them and said, "You two are saying that the murderer might be...Ince Zangwill?"

Leonard and Sost nodded at the same time.

Sost said:

"Now we have completely lost the trace of Ince Zangwill, only this case may be related to him."

Leonard interjected: "Even if it's not related, it would be good to help Port Enmat resolve this matter."

"Yeah, so, I think it's worth the trip for us."

Sost clapped his hands and stood up. The Red Gloves also stood up with the captain: "Okay, clean up here. I will inform the local church about the schedule. We will leave as soon as possible and return to Enmat in the Kingdom. port."

"yes!"

The red gloves responded one after another and began to perform their duties, cleaning up the scene in an orderly manner, taking away valuable documents and erasing traces.

…

It was long after dark, almost nine o'clock, that the carriage finally arrived at the next city it aimed at.

The city has not been occupied yet, but there is already a tendency to surrender, and the nobles in the city have begun to move.

Before entering the city, Klein silently exchanged places with Ms. D. Klein, who had a face with Southern Continent origin, entered the carriage. Ms. D, who has a bright appearance, simple clothes and noble temperament, sat next to the marionette who was the coachman. This was the best pass.

Sure enough, they entered the city without any obstacles.

The guarding soldier just glanced at the noble lady and immediately smiled ingratiatingly and allowed her to enter the city. Ms. D also skillfully grabbed a handful of copper pennies from her handbag and scattered them among the soldiers and the crowd.

Ding, clank, crackle.

People bent down and scrambled for the coins on the ground.

"I have some friends here who can live in a slightly better house." After entering the city, Ms. D reported the name and approximate location of the hotel. "My friends will probably invite me to dinner. Mr. Farewell here, see you later.”

"OK."

Secret Puppet Enzo got out of the car, and Ms. D pulled up the reins and walked forward along the less traveled road, quickly disappearing around the corner.

"Let's go and settle dinner..."

Klein cheered up, bypassed the haggard street girl on the side of the road, and the prostitute who was hiding behind the crack in the door and quietly giving him a look. He walked straight into the relatively prosperous city with his secret puppet Enzo, and found a relatively clean restaurant. , casually ordered some food.

The food was not really delicious, it could only be said to be large and filling, and the strong smell of spices made him a little overwhelmed. There were some unappetizing half-cooked ingredients and gritty sand inside. Klein was full after finishing one portion and had to worry about the fact that Enzo still had more than half of the dinner in front of him.

Marionette doesn't need to eat, but food can't just be wasted.

At this time, Klein noticed a girl standing outside the restaurant. She had lumpy hair and was as thin as a bean sprout. Only her face was slightly cleaner.

Her eyes were dark, big, and sparkling, reminding Klein of Melissa.

After the death of the sergeant's father and the need to support Klein in college, the Moretti family had more or less enough food and clothing. Although Melissa was a little thin, she was definitely not malnourished to the point of edema.

Outside the door, a girl wearing a dirty sarong looked greedily at the food in the restaurant, swallowing hard.

Klein waved to her and asked Enzo to stand up. The girl looked around and saw that there was no one else around, so she ran over without thinking. At Klein's signal, she grabbed most of the pancakes and food left on the plate and stuffed them directly into her mouth. go.

The food was decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Klein looked at those dirty hands and hesitated, saying nothing.

After the girl devoured her meal, her big black and white eyes turned to the stranger.

Seeing the plate that had been licked clean, Klein had mixed feelings, but he still breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to leave, the girl suddenly came over, took the initiative to sit on his lap, took one of Klein's hands, and lifted up her skirt.

Klein's pupils shrank suddenly, and it took him a second to realize what was happening. The huge shock and fear were like a knife piercing directly into his spine. Klein jumped up suddenly, as if he was holding a hot iron in his arms.

He didn't remember how he tried to comfort the girl while holding back the violent tremors and goosebumps that kept rising all over his body, nor how he managed to keep calm and actually walked out of the restaurant with Marionette in a state of chaos.

With Marionette following closely behind, Klein ran out of the street as if running away, and finally stopped on a bridge.

He threw himself against the guardrail of the bridge and frantically vomited everything he had eaten that day.

After vomiting until there was nothing left to vomit, he was still retching with tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, as if he wanted to vomit out all his internal organs.

TBC

——————

The real policy: weavers were not allowed to work for merchants outside the company, but the salary weavers could receive was only 6% of the cotton price, resulting in an unprecedented mortality rate.