Lei Hu was beaten up to a swollen face and nose, and was directly locked in a solitary dark room of the Flame Shrine.

If it weren't for the fact that he shared the same Lei Family blood as him, Lei Zongnan wouldn't mind having him chopped up and fed to the dogs.

As he was being dragged out, he still shouted, asking what wrong he had done—I've been loyal to the Society Leader...

Damn idiot!

After Lei Zongnan vented his anger, he also knew that the situation was urgent and could not be delayed; decisions had to be made swiftly.

"Convey my order, let all the Black Robes gather in the council hall for a meeting."

"Yes," a Deacon immediately took the order.

"Where's the Holy Daughter? Have her check what exactly is going on. Regardless of the means, we must stop the spread of the plague..."

"Until the source of the infection is clearly identified, prohibit internal personnel from gathering, let alone visiting the families of those infected..."

"Take my token and quarantine those families of the infected. No one besides the Holy Daughter should enter."

"Yes." Another deacon quickly ran out.

Lei Zongnan began to change clothes, assisted by two maids in blue, while an old man in a Grey Robe appeared beside him.

He was obviously a Grey Robe of the lowest rank within the Shrine, yet he could enter and leave the Divine Palace at midnight, staying by the side of the Society Leader.

Clearly, he was Lei Zongnan's truly trusted direct subordinate.

"Society Leader, you need not be agitated," the Grey Robe elder said soothingly.

The miserable screams of Lei Hu could be heard from afar, even at the entrance of the Divine Palace.

Lei Zongnan held great respect for the old man, looking at him and asking, "Mr. Yan, have you investigated this matter? What exactly is going on?"

"That fool Lei Hu knows nothing and yet ran to report to me... I really want to chop off his head."

"You don't need to worry, Society Leader. Aside from those few who ate dog meat at the table, others haven't shown any adverse reactions yet."

Mr. Yan knew what the Society Leader was worried about.

An official would travel a thousand miles for wealth.

But one must have life to spend money.

He didn't know the source or the nature of this plague, nor how it was transmitted.

The fact that Lei Hu, who had been in contact with the deceased, ran directly to him, filled his heart with panic...

What if I get infected too?

Although I worship the Flame God, he has never appeared to protect me.

"The organizer of the meal was named Chen Dayou. He didn't eat the dog meat served at the table, so until now he is still fine... It seems like nothing is wrong."

"Could it be just the dog meat that was problematic?"

"I'm not sure," Mr. Yan shook his head, saying, "It depends on whether there are other infected individuals."

"Hm," Lei Zongnan nodded, his eyes fiercely questioning, "That Chen Dayou... He's fine, right?"

"I used Soul Searching Hand on him and questioned him. He's just a regular Grey Robe, who caught a black dog in the forest this afternoon. He wanted to treat his squad leader to some meat, the squad leader invited the team leader, the team leader invited Wang Sanguang..."

Lei Zongnan knew the power of Soul Searching Hand. When deployed fully, the one under its effect could even recall how many times they wet the bed as a child.

"Because too many people had shown up, he didn't get a chance to use the toilet, so he could only do some servile tasks. Unexpectedly, this misfortune turned into a blessing, and he picked up a lifeline."

Lei Zongnan chuckled coldly, saying, "A bloodbath caused by a black dog? Just for a meal of dog meat, I lost more than ten brothers?"

"It seems the problem lies in that black dog. It must have eaten something radioactive, and then Wang Sanguang and the others consumed the dog... turning it into this."

"If that's really the case... then there's nothing much to worry about," Lei Zongnan stated.

It's just the fear of other infections spreading widely within the Shrine.

That would be too bad.

Lei Zongnan put on his boots, spoke out loud, "Let's go, take a look in the council hall."

"Yes, Society Leader," the old man replied respectfully.

In the council hall, six or seven Black Robes were gathered, discussing something, the atmosphere somewhat somber.

These Black Robes were officials serving in the Divine Palace, like Wang Tianlong each Black Robe was assigned to oversee different regions.

This was not a time for meetings.

Travel was inconvenient, and many could not make it.

When Lei Zongnan entered the room, everyone bowed in greeting.

"Greetings, Society Leader."

Lei Zongnan took his seat at the head of the table and surveyed the room, asking, "Has everyone heard about the situation?"

"We have."

"We just heard and were about to find out more."

"It's said there's a curfew inside the Shrine, no one is allowed in or out."

"Does anyone have any thoughts?" Lei Zongnan asked.

No one answered.

How could they respond when they knew nothing of the situation?

They were skilled in killing and arson, but curing diseases and saving lives...

How would they know about that?

If they understood these matters, couldn't they also become a Holy Daughter?

"Forget it, let's wait for the Holy Daughter to arrive, I've already sent someone to invite her," Lei Zongnan also doubted the virtues of his subordinates, who were fierce when fighting over territories and resources, but when it came to handling and preventing epidemics, that was a task for the Holy Daughter.

After all, this had always been the Holy Daughter's responsibility.

"Yes, it's better for the Holy Daughter to handle this... Her medical skills are impeccable."

"We're just rough men, how could we understand these things? I wouldn't even know what I was eating if the Holy Daughter stuffed a pill into my mouth."

"We need to wait for the Holy Daughter to arrive before we know what the situation is. Right now, we're completely in the dark; what can we come up with?"

At that moment, a Deacon hurried in and said urgently, "Society Leader, it's bad, Chen Dayou is dead..."

"Dead? How did he die?" Lei Zongnan frowned, Mr. Yan had just told him Chen was perfectly fine, showing no unusual symptoms.

He was currently detained in the Divine Shrine Prison, and was meant to be interrogated again.

"It just happened mysteriously," the Deacon, scared and responsible as he was the head of the prison, said, "We didn't let anyone go in to see him..."

"What was the state of his death?" Mr. Yan asked gravely.

"His body was stiff... and there was foam at the mouth..."

Everyone's face turned ashen.

Chen Dayou had died without even consuming dog meat, so, the epidemic...

How exactly was this thing spreading?

Were they already infected?

At this moment, An Ning entered, her steps heavy.

Seeing An Ning was like seeing a pillar of strength.

"The Holy Daughter is here."

"Holy Daughter, what on earth is going on?"

"Is this an epidemic, or did some bastard poison us?"

An Ning ignored the questions from those in Black Robes and with worry filling her eyes, she turned to Lei Zongnan and said, "Society Leader, I have seen the deceased..."

"This is an epidemic caused by a viral infection... a deadly contagious disease..."

"I've looked over the records, this virus appeared before the great catastrophe, the experts and scholars then named it the 'zombie virus'..."

"Before I came here, more people had died... What worries me more is that at the moment, we do not know how it spreads or how many people are infected..."

"Can it be cured?" Lei Zongnan asked urgently.

An Ning shook her head and said, "I can't cure it."

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