Arriving at the Funeral Attendant's base, the personnel were bustling in and out, busier than the Celestial Capital Night Patrol, with the Earth Mother Church's emblem everywhere. Simmons and Li Xin followed Travis inside; it looked just like a typical workplace, without any particularly eerie atmosphere.
The three of them met, and Travis spoke politely, praising Li Xin for being young and promising, achieving such a position shown on the societal aspect, and Li Xin was interested to hear him elaborate.
Travis was unaware of what thoughts were in Li Xin's head, as clues could surface anytime, and he didn't want to waste time, "I wonder what Mr. Li wants to know; the Funeral Attendant and Night Patrol collaborate closely, and as long as it doesn't involve confidential information, it can be shared."
"Captain Travis, I would like to see the photos and materials of the earliest victim of the internal organs reaper case, as well as the information about the recent cases that match this method." Li Xin didn't elaborate further.
Travis nodded, "It seems President Ma Zhe trusts your crime-solving abilities. If there's any discovery, it counts as a very good cooperative achievement for us."
In such matters, Travis naturally assumed it was Ma Zhe's idea, knowing that the Bird Society was eager to accomplish merits, lacking materials, and thus took a roundabout approach through Simmons.
Li Xin shook his head, "Captain Travis might have misunderstood, these were Miss Christie's instructions."
"Christie?" Travis was momentarily stunned, slightly furrowing his brow, showing a hint of sarcasm, "Ma's secretary?"
Realizing he might have lost his composure, "Oh, whoever it is, Simmons' friend is my friend too."
Li Xin had been observing Travis' demeanor, and this reaction was indeed interesting.
The three entered a room, photos covered the walls, "All the relevant materials are here, some are copies. This person's method is extremely skillful, from the autopsy, they should have captured alive and harvested the organs. Among the victims were not a few skilled individuals, indicating the suspect's strength is immense; it might even be a group operation."
Li Xin studied the photos on the wall, also a blessing from Hex-Tech, as previously, everything had to be illustrated, which was much less accurate, "May I see the corpse?"
Travis hesitated for a moment and then nodded, "Follow me."
This was truly giving face to Simmons. Without Simmons, even if Ma Zhe came, it wouldn't be possible. Li Xin and Simmons followed Travis to the entrance of an underground chamber, a chilling, eerie breeze, mixed with an acidic, corrosive scent, hit them as they stood at the doorway.
Descending the dim staircase, they arrived at a place resembling a cell, with occasional screams echoing around. Travis led them to the morgue, signaling the Corpse Guardian to pull out the body needed.
The temperature in the morgue was extremely low, neither from ice nor the underground environment. It wasn't easy to achieve such a level; there must be some energy source, deep within the basement. At this point, an elderly-looking Corpse Guardian pulled out a corpse, his attitude towards the body...was somewhat gentle.
"Male, heart completely extracted with an artistic method, blood drained completely, definitely the method used five years ago." The Corpse Guardian grinned at Li Xin and Simmons, revealing half a set of yellow teeth.
Even in such a temperature, the corpse emitted a nauseating odor. Li Xin's pupils turned pale, trying to trace any clues from the body, but under the Pale Eye's insight, there was no residual spiritual ability.
Travis assumed Li Xin had some special ability, "Insight, spirit-summoning, object-tracing, even a prophet was used, yet no traces were left; the other party handled it very cleanly and professionally."
"Captain Travis, do you know someone named Isaac?" Li Xin asked.
In the basement, Travis' eyes flickered and then slowly nodded, "A Life Science PhD from the Church, he also worked part-time as a coroner here amongst the Funeral Attendants. This person is deceased."
Li Xin paused, "Deceased? Sure?"
"Yes, he went mad, carried out heretical actions, and was sentenced to burning by the Inquisition. Night Patrol's information seems quite up-to-date." Travis said, "Do you suspect him as the mastermind?"
"It's my personal speculation, a Life Science PhD, coroner, what heretical actions could such a non-fallen individual commit?" Li Xin said, "Could it be he wanted to resurrect corpses? Create life?"
Beside him, Simmons' face drastically changed, looking at Travis. Travis locked eyes with Li Xin intently, "Has Night Patrol's influence reached the point of acquiring this intelligence?"
Li Xin chuckled, "Captain Travis, if I said it was my random guess, would you believe me? Solving a case involves bold conjectures and cautious verification, can't do without imagination, can we?"
Travis remained silent for a while, "I heard he conducted related experiments, stealing organs from corpses to attempt life creation, discovered by the Church. Peering into divine authority, blaspheming the divine, this isn't merely against the Earth Mother; it's an unforgivable grievous sin. The Church did a thorough sweep of everyone involved, your guess is right, the method is very similar, yet all associated people with Isaac back then were apprehended, there's no omission."
One must believe in the Earth Mother Church's power, at least in Hedan, it's achievable.
"Could there have been experimental notes or methods leaked out?" Li Xin suddenly asked.
Travis fell silent; this he couldn't answer. What Isaac did before exposure—any duplicated materials?
"It's uncertain."
"Captain Travis, thank you sincerely. If there are further discoveries, may I contact you directly?" Li Xin asked.
Travis was still very polite, "Of course you can, we also need the assistance of the Night Patrol and Hex Bird Society in this case, to dispel disaster under the darkness."
Simmons and Li Xin left the Funeral Attendant, Simmons first sent Li Xin back to the Canon Law School. It was evident that Li Xin also had no way out, as the Funeral Attendant lacked all sorts of hidden tracking methods.
In the Saint's Grace base of the Funeral Attendant, Travis was also pondering why the Night Patrol had brought Li Xin. He was aware of the predicament the Bird Society faced now; Simmons helping like this, perhaps the George Family intended to take the opportunity to invest or even acquire the Hex Bird Report?
As for this cooperation, the upper management's ideas were contradictory, wanting to use the Night Patrol's power, but when it came to execution below, it was impossible for both parties to truly work closely together. If the Funeral Attendant couldn't achieve it, and the Night Patrol did, where would Hedan's Funeral Attendant's reputation go? The best condition would be for the Night Patrol to work under the Funeral Attendant's leadership, providing the power of the Moon God, and the Funeral Attendant finding the perpetrator, leading to everyone's delight.
But honestly, he didn't think that what the Funeral Attendant couldn't accomplish, the Night Patrol could; they even resorted to using some sealed items and extreme spells, paying a high price to track the perpetrator, but still came up empty-handed.
At this point, if the perpetrator was an individual, they might already possess the power of an Angel; if it was an organization, then it was a deeply hidden cult with great power; otherwise, it would be impossible to shield against the Church Court's tracking.
Unfortunately, Lord Pope has been in seclusion for years, and no one dares to disturb him.
Actually, Travis himself discovered a trait on the victims that could be considered a "commonality." Besides all being Awakened, they were all Moncalleta people, with no cases of intermarriage with other races within three generations, maintaining a pure bloodline.
Solely for the creation of life? Anyway, Travis doesn't believe it. There must be a greater conspiracy behind this; fanaticism like Isaac's is extremely rare.
...
Li Xin returned to the inn and threw out the dice. The reason he went to see the corpses was to enhance his personal connection to the events; the closeness and timeliness of this connection would directly affect the dice's judgment, "The perpetrator is conducting Isaac's experiments."
The dice spun, steadily fixing on "seven," meaning it's a highly probable event, the real criminal replicating Isaac's experiments.
Creating life, making Artificial Humans? But why? Everything has a motive. A scientific madman? Isaac might be, but he's already dead; from Travis's expression, it didn't seem like deceit.
Apart from a scientific madman, such a person is exceedingly rare, willing to pay any price to create this thing, just to experience the supreme will of creation?
"The perpetrator harvests organs to make Artificial Humans."
The dice spun, and Li Xin didn't hold much hope; once it involved core judgments, it became challenging, with a high probability of failure. However, this time the dice was incredibly effective,
fixing on "six," an effective judgment, though this judgment was very weak.
Was the weakness related to "Artificial Humans," or did it imply something else hidden?
He still had many inadequacies in understanding the dice, but this judgment still indicated that Artificial Humans was the determined goal, at least someone was doing this.
Artificial Humans, infringing on divine authority—this isn't Isaac's kind of research anymore, it's a motive.
Li Xin felt a headache; in the Dao Yuan Continent where Hidden Power is so strong and gods still exist, engaging in this?
This time, the situation is extremely deep; for a moment, his heart contracted, and amidst the blur, it seems like a pair of eyes attempted to pierce through the fog and gaze upon him.
Instinctively, Li Xin put away the dice, and this suffocating feeling passed like an illusion—it was over in a flash, and Li Xin was drenched all over.
Li Xin took a deep breath, knowing this definitely wasn't an illusion; it's highly likely that during the dice's judgment, it involved some powerful entity.
Looking outside the window, Hedan's sky was still so clear; perhaps the brighter the sunlit place, the greater the shadows.
Li Xin took out the harp given by Miss Aries, gently plucking its strings, with no fixed rhythm—just to dispel the shadows in his heart.
He decided to retreat; in a world controlled by Hidden Power, it's best for him to keep a low profile. After all, this case ultimately belonged to the Earth Mother Goddess Court and the Hedan Kingdom. Of course, if any clues emerge, he will inform Simmons promptly rather than putting his own hundred-plus pounds on the chopping board.
After strumming a while, this Wood of Life indeed had a very good soothing effect; Li Xin sat back down at the typewriter, his eyes turning clear.
Actually, typing was quite good; who needs a bicycle?
Night fell, and a red moon hung in the sky.
In the vast forest outskirts of Hedan, this was private territory. A fawn was grazing, its ears flickering indicating its delight. Suddenly, the little fawn stopped moving, its mouth chewing more slowly, blood dripped down, and its abdomen bore a shocking tear, with the heart already missing...
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