Incident

(Reminder: In the previous chapter, the alias Han Dong used was Allen Andeva.)

The goggles' basic frame was made from some kind of lightweight, highly flexible metal, plated with brass on the outside. They also featured gears, bearing structures, and retractable straps for easy wearing and adjustment.

However, Han Dong had no idea what material the lenses were made of.

They were probably not ordinary glass, but some special transparent material capable of protecting the eyes from the Visual Pollution of certain "wavelengths of light."

After putting on the goggles, Han Dong considered an important question.

Before beginning the search,

Han Dong reached out and stopped Cas, who was about to start searching.

"I have a question. Why did the ghoul hang the Mistress at the entrance?"

Cas explained based on knowledge he had learned from books. "Mature ghouls possess a certain degree of intelligence. This act of 'public display' shows that the ghoul's hatred for the Mistress has reached a certain level..."

"If it were me, and I truly wanted to put an enemy on public display, I would hang them at the entrance while escaping in the middle of the night... By the time someone discovered it, I would already be long gone.

"There is no need to be so conspicuous."

Han Dong was right.

If ghouls possessed intelligence, why would one commit such an obvious act? Hanging its master at the entrance in broad daylight—wasn't that just inviting trouble?

Han Dong continued his speculation. "Could it be... that it has already escaped?"

Cas immediately denied it. "Impossible! Because of the grave robbery incident, the security patrols have been conducting door-to-door investigations recently.

"They arrived at the scene immediately and saw the Mistress being hung at the entrance. They even caught sight of the ghoul's back.

"In a very short time, more than thirty security officers armed with muskets completely surrounded this house. There has been no sign of the ghoul escaping."

Han Dong shook his head. "Not necessarily... Just because it could not escape from around the house does not mean it could not escape some other way.

"Didn't you say earlier that this family was suspected of secretly raising ghouls?

"If they managed to hide it for so many years, could their basement have been modified to lead somewhere else?"

At Han Dong's words,

Cas suddenly understood. "That really is possible! Damn it!!"

Grabbing his sword and shield, Cas immediately rushed toward the basement.

His Movement Speed did not resemble someone clad in armor that should have hindered his movements at all... He was swift as the wind, reaching the end of the entrance hall and finding the concealed entrance to the basement.

Han Dong was not nearly as fast.

Instead, he deliberately waited until Cas had gone to the basement before quietly releasing Possessed Chen Li from the Portable Prison.

"Miss Chen Li, please thoroughly search the first and second floors of this building! If you find the ghoul, notify me immediately... Also, if you find any books related to 'ghouls,' keep them on you.

"If anyone else enters during that time, return to the prison immediately.

"If there really is a secret passage in the basement, remember to follow us later.

"Stay within ten meters of me... Make sure you can enter and leave the Portable Prison at any time."

Han Dong was merely speculating that the ghoul might escape through a secret basement passage... He was not one hundred percent certain, so he needed to keep a contingency in reserve.

Moreover, testing had shown that as long as she was within ten meters, Chen Li could instantly return to the prison.

"All right."

Before setting off, Chen Li still asked worriedly:

"I can smell an evil scent drifting through this house. Will you be all right on your own? If you encounter danger... can I step in?"

"We'll see. Try not to come out unless necessary. Besides, this knight I'm working with has some skill... It should not be a problem."

"All right. Be careful."

Chen Li first went upstairs to search the second floor for what Han Dong wanted.

Han Dong gripped the Plague Doctor's Short Blade and followed Knight Cas... The moment he stepped into the basement, the stench became much stronger.

A large number of animal bones littered the basement floor. Small scraps of flesh still clung to the tips of bone spikes, their warmth not yet gone... Clearly, the ghoul had only just finished feeding.

"Andeva, you're amazing! There really is a secret passage!"

Following the liquid traces on the floor, Cas discovered a "loose stone brick" in the basement wall.

When he pressed it, a gloomy secret passage filled with the stench of rot appeared.

"This direction... Could it lead to the public cemetery!?

"No wonder. Even in the Slums, the public cemetery is strictly guarded. There are at least three Night Watchers, and they are permitted to use muskets.

"They only discovered that corpses had been stolen, without finding any signs of disturbed soil. So the bodies were stolen from the Underground Area!

"This is troublesome!"

Cas was quite experienced. He turned to look at Han Dong behind him.

"Andeva, if we successfully deal with the ghoul, I am willing to give you forty percent of the reward... Also, the situation here is far more complicated than I imagined.

"If the incident site is not this house but the cemetery... there is a slight possibility that multiple ghouls are involved.

"If we encounter more than two, abandon the mission immediately and report it to the Knight Academy so stronger people can handle it."

Han Dong nodded. "Mm... If that is the case, then my earlier guess was not quite right.

"The ghoul did deliberately hang the Mistress's body at the entrance.

"Revenge was one reason. The second reason may have been to deliberately lure people inside. If there are multiple ghouls, they must all be somewhat hungry.

"Once they have eaten their fill, they will escape from the other side of the cemetery."

Cas nodded slightly, his expression turning grim. "Your body is a little weak. Stay behind me... Just provide ranged support."

It was clear that Cas was a knight with a strong sense of justice.

If they truly encountered danger, he would choose to flee with Han Dong.

The walls of the secret passage were covered in black fungal threads, while countless spores drifted through the air.

Before entering, Cas reached up and touched the right side of his goggles' frame.

Accompanied by the sound of turning gears, a half-coverage Leather Mask stored within the goggles appeared through precise folding and unfolding, immediately covering everything below his eyes and effectively filtering out this type of fungus.

Han Dong copied him.

A black mask immediately covered his mouth and nose.

"Let's go!"

Cas took out a simple kerosene lamp and walked ahead with his sword in the other hand.

Han Dong deliberately found a piece of scrap iron in the basement and used it to block the secret passage door, preventing it from closing on its own.

As the two went deeper,

Chen Li, wearing Cloth Shoes, slowly descended the basement stairs...

Before they had even left the passage, they could already hear the sounds of claws scraping and tongues and teeth grinding.

At the same time, more and more fungal growths covered the passage walls.

"From the sounds of it, there is definitely more than one ghoul!"

To be honest, Cas was somewhat frightened.

But if he needed to report that multiple ghouls existed beneath the cemetery to the Knight Guild, he had to gather enough intelligence. Hearing them alone was not enough.

If the knight squad arrived only to find the ghouls had escaped beforehand, Cas would face accountability for making a false report.

"Andeva, wait here! With your body, you cannot outrun a ghoul... I will go ahead alone and take a look. The moment I find the ghoul nest, we withdraw immediately."

"All right."

Cas proceeded alone.

About ten minutes passed before overlapping running footsteps came from the depths.

"Get out of here now!!!

"There's a ghoul nest inside! There are more than ten ghouls—we have to report this immediately!"