Detection

"O-Old timer, are you really sure about this? I feel like your whole story is full of holes! It won't stand up to any scrutiny at all!"

The young girl beside Liao Ji was fidgeting anxiously, her palms sweating, especially whenever she glanced at the Knights Order from The Church present at the scene.

In contrast, the young man beside her appeared remarkably calm, even offering words of comfort:

"Miss Irin, a famous teacher in history once said that when you defend against everything, you defend against nothing, but when you defend against nothing, you actually defend against everything. So, relax, we'll be fine."

"W-What kind of dog-shit teacher is that!" The girl, even more unsettled after Liao Ji's words, had already begun scouting for an escape route.

It was at this moment that Liao Ji suddenly felt something; he turned his head toward another direction, where someone was walking briskly toward him.

"Greetings, Mr. Liao Ji. I am the captain of the Knights Order in charge of this contamination incident. You can just call me Dulin."

"Greetings, Captain Dulin."

After shaking hands with the middle-aged knight captain, Liao Ji spoke first, cutting in before the other man could:

"Captain Dulin, I wonder how the investigation is progressing? Although I feel like a fool saying this repeatedly, I still want to reiterate that we have nothing else to provide you. It's useless to keep asking us."

"Understood, I completely understand. I'm actually coming to you now to inform you that the Knights Order's investigation is nearing its end. There is just one final cleanup step left, and then you and your companion will be free to leave."

"That's great. May I ask what this cleanup step entails?"

Dulin did not answer Liao Ji's question immediately, instead casting his gaze toward the Grey Wolf, who had transformed into a "Corrupted Corpse" monster not far away.

"To be honest, I've been a knight in The Church for many years and have seen plenty of rampaging Corrupted, but one this large, with such a high degree of corruption, is truly rare."

Dulin clicked his tongue at the corpse of the Grey Wolf, his eyes sweeping over the arm that had completely mutated into a scythe, the feet that had turned into claws, and the head that was evolving into something octopus-like with tentacles.

Usually, the Corrupted Corpse formed after a "rampage" does not have a fixed shape; the essence of these Corrupt Calamity monsters is, in fact, the materialization of distortion and eeriness.

In layman's terms, the simplest way to judge a Corrupt Calamity monster is to see how high its level of "indescribability" is.

And clearly, the Corrupted Corpse that the Grey Wolf had become was, in Dulin's eyes, in the highest category.

"It must have been difficult to take down such a monster, right?"

"It was alright. Come to think of it, we owe it to the gangsters of Kalleva for helping us distract the monster. Perhaps this is what they call retribution, don't you think, Captain Dulin?"

"Perhaps."

Shrugging, Dulin withdrew his gaze after glancing at the two obvious injection marks on the left arm of the Grey Wolf's corpse.

"Alright, Mr. Liao Ji. According to our investigation, you, your companion, and the staff at Haisha Bar have no connection to this Corrupt Calamity contamination. The Kalleva gang were the primary culprits. Uh, although they are all dead now."

As soon as Captain Dulin said these words, two groups of people breathed a sigh of relief, while another was left speechless.

Those breathing a sigh of relief were the girl beside Liao Ji and the owner of Haisha Bar, Brian, who had been monitoring the situation.

As for the one who was speechless.

It was naturally the young knight behind Dulin.

But.

Immediately after, when Dulin's next sentence came out, the hearts of Irin and Brian, which had just settled, jumped back into their throats—the kind of nervous thumping that felt like it would burst out of their chests.

Because.

"The cleanup work I mentioned earlier is actually this." Dulin took an instrument out from his uniform.

Liao Ji recognized this instrument; back in the cave, the scar-faced man leading the Kalleva gang that had raided his tomb had possessed a similar device.

That was.

A Corrupt Calamity detector.

However, the one in Dulin's hand was clearly more professional and precise.

"Judging by your appearance, Mr. Liao Ji, you don't seem to be a local of the Black Cave. Let me explain: according to The Church's regulations, whenever a contamination incident occurs, we must conduct a Corrupt Calamity test on all involved parties and survivors."

"Ah, please don't misunderstand. This doesn't mean I suspect any of you are Corrupted."

"This is just to ensure your health. After all, you were at the center of the contamination. If there is any residual Corrupt Calamity in your bodies, our Church can immediately send nuns to treat and purify you."

Looking at the middle-aged knight explaining with a straight face, Irin's mind went blank.

Why, why was there still this step? When her father went on a rampage and lost control, she had never seen anyone from The Church use this on them!

But it was useless to think about that now. If it were a detection instrument from elsewhere, Irin could have hoped it was broken or not precise enough, allowing her to bluff her way through.

But if it came from The Church...

It was over.

Brian, the owner of Haisha Bar nearby, was also burning with anxiety. He was now ninety percent sure that Irin and the young man were Corrupted, so wouldn't this mean they were completely exposed?

Damn it!

Why didn't that young man listen to his advice and insist on staying!?

Brian's first reaction after the incident had been to tell Irin and Liao Ji to run, intending to make excuses himself when the people from The Church arrived to investigate, but the young man had shaken his head, saying it wasn't necessary.

He could understand the young man's reasoning—perhaps he felt his own strength was sufficient, and any smart person wouldn't pursue the matter further, which was why he had agreed.

But now.

They had actually run into someone stubborn. What were they going to do now!

Brian, having weathered his fair share of storms, was still able to keep his inner impatience from showing on his face, but the same could not be said for the other subordinates in Haisha Bar, including the person involved, Irin.

By observing the micro-expressions of these people, the seasoned Dulin swept his gaze across the room and essentially understood seven or eight tenths of the situation.

The only pity was this.

Dulin finally let his gaze fall back onto the face of the young man sitting directly across from him, attempting to catch even a hint of panic in Liao Ji's expression, but in the end, he gained nothing.

From beginning to end, the young man's expression had remained that same open and sincere look.

Regardless, he had achieved his goal.

He had already proven to the young man opposite him that he understood everything, so the next step was to demonstrate his choice to give up on pursuing the matter further—a "couldn't care less" attitude.

This way, if anything happened in the future, it wouldn't be traced back to him; everything would have nothing to do with him.

And so, Dulin put away the Corrupt Calamity detector he had just taken out.

"Given that the duration of this pollution incident was extremely short, and the rampaging Corrupted Corpse was promptly killed at the first opportunity—and, of course, the most important point is that I can see you and your companions are in quite a hurry, Mr. Liao Ji."

"So, I don't think this follow-up work is necessary."

Having said that, Dulin stepped aside to clear a path for the young man and nodded, signaling: "I am very sorry for wasting your valuable time, Mr. Liao Ji. You and your companions..."

"Are free to leave now."

In the script Dulin had played out in his mind, this was where the perfect period should have been placed.

However.

What this captain, who had long been "famous" within the Knights Order, did not expect was...

The young man after his words did not move.

In fact.

"No, Captain Dulin, I feel that no matter how small the scale or how short the duration of Corrupt Calamity pollution, it cannot be ignored. After all, it is Corrupt Calamity; if one were to be infected, the worst-case scenario would be turning into a Corrupted. I certainly don't want to lose control and end up as an ugly monster like that."

"So, Captain Dulin..."

"Can we start the detection now?"