Maria

After a brief moment of surprise, Dulin quickly regained his composure. He furrowed his brows, his sharp eyes locked onto Liao Ji in a piercing stare. Dulin tried to fathom the young man's purpose for doing this, but ultimately, he gained nothing.

It was as if the other party truly just wanted to perform a check.

Dulin gave a signal to the young knight behind him. Tamik, who was already nervous, immediately understood. He ran off under the pretext of preparing the testing equipment. In reality, within a few minutes, many members of the Knights Order who had been scattered around the scene began to close in, forming a perimeter. Many even had their hands resting on their holsters.

The sidearms of the Church Knights Order were not only all imported from the Mechanical Alliance, but the bullets were also the specialized "Silver Bullet" series. They could exert a powerful suppression on Corrupt Calamity, making them effective not only against monsters but also against Corrupted.

A tense atmosphere descended instantly. The twists and turns of the situation had left Irin completely bewildered, and the group from the Haisha Bar was similarly stunned. Everyone shared the same question in their hearts.

What exactly was Liao Ji trying to do?

As the person involved, the young man actually felt quite wronged.

Because.

He really just wanted to perform a check.

"Mr. Liao Ji, next you just need to place your hand on the instrument. After waiting a moment, the screen will display the level of Corrupt Calamity contamination in your body. Generally speaking, if this value is under 10, it falls within the normal range. When it is in the range of ten to twenty, it indicates varying degrees of Corrupt Calamity infection. And if the number on the screen exceeds twenty..."

The young knight didn't continue his explanation. Tamik took a deep breath and finally asked the young man:

"Are you sure you want to be tested?"

To this, Liao Ji chose to place his hand directly on the instrument.

Beep. Beep. Beep-beep.

Accompanying the sound of the test, the instrument alarm that Dulin had imagined did not go off. On the contrary, what finally appeared on the detector's screen was:

[Test Complete.]

[Current User Corrupt Calamity Fluctuation: Normal Value 0, Peak Value 0.]

[Congratulations, your physical health has beaten 99.9% of other users nationwide. Please keep it up!]

"Move aside!"

Dulin roughly pushed the astonished young knight away. He stared with furrowed brows at the message on the detector, and even the congratulatory easter egg that had been triggered, before taking a new one from a nearby member of the Knights Order.

Liao Ji didn't mind and continued to cooperate with the second test. However, although the instrument was changed, the final result remained unchanged.

Seeing this, Tamik looked at the young man opposite him with utter disbelief.

Because this value—let alone being what they had speculated as a "Normal Rank" or even "Danger Rank" Corrupted—was as if he were one of the elite classes in a big city, living in a pure world completely isolated from Corrupt Calamity.

The Knights Order then proceeded to test the rest of the people from the Haisha Bar, as well as Irin.

Among them, there was indeed one person whose Corrupt Calamity value exceeded the limit. Unfortunately, this person was not Irin, but a subordinate of Brian—a waiter at the bar who had been too close to the Grey Wolf at the time and had inhaled too much of the red Corrupt Calamity mist.

His value reached 12, which was considered mild contamination. On the surface, he looked fine, but if left unchecked, it was hard to say what kind of malignant illness might develop in the future.

The nun accompanying the Knights Order immediately stepped forward to perform a purification. A holy radiance flickered from the Silver Cross on the nun's chest. After a round of bathing in the light, when the waiter was tested again, the value had plummeted to 3, returning to the normal range.

"Thank you for your hard work, Captain Dulin. It's fortunate we checked, otherwise, we might have really left behind a hidden danger," Liao Ji said with a hint of emotion after everything was finished.

Dulin did not respond. Ever since the test results came out, he seemed as if he didn't want to stay here for another second.

"Mr. Liao Ji, our work is now complete. If there is nothing else, we will pack up and leave."

After saying this, the middle-aged captain turned to leave, but at this moment, Liao Ji called out to stop him.

"Please wait, Captain Dulin. We can consider this an acquaintance. I think you are a very responsible and capable captain, so... could you give me your business card?"

"Sorry, I don't have a business card," Dulin refused flatly.

"The assistant behind you, who has a strong sense of justice, would also be fine," Liao Ji said, casting his gaze toward the young knight who had recorded his testimony earlier.

Suddenly being singled out, Tamik couldn't help but panic, especially when Liao Ji smiled at him.

Before Captain Dulin could even open his mouth, the young knight almost subconsciously took out his business card and handed it to the young man in a daze.

"Tamik, is it? I've remembered your name. If I happen to run into any trouble in the Black Cave in the future, can I seek your help?"

"Ye-yes, of course!"

"As a member of the Church, the tenet of our Knights Order is to extend a helping hand to those in need! This is the glorious duty bestowed upon us by the Saintess!"

Tamik straightened his back and performed a standard knight's salute to Liao Ji.

Captain Dulin, who was standing beside him, sighed and rubbed the corner of his eye.

After sprinkling the Church's specialized "Holy Water" on the corpse of the Grey Wolf that had turned into a monster, it quickly melted away like residual snow under the scorching sun.

After cleaning up the source of the pollution, the Knights Order came quickly and left just as fast. After boarding their vehicles one by one, they drove away from the Haisha Bar and returned to the Church.

In the vehicle.

"Ca-Captain Dulin, so that Mr. Liao Ji and his female companion are actually just ordinary people? So our deduction was wrong?" The young knight sitting in the passenger seat couldn't help but ask.

However, Dulin seemed a bit angry. After keeping a dark face and remaining silent for a long while, he said impatiently:

"Does that matter? Instead of that, you, you damn idiot, who told you to give him your card! Everything I taught you has been fed to the damn dogs!"

"Ah? But isn't that what the Saintess taught us to do..."

The young knight's aggrieved words were cut off rudely by Dulin, who was driving.

"Saintess. Heh, Saintess. If the Saintess were truly still watching over us, how could she possibly allow such a beast..."

Dulin's voice cut off abruptly. The young knight beside him shrank back, not daring to point out his captain's disrespect toward the Saintess, let alone ask about the words left unsaid.

Tamik couldn't help but recall the rumors within the Knights Order, which claimed that ever since the young Captain Dulin had started his career, he had ruthlessly crushed the arrogance of the gangs. Back then, law and order in the Black Cave Settlement had improved significantly, and some even hoped that under Captain Dulin's leadership, the Knights Order would eventually wipe out the gangs entirely.

However, one day, Dulin's temperament changed completely. He became decadent, not only slacking off at work but also showing great disrespect toward the faith of The Church. Many in the Knights Order had jointly petitioned for Dulin's dismissal, but every request was rejected by the priest, and even...

Even after becoming lazy and indifferent, Dulin was promoted faster than the diligent and hardworking version of himself had ever been. He was promoted all the way up until he became the captain of the entire Knights Order.

Half an hour later.

After parking the car, Dulin would usually leave incident reports like this one for Tamik to handle. But this time, he wrote the report himself inside the car before opening the door to head toward The Church.

As a junior knight, Tamik wasn't qualified to submit reports to the priest, so he parted ways with Dulin, preparing to drive home. After handling the incident at the Haisha Bar, the time had already reached six o'clock in the evening.

However.

Bang!

Just as the young knight shifted to the driver's seat and prepared to close the door, a pair of large hands pressed against it.

"Captain Dulin?"

"Remember, if that young man calls you, do not answer."

"But... but Captain Dulin, I don't even know that Mr. Liao Ji's number yet, so how would I know if it's him calling? Besides, as a member of the Knights Order, I believe I should take every call seriously."

"Damn it—! I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to be stuck with a blockhead like you!" The crude outburst directly interrupted Tamik; it was clear that the middle-aged captain was incredibly frustrated.

After a few seconds of silence, Dulin's voice returned, sounding very serious.

"Then remember, after you finish talking to that young man, no matter what he says, don't move. Call me immediately, do you hear me, you little brat!"

This time, Tamik answered promptly: "Understood, Captain Dulin!"

"Get lost!"

"Yes!"

Watching the back of his subordinate's car as it drove away, Dulin stood in place, lost in thought for a while. Only then did the captain step into the gates of The Church. His path inevitably took him past the auditorium, but he didn't even glance at the prominent statue of the Saintess, Stia, standing in the center.

The Church in the Black Cave Settlement was actually the size of a city-level church, complete with a full Knights Order establishment, hundreds of nuns, a library, a grand auditorium, a Confession Room, and an underground confinement area specifically for housing various criminals and Corrupted.

But because it still fell under the category of a "settlement," it enjoyed the unique characteristics of the Black Cave, and according to regulations, the highest leader of The Church remained at the rank of "priest."

The priest's office was on the top floor of The Church. Arriving before the door marked with a silver-white cross, Dulin gave a symbolic "knock-knock" on the door, preparing to toss the report into the bag hanging by the door as he always did.

However, this time.

Almost the exact moment he knocked.

"Please, come in." The priest's voice came from inside the room.

Dulin froze. He frowned and glanced at his watch; the hands pointed to 18:30. In all the years he had "worked" with the priest, Dulin had never seen him stay in his office at this hour.

As Dulin pushed the door open and entered, this sense of strangeness only intensified.

The priest was sitting upright at his desk, with an open document before him. As Dulin approached, he caught a glimpse of it—it was a discarded report that had already been processed two weeks ago.

"An incident involving a rampaging Corrupted occurred at the Haisha Bar in the Beirang district. It has now been resolved, and the specific details are written in the report."

"Good, I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Knight Captain Dulin. It's getting late, go back and get some rest."

The priest smiled, placing his clasped hands on the document on the desk.

Dulin didn't say anything more, nodded, and left the room. From entering to leaving, the entire process had taken less than a minute.

After walking out of The Church, Dulin lit a cigarette he had taken from the car, watching the tip burn down into ash.

The premonition in his heart grew increasingly intense.

The Black Cave Settlement.

Something big was likely coming.

The Church, priest's room.

The priest, who had just been sitting upright at his desk, had already stood up. He looked somewhat terrified, daring only to keep his head bowed and steal glances at the other person currently in his room.

It was a... nun.

The status of a nun was theoretically below that of a priest, but judging by their current attitudes, the priest was clearly under immense pressure, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

The reason was simple.

First of all, the nun's habit she wore was not the ordinary kind; it was that of a battle nun, the third armed force hidden in the shadows of The Church, aside from the public Knights Order and the Crusaders.

Light Bearers.

Without exception, they were powerful Corrupted cultivated privately by The Church. They usually stayed in confinement cells to counteract the pollution of Corrupt Calamity and maintain their sanity, only being deployed in rare, critical situations.

If Gelong, as the priest, had a clear conscience, it would be fine, but unfortunately, he had a secret—a very big one.

That was why Gelong was currently trembling, walking on thin ice.

But fortunately.

"Lady Maria, you just said that you came to the Black Cave to... look for someone?" Gelong probed the nun opposite him.

"Correct."

The priest breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; as long as she wasn't here to investigate him, it was fine. Gelong immediately chimed in, "Very well, Lady Maria, we will certainly cooperate with you to the fullest, but..."

"Regarding the person you are looking for, is there any information you can provide us? Such as his name, status, or physical characteristics?"

Sister Maria did not speak, instead fixing her gaze upon the report that Dulin had just delivered.

The heart that the priest had only just begun to settle suddenly leaped back into his throat.

He had learned a thing or two about this incident of the Corrupted going berserk through other channels, and precisely because of that, Gelong was cursing Kalleva in his heart; why did these gangsters have to cause trouble at such a critical juncture?

"The most prominent characteristic of the person I am looking for is..."

"He likes to stir up trouble wherever he goes."

W-what does that mean?

Gelong was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that Maria would describe someone in such a way. This sounded nothing like something a cold Light Bearer would say. Gelong couldn't even believe his own eyes; he felt as if he saw a hint of doting affection on the nun's face as she uttered those words.

While the priest was still at a loss, Maria arrived before him in the blink of an eye.

The suddenly surging pressure made it difficult for Gelong to breathe; it was a sense of oppression that seemed to stem from the very level of his life force.

Maria returned once again to her initial expressionless state.

She stared at the priest with cold eyes, and finally said, word by word:

"Hand that report over to me."