Exploration

Gilan listened to Maive's explanation from the side and could not help but pause in slight surprise.

He had not expected those headless monsters to have such secrets.

After a long silence, Gilan turned to look at the village gate, but found no trace of the Double-Barreled Shotgun or ammunition.

It seems that anything I took in the movie won't reappear even if I start over.

Gilan thought to himself.

He looked through the gate and, after confirming that the Pale Axeman was nowhere in sight, made a suggestion to the doctor and the girl:

"Let's go into the village and explore. Maybe someone can tell us how to get out."

"Good idea, Mr. Gilan."

Both the doctor and the girl agreed.

The three entered the village together, but Brennan and Maive were soon horrified by the gruesome sight in the stone-paved square. The bloodstains and severed limbs everywhere made them intensely uncomfortable.

"Oh my God! What happened here?!" The girl covered her mouth. "This was a massacre!"

Gilan said nothing. Expressionless, he led them straight down the path to the left of the square.

The other two were still trapped in the shock of what they had just seen.

Not until Gilan returned to where the previous movie had ended—the pigsty.

Maive was the first to recover. Her gaze fixed on the brand mark on the dead pig in the corner. She took two steps forward, entered the shed, gathered up her skirt, and crouched down to inspect it carefully for a moment.

"This is... a magic circle of Old God worship." She spoke softly. "The vertical oval crossed by a horizontal line, along with the symbols and writing, represents the union of the sexes. This is clearly a mark pointing to the Second Era-God, the 'Mother of Fertility.'"

"Miss Maive, why would the villagers do something like this?" Doctor Brennan frowned as he looked at the dead pig, covered in brands and wounds. "It's far too cruel and bizarre."

"Probably because they wanted their pigs to breed more."

Maive shook her head and gave her guess.

Only after hearing the girl's explanation did Gilan notice the end of the dead pig's lower body. Its fat hind legs were pressing down on half of a tiny hand sticking out... It looked like the little hand of a human baby.

Gilan's pupils contracted.

"Most Old God beliefs are heresy, and those who worship them are usually madmen. There's something wrong with this village."

Maive stood up and spoke to the two men with worry on her face.

The doctor suddenly frowned and raised his right hand to clutch his forehead.

"What's wrong, Doctor Brennan?"

Maive asked with concern.

"Nothing. I just suddenly have a headache and feel dizzy." The doctor raised a hand to indicate that he was fine.

Gilan glanced at the two of them, then turned and walked out of the shed into a stone-and-wood cottage nearby.

Avoiding their gaze, Iridescence flashed through his hand as he took the Double-Barreled Shotgun and ammunition from his dimensional space before walking back out.

Maive had already helped Doctor Brennan onto a wooden stump nearby. His expression was growing more and more pained. He clutched his head with both hands, fingers buried in his hair, his eyes squeezed shut as he muttered deliriously:

"I saw... a Spiral High Tower in the distance. There was... there was a Top-Hatted Weirdo up there, saying something to me."

"Doctor Brennan, you're hallucinating." Worry filled Maive's eyes. When she turned and saw Gilan holding the Double-Barreled Shotgun, she froze for a moment before looking rather delighted. "Mr. Gilan, you found a weapon?"

"Yeah." Gilan nodded. "Found it in a house. It should come in handy for self-defense."

"We should find a way out and leave as soon as possible. There's something wrong with this village. Maybe Doctor Brennan's vision was caused by some kind of mysterious influence."

Maive suggested.

Gilan nodded and pointed ahead of the pigsty.

"Once Doctor Brennan feels better, we'll keep heading inward."

Black Bottle Cap Brothers Scrapyard, third-floor office of the Oak Gang headquarters.

In the spacious room, several instant-developed photographs lay on an expensive carved desk.

The photos respectively showed a portrait of a blond young man, a Black Film Reel, and the corpses of several police officers who had died gruesome deaths.

"Gilan Iros."

The man at the desk picked up a photograph and murmured the name.

His hair was slicked back, and he wore a thick beard with a cigarette clenched between his lips. He was Lucas Parr, the leader of the Oak Gang.

"Sorry, there's no one by that name at our scrapyard." Lucas set down the photograph, pushed it forward, and said to the fat man across the desk, "Chief Hashem, you've come to the wrong place."

The fat man wore a dark blue uniform coat. An insignia denoting his rank as chief was pinned to his left shoulder, while a black armband marked with a white "X" circled his right arm. He wore a round-topped police cap.

Two stern-faced guards stood behind him. Upon hearing Lucas's words, they moved in unison, drawing Luger Pistols from their holsters and aiming them directly at Lucas's head.

Lucas lowered his eyelids and continued smoking as though he saw nothing.

Chief Hashem gave a light laugh and lifted a hand, signaling for the two guards to put away their guns.

"Mr. Lucas, I won't waste time with pointless words." His voice was shrill and sounded extremely strange. "This man was arrested for more than just bootlegging. He also killed eleven fellow inmates and nine police officers, including a Two-Star Police Inspector."

The fat chief pulled out a classified arrest warrant and slapped it onto the desk.

Smack!

"More importantly, this man sabotaged an important plan of the higher-ups' Purification Department and stole a core item... This isn't something you, Lucas Parr, can handle. The Oak Gang can't handle it either, and neither can the Louis Family behind you. If you're looking to die, I can grant your wish."

Lucas listened to him, but remained somewhat dismissive as he flicked ash from his cigarette.

How could he not know Gilan Iros?

The kid had joined the Oak Gang at sixteen. Four years had passed, and he was still nothing more than an ordinary low-level thug. If he were capable of killing so many people at the police station, Lucas would eat the ashtray on the spot.

Lucas sneered inwardly. Did this fat bastard think he could scare him like a three-year-old?

Though contempt filled his heart, his eyes casually swept over the arrest warrant on the desk.

That single glance made his expression change drastically.

It clearly bore words such as "Approved by the Purification Department," along with seals from multiple departments, including the Propaganda Department and Command Headquarters. Lucas even saw a signature he found impossible to believe—Staven Lotito.

Staven was the Empire's Minister of Propaganda!

Lucas had never imagined that a mere low-level member of his gang could be involved in such a huge matter, one that had enraged the Purification Department so greatly that the document had even reached the Minister of Propaganda!

What the hell did that kid steal from the police station to cause this much trouble? Lucas thought to himself. Good thing I had the foresight to have Randolph trick him back and place him under house arrest.

At once, he lost his previous confidence and grew uneasy.

Over the years, the Oak Gang had dared to brew and sell illegal liquor despite the Three Great Prohibitions, while secretly dealing in contraband, all because the Louis Family backed them.

The current head of the family, old Mr. Layton Louis, had once been a high-ranking member of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce and held the title of Baron. He was a genuine aristocratic big shot.

After retiring from his high position, he had returned to his hometown, Black City, to live in Seclusion. That was why the Red Tree Street Police Station had turned a blind eye to the Oak Gang's activities.

But this matter was truly too serious. Even the Louis Family could not cover it up!

"This..."

Lucas, the Oak Gang leader, wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief.

"Hand him over." Chief Hashem continued in his shrill voice. "And find the film reel in his possession. Deliver it to us intact, or suffer the consequences."

"Gilan is a member of the Oak Gang, which makes him my brother." Lucas gritted his teeth and stared firmly at the other man. "The Oak Gang does not betray its brothers."

"From seven to nine at night this week, there will be no Prohibition Agents patrolling Red Tree Street, Haddonfield Street, or Black Barrel Street."

The fat chief said calmly.

"Deal!" Lucas's expression brightened as he clapped his hands sharply.

He had originally planned to throw out Gilan, that hot potato, but he had not expected to gain an advantage from the police station as well. Inwardly, he mocked the kid even more.

"Give me two days. I will pry that bastard's mouth open and recover the important item your station lost." Lucas declared firmly. "That reckless little bastard deserves to die!"

Outside the office window.

A boy in a flat cap suddenly crouched down, clutching a stack of bills, his face deathly pale.

"Big Brother Gilan is in danger!" he muttered shakily.