"But..."
Mr. Oystercatcher, whose face was bruised and swollen, hesitated before speaking.
"During the last movie screening, Miss Sparrow and I both drank the locally produced beverages. They clearly contained lake water, so why didn't either of us change?"
"The amount you ingested was too small."
Mr. Stork seemed to know something about this. He turned and explained:
"Besides, the increase in Gnosis doesn't have any obvious signs... No, that's not entirely true. Haven't you noticed that after getting hurt in the movie, the mental fatigue and phantom pain in our limbs faded much faster in reality?"
Mr. Oystercatcher froze.
He and Miss Sparrow exchanged glances, then both nodded.
"It does seem... that way."
"So the information Mr. Snowy Owl shared with us is most likely true."
Mr. Stork smiled and nodded.
His eyes held a look of anticipation.
Gilan glanced at everyone, then suddenly seemed to realize something and cautioned them:
"I've suspected something was wrong with the leading lady, Fema Castro, for a long time. Before we set out, we should check on her first."
The four members of the Assembly paused. Then they caught Gilan's implication and nodded.
"Indeed. Fema was the one who gave us the drinks, which led Miss Sparrow to get caught up in this. Perhaps her parents were also affected by Black Lake and became members of the 'Lake God Cult' long ago. They might even be the masterminds behind it!"
Mr. Stork analyzed in a low voice:
"We only overlooked this because she was the leading lady."
"I don't think so." Miss Seagull frowned slightly, disagreeing. "Fema's family are Dawn Era believers. It's unlikely they would abandon their faith to worship some so-called 'Lake God.'"
Everyone fell silent.
If faced with the temptation of eternal life, could anyone truly cling to an ethereal faith?
It was hard to say.
"We'll know once we check." Gilan spoke calmly. "First, let's lure her away for a while, then search her room. We might find something."
"Mr. Snowy Owl makes a good point."
Mr. Stork immediately agreed.
"I'll find an excuse to ask Fema to go downstairs later. Perhaps I'll have her buy us some medicine for our wounds..."
"Good," everyone agreed.
Mr. Stork put his black top hat back on and left the room, leaning on his Steel-core Cane.
Before long, he returned and nodded to everyone.
The others filed out, quietly crossed the second-floor Corridor, and opened Fema's door.
Everything inside seemed normal—until Mr. Oystercatcher took a red student ID, about the size of his palm, from Fema's backpack.
"What's this?!" He opened it and exclaimed in surprise.
"Did you find something, Mr. Oystercatcher?" Everyone looked over at the sound of his voice.
Mr. Oystercatcher walked over with the ID and pointed to it.
"Take a look!"
Everyone gathered around and looked at it. They all gaped in astonishment.
A sense of absurdity welled up inside them.
The ID clearly stated:
"Fema Castro, female, 19 years old, sophomore in the archaeology department at the University of Michigan, recommended for admission by the 'Vita Foundation Orphanage.'"
"An orphan?!" Miss Sparrow exclaimed.
"She never had any parents. They were nothing but figments of her imagination, conjured after she happened to buy and drink a beverage made in Fayelan Town..."
Mr. Stork instantly understood the story's central plot.
"Her longing for parental love outweighed her desire for the 'Elixir of Immortality.' That was why she embarked on this absurd quest to find her family."
Everyone went downstairs with the truth, their hearts heavy with complicated feelings.
"Are you all feeling better?"
Fema came over with gauze and anti-inflammatory medicine in her hands, looking at them with concern.
"It's all my fault for bringing you here. I never expected security in Fayelan to be so bad. There were so many thugs, and they even hurt you."
They exchanged glances and sighed inwardly.
Seeing Fema's indignation, and how unaware she was of the truth, they could only feel sorry for her.
According to the movie's plot, this young student with no family would eventually die while searching for her "parents"—either in that forest or by the shores of Black Lake.
"They're only superficial wounds. Nothing serious," Mr. Stork said with a smile. "Finding your parents is more important. There's no time to waste. Let's go."
"But..." Fema looked worried.
Miss Seagull put an arm around her, reassuring her as she led her out of the inn.
The others nodded to one another and followed.
As before, they took a public carriage to Forest Park. But as they passed the exhibition hall at the entrance, Gilan made an excuse to leave the group, saying he would catch up soon.
He watched the Record Society members head off first, then turned back to the glass display case containing the "Mammoth Specimen" and looked up at the enormous skeleton.
Gilan now knew that it wasn't a mammoth specimen at all. It was Dolomite, the lieutenant colonel of the "Expeditionary Exploration Team"!
A monster formed after Black Lake corrupted him, transforming him according to the obsession in his heart!
I don't know how it died, but that won't stop me from corrupting it...
Gilan thought, then lifted his leg and kicked.
BANG—CRASH!!
Glass shards scattered across the floor. The employees were badly frightened. When they saw the familiar blood-soaked figure, they felt both fear and anger.
What on earth was the Public Security Bureau doing?!
It had been several hours since they called the police, and that lunatic still hadn't been caught. Now he was back again?!
Oh my god! He was actually grinning as he stroked the mammoth's skeleton?!
A lunatic! A pervert!!
But none of the employees dared to speak up. They only cursed him inwardly. The lunatic was holding a gleaming snub-nosed revolver, its dark muzzle pointed right at them.
They didn't dare bet their lives on whether the gun was real, whether it was loaded, or whether speaking up would get a hole blown through them.
Gilan ignored the employees.
As he watched the skeleton specimen crumble into corrupting dust and blow away, a smile curled across his lips.
The colored number in the corner of his vision jumped from "25" to "35."
It's been dead for so long, yet it still had "10" points of Mystic Energy. That shows just how powerful the lieutenant colonel's mutated monster was. No wonder even its skeleton made me feel so oppressed... If it were still alive, I wouldn't stand a chance against it.
Gilan thought to himself.
Soon, he gathered his thoughts and walked past the group of employees with a smile.
But his smile didn't make them feel welcome. Instead, they were chilled to the bone, their hair standing on end... They were even more afraid that this unstable man might shoot them, then laugh and run off.
"Got a cigarette?" Gilan suddenly asked one of the male employees.
The man froze, then let out an "Ah?"
Not long after,
Miss Sparrow and the others saw Mr. Snowy Owl return from behind, a cigarette in his mouth and his revolver in hand. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood.