Big Daddy Is Here

Ella stood with her arms folded, her face looking grim.

Bai Zhu was about to get up when he noticed Ella's expression and stopped.

"What is it?"

Ella looked at the map on the wall, slowly raised a finger, and pointed at the Church.

"There... something isn't right."

Milluki immediately asked.

"What isn't right? Don't just say it's a feeling. Be specific."

Ella pressed her lips together, as if searching for the right words.

"I've been to Creation Society operating rooms before. Those places felt like people were laid out on tables, cut open, and altered."

She paused.

"The Church is different."

The basement fell silent.

Uvogin frowned.

"How is it different?"

Ella's fingertips trembled slightly.

"It feels like a lot of hollow shells are kneeling together, listening to a living thing speak."

Bai Zhu's fingers unconsciously tapped lightly against his scabbard.

Milluki's expression changed as well.

"Hollow shells?"

Ella nodded.

"I don't know how to describe it. Like people were emptied out, cleaned, and then stuffed with something else. That feeling keeps repeating."

Shalnark enlarged the image on his phone.

"The place you're talking about is directly beneath the Church?"

Ella looked for several seconds.

"Further down."

Milluki connected his terminal to the projector, his fingers moving rapidly.

"Give me the coordinates of the three places you went to before."

Ella gave him three points.

Milluki marked them one by one.

Three red dots appeared on the map on the wall.

Bai Zhu stared at those points without saying anything.

Shalnark moved closer as well and overlaid the missing-person records again.

A few seconds later, Milluki cursed.

"Fuck."

Bai Zhu looked at him.

"Young master, translate."

Milluki zoomed in on the map.

"The spots she sensed are all sitting on key nodes of the transport route my brother investigated."