Pan Long had been in Holy Silver Town for several days.
All that time, he had searched the place using Stealth. More than once, he had even followed Archbishop Spencer on his rounds to inspect the research.
By watching him, Pan Long had pieced together how the secret laboratory beneath the prayer hall operated. Archbishop Spencer was its undisputed leader. Below him were two other senior figures, both drawn from the prayer hall's three bishops. Most of the researchers were Holy Servants, too.
Curiously, not all the Holy Servants were researchers. The third bishop, for instance, truly did nothing but pray, pray, and pray some more. He spent every hour outside meals, sleep, and rest in devout prayer—probably more than twelve hours a day.
There were plenty of others like him. The town's Holy Servants were sharply divided: they belonged either in hell or in heaven, without a single fence-sitter in between.
The two groups lived side by side but went about their own business without interfering with each other. Everything seemed perfectly orderly.
That arrangement was unique to Holy Silver Town.
In other Shelters, the Holy Servants were either accomplices of the evil scientists or ignorant people who knew nothing and genuinely believed prayer could hold back the Calamity.
Only here did both kinds exist. And those who prayed with true devotion seemed utterly unaware of the evil right under their noses.
Pan Long could only marvel at it. More than once, he found himself admiring the feat.
Archbishop Spencer truly deserved his old position as head of the Calamity Research Institute. His skill at research and his skill at deception were both second to none!
Unfortunately for him, even the finest liar could not fool someone who could follow him unseen and witness his monstrous research firsthand.
After