Reward

Xia Xiu finished reading the "Experiment Diary." It told the story of a researcher from the [Central Containment Room] falling in love with an anomaly.

Well, on this wondrous continent, that really did not count as anything especially outrageous.

However, two things mentioned in the diary caught Xia Xiu's attention.

The [Central Containment Room]'s anomaly weaponization project.

The entity that had helped March and Lisa escape from containment.

Xia Xiu leafed through the entire "Experiment Diary." No matter how he looked at it, there was only one word he could read between its lines-conspiracy!

Anomaly weaponization was one of Heaven's absolute red lines.

In the game in his previous life, the Sanctum had launched seven campaigns against Aolieting in the Far East and Diva in the north precisely because those two nations had disregarded the safety of the entire continent and mass-produced anomalous weapons, sending distortion levels across Terra soaring.

The rising distortion had caused [aether radiation] to envelop all of Terra. People developed all manner of deformities and illnesses, and the land began to crack and collapse.

Oripathy, Beastification Syndrome, the Out-of-Control, the Collapse Effect... countless disasters had appeared on this continent because of [aether radiation].

Heaven could not possibly be experimenting with anomaly weaponization-at least, not at this stage.

No matter how Xia Xiu looked at this director, the man practically radiated villainous boss energy.

I'll write Eden a report later.

Xia Xiu swiftly made up his mind. Then he looked at March lying on the ground, silently summoned the Red Book, opened Eden's directive, and clicked the [Mission-related] button. A new window appeared before him, and he scrolled straight to the submission option at the bottom.

[Directive target detected: 09]

[Vital signs: deceased]

[Directive completion: 50%]

The Red Book burst with brilliant light. It hovered above March's corpse, and a pair of radiant, pure-white wings unfurled from its sides. Beautiful white feathers drifted down, swaying as though riding a swing.

A sacred magic circle appeared beneath March. With a burst of radiance, his corpse was transported to the Sanctum in the [Unknown Lands].

[Directive updated]

[White Gloves, please proceed to the central area of Fog City to retrieve 4-331. A Heaven operative available to assist is present in the area.]

Eden had now noticed the flaw in its calculations as well, so it immediately revised them and directed the Burial Agency personnel to return to Fog City from Manchester.

Before submitting March's corpse, Xia Xiu had enabled location sharing.

He had also enabled Heaven's exclusive [Operative assistance] option. Turning it on indicated that the Heaven member was willing to provide help.

In his previous life, whenever Xia Xiu carried out missions through the Heaven Lineage, he had liked visiting places with plenty of [Operative assistance].

His comrades in Heaven were simply so useful-no, so helpful. As a fellow member of Heaven, how could he let their generosity go to waste?

Whistling cheerfully, Xia Xiu hefted the fifteen thousand in Youyang Currency he had just received and headed toward the rendezvous point Harry had designated earlier.

A sewer in Manchester's Bole Industrial Zone.

Piles of ratfolk corpses lay strewn through the dim sewer.

Not a single corpse was intact.

Severed limbs, scattered flesh, headless bodies...

At the drain, several heads with terror-filled eyes soaked in the water.

"Heaven..." A desperate howl rang out. Evan of the Burial Agency held an enormous ratman by the throat as the creature wailed in agony.

"Evan, looks like we got the wrong target." Ximen looked at the directive on his Lineage and scratched his head in frustration.

"Mm." Evan crushed the ratman's throat in his hand.

"Our comrade in Brent District, Fog City, has already completed half the directive. Hmm, he's enabled assistance, too. Evan, do you think this comrade will laugh at us?"

Ximen said gloomily:

"To think an execution squad from the Burial Agency could be so sluggish and negligent."

"...Let's go. Why do you have to make such a production out of everything?" Evan cast his teammate a speechless glance, casually tossed aside the corpse in his hand, and walked on.

"You brute." Ximen sighed, then strode after Evan.

A private residence in Brent District.

When Xia Xiu stepped into the hall, he saw Dorn sitting in the distance with his legs crossed and blood smeared around his mouth.

Upon seeing him, Dorn sneered:

"Oh, the busy man finally returns. Turns out hiding in a corner crying for Mommy isn't your only talent. You walk as slowly as a turtle, too."

Faced with Dorn's snide remarks, Xia Xiu did not argue. Behind his mask, he gave Dorn the sort of look one might give a dead man, then turned his attention to Harry, who was coming down the stairs.

The old man's eyes were filled with delight. Clearly, he was very pleased with what he had gained this time.

"My dear brother, you're here," Harry said kindly to Xia Xiu.

"The fruits of your harvest must be very sweet. You look exceptionally happy," Xia Xiu replied.

"Yes, indeed. I've used the [Way of the Whole Flesh] to return Adaposs's creation to its primal state." Harry's ugly old face stretched to either side, his smile nauseating.

"Return it to its primal state..." Behind his mask, Xia Xiu narrowed his eyes and murmured the words.

"Yes. Although doing so completely obliterates its intelligence, the [Way of the Whole Flesh] contained within it will not diminish in the slightest," Harry said.

March and Lisa, those ill-fated lovers, had both failed to survive in the end.

"Here is what I promised you." Harry handed Xia Xiu the bottle containing [BIO-006].

Xia Xiu took the bottle and watched the pure-white worm writhing inside through the transparent glass. Once he confirmed that everything was in order, he smiled at Harry.

"My esteemed elder brother, I'd like to ask you for a list of the other [Qualified] in the Fog City area."

The Qualified referred to those people who had gathered near the River Thames earlier. They knew Flesh rituals and Fleshcraft techniques. Like that old woman Kradashi, they were qualified to use thaumaturgy but did not yet possess a Lineage. The Qualified were merely potential links to the Flesh Supremacy Lineage.

"You want to guide them?" Harry looked up at Xia Xiu. He did not particularly care about that; after all, those people already belonged to the [Inner Sanctum Awakening].

Xia Xiu nodded noncommittally.

"I'll see whether I can bring a few more brothers into the fold around Fog City. There are simply too few of us."

"Mm, all right." Harry agreed to Xia Xiu's request.

As a fellow believer in He Who Covers the Boundless and a fellow follower of Yarn, Xia Xiu could not possibly betray them, so there was no harm in handing over the list.

"Just do what you can to guide them. Don't waste too much time on external matters." After sending Xia Xiu the list through the Lineage, Harry offered this earnest advice.

He was cautioning Xia Xiu against wasting too much time on trivial matters. Linking to a Lineage already involved an invisible threshold, especially an Anomaly Spectrum such as the Flesh Supremacy Lineage.

"Mm." Faced with Harry's concern, Xia Xiu merely nodded absentmindedly.

"Well then, go attend to your own affairs." Harry dismissed them. He was eager to study the [Way of the Whole Flesh] in hopes of advancing.

Xia Xiu and Dorn did not linger, leaving the residence one after the other.

As they left, Dorn provocatively gave Xia Xiu another thumbs-down. Xia Xiu, meanwhile, checked the location sharing on the Flesh Supremacy Lineage. Harry's and Dorn's markers were still lit up. Apparently, neither of them thought anything of it.

My dear brothers, you'd better keep sharing your locations. Whoever turns it off is a little punk!

(End of chapter)

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