...
...
In less than twenty minutes, Wei’en arrived at Ruer District with Tina.
Along the way, he happened to buy two newspapers: a copy of the Caster Council Newspaper and one from the Trade Union Newspaper.
But even after looking through all ten-plus pages, he couldn’t find a single ntion of the parasites.
It was then that Wei’en understood. No wonder everyone in the city-state was acting as if everything was normal—they had no idea what happened in Yidrisu District the day before.
This seed extrely abnormal, yet it also made perfect sense.
The abnormality was that the city-state’s leadership hadn’t assigned more people to search for the parasites. The logical part was that by not publishing any related reports, they prevented the residents from panicking.
However, for a matter like this, burying their heads in the sand was hardly a viable solution.
Wei’en rubbed his forehead, trying to smooth his furrowed brow.
There was still too little information. It was hard for him to deduce the intentions of the City-State Council, the Noble Committee, the various powerful institutions, and the churches.
He was even less clear about the secrets lurking behind this incident.
’I’ll just take it one step at a ti. At worst...’
Wei’en sighed. He followed the information on the parchnt to the young scholar’s residence—a small, two-story building.
[You have been scanned by Bolsen Heiki’s Spiritual Perception. Evaluation: Be careful. Reward: Survival Points 2.]
Hm?
’Spiritual Perception... Be careful?’
’This was the first ti Wei’en had encountered soone who triggered a "be careful" warning from the panel just from a Spiritual Power scan.’
’Usually, those words only appeared on the panel when he was targeted with killing intent.’
’Bolsen...’
’Hmm, where have I heard that na before?’
Wei’en pondered for a mont. ’Could it be him? The Favored One of the Abyssal Sect?’
He hadn’t been in this world for long, so he hadn’t t many people or heard many nas.
With a mont’s thought, he recalled soone ntioning last night at the Nightmare Tower that "Bolsen, a Favored One of the Abyssal Sect, was traveling from the Western Continent to the Northern Continent in search of a prophet."
’The Abyssal Sect... It really might be him—that Favored One.’
Wei’en looked around. This location was three whole streets away from where the Bone-Eating Mother Worm was discovered yesterday. Golden Street was even closer than Laos’s place was.
’For that Favored One to appear nearby was reasonable... reasonable my ass.’
’The straight-line distance was over ten kiloters. Unless...’
A possibility occurred to Wei’en, and panic flared in his heart. ’No, it can’t be. I’m just scaring myself. It can’t be that much of a coincidence.’
Then, he calmly knocked on the door and extended his Spiritual Perception into the house.
’Whatever the case, I should finish this investigation and get out of here quickly.’
’Since he isn’t targeting with killing intent, I shouldn’t lose my cool and draw his attention.’
Hm?
’My perception is blocked?’
Wei’en frowned. ’I can’t be this unlucky, can I?’
’It’s possible for a young scholar proficient in runology to set up a Spiritual Power Shield Array at ho, but there’s no damn way an ordinary family in Ruer District could afford it.’
’Maybe, possibly, probably... I’ve hit the jackpot!’
CREAK.
Just then, the door opened from the inside.
A tall, thin young man in a black robe stood there. His black hair was a ss, and he wore a pair of brass-frad glasses. He stared blankly at Wei’en and Tina.
"You’re... Investigators? Are you looking for ?"
"Mr. William?"
"That’s . So you really are looking for ," William said, looking at them with a puzzled expression. "May I ask what this is about?"
"Can we talk inside?"
Wei’en knew this house had an array that blocked spiritual perception, which would also shield them from Bolsen’s senses.
"Please, please co in."
William hurriedly stepped aside. After Wei’en entered, he closed the door, forced a smile, and said, "So, how can I help you?"
Wei’en scanned the room. The furnishings were quite plain. The first floor had only a table and four chairs, a simple storage cabinet in the corner, and a kitchenette on the other side.
"To put it simply, there’s a problem with the Rune Array, and I need you to help understand the situation."
"Huh? There’s a problem with the Array? What is it? Did my professor send you to find ?"
William’s eyes widened in surprise, the thick lenses of his glasses making them look even larger.
"Let’s sit down,"
Wei’en pulled Tina over to the table to sit, then gestured to William. "You’ll have to ask Professor Lin Qiaoya about the specifics. I’m just here to ask you a few questions."
"Please, go ahead."
William sat down across from them. His gaze was involuntarily drawn to Tina, and a hint of fear flickered in his eyes.
"Here’s the situation. The City-State Array has been tampered with, and so of the rune nodes are no longer functioning. Do you know anything about this?"
"Inactive rune nodes? Are they Core Runes or the others? If it’s the others—the ones not on the high platform—they aren’t active all the ti. They only turn on when the city-state is..."
"Core Runes," Wei’en interrupted.
William froze. "Impossible! If even one Core Rune node isn’t active, the entire Array won’t work. The only way that could happen is if the whole Array has been altered."
"But that would require deactivating the Array for at least a few days. It’s impossible that nobody noticed..."
’The whole thing was altered?’
Wei’en retrieved the relevant runology knowledge in his mind and found that it matched William’s description perfectly.
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