Secret: The years I served as a foreign aid for the Aurora Club

Chapter 279 Bleeding Scars

572
Ruins of the War of Gods.

The "Future" was covered in starlight and sailed slowly on a safe route. "Admiral of the Stars" Cattleya sat in the captain's room and gradually approached the location of the "Sun Bird" according to the clues given by the "World".

"This is an unfamiliar sea... The 'world' knows more intelligence than a pirate like me on the sea..."

Is this the benefit of being a favored one of the gods? He can even communicate with an angel and obtain a drop of the angel's blood... Cattleya looked at the routes in silence. She pushed up her glasses and looked at the sea outside the window in front of her.

"Boom boom boom!"

There was a knock on the wooden door, and the crew's voice rang out loudly outside the door:
"captain!"

"This is the third daylight of the day!!"

"It's so hot! Can we just wear shorts?"

It seemed that they were getting closer to the target island. Cattleya turned her head and raised her voice to order: "Okay, everyone get ready!"

……

A horse-drawn carriage was clattering along the dirt road on the outskirts of West Balam.

The wheels and horse hooves raised a cloud of dust. The secret doll Enzo was driving, and Klein was sitting next to him, flipping through a newspaper.

Ms. D was resting in the carriage and looking at her luggage.

In the current South Continent, people from the North Continent can still be treated preferentially in the large cities in the central and eastern parts of the Central Continent that have not yet been recaptured. The only danger is when entering the territory of the Balam Empire.

The information transmission in this world is too delayed. By the time the news from the Northern Continent reached the Rorsted Islands, it had been almost a month. Meanwhile, it was difficult for the Southern Continent to see negative information and intelligence on changes in the situation from the Northern Continent, so as to prevent the resistance forces here from becoming more alert.

Obviously, it was impossible for him to trouble Ms. D to return to the country right now and find the edition of the newspaper that was published more than a month ago. He could only ask her to find the newspaper officially published by the Feysac Empire after returning, and hand it over to the Aurora Society, and then he could pick it up himself.

"The essence of the 'big smog' is a vicious population cleansing..."

Klein felt that his brows had not been relaxed since he came to the Southern Continent. This sentence weighed heavily on his heart, making it impossible for him to feel relaxed no matter what.

Haven't you ever thought of this possibility?

No, obviously they had thought about it... The fact that the smog that caused mass deaths due to fog mixed with pollution occurred in the East District, not the factory area, is itself very telling.

"The Feysac Empire believes this is malignant, so does that mean that people still have 'benign' population cleansing in their minds?"

"Haha, maybe it's a war, or land reclamation or something like that..."

Klein read the section in the newspaper in his hand that was in Danish without much effort. He read the news from the southern continent last week to pass the time.

The skills he gained from the secret doll can be used almost directly. The feeling of mastering a language in an instant made him sigh and recall the painful language learning experience in the past.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard, and they moved forward at a moderate pace on the dirt road.

From time to time, one could see ragged southern mainlanders on the roadside. These wanderers were all alone, wearing clothes made from sacks. Some were alone, while others were with their families, all walking in the same direction as them, heading southwest.

They were numb and sluggish, moving slowly like machines or zombies. Even when they were almost stepped on by horses’ hooves, they had no other reaction. Only the occasional child had some light in his eyes, but he didn’t have the liveliness that he should have at his age. Instead, he had a shrewdness and calmness that made Klein shudder.

When the first person appeared in Klein's field of vision, he stopped the car and gave the other person a piece of dry bread, receiving a few stuttered thanks.

“They are displaced persons, refugees.”

When Klein stopped the car for the first time, Ms. D also got out of the car and spoke a few words to the refugees in her more fluent Dutan language:

"Look, there are calluses on their fingers. They are either farmers or craftsmen... They came from the east, and many are coming from there. After the independence of the Balam Empire, the people of the South Continent were oppressed and exploited even more fiercely. Their land was taken away, and those who were unlucky were driven out of the plantations. They had no choice but to go west."

After asking for information, Ms. D returned to the car and pulled up the curtain. Her presence would cause anxiety and panic among the refugees.

When the second and third people appeared on the road ahead, Klein also went down and delivered some food.

After Ms. D's reminder, Klein noticed that many people had calluses on their fingers and palms, perhaps they were textile workers.

"The southern continent doesn't seem to have that many mechanical textile machines."

Klein was inspired and said, "Since the introduction of machines in the Northern Continent, textile workers have marched many times." Unfortunately, it was of no use.

Ms. D smiled and said, "But the legislation stipulates that textile workers in the southern continent cannot work for private traders outside the company, otherwise they will be flogged and paraded through the streets."

Klein was speechless again.

Before they had walked ten miles, the dry food he had bought just in case had run out. He could only ask the horse to speed up and reach another city for supplies as soon as possible. Fortunately, they were all mid-sequence Beyonders who would not easily get hungry.

At this moment, his mood could be considered good.

But soon, the fourth, fifth, sixth... and countless ragged people in need of help appeared before his eyes.

Even if all the dry food was distributed, it would not be enough. Even if all the cash he had on him was exchanged for dry food, it would not be enough.

When you find an ant on the ground, you will soon find countless ants. Leaving behind the identity of Dwayne Dantès, when the perspective gradually descends from the aristocracy, the upper class, and the extraordinary world to the common people, the poor, and the slaves, it is like inadvertently glancing at your feet and being horrified by the huge number of ants and their corpses.

He did not try to give food to one or two of them, as that might have made things worse.

The wanderers fell down while walking, some could stand up, and some would never wake up again. They lay there, waiting for stray dogs and vultures. Feeding wild animals was the last good thing they could do.

Klein could only remain silent.

The carriage rumbled forward, into the wilderness, leaving the dust, people, and the gorgeous world far behind.

573
In the city of Gulain.

After several hours of sorting and summarizing, the Red Gloves collected and classified all the communications from Ulrica, Ince Zangwill's main contact, over the past few months.

Faced with the pursuit and blockade of the Red Gloves, Ulrica chose to cut off his tail to survive, but still could not escape with his life. Before he died completely, the Red Gloves communicated with him and obtained specific information.

"Ince Zangwill's last communication was in early April? Then he disappeared completely..."

Based on Ulrica's testimony, Soest found the corresponding letters from March to April. He saw that the handwriting on the letters was quite messy, probably because they were written in an extremely emotional and unstable state.

These words even made Soest's spirit begin to tremble, so he could only take a quick look:

"Ince Zangwill feels that he is losing control more and more... Ince Zangwill said that he has hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, but these hallucinations are not related to anything he has seen... Inducing corruption?"

After seeing these words, Soest began to feel dizzy and his ears began to ring.

He had no choice but to look away, silently recite the goddess's name several times in his heart, and calm his mood and spirituality before continuing to read:

"Ince Zangwill said that his auditory hallucinations always instigated him to release his evil thoughts and satisfy his desires..."

"He tried to recall when these changes began to occur, but he couldn't think further..."

"He always felt that another personality had grown in him, which would wake up after he fell asleep and start killing people..."

After quickly browsing a few pages, Soest put the letter down again. He pressed his throbbing temple, took a deep breath, and turned his gaze to the other red gloves.

"What do you think?"

Leonard was quite sensitive to some of the words and spoke first: "Captain Sost, Ince Zangwill mentioned in his letter that he began to show tendencies towards depravity, desire and killing after he lost control? According to previous records, these behavioral tendencies do not seem to be the manifestations of the 'Corpse Collector' or 'Sleepless' pathways. Instead, they are more like the criminals we have dealt with before, that is, the demon pathway!"

Soest nodded appreciatively:

"Your observation is very sharp."

"You mean, Ince Zangwill might be contaminated by the demonic path?"

Daly Simone habitually rubbed the silver ring on her ring finger with her fingers, thinking and supplementing Leonard's guess: "I think your guess makes sense. However, to be able to contaminate a demigod, if it is a sealed object, it should be at level 1 or above, and it should be in contact for a long time. The same is true for Beyonders..." "We have all participated in the hunt for the 'Apostle of Desire' Jason Belia. Sequence 5 demons have regarded killing as something as normal as breathing. If Ince Zangwill was accompanied by a 'demon' demigod, it is impossible for him to disappear all the time."

"That's right."

Soest nodded again: "Based on your two inferences, I think we can come up with a new question..."

All the red gloves looked over with bated breath.

Soest glanced at the pieces of letter paper in his hand, moved his fingers slightly, picked out a few, and held them in front of everyone:

"Perhaps, Ince Zangwill has not disappeared."

"…It's just that, because he was contaminated, he made some…unexpected actions, which went against the church's understanding of him. Therefore, we naturally believe that some things that happened have nothing to do with Ince Zangwill."

Did they behave in a way that was inconsistent with their own character, so we overlooked them during the investigation?

Leonard frowned and began to think about the files of the recent affairs of the church, looking for suspicious points. However, he had spent a long time in Backlund and the northern part of the Kingdom of Loen, so he knew only a limited number of cases.

In his mind, Pales Zoroast snorted:
"coastal."

The others also fell silent, digging for possible clues from their memories.

Seeing that everyone was thinking, Soest raised the corner of his mouth and opened his mouth: "Everyone——"

"I see!"

As soon as he said the first word, Leonard suddenly had an epiphany, which immediately attracted the attention of all the red gloves.

"I see, Captain, you are right. Ince Zangwill slipped away from our surveillance through some special behaviors, perhaps with the help of 0-08. We could have found him by monitoring coincidences, but now, this idea has led us in the wrong direction. Ince Zangwill may have asked 0-08 for some help, but since 0-08 has always had the nature of writing its owner to death, he may have been pretending, or the changes he had to make have now become contamination, and even made him crazy and on the verge of losing control."

"Yes, so..."

"So we should make an assumption now... through Ince Zangwill's own letters and confessions, let's assume that the contamination he suffered was the 'devil' path. At the same time, it is probably a coincidence that -"

Leonard paused and emphasized the word "coincidence", which made all the red gloves present, including Soest, feel a chill at the same time -

Could everything we do and think now also be a coincidence being written by 0-08?
We came to Gurain, captured Ulrik, and happened to get news and letters from him. Was this a pre-written script?

"Do you remember the files from last month? The southeastern coast of the kingdom..."

Leonard's expression became more serious. He pursed his lips and said, "There have been many strange murders. The victims were killed in many different ways. They were often tortured before death. It was horrible. And the murderer has not been caught yet... Combined with the 'Apostle of Desire Case' that made headlines in Backlund last year, this incident was also considered by the local church to be a demon's ascension ceremony."

After saying this, Leonard licked his lips, walked to the coffee table, picked up a cup of tea and drank it all in one gulp.

Soest took a deep breath and added:

"The latest case happened in Port Enmat, and the murderer is still at large."

Daly looked at the two of them and said, "You two are saying that the murderer might be... Ince Zangwill?"

Leonard and Soest nodded at the same time.

Soest said:

"We have completely lost any trace of Ince Zangwill, except for this case which may be related to him."

Leonard interjected, "Even if it's not related, it's good to help Enmat Port resolve this matter."

"Yeah, so, I think it's worth the trip."

Soest clapped his hands and stood up. The red gloves also stood up with the captain. "Okay, clean up here. I will inform the local church of the itinerary. We will leave as soon as possible and return to the kingdom's Enmat Port."

"Yes!"

The red gloves agreed and began to do their job, cleaning up the scene in an orderly manner, taking away valuable documents and erasing all traces.

……

It was long after dark, almost nine o'clock, when the carriage finally arrived at the next city in its target.

The city has not been occupied yet, but there is already a trend of surrender, and the nobles in the city have begun to move.

Before entering the city, Klein silently exchanged seats with Ms. D. Klein, with a face of southern continental descent, entered the carriage. Ms. D, with her bright appearance, simple clothes, and noble temperament, sat next to the secret doll that served as the coachman. This was the best pass.

Sure enough, they entered the city without any obstacles.

The guard only took a look at the noble lady and immediately let her into the city with a flattering smile. Ms. D also skillfully took a handful of copper pennies from her handbag and scattered them among the soldiers and the crowd.

Ding ding dang dang, crackle.

People bent down and scrambled for the coins on the ground.

"I have some friends here, and I can stay in a slightly better house." After entering the city, Ms. D reported the name and approximate location of a hotel. "My friends will probably invite me to dinner, Mr. X, we will say goodbye here first and see you later."

"Ok."

The secret doll Enzo got out of the car, and Ms. D pulled the reins herself, walked forward along the rarely traveled road, and soon disappeared around the corner.

"Let's go and have dinner..."

Klein cheered himself up, walked around the haggard streetwalker and the prostitute who was hiding behind the door and giving him secret glances, and walked straight into the relatively prosperous city with his secret doll Enzo. He found a relatively clean restaurant and ordered some food.

The food was not really delicious, it was just filling, and the strong spice smell was a bit overwhelming. There were also some unappetizing, half-cooked ingredients and sand that irritated his teeth. Klein was full after finishing one portion, and had to worry about the half-eaten dinner in front of Enzo.

The secret doll doesn't need to eat, but the food can't be wasted.

At this time, Klein noticed a girl standing outside the restaurant. She had clumpy hair and was as thin as a bean sprout. Only her face was slightly clean.

Her eyes were big, black, and sparkling, reminding Klein of Melissa instantly.

After the death of the sergeant's father, before the family had to devote all their efforts to supporting Klein to go to college, the Moretti family had a period of time when they had enough food and clothing. Although Melissa was a little thin, she was definitely not malnourished to the point of edema.

Outside the door, a girl in a dirty sarong looked greedily at the food in the restaurant, swallowing hard.

Klein waved at her and asked Enzo to stand up. The girl looked around and saw that there was no one else around, so she ran over without thinking. At Klein's signal, she grabbed the half-full portion of pancakes and food left on the plate and stuffed them directly into her mouth.

The food was decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Klein looked at the dirty hands, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He said nothing.

After the girl wolfed down her meal, her large black and white eyes turned toward the stranger.

Seeing the plate licked clean, Klein felt mixed emotions, but still breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to leave, the girl suddenly came over, took the initiative to sit on his lap, and took one of Klein's hands and lifted her skirt.

Klein's pupils suddenly shrank, and it took him a second to realize what was happening. The huge shock and fear seemed to pierce his spine directly. Klein jumped up suddenly, as if he was holding a hot iron in his arms.

He didn't remember how he tried to comfort the girl while suppressing his violent trembling and goose bumps all over his body, nor did he remember how he managed to remain calm but walked out of the restaurant with the secret doll in a state of chaos.

With the secret doll following closely behind him, Klein ran out of the street as if escaping, and finally stopped on a bridge.

He threw himself on the guardrail of the bridge and vomited out everything he had eaten that day.

Even after he had vomited until there was nothing left to vomit, he still couldn't control his tears and retching, as if he wanted to vomit out all his internal organs.

TBC
------

The real policy was that weavers were not allowed to work for merchants outside the company, but the wages they could receive were only 6% of the cotton price, resulting in an unprecedented mortality rate.

(End of this chapter)