Versatile Mage: Undying Fire

Soon, Lingling arrived here.

When Bobby saw a cute girl coming in, he stood up hurriedly and said, "Little girl, don't come in, or you will be scared!"

Lingling still walked in, her eyes looked very bright.

Lingling moved closer, then stirred the basin of sticky blood with her fingers, then lifted up the dead Noko's face slightly and examined it carefully.

Bobby was dumbfounded now. He looked at Lingling in astonishment and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.

“Don’t notify the police and the Magic Association yet. Otherwise, if they get here, we might not be able to find the information we want.” Lingling said at this time.

Lin Ran nodded and said, "I understand."

"What is this?" Lingling suddenly pointed at some strange objects on the edge of the iron basin and asked in confusion.

“I’m not sure, but it looks a bit like dandruff or something like that.” Mo Fan said.

Then Lingling carefully put the dandruff stuck to the side of the iron basin into a vacuum bag so that she could take it back for research.

"Call a skilled master over here. I want to dissect his body." Lingling said.

"Anatomy?" Bobby on the side immediately objected.

This is his own brother. He must be buried properly and must not be dissected.

"If you think that giving him a good funeral and burying him in peace with dignity is more important than finding out the real cause of death and the real culprit, then you can call the people from the Magic Association over now. These mediocre people will only tell you that we have to cremate him just in case." Lingling said righteously.

Bobby didn't seem to expect a little girl to say such words, so he just stared at Lingling blankly.

"If you want to know what killed your brother and your brother, then just do as she says." At this time, Mo Fan patted Bobby on the shoulder and said earnestly.

Bobby was not a very emotional person, so he nodded and now had to leave his brother to Lingling.

……

Afterwards, Lingling and the invited master technician performed the autopsy inside, while Lin Ran and others sat in the yard.

"How did your elder brother deal with the fire?" Mo Fan suddenly asked.

Lin Ran and Mu Ningxue also looked at the man.

"Well, it was burned on the same day. An old pharmacist from the Magic Association said that this was probably an epidemic and it was contagious, so it had to be burned immediately. Even though I tried to stop them, they still did it directly." Bobby said.

"So when did your brother Noko become...become..."

"Somewhat out of his mind?"

"Yes, when did you realize that he was losing his mind?" Mo Fan asked.

"Well, about a week ago, Noco became very bad-tempered. I initially thought he became like that because he knew about his brother's affairs," said Bobby.

"Before this, were there any other abnormal symptoms?"

"Not really...it looks normal, unless your appetite becomes particularly good," said Bobby.

"Your appetite has improved significantly?"

Lin Ran thought of the families of the deceased whom he had visited before, and it seemed that some of them had mentioned similar issues.

"My Ruby used to be a very picky eater, but recently he loves to eat everything. I thought at first that this would make him stronger and his minor weakness would quickly disappear, but who knew that he would suddenly die..."

Mo Fan still remembers that the mother of one of the deceased said this!
“Why don’t you go visit the houses we visited before and ask the deceased about their appetite before they died.” Mo Fan said to Lin Ran.

Mu Ningxue nodded and immediately took action. Lin Ran also stood up and walked out together.

……

Mu Ningxue and Lin Ran's visit was also quick, and they returned to the yard soon.

From the expressions on Mu Ningxue and Lin Ran's faces, Mo Fan probably knew the answer.

"Everyone's appetite has increased greatly, and is one to two times the usual amount, without exception." Mu Ningxue said seriously.

“The police and hunters probably won’t ask about such details, and they probably won’t think there’s anything wrong with it, but maybe it’s related to this matter.” Mo Fan opened Lingling’s database computer and searched again just for the question of Death’s Appetite.

"Appetite, what does this have to do with the curse?" Bobby asked in confusion.

"Maybe. After all, everyone's appetite has increased." Lin Ran said.

“An increase in appetite is not necessarily a good thing, especially since none of the dead bodies changed their body shapes due to their increased appetite,” said Mo Fan.

Just as they were talking about appetite, Lingling suddenly walked out of the room.

She looked at the people sitting in the yard with some gleam in her eyes.

"There are some discoveries." Lingling said.

"So are we."

Afterwards, Mo Fan explained to Lingling how the deceased had a great appetite before his death.

Lingling thought for a while before she told him what she had discovered: "Nuoko's body was extremely weak, like a person who had not eaten for more than ten days. The reason why he looked no different from normal when he was alive was because his body was swollen due to excessive water."

"How... is this possible?" Bobby screamed when he heard this. Noko had eaten so much, how could his body be like a water-filled shell? This was totally against common sense!
“This is really getting more and more of a headache.” Mo Fan smiled bitterly.

"Do you think it's possible that something has eaten up the nutrients?" Lin Ran couldn't help but say. If he ate too much but it didn't feel like he had eaten nothing, he could only guess that something had eaten up the nutrients in his body.

"Well, I think we already have a clue." Lingling nodded and said.

After saying that, Lingling ran into the house and took away the basin full of blood.

Several people were confused.

Lingling quickly found a filter and asked Mo Fan to help hold it.

Mo Fan did as she said and took the filter. Then Lingling poured the basin of blood onto the filter.

The sticky blood quickly flowed down through the gaps in the filter, which made Bobby feel indescribably complicated. This little girl was really amazing. A magician like him was scared to death when he saw the bloody scene, but how come this little girl looked fine?

The blood was still pouring down, and just when Mo Fan was wondering what was going on, he suddenly noticed something moving on the filter.

This thing looks a bit like a blood clot but it is also very soft, as if it can be easily filtered out with just a little force.

"What the hell is this?" Mo Fan pointed at the squirming blood clot and couldn't help but ask.

"Don't touch it. It's very fragile. It will die quickly once it leaves the liquid," Lingling instructed.

At this time Lin Ran also looked over.

"Lin Ran, go get some water." Lingling said.

"Yeah." Lin Ran nodded, then quickly got some water.

After getting the water, Lingling poured it on the squirming blood clot, cleaning the blood off its body bit by bit.

As the sticky blood was washed away, the blood clots that were previously moving seemed to dissolve and disappeared on the filter.

"Why did it disappear?" Mo Fan asked in surprise.

"It's still there, look carefully." Lingling said.

Several people lowered their heads and observed carefully, and they found a completely transparent little maggot in the original position of the filter!
This thing's body is as soft as a jellyfish, but more transparent than a jellyfish, almost to the point where it is invisible to the naked eye. Its shape looks like a maggot, and is even slightly larger than a thumb.

"I've never seen anything like this before." Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue was also a well-read person, and this was the first time she had seen something like this. Most importantly, why did this thing appear in blood? Could it be that all the people who died from the Drowning Curse actually had these transparent maggots in their blood? ?
"It's normal that you haven't seen it. It's still in its larval form. It will have to go into the ocean and use enough water as nutrients before it can grow into its true appearance," Lingling said.

"What's the real face?"

"It's hard to say. The truly terrifying thing about jellyfish maggots is that they are like flexible embryos in their egg form. Basically, they can grow into anything they wrap themselves around," Lingling said.

“You mean, this guy can grow into any creature? For example, if he encounters a red monster, he will grow into a red monster, and if he catches a sea monster, he will become a sea monster?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but say.

"Almost. This is the first time I've seen live jellyfish maggots. I can do some research on them tonight!" Lingling said.

"What happened to the drowning curse?" Mu Ningxue asked.

"Didn't I just say that this jellyfish maggot can grow into anything, including humans," Lingling said.

Everyone was stunned. Lingling's conclusion was really creepy, wasn't it?
When Bobby heard this, he flew into a rage and said, "You...what nonsense are you talking about? Could it be that my brother and my brother were both transformed from this kind of weird maggots? This is impossible, absolutely impossible!"

"It's just speculation now. I have to do some research first." Lingling couldn't help but say.

“Isn’t this a bit exaggerated? Are all the people who died from the Drowning Curse these evil maggots? Such a transparent water insect can really transform into a human and talk and move like a human?” Mo Fan felt that Lingling’s thinking was too scattered.

Lin Ran looked up at the sky, feeling that his brain was not enough. After all, Lingling’s words were too horrifying.

"By the way, I just arrived here not long ago, and I heard that a giant skeleton appeared on the beach?" Lingling asked.

“Yes, that’s true.” Mo Fan replied.

"I hope it wasn't these things that did it, otherwise something big would happen in this city." Lingling said in a calm voice.

……

Afterwards, Lingling took the jellyfish maggot back. Late at night, Lingling called Lin Ran and others to the beach again. At this time, she had a very small tablet in her hand, and there was a red dot on it, right in the center.

"What are you doing?" Bobby couldn't help but say after he found Lingling opened the box and put the completely transparent jellyfish maggots into the sea water.

This jellyfish maggot is so transparent that it is difficult to distinguish with the naked eye when placed on the hand. Now, once placed in the water, it completely blends into the sea water!
"The reason why no poison, parasites or curses were found on the bodies of those who died from the drowning curse before is that once the jellyfish maggots are put into the water, ordinary people cannot see any trace of them at all!" Lingling said.

“You mean to say that everyone who died from the Drowning Curse actually had these evil maggots in their bodies. They were mentally controlled and then drowned in the sea. Soon after, these evil maggots swam out of their dead bodies and entered the ocean?” Mo Fan said.

"That's right. In fact, many evil maggots are much larger than this one. People who die from the drowning curse will become wilted in a short period of time. This is because these evil maggots that have absorbed a large amount of nutrients leave their bodies, causing the nutrients in their bodies to be completely drained." Lingling said.

Lingling understood that they were still confused about this matter, so she explained it to them again in detail.

"This kind of evil maggot is a very scary parasitic demon. They usually live in seawater. They are as small as some plankton and can easily enter the body of a living thing, such as through the human mouth, nose, and ears. In the earlier period, this kind of evil maggot did not appear to be able to survive in the human body. It is only in recent decades that this kind of evil maggot has gradually evolved to lurk in the human body. After entering the human body, this evil maggot will adhere to the vicinity of the stomach and then frantically absorb human nutrients and food. Therefore, those who are cursed by the drowning curse begin to have a great increase in appetite. After all, they not only need to absorb their own energy, but also feed the evil maggot embryos in their bodies."

"Then the embryo of the evil maggot will become more and more mature in the human body. Then it will no longer be satisfied with food, nor will it be satisfied with this kind of stealthy absorption of energy in a small human body. It needs to replenish itself in the vast ocean. At this time, the evil maggot will begin to devour the human body, and then most of the important bodily functions of the human will be drawn to its own body, which can be regarded as a stockpile for a trip to the sea. Afterwards, these terrible little things will exert a kind of mental control on the people who have been cursed by the drowning, forcing them to go to places with water, especially the ocean..."

“Hiss, once we reach the sea, these things will completely drain our nutrients?” Lin Ran understood.

"What a terrifying thing! There's no way to defend against it." Mu Ningxue couldn't help but say.