Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 556, the Great Emperor
Just as Rebecca was getting upset by Milo.

Milo suddenly reached out and snapped his fingers in front of her.

Then, she dropped her playful expression and calmly said:

"Now try to find those things underwater again and see if they become clearer than before."

Rebecca was stunned for two seconds before she understood Milo's intention.

After fully realizing what had happened.

She quickly shifted all her senses to below the sea level.

As it turns out, what blinded her to her spiritual vision was not the fog or the sea, but the deep-seated fear from her childhood.

It's worth mentioning that Milo didn't find that fear.

Because even Rebecca herself was unaware of the existence of the shadow, perhaps due to her drowning experience as an infant, she had no idea where to begin.

Milo's original intention was to dig out this fear, but he found that it was not that simple.

……

"I saw it, those things..."

Rebecca leaped onto the railing and stood up, immediately drawing her sidearm from her waist, her eyes warily fixed on the sea shrouded in mist.

Behind the dark reefs, honed by the sea into sharp edges, lay some ghostly shadows whose faces she could not discern.

This was definitely not the elegant and graceful figure of the mermaid in folk tales. Instead, it had a bulky feel that was somewhere between a fish and a human. Even from dozens of meters away, Rebecca could feel the greasy smell of mud and the pungent fishy stench emanating from the other person.

The human body structure includes limbs, a dark green, shiny, and smooth skin, a high ridge covered in scales, huge, protruding eyeballs, gills that tremble constantly in the seawater, and webbed hands and feet.

At this moment, these unfriendly shadows surrounded the ship, seemingly enveloping it underwater.

"Is this what they mean by not welcoming strangers?" Rebecca frowned. "Are they planning to attack this ship?"

“No, no, I think they’re quite interested in strangers.” Milo remained calmly seated on the railing, turning up the collar of his coat to keep the damp, chilly mist from seeping into his neck. He then gestured for Rebecca to remain calm.

"Sit down, sit down. Let's see what good ideas Captain Allen has to deal with this. The creatures surrounding us are indeed from the deep sea, but they are not the kind of low-intelligence predators. Nothing is off-limits."

As he spoke, Milo took out his metal flask, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and then handed it to Rebecca questioningly.

However, Rebecca, who was encountering a civilization other than humans for the first time, clearly had no interest in drinking. At this moment, she didn't want to let go of the gun handle for even a second.

She can't be as relaxed as Milo.

Those gazes from the deep sea made her very uncomfortable.

……

The ignored flask and Milo, who was holding it, shrugged, tilted his head back, gulped down another mouthful, then put his hands in his pockets, hunched his shoulders, and said leisurely:

"In fact, those things underwater may have once been human, but they abandoned their human identity in order to gain immortality in a limited sense."

He looked up at Rebecca, whose gaze was intense.

It can probably be understood as a form of sect. As he spoke, Milo paused to observe Rebecca's condition, confirming that she was relatively stable in all aspects, before continuing his explanation:
"You know, the Golden Rule Church's wealth comes from multiple sources, including royalty and nobility, and the heretical order in Innsmouth may have enjoyed these substantial financial supplements. So how did they grow up?"

"The answer is from the seabed. Of course, attracting believers can't rely solely on the guise of immortality; everything has to start with small, tangible benefits."

"They would exchange their resources for human offerings, such as abundant food from the ocean, minerals from the seabed, or sunken treasures, etc. As this relationship gradually became tightly bound by interests, naturally, some humans would have the thought, 'How wonderful it would be to join them.' Thus, the initial exchange of interests gradually shifted to a relationship between superiors and servants, distorting into a form of faith. Humans obeyed them obediently, followed their precepts, and offered everything they had to satisfy the needs of the underwater races."

...

As Milo spoke, he observed Rebecca's condition and found that her sanity remained stable and showed no signs of decreasing.

She then asked thoughtfully, "Does this religious group you mentioned have a name? Or what do they believe in?"

Milo didn't answer directly, but pointed towards the lower deck, indicating to Rebecca—"Listen."

Now that everything on the ship had been taken care of, Allen led his group of young crew members from the Marsh family to stand around the deck, pressed against the railings, facing the mist and the sea, and began to loudly recite some kind of oath—

“Ia! Dagon! I, [the name of the sworn], solemnly swear that I will not hinder or disclose the actions of the Deep Ones to others. If I forsake this oath, I will be shunned by all, condemned as unworthy of Dagon's favor, and subjected to all punishments ordained, even death. Ia! Dagon!”

“Ia! Dagon! I, [the name of the sworn], solemnly swear that I will do my utmost, by all means, to provide all assistance to the Deep Ones. If I forsake this oath, I will be shunned by all, condemned as unworthy of Dagon's favor, and shall receive all the punishments ordained, even death. Ia! Dagon!”

"..."

...

“Radagon?” Rebecca asked.

“Yes, sir! Great Lord.” Milo shook his head.

"That……"

Just as Rebecca was about to ask something else, she suddenly noticed that the Marsh brothers were leading several women wearing cloaks out of the lower cabin.

The women's heads and faces were covered by hoods, and judging from their figures, they all seemed to be quite young.

Then, the Marsh family lowered a small wooden boat and rope ladder to the side of the ship, and the women began to climb down the rope ladder and board the small boat.

The women, carrying kerosene lamps hung at the bow of the small boat, began to row, moving away from the main boat.

The Marsh family members, on the other hand, put away the rope ladder hanging on the side of the ship.

Before long, the small boat carrying six or seven women disappeared into the mist, leaving only the outline of its kerosene lamp floating in the air.

...

Upon seeing this, Rebecca immediately snapped.

"What is this for?"

In her view, this was probably some kind of human sacrifice ritual, offering young human girls to the underwater race in exchange for passage through this sea area.

Such behavior is absolutely unacceptable in the presence of our dear Chief of Police.

(End of this chapter)