Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 864 The Truth Behind the Truth

Rick got a severe beating from Rebecca.

Only Adamir knows the specifics of what happened. It is said that after the beating, Rick ate high-quality protein from his superiors every day, but even after six months, he was still unable to recover his half-dead body.

They only managed to escape unscathed by using Milo as a shield.

Rick later realized why Milo had left after explaining the matter...

...

In fact, both poisonous wheat and ergot fungus primarily cause severe hallucinations.

The Dance of St. West and the Fire of St. Anthony are caused by these two things, except that the latter has a more terrifying and more toxic effect.

Furthermore, as a fungus, the probability of infection varies among different crops, and rye, which is consumed by the poorest people, is the grain with the highest probability of ergot infection. This is why the "St. Anthony's Fire" burned the poor...

The effects and mechanisms of the disease are child's play for Rick and others who have mastered most of the advanced knowledge. Even for Rebecca, who lacks extracurricular knowledge, the difficulty of understanding them is not high.

The only puzzling thing is why the poisonous wheat and ergot planted in the southern region spread to Nanwei City so quickly...

How can this disaster with such a high fatality rate be reversed?

...

Rick's answer, however, was not a drug treatment.

"Processing, or handling."

He showed Rebecca his design drawings.

It was a set of drawings that covered both the architectural structural design and the design of the internal industrial equipment.

In short, it is a traditional church-style building with a processing machine built inside at the back.

"I call it a cleaning technique, which is seed screening and finished grain screening. Based on the different physical characteristics of different varieties, such as density, size, and conductivity, the poisonous wheat is separated. As for the people of the South, they will only believe that their seeds and inspiration have been purified in the church and have received divine protection, so that they will no longer cause disease. The faith that our Shadow Lord needs will naturally gather."

"However, I haven't decided on a name for this new belief system yet. How about the Healing Church? What do you think?"

...

However, Rebecca had no intention of getting involved in Rick's wicked grand plan. She only asked Rick to get that screening machine working as soon as possible, and to develop the drug at the same time.

This turmoil is not a huge problem for Nanwei City, which is full of talented people. Don't forget that the Eye of Thinking and a female demon who has mastered the Noscia Equation are still at home.

...

Both the St. Westerly Dance Syndrome and the St. Anthony Fire were contained in a short period of time.

Because all the grains contaminated with toxic wheat and infected with ergot were burned to ashes overnight by Rebecca.

The good news is that the scene of the whole city dancing together will definitely not happen; the bad news is that some people may have to go hungry during the winter.

...

……

However, the matter did not end there.

Rebecca initially thought it was just a case of Rick and his apprentice being careless during their plunder of faith, causing the ergot to leak and infect the grains of Nanwei City. However, on the night of the third week after the "truth came out," a new anomaly occurred.

...

She left the law enforcement office and walked through the cold, damp streets of Nanwei City, braving the wind, preparing to return to her apartment, which felt devoid of any human presence.

Previously, Kay was also in the apartment, but that period was so short that Rebecca was sometimes unsure if he was even real.

"You'd better bring her back to me."

Rebecca muttered something to herself, at a volume only she could hear...

Emma did invite her to move into the Valrocan family home, but Rebecca preferred to stay in her own little, run-down apartment.

In fact, let alone moving in, Rebecca hasn't even stepped foot inside the Valrocan house since that bloody battle with Milo.

As for what she's thinking, only she herself knows.

...

On the street, the cold wind whistled through the narrow alleyways, creating a sharp, unpleasant sound.

But soon, an even more chilling sound appeared.

...

"Help me! Help me!!!"

"Fire...it's all fire!!! Ah—"

"Ouch!!! That hurts so much—"

“Kill me!!!”

Kill me!

A series of screams came from the dark, high-rise building.

Before Rebecca could react, a body crashed onto the road ahead with a dull thud, accompanied by the sound of bones shattering.

The screams abruptly stopped.

The person just died like that.

He jumped from the rooftop.

...

……

This scene feels very familiar.

Rebecca immediately thought of the first victim of the St. Anthony's Fire, the old man who jumped from the upper floor of the monastery in Merlin.

She hurried forward and dispersed the growing crowd of onlookers on the street. Just as she was about to examine the body, something strange happened.

Unlike the patients with Anthony's Fire, this time black smoke actually rose from inside the clothes on the deceased's body, and in less than a few seconds, the raging flames completely enveloped the corpse!
...

At this moment, the enthusiasm of the Nanwei people was perfectly displayed. The owner of a roadside tavern rushed into the street with a whole bucket of his own watered-down beer with almost zero alcohol content and poured the whole bucket over the burning corpse.

The flames then went out.

The boss wiped his face with the rag on his shoulder and said:

"You're welcome, Officer."

However, just as he turned around to return to the tavern, the extinguished corpse burst into flames once more!

"what?"

...

The onlookers on the street gasped in astonishment.

Many people witnessed the charred corpse, half-submerged in roadside puddles, suddenly burst into flames again without warning.

Such a bizarre scene, coupled with the howling of the cold wind outside tonight, inevitably sends chills down one's spine.

Fortunately, this is the city of the one who devours fear, and even the lowest-ranking villagers have a sanity bar that is far stronger than that of other races in the dream world.

However, while they may not be afraid, they certainly don't understand anything. The role of onlookers is simply to join in the fun and cause trouble for law enforcement officers.

People will only see this as a follow-up to the St. Anthony fire.

But Rebecca, who knew the truth behind the Flame Virus incident, immediately sensed that something was amiss.

The fire of St. Anthony is a result of hallucinations.

Those limb ulcers and nerve pains are caused by viruses, but there is no real flame like this that cannot be extinguished.

...

The law enforcement team quickly cordoned off the scene, as well as the building from which the deceased jumped. However, as expected, the search for clues at the scene yielded almost nothing.

Just as Rebecca was feeling confused, the advice written in the Norschia Equation by Emma in the corner of the alley jumped out like little blue elves.

The content of the advice is—

"Don't hide anymore at a time like this. If you come now, you can still make it for dinner."

...

Rebecca could almost perfectly imagine Emma's tone in her mind.

After all, his own behavior was very strange, even a bit silly.

Even though there's a wise and insightful person in the family, they insist on using the most primitive methods to find the truth, and this has been the case ever since the poisoned wheat and ergot incident.

……

In the end, Rebecca returned to the Valrocan family.

Emma prepared dinner for everyone, and even saved a seat for Rebecca.

Before dinner, Rebecca received a big hug from Daisy.

Besides Emma and Daisy, there were two Montgomery pets in the house, Marshall and Wendigo, one black and one white. However, they were completely focused on eating and had no time to pay attention to anything else, especially Wendigo, who chewed up and swallowed the ceramic plate that was used to hold the food.

At the dinner table, Emma rested her chin on her hand, languidly and calmly observing Rebecca sitting directly opposite her. After a long pause, she leisurely asked:
So what are you shy about?

Rebecca remained calm, took a sip of hot soup, and replied, "Nonsense."

But Emma was no ordinary woman; she wasn't about to let Rebecca off so easily. So, she casually added:
"Milo would never have imagined that you'd reveal this shy side of yourself to me. The handcuffs are fun, aren't they, little butterfly?"

...

Actually, this level of teasing is alright; Rebecca can handle it.

But when Daisy said very seriously, "Sister, could you be a little gentler with brother in the future? It must hurt a lot to be stabbed in the body with a knife."

Rebecca finally transformed into a member of the Flame Demon race, her complexion and hair color almost blending into one.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed to say:
"What's wrong with your family? Why are you showing this kind of thing to your child?"

“Wrong,” Emma immediately corrected, “It’s our home.”

……

...

Of course, the above was just a heartwarming little interlude before the meal.

After the jokes, we still need to talk about serious matters.

Emma doesn't want to say a single unnecessary word:

"The will of the Old Gods has begun to infiltrate Nanwei City."

Daisy then added, "The person you saw burned to death today suffered from the influence of the Lord of Flames, Karakal. In addition, the will of many fallen ancient gods is gradually appearing in the city. The possibility of the return of the gods, as mentioned by the Three Ladies of Sorrow, is beginning to emerge."

"Is it because Milo took Enid away?" Rebecca asked.

“It’s possible, but we can’t be sure yet,” Emma said.

"Then what should we do?"

"At least, make sure Milo doesn't come home to a house full of enemies, um, I mean, gods of vengeance?"

"The way the gods bewitch mortals is not much different from the way the inhabitants of darkness and the Great Old Ones do; this time, they are hiding in the shadows."

"What was that saying again?"

"The vile beasts offer honeyed bait, luring the docile soul into the abyss..."

(End of this chapter)