abnormal mutation

Chapter 93 The Plague of Memories
Russell's smile froze on his face, his expression turned cold, and his demeanor became gloomy.

The Thistle Flower Merchant Guild is a guest of honor for nobles wherever they go, and has become increasingly prestigious in recent years. Unexpectedly, a native orphan showed them no respect whatsoever.

He originally thought he could get his hands on them for a small amount of money, since those butcher knives were very special and no one else could use them, so keeping them would be a waste.

Roland could tell from his expression that his gentlemanly demeanor was all an act; even his smile looked like a cheap imitation, awkwardly pasted onto a counterfeit of refinement.

He shrugged, feigning confusion: "Oh, is it expensive? Sorry, I'm not very familiar with prices. Magical items must be very valuable, I earned seven thousand German dollars in a single day."

Two hundred thousand...is that a lot?"

Yulia burst out laughing, and the others couldn't help but chuckle as well.

Russell's face stiffened, his eyes filled with anger, and a hint of murderous intent rose in his heart.

“Roland, magical items aren’t necessarily all expensive,” Julia said with a smile. “Only items that suit you will command a high price.”

“I understand now. I suppose those butcher knives must be a perfect match for Deacon Russell. Are you also a Gluttony cultivator?” Roland said with sudden realization.

Russell forced himself to suppress his emotions and said in a deep voice, "I am willing to offer 16,000 German dollars. I wonder if Mr. Otto is willing to part with it?"

Julia gave Roland a wink; this price was almost the maximum.

"I won't sell for less than 190,000." Roland's expression was firm.

It's not that I don't want to sell, but the butcher's knife was eaten by the rune seed. Thinking about it, it really hurts. I didn't expect magical items to be so valuable.

Wouldn't it be more worthwhile to use this money to acquire extraordinary traits and then feed them to the Rune Seed?

"In that case, Mr. Otto can keep it for himself." Russell's expression turned out of control. He snorted coldly and turned to leave.

After he left, Alex closed the door behind him.

"Why don't you sell them? Opportunities to rip them off are rare," Yulia asked, puzzled.

"Can't sell them, they're all gone," Roland said helplessly.

“Alright.” Yulia didn’t ask any more questions, but solemnly instructed, “The Northern Chamber of Commerce is rigid and follows the rules, the Southern Chamber of Commerce will stop at nothing to achieve its goals, and the Thistle Chamber of Commerce is even more so. Be more careful in your actions in the future.”

“I know.” Roland was mentally prepared when he decided to join the Northern Merchant Guild.

The Thistle Flower Merchant Guild's reputation in Ice River Town has been ruined, and they probably think Roland is behind it. Since the two sides can't get along peacefully, why should they compromise themselves?

Of course, the main reason is that he's not afraid; he's no longer a lone wolf, he has backing. The Northern Union Merchant Guild isn't as powerful as the Crimson Goddess Church, but it's still a large force with high-sequence extraordinary individuals.

Everyone sat down to eat, and their mood was not greatly affected.

"Does the Chamber of Commerce sell those extraordinary traits that are heavily polluted?" Roland looked at Julia, a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"Why are you collecting those? Don't you already have several?" Yulia frowned. This man's methods were both unorthodox and dangerous, which made her very uneasy. "Only those evil god churches would use this deployment ritual or cultivate sacrifices. You'd better not try it recklessly."

“I speculate that the Paradox Worm is a unique product used in ancient times to balance pollution. If the experiment is successful, wouldn’t we have another source of magic potions?” This wasn’t just Roland’s excuse. The Paradox Worm was hard-won and couldn’t be wasted.

“It often appears in black markets around the world. Once you join the company, I can have someone take you there. However, you can only study it secretly. Whether you succeed or not, you must not expose yourself, or you will easily attract repercussions.” Yulia stared intently at Roland.

"Understood." Roland nodded solemnly.

Once the extraordinary qualities that have been contaminated acquire value, the killing will be difficult to stop, and Roland, who wields the Paradox Worm, will inevitably become the target of everyone's wrath.

"Also, don't waste your money, especially at the orphanage. Your promotion will be very fast, and you'll need money for many things in the future."

“Why can’t we help the orphanage? Grandma Mia is struggling to support it on her own.” Roland was puzzled; a group of children wouldn’t cost too much money.

Yulia said calmly, "That's how the world is. Competition and struggle are everywhere. Survival of the fittest is something no one can defy. The sales home is like a breeding ground. Those children don't understand the cruelty of the world. What's the use of them attending community school for a few days?"

“They’re too young. If we really send them out, how many will survive?” Roland hadn’t expected Julia to have this side to her. He understood but didn’t agree.

"If you can't survive, you won't have to suffer. Isn't that a kind of liberation? It's better than being like an ant, experiencing all the bitterness in the world before dying in agony." Yulia's voice was cold, as if she were stating a fact.

Roland remained silent, not out of agreement, but because he was unwilling to argue with others; no one can impose their ideas on another.

"Hurry up and eat, the soup's getting cold," Alex quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over.

After lunch, Alex volunteered to take Mandy for a walk around.

Roland returned to his room and stared blankly at the black notebook he had found on a mid-sequence extraordinary individual.

This book features a character with a huge mouth, also named "Big Mouth." Its energy level is likely in the mid-range, and its extraordinary ability is spreading secrets or gossip. The more people who know, the stronger the emotional fluctuations, and the more powerful Big Mouth's ability becomes.

You can tell its strengths and weaknesses just by looking at the book. Open the book, and you'll find it has 52 pages, most of which are filled with content, with only 13 pages empty.

"Count Kronia of the Hid Empire was obsessed with collecting human specimens, and secretly kept three thousand specimens, including many infants, aliens, or deformed individuals..."

"To maintain her eternal youth, Countess Bathory of the Kingdom of Vargas tortured and murdered 600 young girls, bathing in their blood..."

"..."

Each page was filled with a secret or gossip, densely packed with information, mainly about noble crimes or quirks, interspersed with some church secrets, many of which Roland had also heard of.

The Hitler Empire had nobles, but no fiefdom nobles. All territories belonged to the Empire. Nominally, a certain earldom only enjoyed a certain share of tax revenue and had no ruling power.

The previous holders were most likely at odds with the Sid Empire and the Orthodox Church. If these secrets were to spread, it would certainly incite public resentment and shake the foundations of faith and rule.

The big mouth spreads information through memory plagues, and the transmission route is through memory keywords, such as "Countess Bathory." Only those who know this word will inexplicably learn the countess's secret.

The plague of memory can only be spread within a single city. Theoretically, it can continue to spread indefinitely, but it stops at extraordinary individuals. Once it encounters the spirituality of an extraordinary person, it loses its activity and stops spreading.

Even a big mouth needs to eat; it won't work hard if it doesn't eat. Furthermore, the owner must tell it one of their secrets or quirks every day, otherwise it will chatter incessantly, preventing you from getting anything done.

These quirks and secrets will quickly spread among the owner's friends and acquaintances, making it no different from social death.

'Fortunately, I am immune to the negative effects.' Roland secretly rejoiced. 'It's just that the effect is too weak; it can only spread among ordinary people.'

The contents on the paper cannot be erased; there are still thirteen pages left, and he must plan them out carefully.

The primary target is the Seventh Authority. Veldora said they wouldn't let him go easily, so this would be a good opportunity to cause them some trouble. The Seventh Apostle is known for its secrecy; the more people know about it, the weaker it becomes.

The transmission route of the plague must also be carefully chosen; the "Seventh Authority" is definitely not an option, as too few people know about it.

“Pro, tell me in detail about the secrets of the Seventh Authority and the Seventh Apostle, especially those involving extraordinary abilities.”

"This is not just the surface information; there are at least fifty spiritual glimmers."

"Deal." Roland was wealthy and powerful.

"The Seventh Apostle's lower-sequence stages include Hypnotist and Memory Thief..."

The Seventh Authority is indeed secretive, and the information known by the Eye of Pro is limited to the middle and lower sequences.

Roland listened and took notes, copying the key points onto paper, carefully organizing them, and then copying them onto Big Mouth.

The first page describes the route of infection as "Almosid County," and details a ritual of collective cognitive dissonance affecting the entire county and even the North, exposing the Seventh Authority's conspiracy to incite conflict between the people and the authorities by murdering key local figures...

Due to a lack of information, his writing was somewhat vague, focusing on exposing the mastermind and sinister nature of the Seventh Authority and the Seventh Apostle.

The transmission route on the second page is the "Seventh Authority." After the first memory plague spreads, the second memory plague has a basis for transmission, which can be used to expose all the secrets of the Seventh Authority and the Seventh Apostle.

"Eat, eat, eat..." Big Mouth kept urging with its mouth wide open.

Roland took out a few glimmers of spiritual light and stuffed them into its mouth, feeding it a hundred times before it was full.

"You'd better be of some use, or I'll recast you."

He waved the equipment reforging device around it, startling Big Mouth into repeating himself like a broken record.

"Useful, useful, useful..."

(End of this chapter)