Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

"I can't believe it! This is my first time in Xinxiang, not for a vacation, but to find a blood-related adopted son!"

Kong Jiu impatiently pulled out a pink $50 bill and threw it on the passenger seat.

"Keep the extra as a tip, keep the change."

After he finished speaking, he reached for the car door, preparing to leave.

"Hey sir, this is Xinxiang. The journey from the airport to Midtown costs much more than fifty!"

The driver hurriedly stopped him, pointing to the meter with displeasure on his face.

The dial clearly displays "Sixty-one dollars".

Kong Jiu's eye twitched slightly, and as he reached for his wallet, he inwardly complained:

Why are prices in Xinxiang so high?

"20, keep the extra as a tip."

As the driver's praise turned ingratiating, he slammed the car door shut and drove away without looking back.

He was in a very bad mood, extremely bad.

The night before, after infiltrating the Red Rain Keep node and obtaining the subspace concept of "continuity," Squich immediately assigned him a new task.

Find the remaining nine fragments of the Stuart Blood Vial Crest, or confirm that they have completely vanished.

Otherwise, as long as a single "concept" remains during the execution of the plan to destroy the Iron Curtain, the Iron Curtain will be able to "continue" and eke out a living!

"The nine-stranded blood vial emblem? What about my Bloodhound?"

Kong Jiu immediately complained, his face full of resistance, "Arthur, it's true that I want to liberate Hills, but that doesn't mean you can treat me like a donkey!"

"Don't worry, Kong,"

Neos's voice came from the ring: "It's not as complicated as you think."

She took the red light, gently dispersed and analyzed it.

"This remaining 'continuity' can sense the presence of other clan emblems. It tells me that most of the divergent concepts have perished, and now only two remain."

Neos then reminded him, "When Lord Ellerburg distributed the family crest to his adopted sons who had gone out to work, he must have kept track of their whereabouts, right?"

"That's right!" Kong Jiu's eyes lit up, a hopeful expression appearing on his face. He immediately turned to the old bloodline Eller and asked:

"You should be aware of the list of adopted children who have left the area, right?"

Eller scratched his chin. "Yes, please come with me."

After several transfers, they arrived at an archive room.

Using the dim light of the lantern, Eller skillfully opened the drawer, took out a notebook, and spread it out in front of Kong Jiu.

"This book records the history of each of my children—where they were found, the date of their adoption, their position as members of the Stewart family, and their age at death. It's all recorded here."

Each page records the life of an adopted abandoned child. They were gardeners, brewers, doormen... and some even had children and dedicated their children to Eller.

A hint of kindness flashed across Eller's eyes, but he quickly turned the page and went straight to the last few pages of the notebook.

"I put those kids who didn't want to inherit the Stuart name last on my list." His tone was somewhat somber.

"Although they are unwilling to call me father, I still consider them my children..."

Eller's disappointed gaze fell on those names:

Accardo, Dampier, Renesmee, Arcueid, Alexia...

These names, lacking the Stuart suffix and unwilling to acknowledge blood ties as fathers, saddened him.

The earliest ones left Red Rain Fort a hundred years ago and have long since passed away;

The most recent one left five years ago, taking only a small sum of money from Eller, refusing any further assistance, and venturing out into the real world on his own.

In the end, only two people survived, which corresponded to the two remaining "concepts".

According to Eller's intelligence, Mina, the adopted daughter, went to Xinxiang to participate in some kind of fighting competition, and she seemed to enjoy it.

There was another one named Most, whom Kong Jiu had heard of. He was a mystic in the central district of Hills, but in reality, he was a charlatan.

"See? The area has been narrowed down to just two people. Isn't that much simpler?"

"Squidge said smugly, as if he could see the guinea pig's tail sticking up."

The originally tedious workload was reduced by a quarter, and Kong Jiu breathed a sigh of relief.

So, only one question remains.

"Eller, I'm sorry, but I have to take the remaining family crest from your two children."

Kongjiu straightened its rat-like body and bowed to Ailer in greeting.

"I don't care," Eller, the easygoing old bloodline, nodded, but his eyes held a pleading look:

"I only ask that you treat my two children... gently."

Kong Jiu didn't speak, but simply bowed with the body of a rat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Eller. I will. The Rat God remembers your contributions. May your family continue like the rats, generation after generation."

This was a word Kong Jiu came up with on the spot, since he often came into contact with charlatans, such as Su Fu.

After saying that, he jumped off Eller's shoulder and prepared to leave the Red Rain Fortress.

"Wait, Your Excellency, you haven't answered my question yet."

Eller's voice came from behind him, calling out to him.

"What exactly does your god intend to do this time?"

Kong Jiu slowly turned around.

Although old Eller did not demand the "concept" in return, Conju also failed to keep his promise to tell him about Squich's plan.

Ailer gazed at the small creature on the ground, his eyes filled with sincerity and longing.

He really wanted to know Squich's motives.

"I grew up listening to my grandfather's terrifying stories about the Squich Rat God... The Squich Rat God is truly amazing; why is it both the protector of the weak and the embodiment of disaster and chaos?"

Eller's tone was incredibly sincere, even carrying a hint of childlike innocence:

"I've lived in the Warp for over a hundred years, which is about the same as living in the real world. I've seen many demons and evil spirits roaming this realm, and even some old customers who loved drinking blood wine, after ascending to demonhood, have come back to drink and chat with me."

"But I have never seen God with my own eyes, nor have I seen divine pronouncements, divine incarnations, or agents of divine will..."

Eller bowed humbly and fervently, his plea tinged with respect:

"Squich Rat God, your god, the embodiment of weakness and chaos, what do you want to do?"

Will it bring Hills a catastrophe like the Black Death, which claimed more than half the lives?

Kong Jiu raised his rat head and stared into those curious eyes.

"No," Kong Jiu said coldly, "this operation is for the survival of more people."

"So what exactly is it?"

A strong sense of curiosity appeared on Eller's usually serene face.

This curiosity was precisely what motivated him to unconditionally support Kong Jiu;

This curiosity made Ellerby, a true follower of Squiche, even more fervent in his service to the Rat God.

As a bloodline that supplies blood wine and adrenaline red to the powerful, he has seen countless people in power—their common trait being that they have long since transcended the status of "weak."

Even the most benevolent lord in all of Hills would not set foot in the lower city to do good deeds without guards.

The more powerful a person is, the more they will exploit the weak—this is a belief that the old bloodline Eller has long held.

But why would Squich—that evil god who could wipe out half the population of his homeland, such a powerful being—be the protector of the weak?

Now that the evil god spoken of by the elders is walking on the earth again, Eller is really curious about what extreme methods the Rat God will use to protect its people.

"I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Please tell me... what exactly is that blasphemous Chaos God planning this time?" Eller pleaded.

Kong Jiu mentally consulted Squich, who didn't say much, only calmly stating, "Tell him."

"Destroy the Iron Curtain of Hills."

After this thought entered Ailer's mind, Kongjiu opened the subspace tunnel and entered without looking back.

……

That night, after leaving Red Rain Fortress, Kong Jiu reverted from his rat form to human form.

That night, he eagerly rolled the dice to see what would happen.

Unfortunately, he did not get the result he expected. When he returned to reality, Neos's body was already gone.

His temporary intelligence of thirty points vanished, and he reverted to being an Easterner unable to foresee the future.

"Morster is in Hills. Go find him later. You should go to Xinxiang first, Kong."

Without a word, Squich planted the crimson emblem into Kong Jiu's palm.

"This 'concept' must remain intact until the final plan is completed. I will be responsible for the power supply, but we'll need to store it in your body for a while first."

[Concept acquired: "Continuation" / 10]

[Additional effect: Increases the probability of all continuous actions by 10%, including channeling, creating environments, and reproduction.]

[The essence of the subspace concept: When in subspace, all attributes are increased by 5]

[Additional: Blood Magic - Boiling Blood (Stuart)]

[Description: Blood magic imbued with Ailer's spiritual energy circulation for many years.]

[Boiling Blood: Consumes fresh blood to quickly heal the target.]

"That's great, I do all the dirty and hard work."

Kong Jiu stared at the crimson stain on his palm, feeling quite disgusted. "Aren't Farah and Wintert your subordinates? Why didn't you send them to Xinxiang to find Mina?"

"The plan is now in the 'rescue' phase, and they are busy helping the refugees in the lower city to recover."

Far away in the downtown area, Squich pulled out a small board and looked at his plans.

"I told you, we need to save as many people as possible, have you forgotten? The two gangs are much more efficient at rescuing people than you are alone."

Squich spoke with sarcasm, but what he said was true: the charity work that Kongjiu was doing in the cracks was indeed not as effective as the relief provided by the two powers.

"Alright, stop complaining. Take a week off from school and your clinic, and hurry up and go to Xinxiang to find your adopted son!"

"Damn it..." Kong Jiu looked wearily at the new emblem on his palm, feeling utterly exhausted.