To be honest.
Having never suffered a mental attack before, Lan Qingyou hadn't realized how severe the disruption caused by mental-type magic could be.
Nausea, a desire to vomit, a heavy chest, dizziness...
Even now, ten minutes later, these symptoms hadn't fully subsided.
However, she was feeling much better than when she had first been hit.
Lan Qingyou felt that if this were a battlefield, she would have died ten times over by the time she recovered at this speed.
But this explained why three people had been killed in a counterattack when over a dozen men were fighting just two Flame Dogs.
It seemed this little fellow had been the one pulling the strings from behind.
So, Lan Qingyou played the same old trick, reaching out to pinch the mouse's tail and 'rescuing' it from Steel Wool's mouth.
This time, the white mouse didn't struggle. It hung limply in the air, looking very much like a salted fish that had just been thoroughly marinated.
Of course, there was a high probability it was simply because it had experienced a near-death sensation of suffocation in Steel Wool's mouth, leaving it with little energy to make a fuss.
Still, this was for the best.
At least this way, Lan Qingyou could observe it more closely.
In truth, there wasn't much to see. In terms of appearance, it was no different from an ordinary white mouse.
At most, its tail was a vibrant pink, and its tiny black eyes looked a bit red—or perhaps a red so dark it was almost black?
Regardless, its looks were at least decent.
Should I go back?
Lan Qingyou wondered.
After all, the only way to identify this thing was with the small screen on her magic desk.
The problem was that she had only just arrived here. It would be a bit unreasonable to head back before she had even finished searching the city.
Since I'm already here, I might as well stay.
...
Oh right, Gu Xiaobei!
Wasn't her restaurant not too far from here?
I was planning to visit anyway, so I might as well head over tomorrow. I can just have Gu Xiaobei identify it for me then, right?
“Heh, that actually works. It's a great idea—kills two birds with one stone and saves time.”
Having made up her mind, Lan Qingyou tossed the white mouse aside.
“You can play with it, but you can't kill it, and you certainly can't eat it. And of course, don't let it escape.”
Because she really wanted to know what the white mouse was, Lan Qingyou gave Steel Wool specific instructions, regardless of whether it could understand her.
“Squeak!”
Steel Wool patted its chest with a wing in response.
Afterward, Lan Qingyou took out the portable outdoor bathing tub sent by Chariot, took a bath, and went to bed early.
To put it bluntly, this portable outdoor bathing tub was essentially an iron tub with a furnace underneath.
Once the water was hot, you just hopped in. It was convenient and practical, even if it wasn't exactly easy on the eyes.
It still fell firmly into the category of post-apocalyptic wasteland style.
But since she got it for free, there was no reason not to use it, so Lan Qingyou had no complaints.
At most, she would just treat this as a trial run and give Chariot some feedback.
The next morning, after Lan Qingyou woke up and packed her things, she headed toward the coordinates Gu Xiaobei had sent earlier.
Meanwhile, in the city ruins, Sherlock's mood was far from pleasant.
Just last night, one of his night patrol squads of over a dozen people had been wiped out. Their bodies weren't discovered until dawn this morning.
Extensive burns all over their bodies were the best-case scenario; some had been reduced to only half a torso.
Aside from the corpses of two common Flame Dogs, nothing else was found at the scene.
“It's said that this squad left the patrol route you set, Master, without permission to search for that mouse,” the messenger reported.
“Hmph. Such disobedient dogs deserve to die. No, dying is too good for them. Chop up their corpses and feed them to the hounds.”
Sherlock, sitting on his 'throne,' spoke with a dark expression, and someone immediately went to carry out the order.
Standing on either side below him were two distinct groups of people.
One group wore long robes, and the other wore armor, the division between them as clear as day.
They looked like a medieval king and his civil and military officials—a monkey in a crown, a truly laughable sight.
“Master, could it have been the work of that Blue Ghost from last night?” someone suggested.
This caused the others standing on both sides to frown in unison.
Everyone had heard about the ghost disturbance last night. Some had even started wildly speculating in the channel the moment they heard the news.
There was no helping it; after all, 'ghosts' had been documented since the early days of the transmigration.
It was just that back then, the ghost was green, whereas now the ghost was blue and appeared even closer to the ground.
This inevitably led to all sorts of suspicions.
Some called it an elite monster, others the ruler of the Abandoned Land—in short, the rumors became more sinister as they spread.
And now, first came the rumors of the Blue Ghost, and the very next day, a whole squad was reported dead.
Even though they were all burned or blown to pieces and there were Flame Dog corpses nearby...
As people who frequently fought creatures like Flame Dogs, they all knew that those things didn't possess such high attack power.
So, in the end, it seemed plausible to attribute this matter to the 'Blue Ghost'?
That was what they thought, and the slave owner naturally felt the same way.
After all, many things couldn't withstand the weight of imagination; the more one associated them, the more likely they seemed.
Besides, the time the 'sighting records' of the ghost vanished and the time the squad died were roughly consistent, with no more than a two-hour difference at most.
“So, what is the status of your investigation into the Blue Ghost?”
Sherlock, his face dark, tapped his fingers on the armrest of the throne as he 'thought deeply' for a moment before looking at the people below.
“There is no concrete conclusion yet. The Blue Ghost disappeared around three o'clock last night, and nothing has been found since daylight.”
“Someone from District 666 mentioned on the regional channel that it can't be seen at any time other than the initial period each night. Perhaps it's related to that.”
“Could it be because the other party also has some kind of restriction?”
“I think it's possible. After all, we've never encountered such a creature before.”
Once Sherlock spoke, everyone immediately began to actively share their opinions.
Or perhaps, because they had nothing noteworthy to say, they were doing this just to show off.
But regardless, with everyone brainstorming, the atmosphere of discussion in the hall became exceptionally thick.
Sherlock nodded repeatedly as he listened.
If for nothing else, he loved this kind of atmosphere.
Because it made it seem like his subordinates were all talents and elites.
It also made him, the 'king,' appear as a very prestigious existence.
However, as a 'king,' he naturally couldn't let such unseemly behavior show.
“Enough.”
Sherlock waved his hand, putting a stop to their 'discussion.'
“Have someone ask the field slaves if any unusual phenomena have occurred. If not, then starting today, conduct as thorough an internal search as possible.”
“As you wish, my master.”
Rate on N.U.
