Escape

Floating dust obscured the world, the air reeked of something burnt, and the deafening roar of machinery echoed all around as carriages laden with coal and whale oil sped along the streets.

The gray fog zone was perpetually draped in murky tones. In the distance, massive chimneys pierced the sky like jagged fangs, belching thick black smoke, while towering cooling towers resembled obese giants, spewing acidic gray mist day and night.

Not long after they had pursued their target out of the Hall of Order, the individual had boarded a box carriage, which inadvertently made it easier for the two to tail them. Officer Natalie simply borrowed a patrol horse, taking Lynch along to shadow them covertly until they reached the vicinity.

This was an abandoned factory district. The taxi waited by the roadside while the 'old woman' entered the grounds on foot.

Natalie and Lynch did not venture deep inside. Hiding in the branches of a large tree some fifty meters away, they each used a monocular telescope to peer into the empty factory grounds from afar.

Deep within stood a cluster of dilapidated factory buildings. It was clear they had not been used in a long time, yet faint shadows could be seen moving behind the glass windows.

As the old woman approached, the shadows in the window vanished. Shortly after, the door opened, and five or six people emerged to greet her.

Lynch frowned. The people inside looked far from normal.

They were brawny and robust with dark, rough skin, as if they had endured long years of exposure to the elements. They wore coarse cloth garments, and on their exposed skin, one could see numerous complex, chaotic tattoos.

Leading them was an elderly man with a head of white hair. Unlike the others, he was not brawny; his frame was skeletal, thin, and withered, reminding Lynch of his own hand from the night before last.

Yet, despite being such an old man, Lynch felt his scalp tingle the moment he saw him, even from over fifty meters away through the telescope. His heart hammered as if it were about to burst, and cold sweat broke out on his palms until, a moment later, the violent palpitations finally eased slightly.

Struggling to control his trembling lips, Lynch felt his very thoughts shivering.

"Travel Companion, this must be a powerful Soul Severer, right?"

【Yes. The mystery entangled within his soul is profound. It has bypassed the perception distance and stimulated your inspiration. Please be extremely careful, Lynch.】

This was the first time he had heard that voice urge caution, but Lynch had no time to dwell on it. He knew he had stumbled upon a big fish today—one that was terrifyingly large.

He gently nudged Officer Natalie beside him and whispered into her ear, "That old man—I sense an incredibly powerful force. It’s on par with Mr. V, perhaps even stronger."

Natalie’s muscles tensed, her expression turning cautious. She whispered back, "Victor is a level 5 authority Soul Severer, so this old hillman might be a level 6. It shouldn't reach the high-level tier of level 7. It is best not to peer at him directly; those of their strength are often extremely sensitive."

Lynch immediately shifted his gaze to the other brawny men, which helped alleviate some of the pressure. "Are these the hillmen?"

"Yes, they have a very distinct style of dress. Shh, there is movement."

The old man led a group of hillmen to greet the old woman, bowing deeply to her. The old woman merely curtsied with reserve, then her lips moved as if she were speaking a long string of words.

Upon hearing her, the young hillmen displayed expressions of panic and anger; some even waved their fists. Only the leading old man, his cloudy eyes half-closed as if he had just woken up, remained calm on his bark-like face.

When the 'old woman' finished, the old man nodded slowly. He gestured to those behind him with his squinted eyes. Two hillmen immediately returned to the factory and soon emerged, supporting a frail hillman. They led him directly to the 'old woman,' turned him around, and lifted the frail man's shirt.

From afar, Lynch and Natalie’s breath hitched. They looked at each other, both seeing the shock on the other's face.

On the hillman’s back was a massive tumor.

The purple growth was larger than a fist, bulging high from the surface of the skin. It pulsed and contracted like a beating heart, twitching from time to time. The skin on its surface was smooth and nearly translucent, with something seemingly wriggling inside.

Lynch felt a chill run down his spine. It wasn't fear so much as a physiological sense of nausea while watching the wriggling mass. Looking at Ms. Natalie beside him, her face was equally grim; she was clearly having a hard time as well.

As for the hillmen in the distance, they showed no reaction other than increased anger—perhaps they were used to it. The 'old woman' even leaned in to observe for a while, then nodded at the elder hillman and said something. She took several small brown glass bottles from her pocket, looking very much like the old-fashioned medicine bottles he had seen in his previous life.

The old man actually smiled for once, taking a small earthen jar from the factory to bring to the frail villager. Lynch was so absorbed in watching that he couldn't tell if it was an illusion, but he felt the elder hillman had glanced in their direction as he turned.

Hm?

Lynch’s scalp went numb. He abruptly lowered his telescope and looked at the officer. "I just felt like he looked at me."

"He did turn his body toward this side, but that was just a natural movement, wasn't it?" Officer Natalie raised her telescope to look again. "I don't see anything unusual. Are you sure?"

Lynch also scanned the area again. The movements of everyone on the other side were indeed normal. Perhaps his inspiration was too high, making him overly sensitive. Yet, just as he began to relax, scenes from the horror movies he had seen in the past immediately flashed before his eyes.

No, I’ve seen enough scenes like this in movies. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Lynch couldn't care about politeness. He grabbed Natalie’s wrist and whispered, "Trust me once. Let’s go. Now, as fast as possible, the further, the better."

The officer was puzzled, but seeing the seriousness on Lynch’s face, she didn't ask further. She led Lynch down from the tree by the back side, sprinted to where the horses were tied, untied the reins, and vaulted onto her horse. They trotted out several dozen meters before she stopped masking the sound of the hooves and let the police horse pick up speed.

Only then did Lynch let out a sigh of relief. He unfolded his telescope to look back at the direction they had just left, and Natalie, who had just managed to guide her horse onto the road, turned her head as well.

Then, both of them witnessed a scene that made their hearts skip a beat.

The tall locust tree where they had just been hiding suddenly shuddered for no reason, and the canopy shook violently.

The next moment, a breeze blew by. Under the breeze, the branches, trunk, and leaves of the entire tree silently turned into fine dust and drifted away with the wind. Yet, things like bird nests, deadwood, and debris that had been attached to the tree remained completely unscathed, falling to the ground with a clatter.

Holy shit.

Lynch’s legs went weak, and he felt a lingering sense of terror. If they had dawdled for even one more minute, they would have been caught red-handed. There would have been nowhere to hide, and who knew what the other party’s attitude would be—or if they would even survive.

Damn it, are these powerful Soul Severers even human? Do they really just toss around remote strikes of this caliber?

Officer Natalie was clearly thinking the same thing. With a grim face, she spurred her horse on without a word. Although both understood that the enemy likely hadn't pinpointed their exact location and was only using this method to flush them out, the vast disparity in power meant neither dared to linger, wanting only to get as far away as possible.

It wasn't until they had fled the gray fog zone and entered the Valley District onto the flat Rhine Avenue that they finally slowed down. The officer turned her body with lingering fear, looked back at the direction of their escape, then at Lynch, whose expression was equally tense. The two looked at each other for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter, grateful for their narrow escape.

"Are all you Soul Severers this terrifying?" Lynch let out a soft breath.

"That must have been a mid-level authority 6. Fortunately, they hadn't crossed the line of authority 7, otherwise, we would likely have been captured on the spot." The officer shook out her loose hair and put her hat back on. "Thanks to your warning, you saved my life. Thank you."

"I was saving myself, too. Besides, aren't we temporary partners?" Lynch chuckled. "If you really want to thank me, why not count it as another time you’ve lost to me?"

"Careful, or I’ll throw you back there to face that person." The officer said, still somewhat uneasy. "No, I must tell Victor when we get back. Even though they didn't use a lethal attack and their hostility didn't seem deep, a level 6 Soul Severer with an unknown identity entering the city limits is something the Watchers must be highly alert to."

"It probably won't be of any use. They’ll likely relocate soon."

"Even so, we must raise the Watchers' vigilance. Sigh, if only we hadn't been discovered, they wouldn't have had to relocate."

"Well, fortunately, they shouldn't realize that we discovered the noble’s little scheme," Lynch said, lost in thought. "The Valente family... it seems they have a very close relationship with the hillmen... and that strange tumor. Damn it, what on earth is that thing?"

"I will start by learning about this family through the Watchers' channels. Perhaps I can uncover their connection to the hillmen. As for the tumor, it looks extremely sinister, and I worry it is related to the mysterious. I will ask someone to check the records; perhaps some forbidden books contain documentation." At the mention of records, Natalie remembered and brought her horse to a stop, turning to ask, "Before we met that noble earlier, you said there was another place where we could find the case records?"

"Ah, right." Lynch patted his head. "The newspaper office, the office of the Rhine City Investigator."

"Hm?"

"I saw news about the Bester Tunnel in the paper twice, and both mentioned the deaths caused by the hillmen’s agitation. They very likely consulted the case records and might have even left notes. But getting them to cooperate won't be easy. I expect your badge won't be of much use."

"Tch, I hate newspaper offices, especially the Investigator," the officer said, shaking her reins with annoyance to get the horse moving again. "But what you say makes sense. They might have seen the records. Shall we go ask now?"

Lynch hugged the officer with one arm and took out his pocket watch with the other to check the time. It was three in the afternoon; it wasn't that late.

"Let’s do it tomorrow. I’ll think of a way to get them to help tonight. Today, let’s first go back to the Hall of Order’s vault to retrieve William's Holiday Surprise and take it to that red-haired woman to have it tested. It would be best if we could track its movement; we might even catch one or two of the culprits. If we can't track it, you should take the relic back to the club for safekeeping tonight. I never feel comfortable running around with evidence in hand."

"That’s fine, too." Hearing that they didn't have to go to the newspaper office, Officer Natalie’s voice instantly brightened, and even the horse picked up its pace. "Bessie should be able to track it. Although she is only a level 2 authority, her research into mysterious techniques and the application of abilities is top-tier in Rhine City. It’s just that finding a fallen god memory that suits her is difficult."

Lynch touched the new revolver in his holster, feeling a bit more anticipation for the beautiful red-haired woman.

However, when the two returned the horses to the Hall of Order, retrieved the relic from the storage room, and returned to the antique shop on the corner, they found that the area around the shop had already been cordoned off with police tape.

The place was in shambles, as if it had just experienced an explosion.

A group of blue uniforms surrounded Bessie’s magic shop, conducting inspections inside and out, while quite a few onlookers stood around on the periphery, pointing and whispering.

Natalie and Lynch looked at each other, remembering the fire at the Hall of Order, and both saw the worry in each other’s eyes.

Something else hasn't happened, has it?

Before the officer could find someone to ask, the shop door was opened from the inside.

A stretcher was carried out.