The Source

“Current time: 11:41 AM. Lead examiner: Stephen Sven. Assistant examiner: Diana de Valente.”

“External appearance of the stomach is somewhat dark, with mild signs of decay on the surface, consistent with the estimated time of death. The organ lacks vitality and is distended; the intestines below the pylorus are also full. Digested gastric contents show signs of having entered the intestinal tract.”

“We can't rule out the possibility that the source of infection is inside,” Lynch, who was busy taking notes, couldn't help but caution. “Both of you, be careful.”

Miss Diana's watery gaze swept across Lynch's face, and she gave a soft hum of acknowledgment. As for Dr. Sven... without looking up from the corpse, she merely raised a hand and made a few clawing motions in the air—the exact gesture she had used to scare Lynch with her claws after turning into a ghoul earlier.

She raised her blade and severed the soft stomach, then quickly stepped back alongside Miss Diana.

Pfft.

A plume of green vapor billowed from both the severed cardia and pyloric ends. While not dense, the mist was a dark, murky green, possessing a viscous texture that looked utterly bizarre and sinister.

“The green mist possesses distinct mystery characteristics and is of low concentration. In nature, it appears to be a mysterious residue formed after a mystery object was contained in an enclosed space. At this concentration, it poses no danger without direct contact.”

After a brief pause, the count's daughter couldn't suppress the excitement bubbling inside her, her voice trembling:

“With this mist appearing, we may have truly found our target.”

It was already the third day, and at long last, they saw hope of breaking through the deadlock. The joy among the four of them was easy to imagine, especially for the count's daughter. Her status meant she had mostly dealt in theoretical knowledge; she had likely never entered an uncontrolled relic memory in her entire life, making her excitement inevitable.

Lynch merely nodded, discreetly observing Knight Terry's reaction. Sudden developments like this were the best test of a person's stance.

Knight Terry's face showed a mix of joy and fury, laced with deep unease, as he stared unblinkingly at Dr. Sven's every move.

Seeing this, Lynch felt half his worries subside. Such a reaction was completely normal; the man was unlikely to be a pawn of the city lord and could be won over. Still, old pal, reel in that anxiety—the woman you're watching is a ghoul...

Once the green mist had completely dispersed, Dr. Sven and Miss Diana stepped forward once more.

“The lead examiner has opened the stomach wall. The inner lining is intact with no visible damage, and the contents are clearly identifiable. Approximately two-thirds are fine grains, and one-third is cooked meat. A small amount of fresh flesh resides at the topmost section of the stomach, suspected to be the result of tearing into comrades and ingesting muscle tissue.”

“Aside from the fresh flesh, the remaining contents are evenly blended, indicating a single meal. The food was incompletely broken down, with visible chunks of meat mixed among grain fragments, likely because the subject ate in great haste, leading to insufficient chewing.”

“The mystery residue originates from the food, and the residual sensation is quite potent. While we cannot yet confirm whether this food is the primary source triggering the occult plague, we can be certain there is a severe problem with it. Further analysis is necessary.”

“Intestinal contents match those of the stomach, with no fresh flesh, and likewise contain mystery residue.”

“Examination of the third corpse is hereby concluded. Time: 12:32 PM.”

After nearly an hour of intense focus, the two women finally stepped back in a hurry, darting to a corner to pull off their masks and gasp for air. Miss Diana leaned against the wall, dry-heaving uncontrollably. Officer Natalie gently patted her back while turning her head away with an aloof, disdainful expression.

“Kemitt and Leonard must have set out in the morning, right?” As the group gathered around, Lynch considerately handed a canteen to the dry-heaving young countess. Seeing her condition stabilize, he flipped through his notes and asked, “If his symptoms manifested during the night, does that mean this food stayed in his stomach for an entire day?”

“No, on official missions like this, they are provided with military rations,” Knight Terry replied. “Given the urgency of the military situation, they couldn't afford to stop and eat, forced to wolf it down on horseback. That explains why the food wasn't thoroughly chewed. Could there be a mole in the barracks who tampered with the rations? If so, this is a disaster. No, I have to go check.”

“Hold on a second.” Deciding to give him a bit of trust, Lynch immediately stopped his pointless impulse. “Do your military rations always consist of meat and fine grains?”

“That's right—” Knight Terry froze, stiffening on the spot. He knew military rations all too well; aside from bread hard enough to be used as a murder weapon, there was practically nothing else. As for dried meat, you could only hope to get a tiny sliver if you were on great terms with the quartermaster. “Then... did he bring it from home? But that's impossible. If the food from his house was the issue, Leonard wouldn't have fallen ill as well.”

“Right. And I really had no idea conditions in this little town of yours were so lavish that a mere soldier could eat fine grains and cooked meat—let alone in a two-to-one ratio. That's far better than what we ate at Ms. Sven's place last night.”

Seeing Knight Terry's expression grow increasingly rigid, Lynch adopted a look of profound bewilderment:

“I wonder where that food came from. If we could locate the source, we might find out who orchestrated this plague. What a pity they're both dead—this question might never be answered.”

Saying so, he shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

Knight Terry's expression shifted erratically. Clearly, a realization had dawned on him, but he ultimately held his tongue. Dr. Sven, on the other hand, was quite satisfied, speaking in a Lande-like dialect that Terry couldn't understand: “This is our greatest breakthrough since the incident began. We no longer need to verify the identities of the ghouls involved. With this sample, if I work overtime tonight, I can formulate a targeted healing medicine by tomorrow noon. Who would've thought the day would come when I'd rely on concoctions to heal people, just like those apothecaries?”

“That fast?”

“You've already helped us uncover the most critical piece of information. While the mechanics of transmission and replication remain unclear, those are only needed to prevent future progression and spread. Having a healing medicine takes precedence over everything.”

The normally ferocious ghoul doctor looked upon that pile of nauseating stomach contents as if gazing at a treasure hoard. A gentle smile surfaced on her face as she murmured:

“I know you're harboring plenty of secrets, but you've continually proved your goodwill through your actions, so I won't pry. Rest assured, our deal still stands. I hid the Necronomicon in a very secluded cave on Middle Earth. I'll draw you a map in a little while.”

“You're drawing it now?”

“You never forced me to draw it before helping us solve our problem, so what do I have to worry about?” Dr. Sven replied earnestly. “Is there anything else I can do?”

“Let's resolve everything here first,” Lynch said with a lighthearted, relaxed tone. “As for that knight over there, you'd better keep a close eye on him. It seems what I said made him realize where the problem lies, but I'm worried he might act rashly without thinking and confront the city lord directly. Not only would that likely get him killed, it would also blow our cover.”

“Terry, I need to start compounding the medicine immediately and require protection,” Dr. Sven said at once. “Until it succeeds tomorrow at noon, you had better not leave my side for a single step.”

“But I still wanted to...” The knight hesitated, torn. After wrestling with his thoughts for a few seconds, he nodded. “All right, protecting you while you compound the medicine takes priority. Then I...”

Before he could finish, a soldier burst into the training ground, rushing frantically to Terry's side.

“Sir, something terrible has happened!” The soldier shouted, his face ash-pale. “A riot suddenly broke out in the west of the city!”

“People are biting others in the streets!”