Under the dim light of the kerosene lamp, shark-like, razor-sharp teeth tore into fresh meat. The rhythmic, crunching sounds of chewing were piercingly clear in the silence.
This was the underground cavern of the Thorn Flower Club. The passage leading to the deeper sections had been blown up, making this the most suitable place to hide.
Maya, the reporter, sat on the ground beside the kerosene lamp. The grime on her face had been washed away, and she had changed into clean clothes, looking much fresher.
She couldn't be very old—likely twenty-one or twenty-two. She was petite with fair skin, still bearing a resemblance to the photos, though her appearance had become terrifyingly distorted. In particular, the two rows of fangs, gleaming white under the light, looked exceptionally ferocious.
At this moment, she was cradling a massive turkey leg, tearing into it with force and swallowing large bites. She had already finished one nine-penny turkey leg and was attacking the second. Seeing her starving state, Lynch could only sigh and pour her another cup of coffee.
It seemed she hadn't had a proper meal in days. Lynch couldn't bear to disturb her eating; after buying her food, he had carried her daily necessities down from the surface building, trip by trip, so she could be a bit more comfortable.
"Ask whatever you want to know."
Seeing that Lynch was finished with his tasks, Maya finally spared the remaining half of the turkey leg. She carefully put it away, as if afraid it might run off on its own, then took a towel to wipe her mouth, regaining an elegance befitting her status.
"Do you trust me now? You were quite suspicious of me at the carriage graveyard."
"That white-bearded old man is the chieftain of the Nikolai tribe of hillmen. It is said he is a very terrifying and powerful person."
Maya turned up the kerosene lamp. Even though she had turned into a monster, her eyes remained bright and clear in the light:
"You told me to run without a second thought, and when I couldn't escape, you shielded me behind you. If those police had arrived a moment later, you might have already been fighting him to the death. What more could I possibly doubt? Forget it, you don't even need to ask; I will tell you everything I have experienced during this time. If there is anything you don't understand, feel free to ask."
Lynch nodded and poured himself a cup, then placed the coffee pot on the kerosene stove.
"Today is May 19th, right? Well, I went into the mountains at the beginning of May, wanting to interview the hillmen and write a report on the Bester Tunnel dispute."
"Yes, I saw that stack of photos."
"Donnie's?" Maya's eyes turned red immediately. She wiped her eyes, her voice choked with sobs as she said, "Those were the records. The journey into the mountains was actually quite smooth, and the hillmen were very friendly. Although I accidentally captured a few monsters on film along the way, Chieftain Nikolai explained that they were ethnic costumes used for their rituals, and I believed him."
"And? You actually knew they weren't props?"
"As reporters, we hear strange rumors from time to time. For the sake of our own safety, we don't take them as absolute truth, but we don't dismiss them as fake either. These hillmen have enjoyed preferential treatment in Lande as a minority group for centuries. The noble lords in the capital aren't stupid; they have their reasons for doing so. It wouldn't surprise me at all if the hillmen had secrets."
The reporter didn't drink the coffee but instead took the red wine Lynch had bought back, downed several gulps, wiped the corner of her mouth, and sighed:
"They told me their reasons for opposing the tunnel. Buried beneath Bester Mountain are the ruins of their ancestors. Once excavated, it would bring about a great calamity. The hillmen wanted to change the route, but the city government, especially Chairman Grant, simply refused, saying it was the only feasible route and that it must be dug. That is why the hillmen resorted to various methods of resistance, even inciting the workers on the initial project to go on strike."
"And those workers just joined in the trouble with them?"
"The workers did indeed encounter many bizarre accidents. They didn't just see monsters; several people even died. They were terrified, believing that if construction continued, even they would be cursed. So, incited by the hillmen, they began to strike. Actually, you should know what was going on with the monsters those workers encountered."
"Yes, but was it only the workers' troubles that were the hillmen's doing?" Lynch asked, pursuing the point. "What about the other mysterious deaths?"
"I don't know. I didn't have the energy to continue investigating after that, but the other incidents shouldn't have been related to the hillmen. It was precisely because the workers' experiences were manipulated by them that I didn't write about the ancestral ruins and the calamity they mentioned in my draft; I wasn't even sure if those were just their excuses."
Lynch nodded, showing he understood.
"Everything was going smoothly until the last night. I drank some fruit wine brewed by the hillmen and had a dream that night."
Lynch straightened his back, his expression turning serious.
"I dreamt I was in a massive, abandoned city, surrounded by those monsters walking about. No one could see me. I kept walking until I reached a place that looked like a temple, following a long, black shadow deep into the heart of the temple, and then I saw a vast…"
"Yes?"
"I don't even know what I saw. I just felt my mind go blank, as if that black shadow touched me with something, and then I was startled awake."
Maya's expression twisted in terror until Lynch held her hand and patted it gently, her panting gradually calming down. Her voice sounded dry as she said:
"As soon as I woke up, I found those hillmen gathered together to perform some ritual, looking very strange. Many had turned into monsters, chanting the name Mordiggian, along with another pronunciation I couldn't understand—something like Zur-Baha. I was terrified. I took the photo negatives and my interview notes—I didn't even grab my camera—and fled the cave, escaping back to Rhine City that very night. I thought it was over, but a few days later, I discovered something was wrong with my body. Not only was the stench of decay getting stronger, but my face was looking more and more like a monster, and every night I would have nightmares about that terrifying, abandoned city."
Lynch's lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing. With his current understanding of the mysterious world, it was clear she had established a connection with the mysterious, and this was no longer a problem that could be solved just by running away.
"At first, the situation was mild, so I didn't pay much attention to it and continued to investigate the tunnel dispute, even taking those later photos. Since the other side was represented by Chairman Grant, I went to interview him a few times. As a result, I accidentally saw him meeting secretly with several homeless people."
"Hiss… were those the ones from today?"
"Yes. They also mentioned Mordiggian, and also that title, Zur-Baha or something. I didn't dare listen closely and fled. It was only later, when I saw them turn into monsters and crawl into the sewers, that I realized they were the same kind as those hillmen. As I changed more and more into a monster, I didn't dare to be seen. Since I didn't know if my encounter was related to my interview experience, the nightmare, or my continued investigation after returning, I gave all the photos to Donnie and hid in the small cabin."
"But why did you leave so suddenly? And why did you leave that empty frame?"
"When I interviewed some big figures in the past, I heard them mention a strange intelligence organization. I tried to create one, wanting to ask what was happening to me. I didn't expect someone to actually appear inside, telling me that those hillmen would soon come for me. The hillmen had actually found me once before, trying to drag me back into the cave, but there were too many people around, so they didn't dare act, and I got away. As soon as I heard the warning from the person in the frame, I didn't dare stay in the cabin, so I ran back to the city, hiding in that graveyard of abandoned carriages, living with the homeless."
After blurting out everything she knew, Maya yawned, her eyes bleary as she asked, "Is there anything else you want to know? I was so scared I couldn't sleep every night. I don't know why today, I suddenly feel sleepy. I want to sleep for a while. Can you…"
"Yes?"
"Can you…"
"Heh, I understand. I still have to wait here for Officer Natalie to arrive. I won't leave, so you can sleep peacefully. I'll stay with you."
"Mhm." The reporter looked at Lynch gratefully, wrapped herself in the bedding Lynch had brought down, and within seconds, her breathing became even.
Lynch shook his head with a wry smile, knowing this ordinary girl had suffered too much psychological torture during this time.
Worse than himself, at least he still had a gentle neighbor he could pester.
【Hmm?】
No, that's his most solid emotional pillar. But this girl had nothing. The fact that she hadn't gone mad yet was a testament to her inner strength.
Lynch felt a touch of pity. Not wanting to disturb her rest, he turned the kerosene lamp down to its lowest setting and, by the faint light, began to organize the information he had just received.
Some of the content was similar to what he had imagined. A few mysteries regarding the Bester Tunnel were beginning to surface, but the full scope of the conspiracy behind the entire Norin-Rhine Railway was still far from clear. More investigation was needed.
From the information at hand, Lynch realized he had made two major mistakes.
Although the hillman ghouls and the sewer ghouls were the same species, they seemed to have different stances. One side opposed the tunnel excavation, yet the other stood with Chairman Grant, who supported it.
As for his second mistake, he had always felt that the Frame Hand was trying to guide the hillmen to find Maya. Now it seemed to be the exact opposite; he had been causing trouble, which meant he did not want the hillmen to find Maya. From that perspective, was he more inclined to support the tunnel construction?
It's hard to say. A question mark needs to be drawn. I hope… hmm?
The darkness severely hindered his vision, but it made his hearing more sensitive. As he sorted through his thoughts, Lynch suddenly heard some faint rustling nearby.
Is Officer Natalie here? It shouldn't be that fast. Or did those spiders come back? That shouldn't be it.
His heart full of suspicion, Lynch looked around quietly. Although the light was very faint, ever since he gained Cat's Favor, his vision seemed to have improved significantly. With the glimmer, he could barely make out the surrounding environment.
The moment he saw it clearly, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Without knowing when it happened, he was no longer in the underground cavern of the Thorn Flower Club, but had appeared inside an unknown building.
What kind of hellish place is this?
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