ASER – Chapter 20

The door opened. The shop was empty. The men from the Militia Bureau went straight into the kitchen at the back. As soon as they entered, the group, already trained in martial arts, smelled the scent of blood.

Click.

The light turned on, and the scene before them made everyone’s breath catch.

Shocking to behold.

The ceiling, the floor, the walls, the shelves—all were splattered with blood.

“Judging by these blood splatters, someone was decapitated.” Feng Ting thought of the girl who had been sitting alone by the roadside with a roasted sweet potato not long ago. His heart tightened. A quick scan revealed no bloodstains at the back courtyard entrance.

They retreated so quickly and made no attempt to clean up the blood, clearly having no intention of concealing anything. The absence of bloodstains at the back courtyard entrance meant the bodies were all dealt with in this kitchen.

Feng Ting gripped the hilt of his saber at his waist and walked over to the freezer.

He slowly lifted the freezer lid.

A blast of icy air, fresh heads, and dismembered limbs.

Seeing Jiang Chun’s face, Feng Ting didn’t know whether to be relieved or tense.

“Captain, there are bodies everywhere here.”

“Over here too.”

“My heavens, they’re all dead!”

Sweat beaded on everyone’s foreheads.

According to Chen Ran, these people were surveillance personnel arranged by the Prefect’s office, so they must have been strong, yet they were silently wiped out in this convenience store.

The case wasn’t solved, the children hadn’t been found, seven government officials were dead, one commoner was dead, and two were missing…

Wait, were the children abducted by Demonic Spirits, or by this group?

“If this gets out, I’m afraid the people of Lingcheng will panic even more. We won’t be able to cover it up from the outside, and even our Militia Bureau might be implicated.”

The personnel of the Militia Bureau sensed the gravity of the situation.

Feng Ting quickly examined the body beneath Jiang Chun’s head. “Dead for less than a day. They were probably eliminated not long after arriving at this surveillance point.”

As for Jiang Chun, he had been dead for less than an hour. The surveillance cameras outside had been useless from the start.

“So, this Jiang Chun and that Zhang Cheng were hunting down the informant. She then stumbled into this convenience store, which was supposed to be a stakeout point manned by the Prefect’s office, but… in reality, these people had already been killed by a group of criminals who then occupied the place.”

“Thinking about it this way, this informant has had incredibly bad luck.”

It was indeed very bad luck, as if she were a natural sinkhole, never encountering anything good.

Feng Ting thought about all the unfortunate incidents A’Diao had encountered since the revival of Spiritual Energy and felt like telling her to go pray at a temple.

But that was contingent on her surviving this time.

Feng Ting fell into deep thought: The situation might be even worse than initially suspected. He didn’t know about the Prefect’s office, but the Prefectural Sima’s side had evidently suspected human involvement rather than Demonic Spirits from the start, hence their greater focus on searching for people. It now seemed the Prefectural Sima was on the right track, while the Prefect’s office had fallen behind.

Seeing that this group killed Jiang Chun but took A’Diao and the other person away, it was highly probable that they did so because the two had absorbed Spiritual Energy and were therefore valuable.

Moreover, their careless retreat, without cleaning up, suggested they were either heading to their lair to evacuate Lingcheng with the children, or…

It was most likely the latter “or.” The sudden incident involving A’Diao and the others would likely attract the attention of the Authorities. Therefore, this group prioritized speed. Additionally, their ability to easily find an official surveillance point and eliminate seven people indicated there was an informant.

This group naturally knew that the Authorities had cast a wide net tonight and that transportation would be monitored. Thus, moving 23 children would be a huge target and very difficult to evacuate, so…

They would dispose of them tonight.

The matter was too big for a single Militia Bureau to handle. Feng Ting knew he had two choices now: one, report to the Prefect’s office; two, report to the Prefectural Sima.

Regardless of which he chose, they would offend one party. It depended on whether it was worth it.

Actually, the person Feng Ting should report to now was his own superior, the Chief of the Militia. But he knew that with the latter’s cautious nature, he would never take the risk and would rather not know about this matter. If trouble arose, his superior could even use the fact that Feng Ting hadn’t reported it to him to absolve himself.

So Feng Ting picked up his phone, about to dial a number, when unexpectedly, that number called him first.

“Officer Feng, I’ve also found some information on my end. I wonder if you have time to listen?”

It was Chen Ran.

Feng Ting realized—this Chen Ran wanted to pull him into his camp.

Actually, most people would choose Prefect Zhao Yu, not Chen Ran, who was of lower rank and background.

But circumstances shape the situation. In this crisis, the backers of Zhao Yu, at best, were only at the Jinling city level and could not withstand the current imperial court’s strict policies regarding the Spiritual Energy revival crisis.

Currently, it seemed Zhao Yu and Chen Ran’s factions were divided. Trouble at the Prefect’s office surveillance point meant the informant was within Zhao Yu’s faction, and likely held a significant position. Thus, Zhao Yu’s chances of resolving the crisis were low.

Taking a step back, even if the crisis couldn’t be resolved, the top leader Zhao Yu could only use Chen Ran as a scapegoat. But Chen Ran was very capable and had a strong backing himself; at worst, he could drag Zhao Yu down with him.

So, no matter whom he chose, he would fall into a pit. He might as well be like his leader and remain detached, uninvolved.

But what if the matter was resolved…

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Feng Ting didn’t hesitate, not because he trusted Chen Ran to win, but because he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. After all, when he was a government officer in the past, he had never shrunk back when commoners were in danger.

Since he had to get involved, he would choose the smarter one.

“Official Chen, please speak.”

Chen Ran’s expression relaxed considerably. The Prefect looked down on this newly arrived, grassroots Deputy Chief of Militia, but he had made inquiries and felt that Feng Ting was no ordinary person, worthy of being won over.

Chen Ran: “We’ve analyzed a large amount of case information and found that these people can pinpoint the children’s information with precision. Furthermore, the 23 children were mostly under lax parental supervision, allowing them to succeed easily. This suggests someone in their group might work within the kindergarten and elementary school system. However, these children are from different schools… so this person is in the education department and can easily access all the children’s information.”

“And after the incident, the Authorities attached great importance to it, public resentment boiled over, and city security was raised to level one alert. Various systems merged to handle the case, and the education system was naturally incorporated. Therefore, this person should also have been brought into Zhao Yu’s core team to cooperate with their protective investigation work. So, the identity of this informant is actually not difficult to investigate; after all, there are only a few from the education system in that team.”

While Feng Ting was on the phone, he had actually been moving around because he had noticed scuff marks in the blood on the floor.

There were originally Jiang Chun’s bloodstains on the floor. Besides footprints, someone had rolled on the ground, hence the scuff marks. But there was also a bloody handprint, probably made when someone touched the blood while rolling, and then… the bloody handprint was a bit strange.

The other fingers were curled inward, but the index finger was extended straight.

Feng Ting, examining the scene, looked under the freezer and asked, “Official Chen means?”

Chen Ran’s side was quick. After ruling out Demonic Spirits and investigating “people,” they had narrowed down the scope of the informant and probably already had a discovery.

Chen Ran’s tone was grave: “We cooperate. Your Militia Bureau provides the manpower, and our side provides the investigation authority. We each supplement what the other needs.”

“Alright, wait for my news. I might have a discovery here.”

After hanging up, Feng Ting pushed aside the freezer and, sure enough, found an object in the accumulated dust underneath.

It was a badge, also a miniature surveillance and communication device. It wasn’t anything extraordinary, just a piece of technology, not a Forbidden Item, and not within the official prohibition range. Many wealthy people could afford it; after all, they sometimes liked to film something to cherish. However, making it into such a realistic badge was rare; it wouldn’t cost less than tens of thousands of Star Coins.

Such an item shouldn’t be here, so… judging from the bloody handprint, A’Diao must have thrown it. She was also the one who alerted him. But she couldn’t afford such an expensive thing. That means she took it from Zhang Cheng and took the opportunity to throw it under the freezer.

It was highly likely that the perpetrator’s face was captured inside.

A subordinate took out a light-brain, inserted the chip into the device to access and view it. Soon, they saw the last surveillance video.

Inside… it was very dim. It was uncertain if the device could analyze a human face.

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Lingcheng Industrial Zone. This area became deserted as night fell, but the new district was much better than the old one. The dormitories there were crowded, while the old district was already dilapidated; both dormitories and factories needed renovation.

Due to a lack of funds, this place had been abandoned for a long time. Not to mention people, even ghosts wouldn’t come.

But occasionally… vehicles entered.

The transport vehicle that left the convenience store had long since been switched. They were now using an unrelated license plate, but these vehicles drove off after dropping off the people.

They were very cautious, unwilling to leave any flaws. The traces at the convenience store could be left untreated because they had left, and nearby surveillance cameras were avoided, cutting off their trail.

But there could be no flaws here, otherwise they would be wiped out in one go.

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The sound of dripping water was the only sound.

Zhang Cheng opened his eyes and found they were inside a factory, but not an ordinary manufacturing plant. It looked more like a soy sauce factory or a winery.

This should be the production room; a water pipe was still leaking.

His body was tightly bound with ropes. Zhang Cheng tried to struggle and escape, but found his body weak, completely unable to exert any strength.

Of course, A’Diao, across from him, was the same, thrown in a corner.

Zhang Cheng looked down at his clothes. During the earlier unexpected incident, he had only then realized that this person approaching him and taking his arm wasn’t for show, but to remove the badge from his clothes amidst the chaos.

Now their situations were intertwined, so he said nothing.

The badge left behind should have captured the appearance of those people. Thus, a city-wide search and investigation could be conducted based on facial recognition, greatly speeding up their investigation and subsequently finding their lair.

Of course, this was just one possibility. It was best to rely on himself to escape; others could not be depended upon.

Being found by the Authorities wasn’t necessarily a good thing for him either.

While Zhang Cheng was pondering how to escape, A’Diao also woke up. Their eyes met, and for a rare moment, they exchanged no nonsense, each just contemplating their escape.

A’Diao observed her surroundings and sniffed the air. A winery?

And a very old winery at that.

Bound so tightly, it was difficult to escape.

Before A’Diao could think of an escape plan, a door opened. Whoa, so many people came in at once.

Nine of them.

Nine people entered together.

Only one looked familiar, seemingly the man who had appeared in the convenience store’s backyard, the one who could command the female shop assistant. Clearly, his rank was higher than the others. Then the other eight were also of the same rank, otherwise they wouldn’t be wearing the same clothes.

A’Diao wondered where all these people had been before. It turned out they had gone to change clothes.

Such a sense of ceremony; they must be planning something big.

However, the pattern on these clothes seemed vaguely familiar, as if she had seen it in a book.

A pentagram.

A black-bottomed, blue-patterned pentagram?

A’Diao had read too many varied books and couldn’t recall it immediately. Watching these nine people walk in orderly, a few others followed behind, evidently subordinates, dragging in three other “dumplings.”

Judging by the way they were tied, they were in the same category as her and Zhang Cheng.

Before long, A’Diao and Zhang Cheng were also dragged over.

The five of them were dragged onto a large stone platform. Originally, this place should have been a sacrificial wine hall, but now it was being used to… Ah!

Someone screamed because their finger was cut to draw blood.

Such a large basin.

A’Diao saw the miserable man and instantly thought of her own fate.

Other cultists were approaching them with sharp blades.

Seeing that the basin was furthest from her, a glint in her eyes, A’Diao decided to gain some Mental Energy to increase her chances of a desperate counterattack. So she said in terror, “Even slaughtering pigs to let blood doesn’t use such a big basin.”

“And Uncles, you only have one basin. As they say, one basin cannot collect five bloods.”

“Can’t we take turns?”

Huh, that seems right.

The cultists, who were about to slaughter them like pigs simultaneously, were duly reminded and immediately reacted. An old man, who seemed to have the most authority, waved his sleeve and said, “Then let’s do it in order. When the blood flow is about right, we’ll switch to the next one.”

The young man who was second in line: “!!!”

His composure was crumbling a bit.

It’s not scarcity that one worries about, but uneven distribution. Weren’t we supposed to be bled together!

From Liu Guang +180!

The pain of having his flesh cut and blood let was unbearable. He glared angrily at A’Diao.

A’Diao, however, was immersed in the continuous increase of Mental Energy from Liu Guang alone: +180, +18, +20, +30…

Hmm, this person probably also absorbed Spiritual Energy. Judging by his official attire, he should be a scion of an official family in Lingcheng, with connections to absorb the Spiritual Energy released by the Spirit Gate or obtain a Spiritual Vessel. One of the other two also wore official clothes, while the last one wore ordinary clothes but didn’t look simple either.

So all five of them had absorbed Spiritual Energy, and Liu Guang, like Zhang Cheng, could easily burst out with over one hundred, nearly two hundred points of Mental Energy.

He was a good fat sheep.

From Zhao Xu +230+…

From Zhang Cheng +220+…

Although Zhang Cheng knew A’Diao’s chatter could buy time, he still felt resentment towards her.

My heavens, almost a thousand! The Mental Energy increase was too satisfying. When it was A’Diao’s turn to be bled, she almost wished she could also burst out with Mental Energy—the more painful, the better!

The cultist holding the basin even thought he saw… pleasure in this girl’s eyes.

He almost thought he was mistaken.

Good heavens, where did this pervert come from?

Should he suggest to the Great Elder to keep this girl? She’s definitely cultist material.

But the pain was real. A’Diao looked at her bleeding wrist and had to deliberately control her breathing to feign weakness, almost to the point of flaring her nostrils like Yue Yunpeng, as if she would die from excessive blood loss.

Her female identity and age were her best disguise.

Zhang Cheng, somewhat familiar with A’Diao, watched all this with a cold eye, knowing this little drama queen was far from fragile. But now they were grasshoppers on the same rope; exposing her would do him no good, so he said nothing, secretly trying to gather his strength.

But having been electrocuted, their bodies were weak, and with the blood loss, how could they have the strength to turn things around?

The five of them were actually very anxious inside.

“That’s enough.”

Presumably, they couldn’t let them die, or they would lose their value. So the cultist stopped bleeding A’Diao and even thoughtfully applied a pig-faced band-aid.

A’Diao: “…”

Then they moved over five large wine vats. A’Diao suddenly froze. Her gaze swept across the entire area, and she discovered there were a total of 28 large wine vats here.

Subtracting the 5 of them, that left 23. Wasn’t that exactly enough for 23 people?

So those 23 slightly smaller wine vats, all covered with pointed conical hats, couldn’t possibly contain…

The next second, the old man casually lifted one of the pointed conical hats. The smell of wine was released, and the pale, haggard face of a six or seven-year-old boy was revealed. The expressions of A’Diao and the other four changed in unison.

One by one, the wine vats were opened, and one by one, the children were revealed, all on the verge of death.

They had all been soaked in wine, and for a considerable amount of time.

The strong smell of wine filled the vast space, and A’Diao and the others at the center felt it most intensely.

For the first time, the smell of wine felt so nauseating. But they had no time to be angry about what these people had done to these children. The old man pointed a finger, “Put them in too.”

Evidently, they also had to be soaked in wine.

A’Diao was startled and suspicious, but then she saw the old man add lightly, “They are different from children. These children are pure and clean; the True God will not be picky. But these people have long been defiled by worldly grains, their constitutions impure. They need to be reconfigured by the ‘human swine’ method and their essence remolded to be mellow with wine brewing, otherwise this sacrifice will surely fail.”

What human what swine?!! Is it the ‘human swine’ we know?

The five of them instantly lost all composure.

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