Chapter 146: 143 An Unfinished Ritual

"You actually managed to get photos of the scene." Li Duojin glanced at Chen Xiaolin, feeling that this female reporter really had some tricks up her sleeve.

"Things that can be solved with a bit of money aren't really problems," Chen Xiaolin said. She showed her phone to Li Duojin. "Master Li, since you keep saying you have some ability and felt something was strange the moment you entered the room, what is your take on these symbols and this attic?"

Li Duojin did not answer immediately. He stared intently for a while at the complex symbols, which looked as if they were composed of various basic shapes combined together, before saying, "I don't recognize these symbols either. They don't look like anything passed down from ancient times in the Shenzhou Region. They either existed in a much more ancient era, experienced a long gap, and then reappeared, or they exist somewhere much further away and were transmitted from somewhere across the ocean.

But what I can be certain of is that some kind of non-compliant sacrificial ritual was held here. Although I don't know the purpose of the sacrifice, nor do I know what kind of phenomenon was triggered during the process, I do know that this sacrifice led to an unimaginable evil consequence."

"Evil consequence?" Chen Xiaolin frowned. "Can you tell me your theory?"

"Are you scared by the atmosphere here?" Li Duojin asked with a hint of playfulness. Seeing her look choked by his words, he laughed. "Your imagination should be better than this. Although the place has been cleaned up quite thoroughly, combined with the things you saw earlier, you should be able to imagine something."

Chen Xiaolin opened her mouth. Feeling somewhat unconvinced, she steadied her mind and recalled the signs she had noticed along the way as she entered the attic.

The deformed metal door with multiple human faces protruding from it, the scratch marks everywhere, the signs of a struggle that couldn't be completely covered up, the tablecloth with mysterious symbols drawn on it, the sacrificial ritual... Zheng Yu... hacking people...

"Could it be that a violent and bloody incident happened here too?" Chen Xiaolin was horrified, staring at Li Duojin.

Li Duojin nodded at her, though his focus drifted slightly, shifting to the pitch-black space behind Chen Xiaolin. Several miserably dead, broken-boned corpses, dragging limbs that were barely attached and stitched together with poorly removed flesh and tissue, were wandering around this attic. From the moment he entered, his special eyes had allowed him to see the victims who had died here.

Chen Xiaolin pressed, "How can you be sure? And where are the people? If it were that serious, there should at least be bloodstains or corpses left behind."

"The Enforcers and the Xuanmi Group who came here to investigate cleaned it up afterward, or perhaps they were dealt with by other entities." Li Duojin didn't care about where the bodies were; he was curious about other things. "What exactly was this ritual for? When was it held, and what was the result? How did the entity that went on a killing spree here get in? There isn't a single sign of a break-in here. And how did it get out? There were no traces left outside the house either."

"The Xuanmi Group?" Chen Xiaolin widened her eyes. "You think even the Xuanmi Group has intervened in this incident?"

"I am not only confident in thinking so, but I am also certain they have been here," Li Duojin said to Chen Xiaolin.

Chen Xiaolin stared at him, only to see Li Duojin remove his phone case and take out a magnetic card from the inner lining, which clearly stated Li Duojin's professional information.

Mysterious Investigator Qualification Certificate

Name: Li Duojin

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Rating: D

Seeing the credentials Li Duojin displayed, Chen Xiaolin finally understood his true identity. She curled her toes slightly. "So your real identity is a Mysterious Investigator, and being a fake master is your side job."

"Strictly speaking, my main job is just being an ordinary Temple Keeper. Although ordinary, it is not fake. Being a Mysterious Investigator is my side job," Li Duojin shook his head, correcting Chen Xiaolin's perception of him.

As he spoke, Li Duojin did not want to argue further with Chen Xiaolin and said, "The reason I agreed to come to Magic City for Zhang Laoban isn't just because of money. In fact, at the same time I agreed, I had already received an investigation mission, so I had long since started investigating the Abnormal factors behind this murder case. Making a profit from Zhang Laoban this time was just a convenience.

You also know that the missions for Mysterious Investigators are basically issued by the organization responsible for investigating and handling Abnormals in their respective jurisdictions. Since I could receive such a mission, it means the Xuanmi Group has already conducted a preliminary investigation here."

"You're using me?" Chen Xiaolin finally realized that she was the one being manipulated.

Li Duojin smiled nonchalantly. "Why put it that way? We are just mutually beneficial. You wanted the truth, you said you could provide clues, and you were willing to pay to hire me, so naturally, I had to come along."

Chen Xiaolin gritted her teeth. "Dog liar."

"I don't suggest you insult yourself like that," Li Duojin shook his head.

Chen Xiaolin couldn't afford to bicker too much with Li Duojin. She focused a death stare on his face. "What did you find? Tell me quickly! I don't care what your identity is right now; I'm the one paying!"

Li Duojin shrugged. "That's all there is. The rest are just guesses—deductions without substantial evidence. Do you want to hear them?"

Without waiting for Chen Xiaolin to answer, he saw the anger in her widened eyes and continued immediately, "I suspect that Zheng Yu's string of murders was also part of the ritual."

"Part of the ritual?" Chen Xiaolin's expression was uncertain and worried. "When did he start believing in these things? He isn't the type of person to be so irrational."

"When encountering certain powerful Abnormal factors, human reason and spirit are unreliable," Li Duojin comforted her. "He might have been tainted inadvertently, and his mind could have been induced later."

Chen Xiaolin sighed to herself, then suddenly remembered the experience she heard from the sanitation worker, Wang Daye, when she spoke with him. "Wait a minute, if you say it's a ritual, I remember what the sanitation worker at JOJO Amusement Park said."

"You mean that lucky sanitation worker who happened to be rescued by the Enforcers?" Li Duojin had heard of it, but he had just arrived in Magic City today and hadn't had time to investigate this person, so he asked, "What did he say?"

Chen Xiaolin: "He told me that right before Zheng Yu died, he kept saying things like 'the mission is handed over to him'."

"A mission?" Li Duojin was thoughtful. "Could it mean that the ritual hasn't been fully completed and needs to continue?"

Chen Xiaolin shuddered and clenched her fists.

Wang Daye took one last lingering look at the amusement park, then hoisted the luggage packed into a burlap sack and left without ever looking back.

Wang Daye, who did not want to resign, ultimately left early.