Chapter 229: Scarlet Parasite

"Advanced knowledge?"

Hearing Yun Mu's request, Sixin appeared somewhat surprised.

"You should still be some distance away from advancing, right?"

He had intended to say that Yun Mu was still a long way from advancing, but suddenly recalling the speed at which she had progressed from a First-tier Apprentice to an Elite, he couldn't help but silently change his words.

"Just preparing in advance, hehe."

Yun Mu said vaguely, not telling the other party that she had actually almost reached the limit of a Second-tier Elite.

"Hmm, giving it to you isn't impossible." Sixin didn't ask much else; he stroked his chin and pondered for a moment.

"Just remember, do not spread it around privately."

"Definitely, definitely." Yun Mu immediately nodded in agreement.

"By the way, if I have an apprentice, can I teach it to her?" She suddenly thought of something and asked Sixin.

"Uh..." The other party was stunned by her question, then smiled indifferently: "Do as you like, as long as it isn't spread on a large scale."

"After all, I'm not in a position to lecture you right now either," he said, laughing with a hint of self-deprecation.

"Of course, if it really leaks out, the Painter Association will not sit idly by; I hope you understand this point," he said to Yun Mu.

"Is this considered a warning?" Yun Mu blinked.

"No." Sixin smiled and shook his head: "This is just my personal advice."

"I will remember it." Yun Mu nodded earnestly.

"While the meeting hasn't started yet..." Sixin looked around and said to her: "I will go find Princess to borrow a notebook for writing and record the knowledge of professional advancement."

"I will give it to you after the meeting ends."

"No problem, right?"

"Of course!" Yun Mu nodded happily; she wasn't short on this bit of time anyway.

Thus, the matter of the advanced knowledge was settled. Next, it would depend on how Rain Curtain Magazine performed in its debut tomorrow.

As a publishing company with no fame and no promotion, I'm afraid only those who have been paying attention to the company that was originally acquired would know about their actions.

But it doesn't matter; Yun Mu believes in her work, and likewise, she believes in the methods of One-Eared Rat.

Although the two hadn't known each other for long, she felt that the other party was quite reliable.

After all, he is a guy who can thrive in the Black Market; his personal ability certainly won't be too bad.

As for handing the company over entirely to the other party's control... she herself didn't care at all.

After all, not to mention that the company itself was acquired with One-Eared Rat's own money, just saying if she were to manage the company... forget it, there is no "if," thinking any further would be impolite.

She only needs to sit and wait for the experience points to roll in; as for the specific details, those are naturally professional matters, so leave them to the professionals.

Hopefully, there will be good news tomorrow.

Eight o'clock in the evening.

Familiar time, familiar place, everyone gathered at Frost Bank once again.

"Ahem, the meeting begins. Let me announce today's progress."

Brenna's mood seemed good; she coughed lightly and announced to everyone.

Could there be some good news? Yun Mu looked at her expression and guessed.

"First is the Guard Hall's side, regarding the cleaning work in the sewers..." Brenna looked at Leinuode, whose expression barely changed.

"Of the two streets marked earlier, one has already been cleaned, while the other street... due to some unknown reasons, the number of Monsters in the sewer has suddenly surged, causing the Mecha Unit's cleaning work to be hindered."

"I think this is good news. After all, there must be a reason for the sudden increase in the number of Monsters. As long as the Mecha Unit continues to go deeper, they should be able to obtain more clues, and regarding this point..."

"Conservatively estimated, the cleaning work in the sewers will be finished before tomorrow evening." Noticing Brenna's gaze again, Leinuode stood up and explained to everyone.

"Hmm, that's it." Brenna nodded with satisfaction, then looked toward Yun Mu's side.

Just as she was thinking about whether to stand up and explain, the other party suddenly shifted her gaze away.

"The investigation by the Scarlet Relief Society has already ended." As Brenna spoke, she bent down to take out a wooden box from beneath her and placed it on the table.

"This is a wooden box made of Holy Wood," she explained to everyone.

"Holy Wood, huh..."

Yun Mu hadn't been reading so many books for nothing these past few days; she naturally knew what Holy Wood was.

It is a type of Monster-fied plant with extremely tenacious vitality. Through special processing, it can be used to create special crafts that will self-heal over time even if damaged.

Most importantly, this thing has extremely high resistance to Supernatural power; it can even be called an insulator for Supernatural power.

Therefore, using it to store Supernatural Items can not only isolate their aura but even has the ability to interfere with divination and prophecy; it is quite outrageous.

However, if one were to talk about its shortcomings, those naturally exist too.

First is that the production process is too long, it must involve the participation of Supernatural power, it cannot be mass-produced, and it cannot be used to make items that are too large, only small objects, etc.

Otherwise, if a person were to lie inside, or if one used Holy Wood to build a house, wouldn't it be impossible for anyone to find them? "So, what is inside is..." Yun Mu already had the answer in her heart, but she still asked Brenna.

"It is the sculpture you and Dunn brought back." Noticing her gaze, Brenna simply opened the wooden box, and that familiar stone sculpture, emitting a disgusting aura, appeared before everyone present.

"This is the Anchor Point," Brenna explained to everyone.

"Something feels wrong..." Among those present, Bishop Muse, who was a Fifth Rank Champion, frowned.

"This is indeed an Anchor Point, but its power is too small." Bishop Muse seemed to be sensing something: "With just this little power, how could it possibly anchor the existence of an Outer God?"

"Tell us how you found it."

"Hmm, that is exactly what I was about to say next." Brenna nodded and looked at Dunn: "This Anchor Point was discovered by Mr. Dunn, so let him explain the detailed process of the matter."

"No problem." Dunn had returned to his cold, icy appearance at this moment; it seemed he only had those rich expressions when in private.

Huh, this guy really is a closeted person.

Yun Mu thought to herself while listening to Dunn recount what had happened over the past two days.

"... That is how it happened. I found this Anchor Point in the deepest part of the Barrier. Because I also felt something was wrong at the time, I did not destroy it, but brought it out from the Barrier."

"You have done well," Bishop Muse nodded in praise.

He looked toward Brenna at his side: "Did you discover anything from the Barrier afterward?"

"And that emerging noble named Siman, how is the interrogation going?"

"Hmm," hearing Bishop Muse's question, Brenna organized her thoughts for a moment.

"Inside the Barrier were only ordinary people infected with the Scarlet Curse. Through questioning at the Guard Hall, they were all deceived by Siman into entering the Barrier, and they believe in the Scarlet, spending several hours every day in Prayer to the sculpture inside the Barrier."

"Yes, it is this one on the table."

Brenna wore a very troubled expression: "That fellow Siman is very clever; he packaged himself as a kind noble and claimed that other capitalists who exploit workers are Evil."

"And the Scarlet is the deity leading them to overthrow the capitalists. Of course, fine words are useless, but he really does give money to the workers."

"Among the group of workers brought back now, many are already sincerely believing in the Scarlet, and even with the Guard Hall's efforts to correct them, it remains fruitless."

"As for the interrogation... that fellow is just a pawn; he doesn't know much."

"The instructions given to him by that Scarlet Messenger were only two: to develop influence and to spread the Scarlet Curse as much as possible. As for brainwashing the workers... that was Siman's own idea."

Speaking of this, Brenna could not help but sneer: "He wanted everyone in the Scarlet Relief Society to follow his command so he could sideline Natavia; he really is a fool whose brain has been soaked in power."

"Little does he know he is just a pawn used to divert attention. However, one shouldn't speak too definitively."

She changed the subject, saying with a serious tone: "Regardless of the other party's goal, we cannot let our guard down. I will have the people at the Guard Hall follow up on this investigation."

As she spoke, she looked toward Leinuode: "I will leave this matter to you, Mr. Leinuode. It just so happens that the clearing work in the sewers will be finished tomorrow."

"I have no problem with that," Leinuode nodded in agreement.

"Then, let us move on to the next topic."

"Wait." Before Brenna could finish speaking, she was interrupted by the Apostle Kamal, who had light blue hair.

He looked at the Anchor Point on the table: "How should this thing be handled?"

"Destroy it, of course, then soak it in Holy Water, and have several Bishops take turns in Prayer to Purify it, ensuring not a trace of the Outer God's aura remains on it," Bishop Muse at his side said as if it were a matter of course.

Looking at his practiced manner, it was clear he had handled such matters many times.

"In accordance with protocol, very good," Kamal nodded faintly, then asked: "What about that emerging noble named Siman, his surviving Bloodline subordinate, and those infected by the Scarlet Curse?"

Whether it was an illusion or not, Yun Mu felt that when he spoke, his gaze seemed to look at her obscurely.

Without waiting for Bishop Muse or Brenna to answer, Kamal stated his own thoughts: "One cannot have even the slightest bit of wishful thinking when dealing with events related to Outer Gods. I believe they should all be disposed of!"

"Kamal!" Bishop Muse frowned: "You are being a bit too extreme."

"... Hmph." Scolded by Bishop Muse, Kamal could not help but snort, though he did not express his thoughts further.

"The noble Siman deserves to die, but those deceived by him still have a chance to turn back. Everyone is a child of the Goddess; they have merely been briefly blinded by Evil."

"With reasonable guidance, I believe they will all return to the embrace of the Goddess," Bishop Muse piously drew the pattern of the Lady of the Dark Night on his chest.

"Hmm, I agree with Bishop Muse's words," Brenna also nodded at this time, her expression solemn: "As long as they are people living on this land, they are all citizens of my Frost Kingdom."

"No one has the right to take illegal measures against them in private."

Not even the Church!

Brenna added silently in her heart.

While speaking, her gaze lingered on Yun Mu for a moment without her realizing it.

"Phew, let's start the next topic." Letting out an imperceptible sigh, Brenna sat back down in her chair.

"Let me explain it to everyone." At this moment, behind Brenna, a mass of shadows condensed into shape, and Ai Yi, wearing a tight-fitting outfit with a black veil over her face, slowly stepped out.

"This is something I obtained from the Church." Ai Yi took an item from the shadows and placed it on the table.

Everyone's gaze was drawn to this item.

Inside a transparent glass jar about 15 centimeters high, an ugly insect-like creature was being soaked in a dark green liquid.

This creature was clearly long dead, and thinking of the clues the group had previously obtained, "Is this thing the Parasite that Bishop Land used to control others within the Church?" Preacher Lienie looked at the glass jar on the table with disgust; the mere thought of such a creature parasitizing inside a human body gave her a feeling of chilling Fear.

"This is still a Scarlet Parasite in the developmental stage; an adult individual is more than twice this size," Ai Yi said with an expressionless face, words that made everyone feel a chill in their hearts.

"A Profane creation." Bishop Muse's tone was calm, but at this moment, anyone could feel the raging anger in his heart.

"Explain your findings in detail, Ms. Ai Yi." He looked at Ai Yi, the cloudiness in his eyes almost disappearing, leaving only a pair of clear, piercing pupils.

"Hmm." Ai Yi nodded, then recounted to everyone the process of her following Father Chelman today.

"... That Father Chelman contacted me voluntarily. He did not tell me who was behind him, only that he handed this thing to me."

"He hopes we can carefully study the structure of this thing, whether it has any weaknesses, and also, in a situation where a person is parasitized, how exactly it can be removed from the body, or, how to kill it..."

"Research this kind of thing?" Lienie stood up immediately, her face full of reluctance.

Preachers are a profession advanced from nuns; they not only know how to use spells to Heal teammates but are also proficient in the methods of ordinary doctors, and they have a deep understanding of the structure of the human body and biology.

Furthermore, as a Church profession, they also have certain experience and advantages in researching the power of Outer Gods or creatures influenced by Him.

But... "Forgive my bluntness, but I believe that if one is parasitized by this thing, there is basically no saving them."

Lienie sighed; she was not speaking without cause, but truly believed so.

"To grow to this size and live inside a human body... I fear the two have long since formed some kind of strange, hmm, symbiotic relationship. At that stage, unless the Goddess herself takes action, there is absolutely no possibility of recovery!"

(End of chapter)