Chapter 398

Lu Mian said thank you, took the stack of paper, lit the calcium carbide lamp, and quickly browsed through the "confessions".

"Madame Hela" had already read them completely and made annotations on some important information, which effectively saved Lu Mian's time. Moreover, he wasn't that familiar with the past events of the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society", so if he really had to pick, he might not be able to grasp the key points very accurately.

After nearly an hour of browsing, Lu Mian had a rough understanding of the overall situation:

"The 'April Fool's' members are few, and the frequency of private gatherings and pranks is not high. The areas of activity are mainly in three places: first is Trier, second is Gaja, a coastal province of the Feysac Kingdom, and third is West Balam in the Southern Continent;

"Core members who have participated in Trier gatherings include 'Loki', 'I have a friend', and 'Mad Lady';

"Those who have played pranks at the Sea Prayer Ceremony at Santa Port in Gaja Province include 'Bard', 'Salted Egg Superman', 'Mad Lady', and some members of the 'April Fool's' group who were utilized. Those who incited local university students to protest in Tolier, the capital of Gaja Province, include 'Bard' and 'Salted Egg Superman'...

"Core members who participated in the prank activities in West Balam, Southern Continent, include 'Xisuo' and 'Mad Lady';

"In a private gathering held by the 'April Fool's' group in Trier, 'Loki' once mentioned in a joking tone that he had inherited an ancient castle;

"In another gathering in Trier, 'I have a friend' had a sudden inspiration and wanted to hypnotize certain psychiatrists, letting them 'come up with' a plan to treat certain mental illnesses by destroying the prefrontal cortex..."

The malicious treatment plan that Ms. Susie accused, which would make patients "calm" forever, was actually a prank by "I have a friend"... It makes sense, only he, who came from another world, could skip the pre-guessing and directly give such a line of thought...

His purpose was actually just to see if the psychiatrists in this world were that stupid, paranoid, and despicable, wanting to create an absurd tragedy that would be remembered in medical history... Those hundreds of patients who were completely calm and lost their "souls" would never know that their tragic encounter stemmed from an inhumane prank...

"Loki" and "I have a friend" are even worse than I imagined... Lu Mian looked at the last page of the "confessions" and shook his head involuntarily.

He thought he had seen the worst side of humanity when he was wandering—for a bit of food, to get out of trouble, to vent emotions, some people murdered other homeless people, some people sold their companions to mines while they were sleeping, some people abducted children on the street, some people bullied the weak around them and humiliated them in various ways, some people formed gangs and drove away other homeless people every day, regardless of whether they lived or died.

But now, Lu Mian discovered that these evils were clearly a level lower and not pure enough compared to the evils of core members of the "April Fool's" like "Loki" and "I have a friend".

"The demons of the Abyss would have to call them godfather if they saw them. Compared to them, the parish priest can be called a saint." Lu Mian muttered and burned these people over and over again in his mind.

He breathed out and extracted useful information from these "confessions" and Lady "Madame Hela's" annotations:

"At least eight members of the 'Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society' are suspected to have died from pranks directly or indirectly caused by the 'April Fool's' group...

"'I have a friend', like 'Loki', participated in every private gathering in Trier but had never been to Gaja Province in the Feysac Kingdom or West Balam, which means he should also live in Trier...

"Similarly, 'Bard' and 'Salted Egg Superman' are suspected to be in Gaja Province, Feysac, and 'Xisuo' is located in West Balam, Southern Continent...

"'Mad Lady' participated in every private gathering in every place, and the private gatherings were held within a month after being agreed upon, which means 'Mad Lady' has abilities or items similar to 'Teleportation'...

"'Loki's' joke about inheriting an ancient castle matches his dream. Maybe we can start from the shape of that ancient castle to find out 'Loki's' whereabouts...

"'I have a friend' showed rich medical knowledge at the gathering, and it wasn't limited to the psychological field... Either he was a powerful general practitioner before crossing over, or the body he occupies is a senior physician. Would such a person's disguised identity in daily life be a doctor? He has the conditions and ability to pretend, and can also earn a lot of money through this...

"'Bard' likes to collect Emperor Roselle's diaries the most and mocks them in various ways. Could that 'Secret Records of Emperor Roselle' be written by him?

"'Salted Egg Superman' and 'Xisuo' were relatively low-key at the gathering and didn't leave any details worth pondering..."

Based on this information, Lu Mian initially finalized the direction of the next pursuit.

First is to find the ancient castle in "Loki's" dream, second is to start from the medical profession to see if he can find clues about "I have a friend", and third is to confirm at the next gathering that none of the existing members of the research society is the author of "Secret Records of Emperor Roselle" before seeking the original author.

As for the others, consider them after dealing with these and having more gains.

Lu Mian immediately summoned the "Knowledge Rabbit", let it copy these materials, and sent them to the "Magician" Lady.

…………

"This is?" Jenna looked at the pure silver skull that emerged from the darkness, a bit afraid to look directly at the pale flames in its eye sockets.

Franca smiled slightly awkwardly:

"This is the messenger of that powerful lady. She helped us organize the confessions of the accomplices."

Franca grabbed the thick paper bitten by the skull head, not wanting Jenna to see the first-hand information.

That would expose the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society"!

Jenna looked at the pure silver skull disappearing into the darkness, both confused and curious, and asked:

"What is a messenger?"

"It's equivalent to a postman in the occult world, belonging to a private postman." Franca explained simply.

Jenna shifted her gaze to Franca:

"Do you have one?"

Franca was silent for a moment:

"This requires a specific pathway to reach a specific sequence to possess, or have them provide help."

"Oh, you don't have one..." Jenna interpreted the true meaning of Franca's sentence.

She asked with great longing:

"What sequence does the 'Witch' pathway need to reach to have a messenger?"

Franca was silent again:

"Even up to Sequence 4 that I know of, there isn't one."

After answering, she muttered in a low voice:

"Your ability to provoke could also be transferred to the 'Hunter' pathway."

Jenna chuckled, recalled, and said:

"When I helped Charles look at the information on Spirit World creatures last time, I seemed to have glimpsed several Spirit World creatures marked with descriptions like 'suitable as a messenger'. Do we have any way to summon them and sign a messenger contract?"

"No, uh, it's not impossible." Franca suddenly thought that she could use Mr. 'Fool's' power to summon Spirit World creatures and ask Him to witness the contract, just like Charles got his contract ability.

Seeing Franca fall into deep thought, Jenna waited quietly without speaking.

After a moment, Franca nodded slowly:

"I thought of a method. I'll try to see if it works later."

She then said to Jenna:

"I'll organize these confessions. You don't stay up late. You still have to go to the Old Pigeon Cage tomorrow morning."

Jenna didn't ask more and left Franca's bedroom.

Franca breathed a sigh of relief and pulled down a telegram that had just arrived.

This was also from "007":

"'Sleeve Sword', when are you moving out of the Market District?

"Ever since you came here, all kinds of messes have come one after another. I'm almost really 007. I suspect you are a walking source of disaster!"

"Pah!" Franca spat and muttered to herself, "Is it my problem? It's Charles!"

Ever since Lu Mian came to the Market District, her life hadn't been as leisurely as before.

The "Loki" matter had just subsided, the small cracks on her skin hadn't fully recovered, and she had to go to Chayard Town tomorrow afternoon to contact the participants of the women's joyful party at the Red House Cafe and that woman suspected of being a member of the Demoness Sect.

…………

After nine in the morning, Lu Mian, who had finished his workout and had breakfast, found that he was rarely free.

On the "Iron and Blood Cross Order" side, he had to wait for the next summons from Puifu Solon; in the direction of the "Sinner" organization, he had to patiently collect information without alerting the mysterious man who occasionally visited; regarding Hugo Artois, Anthony Reid would be responsible, and it hadn't reached the point where he needed help; as for the pursuit of the "Zhifu Society", it was inconvenient for him to secretly follow Franca again because she had to contact people from the Demoness Sect; for "Loki's" ancient castle and the clues of "I have a friend", the direction of investigation was there, but he lacked a real entry point.

Lu Mian thought about it and felt that the thing he could do and should do most was to act as a "Pyromaniac", but the Market District was in a sensitive period, with an unknown number of high-level individuals watching, so he had to find a sufficiently safe opportunity.

Should I take advantage of the free time to report to Mr. K and ask him if there are any missions suitable for acting as a "Pyromaniac" for me... As Lu Mian's thoughts turned, he passed by the Mill Dance Hall located on the other side of Chaos Street.

This was considered his property, currently managed by bounty hunter Lugano Toscano and Louis of the Savar Party.

Lu Mian thought for a few seconds and turned into the Mill Dance Hall.

At this time, the dance hall hadn't opened for business yet, and every waiter greeted Lu Mian respectfully but didn't dare to get close.

Lu Mian soon saw Lugano Toscano. This bounty hunter with regular features, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a burly figure was still wearing that cheap formal suit and a black top hat.

He was holding a magazine and greeted Lu Mian with a smile:

"Boss, why are you here?"

Lu Mian didn't answer, his gaze falling on Lugano's hand:

"What magazine are you reading?"

"'Medical Basics'." Lugano showed the book in his hand flatteringly.

Medical basics... Lu Mian raised his eyebrows:

"Why are you reading this kind of book?"

If it were a "First Aid Manual", he could understand.

Lugano answered with a face full of smiles:

"My next sequence is 'Physician'. Although the potion will directly give me corresponding extraordinary abilities, mastering more medical knowledge should help me better exert my abilities. Moreover, I also want to pretend to be a real doctor to make money."

Acting method that hit the mark... "Physician"... Lu Mian's heart moved, and he asked:

"Have you heard of the surgery to remove the prefrontal cortex?"

PS: Thanks to Warm Sun for the reward and vote last month, thanks to every friend who subscribed and voted last month. This is an additional update. There will be another chapter at 12:30 PM. Seeking October base monthly votes. It's the double period now, don't save them~

(End of chapter)