Chapter 642: Commonalities

On a street marked in Dutan script with "Zilikasko," Lu Mi led Jia Mou and other patrol team members into an apartment built of deep black stone and brown wood.

As he pushed open the door to Bram's room, Jia Mou and the others smelled the faint, floating stench of burning and blood.

They immediately saw shattered body parts scattered across the floor, bloodstains and shredded flesh smeared on the walls, and everywhere remained bloody handprints and scorch marks.

Jia Mou's gaze froze, as if he had returned to the scene of the serial killings.

And this was even more destructive.

Jia Mou turned his head, studying Lu Mi for two seconds; though he could already guess the answer, he asked out of habit:

"Where is the man's body?"

Lu Mi pointed at the body fragments and shredded flesh, smiling:

"All of this is."

Jia Mou fell silent for a moment, gesturing to two teammates with stunned expressions to examine the scene.

He had promised them a share of the reward, to serve as witnesses to his "achievements."

—Jia Mou didn't come alone because he feared this was Louis Berry's trap, an assassination by secret organizations like the Rose Sect targeting patrol team members.

In the Southern Continent, caution must never be neglected!

Jia Mou then walked to the cabinet, fixing his gaze on the lips immersed in preservative fluid, his mind again recalling the victims' gruesome states.

After a brief silence, he heard Louis Berry speak in a flat tone:

"Bram was a member of the demon family Andrelad, instructed by the Rose Sect to gather intelligence in Pailos Port and Shunbian complete the 'serial killings.' His contact was his uncle Devaho, but they never met in person—instead, they left gathered information as documents in the study of the empty house at 17 Areg Street..."

This... Jia Mou and the others were first startled, then flooded with intense confusion.

How did Louis Berry know so much?

Jia Mou couldn't help but glance again at the scattered body parts, the bloodstains on the walls, the bloody handprints on the floor, and the various charred traces.

Finally, his gaze settled on Lu Mi's face.

Lu Mi's lips slowly curled upward, returning a warm smile.

Jia Mou exchanged glances with his two companions, choosing not to ask whether Louis Berry obtained the information through "spirit communication," torture, or had known Bram's purpose from the start—having targeted the serial killer not because of his crimes.

"This information is extremely valuable," Jia Mou nodded lightly, pointing to the clearly damaged six-barreled machine gun in the room, "Bram's weapon must be left with us."

"No problem," Lu Mi replied indifferently.

As the "Arsonist," he had little need for firearms; the power of continuous fireballs far exceeded the machine gun's spray, though it was slower.

…………

On Cania Street beside Resurrection Square, on the second floor of the patrol team's four-story building.

Jia Mou placed several file folders, each containing case documents and related items, onto the table before Lu Mi, repeatedly warning:

"You may only view and record—do not take anything away, do not damage anything."

Lu Mi nodded lightly, picked up one file folder, tugged the string, looped it a few times, and opened it.

He did not rush to examine the contents; instead, he pulled out the dossier and read it carefully.

The thick dossier meticulously recorded the identities, origins, possible Path sequences, death locations, scene conditions of the seven victims, and all the patrol team's deductions and investigations.

It was clear that when more victims kept appearing, the patrol team investigated diligently, conducting different operations daily; but once the serial killings seemed to end with no new leads, they grew lax, no longer studying the case frequently or conducting large-scale inquiries. After half a year, the investigation completely stalled, and the dossier ended there.

The final report, written by the deputy team leader then in charge, concluded:

"This is a typical serial killing case created by the 'Demon' Path. Although 'serial killers' rarely kill only seven people—since more victims better please the corresponding demon and satisfy ritual needs—here, all victims were Feifanzhe, including several mid-sequence ones. Even with only seven dead, they are far more favored by demons than fourteen or even twenty-one ordinary people, and more capable of pleasing them."

"The greatest problem with this occult case is that, beyond all being Feifanzhe, the seven victims show no discernible commonality, differing somewhat from previous serial killings."

"Our speculation is that all seven victims were Feifanzhe, active in West Baelan, and had each killed at least someone in the past—this too counts as a form of corruption..."

Lu Mi read through it all carefully and accepted the speculation that seven Feifanzhe pleased demons more than fourteen ordinary people.

He had known this already; after all, ordinary people are only the third-best offerings, while beings with Feifan characteristics are the second-best.

Similar logic appears in certain "Performances," especially those requiring feedback—like uncovering an angel's conspiracy clearly helps Lu Mi digest his Elixir more than uncovering an ordinary person's scheme.

After gaining a general grasp of the entire serial killing case, Lu Mi reversed his approach, analyzing the data on the seven Feifanzhe, combining Anthony's psychological profile of "Siso," Furanca's summary of the archetype, and her guesses about the performer, seeking possible hidden commonalities.

The seven Feifanzhe included men and women: some were subordinates of General Quilariel, some were hermits in Pailos Port who worshipped the "Death God," some were Wailai adventurers, some were Intis Republic spies stationed in Matani Province, some were peripheral members of the Rose Sect, and some were local clergy of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery.

From their identities and origins, they indeed had no obvious commonalities.

But for Lu Mi, reading with subjective assumptions, certain details revealed more:

All seven victims were young; the oldest, though over thirty, was widely praised for his exceptional combat talent and sharp intellect, destined to become a renowned adventurer.

"Targeting the young, the promising, and those who have already grown to a certain degree? Even the two not so young carried labels like 'notable reputation,' 'strong power,' and 'unlimited future'..." Lu Mi murmured silently, gaining a rough understanding of "Siso's" selection criteria.

If Furanca were here, she would surely say this matched the archetype's behavioral traits—that fellow was a dedicated performer, a fanatic enthusiast.

Yet Lu Mi believed "Siso" only approximated the archetype when he had a choice—he would not let performance interfere with his true goals. Sometimes, he might even use such performance to mislead others—Lu Mi thought this because the "Mad Woman" had judged "Siso" as insufficiently pure.

"From the selection criteria, Louis Berry fits 'Siso's' killing preference perfectly..." Lu Mi silently clicked his tongue, then pulled out the case-related items from the other folders.

Most of these items were the victims' personal effects; the only exceptions were seven thin sheets of tin foil stained with black-brown substance.

According to the case dossier, they were wrappers of a local chocolate; each crime scene had left behind such wrappers, suggesting the killer, after committing murder and before dissecting the bodies, would peel open the foil and eat a piece of chocolate.

Because the serial killer removed the chocolate with gloved hands and placed it in his mouth, no fingerprints remained on the foil. Such poorly packaged chocolate was common in Matani Province, with its vast cocoa plantations, sold in many shops—impossible to trace the killer through them.

Lu Mi examined the thin sheets of foil repeatedly, then lifted his head and smiled at Jia Mou, who was supervising him:

"Can I take two or three of these?"

Jia Mou, with his messy brown hair, frowned:

"You may perform 'divination' or use other supernatural methods right here."

"I'll only take two—won't affect your future investigation," Lu Mi said in a persuasive tone. "If you agree to help, I'll pay you extra—say, a summoning incantation for a very useful spirit creature."

Jia Mou fell silent for a long while, then said:

"Deal."

……

Over a minute later, Jia Mou, who had just taken Lu Mi out to buy similar chocolate, stared blankly as a rabbit-shaped spirit creature, holding a fountain pen, rapidly copied the dossiers.

After nearly a minute, Jia Mou looked at Lu Mi, who sat calmly beside him, peeling open a foil and shoving a black-brown chocolate into his mouth, and asked in a low voice:

"This is the 'very useful spirit creature' you mentioned?"

"Yes, it's one of the 'Knowledge Rabbit' species—it can free you from tedious copying work," Lu Mi chewed the rich chocolate and smiled in reply.

What do I need a copying tool for? Jia Mou roared inwardly, but remembering the reward for the serial killings and the bloody scene of Bram's death, he restrained himself.

Lu Mi added with a smile:

"When you don't want others to know which words you wrote, summon the 'Knowledge Rabbit' to help."

"Moreover, it's a growing spirit creature—feed it certain knowledge, and it will evolve in that direction. Of course, you'd better obtain a method to sign a contract with spirit creatures; otherwise, each summoned 'Knowledge Rabbit' is likely not the same one, making cultivation impossible."

"Growing..." Jia Mou repeated the word, his expression gradually softening.

…………

Back at the Aurela Hotel, Lu Mi pulled out the two aged sheets of tin foil from his pocket and handed one to Ludwig.

"Try eating it," he said with a smile.

(End of Chapter)