Chapter 643: Information Through Eating

Eating tin foil? Lu Jianuo, sitting nearby, was startled when he saw Lu Mi hand a thin sheet of tin foil to Ludwig and ask if he wanted to eat it.

Although Ludwig had already shown clearly abnormal behavior regarding eating—once even drinking a vial of human blood in front of Lu Jianuo and detailing the information it revealed—Lu Jianuo still felt he couldn't just feed Ludwig anything, especially something utterly inedible.

He's still just a child!

The next moment, Lu Jianuo saw Ludwig silently take the aged thin sheet of tin foil, slip it into his mouth, chew, and swallow it.

"..." Lu Jianuo fell into a dazed stupor.

After completely consuming the thin sheet of tin foil, Ludwig calmly asked Lu Mi:

"Do you want to know the type of cocoa beans used, the exact proportions, the added ingredients, the origin of the tin foil's raw material, the factory that produced it, and the person who handled it most?"

Lu Mi slowly shook his head:

"No."

None of this could help find "Siso"—"Siso" wore gloves when touching the tin foil and left no personal traces, and the patrol team had already confirmed that similar chocolate packaging was common in Xigang, with no distinctive flavor.

As he answered, Lu Mi felt a strange mix of amusement and astonishment inside:

Can he actually taste all this information?

No wonder he's a monster who can partially break free from his seal just by eating!

Ludwig assumed the demeanor of a gourmet, pausing several seconds before speaking:

"The residual chocolate carries a taint of corruption."

A taint of corruption? Was this because it had been carried by "Siso" for a long time and contaminated by his aura? No—that couldn't be, unless one reached semi-godhood, a mortal's aura couldn't achieve such depth. The only possibility was that the bearer was nearing loss of control, deeply corrupted—but such a mortal would show obvious physical abnormalities, impossible to go out without being noticed and targeted by enforcers... Could he be disguising himself with the skin masks Bram mentioned? Lu Mi first frowned in confusion, then asked with growing anticipation:

"Is this corruption from the 'Demon' Path?"

Ludwig licked his lips, as if savoring the chocolate residue:

"Yes—at least from the 'Devil'."

The 'Devil'? Lu Mi was startled, involuntarily frowning.

After studying *Demonology* intensively, he knew the Sequence 4 of the 'Demon' Path was called 'Devil'—a semi-god.

If the corruption taint on the chocolate came from a 'Devil', then it clearly wasn't from "Siso".

This wasn't Lu Mi being arrogant or underestimating "Siso"—he didn't believe "Siso" could have advanced to Sequence 4 and become a 'Devil'. The tin foil and chocolate residue reflected the state four years ago; "Siso" four years ago could never have been a 'Devil', unless he had arrived as a 'Desire Apostle'—in which case, his serial killings would have targeted Sequence 6 or 5 mortals.

Although such high-level mortals were rare in Matani, even scarce, Demonology never stated that serial killings had to be confined to one location.

"Certain?" Lu Mi looked at Ludwig, seeking confirmation.

Ludwig answered seriously:

"The corruption taint of a 'Devil' tastes completely different from that of lower- and mid-tier demons."

Hearing his godson's answer, Lu Mi suddenly visualized a scene in his mind:

"Siso" stood within the "Wall of Spirituality", performing a special ritual, establishing contact with a 'Devil'—during which, several pieces of chocolate wrapped in thin tin foil remained in his pant pocket or clothing, subtly tainted by the corruption aura permeating the altar, quietly changing...

Hmm, when I perform rituals, I don't remove all my belongings and place them outside the altar unless the ritual specifically demands it... As the 'Conspirator', Lu Mi quickly deduced and pressed Ludwig:

"Can you tell which 'Devil's' corruption taint it is?"

Lu Mi's current plan was: if they couldn't find "Siso", he'd sell everything and hire new Silver City demon hunters to perform a ritual, summon the 'Devil' connected to "Siso", beat it senseless, and extract information about "Siso" from it.

Ludwig shook his head:

"I can't absorb that level of detail yet—I only know the corruption taint belongs to a family named Nos."

Nos—one of the three great demon families... Was the 'Devil' responding to Siso's ritual from the Nos family? But how could a 'Devil' respond to a ritual from afar? That would require Sequence 3, perhaps even an angelic rank... According to Demonology, serial killers could summon abyss demon projections because the demons used the abyss's unique properties to respond—not because they themselves reached that rank. But the Nos family operated in the real world, never entering the abyss... Lu Mi connected the name "Nos" to many possibilities.

He finally listed three possibilities:

One: the 'Devil' responding to "Siso"'s ritual was actually a Nos family angel.

Two: it reached Sequence 3 and was currently in Xigang, near "Siso".

Three: the Nos family had extremely close ties to the abyss, allowing them to borrow its unique properties—even a 'Devil' could respond to distant prayers.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Mi asked Ludwig:

"Any other information?"

"None," Ludwig replied, delivering a disappointing answer.

Lu Mi handed over the remaining sheet of tin foil:

"Taste this one too."

Ludwig didn't refuse. Like many children who lick sugar off candy wrappers, he placed the tin foil, stained with faint chocolate residue, into his mouth and chewed.

After a long while, when Lu Jianuo finally snapped out of his daze, Ludwig looked at Lu Mi and said:

"This one contains more information than the last."

"What information?" Lu Mi knew anything Ludwig specifically mentioned must hold value.

Ludwig answered in the tone of a connoisseur:

"This sheet of tin foil had rested for a time on a table stained with old blood and a small amount of coffee. The old blood came from a male corpse with once-strong spirit. The coffee was from Faimo coffee, unsweetened, bitter, and intensely fragrant."

Hearing Ludwig's description, Lu Mi once again visualized a scene in his mind:

Several pieces of chocolate wrapped in thin tin foil lay carelessly on a table soaked in old blood and splashed with coffee, in prolonged, intimate contact—then a hand reached out, grabbed them, shoved them into a pocket, and walked out of the room.

Combined with the detail that all seven sheets of tin foil had been found on the ground at crime scenes, Lu Mi strongly suspected the table belonged to "Siso", from a house he once occupied.

"Do you have detailed information about that male corpse?" Lu Mi asked Ludwig again.

Ludwig shook his head again:

"No—unless you directly eat the bloodstains."

The bloodstains likely belonged to a victim, possibly recorded in case files—or perhaps from another case... They remained because "Siso" used the table as an autopsy slab—or as an altar? Lu Mi, disappointed, analyzed silently, then focused on the Faimo coffee.

He muttered to himself:

"Does this mean 'Siso' has a habit of drinking coffee—and prefers Faimo coffee from the Pas River Valley..."

The Pas River Valley lies in the Southern Continent, where Faimo coffee is famous, ranked alongside Fenebo's highland coffee and Southern Continent's upland coffee as a luxury enjoyed only by the middle class.

This was rare in Matani, because Dongbai Lang also had abundant high-quality coffee bean sources, and the local region was one of them. Many unsellable, surplus beans were sold cheaply—both colonists and natives preferred these.

Finally regaining his composure, Lu Jianuo cautiously interjected:

"I heard those who regularly drink Faimo coffee love its bitterness and fragrance, but very few refuse to add sugar."

In other words, "Siso"'s coffee preference was extremely unusual locally... Lu Mi smiled and said to Ludwig:

"Well done. If I catch the target, I'll give him to you."

By then, Lu Mi would be Sequence 5 himself, and he wouldn't give Ludwig any mortal essence—he could relax his control slightly over the boy.

Give... Lu Jianuo felt a chill, thinking his imagination might be overactive.

To others, giving a 'Demon' Path mortal might mean enslavement or raw material—but to Ludwig...

Lu Jianuo instinctively shuddered.

Don't think about it. Don't think about it!

Ludwig nodded, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Lu Mi turned to Lu Jianuo:

"Your Duta language is quite good. This afternoon, wander around Xigang and find out which shops sell Faimo coffee—preferably ones that have sold it for four or five years, or longer."

"Understood." Lu Jianuo suddenly felt a sense of purpose.

In the evening, he returned to the seventh suite on the third basement level and told Lu Mi:

"Only three shops sell Faimo coffee—one on Cania Street in Resurrection Square..."

"You said Cania Street in Resurrection Square?" Lu Mi interrupted Lu Jianuo's report.

"Yes—number 21 on that street, called Matani Import-Export Store." Lu Jianuo confirmed.

Lu Mi fell silent.

Isn't that right next to the Xigang patrol team's headquarters?

Xigang, third floor of the patrol team's building.

Jiamu received his reward and split one-fifth with his two partners.

He then entered the telegraph room and asked the telegraph operator:

"Any telegrams for me?"

He had previously sent telegrams to friends, asking if they knew of the adventurer Louis Berry.

If they were to cooperate, he needed to preliminarily understand the other party's background!

The smiling female telegraph operator straightened up and said:

"Yes!

"From Falingang."

(End of Chapter)