Chapter 362

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

Back in the temporary command post, Hoffman reported everything he had found out to Dominic in full detail.

After listening, Dominic leaned back in his chair, looking at the interview record, brows tightly knit.

The matter was stranger than he had imagined.

Praise the Emperor, save the disaster victims, distinguish the infected, guide orderly isolation......

Where does this look like a heretical cult? This is simply more orthodox than the State Religion itself.

Even better than what the State Religion does — the State Religion's pastors wouldn't dare go deep into the plague-ridden lower hive.

But the problem lies right there.

Being able to precisely distinguish latent-period infected — that is absolutely not something an ordinary person can do.

A Mechanical Priest's bio-scanner requires close-range sampling and analysis; those so-called "Purification Apostles" just touch a forehead and can tell?

This is too abnormal.

And the development speed — how long has the plague been raging?

Just over a month, and from nothing they've grown a following in the tens of millions, and even infiltrated their organization into the recruitment soldier source.

This kind of expansion speed absolutely cannot be achieved by a normal civilian cult.

The sliver of doubt in Dominic's heart grew heavier and heavier.

He didn't believe that "God Emperor divine manifestation" nonsense; when things go against the norm, there must be a demon.

Behind this Purge Plague Sect, something is definitely hidden.

A disguise by some Chaos force? Doesn't look like it.

The Lord of Plagues' cults only spread plague; they wouldn't help isolate and save people.

If it were Yi Su, there'd be no need to engineer this kind of public welfare project.

Or perhaps......

A thought flashed through Dominic's mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

Impossible — no matter how bold Kaili is, he wouldn't dare touch that kind of thing.

And he also lacks the ability to find so many apostles who can discern the root of the disease.

He shook his head, stood up, and summoned the orderly: "Pass the order: detach an intelligence squad, infiltrate the lower city, specifically investigate this Purge Plague Sect."

"Focus on their core members, headquarters location, and their method of distinguishing the infected."

Whatever the case, investigate clearly first, Dominic thought.

Just then, a guardsman's voice came from outside the door:

"Report, Major General! A sealed letter from a Brevis noble has been delivered, said to contain important intelligence regarding the lower city heresy, and they insist you open it personally."

Dominic's footsteps paused.

A Brevis noble?

Flattering, currying-favor letters like this — he'd collected no fewer than a hundred, maybe eighty, along the way; nothing but attempts to climb connections and seek benefits.

Normally he wouldn't even glance at them, just have his deputy officer dispose of them.

But today, for some reason, hearing the four words "lower city heresy," his heart stirred inexplicably.

"Bring it in," Dominic said in a low voice.

The guardsman carried in an envelope sealed with wax, presenting it respectfully.

The envelope was heavy parchment; the wax bore an unfamiliar family coat of arms — looked like some old-line noble house.

Dominic pinched the envelope, his heart suddenly full of curiosity.

He had a distinct feeling that what was inside this letter would flip the switch leading to chaos and destruction.

But in the end he still broke the wax and pulled out the letter paper inside.

The parchment letter paper carried a faint scent of incense, unfolding in Dominic's hands.

Vigorous, firm handwriting bore the unique sharpness of a military man; the strokes pressed heavy, force penetrating the paper's back — one could see the writer had trained year-round, finger strength far beyond ordinary people.

The letter was signed Elton Vos, a name Dominic had never heard before — obviously a pseudonym.

The sender claimed to be a native Brevis lower-class officer who clawed his way out of the lower hive's sewage pipes twenty years ago.

Relying on military merit earned killing through the Green Skin invasion war, he climbed step by step to an upper city noble title — in others' mouths, a "mud-legged upstart who climbed up on corpses."

Precisely because of this, he understood the lower hive's undercurrents better than any pampered old-line noble.

"Major General Adult, the Purge Plague Sect is absolutely not the civilian self-help organization it appears on the surface; its roots are sunk deep in the upper city's halls of power."

"I dare not write my real name on this letter, nor do I trust anyone in the Governor's Mansion."

"In the entire Calixis Star System, only you, the distant-arriving Tithe Fleet Tax Officer, have the qualification — and the ability — to tear off this fig leaf."

"Do not startle the snake; do not deploy your intelligence squads."

"Those people's eyes and ears cover the entire nest capital; any rustle of wind or grass will make them destroy evidence."

"If you want to know the truth, then please put on the ring and personally go look at the following few places."

At the end of the letter paper, three Lower City West District coordinates were scrawled; the foremost one was marked with the four characters "Monastery No. 331."

Besides the letter paper, a simply styled silver ring lay inside the envelope.

The bezel was a deep-blue gem cut into a rhombus; fine silver radiance flowed within the gem.

It looked like some kind of xenos craftsmanship, bearing neither the common holy emblems of the Empire nor any clan coat of arms.

Dominic pinched the ring and weighed it, its heft not light, a faint chill touching his fingertips.

He snorted, tossing the letter and ring back onto the tabletop; metal striking solid wood rang out with a crisp sound.

"Mystifying nonsense."

Hands behind his back, he walked to the window, gazing at the gray-blue Brevis, his brow slightly furrowed.

Cults like those of the Bottom City are like lichen in the sewers of a Hive World—sprinkle some water and a crop grows wild overnight.

Heretics flying the banner of saving the world number not ten thousand but eight thousand, each claiming to hold the blackmail of some big shot.

Essentially, they are nothing but jumping clowns seeking to curry favor with the nobility and scoop up some benefits.

"Deputy Colonel Karen," Dominic pressed the communication device, his voice steady.

"Subordinate here."

"Draw three stealth squads from Intelligence, change into plainclothes, infiltrate the Lower City West District, and focus on investigating the outposts and core member identities of the Purge Plague Sect."

Dominic thought for a moment, then added: "Keep the operation covert; do not alert the local forces."

"Understood, Major General Adult. I'll go allocate manpower right away."

The communication cut off, and quiet returned to the room.

Dominic's gaze fell upon the star map, yet his peripheral vision kept drifting toward the sapphire ring in the corner of the table.

Something was off.

If they merely wanted to curry favor with the nobility and seek merit and reward, they could simply hand over the "evidence" and trade it for a title or a bounty.

Cloaking themselves while inviting him to the Bottom City to inspect personally, and even specially delivering a ring—this truly did not fit the logic of an opportunist.

More importantly, the Purge Plague Sect itself was strange everywhere.

Able to distinguish incubating infected individuals through basic physical contact alone.

And within just over ten days of the plague's outbreak, gather millions of Chaos Believers, establishing an orderly isolation and incineration system in the chaotic Bottom City.

This was absolutely not something a group of folk believers could accomplish.

He had previously sent Hoffman to sound them out; those "Purification Apostles" in the recruits' mouths were all agile and sharp of perception.

A touch to the forehead could determine whether one was diseased, more precise than a Mechanical Priest's biological detector.

This was too abnormal.

Dominic walked to the table's edge, his fingers once again touching the sapphire ring.

The icy chill spread from his fingertips, as if some faint energy field were gently repelling the surrounding air.

A ridiculous thought suddenly popped into his mind.

What if the other side was telling the truth?

What if this truly involved some big shot of the Upper City, even... involving Keli Feng?

Once this thought arose, it grew like wild grass.

He shook his head, trying to shake the idea away, but his footsteps reached the communication device first.

"Karen, suspend the Intelligence squad's operation."

The deputy officer on the other end of the communication hesitated for a moment: "Major General Adult?"

"Hold position for now, await my further instructions," Dominic said in a deep voice, his fingers rubbing the ring's edge.

"Before that, I need to verify one thing."