Chapter 2073: Blood-Sucking Monster

Xia De returned home from the north of the city at 1:30 in the afternoon. Little Mia, who had a very happy life with nothing to do all day, had already eaten the high-end cat food left by Xia De. At this time, it was lazily lying on the windowsill taking a nap in the sun. Although it was woken up by the sound of Xia De going upstairs, it only ran to him and let him stroke it a few times. While Xia De sighed "this cat is really warm and soft", it jumped onto the windowsill and continued to nap.

So Xia De followed what Luweiya said in the morning and went to visit Miss Lei Qianya at the Lei Qianya Manor in Moon Bay City again. But unfortunately, the witch was not in the manor this afternoon. Fortunately, the maids in the manor knew Xia De, this "cousin", so they informed him that Miss Lei Qianya had gone to the City Council to attend a meeting.

Since she still had things to do, Xia De planned to visit again in the evening. Taking advantage of the afternoon time, he first went to the Spider Alley morgue, intending to inform the blood-sucking kin he visited yesterday, "Magician Shawn", but also wanted to inquire about the situation, wanting to see if Mr. Bernhardt's investigation had made progress.

Unexpectedly, just as he walked to the end of Spider Alley, he saw Mr. Bernhardt walking out of the Spider Hotel on the side, with an ugly face:

"Good afternoon, I just came out of Ptolemy's place, he is dissecting a corpse, I advise you not to go now... Even if it is inconvenient to refuse because of face, I will never watch his work again."

Mr. Bernhardt, who still felt uncomfortable in his stomach, didn't mind returning to the Spider Hotel to have a drink with Xia De. After the two sat down, Xia De first talked about the harvest of "interrogating" Hawthorne on the ship yesterday, talking about those dragon egg fossils and erased memories. Mr. Bernhardt nodded, and his situation was about the same:

"I have already contacted Georgia Black, he is the same situation, I didn't even find traces of his memory being erased, yes, not a single trace, but my instinct told me that his memory was absolutely wrong. This is not an ordinary means, I suspect that the power of the relic played a role."

He took a big gulp of wine:

"But I didn't meet the Ringed Shushi with dragon scales you mentioned. I investigated around Georgia Black, and didn't find that he had contact with Ringed Shushi. Also, my acquaintance in the church told me that the church has also found out the true identity of that corpse, and will probably investigate the four people we are tracking soon."

Xia De frowned:

"This shows that the other party is really confident, and might even induce the church to investigate that the deceased was attacked on the way home... I will solve the memory matter, I know a girl who is very good at strange techniques related to memory. Georgia Black, Freeman Hawthorne, these two people, we should not contact them again. Only Herman Wood is left, I will see him tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?"

Mr. Bernhardt thought for a while, and then was a little surprised:

"He is going to attend the card game with Count Eddington and Countess Lei Qianya tomorrow night."

"Yes, Miss Lei Qianya asked me to play cards on her behalf."

"You are really... as capable as before."

Mr. Bernhardt praised and clinked glasses with Xia De:

"The other party is hidden very deep, and the situation is even worse than we thought. Ptolemy just told me that last night, a blood-sucking species injury incident occurred in the city. Yes, this time it is really a blood-sucking species, but not our kind of humanoid blood-sucking species, but those mixed-blood bastards, blood-sucking monsters."

Xia De was a little surprised:

"I thought there were enough werewolves in the local area, how could blood-sucking monsters appear in a densely populated place like Moon Bay?"

"Blood-sucking monster" is also a member of the blood-sucking species, but unlike the high-level blood-sucking species that can stably switch their forms, that is, Mr. Bernhardt and Mr. Albert, the physical state and mental state of "blood-sucking monsters" are very unstable, and they must frequently suck blood to maintain their survival.

They are also in human form during the day, but are very afraid of sunlight. And once they turn into huge bat-like monsters at night, their combat power is much stronger than ordinary low-ring blood-sucking species.

As for what Mr. Bernhardt said was "mixed-blood bastards", it is because most high-level blood-sucking species believe that "blood-sucking monsters" are a race fused by high-level blood-sucking species, bats, and beasts through human alchemy experiments. But this idea has no evidence. After all, "blood-sucking monsters" have had clear records since the Third Era, but traditionally they are considered a degraded blood-sucking species.

Because of the chaotic state of "blood-sucking monsters", they are rarely seen in cities where humans gather. It is said that only in the New World, the glacier areas in the north of the Old World, and the Rommel mountain system that rises and falls in the middle and east of the Old World, can large blood-sucking monster settlements be found.

"You said there are werewolves in the local area?"

Mr. Bernhardt raised his eyebrows, Xia De shook his head:

"Yes, but it should be unrelated to the matter we are investigating. Back to the topic of blood-sucking monsters, it wouldn't be such a coincidence, the church just linked the nameless female corpse to the blood-sucking species, and blood-sucking monsters appeared in the city."

"It must be framing again. This is to sit down the crime of the blood-sucking species. Even if the church is suspicious, it has to waste manpower to catch that blood-sucking monster first. And during this period, they can manufacture more evidence to get rid of suspicion."

Mr. Bernhardt shook his head, knowing how good those "kin" who are more like beasts are at hiding in the night:

"Ptolemy said that judging from the traces obtained from the victim's corpse, that blood-sucking monster is quite powerful. If you are going to act locally at night, you must be careful. Oh, since you can see Herman Wood tomorrow, his matter will be left to you. I am going to continue investigating the Crowley Steam Bath, I always feel there is a problem there."

"Okay, be careful, we will meet here on Sunday morning. Around this matter, four forces have appeared: blood-sucking species, church, Dragon-Feasting Cult, and New World Mutual Aid Association. The truth will probably be very beyond our expectations."

Xia De talked with Mr. Bernhardt for a while, and the two left separately. However, because of Mr. Bernhardt's kind advice, Xia De did not visit the coroner again.

"Just for your dinner appetite."

The blood-sucking viscount said so at the time.

Xia De then went from Spider Alley to the pier area, and asked at "Princess Trade Partners" how the investigation of the "mysterious divination lady" on Herring Street was going.

It was still Ms. Annie Bonny who received Xia De. A week has passed since Xia De asked them to help investigate, but the Lower City of Moon Bay City with Herring Street as the center is too large, so there is no great progress in the investigation so far.

Xia De didn't care much about this, asked a few more questions about the three cargo ships, and then asked a very strange question:

"Ms. Bonny, you have also lived in the pier area of Moon Bay City for many years, right?"

"If you count before knowing Miss Princess, it should be twenty years." 【2073-

She seemed to have been a pirate in the past, and back then, she also frequented Moon Bay.

Xia De nodded:

"Then, have you ever heard strange cries in the dock area at dusk?"

He squinted slightly:

"Long, ancient cries, like those of a beast."

The one-eyed woman thought carefully:

"I haven't heard of that, but your question reminds me of a legend on the docks. Calling it a legend isn't quite right; it's just stories and rules passed down among the dock workers. It is said that if sailors and workers at the docks hear strange sounds at dusk when the sun sets, they must immediately stay away from the docks and go to a church to pray. However, their version is that there is a terrifying vengeful spirit in the Moon Bay dock area; there is no mention of anything like a beast."

Xia De nodded to show he understood:

"Besides that, are there any other strange things about the docks? Especially things related to cries or dusk."

Ms. Bonnie recalled again:

"Let me think... no, at least I can't think of anything for the moment. When I was young, the old fishermen living here always had all sorts of strange stories, but those people have all passed away now, and the children who grew up at the Moon Bay docks have never paid attention to these stories. Legends fade into smoke and dust; we are always saying goodbye to things of the past."

A thousand years had passed since the divine war mentioned by Miss Iliser. If there really were news that Xia De could find out just by asking, the local church would have already noticed. In fact, if not for the clues provided by Long-Haired Luweiya, Xia De would never have thought that the crowded docks could still hold traces of the divine war from that era.

But since he couldn't find out what he wanted to know from the locals, he had no choice but to search for it himself. However, before saying goodbye to Ms. Bonnie, she mentioned that someone had sent a very thick package to Xia De.

After receiving the package and seeing that the address was the bookstore in the city center and the sender was Mr. Dylan, Xia De remembered that when he went to the local Grey Glove organization to help clear the way for Princess Lei Qianya's fleet, he had asked the local agents to investigate some trivial matters to create a distraction. This huge package seemed to contain various accounts and lists of suspicious persons since the construction of the "Moon Bay Bridge," while other matters were still under investigation.

However, Xia De wasn't really concerned about this, so he wasn't in a hurry to check it, instead thinking of taking it home to look through when he was bored to pass the time.

When he came out of "Princess Trade Partners," the shadow of dusk was already on the distant horizon. Sails were scattered across the harbor of Moon Bay, and people who had been busy all day were doing their last work before dinner.

Seagulls circled above the harbor, making Xia De worry about bird droppings falling down. He touched Fiona's glove in his pocket, thinking to himself that since he couldn't find any clues, he might as well conduct the search himself.