Chapter 532 The Trouble with the Aurora Society
Chapter 532 The Trouble with the Aurora Society
He's clearly an old Intis person from the moment he opened his mouth—and who says there aren't any other ways to change one's appearance and improve one's looks besides the "Rose Priest"? My potion-induced transformation is hardly natural.
Chloe chuckled inwardly, then covered her mouth and laughed:
"You're too kind, sir. It feels just like being back in Trier."
"Just call me Maye, Maye Macedon." The lieutenant colonel told Chloe his name—which meant he had fully accepted Chloe's arrival and would no longer actively cause her trouble.
For a colony city on the southern continent, this is the highest level of access.
Chloe changed the subject and asked:
"I have another question—the aurora's rampage in Tangara City must have happened a few months ago, right? Has the problem not been resolved yet? Is the curfew still in effect?"
Maye Macedonia sighed:
"The whole thing is far more complicated than we imagined, and it has lasted much longer than the few months in Tangara. At the beginning of this year, there were already various rumors about the aurora gathering in Gulayin and Tetnik further east, and people with that appearance appeared."
"It's just that it's Rune's territory, and we didn't get the news in time—alas, if only that 'Mr. B' had only been causing trouble in Rune's territory."
More than half a year has passed, Chloe roughly estimated the time. Chloe first met "Mr. Z" on the ship to Sonia Island last August, a full year ago—but that's not necessarily true, since at the time no one dared to be sure whether it was "Mr. B's" true form or just an ordinary person with that face.
After that, "Mr. Yi" quickly shifted his focus to the Southern Continent.
Did he gain anything from Sonia Island? Perhaps we can find the answer by referring to "Mr. Eat's" activities in Port-Enmat—but that wouldn't make much difference to the current situation.
Chloe pondered for a moment, then pressed for an answer:
"Tangara City is the first place I've heard of this. There shouldn't be this kind of trouble further west. So you mean, in the east, there are other cities that have been affected?"
Maye nodded seriously, confirming Chloe's guess:
"Yes, the spread of cults only started with Gulai and Tetnik, and later, the scope of influence of those targeted also spread from Rune's territory to the cities of Intis and Fusak, with Tangara being just one of them."
"From what I understand now, the Aurora Society has appeared in Tangara, Trenell, Kemukmu, and Mensaro. However, this only applies to Intis. As for other countries, because we are currently at war, there is not much communication between us, and we do not know them well enough."
"But one thing is absolutely certain:"
"The Aurora Society's goal is to control a port city!"
East Bayon, whose beliefs are easily swayed, and Chloe, a port city that serves as a transportation hub, felt a pang of guilt and was unwilling to admit that their thoughts coincided with those of the "Aurora Society."
At this point, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer sighed again:
"What's most distressing is that as long as the mastermind, 'Mr. Yi,' isn't caught, this clandestine operation will continue indefinitely. More than half a year has passed, but their activities have never stopped."
"Rune, Fusak, and we each withdrew a portion of our military forces, and the Church also formed a special task force to suppress corrupted cultists. Most importantly, we need to find Mr. Billion himself. However, the Aurora Society always manages to precisely seize the opportunity before our arrival, halting their missionary work and resuming their previous activities in another randomly selected city."
"Wait, random?" Chloe frowned, somewhat puzzled. "East Bailang isn't a small geographical area. How can it be random? It would take at least half a month to walk from one end!"
Lieutenant Colonel Meyer scoffed and angrily clenched his fist.
"However, the truth is that before wreaking havoc on Tangara, the westernmost city of East Bairan, their target was Alese, the northeasternmost corner of the entire southern continent, and the most famous gambling city in Rune. Their choice of target was indeed random."
"Moreover, no matter which city it is in, the corruption of the Aurora Society always starts among the poorest people in the city, which makes it impossible for us to seize the opportunity to control it. After a few weeks, when the cult has grown in size and formed a local organization and started to develop spontaneously, they change their base again."
"Even if checkpoints are set up on the only way, it will be difficult to prevent the aurora from changing its appearance. Even if there is a wanted notice, it will not work. Instead, it will catch a group of unrelated people. They themselves may take advantage of blind spots in their thinking and change their appearance to resemble unrelated people."
"I personally even suspect that 'Mr. Yi' and the aurora might not be traveling by land, but rather—through some kind of occult method of teleportation. If that's the case, capturing them would be virtually impossible."
This is really troublesome—Chloe swallowed hard, putting herself in the shoes of these colonial rulers, and her brows furrowed.
Chloe suddenly looked up and asked, "Is it possible that Mr. B has already started preaching in Tangara?"
Lieutenant Colonel Meyer shrugged helplessly, as if he were used to this kind of question:
"Of course it's possible. As I said, anything is possible—but we are severely understaffed, and the special task force and military teams aren't looking this way either, so we can't confirm whether the infiltration has already begun."
"Perhaps we will only be able to see a glimpse of the truth once a bloody incident has occurred."
"That's why I insist on the curfew. Even if it's not understood, I can't stop."
Sigh, the helplessness between managers and those being managed... After chatting for a while, listening to Lieutenant Colonel Meyer pour out his troubles, Chloe leisurely played the role of a guest. Lieutenant Colonel Meyer's office had a complete set of coffee-making equipment and all the necessary ingredients, which eventually turned into a tea party to appreciate local specialty coffees.
As dawn approached, a rapid knocking on the door interrupted their conversation.
It was Sergeant David, who returned with his cavalry squad after reconnaissance.
David stood at attention in front of the police station's office and said:
"Reporting to the colonel, we found blood-stained pavement and a bullet embedded in the pavement at the designated location, but we found nothing else."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Chloe, and Lieutenant Colonel Meyer returned the same inquiring look.
Chloe leisurely sipped her coffee with milk and sugar:
"The blood belongs to my murdered horse, and the bullet is from my gun. But there should not only be the horse's carcass there, but also a dozen or so other corpses with the same faces. There is nothing there now."
"Someone collected their bodies—or perhaps they were 'recycled food'."
Stopped
Looking for someone in Phnom Penh today
Willing to lie about how we met
Chapter 533 Commission
Chapter 533 Commission
"Recycling ingredients?"
When Chloe suddenly used this word in her speech, Sergeant David was momentarily confused.
He was still unaware of what Chloe had encountered there—the sergeant was currently only concerned with the fact that Chloe hadn't told him the truth when they first met.
However, there's no way around it. If he directly said he killed more than a dozen highway robbers, the sergeant major probably wouldn't let her ride his horse. And in the office, if he changed his story, it would make it seem like Sergeant Major David hadn't done his job well enough and hadn't discovered the truth, which would be counterproductive.
"I've already explained this to Lieutenant Colonel Meyer." Now, Chloe told David the truth. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, but my horse was killed by the cultists who were robbing it. Then, I killed those cultists."
"A dozen? More than a dozen? Killed them all?" Sergeant David asked incredulously.
Chloe nodded: "That's right. They were victims of the cult that Tangara had recently apprehended and controlled, but during their days of ganging up to rob others, they also abandoned their conscience as human beings, harming others and even engaging in cannibalism. This is their punishment."
Lieutenant Colonel Meyer comforted Sergeant David from the side:
"David, you know about the existence of supernatural abilities. Miss Chloe once served the Steam Church and certainly has the strength and confidence to travel alone. Against ordinary people without firearms, she could indeed achieve that effect. But now—"
So the sergeant knew about the existence of supernatural abilities? I've been following the church's instructions not to easily allow supernatural abilities to manifest in the world—Chloe calmed herself down, noticing Lieutenant Colonel Meyer looking at her:
"Now that it has been confirmed that a group centered around cult victims has appeared at 'Zuoxi Manor,' and if, as Miss Chloe says, the crimes are true and they can be directly identified as cult members, then it is indeed necessary for us to eradicate them."
"'Left Creek Manor' has likely been taken over by them as well," Chloe warned. "After all, their hideout is right in the plantation."
Lieutenant Colonel Meyer's expression turned serious. Remembering something, he began rummaging through some documents in his drawer.
"Zuoxi Manor, Zuoxi Manor, their last entry into the city was two weeks ago."
Ah, I can't believe I didn't realize this was a bad sign.
He closed his notebook, stood up solemnly, but paused for a moment before sighing and sitting down.
"But we are short-handed and cannot attack the suspected cult's stronghold without any preparation."
"Not enough manpower?" Chloe looked at him strangely. "Are there no other official Extraordinary beings left in the entire city?"
"No." Meyer gave a self-deprecating laugh. "There aren't enough mid-sequence extraordinary individuals. We can't let low-sequence individuals venture into such dangerous places without mid-sequence individuals to lead the way."
He started counting on his fingers:
"The bishop of the church needs to guard the Aurora Society victims who are temporarily restricted in their personal freedom. I have to stay in the city, otherwise there is a high possibility of sabotage by hostile forces. The local ruler, Kiza, who calls himself governor, has always been very wary of us and rarely leaves the city."
"We can't let those extraordinary individuals who aren't powerful enough deal with cults, can we? It seems we need to find a way to contact the church and the elite military response teams. But without solid evidence, it could take more than a week. Who knows how many more people they might harm while they're there?"
"How about I do it?" Chloe said, seeing Lieutenant Colonel Meyer's worried expression.
In the fight against the Aurora Society, Chloe, as one of the earliest members of the Tarot Society, had far inferior results compared to the others. This was an opportunity.
"You?" Lieutenant Colonel Meyer looked up, hesitation evident in his eyes. "I'm not sure if there's any precedent for this—"
"Just consider it as you posting a bounty, and I'm the bounty hunter—only 3000 Felkin, plus a decent warhorse. That's how adventurers make money." Chloe casually patted the gun holsters on either side of her body. "How about that?"
"Let me handle the scouting and the charge alone. Your army can hold off the surrounding area and gather the fleeing cultists. You don't need to directly penetrate their stronghold and engage the cultists."
Seeing that Lieutenant Colonel Meyer was still hesitant, Chloe chuckled again, giving him a boost of confidence:
"If I can kill ten, I can kill twenty or thirty. Why should you worry about me?"
"That is indeed quite good—" Mayer said, clearly somewhat absent-minded.
He had begun to weigh the pros and cons—especially when it involved a vast expanse of suburban plantations.
After a while, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer looked up, but not at Chloe, but at Sergeant Major David, who was still standing in the doorway:
"Please go out for a moment."
"Yes, sir." The sergeant major did not ask why, but respectfully left the office and closed the door behind him.
After confirming that the series of actions had been completed, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer turned around and lowered his voice to Chloe, saying:
"If you can provide concrete evidence that these cultists are actually eating people or performing cult rituals at Zuoxi Manor, I will double the reward. If you can provide conclusive evidence that Zuoxi Manor is helping those cultists, I will double it again."
It was only then that Mayer revealed the cunning of a military ruler of an overseas colony.
These officers, who control the security and development of a region, are involved in more interests and have more to consider than officers who specialize in fighting.
This is their way of compensating themselves for the lack of opportunities to make a name for themselves.
"Is it confirmed that 'Zuoxi Manor' has been completely massacred? Will the reward be doubled again?" Chloe rolled her eyes at him.
Upon hearing this, Mayer was startled and immediately said seriously:
"That's not true. We're looking for the truth. Please don't make assumptions; just stick to the facts."
He paused for a moment before speaking:
"Of course, if Zuoxi Manor really has no heir—then the bounty will be quadrupled. Let's make it clear from the beginning, just like you proposed, each round will be 3,000 Felkin."
Chloe curled the corners of her lips and stretched out a hand:
"make a deal."
Mayer gently shook her hand and smiled knowingly.
"Let me see your sidearm; I've prepared some good stuff for you."
Upon hearing this, Chloe lifted her coat hem, drew a rusty revolver and an ornate semi-automatic pistol, and placed them lightly on Meyer's desk:
"May I?"
"Of course—the adventurer's equipment is indeed extraordinary."
Colonel Meyer glanced at the distinctive sidearm and the demonically corrupted, flamboyant, and sinister holster, and a look of admiration appeared in his eyes.
He skillfully opened the magazine of the revolver and pulled out the magazine of the semi-automatic pistol:
Both types of bullets come with a "purified" bullet, which will give you 6 bullets as a precaution. If you need more, each bullet will cost 100 Fehr.
"After dawn, when it's time to start work, I will have David take you to choose a warhorse. Consider this an advance payment."
"By the way, when are you planning to leave?"
Chloe accepted the "purified bullets," loaded them into the magazine, and chuckled:
"If possible, now."
Stopped