Chapter 607: Rats
As they chatted, Wayne followed Merlin into a basement deep within the Cathedral.
This location was a bit out of the way, not in the same direction as the Bishop’s daily activity area or Tom Hagen’s office, so Wayne had never been there before.
Then, in the basement, Wayne saw the results of Merlin’s current investigation—several large brown rats, each housed individually in a cage.
Merlin said nothing, first pulling out a pair of red gloves and putting them on, then reaching into a cage and grabbing one of its occupants.
A faint white light appeared, and the fluctuation of spiritual power was felt, after which the visibly over-fed rat began to struggle wildly, its eyes quickly filling with blood, and it twisted its head, trying to bite, like a ferocious, mad dog attempting to break free.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak—”
The other large rats in the basement also began to go crazy, scrambling up and down in their cages, their echoing cries carrying a murderous intensity, sounding even hungrier than a pack of wolves howling in the wilderness.
Merlin threw the rat in his hand back to the bottom of the cage, then kicked the adjacent cages several times, quietly telling the rats to calm down, and turned his gaze towards Wayne, “Seeing these, what are your thoughts?”
Wayne blurted out without hesitation: “The Black death.”
“Exactly. That’s what I thought too.” Merlin nodded, “Although the specific cause is still unclear, according to various records from the Old Continent, including the Holy See, it is now widely believed that a rat plague is one of the signs of a Black death outbreak.
“These brown rats are called Norway rats; they are not native to America. It is said they first arrived with the Windsor people’s ships during the colonial period. Logically, they shouldn’t be so rampant in the Dock Area, nor should they show a repulsive reaction to the Holy power. It’s possible that this is the work of an outsider.”
As a modern person who had transmigrated, Wayne actually had a deeper understanding of the Black death, knowing that it was related to Yersinia pestis.
And one point might surprise many: although the “Black death” had been rampant in the Old Continent since the Middle Ages several centuries ago, it was still a “new term” in this era; only about twenty or thirty years had passed since the term was first proposed.
—Before that, the Black death was generally referred to as the “Great Plague” or “Great Calamity.” People suspected water, blood, food, air, and faith, etc., but never suspected rats, only waiting for the isolated patients to mostly die off and for the plague to subside on its own.
As for the so-called “Norway rats” or “brown rats,” they can certainly be hosts for Yersinia pestis, but Yersinia pestis can infect many organisms; one cannot simply blame “foreign rats” for the problem.
Merlin’s speculation, in a sense, was also a reverse discrimination by New World people against the Old Continent.
So Wayne shook his head when he heard this, “No, a rat plague is not a ‘sign’ of the Black death; on the contrary, it is one of the ‘direct causes’ of its spread. And it’s not just Norway rats that cause the Black death to spread.”
Merlin seemed not to have expected Wayne to be so certain: “The cause of the Black death is still inconclusive… Which organization reached this conclusion? Do they have evidence?”
Hmm…
At this time, some advanced educational institutions already had microscopes, classified as “advanced scientific research equipment,” but the cause of the Black death still hadn't been determined. It was possible that the microscope resolution was not yet sufficient, and Wayne had no physical objects to study, so he probably couldn’t find other evidence.
So Wayne didn’t bother with these details, “I have sufficient reason to believe this. To take a step back, for the sake of caution, we can temporarily assume this—at least it won’t make the situation worse.”
After speaking, Wayne thought for a moment, intending to set aside the debate and push the conversation forward: “What are your thoughts on this matter?”
A simple Black death would not be “easy to handle”; now, the influence of Extraordinary power also needed to be considered. Perhaps this only “looked like” the Black death, but was actually something else.
Merlin also did not continue to dwell on the details, “Based on the analysis of Extraordinary power and my personal investigation, the worst outcome is that certain hidden organizations are planning a sacrifice ritual. But other monks, after analysis, believe it might merely be one or more Extraordinary Persons illegally using Extraordinary abilities, and the overall impact will not be that great.”
Wayne immediately began to consider the worst-case scenario: “If this is truly a sacrifice ritual, does the Cathedral have a way to deal with it?”
“There are ways to control it. The Great Plague has repeatedly ravaged the Old Continent for centuries, and even the Holy See has summarized many feasible methods. But that would require entering an emergency state for mobilization, and it would likely cause social panic, also requiring cooperation from all sectors to maintain stability.”
Merlin sighed slightly, “The Bishop probably considered this point, which is why he arranged for us to conduct further investigations first. The artificial spread of a plague often requires sufficient manpower, planning, and Extraordinary power as a basis; not all conspiracies can reach that stage.”
“Do you have any suspects?” Wayne asked.
“A simple plague can only cause ‘death’ and ‘panic.’ Although people from the School of Life sometimes attempt to create such disasters, their goal is often to cultivate stronger life. From the situation in the Dock Area, I believe it is more like the work of hidden organizations or evil god worshipers in the ‘death’ domain. For example, the End of All Things Society, the Quiet Sect, or those who pursue ‘Eternal Beyond’.”
As Merlin spoke, he led Wayne towards a map hanging on the wall, on which some red dots had already been marked, “There have been no signs of plague spreading in the Dock Area recently, yet there have still been sporadic strange illnesses and weak, sickly deaths—this might indicate that the problem is not serious, or it might imply that the opponent’s control in the early stages of the ritual is actually strong to a certain extent.”
No wonder Merlin was so nervous when he heard “Tier 6” just now; he probably almost thought Wayne had already found some strange ritual leader…
Wayne memorized the content marked on the map, feeling that this troublesome matter would probably disrupt his own “development plan” for the Dock Area again: “How many people do you have available to participate in the investigation right now?”
“Including myself, there are seven people who can be freely deployed.” Merlin finished speaking, then immediately added, “You should have met most of them that night.”
Just that group of people? It sounded like the only people Merlin could currently command were him and his “direct departmental team”…
Not only could he not mobilize the so-called “Bishop’s Guard,” but it was also completely incomparable to Tom Hagen’s “overwhelming force” when he arrived in Georgeberg previously.
And speaking of which, wasn’t the current direction of events a bit off?
I originally wanted to talk about the unexpected incident at the dock last night, but now it’s turned into going with Merlin to catch rats and “eliminate the four pests”…?
Wayne thought for a moment. Personnel changes in the Virginia Diocese had been continuous recently. Tiriel was probably still busy sorting out internal affairs and likely wouldn’t pay too much attention to the unclear accidental incidents occurring in the Dock Area, very possibly “only wanting results, not asking for details.”
So his eyes darted around, trying to “combine cases” opportunistically: “There was an accident in the Dock Area last night, and I believe Merlin, you need to follow up on it closely.”
“An accident? The one where the wooden crane collapsed and a dozen people died?”
“Yes, I believe it happened very strangely and is worth our in-depth investigation.”
Anyway, the task had already been assigned, and the Cathedral was not truly helpless; they just weren’t currently focused on “civilian trifles.” So Wayne took the opportunity to slip in some personal agenda.
Many lice don’t itch, many assignments don’t cause worry… Since they all had to be investigated, the matters the Detective Agency wanted to solve could also be mixed in and done together.
