Chapter 631: All Roads Lead to Rome
In the warehouse filled with rat corpses,
After a quick look around, Merlin applied medicine to his wounds while talking to Wayne as they walked out: “It’s probably because it was inconvenient to transport meat directly into the warehouse, so those people must have lured thieves in and killed them to feed the rats. Although the original stench in the warehouse could cover the smell of decay, with so many bones, the guards certainly can’t escape responsibility. Even if they aren’t accomplices, they might have secretly provided convenience to the other party.”
Wayne had also thought the same thing; he had already sent an Agent to look for the guards who had run off earlier.
However, what he was more concerned about at the moment was something else: “So, Merlin, are you really planning to just blow up the magic circle?”
Merlin nodded: “Although the Exorcist Priests and research Monks in the Cathedral will definitely complain again, the scope of the framing of several nodes of this ritual is so large that it is better to destroy the magic circle as soon as possible. At least I have arranged for people to record the magic circle, and once the sketch is drawn, they will begin to act.”
Alright…
Wayne had originally thought that the professionals from the Cathedral might have some different “bomb disposal methods” when dealing with extraordinary magic circles.
But in practice, Merlin neither let everyone get too close nor did he pull out any more advanced magical gadgets to completely neutralize the magic circle. Instead, he chose a very simple physical destruction—the high explosives were even borrowed from the Detective Agency.
Indeed, all roads lead to Rome.
In the end, it’s either reasoning or physics…
Everyone present was more or less injured at this time. Although rat bites are not fatal, no one can guarantee against viral infections or similar issues.
Unfortunately, the only thing that could be considered a “vaccine” in this era was the so-called “cowpox,” which involved pricking the pustules on a milkmaid with a needle and then pricking a normal person to prevent smallpox. Antibiotics had not yet officially entered the medical field in this era where bloodletting was still considered scientifically effective.
—Roughly speaking, it basically meant there was no cure after contracting something.
If it flared up, it would probably be incurable, hopeless, and a matter of waiting for death.
However, fortunately, after being bitten by a rat, the most dangerous theoretical threat is rabies, which has a high fatality rate. Even infected sick rats don't live long, and the Dock Area is not close to the wild, so there's a possibility of regional immunity.
As for plague, cholera, tetanus… Wayne didn't have any other immediate solutions. Penicillin, if messed with, is poison, and its production cycle is long; just eliminating Miscellaneous bacteria takes a while, so it can't be done for now. He could only ask Chef Parker to help extract some allicin for everyone to take orally and apply externally, which should be better than nothing.
Holy Spirit, please watch over us. Everyone is working legitimately tonight. Please offer some blessings.
Then he thought again that it didn't seem very reliable. If the Holy Spirit truly managed this, then the Old Continent wouldn't have the concept of the “Black Death”…
While he was lost in thought, a green flare bloomed in the distant night sky. Everyone present looked over in unison.
Merlin immediately became alert, then puzzled: “This is not the signal we are using tonight. The color is different, the shape of the flare is different, and the position does not seem to be on a ritual symbol node.”
Wayne, however, found it familiar. The Detective Agency used this type of flare before. Green was abandoned because it wasn't as noticeable as red and yellow, and the rest were picked by Lina to be Emma’s toys.
Hiss…
Lina.
Although the probability of that girl causing trouble for others was greater than her getting into trouble herself, and Wayne, as the primary first aid responder, couldn't rashly leave the range of the ritual node at the moment,
Wayne quickly called Vine over and told him to quickly take people to confirm the situation, and to send a warning signal if necessary.
Even the Wise Sage had given a warning before; some things couldn't be taken lightly.
Inessa wasn't in very good shape at the moment. Seeing the signal, she quickly stood up: “I’ll go check the remaining nodes first. If the problem isn't big, I’ll rush over to confirm the situation as soon as possible. But you don’t need to worry too much; Lina is trustworthy when it comes to self-preservation. This might be a secret signal she agreed upon with the intelligence team.”
For now, this was the only way.
After all, normally, as long as the Wise Sage showed her face, it should be the person attacking her who was in danger of losing their life…
…
Time passed quickly in the midst of busyness. The personnel at the scene quickly dispersed to the remaining clear nodes for support.
Wayne had just urgently eliminated the risk at one node, leaving the Monks to perform the final confirmation and destruction. Before he even reached the location where Lina had released the flare, he knew his earlier worries were for naught.
That girl actually appeared halfway between the docks and the residential area, with “Soften” from the intelligence team acting as her coachman.
And she herself was buying corn tortillas from a roadside cart vendor, also known as “tacos,” colloquially called the New World roujiamo…
Lina's appearance was quite conspicuous among the laborers. Most of those who got up early in the morning were decent people, and the probability of encountering hooligans was not high, so no one approached her. They maintained their distance and got along peacefully.
She walked to the carriage and gave two to “Soften.” Seeing Wayne dismount and approach, she handed one over, “Do you want one too?”
Hmm…
The corn tortillas popular in America at that time were not yet crispy. Wayne took a bite, but first focused on the main business, “That green flare earlier, you set it off, right? What happened?”
Lina took a bite of the corn tortilla, chewing with a frown, her words muffled: “I found those guys’ residence, so I sent a signal to let you know, and to scare them a bit. I even specifically chose a different flare so you wouldn’t get confused.”
It was precisely because it was different that it caused worry, alright.
Then Wayne's attention quickly returned, “Wait, how did you find those guys?!”
Lina took another bite, still chewing with a look of disdain: “The Silent Sect members are basically all from Windsor, or at least people who used to reside in Windsor. If they can pull off a ritual of this scale, they must have a way to get cash. According to the bad habits of Windsor people, even if they are nocturnal, if conditions permit, they probably take time for afternoon tea or something. So I told that guide to find someone to help rummage through the trash cans in the neighborhood, and then had Peter check all the suspicious houses nearby.”
Good heavens,
Inessa is “fellow countryman meets fellow countryman,” and you're even more specialized, huh?
Seeing that Lina was fine and there was an unfamiliar package in the carriage, Wayne's worry turned into something else: “Their stronghold was discovered, they haven’t run away, have they?”
If she hadn't encountered anyone, Lina probably wouldn't have talked about wanting to “scare” the other party.
From the moment the flare went up until now, if the other party had acted a little more decisively, even if they wanted to chase now, it would probably be too late.
“I don’t think they ran… at least they probably couldn’t have gotten far in a short time.” Lina crammed the rest of the corn tortilla into her mouth, her cheeks bulging, “And I picked up some of that guy’s personal belongings; if necessary, we can still pursue them.”
Wayne had already leaned half his body into the carriage, intending to look at the package, “Did you find anything valuable?”
Before he finished speaking, he quickly understood.
A pile of US dollar bills and several gold pounds… by estimation, at least two or three thousand US dollars.
The other party probably had their entire savings emptied. Ordinary people encountering such a situation might even have trouble eating, so they probably couldn’t run fast even if they wanted to…
And…
“A silver candlestick is one thing, but you even took their diary?!” Wayne immediately felt this item was the most unusual. While complaining, he pulled out the thick-covered notebook from the messy pile in the package.
“This is the most valuable thing, alright! First-hand ritual notes from inside the Silent Sect. From an academic perspective, it should be respectfully called ‘True Historical Material’ and ‘Extraordinary knowledge.’”
Oh,
That amazing?
