"Xia." A pair of small leather shoes appeared in his lowered vision.
Xia Yibing raised her head, followed the slender ankle across the skirt, and her dazed gaze rested on the girl's face.
"Don't worry." He watched her move her lips and utter words word by word: "This itself is the biggest gain."
"Why?" Xia Yibing hasn't reacted yet.
"Do you remember how Robert died?" Hitzfeld asked her.
Robert...
If I remember correctly, Robert died after planning the murder of Haytham.
However, although he was dead, his body was not actually found. The police force led by Joe Cole still believed that Robert was just missing and that the claim of his death was unilaterally provided by Casimir.
And he didn't even have any evidence - he didn't even see it with his own eyes. He just said that he sensed someone inside the house before he entered, and the person was gone after he entered.
"You can't be!" At this point, Xia Yibing finally reacted, "You don't think Robert died in the same way?"
"A silent killing method." Hitzfeld nodded. "They are in the same association and have eaten that fruit. I don't think there is any other possibility."
"But I still can't imagine how this was done..." Xia Yibing shook her head, still feeling frightened by the scene just now.
Haytham's corpse was a little scary, but it made her seem more approachable.
Because she could at least see how he died.
A mummy is one whose blood has been drained.
The bullet holes were an attempt to fake suicide.
There is cause and effect and order in this, and everything that happens can be explained by reason.
But what I just saw... It looked like there was some extremely terrifying existence lurking in the depths of the Dream Ruins above the city, always staring at the scene below, ready to launch an attack and wipe out its target at any time.
"According to the information provided by Casimir, Robert 'dedicated' himself to the 'Master.'" Xia Yibing said coldly, "This Master..."
"It's most likely the Black Serpent." Hitzfeld squatted down and sorted out the things in the bag. "If not, then it must be the hidden power behind the library."
"Hidden forces...?"
"The situation is now very clear." Hitzfeld nodded. "The Holy Fruit Society is just a cover... The power behind the Harry Library is controlling them and launching a newspaper war in Nanxinze. Its goal is most likely..."
She paused and said, "It is likely that they want the Black Snake to eat up the entire city."
"Are you sure?" Xia Yibing just felt cold all over.
"There is not enough evidence to prove it at the moment... and even in West Grant, we haven't seen any basilisks..."
It wasn't that she didn't believe Hitzfeld.
But...if it is true as Hitzfeld said, then this will undoubtedly be another city destruction incident like the one in West Grant, or even more terrible than the one in Blackwood City.
What’s worse is that Nanxinze has a larger population and the local defense system lacks the necessary respect for disasters.
In this way, once the disaster really breaks out, the capital... other parishes will not have time to send rescue. The entire Nanxinze City with a population of one million will all die.
"The spider monster in Johnny's memory said that our native civilization is very strange."
Hitzfeld closed his eyes and fell into a state of recollection and analysis: "I heard it right...it used the term 'native civilization'."
"What does this prove?" Xia Yibing narrowed her eyes.
"Do you remember the Book of Howling?" Hitzfeld reminded her, "It's the code book... the one they took away after the incident."
"remember."
"The relief recorded on the last page of the book looks a lot like a story about a goddess punishing a monster... So I've wondered before whether the gods we believe in, including the Goddess of the Mechanical Sun, the God of Ice, the God of Dragon, and the like, did exist. The reason they disappeared, leaving behind only a few relics and records, is because this world was invaded by external forces."
"This is not a new idea." Xia Yibing nodded, "The gray fog is the 'invader'. They all agree on this."
"If this is the assumption, then the 'mysterious seeds' mentioned by the spider monster Atla are worth pondering." Hitzfeld continued to recall, "It once said, 'these trees' - note, it's 'some', the quantifier - 'are those mysterious seeds that sprouted and grew'. Just from these words, we can confirm that there is more than one plant like the Ice God Tree, and it believes that they are the same kind of plants, things of the same level."
“Hitzfeld…” Xia Yibing could hear the trembling in her own voice, “You mean… those seeds, those trees, and the things they corresponded to were once real gods.”
"Is there any other explanation?" Hitzfeld looked up at her.
"Ice crystal, wisdom."
“There may be more to come.”
"This is the power they left behind. Although it is unclear what the purpose is, it is clear that a lot of power has been stolen."
"Are you implying that all this is man-made?" Xia Yibing said in a deep voice, "I don't think the Eclipse Church has this ability..."
As far as she knew, the only cult organization capable of planning such a conspiracy was the Eclipse Church.
But after Greste's death, they should have fallen into a long period of internal strife and division. Although a small group of people clamored for revenge and secretly fought with the secret police, the momentum they created was not great after all.
Compared to this so-called Black Snake...
Not even close.
Hitzfeld doesn't see it that way.
She had not experienced many cases, and the theoretical knowledge she learned from books and notes far outweighed the practical experience. So she attached great importance to every bit of experience she could get, including what happened at sea.
The entire Crystal Sea...the reason why the evil god's hatchery was able to take shape, in addition to the special natural geographical reasons, was also due to the support of the Eclipse Church behind the scenes.
Admittedly, they do not have the ability to create evil gods directly.
But they know how to leverage.
With the help of the power of nature and the power of objects.
Even - the power of time.
It's like a ray of wisdom that illuminates the dark clouds in my heart.
Hitzfeld knew what to focus on next.
Chapter 53 Planning
The next day, accompanied by Xia Yibing, Hitzfeld came to a base of the Wheel of Fortune in Nanxinze.
"You want all the records about Sigrant before he disappeared?"
The Treeman youth disguised as a human opened his eyes wide, and a head popped out from behind the counter.
"Dear little human girl, can you tell me what you want these things for?"
"Prevent a terrible disaster."
"Do I look that gullible?"
"…Just pure curiosity, wanting to learn more." Hitzfeld was forced to lie, "I love learning, learning makes me happy."
"That's right." The young Treeman laughed happily, "Let me see... the information about West Grant requires a very high level of authority... Your authority is--"
"Level 8."
"Eighth level?"
That head popped up again, "I don't believe it! I've read the files of all the Level 8 agents, and you're not among them!"
"Of course, it's just authorization." Hitzfeld took out a badge from his pocket. "The authority of Level 8 Agent De Casimir, plus the authority of Aisuen Hitzfeld who has been promoted to Level 6, I think this is enough."
After dawdling inside for nearly an hour, Hitzfeld finally managed to deal with the brainless tree man youth. She asked him to send back the letter she had written specifically for Year Ring - she had to remind the library what happened to Nan Xinze.
Even if it was finally confirmed that she was just being overly nervous, it didn't matter. This kind of thing was no joke. She would rather go through the trouble than regret it when the disaster really happened.
The speed at which the Tree People transmit information is faster than that of telegraphs. I hope we can make it in time...
Xia Yibing was waiting at the door, and followed her as soon as she saw her come out.
"Done?"
"It's over."
"How long will it take to get approval for you?"
"At least three days... They said it would take time to sort out the information."
"That's not much faster than asking the branch in the bureau for help." Xia Yibing smiled slightly, "It's a pity that I didn't apply when I first arrived in Nanxinze, otherwise the things would have been delivered to me by now."
Hitzfeld sighed and said nothing.
Xia Yibing also reported her speculation and warning. It was impossible for reinforcements to arrive immediately, and there was no point in being anxious now.
And to be honest, if it were a disaster like the disappearance of West Grant... no matter how many reinforcements were sent, it might not be of any use.
She remembered very clearly what Xia Yibing said when describing the incident: Xigrant was not swallowed by the giant snake all at once, but disappeared a little bit every day.
During the process of West Grant being devoured, the royal family, the church, and the library must have made some efforts to remedy the situation.
But the result was that they lost a large number of men and were forced to let West Grant disappear.
What does this mean?
This means that if we cannot figure out the cause of the disaster and the weakness of the evil spirit, it will be useless no matter how much force we send in.
"Have you watched "Love Story of South Bridge"? Really, I envy Mrs. Finney's life so much~"
"Yes, every day there are four maids to help me get up and change clothes, the tableware is made of gold, and every pearl in the jewelry is bigger than a thumb... I really don't know when I can live a life like that."
Just as Hitzfeld was thinking, a pair of young girls passed by her, their faces full of excitement, talking about the dreams they had glimpsed from the serialized stories.
"Young people nowadays..." Xia Yibing looked unhappy.
Not to mention how much she herself had paid to slay the evil spirit, she had seen no less than ten companions who dedicated themselves and sacrificed their lives for this cause.
Sometimes she would feel bad when she thought about how hard she worked just to protect such innocent people from having fun.
But what can we do?
The only way to convince him is to say... "There are wise men among those being protected" and "They are fighting for revenge."
"Hitzfeld."
As she walked, Xia Yibing observed the girl's expression.
It rained and was windy last night, I hope you don't get a fever or get seriously ill.
"What did you want to verify when you requested the information about West Grant?"
"law."
Hitzfeld still looked forward.
“I want to find the pattern.”
Allwater.
West Grant.
South Xinze.
Three cities connected by the "Dark Snake".
Among them, the connection between Orvoth and the Dark Snake is the weakest. The spider monster Atla only mentioned the snake, and did not say the word "Dark Snake".
Before Orwater, there had never been a case of a giant snake monster wreaking havoc in a city, causing a disaster. Looking at things from this perspective, it is possible that Orwater had nothing to do with this incident.
The only way to confirm is to look up the information.
Check more information.
Not only should we check the data of Allwater at that time, the truth, this city, and what the top leaders of the entire Northern Diocese were doing at that time, but we should also check West Grant to see if West Grant is also related to the "fruit" and "tree".
If so, the three cities would be connected in a line. She could also infer from the first two cases which places were similar to the current situation in Nanxinze, and thus find the origin of the evil spirit based on these.
"Bah!"
Hitzfeld was awakened by the sound of a loud speaker.
A tall Beetle drove in front of them, the window rolled down, and Joe Cole's face, which looked a little funny in contrast to the vehicle, appeared.
"Ms. Hitzfeld, we have conveyed your request to you. Archbishop Jones has agreed to meet with you at the City Hall tonight."
Feka Jones, the head of the southern part of the Hinze Parish, is also Carl's immediate superior.
"Thank you for your hard work." Hitzfeld nodded to him, "When exactly is it?"
"Archbishop Jones has been invited by the City Hall to discuss important matters tonight. He plans to have dinner there. You can go there between 6 and 7 o'clock."
"Oh." Hitzfeld narrowed his eyes slightly.
