The death of the indigenous people of the town was not only the responsibility of the defense station but also of the temporary patrol team. Due to the proximity to Baine University, the strong ones had secured the surroundings like an impervious fortress. Some scourge might have sneaked in though.
Some patrol team members were scared, and some calm. Those felt excited, though startled at first, was probably seeing the incident as a good opportunity to earn some credits. So they looked at Lin Sheng, expecting direction.
After examining the body, Lin Sheng rose to his feet. “Any witnesses around?”
“Nope. I’ve asked those living in the vicinity.” Someone from the defense station stepped forward. Director Henry was frightened, so someone must come forward to take charge of the situation. The patrols were all students, rookies. Should they failed to handle the case, the veterans would step in.
Lin Sheng glanced at the man with appreciation, knowing they were on the same page. The Chief Commander Bessis was strong, but he had to look after a large jurisdiction. His priority was the Paragon of Destiny. If shove came to push, Bessis would have to rely on the patrol team and the defense station.
The defense personnel were equipped with powerful shotguns and G25 semi-automatic pistols. Shotguns were okay. But as the power of the burning charge was divided among the pellets, the energy of any single ball of shot was fairly low. The advantage was that it had a large damage area. The G25 semi-automatic was different. It was a high-power piercing pistol specially equipped for this mission and designed to deal with the Transcendents who had robust defense ability.
“Officer, you are?” Lin Sheng asked.
“Call me Dean. I have been living in the town for more than ten years. You can come to see me if you need any help,” said the young police officer.
“Great.” Lin Sheng nodded. “We are unfamiliar with the place. This makes investigation work harder. So the responsibility to investigate the case will fall on Officer Dean. Melissa, Bella. Bring two men to assist Officer Dean. And take charge of Officer Dean’s personal safety.”
Melissa nodded. She and Bella were the only Darksiders with real-world combat capability. They were only One-wingers, but they were more than capable enough to deal with the scourgers, who were mostly also One-wingers.
A One-winger was a crushing threat for an ordinary human. It had the protection of dark energy, a conscious self-defense ability. Coupled with a bulletproof vest, this would make an impenetrable armor. Dark energy enhanced one’s physical fitness. It made one move faster, stronger, and senses sharper. Without explosives and special weapons, an ordinary human would be as helpless as a chic before an eagle.
“What about you, Captain?” Melissa could not help asking.
“I’ll send another team to handle the case.” Lin Sheng did not want to make a mountain out of a molehill. All he wanted was to enjoy his vacation and earn the credits, living in peace with everyone. But damn, he came at the wrong time.
After Melissa and Bella left, Lin Sheng sent the remaining teammates back to the mansion which he referred to as a base camp. He did not want the team to stay around. They were a liability to him. He also did not want them to get hurt, because that would have a negative impact on the university and the professors.
With that done, he strolled along the periphery of the town alone. He figured that since the killer was so daring to commit a murder in broad daylight, it would surely leave behind clues. He also knew that since the killer dared to come despite realizing that Suppressor-class professors were there, it had to be no ordinary murderer.
So Lin Sheng had sent Melissa and other men to assist the defense station with the investigation. As they said, there was safety in number. Except that Lin Sheng was going it alone. He was there to earn credits, not to risk his life. As long as no one messed with him, he was happy to leave them alone. More so because he had devoured a dark spirit last night and badly needed more living sacrifices to trap more dark spirits. Staying near the dense forest meant that he had time to hunt the wildlings for his sacrificial ritual.
…
The green pine forest was swaying back and forth as a strong wind was howling through the area. Deep inside the forest on a green pasture on a slope, the soil moved to expose a semi-circular entrance, which had been well-concealed all this while.
A few masked men, wearing green coats, rushed out. They then pressed a hidden button on the ground, and the semicircular opening closed back up, returning to its original camouflage appearance.
“Are you ready?” one whispered.
“Ready.”
“I don’t like this sneaky way. When will the priest be there? I can’t wait any longer seeing the young students roaming around in the town!” Another one swallowed greedily.
“Where is the soul vessel? Did you bring it?” someone whispered.
“I have one here, and Rev. Yang Hui has it too. But hers is a big one. We have to wait for her,” said the thinnest man in a deep voice.
“We have insufficient soul vessels. Why not we kill some more people to replenish them?”
“Sound good. But we got to move fast. And covertly. Time’s a-wasting. The Sect of Thousand Graces will find out soon.”
“I understand.”
The men moved swiftly toward Pine Town. “Go to the mansion near the town, where the patrol base is. We need to finish off the Transcendents first!” The short leading man barked.
“Aye!” the rest answered.
“Stop!” a voice shouted in the air. A green light figure jumped from tree branches above, landing in front of the men and blocking their way.
“Don’t touch the patrol before the priest arrives. Even if you kill the patrols now, our plan will fail.” Dressed in green leather clothes, the person’s face was hidden by the green leather. He did not look like a human.
The few men stopped in their tracks.
“After you attacked the patrol the last time, Bessis had been monitoring us. If something goes wrong again this time, how would our men come in?” the green light figure demanded in a cold voice.
“What about the soul vessel?” one asked in a low voice.
“No hurry. We will just wait!” answered the green light figure.
….
Lin Sheng sauntered through the pine forest. Since discovering wildlings during his last patrol, he had studied the population distribution and trails of these creatures. Combining their living habits, Lin Sheng had guessed that the lair of the wildlings must be near the silver mine. From the memories of the researchers in the research institute and of the hunters, Lin Sheng found a possible conclave point of the wildlings.
The sun was overhead, but the air temperature was low. Lin Sheng trekked forward, and within a short time, he was 500 meters away from the mine and into the endless black forest. The pine needles covered the forest floor, on which Lin Sheng could see poisonous insects crawling from one gap to another.
“The wildlings should be nearby.” Lin Sheng squatted down, picking up the soil, but nothing looked unusual. With the memories of too many people in his mind, Lin Sheng was becoming an all-knowing being.
