"You stay here and don't move."
After instructing his sister, Lex picked up the lantern, gripped his pistol, and walked over.
Indeed, as Harribel had said, at the base of this giant oak tree, adorned with cat and dog corpses, there was an inconspicuous tree hollow. It was overgrown with weeds, revealing only a small opening.
Lex placed the lantern by the opening, and the Light illuminated the dark space inside the hollow. For a moment, Lex seemed to see something flash in the depths of the hollow, but it might have just been an illusion.
But the next moment, he saw a person.
A man. He raised his head, his eyes vacant, and extended an arm towards the opening, as if seeking help.
"There really is someone."
Lex called out, "I see you. I'll pull you out now."
He put down the lantern, lay on the ground, and extended his arm into the tree hollow.
Quickly grasping the man's hand, Lex immediately pulled him up. As he pulled, Lex felt something strange; the man in the hollow was very light, allowing him to easily pull the other person out.
But as soon as the man was pulled out of the tree hollow, Lex was startled, because not only did this man only have one arm left, but the part below his waist was missing. A section of mottled spine protruded from his body cavity, with several intestines dangling from it.
"Shit!"
Lex quickly let go, unwilling, both physically and psychologically, to continue holding a corpse's hand.
"Did you find anything?" Harribel couldn't clearly see the scene behind Lex, so she took two steps forward.
Lex called out, "Don't come over."
Then he shook his head helplessly, "It seems we'll have to notify the Police Station."
At noon, Old Lady Paris returned to her house, followed by a disheveled tramp.
Not long after they entered the house, Old Lady Paris's hysterical screams and curses suddenly rang out. At this point, a team of police officers, who had been ambushed in the yard, rushed in and quickly brought out the old lady and the tramp.
Next, police officers in black and white checkered uniforms dug open the tree hollow behind the house and unearthed several incomplete corpses.
Among them was Ailiya's mother. The poor woman's body was covered in gnawing marks, her stomach ripped open, and her internal organs hollowed out.
These corpses caused continuous sounds of vomiting in the yard, making Kaosi secretly glad he hadn't gone in. He then smiled at the noble youth with black, broken hair beside him and praised him unreservedly.
"Well done, Lex."
"I heard your father say you were seeking change. I thought he was joking, but now I believe our Enki Town is about to gain a righteous and proactive young gentleman."
Lex smiled and humbly said, "I'm just doing a normal thing, not as noble as you say, Chief."
At this moment, Paris was being led away by the police. The old lady cursed every police officer with the most vicious language.
When she saw Lex, she stretched out her claw-like fingers, pointed at Lex, and cried, "It's you, you devil! You are blaspheming the Goddess, and the Goddess will punish you!"
The old lady twisted her body, struggling violently, "Let go of me! I didn't do anything wrong, why are you arresting me! I just let those poor people go to the Land of Night. There, they will find eternal peace, no sorrow, no pain, no hunger!"
"I am a favored one of the Night, you cannot arrest me!"
The old lady's voice gradually faded into the distance. Kaosi shook his head and sighed, "A lunatic."
Then he added, "I hope those other blood cases can also be concluded as quickly as this one."
"I think so too." Lex said sincerely in his heart, looking at the out-of-shape Chief of the Police Station beside him.
Old Lady Paris's incident quickly caused a sensation in the Town. People lamented the tragic deaths of those in the tree hollow and wondered how such a tragic event could happen in the always peaceful Enki Town.
On that day, the number of worshippers at St. Witt's Church was three times the usual.
Due to her mother's death, Ailiya took leave to go home and arrange the funeral. Harribel gave her a week, and Amelia told her to go to the housekeeper Quenna to receive 5 pounds for funeral expenses.
This brought a glimmer of solace to the grief-stricken maid.
Daylight passed, and night arrived as scheduled. As the gradually achieving Perfection crimson moon hung high in the night sky, Lex, wearing a dark brown high-collared trench coat, a black iron mask, carrying a golden revolver, and donning Shadow Gauntlets, arrived at the Sea Monster Tavern.
The tavern was as lively and noisy as ever, and tonight, a gambling game was being held.
The gambling game was 'Dogs Catching Mice.' Guests could bet on which dog would catch the most mice, and could even bet on the exact number.
Lex came to the bar and tapped the counter, "A south wales beer, please."
The Bartender Sanchi glanced at him, served the beer, and then said, "You're a bit early, you'll have to wait a bit."
"No problem. Is Bridge here? I still owe him 200 pounds." Lex took the beer, lifted his mask to expose his chin, and took a sip.
Sanchi wiped a glass and said, "He went out tonight, I don't know where."
"In that case."
Lex took out his wallet from his pocket, counted out 200 pounds, and placed it on the table, "You can pay him back for me."
Sanchi skillfully took an envelope from under the counter, put the money in, and put it away.
"Tell me about the employer. I'm already here, there's no need for secrecy anymore, right?" Lex said while drinking his beer.
Sanchi shrugged, "Have you heard of Doug? If not, you should know about the Black Bowties, right?"
"Doug? Black Bowties?" Lex frowned slightly under his mask. The former didn't ring a bell, but he had heard of the latter somewhere.
He suddenly remembered that he had heard about the Black Bowties from Kaosi.
This was a Gang on Kingston Road, the largest Gang in Enki Town. Members of the Gang, no matter what they wore, had to wear a Black Bowties, hence the name.
"So, tonight's client is a Gang member?" Lex considered whether to decline. He had no fondness for Gangs, neither in his previous life nor this one.
Sanchi put down the glass and corrected, "To be precise, he's the leader of the Gang."
"Tell me about this Mr. Doug." Lex didn't forget the hunter's code, didn't forget that a hunter should actively gather information.
Sanchi glanced at him, cleared his throat, and said, "Duke, you know the rules."
Lex chuckled and pulled out a 10-pound banknote, "To hell with your rules."
The Bartender gritted his teeth and said, "You can't use money to insult my professional career!"
Lex chuckled and pulled out another one.
"Damn it, Duke, you weren't like this before!" The Bartender covered the two banknotes with a glass and moved them towards himself.
"Listen, this is the last time, you can't keep doing this." Sanchi quickly put the money away.
Then, he lowered his voice and said, "Doug was once a low-level figure in this Town. He came from poverty, his mother was a streetwalker, God knows which man fathered him. When he was young, he was always called 'little bastard'. '"