Seeing that someone was getting emotional, his companion quickly changed the subject: "Lynn, are you still messing around with your thing... what's it called again... pendulum?"
Hearing someone mention this, Lynn's eyes lit up: "That's right, I recently found a like-minded monk and made many discoveries! Have you ever seen the chandeliers in the church that are blown by the wind? They swing back and forth rhythmically, and although the amplitude of the swing is different, the time it takes to go back and forth is always the same, even though I've calculated it with my pulse..."
Listening to Lynn's endless ramblings, his companion immediately regretted it and wanted to slap himself.
Fortunately, the conversation at the next table quickly diverted everyone's attention.
Have you ever heard of "Lone Wolf"?
At the next table, a man who looked like a traveling merchant had one foot on his chair and was waving his hands in the air, telling the others about his experience: "Last week, my friend and I followed a caravan to a mine in the north to buy goods. On the way back, we were ambushed by bandits! The guards in the caravan were attacked by more than a dozen bandits, and most of them were killed or wounded in just a few minutes."
The traveling merchant picked up the wooden cup on the table and took a sip of wine.
The others urged, "And then what? And then what? Tell us!"
"Just when I thought I was doomed, an arrow shot out from the woods and pierced the back of a bandit's head. A shadow leaped down from a tree, and 'Lone Wolf' appeared! His head was like a wolf's, with sharp, pointed teeth and such long claws..."
Upon hearing this, an audience member asked, "Claws? How does he shoot arrows then?"
The merchant glanced at the speaker: "Who said you can't shoot arrows with claws? If you don't believe me, go home and try it yourself! Let me continue, those dozen or so bandits didn't last long under his claws. They were disemboweled, their throats slit, and there was blood everywhere! What's most amazing is that the wounds the bandits left on him healed instantly!"
As if recalling that astonishing scene, the merchant swallowed hard: "Whether it was a sword piercing his body, an axe striking his chest, or even a dagger slitting his throat, all of 'Lone Wolf's' wounds healed instantly..."
"Then he is an anomaly, a 'posthumous child of the devil'! A synonym for evil!"
An abrupt voice interrupted the former's narration.
The traveling merchant looked in the direction of the sound, displeased.
Several townspeople sat together, raising the crosses to their chests and loudly repeating phrases like "the alien species are the embodiment of evil."
The merchant slammed his fist on the table in frustration and roared, "I don't know if the aliens are evil! I don't know if they are demons! But 'Lone Wolf' saved my life from the bandits!"
To his companions' surprise, Lynn suddenly stood up and voiced his support for the merchants, saying, "I think that aliens are aliens. They have strange abilities, but they are no different from us in essence, just like some of us can run faster or jump higher than others!"
The townspeople loudly denounced their faith and insisted that such indiscriminate claims were blasphemous against the Holy Spirit.
Soon, the people in the tavern split into two factions. One faction believed that all beings of other species were evil, and that their approach must be malicious; the other faction believed that beings of other species were no different from ordinary people, and that there were good and bad among them.
The tavern was filled with a heated argument over the matter.
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Late that night, after greeting Huggins, who was guarding outside the door, Rachel arrived at Todd's laboratory building.
Seeing the half-open door, the woman asked a question while carefully knocking on the door. After hearing a "Come in" from inside, she pushed the door open and entered the room full of equipment and bottles.
What puzzled her was that Todd wasn't in the outer room.
Seeing a faint light coming from under the door leading to the back room, Rachel went to the back door and knocked again.
“Ratchet, come in, but watch your step, it’s a bit messy here.”
Upon hearing Todd's words, the woman slowly pushed open the door and entered the back room of the experimental building for the first time.
A huge, square glass culture tank, a metal sealed container connected to various pipes that keeps making strange noises, and a wooden container that looks a bit like a bathtub.
Todd was standing in front of a row of iron cages, observing the things inside by the light of the candle in the room.
Rachel leaned closer and saw a group of white mice running around, each carrying a strange object on its back—something that looked like a steel breastplate, with several limbs that gleamed with a black iron sheen extending from the breastplate and attached to the mice's limbs.
Suppressing her doubts, Rachel first told him what she wanted to report.
"There's been some talk about Randall in town today."
Todd straightened up and asked, "What do people think?"
The woman tilted her head and replied, "It's a mixed bag... Some people have come to accept the existence of the righteous aliens because of him; but there are also quite a few who insist that the aliens are evil."
"Do we have a list of supporters yet?"
Rachel took out a piece of paper and said, "I've written down the names, occupations, life stories, and other information of people who have feelings for the alien race. I've selected a few suitable people to proceed with the second step of our plan."
Todd took the paper, studied it carefully for a while, nodded, and said, "Let's begin the second step of the plan. Remember, regarding the aliens responsible for contacting these people, try to choose intelligent and friendly individuals..."
Rachel smiled and agreed.
Five days later, a sixteen-year-old girl came to Lynn's door. She claimed to be a refugee from the South and hoped to find a job in his shop to support her younger brother.
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