After handing over those time-consuming and troublesome matters to Detective Valentine, Fang Zheng had a period of leisurely days. His daily work was to read newspapers, drink tea, chat with Nymph, go out for a walk, and then have dinner with Nymph and Asakura Ryoko, and contact the Tendao Palace by the way.

Of course, Fang Zheng also reported the situation here to the Goddess of Order, but as he thought, neither Fina nor the collective of the Goddess of Order knew what the original body had done in this world, nor why she did it, so Fang Zheng had to continue investigating on his own.

During this period, judging from the news in the newspapers that Fang Zheng read, the world was in turmoil.

That's right, demons are dancing wildly.

Generally speaking, in other worlds, most media and serious newspapers report on national events on their front pages, then discuss some social and legal issues, followed by other entertainment, gossip, sports, etc. But in this world, whether it is finance, law, politics, or entertainment, all kinds of media have reported extensively on various mysterious events that have occurred in various places.

For example, in the spring of a certain place, there was a mass madness and hysteria. Many people who didn't know each other suddenly started shouting that the end of the world was coming, and then smashed, looted and burned the whole city. However, half a month after the police arrested these lunatics, they suddenly sobered up and said that they had no idea what they had done.

There was also an artist who committed suicide by jumping off a building in public after painting a blasphemous and horrific painting for an exhibition, and a group of cult members besieged the police.

All in all, all kinds of media are filled with suicides, homicides, mass madness, artists' nonsense, and some weird letters from readers that make people feel that the editors should be sent to a mental hospital... Well, all in all, the more you read these things, the more you feel that the world seems to be a mess.

Of course, it's still interesting as material for a horror novel.

By the way, Detective Valentine also gained a lot during this period.

As a detective, he was quite capable of taking action. Within a few days, Valentine reported the information he had investigated to Fang Zheng. Based on the photos he had taken of the jewelry (which he had returned to Fang Zheng because Valentine felt disgusted), he went to ask his friends at the police station and soon learned that the pattern on the jewelry was related to a missing persons case that the police had previously uncovered.

At that time, the police were investigating a cult gathering in New Orleans, and they arrested a group of cult members. At first, they thought it was just a group of ordinary voodoo believers, but as the arrest and investigation deepened, the police believed that this was a new type of religious group they had never seen before, so they asked for help from archaeologists and anthropologists.

Valentine got the news from his colleagues in the police station, and then went to visit Professor William Channing Weber, an anthropologist who had helped the police solve this problem. Although Valentine tried to discuss this issue with Professor Weber, unfortunately, Professor Weber was old and seriously ill at the time, and it was difficult for him to communicate with others. Valentine got the news from him that the pattern on his brooch and the strange idol that the police asked him to investigate were related to a very strange religious tribe on the west coast of Greenland.

Then Valentine went to Greenland and sent a message back to Fang Zheng again.

But this time his tone was a little hurried. He told Fang Zheng that he had indeed investigated a mysterious Inuit tribe in Greenland and learned some terrible things. He would continue to investigate and report again. Before Fang Zheng could say anything, Detective Valentine hung up the phone because he was worried about eavesdropping.

When he received another call from Detective Valentine a few days later, the detective's voice had begun to become distorted, and he even showed signs of hysteria. He asked Fang Zheng to meet him at Dunedin Port in New Zealand immediately. He had discovered something terrible, but he was not sure... Well, after hearing this, Fang Zheng knew he had found the right place.

perhaps.

After that, Fang Zheng took Nymph, Asakura Ryoko, and Francis to New Zealand and met up with the detective at the designated hotel.

but……

"You look really bad, Detective Valentine."

Looking at the pale and thin-faced Detective Valentine in front of him, Fang Zheng couldn't help but sigh. Valentine waved his hand nervously, signaling Fang Zheng not to speak. Then he quickly opened the door, looked around, as if he was worried about being monitored by someone, and then quickly closed the door.

Not only that, Fang Zheng also found that almost all the doors in Valentine's hotel room were locked, including the windows, which were tightly covered, and even the mirrors were no exception.

"To be honest, Mr. Van Helsing, if you don't come soon, I think I might collapse..."

As he spoke, Valentine gestured behind him, and Fang Zheng saw a red-haired woman lying on the bed not far away. She was unconscious at the moment.

"Who is this?"

"Her name is Wendy, and she is Professor Weber's granddaughter. I previously discussed with Professor Weber that I wanted to investigate this matter, but he himself was unable to move due to a serious illness, so I asked his granddaughter to help me investigate."

"oh……"

Fang Zheng looked at the red-haired woman meaningfully, then stared at Valentine.

"You used the money I gave you to pick up girls?"

Although this is also a daily practice in detective novels.

"No, I'm not..."

Facing Fang Zheng's question, Valentine seemed a little embarrassed, but he quickly changed the subject.

“These people are…”

"They are my assistants, and this one is my client."

Fang Zheng introduced each of them to each other, then sat on the sofa and looked at Valentine.

"Okay, Detective Valentine, we didn't come all the way from Arkham to this godforsaken place of New Zealand just to mingle and make friends. Tell me what you found."

"Yes, Mr. Van Helsing, to be honest--"

Facing Fang Zheng, Valentine's complexion seemed to be much better. He continued to tell about his previous experiences. After finding clues in Greenland, Valentine came to Dunedin Port in New Zealand. According to Valentine, there was a group of mixed-race people who believed in the same religion and seemed to be doing something here. They had a very bad reputation in the dock area. It was said that these people always ran to the woods at night for shameful gatherings, and some people even thought they were devil believers.

In addition, Valentine also learned that these people seemed to be planning to perform some "important ceremony" recently, but just as he was about to investigate further, Valentine found that he was being followed.

And after that, he always had some mysterious hallucinations and encountered some inexplicable things. Miss Wendy, who was with him, fell into a coma two days ago. Although a doctor was called, for some reason, it was a member of those terrible mixed-bloods who came instead. Fortunately, Valentine was very alert at the time, which made them retreat.

but……

"At that time, those people didn't feel like humans at all. They exuded a very strange fishy smell. I originally thought it was the unique smell of fishermen at sea, but it was not the case at all. Moreover, their hands and feet seemed to be different from those of ordinary people..."

After hearing Detective Valentine's story, Francis' face turned pale and he nodded repeatedly. It seemed that he also recalled his tragic experience in Innsmouth.

"I understand the situation."

After listening to Detective Valentine's story, Fang Zheng nodded, then he narrowed his eyes and looked at Valentine.

"I should have warned you not to delve into the contents, but just investigate their destination and location. I did say that, didn't I?"

"……yes."

Facing Fang Zheng's question, Valentine seemed a little dejected. In fact, during the phone call, the other party did warn him not to care about what they were doing, but just to investigate where they were doing it. Frankly speaking, this request was quite strange to Valentine, because generally the client would ask him to find out what the subject of the investigation was doing and why he was doing it.

But Fang Zheng's request was the opposite. He repeatedly warned Valentine not to care why they were doing this or what they were doing, as long as he knew where they were doing it.

But I still...

"…Because of that woman, right?"

Fang Zheng silently glanced at Wendy lying on the bed, while Valentine lowered his head in embarrassment.

"Yes, she said that this sect is very ancient and worth studying..."

I just know that it's normal for women to get involved in horror novels and movies.

Women, archaeologists, and researchers are basically the standard characters in horror stories.

Valentine's intuition as a detective, coupled with Fang Zheng's warning, made him instinctively feel that getting close to those disgusting things was not a good thing, so he was able to remain rational. But Wendy was different, she was almost completely immersed in the study of those things that Valentine found simply disgusting, not only that, her expression was becoming more and more dazed, as if she was taking drugs.

Two days ago, there was an earthquake and storm here. After that, Wendy fell into a coma and has never woken up.

Fortunately, Valentine had already called Fang Zheng at that time, so he arrived in time.

"Forget it, seeing how you look... come on, drink this."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng took out something that looked like a bottle of mineral water. Valentine took it with a puzzled look, opened it, and drank it all up. Then...

The next moment, his expression suddenly changed, and then he rushed directly to the bathroom next to him.

Then there was a sound of vomiting and diarrhea. After a long while, Valentine, who looked like a ghost, walked out again weakly.

"Sir, what is that...what is that you gave me to drink?"

"Just think of it as holy water."

"Holy water...? But why do I feel like I took a laxative?"

"It's good to detoxify. You feel much better now, right?"

"This... is indeed..."

Although he seemed to be weaker than before, Valentine was surprised to find that after the vomiting and diarrhea, the voices that had been bothering him had disappeared. Not only that, the tension that seemed to have been gripping his heart and making him fearful and uneasy also disappeared without him noticing, and he felt unprecedented relaxation.

It was not the result of taking some kind of drug, but more like the shadow that had been haunting him had completely disappeared.

"This is……"

“It seems to be effective.”

Seeing this, Fang Zheng nodded silently. He had always hoped to figure out at what level the influence of Cthulhu mythology on humans in this world began. What Fang Zheng gave Valentine just now was the magic potion he bought casually in the main world, which could be used to remove mental enchantment. Originally, Fang Zheng was thinking that if it didn't work, he would use other products as test subjects... He didn't expect it to be so smooth.

"Okay, let's get down to business."