Chapter 192 Night Crow
After handing Carlos over to the Secret Garden Society, I quietly returned to the Black Dragon Gang and continued to be my second-in-command.
The Secret Garden Society will use Carlos as a clue to investigate his memory and further undermine the Dark Moon faith.
The data reports Lin Hanning had sent piled up on the virtual interface, the cold numbers and charts painting a suffocating picture. The "Black Plague" was spreading at an unimaginable rate, and its path of transmission was essentially directed towards the evil god, making it difficult to isolate with conventional means.
The surge in deformed babies brought on by this "abundant" phenomenon is even more chilling. These twisted lives are not the creations of nature, but rather evidence of the frantic sowing of seeds by sleepless mothers.
The birth of every deformed child means an infiltration of the evil god's power.
The trickle of faith is still gathering, but the whispers of despair, fear and madness mixed in with it are becoming clearer and clearer.
I had to devote some of my attention to filtering out the harmful noise.
But this is not a solution.
The gods that are believed in must bring real hope to the believers.
At the same time, I also began to understand why those old gods had such a crazy and chaotic side.
Anyone who can accept the negative energy brought by faith for a long time and still not go crazy is a real lunatic.
A few days later, late one night, I was meditating, trying to sort out those negative beliefs, when the shadows in the office suddenly twisted unnaturally.
It is not mirror communication, but a more direct space-type supernatural power shuttle.
I became alert instantly and looked up at somewhere in the void.
Shadows gathered, and a figure in a dark grey windbreaker and a hood quietly emerged. Their form was indistinct, as if they might merge back into the darkness at any moment. Only a faint rose emblem on their chest revealed their identity—a member of the Secret Garden Society.
"Lord Xingqiong?" A processed neutral voice sounded, low and hoarse.
"It's me." I remained seated, the power of authority quietly surging through my fingertips, ready to drag this space between reality and illusion. "Even though we're all part of the same organization, are you all so fond of showing up uninvited and intruding into other people's private spaces?"
"This is a special situation, and regular communications might be monitored." The man's tone was flat, emotionless. "You can call me Night Raven. I'm in charge of the Black Plague investigation, and I have some findings I feel should be shared with you."
"Oh?" I raised my eyebrows. "Does Lin Hanning know you're coming?"
"She's not my superior, so there's no need to report to her." Night Raven raised his head slightly, the shadow beneath his hood darkening. "Especially when certain discoveries may point to...inappropriate behavior by certain members of the association."
My heart skipped a beat. The Secret Garden Society wasn't a monolithic entity; all its members were potential new gods, each with their own calculations and ambitions. I'd anticipated this.
"Tell me about it."
"The source of the plague wasn't directly contaminated by the evil god," Night Crow said succinctly. "I've traced the energy residue from multiple outbreak points. The spectrum of mental contamination is highly consistent, and there are clear signs of human guidance and amplification. There are 'gardeners' who are deliberately cultivating and spreading this plague."
"Gardener?" I caught this special nickname.
"It's a general term within the Secret Garden Society for members who specialize in areas like life, decay, and disease," Night Crow explained.
"Currently, clues point to a member codenamed 'Plague Doctor.' His recent activities closely coincide with the outbreak of the plague, and he previously showed unusual interest in Frost Bay Wharf."
"And from what I understand, during his evolution, he was contaminated by the evil god from the Frost Realm. Combined with his research on life, he created an artificial mutant creature, the Ice Claw."
When he said this, my eyes flashed.
This wave seems to be coming towards me.
"Tell me all this. What do you want to do?" I stared directly at the shadow. "Join me to deal with that 'plague doctor'?"
"Sharing intelligence means sharing risks. The 'Epidemic Doctor''s' actions have broken the Association's tacit agreement. His actions are accelerating the cycle of reincarnation and are a threat to everyone."
Night Crow paused, then continued, "I've identified his next possible target—Rust Town, located deep within the city's underground drainage system. Nearly 10,000 refugees with some resistance to existing pollution have gathered there, making them an ideal 'petri dish' and 'control sample.'"
"He's probably conducting further spread experiments there, or testing the plague's effects on certain resistant populations."
I used to be an official force, but at this time I suddenly moved my DNA.
"Why is there a cluster of resistant people gathering in Rust Town?" I narrowed my eyes slightly.
However, Night Crow only chuckled: "Haha, the members of the Secret Garden Society all have their own secrets, this is not surprising."
Well, it seems that he is unwilling to disclose it.
In this case, I can only play dumb. Even if I secretly attract the Investigation Bureau to investigate, I don't think they will be able to get any results. Maybe there are even senior officials from the Investigation Bureau in the Secret Garden Association.
I simply got back to the point: "Do you need me to stop it?"
"It's 'we,'" Night Crow corrected. "I'll provide the specific location and infiltration route. The strength of the 'Plague Doctor' himself is unknown, but he must have some protective measures. Head-on confrontation is not my forte, but I am good at stealth, tracking, and cracking. We will work together to destroy his experimental nodes and seize or destroy his research results."
I was silent for a moment, quickly weighing the pros and cons. This was undoubtedly a huge risk, as the hostility of a full member of the Secret Garden Society was significant. But allowing the "Epidemic Doctor" to act would have disastrous consequences. Furthermore, this might be an opportunity to gain deeper insight into the inner workings of the Secret Garden Society, or even obtain information related to the "Epidemic Doctor's" research.
After a moment's consideration, I chuckled softly, "This will require some compensation."
"After success, we can make a copy of the relevant research data accumulated by the 'Epidemic Doctor'. In addition, I owe you a favor. In the future salon, I can provide you with equivalent intelligence or assistance." Night Crow answered quickly, obviously well prepared.
To be honest, I'm not very interested in this information, but getting Night Raven's assistance is indeed a good condition.
"Not enough." I shook my head. "Information sharing is the basis. I also want all your investigation notes on the 'Abundant' phenomenon. I know you are also pursuing this clue." I had previously caught a glimpse of the relevant purchasing information in the salon's information exchange list.
"...Okay." After a moment, Night Crow's voice sounded again, but with a hint of mockery: "Lord Xingqiong, you seem to be a little... overly compassionate."
"Weakening the 'sleepless fetal mother' will benefit everyone." I smiled slightly.
"Plan and time?"
"Meet at the entrance to the abandoned sewage treatment plant in East District 3 tomorrow at midnight. Here's the map and identification signal." A pitch-black feather shot out from the shadows and landed lightly on my desk, a faint runic light gleaming at the base of the feather. "We'll discuss it then." Before he finished speaking, Night Crow's figure melted into the shadows like ink, completely disappearing.
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