The Forensic Supervisor slowly removed his photochromic glasses, revealing irises of an unusual color: "To us, you are a supreme delicacy comparable to the Holy Blood of Jesus. Every single drop of sweat flowing from your body excites us more than the strongest potion—if you were not His thing, we would have captured you immediately, hidden you away, relentlessly extracted the essence and energy from within your body—it is a pity that you have His protection, such that even our Progenitor of Bloodline cannot act against you at will—"
Are you a Vampire or an Ogre?
Wood couldn't help but interrupt That Guy's endless chatter.
“Vampire? Ogre? No, no, no! My Companions and I are not those vulgar, lowly beings. We are the great pioneers in pursuit of immortality and eternity. Every one of our research findings has tangibly changed the world, at the same time—"
And also resulted in countless Death.
Wood looked at the Supervisor with disgust: "Speak, what exactly do you want? If the plan is to kill me, I'm sorry, I don't want to die, I will do my utmost to kill anyone who tries to kill me!"
Rest assured, we have no improper intentions toward you at the moment, because you are His property now.
The Supervisor grinned, revealing his Vampire fangs: "We want to cooperate with you to find the culprit responsible for these bizarre corpses."
As he spoke, the Supervisor pulled aside the translucent curtain, showing Wood the various human body parts spread across the dissection table.
.. When we found him, not a single drop of tissue fluid could be found in the deceased's body. His body had been sliced open by the Killer with obsidian to remove the eyeballs and the heart—this is a standard South American indigenous Sun God Sacrifice ritual, you just received a mysterious package from South America a few days ago; before you opened the package, the thing inside the Mysterious Stone Cabinet had already escaped.
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Author's Note: The worldview of Cain and his Followers is a bit crazy, but this world itself is quite crazy, with things like the "Slaying Line" and all that~ [laughing-crying]
Chapter 70 Quetzalcoatl's Secret Treasure (7)
How do you know this?!
The Supervisor said with a smile. "I—to be precise, 'we'—our ears and eyes are everywhere."
Is that so?
Wood looked at the Supervisor with an extremely displeased gaze and asked in return, "What do 'you all' want from me?"
If He is not by your side, we will stop at nothing to claim everything of yours as our own, including but not limited to your skin, blood, bones, hair.. even the microbial flora in your internal organs would be a precious treasure to us. Unfortunately—which is why we currently intend to cooperate with you to recover the escaped South American Relic and save New York City.
Save New York? You're being that kind?
Wood thought That Guy was lying.
You lot of blood-sucking locusts won't even leave the tubers buried deep in the soil; you devour everything edible and carry off everything of value. Countless fertile and beautiful lands have been stripped bare by your looting, leaving nothing behind but desolation, Death, pollution. You are what I hate most! If it weren't for you, this world could have—
I am sorry.
The Supervisor interrupted Wood unhurriedly: "My Companions have caused you so much unpleasantness, but please believe our sincerity at this moment, because if That thing is allowed to run amok, New York City will be destroyed, we—almost all the lands in the current world have a Master, therefore we must cherish New York. After all—a city as fertile, wealthy, docile as New York is not easily found a second time."
—Alright.
Wood pretended to be convinced by the Supervisor and turned his head to ask, "How much intelligence do you currently have—I mean, regarding that thing in South America?"
We currently..
The Supervisor thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "That thing is related to Quetzalcoatl."
I've known that for a long time.
Wood replied irritably, "The Mexican Mercenaries delivering the package call it the 'Eye of Quetzalcoatl,' believing it to be a precious relic from humanity's previous civilization era."
We have also been researching this.
The Supervisor glanced to his left and right, wrote an address on a slip of paper, handed it to Wood: "We will discuss the details tomorrow evening."
Alright.
Wood agreed without a second thought.
..
..
Returning to Boss's Museum, it was almost twilight.
Wood lay on his side on the sofa, ignoring the chattering scratching of claws outside the door and the strange growling coming from outside the tightly shuttered window. His left hand gripped the mobile phone with a Bluetooth headset attached, his right hand—
Boss, when on earth are you coming back.. I.. I'm a little..
("Do you miss me?")
The voice coming through the earphones carried a seductive sweetness.
I miss.. I miss you so much..
("…Because of the trouble that thing caused?")
It's not just because of the trouble That thing caused, it's also because.. because.. ugh..
("Are you doing something bad?")
“Mm..”
Wood gave a soft hum, his voice carrying an irrepressible sweetness.
Can you turn on the camera so I can see?
No.. I won't be able to resist if I do..
("Alright.. then do you want it.. mm..")
Mm-hmm..
Feeling the indulgence and pampering hidden within the Man's voice, Wood also exhaled a contented breath in response.
.. In order to share this moment with Boss, I locked them all outside.
("A bad boy, indeed~")
I-I'm not a bad child at all! I've been an adult for a long time, besides.. you taught me all of this.. At least, in my current memory, these are things you taught me..
Wood argued back with a slightly hoarse Voice.
("So you think I corrupted you.. but isn't the Truth that you liked this kind of thing all along..")
The Voice entering his mind through the headset was exceptionally soft and magnetic, like a goose feather tickling a sensitive spot.
.. Don't be like this! If this continues, I won't be able to report my work properly.
("Are you sure you want to report your work? Your current posture is not one for reporting work.")
Boss, you—
("I almost forgot to tell you, I set up a monitoring Barrier in our room—even if you don't turn on your Mobile Phone's camera, even if you deliberately draw the curtains and dim the lights to near-darkness, I can still see you clearly and know exactly what you are doing..")
Ah..
Wood's cheeks instantly flushed crimson; while feeling ashamed, a surge of intense excitement welled up from deep within his heart. "Boss, how.. how could you.. do this.."
("It's more exciting this way, isn't it?")
“..”
("Maintain your current posture and report your work to me. Remember, you cannot be lazy~")
Who would slack off~
Wood muttered, shifting his body as he reported the day's events to the man far away in South America, including Cain's strange words, the Forensic Supervisor's ambiguous attitude, the invitation for tomorrow evening.
—As for the date tomorrow night, should I show up on time, or should I pretend it never happened?
At the end of the report, Wood asked Master for his advice.
("Do you want to know the Truth?")
“?”
("If you want to know their secrets, if you want to know the Truth behind most of the strange occurrences that have happened so far, I suggest you accept the invitation to the party. Of course—if you are worried that the Truth will bring a devastating blow to your world, or if you believe they are capable of harming you—then do not go.")
.. I don't think they have the power to harm me.
After a brief silence, Wood said in a low voice.
("Because you have me, Jormungand, Anubis behind you now?")
It's not just because you and Jormungand are behind me, but also because I'm starting to realize that the Truth isn't terrifying—or rather, the Truth isn't as terrifying as I thought! The most horrific outcome would be nothing more than my very existence being a fiction, that the thing inside me is a world-destroying Demon.
("If this is the Truth, how will you deal with it?")
I.. I think it's impossible that no one in this world has ever loved who I am now.. Of course, if all the love I have received up to this point has been fake, then my very existence is meaningless; if I must vanish, then so be it..
Wood spoke with a forced air of nonchalance, though tears were welling up in the corners of his eyes.
("Do you want to cry?")
Yeah.
("So you haven't actually prepared to face—")
No! I am prepared! I fear no ending!
Wood emphasized stubbornly, suppressing his tears: "Boss, I'm going to hang up now."
("And then?")
Feeding the cat, feeding the dog, bathing, preparing for tomorrow's gathering.
Wood spoke quietly and hung up the phone.
..
..
Wood appeared before the Forensic Supervisor, holding the Anubis Dog in his left hand and Jormungand, disguised as a black snake-shaped bracelet, wrapped around his right hand. The latter glanced at the majestic Anubis Dog and said with a smile, "You've brought a powerful bodyguard."
Do you mind?
Of course—I don't mind!
The Forensic Supervisor said through clenched teeth, then reached out a hand and introduced himself, "I am Ashu."
Ashu? That sounds like a good name.
While they spoke, the two walked into a low-profile yet luxuriously decorated classical French Restaurant—a property of the Secret Society to which the Forensic Supervisor belongs, catering only to insiders.
.. As for us, there are countless absurd rumors in the outside world. Some call us the Illuminati, some say we are the Rosicrucians, others claim we originated from the Stonemasons of Ancient Egypt.. that we are an elite group conspiring to control the world.. In truth, we are nothing. We only wish to become eternal..
Forever..