Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

Chapter 44: Chapter 43 Accidental Discovery Chapter 44: Chapter 43 Accidental Discovery The woman’s frivolous tone and flamboyant attire stirred an instinctual repulsion in Shandela, but in the presence of the lord, she restrained her impatience and extended her hand for a shake. The hand was so thin that she could almost feel each bone, and its temperature was chillingly cold.

It wasn’t her first time dealing with a priest of the Mechanical Sect.

But she had never seen a priest quite like this one.

“Don’t be fooled by Miss Ge Wei’s youth; as far as strength is concerned, she’s a master priest,” Li Qiang said with a smile, “What’s more critical is that she possesses the talent to manipulate secret divine artifacts. She will undoubtedly be of help to you in fighting against the heretics. She hasn’t been on the Magnificent Castle long, coming over from the Old Continent, so please take good care of her on ordinary days.”

Despite a hundred reasons of reluctance in her heart, with the lord conveying his wishes to this extent, to refuse would be disrespectful. Shandela could only agree, “I’ll do my best.”

…

Upon returning to the Distant View Tower, Shandela closed her office door and glared at the Mechanical Sect’s female priest, who looked around her workspace with keen interest, “Just so we’re clear, this case is under the jurisdiction of the city guard. You must follow my orders, understand?”

“It seems to me we are in a partnership, not a superior-subordinate relationship,” Ge Wei remarked as she set down her cross behind her. Upon touching the ground, the wooden floorboards groaned a mournful creak, indicating the object’s considerable heft. “If you’re worried I might steal the city guard’s thunder, there’s no need because I only have one goal, and that’s to exterminate the heretics.”

“Everything should be done with organization and discipline, which are fundamental to harnessing our utmost power!”

Ge Wei couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“What are you laughing at?” Shandela asked coldly.

“Nothing… I just wanted to ask the esteemed commander, have you ever crossed swords with the heretics?”

“I graduated from the Capital Military Academy and have been to battle with the military—”
“So you’ve never truly faced the heretics,” Ge Wei cut her off. “Sorry, you may have excellent marks and considerable command talents, but to be frank, those don’t mean much in the face of real heretics. When confronted with unimaginable fears, a person’s breakdown can happen much swifter than anticipated. Your so-called organization and discipline are then only slightly more substantial than toilet paper.”

Shandela’s gaze was sharp, yet the other party was indifferent, her face still wearing a light smile, as if she wasn’t aware she was insulting the entire city guard.

If it weren’t for her being introduced by the earl, Shandela would have thrown her out of the office already.

“… Since Priestess is so confident, you must have considerable experience in dealing with the heretics, right? Please enlighten me, what does it take to fight against heretics?”

“Madness.”

“What?” Shandela doubted whether she had heard correctly.

The woman let out a giggle, “Yes, madness! Only by being even more insane than they are can you avoid being led by fear and maintain that sliver of willpower! Of course, if you truly go mad, that’s an unavoidable tragedy… Hahaha…”

By the end, her laughter was unrestrained and wild.

This person could be a priest?

Shandela looked incredulously at her, wondering if there were some issues within the Mechanical Sect.

“My lord, what is this…” Woody walked into the office carrying a stack of files, pausing as he caught sight of Ge Wei.

“A priest from the Mechanical Sect, here to assist us with the investigation,” Shandela coughed twice, “That’s enough. I’ll take your experience into consideration. You may wait downstairs for now. If you’d like to learn more about the case details, I could have my subordinates…”

“No need, just find out the heretics’ identities or whereabouts and inform me,” Ge Wei slung the cross on her back again and walked out of the room with light steps.

“She’s a church priest?” Woody asked in astonishment.

“Introduced by Earl himself, could there be any doubt?” Shandela responded irritably as she sat back down at her desk, “Now tell me about your investigative findings.”

“Yes, I’ve checked the people illegally imprisoned at Wangshui Manor; most of them are enslaved workers,” Woody hurriedly spread the files one by one on the table. “Their experiences are all quite simple, Director Kuiqi… uh, the murderer Kuiqi must have captured them for the sake of convenience.”

A Seaguardian alien, enslaved workers… indeed, these two groups belong to the lowest level of society in Magnificent Castle. Even if they die in a gutter, no one would care.

It’s not that Magnificent Castle openly encourages slavery, it’s just that the prohibition isn’t as thorough as it is in the Old Continent. After all, colonization requires a large labor force, and not everyone likes to come to such a relatively desolate and dangerous place, so the authorities turn a blind eye to the companies’ practices.

Anyway, there are Seaguardian tycoons in Magnificent Castle.

But Shandela knew clearly that none of these were things to be brought to light. What she hadn’t expected was that the person in charge of the North City Police Station could be so inhumanly insane as to play bloody games right within the city.

“Do these enslaved workers have anything else in common… besides their status?”

Woody expressed his lack of understanding, “They are all enslaved workers, isn’t that a common point enough?”

Shandela sighed; though she did not like the Mechanical Sect priests, she did indeed feel a compelling sharpness from them—that was the confidence brought about by trials and tribulations, and the basis for such people’s inclination to take initiative. This kind of sharpness, however, she rarely saw in her own subordinates.

They were certainly loyal, but always seemed to lack something.

“Take a good look, these people are not the old, weak, sick, or disabled. Their ages range from 15 to 30, they’re physically able, exactly the kind of labor force factories need. If it were just to satisfy some criminal desires, Kuiqi wouldn’t need to seize these people for his dark prison.”

Woody suddenly realized, “You make a good point…”

“You and I both know, Heretical Cult followers don’t come without reason; they are more like flies that only buzz around cracked eggs.” Shandela grouped the Seaguardian files together, “We can’t rule out the possibility that these enslaved workers have attracted the cult. They should all be in the medical camp right now, right?”

“Yes, I have someone watching over them strictly.”

“Good, go and ask them later, separately,” she paused, then added, “Don’t use the interrogation method. Don’t forget, they are the victims in this case.”

Seeing Woody acknowledge, Shandela turned her attention to the remaining files. These were fewer in number and mostly belonged to mercenaries, detectives, and journalists, and each name was marked with a stark red stamp: ‘Deceased’.

“Their information was all found in Kuiqi’s bedroom, we cannot exclude the possibility of omissions,” Woody explained proactively. “We’ve cross-referenced with the previous serial killings, and we’re fairly certain they were all intended execution targets. However, due to the fire at the theater, many bodies were burned beyond recognition, and we can’t confirm which group of victims they belong to. Also…”

He trailed off hesitantly.

“Speak up.”

“The family members of the North City Police officers have been making a huge fuss these past few days. They don’t believe their own people could commit such heinous acts and think someone must be held accountable for their deaths,” Woody said in a hushed voice. “If we insist on labeling these officers as Kuiqi’s accomplices, we’re likely to face considerable public pressure.”

This pressure will undoubtedly also have an adverse effect on the City Guard taking over the police functions.

Shandela was silent for a long moment, “I understand. I’ll consider the wording when the case report is finalized.”

Woody immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

For some reason, she felt an additional burden weigh on her heart.

In this silent atmosphere, Shandela suddenly noticed a name half-hidden among the layers of papers: Kort Dane.

It was as if she had heard of him somewhere…

Shandela pulled out his file, pondered for a moment, and quickly connected it with the content she remembered.

That’s right… three weeks ago, someone had stopped her on the street, pleading loudly for help. But at the time, she thought they were just grasping at straws in desperation, so she didn’t pay them any mind.

The name that person had been shouting was Kort Dane.