Don't disturb the sorcerer's scientific research

Chapter 170 Jia Xiu's Team "Displays Their Unique Abilities"

After Julia, a priestess claiming to be from the Moon Mother Goddess cult, performed a dramatic "miracle" to scare away the vampire clone, the town returned to peace.

After being tormented like this, the adventurers decided not to continue the quest and agreed to leave together the next morning.

They were truly terrified, facing an enemy far beyond their capabilities. If it weren't for good luck, they would probably have all died here, without even being able to become vampires.

The derivative can't be transformed when it bites; it's purely bloodsucking.

So much so that even when leaving during the day, they have to arrange to go together, as few people dare to take the "daytime route".

Having secretly watched the whole thing, Jia Xiu couldn't help but ask, "What do you think this priest is after?"

"Boss, are you asking me?"

Ram asked in bewilderment.

"Logically speaking, after performing a fake miracle, shouldn't they immediately start proselytizing before these people figure it out?"

People are most prone to placing excessive trust in strangers during times of crisis.

"Could it be that her goal isn't to increase the number of followers? That would be incredibly unprofessional; has she ever run a cult before?"

"Um, boss, you've been involved with cults?"

This question was asked by Bubu.

"You can't have cults associated with chivalry, can you?"

Bubu had begun to understand that the chivalrous virtues that Jashu spoke of were a very "all-encompassing" and "inclusive" thing.

"No, I've never done it, but I've had some contact with them, like the ones you saw when you woke up."

Bubu's eyes widened suddenly.

"They are a cult!"

"Aren't you being a little slow to realize things?"

Jia Xiu continued pacing around the room, pondering where to begin his investigation. Going directly to the Moon Mother Goddess and saying he wanted to join the cult would probably be too radical.

Moreover, when I was secretly observing just now, I found that without exception, all the black-robed people who came out were women.

It's unclear whether it's a coincidence, that other members didn't show up, or if this was a deliberate recruitment tactic.

An all-female cult, how about that? No wonder they're called Mother Goddess.

From a personal perspective, it's not that Jia Xiu is prejudiced—well, he is a little prejudiced—he feels that if this sect is really like that, then there's probably no need to worry about it; before long, he himself will run into problems first.

Joining the cult directly isn't appropriate. Going to town tomorrow during the day to start a conversation and develop a side story by talking to the local "NPCs" isn't very safe either. A group of adventurers from out of town asking all sorts of questions in town, by noon the whole town will know that there's such a group of people and what their purpose might be.

Don't underestimate the speed at which information spreads in small places; almost everyone in a town knows each other.

At this moment, Mia, who had been suffering from the heat all day, suddenly spoke up.

"I see!"

Although she looked tired, her eyes shone with excitement.

"I understand now!"

"What do you mean, Great Immortal?" Jia Xiu asked.

What is a "Great Immortal"?

"The respectful title for a senior fortune teller in my hometown."

"Oh? Well, I'm not that experienced."

"Tell me first what you've figured out."

“It’s like this,” Mia struggled to get up, her legs were numb from sitting for too long, “Based on my analysis of these past commissions, I’ve deduced that there’s a 98.23% probability that they’re luring low-level adventurers, not for money, but to recruit fresh blood for some kind of organization that can’t openly recruit, like a cult.”

Jia Xiu frowned.

Something.

The probability can be either zero or a whole number.

"I think your calculation is correct."

"Huh? How are you sure?" Mia asked, puzzled.

"Because the cult just came out, you missed a lot when you were calculating the probability."

Upon hearing Jia Xiu's words, Mia's lips trembled slightly, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.

From a professional perspective of prophecy, she succeeded because her predictions were correct.

From the perspective of the practical application of divination magic...

How can a prediction show that progress is slower than the actual development?
After a slight moment of despair, Mia continued, "The reason I've calculated so many requests related to vampires is because they most likely use methods of manipulating vampires to coerce or deceive believers."

"Hmm, not bad, that's right too."

Mia's face fell. "This one came out too?"

Jiaxiu, Ram, and Bubu all nodded.

"what--"

Mia refused to accept the fact that she had wasted a whole day of calculations. What was the difference between this and exhausting all her efforts to solve an extremely difficult problem in an exam, only to have the exam papers collected before she could even write anything on the answer sheet?

There is no sense of accomplishment from overcoming difficulties, only the frustration of maximizing losses.

"No, there's more, there must be more, something you haven't seen, uh... the purpose, yes! As a cult, they issue missions to lure people every now and then!"

The fact that the Moon Mother Cult has been able to use the same trick over and over again for so many years can only be attributed to the characteristics of the adventurer profession.

Even in an era when the mortality rate was already high and the average lifespan was probably only around forty, being an adventurer was still considered a profession prone to accidents.

Low-level adventurers are worthless, like weeds; once one crop is gone, a new one immediately grows.

This is partly why the Adventurers' Guild only conducts its assessments for adventurers of Gold rank or higher.

Once you reach the Gold level, the association will send out rescue teams if something really happens. They will try their best to revive those who have died, but you will have to pay for the resources consumed once they are revived. For those who cannot be revived, they will try their best to investigate the cause of death.

Below the gold level, nobody cares at all.

As a very pragmatic organization, there's naturally no need to rescue adventurers who die in goblin lairs.

Despite the inherent dangers of this industry, countless newcomers still flock to it, perhaps because a life without risk isn't much better.

Choosing adventure, regardless of the actual experience, at least sounds more romantic, and even the slightest hope—the hope of success and fame—is enough to inspire countless people to embark on the path of adventure.

Starting to work in a factory at the age of eight meant there was absolutely no hope; it was hard to say whether it was better to die faster than to take a risk.

Therefore, the ecological niche of low-level adventurers is probably at the level of the vast majority of "factory workers," and they have absolutely no labor protections.

Therefore, in the town of Çachdis, as long as one keeps a low profile and pulls a heist a few years later, one will hardly be noticed.

It was purely accidental that Jia Xiu was brought here.

"Oh? So what did you figure out the purpose of this?"

Jia Xiu, who had initially thought that Mia hadn't produced any useful content after all that time, suddenly became interested again.

“We need new people regularly, not for the sake of having more believers. This town can only support so many people. There is a 72.67% probability that they are supporting the vampires and gaining power by finding ‘food’ in this way.”

Jia Xiu nodded.

It sounds like something a sorcerer would do without signing a magic contract.

This also explains the method of controlling the derivative body. There are no signs of spellcasting, so it can only be controlled by a vampire. However, judging from the initial assessment, that cult member does not seem to be a vampire.

Mia continued, "And assuming they really did provide for him, there's a 99.89% chance he's a vampire worse than the owner of the Larvin Baths. It's not worth it for someone stronger."

This intensity.

Jia Xiu thought about it.

The owner of Larvin Bathhouse, who would often pull back the curtains to sunbathe and torture himself, only to have his skin ripped open after a few seconds, was not as good as her.

10 flashbangs, a maximum of 15, no more than that.

"What about the remaining 0.11% chance?" If this were a game, Jia Xiu would treat the 99.89% probability as 100%. If not, he would just curse the developers. Anyway, no matter what the problem is, it's not a big deal to curse the developers.

But no, 0.11% actually happened.

"The rest..."

Mia's tone suddenly turned serious.

"It's possible they don't have a living vampire, or more accurately, an active vampire. They provide it with nourishment regularly in order to eventually awaken it. And this town has been doing this for hundreds of years. So the strength of this sleeping vampire is definitely beyond our ability to deal with."

Mia is a rather conservative person. According to her, what if she works so hard to make money and then dies before she even has a chance to enjoy it?

This is completely the opposite of Bubu. Bubu doesn't consider the strength of the opponent; he challenges them first and only considers it if he can't win.

What Mia considers an insurmountable strength is essentially true.

"Is it that scary?"

"Is it that scary?!"

Mia said seriously that the atmosphere in the room was a bit oppressive.

However, she suddenly changed the subject, "It's not that scary. It's only a 0.11% probability. Since I've predicted other things correctly, this one should be right too. How could such a small probability happen to us? Even if it is true, it doesn't necessarily mean that he will awaken this year. Find the evidence, and when we get back, we'll have the association send a legend. We still have Ram here, don't we?"

reasonable.

Jia Xiu thought about it and realized that with Ram around, why should they be the ones to run into bad luck?

However, at this moment, Ram suddenly said, "I think maybe it's today..."

Don't think so!

Jashu and Mia interrupted Ram's "spellcasting" in unison.

"So, if we need to confirm whether this is even possible, what should we do?"

“Well,” Mia scratched her head, “did you encounter a vampire when I made the prophecy? Even a vampire clone would do. If we could catch one and get some information from it, we should be able to make the calculations.”

"Yes, there is. You should have said so earlier. It's already run away," Jia Xiu replied. "We can only look for it tomorrow. Since it's a derivative controlled by people in the town, it shouldn't be hiding too far."

"actually……"

Ram spoke again.

"Don't tell me what you felt again."

"No, boss, it's that Ram can actually smell the scent of that derivative from earlier."

"The fact that you can smell it doesn't mean..."

Jia Xiu was somewhat surprised.

The ogre bloodline has this function, huh? Looking at it this way, it seems that apart from making one's appearance somewhat human-like, the rest of the bloodline is a good thing.

A strong, healthy digestive system that can handle any food without getting sick, and an amazing sense of smell...

"Lamu can keep up with it, but if it buries itself during the day and the scent dissipates, it might be too late to catch it."

"set off!"

After hearing what Ram said, Jia Xiu did not hesitate.

That 0.11% chance of an unknown vampire is nothing to fear, just a mere derivative.

He caught up with him and went first.

If he couldn't reach her, he would shield Bubu in front of him.

At Jia Xiu's command, the team immediately set out. They had originally thought that Mia had been overloaded all day, so perhaps she should rest for the night.

As a result, Mia was determined to redeem herself by using her prophetic skills. She spent the whole day calculating and came up with a useful prediction, but she was embarrassed. She wanted to see the entity as soon as possible, gather information, and make the probability of that useful prediction 100%.

So, led by "Blood Hunter" Ram, the three of them and one undead, along with a treasure chest filled with ammunition, plunged into the woods of the valley under the moonlight.

As it turns out, Ram's skill level is superior to that of canines; he doesn't need to sniff around, he just charges straight ahead.

Jia Xiu suspected that he had "activated" it, but in fact, Ram had a task panel in his eyes, and he could use auto-pathfinding...

After about twenty minutes of trekking, Ram, who had been charging forward, suddenly slowed down, sniffed carefully, and listened intently.

Then he turned to Jia Xiu and said, "Shh... Boss, the distance should be about two hundred meters, but there's more than one."

"more than one?"

Jia Xiu whispered in response, "Are there several, or a group of Derivative Beings? Have we found a nest of Derivative Beings?"

"No, it's not a derivative body. It sounds like a person. There's someone next to that derivative body."

How did you figure it out?

"The heart rate is different; a human's heart beats faster than a vampire's."

Ram spoke with absolute certainty.

Jia Xiu was greatly shocked.

This is even more outrageous than smelling it; listening to a heartbeat from 200 meters away—so cannibals are some kind of super creature, huh?

Aside from intelligence, all other stats are maxed out. If intelligence is any higher, the balance will be disrupted, so the only solution might be to weaken the birth rate, like the dragon race did.

After the initial shock, Jia Xiu analyzed the situation.

If a human and their derivative are together without conflict, then they are undoubtedly either the mastermind or someone very close to the person behind the scenes.

"Bubu, use invisibility. Let's approach quietly, but don't make a move."

A few seconds later, in the dark forest, there was no one in sight, but the sound of fallen leaves being crushed underfoot could be heard.

To keep the volume as low as possible, Jia Xiu and the others approached at an almost crawling speed.

The crickets burrowed for five minutes over a distance of less than 200 meters.

When Jia Xiu reached a distance of less than ten meters, he saw the situation clearly. The berserk avatar from before had entered standby mode, and a man in black robes was carrying it into a coffin. The coffin was in a pit, presumably to be buried after being put back.

This shows he doesn't understand vampires enough. To protect against the sun, you only need to choose between a coffin and burial.

It took the man in black a lot of effort to put the body inside and then close the coffin lid. Instead of immediately grabbing a shovel, he began to pray.

Praying to a coffin covered in rags in the middle of the night—this sect is truly bizarre.

"Fresh offerings are presented today, and you may drink freely in the carnival of blood..."

Jia Xiu understood. It was obvious that the sacrifices were these adventurers.

I'm afraid those unlucky guys won't be able to leave tomorrow.

That's reasonable; that's the style of a cult.

Judging from what he said, he probably sacrificed quite a few adventurers in the past.

Jia Xiu used a telepathic spell to ask Bubu, "Do you have any interrogation or memory-exploring spells? I need this person to answer questions later."

"I can speak with the dead."

"Don't you have anything higher-end?"

"You can talk to the dead and ask them a lot of questions."

"Is it necessarily the dead who are talking? Could they be asking the living?"

"No," Bubu replied instantly.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Jia Xiu sighed.

The new plan is to first silence him, then interrogate him, and then use Gillianis's transformation scroll to transform into him and infiltrate the cult.

Coincidentally, he had a few new spells that he hadn't used on humans before...

(End of this chapter)