Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 283 Klein Encounters Crisis

The potato stew was thick and warm, but each person only received a bowl, and there was only one and a half pieces of black bread. It wasn't that Lu Ze was short of money; the main reason was that these people had been starving for too long, and feeding them too much would kill them.

Fortunately, there was plenty of hot water, so at least they wouldn't choke on their bread.

Even so, Lu Ze saw several people stubbornly swallow their bread, then immediately run to the front to beg for food, only to be scolded back by gang members who had received orders.

A few minutes later, even the slowest person had finished their portion. At this moment, they were less wary of Lu Ze and instead showed more gratitude.

What Lu Ze didn't know was that he had actually given more than enough.

For these homeless people, there were only two places to receive relief. One was the officially established workhouse, where they had to wait in line for a spot, and once inside, they were required to do heavy labor, such as breaking stones and picking out usable fibers from hemp ropes.
After a day of strenuous work, all they get is a bowl of thin, watery soup and a few slices of bread—far from enough to cover their physical exertion. Experienced homeless people know that going to such places is akin to a slow death.

Another source of relief came from the church. While the church didn't force people to work, due to organizational limitations, the relief it provided was limited and not available daily. Furthermore, receiving relief was subject to religious restrictions; non-members of the church had to either convert or join the queue.

It's worth noting that among the three major churches, the Church of the Goddess most frequently provides relief, while the Church of Steam focuses on teaching skills to wanderers. As for the Church of Storms, they do not provide relief to men because, according to their doctrine, men who cannot support their families are considered incompetent and useless.

Are there any literate people among you?

Lu Ze asked the crowd a question.

People looked at him with confusion, and only a few raised their hands, including an elderly woman.

I almost forgot, even in Backlund, only a minority of people can read.
Lu Ze thought to himself, then asked, "Someone with a craft, someone who has worked as a laborer?"

This time, more hands were raised, a scattered total of about thirty. Lu Ze noticed that most of those who raised their hands were middle-aged or elderly men, and several of them had missing fingers.

"Okay, then what's next?"

After that, he continued to ask questions and got a general understanding of the situation of these people. The reason why the workers were homeless was mainly because they were old and disabled, and the factory was unwilling to hire them as a burden. The few literate ones were all bankrupt middle managers, and the few children were also basically destitute and relied on theft and begging to survive.

"Okay, that's all for now. Go and rest."

He said to everyone, "Go back to the accommodations we arranged for you."

The crowd stirred again.

"Respected Sir, Missionary..."

A man who seemed a bit more clever mustered up his courage and asked, "Aren't you here to spread the gospel of God to us?"

His words were tinged with a thick local accent and his language was rather crude, but the general meaning was clear—we were brought here, given a meal, and then we could go back and rest? We weren't supposed to listen to endless sermons or work all day?

The treatment offered by Lu Ze was so good that it made them feel overwhelmed.

"Your health is too poor right now."

Lu Ze said calmly, "Even if we spread the gospel to you, the effect will be very poor. It would be better to let you rest first, so that you can better bask in the glory of the Lord."

Upon hearing his words, the crowd reacted in various ways, but in the end, under the direction of the Lehman gang members, they all left and returned to the temporary accommodations prepared for them.

Lu Ze looked to the side. "Mr. Anderson."

The gang leader, Charles, noticed his gaze and immediately walked over, speaking respectfully.

A flash of golden light passed through his eyes.

Not just him, but most of the capable people in the gang had been hypnotized or influenced by Lu Ze, and they basically wouldn't disobey his will. Otherwise, they wouldn't want to do the tedious work of coordinating the actions of the crowd like they just did.

"What's this about the Zmange Party that we talked about before?"

Lu Ze asked.

“That’s right. These savage highlanders have a new leader and some more thugs. Recently, they’ve started taking over our territory.” Charles perked up immediately when asked this. “We were caught off guard and lost two streets, and several of our brothers were injured.”

The Zmanger Party, that gang that originally had Ambassador Intis backing it up.
Lu Ze seemed to be deep in thought.

Ambassador Intis was assassinated by Mr. A, and their leader also disappeared, plunging the gang into chaos and allowing other gangs to seize a lot of territory. The manuscript that Luzer sold to the Queen was also stolen at that time.

The resurgence of the Zmang Party indicates that Intis's power has regained control of them, and some are attempting to take control of the current situation.

Are you still fighting?

"After fighting for a few days, we withdrew from the territory we had previously seized, and they didn't chase after us anymore."

Xia Erdao.

He reclaimed the territory he previously owned, and instead of blindly expanding, he was quite sensible. Lu Ze thought to himself, "But who told him to get in the way of my role?"
The feedback he had just received, in particular, made him realize that his decision to build the herd was correct. Therefore, those who opposed him seemed even more unforgivable.

"Do you know where their headquarters are? Do you have a photo or portrait of their leader?"

Lu Ze decided to take charge of this matter.

With his current strength, even if Ambassador Intis has a Sequence 5 powerhouse, he can still put up a fight. He might even be able to obtain a more suitable Extraordinary Soul for herding.

"Okay, I'll go right away!"

Charles was overjoyed. Of course, he didn't know what Luze was planning, but since this powerful extraordinary being was willing to participate, it was definitely a good thing for their gang.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Later that day, in the Hillston district, in a somewhat old house.

This is the home of the famous detective Isengard Stanton.

However, the house was empty at this moment; the great detective was nowhere to be seen. If anyone were to look into the living room now, they would discover an extremely gruesome scene:
A young man, brutally dismembered, lay on the doorway; teacups were scattered on the carpet, and the tray was stained with blood.

The living room floor was also covered in blood, as if a major battle had taken place, but no bodies remained.
The only person standing was Klein, who had been invited to visit Essinger Stanton. He was on high alert, seemingly wary of a mysterious killer who might attack from who-knows-where.

He was so vigilant, so focused, that he only snapped out of his daze when the police broke down the door.
(End of this chapter)