Night Journey

Chapter 145 Undercurrent
The corpse enveloped in mycelium, like a symbol, runs through Cirion's investigation of the Claws.

At first, Cillian thought it was a product of the blasphemous rituals of the Claws, a vessel used to store spores.

Now, its repeated appearances, spreading throughout the river, have made Cillian realize that its true purpose is far more complex than he imagined.

Not to mention, Cillian had previously visited the Watergate system to investigate related anomalies in the waterways.

At that time, he trusted the craftsmen's meticulousness and let his guard down. But in reality, the Watergate system had long been corrupted by the evil claws, concealing the truth.

"Oh, judging from your expressions, you must have seen those kinds of corpses before, right?"

Bill smiled with relief. "Then it's much easier to explain. The corpse contained a large number of spores with chaotic power, which was obviously the work of the Claws."

Before this, Vilan and I had heard that strange corpses had been found in the river, but at that time, the vertical farm incident had just ended, so we mistakenly assumed they were corpses that hadn't been properly disposed of.

Cillian interjected, "But those bodies should be in the Flower River, not in other waterways."

“Yes, that’s it. We noticed something was wrong and reported it to the city garrison.” Bill shrugged helplessly. “But it was like throwing a stone into the sea; there was no response at all.”

Bill and Veran were simply puzzled by the City Guard's reaction, but the other three thought differently.

Almost simultaneously, Cillian and the others looked at each other. Without a word, the same name came to mind.

The formless.

Ciri calmed himself down and then asked, "You were worried, so you secretly switched your plans and came here to confirm your suspicions."

"almost."

Bill leaned against the wet iron wall and remarked, "It's been quite fruitful. The Claws are indeed plotting something using the river."

Then he added regretfully, "It's a pity that after tonight, the Claw will become history, and all its conspiracies and schemes will vanish like smoke."

Cillian said thoughtfully, "Will it really vanish into thin air?"

Bill squinted, like a cunning fox.

"Then we'll see how things change in Hull City after tonight."

The two men's probing ended there. At the same time, the elevator reached its destination, the iron door opened, and the smell of blood mixed with the smell of rust rushed out.

This golden duo may have only solved a few problems, but the mess they left off the field clearly shows otherwise.

The ground and walls were pitted and uneven, bearing the marks left by the extraction and transformation of matter by electric arcs. Broken mechanical bodies and some indistinct corpse parts littered the ground.

Sporadic gunshots came from higher levels, accompanied by screams, indicating that the clearing operation at Watergate Fortress was clearly not over yet.

“Anyway, we only killed those on the list.” Bill put his hand on Vilan’s shoulder and said casually, “As for the others, the Spirit Craftsmen are cleaning up their own mess.”

The City Guard Bureau is the violent agency of Hel City, but it is not the only violent agency.

Under the deliberate control of the spirit craftsmen, the scene did not descend into chaos; only the receding gunshots and the faint, elusive energy reactions remained.

"Then we'll be going now, everyone."

Bill greeted them and quickened his pace with Veran, breaking away from the group as if deliberately leaving the three of them some private space.

Dalin suddenly said, "Bill and Weyland are very strong, but they have always been on the periphery of the City Guard Bureau."

Cillian asked, "Because of their status as spirit craftsmen?"

"maybe."

Dalin shrugged. "Some people suspect they are spies planted by Chief Rolf. After all, what spirit craftsman would give up the opportunity for scientific research and voluntarily devote himself to the busy task of maintaining order?"

His tone became heavy.

"The Claws have put a lot of effort into the Watergate system, plotting something in the waterways, while the City Guard Bureau has not taken any related actions."

Do you think the city sanitation department didn't notice this anomaly?

Cillian sensed the potential danger, "Or perhaps..."

“I’m thinking about something else, Cillian.”

Dailin countered, "The top brass of the Claws have been beheaded en masse, and the remaining forces, under the attacks of various violent agencies, will perish before dawn."

But the question is… what about the Invisible One?” He pointed out the crux of the matter, “Has the Invisible One been purged? Or has he, through the power of returning to stillness, escaped once again?”

"So, after the Claw is completely destroyed, will it abandon its original purpose, pretend nothing happened, continue living or leaving, or will it remain as a lingering festering sore, waiting for an opportunity to rise again?"

Cillian fell silent, while Daelin appeared unusually excited.

He put one arm around Cillian and the other around Anya, and the three of them wrapped around each other, their heads close together and their faces touching.

"Regardless of the truth or our speculations, there is one thing we can do to verify it."

Anya understood what he was thinking and responded.

“According to the city sanitation bureau’s procedures, once an anomaly report is submitted, it will definitely leave a trace. As long as we find that report and find out who withheld it, we can know who is deliberately concealing the anomaly in the river.”

Cillian told the truth without any emotion.

"The one who conceals the truth is the invisible one we are looking for."

……

Bill and Veran swaggered out of Watergate Fortress, and a light drizzle began to fall in the cold night.

"You shouldn't have talked to them so much."

Vilan, who rarely spoke, said, "You're bringing trouble to them."

"Trouble? Have you forgotten what your mentor mentioned? Dai Lin, like us, has also noticed the strangeness of the City Guard Bureau and is investigating."

Bill, who seemed carefree, revealed an unusually meticulous side at this moment. "But the difference is that Dalyn and the others are fighting alone, which inevitably makes them seem weak... but we are different."

Bill looked around to make sure it was safe, then picked up his communicator and connected to a secret channel.

After a brief buzzing sound, the signal was connected.

“We have left Watergate Fortress, and as we expected, the Claws have corrupted the foundations of the Watergate system, and the previously recorded river data are all wrong.”

They prepared a large number of corpses in the river; their specific purpose remains to be seen, pending the results of the autopsies.

Bill paused for a moment, then added, "Oh, by the way, we also ran into that Cillian you mentioned. He joined our investigation. There are quite a few sober people in Hull City."

"Expose? We weren't exposed. We just shared some intelligence with them incidentally. Anyway, our interests are aligned, aren't they?"

Bill's relaxed expression suddenly turned serious, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, yes, you're right. I won't get carried away anymore."

Vilan stood quietly to the side, seemingly used to what was happening before his eyes.

"What are Cillian and the others planning to do next?"

Bill paused for a few seconds, puzzled by the question coming through the communicator, then shook his head and said, "I'm not quite sure, but those few people shouldn't be able to interfere with us. After all, only we can control the city's waterways and completely thwart the enemy's plot."

"As for who the real enemy is..."

Bill sighed and comforted him, "I don't think there's any need to be too anxious about this. Whoever he is or what he wants to do, he'll come out sooner or later. We just need to be prepared then."

"Yes, yes, yes, please give me your instructions, mentor."

Bill suddenly raised his voice, "What do you mean, 'Don't call me that until you're my mentor, brother!' We two brothers risked our lives to be your spies, and now you're just throwing us away like that!"

"Oh, right, you haven't officially accepted us as your clients yet, so addressing us like this is indeed inappropriate..."

Bill coughed twice, his tone obsequious, "Oh dear, calling you 'mentor' now only makes us seem more eager for knowledge, doesn't it?"

Vilan silently covered his ears and looked away. At times like these, he was very reluctant to admit that this was his partner.

"Okay, okay, just use your job title!"

Bill swallowed hard, gripped the communicator tightly, and whispered.

"Chief Rolf, whether Vilan and I can be promoted to the Foundry Court depends entirely on you."

(End of this chapter)