He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Chapter 79 Tin Man

After their reunion, Dodo spent most of his time drinking heavily. Several hours later, the ground was piled high with cans of all sizes.

Ai Yi was also given a lot of drinks, but after the budding, he finally received the long-awaited physical enhancement. Although the effect was still so weak that it was almost negligible, at least he was not so easy to get drunk.

It's also possible that Sherlock trained her to have a high alcohol tolerance.

After the silly bird lost consciousness, the rest became very easy. Ai easily knocked her out, and the bird cooperated by falling into a deep sleep without a care in the world.

Seeing Dodo lying limply and unconscious on the sofa, the fox smiled and habitually thought of lighting a cigarette, but seeing the well-behaved beast-like little girl sitting to the side, he finally put the cigarette back in his pocket.

He got up and poured himself a cup of tea, then poured one for Xiao Qi—seeing the little guy's flattered expression, he could only say helplessly, "Thank you for taking care of this silly bird while I'm away."

"Pitch black—" Xiao Qi's terrified voice entered her mind, and Ai Yi casually interrupted her.

"This isn't the outskirts—don't call this name unless you have to. It sounds kind of cringey and makes people think I'm some kind of stupid anime fanatic."

He dragged the fast-sleeping Dudu into the backstage area and tossed her onto the bed. To make life easier for the silly bird, this convenience store had been specially renovated; the bedroom and the cashier were only a few steps apart, otherwise Ai Yi might not have been able to carry this guy.

After standing by the bed and thinking it over carefully, Ai helped her take off her coat, tidied up the wings and tucked them under her body, and placed a glass of water by her bedside before leisurely returning to the front desk.

"Tell me, what's been happening lately?"

Although she hadn't lost contact with Nie, Ai asked her about it, thinking that Xiao Qi, who was in Beihe, might know more details.

Before that, seeing the beast-like girl stammering for a long time without being able to come up with a second title, Ai yawned: "If you don't want to call me by my name, just call me 'Boss' or 'Master'? You're not allowed to call me 'Master' or anything like that."

"Boss."

Qi chose a neutral title and said softly, "We discovered traces of esoteric cult activities in the Beihe District."

"A mysterious organization called the Church of Saint Naraken has been quite active recently—they may have some influence within the authorities in Beihe. Despite carrying out several mysterious operations in a short period of time, their evil reputation has been suppressed, and they have not yet attracted the attention of the official authorities."

—Was it really not discovered?

Ai Yi almost laughed: as a double agent serving in both positions, he knew that these mysterious cases had not escaped the Foundation's notice at all—it was just that they didn't take them seriously and simply listed them as beginner tasks in the task list.

"but----"

Ai tilted her head again, seemingly lost in thought.

—The mysterious society that suddenly emerged at this time most likely took advantage of the timing of the two major events, "The Moths' Descent" and "The Suburban Incident." Although it has been discovered, the Foundation's main focus has been diverted, which allowed them to grow wildly in the cracks.

"They know how to pick their timing so well—they understand development."

Ai shook her head. "However, since even you used the term 'secret religion,' it means they truly possess mystical powers, and aren't just a cult or gang in disguise."

However—while it's true that they did come into contact with a mysterious organization, the legitimacy of this "mystery" remains to be seen.

The biggest difference between folk esoteric Buddhism and official mysticism lies in their definitions of the word "ascension."

Not every path can be called a "path of ascension." Those amateur cultists who only manage to glimpse the Red Pool by luck, without the foundation of a lineage or the cost of trial and error, are more likely to go astray or even suffer some malicious deception.

For example, there was a case that Ai Yi had seen on the intranet: Four years ago, a mysterious society called "White Egg" had its leader communicate with an unknown entity from the Great Gift Pool through a ritual, and received some kind of huge "blessing", which even triggered a small red tide.

When Foundation agents arrived at the scene following the blockade instructions from the Hume Tree, they discovered a giant, pulsating ball of flesh that filled the entire basement.

This is the "ascension point" chosen by the cult leader whose name is unknown, along with all his followers, dissolved into a bloody, mangled egg—he was deceived by the being in the pool his whole life, and the cytoplasm of the cult he had devoted everything to opened a passage to the nest for His descent.

Then, just five minutes later, the white egg, which the Foundation had classified as the embryo of a demon god, was blasted to smithereens by a space-based weapon.

—How pathetic————

Every time Ai sees such foolish colleagues, she has to stop and laugh for half a minute.

Such intangible techniques, lacking backing and purity, are, in Wei Sir's words, full of loopholes and weak!

Ai Yi looked at him with disdain, but as a subordinate, Xiao Qi still did his duty and reported all the known information seriously: "Although their study of the occult is rudimentary and inferior, but—Grey Court detected the tremors of the nearby Red Pool. Their activities, whether by luck or other reasons, have actually pried open the shell of the Nest, so we still can't completely ignore it."

—We're the villains—

Ai looked at Xiao Qi with a half-smile and spread her hands, saying, "This kind of thing is none of our business. If we have to say, it's the government's responsibility to handle it. It would be best if they could profit from it, but if not, they can stay far away. If things really escalate, the foundation will cover for me. Boss, I've also gotten a government job on the other side."

"but----"

He turned serious and said, "Listen to me carefully. This is order number one: do not actively seek out any potential dangers. If anything goes out of your control, report it to me—well, I'll report it to Nie instead."

Ai couldn't really treat a child as a tool, and she was too lazy to use the same old tricks she used with the seasoned veterans, so she simply said whatever came to mind.

"Although the organization is in dire need of rebuilding, safety can still be guaranteed. At worst, I'll lead you all to hide in Gray Court and wait for the nuclear bomb to be built."

"But Lord—Boss—"

Xiao Qi stammered for a long time but couldn't come up with a complete sentence, but the fox could roughly guess what she was thinking:

The Black Children have been indoctrinated by the Grey with a bunch of ideas about "giving everything to their master," and now Ai's instructions are clearly in fierce conflict with their values.

"obedient."

So he emphasized this, leaning forward, half-closing his eyes to meet Xiao Qi's blank gaze until he saw her nod with difficulty, showing malleable obedience, before revealing a satisfied smile.

"Very good, good boy."

Having a way out, Ai doesn't want to end up like Grey, using a group of children as bargaining chips at the gambling table.

At first, the gray mask conveyed to him, "I have an opinion," but after sensing Ai's determination, his will ultimately found its balance.

This process is hard to describe. It's like how Lot's "sense of justice" was somewhat mitigated by the fox's "laziness," and Grey's "ruthlessness" was assimilated into a gentler form by Aye's "empathy."

Not in terms of external affairs, at least in terms of the organization's "internal management"—mainly dealing with those who entrust their fate to themselves, such as the Dark Children, the Doll Girl, and Lin—Fox doesn't want to become a leader like Gray.

As for the other guys who "can't be considered one of us," this standard can be tightened, depending mainly on the fox's mood.

Whether such leadership qualities are good or bad remains to be seen until later.

"That's settled then. I'm going to sleep now. Xiao Qi, you're not allowed to stay up late either. Hei Gu Gu and Bai Gu Gu—you two are responsible for guarding this place. If there's any strange noise, come back and wake me up."

As Ai snapped her fingers, two plump birds, one black and one white, silently emerged from the void. They perched on each other's shoulders for a while, gently rubbing their beaks together, before flapping their wings and silently flying into the darkness outside the door.

"Haa~"

Ai stretched, her eyes still blurry with tears.

It felt strange that we were only halfway through the conversation and hadn't offered any solutions, and that we were just about to go to sleep.

But that's exactly what the fox was thinking—he was such a lazy dog, and he planned to come back to Beihe for a week to take care of the two things, Mengya and the commission. But before the first night was even over, he had already completed half of his goal. He had plenty of time, so he could put it aside for a while.

As for the esoteric teachings—we'll talk about that after I wake up. Besides, the commission is brand new, and it's not so easy for someone to steal the progress right away. If someone could finish the task in one night, then this kind of "trivial matter" wouldn't yield much reward.

"Good night."

He had just stepped onto the first step when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's going on—"

Ai frowned, and a gurgling echo came from the red liquid.

The lack of urgency in the warning suggests the situation isn't serious.

"But this is fucking too fast?"

The next instant, the convenience store door was opened from the outside, and Ai turned her head slowly, her eyes flashing with black light. In the next instant, a miniature field of silence covered the small area.

This is a new application derived from the mysterious technique after its emergence—the previous Silence spell could only be used on individuals, but now it can be used as a "Field Card".

It wasn't for defense, but rather to prevent the noise from waking up Dodo in the inner room.

"Welcome to Wings Out Convenience Store. Our store is under full surveillance. Take what you like—there is a self-service payment system at the entrance. If you don't want to pay, you don't need to notify the staff. Just leave. We just hope that no violent incidents will occur. Temporary setbacks are not a reason to challenge the law. Peace and harmony are paramount, and making money is a wise business practice."

He spouted a series of moves with masterful skill, but privately let out a soft sigh.

He felt a strange sense of déjà vu about the scene in front of him.

—This looks like a sugar figurine!—

Ai narrowed her eyes, looking thoughtfully at the two unsteady, pale-faced customers not far away.

—It's not that simple.

The suppression of mystery allowed him to see more inconsistencies, so he put on a smile and went out to greet them.

The two middle-aged men who entered the store were unremarkable and showed no signs of alteration. They seemed like the kind of dull, obedient working-class people.

"Is there anything you need?"

As he spoke, he silently observed their every move. Like any sugar figurine that had been overdone, their pupils could not focus, and they were dull and lifeless, as if they had lost their minds.

As they entered the convenience store and approached the counter, the two of them stood on tiptoe to examine the sofa inside. Upon discovering that it was empty, a stiff look of regret flashed in their eyes, as if programmed. Then, completely oblivious to Ai, they staggered out of the store.

And that was the end of it.

A completely incomprehensible scene.

—It's as eerie as a silent film.

"Qi—follow him, but be careful not to get spotted."

Ai said softly, then squinted her eyes and silently took a step, following behind the two strange men.

After leaving the convenience store, the two middle-aged men seemed to lose their purpose for a short time, wandering around the streets for a long time before finally stopping in a small alley on the side of the road.

The next moment—

A cold glint appeared in the darkness, advancing from different angles, almost converging at the same moment.

The attack, so fast that it couldn't be detected by the naked eye, fell silently as a series of arcs of light appeared in the air, followed by a chilling, sharp sound like metal rubbing against metal.

The humanoid silhouette was instantly fragmented into more than a dozen pieces within the dark shadow of the dagger.

Debris fell like rain.

"Who taught you to cut it into such small pieces? Girls shouldn't be so cruel. At least leave them with a half-corpse!"

""

"Understood, boss. I'll definitely do it next time."

Accompanied by a strange conversation, someone slowly emerged from the darkness, stepping on the already shattered corpse.

Strangely, despite the gruesome scene, there was no trace of blood or flesh splattering.

The ground was still clean.

That's really strange.

Amidst the middle-aged man's unchanged expression, a pair of eyes, gleaming with a faint light, slowly approached from the alleyway entrance.

crystal.

ice.

They were a pair of round, dark blue eyes, as transparent as glass beads, slightly darker than blue, yet even more mysterious.

"Those pupils magnified in my field of vision. 'Sir, please give me a moment, let me tell you a story.'"

Ai walked up to the strange man, smiled, and whispered, "A long time ago—there was a man whose heart was ripped out for some reason, but he didn't die immediately. He was told that a person cannot live without a heart," and then he died as if waking from a dream.

He moved the man's head toward the ground, so that he could see his companion—a humanoid mutilated corpse with smooth cut surfaces, faintly revealing a metallic sheen.

"An ordinary person cannot live without flesh and blood and without a soul."

The moment those words were spoken, it was as if they were waking the person in front of them from a dream in which they had forgotten themselves.

His expression remained a grotesque mix of fear and blankness before he silently collapsed, ceasing to breathe and stop beating. His once heavy body suddenly became light, and his flesh lost its original color, turning into an inorganic metallic hue.

he died.

Or rather—he's already dead.

Ai looked silently at the ground, and a screen of light appeared in his eyes, floating above the two corpses.

"The Tin Dead Soul"

—Dead souls.

Ai looked thoughtfully at the two humanoid figures that were already dead but were still moving as they had been a minute ago.

He had already found it in the think tank:

This is a mysterious phenomenon based on known principles. Mystical apprentices can use certain methods to strip away the essence of a living person's soul, leaving only a part of their obsession. After infusing this obsession into the shell of an inorganic substance, they can create a mysterious creation called a "dead soul."

Such an existence dies the moment its soul is shattered and taken away, but the remnants of the soul can drive a shell that is not flesh and blood to simulate its appearance before birth.

After that, the human form no longer possesses reason, but is eternally pursuing what it once most desired—which is often the extremely ugly desire hidden by law and morality.

Behavioral logic is like a pitiful person driven mad by pressure, going through a final frenzy before death.

The last desires of these two poor souls before they were turned into dead spirits were probably "the pretty shopkeeper in the convenience store" and "moon candy" that they had eaten or longed to try.

So they came here with candy in hand.

These mysterious creations, often made by esoteric cultists who worship flesh and blood or collect souls, are stripped of all their life force and are quickly imprisoned or killed for challenging the laws of the lower city—and are easily regarded as pitiful people "going mad before they die."

While they are active, the esoteric practitioners can transfer away the souls and flesh they have acquired—or consume them directly, leaving no trace.

—It's cheap and disgusting.

"Solubility"

For tin, the melting gaze can turn them into black water that flows into the sewers—thus eliminating the need to dispose of the corpses.

Ai blinked.

—That colleague who popped up in the lower town was a little annoying.

However, after thinking for a long time, no further information was obtained.

Looking at the late hour, Ai Yi yawned and led Xiao Qi back to the convenience store.

"Go back to sleep first."

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