"By the way, Lutecia, there's something I've been dying to know—why would fallen hybrids turn into zombies? I've learned a little about zombification in class, but there's something about it I couldn't grasp." As Lu Chen got bored during the journey, his desire to learn suddenly kicked in.
Theoretically, once the dragon's blood exceeded a certain threshold, a person's humanity would be stripped and they would slowly morph into a dragon, losing control over their lineage and thus, turning into a zombie.
Moreover, Finger had shared that the purer the dragon's blood in one's body was, the higher the grade of their lineage would be. Nonetheless, the rickety man Lu Chen encountered previously was of Grade B lineage. Hence, theoretically, shouldn't the man be safe given his lower grade bloodline? Conversely, weren't Grade A's and Grade S's supposed to be the volatile ones?
"I know what you're trying to ask. The freshmen's syllabus wasn't very detailed about it, so I understand your confusion."
Then, Lutecia started to explain, "First and foremost, you'll have to distinguish between the concepts of purity of blood and genes. Without a doubt, Grade A's and Grade S's usually possess more dragon genes than the rest."
With his eyes wide open, Chu Zihang, too, was visibly interested in the topic.
"For instance, there are two hybrids with forty percent of dragon genes in their bodies. However, despite having the same ratio of dragon genes, the purity of dragon blood in them differs. And that's the line that sets them apart from each other—one would be Grade A, and the other B."
Considering Lu Chen hadn't received proper education, Lutecia tried to keep her elaboration as simple as possible. Thereupon, she grabbed an orange and cut it in half. "Let's say they're both of the same size, but one's an orange while the other's a metal, so their properties naturally differ."
"Just like you, Lu Chen. You possess a high ratio as well as purity of dragon's blood and coincidentally, they are both within a safe, stable threshold. From the aspect of gene inheritance, the chances of giving birth to a Grade S are extremely low, even lower than the odds of drawing a Grade SSR. Hence, being born a Grade S is a gift from the gods." Lutecia took the initiative to explain in a more graspable way.
"Grade SSR? Isn't S the highest?" Stupefied and baffled, Lu Chen quizzed while thinking Grade SSR sounded notably more badass than a mere Grade S. Of course, the clueless boy had missed Lutecia's reference.
"It's the highest grade of item rarity in Gacha games. They are pretty hard to acquire," Chu Zihang explained. Although he wasn't one to play games, he was certainly diligent enough to learn about it.
"Hence, zombification isn't factored by the grade of our bloodline, though, it occurs more frequently to hybrids of higher grades. Since the parents of lower grade hybrids possess lower grade bloodlines, there are more human genes in their bodies, so it would be virtually impossible for them to give birth to a deviant. Thus, hybrids of Grade A and B lineage are usually the ones prone to lose control."
With such detailed clarification by Lutecia, Lu Chen finally comprehended the theory. Simply put, upon zombification, one who was originally weak would stay weak, while the ones who were initially powerful would become a menace to society.
"Our target for the mission was originally a Grade A hybrid, but after crossing the threshold, his power level is certainly higher than that of a usual Grade A, perhaps even on par with you at your peak, so best not let your guard down."
Seeing Lu Chen turn his stare outside the window once again, Lutecia subconsciously rolled her eyes. Suddenly, he turned to her and laughingly questioned, "Have you seen me at my peak?"
At once, Lutecia couldn't think of anything to say and was somehow embarrassed by his comeback. Indeed, nevertheless, she had never seen his true power, not even his kotodama.
"Since you're so good at profiling, why don't you guess what my kotodama is?" In a good mood, Lu Chen tried to joke with Lutecia, although it could have been the start of a fight.
On the other hand, Chu Zihang, sitting on the side, was genuinely curious about his kotodama. He had once asked Lu Chen about it but the latter claimed that it was still being activated.
"Forget it!" Infuriated, Lutecia grunted and turned her head away.
***
Before the enormous window panes, the entire view of Birmingham easily fell into sight. In the distance, clusters of soaring, hulking skyscrapers impaled the clouds, evoking the vivid sceneries of the woods and hills, filled with towering stacks of carcasses. The very sight could send chills down one's spine. As dusk approached, the thick smoke exhausted from factories became apparent, as if a predator was hiding within.
Meanwhile, the crew from Cassell College was just finished with dinner. Prioritizing the mission's accomplishment, Lu Chen sacrificed the empty half of his stomach so as not to take up his teammates' time.
Altogether, the squad consisted of twenty members that were to split into two teams—Team A responsible for guarding Milana, and Team B for Lutecia.
Before the mission commenced, the team gathered for a final contingency meeting, mainly because there was a critical piece of information Lutecia, who was adept in profiling, concluded and wanted to share after gathering intel from the streets.
"After further analyzing the victims' characteristics, I've found that Slaughter operates under specific circumstances. Has anyone figured out why he would target women with these traits?" Pointing her index finger at the screen, Lutecia once again presented the nine victims.
"Indeed, these nine ladies had nothing in common. Apart from Commissioner Marianne, the remaining eight had no enemies before they died, not enough to get them annihilated that way, at least. This is also the main factor that has been hindering us from progressing."
Indeed, serial murders were some of the hardest cases to be cracked as the killers took action based on their preferences instead of bad blood. Hell, they would even butcher someone simply on a whim!
Therefore, it was difficult to determine the identity of the target based on its victims' social circles. However, Slaughter's profile was rather clear as his prey all possessed the same characteristics, almost as if he had a perverted obsession with them.
"Lutecia, do you mean to say we have yet to figure out the trigger?" Susie queried.
"Yes. Everything happens for a reason, so it's bad news if his murderous intent was indeed spontaneous. Nonetheless, his behavior suggests that an incident in the past might have driven him to target women with these traits, only we have yet to discover the first victim."
At Lutecia's deduction, the team members instantly had their minds reinvigorated with a sense of epiphany.
"And the first victim—an anonymous woman—indubitably had a personal relationship with Slaughter. If we succeed in finding her, then identifying the suspect would be remarkably easier."
As she finished, she made a bow to signal the end of her information and exited the stage. Accordingly, Commissioner Fremont walked up the stage.
"As Lutecia declared, through connections, I've upped the police concentration on the case and had them search for missing women with the mentioned characteristics. Unfortunately, so far, there hasn't been one that fits the portrayal, so all we could do now is to wait for further updates from the police. Regardless, we had a breakthrough thanks to Lutecia. Teams, you may start organizing tasks among yourselves and proceed as planned."
At once, a wave of "Roger!" stormed the room in unison. And so, the units of the Executive Department began scattering throughout the city.