Heris reached out and received the file from his subordinate.
Right at the top was a scene reconstruction report those black magicians of 'Scarlet Cult' had done. The paper document was filled with a long and detailed analysis.
It even included the time of magic release, extent of aetheric disturbance, state of mind, scope of damage on the scene, and many other details. Anything that was of significant importance was neatly collated within.
Fortunately, black magicians weren't like the bunch of Truth Unions blockheads and had marked out the most important points. Furthermore, there was a complete and detailed description of the scene reconstruction.
Such detailed investigation reports could only be achieved by magicians.
Investigation methods used by hunters tended to rely on themselves as well as their senses. For example, hunters with superior vision could spot bloodstains or disturbances in the aether that ordinary people wouldn't notice.
However, they could also see another hidden aspect of the world and eventually go insane...
Of course, this was just but a myth. Veteran hunters that truly went crazy and finally died would have already lost their speech abilities long ago and wouldn't be able to accurately depict what they witnessed to others through their growls and grunts.
The temporary collaboration between 'White Wolf' and 'Scarlet Cult' was really beneficial for both sides.
In battle, the complement of close and long-range combat increased the efficiency of their fighting strength. As of the current situation, this cooperation was something both sides couldn't do without...
But the premise was that they shared the same objective. Otherwise, those high and mighty magicians would never choose to work together with the hunters.
Heris skimmed through the file and flipped to the last page when his eyes narrowed. The final part of the file was a photograph of the scene.
The entire alley was covered with flesh and blood. Veins and lumps of meat plastered the ground and walls. Even if this was a photograph, those bloody bits seemed as if they were still squirming.
Nothing remained of Uri's corpse and the only way to identify that he had been there was the tattered bits of his clothing that were left behind.
His entire corpse had been twisted into either a fleshy pulp or possibly a nest of some organism. Bloodied veins that covered the body had completely ruined the corpse's appearance and a pure white iris flower was growing from an orifice which seemed to be the mouth. The supposedly green roots of the iris embedded deep into the flesh and were now dark red in color.
It was difficult to determine if the flower had been planted there or if it had grown out from this mass of flesh and blood.
However, according to the report, the flower as well as the mass of flesh and blood had withered away a short while after the photograph was taken.
It was as if this flower was some parasitic organism that absorbed the nutrients from the bodies of Johann and Uri before withering away when the source was depleted.
The strange posture of the corpse in the alley and the long trails of blood behind it depicted the suffering and pain Uri went through before he died.
Uri had expended all his efforts in his final moments to leave behind a desperate message in blood.
'Run'.
Heris placed the file on the desk and exhaled sharply. "This means that after Johann returned from the bookstore, his consciousness had already been taken over by something unknown... Am I right to say that those black magicians have no way of analyzing what that thing is?"
His subordinate lowered his head. "Yes."
"What are their plans to followup on this?"
"The decayed flesh and iris flower have already been collected and will be handed over to Scarlet Cult headquarters for 'Precant' Morphey to study. At present, they have advised us to give up investigating the bookstore for the time being and focus all our efforts on ensuring the incubation of the Magic Ovum Mirror."
"That Scarlet Cult Destructive-rank that hasn't shown himself all this time?" Heris maintained his calm demeanor. "Tell them that White Wolf will fully cooperate."
"Yes."
The subordinate bowed respectfully and left the room.
Is this the bookstore owner's warning? Heris pondered in silence.
He turned around and gazed outside the window. Beyond the window was part of a large factory. A massive incubator was placed in the center and within it was the Magic Ovum Mirror.
Ensure the incubation of the Magic Ovum Mirror?
But Heris didn't forget that Ji Zhixiu suddenly showed up and was able to be on par with himbecause she had come into contact with that bookstore owner.
He had reason to believe that the bookstore owner was the person currently supporting Ji Zhixiu. There was no guarantee that the escaped Ji Zhixiu would not gain even more assistance from the bookstore owner.
I cannot allow any more variables...
——
Lin Jie opened his eyes, waking up from his dream.
He couldn't help smiling as he remembered the pleasant dream he had as he gazed up at the soft feathers fluttering above him. "I've really got to give my thanks to Old Wilde the next time I see him. This thing really brings sweet dreams."
Lin Jie sat up, took some deep breaths and did a little stretching. His body felt relaxed and full of vitality.
The rain outside hadn't ceased and the gloomy weather made it difficult to discern the time. Lin Jie glanced at the metal alarm clock at his bedside.
6 a.m.
This was 30 minutes earlier than when he usually woke up but at the same time, him feeling energetic meant that the quality of his previous night's sleep had been good.
"We can still meet in a dream when the next night arrives. I hope what she says really comes true," muttered Lin Jie to himself as he got off the bed, changed, and headed into the bathroom.
Even though there was a possibility of having this sort of continuous dream, the probability of it happening was really tiny. Lin Jie felt that his previous dream was a fluke and all he could hope for was that the dreamcatcher's net would capture another beautiful dream for him.
Standing before the basin, Lin Jie picked up his toothbrush and started his daily grooming. Maintaining a neat and tidy appearance was a courtesy that he couldn't do without.
"Gurgle gurgle... Pui!"
Lin Jie spat out a mouthful of saliva and foam, then rinsed his mouth twice more. He then washed his face with a towel and smiled at the mirror, checking his teeth out of habit.
Suddenly, Lin Jie was stunned. "Why does it seem like... something is off?"
Lin Jie eyed the mirror suspiciously and opened his mouth wider and used a finger to touch his two rows of teeth.
Upon closer inspection, he confirmed that he had grown eight extra teeth at the ends of his jaws. His original teeth especially his molars seemed to have shrunk and the few new inhabitants had fitted in snugly. Lin Jie wouldn't even have noticed if he hadn't taken a closer look.
"Even if I've suddenly gotten hyperdontia, they shouldn't have grown that quickly, eh?"
Lin Jie frowned. After some thought, he suspected that this was the doing of Blackie.
—Blackie was the name he had given to the hidden hand behind his transmigration. After all, it had the appearance of a black silhouette.
However, the more Lin Jie thought about it, a bunch of extra teeth didn't seem to have any significance.
"Haa, nevermind, who knows what goes on through its mind. Perhaps, giving teeth is a form of blessing for it?"
Lin Jie tested his bite a couple of times and realized his teeth function didn't seem to be affected in any way and thus, he gave up mulling over the matter.
All was fine as long as the teeth were usable and didn't hurt.
Lin Jie tidied up his appearance and went downstairs to open his business for the day.
"I wonder if there will be any new customers today."