Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland.

"This storm is really strong." The deputy with black scratches stood at the bow, looking at his superior Lin Ji, and sighed with a sense of complacency: "But Chief Lin, please don't underestimate us. No matter what the brothers say, we will not let the Inquisitor go into danger alone and leave you alone."

The storm interrupted their progress towards the Depression Lagoon Town. Except for Lin Ji who had the strength to break through the wind and waves and enter the city alone, the rest of the technology hunters had to turn back halfway and return to the shore.

The technology hunters did not sit idly by. They collected small merchant ships in the surrounding area and used the tools and equipment they carried with them. They originally planned to rebuild a ferry that was strong enough to withstand the wind and waves. However, after many attempts, they were not able to succeed completely.

At best, it's progress.

But at this moment, they ran into the Tortoise, which was searching for something in the lagoon.

What a blessing.

Although the technological hunters' boats cannot break through the wind and waves alone, they can still hold on until they can board the ship and seize it.

These elite soldiers from Black Scratch Town, together with the Inquisitor, form a team called "Black Claws", and they are not good people to begin with.

So I acted decisively.

"How dare you do such a thing to the noble ancients..." On the Turtle, the tied-up captain woke up and struggled to get up.

He was obviously a son of the Green Plains, and he had not yet had time to remove the armor on his body - or perhaps it was impossible to remove it.

The Tech Hunter stepped on his head and pressed his entire face to the deck.

"Aren't you tired?" Deputy Zhou Jing looked at the captain and couldn't help but admire him. "This has happened so many times."

When they occupied the Tortoise, all other battles went smoothly, except for the great obstacles they encountered when attacking the captain's room.

Those personal soldiers were all wearing armor and iron masks. They fought fearlessly and were extremely fanatical. The Black Claws of Scratch Town initially just wanted to knock them out and leave them alive, but in the end they were killed all by wave after wave of attacks.

Only the captain was left.

But even though he was tied up, every time the captain woke up, he would struggle desperately, as if he had no idea of ​​his situation at all.

If it weren't for the further investigation and interrogation, Zhou Jing would have wanted to kill him with a knife long ago.

"We have long since given up pleasure, pain, and the source of all desires... so how could we feel, feel tired..." Even though the captain of the Turtle had his head stepped on by Zhou Jing, he was still trying to get up, which made his neck creak as if it was about to break.

This human was reciting words that sounded like a religious prayer, but he was not speaking to anyone else. He was only speaking to himself, as if giving a hint and encouragement.

Because he said that he was not in pain or tired, but the expression on his face was obviously twisted into a knot, and beads of sweat were oozing out.

"boom!"

Zhou Jing frowned, but still knocked him out again and exchanged glances with his companions around him.

No matter how you look at it.

None of the crew members on the Turtle look like their technological hunters.

As a watcher, Qin would not bring such a person who is half charlatan and half madman into the organization.

But if you ask what doctrine they believe in... As a technology hunter, Zhou Jing has never seen it in the investigation report.

Perhaps it is some obscure little religious group.

At this moment, the masks worn by the captain's personal guards flashed through his mind. They were uniformly rigid, with big eyes and square noses. Their functions were limited whether for protection or camouflage.

Something that must be said.

Zhou Jing suddenly felt that their shapes and appearances... were somewhat like skeletons.

The roar of the waves.

The Turtle completely broke out of the underground river.

To be honest, this is undoubtedly a very risky move. Once there are people blocking the way ahead or an undercurrent surges, the Tech Hunters may be caught in a fight and in danger. However, the members of the Black Claw are all skilled and courageous, which is to some extent exactly the same as their Inquisitor leader.

Even Zhou Jing felt that his luck along the way was a little too good - not only were they able to successfully seize the Tortoise, they also discovered the wreckage of the Viper in the underground river.

Not only did the other party help them block the surging tide in the narrow tunnel, but he was also buried in it.

Originally, the crew still had a chance to escape, but as the Tortoise went backwards, they were all crushed.

Now that he had successfully found Lin Ji, Zhou Jing was surprised and pleased. He knew that the other party was a person who did not believe in luck.

This prosecutor cooperated enthusiastically with his colleagues, just like good friends, but there always seemed to be some hidden estrangement between them behind the scenes, which was unknown to others.

Maybe it’s because of the other person’s identity.

As a disciple of the Sword Master, she has strong strength and potential, so she will naturally be the focus of training by the headquarters. It's just that because Alke went out to perform an extremely difficult mission and temporarily left the Black Scratch, the influence of her faction declined and some minor troubles occurred.

But, this is also an opportunity.

That's why the other party became the examiner.

As long as she could succeed or even just smoothly complete the mission of inspecting the depression lagoon, Lin Ji would be able to accumulate a lot of reputation, prove that she was not entirely dependent on the protection of the Sword Master, and even be able to win the support of the headquarters for her teacher.

Or even worse.

If something happens to Alke in Kirishima, she will have the opportunity to take over his position with this prestige.

In this way, their faction would not collapse completely in an instant.

This is almost the default.

As for the elite hunters Black Claws, except for a part of them who followed Alk to Mist Island, the rest were mostly his supporters, so they came to Lake Town with the Inquisitor.

Zhou Jing understood the heavy responsibility on Lin Ji's shoulders. To some extent, they still had to rely on each other. However, in the current situation, he was leading the Turtle like a god descending from the sky. After all, the inspector should look at him with new eyes, right?

Seeing the Scratch Town hunters in uniforms with the Black Claw emblem on their chests standing at the bow, Lin Ji was indeed stunned for a moment.

Surprise, surprise, touching...all kinds of emotions emerged. She had already prepared herself to take on this matter alone, but she didn't expect that these colleagues still found a way to break through the obstacles of wind and rain and come here. When she found out that she was not alone, no matter how strong her heart had been, she would still be touched.

However, it was at this moment.

All the clues are connected together.

"Why is she grinning foolishly... Shit, what happened here!?" Zhou Jing just moved his gaze away from the direction of the examiner and looked around, only then he realized the mess deep in the mine.

Searchlight, illuminating everything.

There were wooden planks floating on the water, dead bodies of sailors, blood stains floating around, and broken limbs and debris hanging upside down on the rock wall.

as well as……

"Safe Spider!"

Looking at the four-legged machines climbing up the rock wall, all the technological hunters on the Tortoise became alert. At the same time, they also heard knocking sounds coming from the bottom of the cabin below them.

"Commander! What have you provoked..." Zhou Jing looked for Xiang Linji again in surprise, and then froze, "That is..."

The Inquisitor had just grabbed a long knife hanging on the rock wall and jumped up with Chad, standing on the back of the knife.

And under her feet...

"Qin's saber!?"

"Thank you, everyone. But... why are you still standing there? A new mission has arrived!" The recovered Inquisitor looked at his companions and spoke with determination and determination: "The culprit has been arrested. Next, please stop the smuggled ancient machines from escaping. Never let them enter the Lower City!"

"Black Claw, move!"

……

……

"Why do you think you are qualified to negotiate a deal with me now?" Lu Meng looked through the eyepiece at the black box in the whistleblower's hand. There were still blood stains on it that could not be washed off. Although the other party's biochemical machinery also has a body, it has no blood. They have a more efficient circulation mechanism. "Or, why don't you go directly to the people on the Tortoise? They are obviously what you want more."

This biochemical skeleton had been lurking on the Reef. What Qin saw before his death was not an illusion. It was him who disguised himself as Zhuang Dayong and deceived the other party into releasing him from control of the Security Spider.

The Whistleblower's original intention was not this, but it was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. Obviously, he did not expect Lu Meng to be able to kill Qin. With his own abilities, there was no need for him to turn against the Watcher.

The Whistleblower can change his appearance and vital signs by reading flesh and blood, but this process requires the slow cultivation of the body, which is almost cloning. Therefore, if he wants to change his clothes temporarily, he can only use the existing skin. Then the real Zhuang Dayong must have turned into a skinless corpse on the Reef.

"Don't think you can threaten a skeleton with death - sorry, even we haven't implemented the weakness of 'fear'." Looking at the direction where Lu Meng's Old World crossbow was pointing, the Whistleblower was unmoved. Instead, he raised the black box in his hand half an inch higher, letting it fall exactly into the crosshairs so that he could see it more clearly. "If you don't want to, that's fine."

He exerted force suddenly.

The flesh-covered mechanical arm pressed down on the black box. There was a creaking sound, and a convex pattern appeared on the surface of the controller.

"But don't even think about getting it."

Even Qin, the Watcher, had to use an entire armored warship to transport these security spiders, who believed that they could potentially establish a foothold in Stober.

"You should know that I didn't activate the attack program of the security spiders. Now they are just defending themselves." The whistleblower stopped exerting force. "I just want to take them away from this place. Of course, for the sake of cover, some spiders must stay behind to cover the retreat."

"But once you lose control..."

"After all, they are one-fourth of our kind. I don't want to see these little cuties become like the machines in Iron Path."

From violent to abandoned.

The whistleblower looked at Lu Meng. The other party mentioned the Turtle without any concealment, which made him more certain of his judgment.

The core crew of the Tortoise.

They are the remnants of the flesh-and-blood exchange.

But considering that they are all human beings, they are at most low-level believers who have been blinded and bewitched by the theory of flesh and blood replacement.

The whistleblower knows that once he reveals his identity as a skeleton, he may gain the other party's respect, but it will be of no practical use.

His real idea was to lurk in this team, and then try to contact the core of the flesh-and-bone replacement - or even their founder - through the believers on the Tortoise.

If the other person is still alive.

"Everything in the world has its own order. Would you confuse a shepherd with his sheep?" The whistleblower laughed with his exposed flesh and blood. "You should understand this example, right?"

"——The First Fire of the Land of Light."

The Order of Embers.

When the Whistleblower first learned of the sect's theories and teachings from human society, he established a connection between them and the School of Flesh and Blood Transmigration.

Even though it has become much milder on the surface, it is precisely because of this that the Ashes can develop and spread as a cult and be accepted by the world.

The whistleblower also doubted at first whether this was just a coincidence, or the reappearance of the same spark of thought in the endless long years of history.

But now.

As the leader of the Order of Embers, Lu Beiyou not only knew the existence of the whistleblower, but also knew the true identities of the crew members on the Turtle.

This level of secrecy cannot be explained by knowledge or investigative clues.

You have to be a personal participant.

It is a fact that the Order of Embers is a peripheral or even derivative of the School of Flesh Change.

The lost school that single-handedly laid the seeds for the collapse of the Second Empire has returned to the world stage in this way.

(End of this chapter)