abnormal mutation

Chapter 36 The Silent Corpse Puppet
Roland gasped for breath, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, his legs feeling like lead, and his wounds seemed about to burst open. He had to slow down a bit to let his body catch its breath.

Passing through the north gate, a few steps later you'll see the wooden building of the Rose Cross Pharmacy, its doors tightly shut and pitch black.

He strode up the stairs and pounded on the wooden door: "Bang, bang, bang—"

He tried to shout something, but his breathing was labored and he couldn't raise his voice, so he had to give up.

The second-floor window lit up, and a face could be vaguely seen behind the messy frost flowers. Roland took off his hat, stepped back a few paces, and tilted his head back, trying to make the other person see him clearly.

The shadow in the window disappeared, and a few seconds later, footsteps sounded, approaching from afar, before a door was violently pulled open.

"I hate it when people bother me while I'm preparing medicine. I think you want to get beaten up!" Yulia's face was sour as she glared at Roland with an unfriendly expression.

“Old Priest Colin… is still alive,” Roland quickly said, to avoid getting beaten up. “He tried to take over my body, but I killed him. However, the magical item [Silent Coffin] is still there, and his corpse may become a Silent Corpse Puppet or a monster.”

He's a Sequence 8 Soul Reaper from the Mourning Path. Can you handle him?

He spoke quickly, holding his breath, but Julia heard him clearly, and her expression became very serious.

"Bang—" He looked back and saw a firework explode in the distance, its shape resembling a simple sketch of a person wearing a law enforcement officer's hat.

That was the officer's distress signal. Roland had seen it several times. Hughes didn't call for help immediately to buy him time, but he couldn't let it drag on for too long.

"Wait at the back gate," Yulia said, then turned and hurried back to her room.

"There's a backyard too?" Roland was taken aback. He walked around the back of the building and sure enough, he saw a courtyard wall connecting the building and a gate on the south side.

As soon as he arrived, he vaguely heard someone shout "Prepare the car." It was Yulia's voice. The sound of doors opening and footsteps followed one after another, and the quiet courtyard instantly became noisy.

About two or three minutes later, the gate was suddenly pulled open, and a tall, pure white reindeer trotted out, its swaying antlers almost scratching his face. Roland quickly stepped aside and turned to see the sled behind him.

This vehicle has a spacious enclosed cabin, with a separate driver's seat at the front connected to the cabin. The bottom skid is made of metal, and it has four pairs of wheels that can touch the ground, clearly indicating that it is a modified amphibious snow sled.

"Mr. Roland, please get in the car." The carriage door opened, and a young girl's voice came from inside.

He jumped into the car and entered the passenger compartment, where he met a pair of curious eyes. It was a girl sitting in the driver's seat, wearing a fluffy hat. Her fair face was slightly flushed; she looked young, with delicate features and a pleasing appearance.

Just as Roland was about to greet them, the carriage door opened, and Julia, carrying a suitcase, hurriedly sat down.

"Get ready—" the girl called out softly, and without any other movement, the reindeer started running, faster and faster.

"What's going on? Tell me in detail." Yulia spoke quickly.

"This evening, the new neighbors moved in..." Roland didn't dare to delay and recounted the whole story from beginning to end, but he concealed the existence of the chessboard and only revealed the Twin Wolf Beasts.

He claimed that he accidentally recognized the old priest's voice. After a fierce fight, the old priest was defeated and, on his deathbed, revealed the hidden dangers of the "Silent Coffin".

The description was largely accurate, and Julia stared at him with wide eyes, seemingly not quite believing him. The situation was critical; she didn't have time to investigate further, but instead carefully inquired about the condition of the silent coffin.

“The Mourning Path is an exclusive path of the Church of the Moon Goddess, belonging to the official orthodoxy. Sequence 8 Soul Masters possess extraordinary abilities such as Pain Weaving and Soul Echoing, and there is absolutely no such thing as a [Rebirth Ritual]. This must be some kind of forbidden knowledge.” Yulia frowned.

"..." Roland looked out the window in silence. He had thought that mourners were only for villains.

The reindeer ran very fast and soon crossed the central square and turned into Monastery Street.

Hundreds of meters away, the lights were bright. Roland could vaguely see law enforcement officers running out of the alley diagonally opposite Lucky Whitebeard, carrying lanterns and hurrying towards the west gate.

Many neighbors from the convent street stood at their doorways, pausing to watch, many holding knives. The reindeer galloped in, drawing everyone's attention and sparking a flurry of whispers. Roland vaguely heard his own name.

The reindeer-drawn cart slowed down and came to a stop a hundred meters away from the black coffin.

"Don't say too much later, especially about the old priest. Pretend you know nothing. Just say you fainted and forgot many fragments of your memory. Got it?" Julia stared into his eyes. "Got it," Roland nodded honestly.

He had considered this reason as well, but he couldn't use it to deceive Julia. The Silent Coffin was too dangerous; deception would only harm both himself and others.

The reindeer-drawn carriage stopped, and Julia stepped out gracefully with her suitcase, heading straight for the black coffin. Roland jumped out and followed closely behind.

He glanced around and saw that the scene had been cordoned off by more than a dozen law enforcement officers, who had formed a circle around it and were not allowed to approach. There were three people standing in the middle of the scene: two young men and one middle-aged man, one of whom was Hughes.

Luke and the others have been taken back to their rooms, and Frederick, who watched the whole process, is now guarding outside the courtyard gate.

"Roland, Roland, are you alright?" A familiar voice rang out from the street.

Roland turned his head and saw that it was Little Tom, along with several other neighbors, each holding a weapon. Little Tom was holding a long shotgun, gleaming brightly, not trying to hide it from the law enforcement officer at all.

"I'm fine, what brings you here?"

"I thought you'd been kidnapped again. Did you strike it rich? Otherwise, how come you're so popular?" Little Tom teased with a smile.

"If only there were a gold mine." Roland said helplessly, giving little Tom a push. "Don't stay here, everyone go, it's dangerous. Go to bed later tonight..."

The neighbors had come for Roland, and seeing how serious he was about it, they all listened to his advice and left. Many of them made plans to go to Lucky Whitebeard's place to wait for news.

"Roland, the director wants to see you." Hughes ran over and pulled Roland inside.

The director was a middle-aged man named Mark. He had a short, thick beard like steel needles, was of medium height, had a hooked nose, deep-set brown eyes, and dark skin.

At this moment, he and Yulia stood a few meters away from the black coffin, talking in hushed tones with solemn expressions, clearly old acquaintances.

"...I have already sent someone to invite the priest of the Church of the Lord of Order, he should be here soon." The Sid Empire allows churches to preach, but they also have an obligation to assist the government in maintaining order.

As Roland approached, he overheard Director Mark's words and a thought struck him: the priest must also be an extraordinary being.

“Roland, briefly tell Director Mark what just happened.” Julia turned to look at him.

Director Mark also turned his gaze to him, looking him up and down, his lips pursed, exuding a sense of pressure.

His epaulettes were "two bars and one star," with two long silver swords side by side supporting a silver shield, shaped like stars. Roland recognized him; he should be a sixth-level law enforcement officer.

"Good evening, Director Mark. Here's the thing..." He quickened his pace, picking out the important parts and summarizing the situation in just a few sentences.

He pondered for a moment and said, "The residual spiritual energy here is very strong, and there's a ritual array set up in the courtyard. It must be aimed at you. How did you determine that the crisis you mentioned to Hughes hadn't been resolved?"

“Intuition!” Roland felt this reason was very valid. The extraordinary ones were a group of idealists who believed more in intuition. He pointed to the black coffin a few meters away, “I remember very clearly that it was damaged before, but now it is intact.”

“Your senses and intuition are truly enviable.” Director Mark nodded slightly, readily accepting the explanation. “There is indeed a gathering of spiritual forces within it, chaos, madness, danger…”

“Looks like I guessed right.” Yulia crouched down, unfolded the box, revealing rows of potions inside. “Let’s evacuate the crowd. Hopefully, this guy won’t be too difficult to deal with.”

On the street, several clergymen dressed in different robes ran over quickly. The old priest at the head of the group looked at the corpse and coffin on the ground with an extremely ugly expression and a hint of fear in his eyes.

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(End of this chapter)