Storm of Gods

Chapter 169 Artificial Humans
Upon arriving at the Funeral Home, they found Funeral Home members bustling in and out. The Funeral Home was larger than the Night Patrol of Tianjing and was marked with the symbols of the Church of the Earth Mother Goddess everywhere. Simmons and Li Xin followed Travis inside, and like any normal workplace, it didn't seem particularly eerie.

When the three met, Travis was very polite, praising Li Xin for being young and promising. He said that almost everyone who could reach such a position was a seasoned professional, and Li Xin was eager to hear him elaborate.

Travis had no idea what Li Xin was thinking. Now that clues could be triggered at any moment, he didn't want to waste time. "I wonder what Mr. Li wants to know? The Funeral Home and the Night Watch are working together, and as long as it doesn't involve classified information, we can share it."

"Captain Travis, I'd like to see photos and information about the victims of the earliest organ harvester, as well as information on recent cases with similar methods." Li Xin didn't mince words.

Travis nodded. "It seems that President Ma Zhe has a lot of faith in your detective skills. If you make any discoveries, it will be a very good result of our collaboration."

Travis naturally assumed that this was Ma Zhe's idea, and he also knew that Bird Society was eager to make a name for themselves, so they took a roundabout approach by going through Simmons because they lacked information.

Li Xin shook his head. "Captain Travis may have misunderstood. This was Miss Christy's instruction."

“Christie?” Travis paused, frowned slightly, and said with a hint of sarcasm, “President Ma’s secretary?”

Perhaps realizing he had overreacted, he said, "Oh, it doesn't matter who it is, Simmons's friend is my friend."

Li Xin had been observing Travis's expression, and his reaction was quite interesting.

The three entered a room with various photos on the walls. "These are all related materials, some of them photocopies. This person's methods were very sophisticated, and judging from the autopsy, they were all captured alive and their organs were harvested. Among the victims were many skilled individuals. The murderer was very powerful, and it is even possible that it was a gang operation."

Li Xin looked at the photos on the wall, a gift from Hextech, something that used to be far inferior to what they could be drawn. "Can I see the corpse?"

Travis hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Come with me."

This time, they really gave Simmons face. If it weren't for Simmons, even if Ma Zhe came, it wouldn't have been possible. Li Xin and Simmons followed Travis to the entrance of a basement. Standing at the door, they felt a chill and gloom rushing towards them, and smelled a mixture of acid and corrosive odor.

After descending the dimly lit staircase for a while, they arrived at a place that resembled a prison cell, where screams could be heard from time to time. Travis led them to the morgue and gestured for the morgue attendant to pull out the body they were looking for.

The temperature in the morgue was extremely low, not from ice, nor from the underground temperature; it couldn't be lower than that. There must be some kind of power source located deep in the basement. At this moment, the seemingly elderly morgue keeper found a corpse, and his attitude towards the corpse... was rather gentle.

"Male, heart completely removed, very artistic technique, all blood drained from the body, definitely a technique from five years ago." The body keeper smiled slightly at Li Xin and Simmons, revealing half of his yellow teeth.

Even at this temperature, the corpse had a nauseating smell. Li Xin's pupils turned pale white as he tried to find some clues on the corpse, but under the scrutiny of his pale pupils, there was no trace of spiritual energy left.

Travis thought Li Xin had some special abilities. "He's used all sorts of tricks, including insight, soul-stealing, object tracking, and even prophecy, but he left no trace. He handled it very cleanly and professionally."

"Does Captain Travis know someone named Isaac?" Li Xin asked.

In the basement, Travis's eyes flickered slightly as he slowly nodded. "He's a Doctor of Life Sciences from the church, and he also works part-time as a coroner at the funeral parlor. This person is dead."

Li Xin was stunned. "Dead? Are you sure?"

“Yes, this man went mad, committed heretical acts, and was sentenced to be burned at the stake by the Inquisition. The Night Watchmen’s information network is quite impressive,” Travis said. “You think he’s the mastermind behind it all?”

"This is just my personal speculation. What would a PhD in life sciences and a coroner do if he didn't fall into depravity but instead committed heretical acts?" Li Xin said. "For example, would he want to resurrect corpses? Create life?"

Simmons' expression changed drastically as he looked at Travis, who was staring intently at Li Xin. "Has the Night Watch's power reached the point where they can obtain this kind of intelligence?"

Li Xin smiled and said, "Captain Travis, would you believe me if I said I just guessed randomly? Solving a case requires bold guesses and careful verification. You can't just not even dare to think about it, can you?"

Travis was silent for a moment. “I heard that he conducted related experiments, stealing organs from corpses in an attempt to create life. The church discovered this, and he coveted God’s authority, blaspheming the divine. This is not just about the Earth Mother Goddess; it is blasphemy against the supreme will, an unforgivable sin. The church thoroughly cleaned up all those involved. You guessed right; the method was very similar. But everyone related to Isaac back then was arrested without exception.”

Have faith in the power of the Church of the Earth Mother; at least in Hildan, it is possible.

"Could there be any experimental notes or methods that have been leaked?" Li Xin suddenly asked.

Travis remained silent; he couldn't answer that. What had Isaac done before being exposed? Was there a backup of the data?
"unconfirmed."

“Captain Travis, thank you very much. If there are any further discoveries, may I contact you directly?” Li Xin said.

Travis remained very polite. "Of course, we also need the assistance of the Night Watchers and the Hexbird Society in this case. Under the cover of darkness, we will overcome this calamity." Simmons and Li Xin left the Undertaker. Simmons first took Li Xin back to the Order of the Church. It was clear that Li Xin had no other options; the Undertaker had no shortage of covert methods for investigation.

At the Undertaker's Sanctuary base, Travis was also wondering why the Nightwatch had sent Li Xin there. He knew about the predicament the Bird Society was facing. Perhaps the George family wanted to take advantage of the situation to acquire or even take over Hextech Bird News.
As for this cooperation, the ideas above are contradictory. They want to use the power of the Night Watchers, but when it comes to execution, it's impossible for the two sides to truly cooperate closely. If the Undertaker can't do something, but the Night Watchers can, where will the Undertaker's face be? The best scenario is that the Night Watchers, under the Undertaker's leadership, provide the power of the Moon Goddess, and then the Undertaker finds the murderer, and everyone is happy.

To be honest, he didn't think that the Night Watchers could do what the Funeral Directors couldn't. They even used some sealed artifacts and extreme spells at great cost to track down the murderer, but still came up empty-handed.

At this point, if the murderer is an individual, they may already possess the power of an angel; if it is an organization, it must be a deeply hidden cult with immense power, otherwise it would be impossible to evade the Church's tracking.

It's a pity that His Holiness the Pope has been in seclusion for many years, and no one dares to disturb him.

In fact, Travis himself discovered a commonality among the victims that he didn't know if it was a coincidence: besides being awakened, they were all "Moncaleta people" and had not intermarried with outsiders within three generations, so their bloodline was pure.

Just to create life? Travis, for one, didn't believe it. There must be a bigger conspiracy behind it. Fanatics like Isaac are extremely rare.

. . .

Li Xin returned to the inn and threw out the dice. The reason he went to see the body was to strengthen his connection with the incident. The closeness and effectiveness of the connection would directly affect the judgment of the dice. "The murderer is conducting Isaac's experiment."

The dice rolled and landed steadily on a "seven," meaning it was a highly probable event, and the real culprit was replicating Isaac's experiment.

Creating life, making androids? Why? Everything has a motive, right, a mad scientist? Isaac probably is, but he's dead, and Travis doesn't seem to be lying.

Aside from mad scientists, such people are extremely rare. They would spare no expense to create this thing, just to experience the feeling of creation with supreme will.

"The killer harvested internal organs in order to create artificial humans."

As the dice spun, Li Xin didn't have high hopes. Once it came to crucial judgments, things became difficult, and the probability of failure was high. However, this time the dice were surprisingly favorable.

Fixing at "six o'clock" is a valid judgment, but this judgment is very weak.

Is the weakness due to "artificial humans," or does it imply something else?
He still has many shortcomings in his understanding of dice, but this judgment still means that the creation of androids is a definite goal, or at least someone is doing it.

The creation of artificial humans, which infringes upon the authority of God, is not the kind of scientific research Isaac was pursuing, but rather a matter of motive.

Li Xin was in a real bind. In the Dao Yuan Continent, a world where hidden forces were so powerful and gods still existed, how could he possibly do this?

The water was extremely deep. His heart clenched for a moment, and through the blur, it seemed as if a pair of eyes were trying to pierce through the fog and cast their gaze upon him.

Subconsciously, Li Xin put away the dice. The suffocating feeling was like an illusion that passed in a flash, and in an instant, Li Xin was soaked in sweat.

Li Xin took a deep breath, knowing that this was definitely not an illusion, and it was highly likely that the dice had involved some powerful entity during the judgment process.

Looking out the window, the sky over Heldan was still so clear; perhaps the brighter the sun, the larger the shadow.

Li Xin took out the harp given to him by Miss Aries and gently plucked the strings. There was no fixed rhythm; it was just to dispel the shadows in his heart.

He decided to back down. In this world controlled by hidden forces, it was best for him to keep a low profile. Ultimately, this case was a matter between the Earth Mother Goddess Church and the Kingdom of Heldan. Of course, if there were any clues, he would inform Simmons in a timely manner, rather than putting himself, weighing over a hundred pounds, on the chopping block.

After typing randomly for a while, the Tree of Life indeed had a very good calming effect. Li Xin sat back down at the typewriter, his eyes becoming clear.

Actually, writing is pretty good, why would you want anything more?

Night falls, and the red moon hangs high in the sky.

In the vast forest outside Heldan, on private property, a deer was grazing, its ears twitching with obvious delight. Suddenly, the fawn stopped moving, its chewing slowing, and blood dripped down its belly, revealing a horrifying gash. Its heart was gone…

(End of this chapter)