Millennium Witch.

Chapter 122-121- The Hunt
After buying many essential daily necessities and some food that could be stored for a long time, Yvette and her two companions walked through narrow paths full of garbage, crossed several "plank bridges" between buildings made of illegal structures, bought some freshly baked bread, and then returned to their rented room on the first floor.

Firefly has cleaned up the remaining space and is constantly connected to the internet, monitoring everything around the hive and keeping an eye on the movements of the police and military in Fusjiang.

This is indeed the area where the Mech race has an advantage. Rune hacking is easier for them than for Yvette, and Fireflies are more tireless, able to monitor 24/7, greatly reducing the probability of everyone being discovered.

At the kitchen table, Zero and Liana sat on stools and began to eat. Since they had different jam fillings, they shared their bread with each other, letting each other taste their own.

Feeling Yvette's gaze, Liana asked, "Sister, would you like to try my bread?"

Yvette glanced at Zero's dangerous gaze and said, "No."

Then she thought for a moment and asked, "After you escaped from the Black Tower, what places did you pass through?"

She had never asked these questions before because of a lack of trust.

“After we left Ish Island, we stayed in Agasher for a while. Later, the Black Tower’s armed forces kept chasing us, so we took a roundabout route and went to Renoir, White Maple City… and finally to the border… I didn’t do much; Yvette did all the work… At the border, we saw smugglers leading people across the border, so we followed them, took their car to the human traffickers’ park, and then left…” Liana tilted her head, thinking as she spoke.

Yvette noticed that, apart from Agasher, she had not explored any of the other cities since the apocalypse. Furthermore, the cities she had explored, such as Cux and other small towns, did not reveal the existence of the Dream Mist.

Could this lead to the hypothesis that only cities passed through by Zero could potentially give rise to the dream fog in reality?
She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever seen a 'divine metamorphosis'? What does it look like?"

Liana shook her head: "We were all injected with strange drugs and gained special abilities. I haven't seen it with my own eyes. You'll have to ask the 'doctor' in charge of the experiment."

"PhD?"

"His name seems to be 'Dillon Dempsey,' an old man. According to Firefly, before Yvette gained her powers, he used 'Divine Metamorphosis' to create many mutated creatures, both animals and humans, which were all buried in the forest behind the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Yvette's heart stirred.

The corrupt forest in the Ish Mountains has a far stronger aberration force than Gray Harbor and Luya City. She had never thought about the reason before, only taking it as a coincidence. But now, looking back, it might be related to the fact that the place is an aberration landfill.

She then looked at Firefly: "Firefly, do you know anything about 'Dilron Dempsey'? What kind of person is he?"

Before Zero mastered the ability to infect mutants, Dr. Dillon was already able to create mutants, which made her feel that the source of the apocalypse might not necessarily be Zero.

Although she currently appears to be the prime suspect.

“Dr. Dillon’s information, like the God’s Transformation, has the highest access level in the base’s database. For a long time, I was worried about being discovered and dared not touch this information,” Firefly said. “But according to my understanding, before the Immortality Project, Dr. Dillon was a senior scholar with a very good reputation in the academic circle. He also issued a statement to resolutely oppose experiments that break ethical taboos, such as human experimentation, and he also condemned the Holy Spirit Cult many times.”

"Later, he started conducting human experiments himself?" Yvette asked.

"Yes," said the firefly.

Yvette shook her head, offering no comment, feeling that such things were perfectly commonplace.

Then she thought, since Dr. Dillon was able to gain the ability to create mutants from the "divine transformation," then the "Erosion Seed" of the Qilin Beast, as well as other large companies that control this mysterious substance, must also be able to do so.

Furthermore, even if the apocalypse was indeed created by Zero, Black Tower Pharmaceuticals is still implicated, and certainly not as innocent as "Aiselin Omega" claimed in her suicide note.

……

That evening, online, Yvette tried to spread the fact that the Reincarnation High Priest "Lind Benedict" was the "General" of the Ghost Hand Society.

She did not attempt to contact the requiem priest Hoyle, because who knew if he was currently in a state of being possessed at any moment.

However, it turned out that the results were not ideal.

Because RustyBone Freedom is a local area network, all information is strictly controlled. Any information unfavorable to the General is blocked as soon as it is sent out, preventing any dissemination and often resulting in media refutations. It might be somewhat useful outside the Great Firewall, but there's little hope of putting pressure on the General for the time being.

So, after trying for a few days, Yvette turned her attention back to finding the general himself.

Although the necromancer's methods are bizarre, her true form is still that of a regular mage. Once her true form is captured, she can quickly kill it with a significant advantage, thus eliminating the current trouble.

But how to find it is another problem. If she really went through all the surveillance footage, she would be exhausted. At most, she could outsource it to Firefly to search for it, but that would also take time. And it's not certain whether the General himself will appear on the surveillance footage, or if he will be recognized.

Thinking of this, Yvette glanced at the 150 million digital coins remaining in her account and suddenly had an idea. She messaged the Firebearer, "Do you have a way to find a hidden necromancer?"

"Miss Nameless, are you referring to the High Priest of Reincarnation, 'Lind Benedict'?" After a while, the Firebearer replied.

"It seems you are aware of my current situation."

“With such a commotion, it’s hard not to notice,” the Firebearer said. “But in accordance with my principle of not selling knowledge, I will not tell you the relevant soul magic knowledge.”

"Then what can you do?"

“I can give you his exact location directly,” the Firebearer said, surprising everyone.

“…?” Yvette was a little confused. Even as a top-notch rune hacker and with a smart AI like Firefly, she couldn’t find the general’s exact location. So how did the Firebearer obtain it?
Is there a mole within the Holy Spirit Cult who would betray information?
Or perhaps the Firebearer possesses some kind of mysterious soul magic, allowing him to trace back the origins of the dead using the mental power the general employs when controlling the undead?

"This will take a little time, but not too long. Would you like to place an order, Miss Anonymous?" the Firebearer asked.

"How much?" Yvette suspected that this order must be very expensive.

“No money required, Miss Anonymous,” the Firebearer explained. “Money, or rather—this amount of money is not important to us. The reason we charge is not only for the expected value, but also to deepen our understanding of you and assess your sincerity during our interactions. Now, we believe we can begin a more in-depth collaboration with you.”

"cooperate?"

“Yes, we will continue to provide you with assistance in the future. In return, I hope that you will lend us a helping hand when we need it and participate in some of our missions,” the Flame Bearer said. “Of course, the core purpose of all our missions is the same: to ensure that the flame of civilization can be continued.”

Yvette was silent for a moment, then replied, "I agree."

“Very good, thank you for your recognition, Comrade Anonymous.” The Firebearer sent a smiling emoji. “It will take about half a month to a month to locate Lind Benedict’s location. Please be patient during this period.”

……

Curious about how the Firebearers managed to pinpoint the general's exact location, Yvette kept a close eye on the latest news regarding the Holy Spirit Cult and also learned about the movements of various factions.

First, the information Yvette spread outside the Great Firewall gradually gained traction. The fact that the mastermind behind the fraud park was actually the Reincarnation Priest of the Holy Spirit Cult was considered explosive news in New Eden. Coupled with the large-scale martial law imposed by Fusjiang and the siege of the hero "Nameless" who exposed all of this, it aroused fierce resistance from netizens. Many netizens bypassed the Great Firewall to come in and hurl insults, which also added considerable pressure to Rustbone's speech control.

Then, Federal President John Tito Lokivid also took notice of the matter and, in diplomatic settings, exerted pressure on the Rustbone Free State from afar, demanding the lifting of the large-scale martial law in Fusjiang, taking a tough stance.

Furthermore, in Fusjanne, the highly respected and well-regarded requiem priest Hoyle expressed strong dissatisfaction with the martial law, and thus took sick leave, handing over all his work to his deputy.

It's not hard to see from these events that the martial law imposed considerable pressure on the Holy Spirit Church itself, and there was even dissatisfaction within the official and military forces, though they dared not openly defy the church's wishes.

Then, a month passed quietly in this state of observation and waiting.

One evening, Yvette finally obtained the exact location of High Priest Lind of Reincarnation from the Firebearer; it was in a mansion on a wealthy street not far from the Church of Soulfire.

After holding back for so long, her hunt can finally begin.

(End of this chapter)