Fantasy Writers 1860

At the entrance to number 33 Hastings Trail, a young woman in a black gown and silk hat rhythmically knocked on the solid wood door.

Soon, the door quietly opened a crack, and the girl floated in quickly like a ghost.

"Sorry I'm late. There was a slight mishap with the train line, so I had to stay overnight in the St. James district," Lily said to the tall man in front of her after entering the house.

"It's okay," the man said, turning around to reveal a angular face.

Lily then followed the tall man deeper into the house, and after pushing open a coin-shaped door, she arrived at a basement.

This basement was originally a medium-sized wine cellar, but all the wine had been moved out, leaving the space occupied by several old printing presses, paints, and paper, with all sorts of miscellaneous supplies crammed into every nook and cranny.

Lily first saw a familiar figure standing in front of the printing press, seemingly tidying up something.

"Lenora, are you settling in well here?" Lily tried to sound as friendly as possible.

Lenora heard a familiar voice coming from behind her, turned around abruptly, and recognized Lily. An incredulous look crossed her face, and then tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sister Lily...you, you're finally here...I'm fine, everyone has been taking good care of me...thank you..."

When Lenora heard what Lily had quietly told her that day, she wasn't really moved; she had encountered similar situations before.

In the past, some kind-hearted gentlemen and ladies would indeed suggest that they go to those so-called relief stations to get out of their current situation.

Admittedly, their intentions were good, but they didn't know what kind of things were actually inside those so-called relief stations.

Lenora would much rather stay where she is now than go there.

The address this lady mentioned must be somewhere similar.

She never imagined that this place was actually an underground base of the Demi-human Liberation Organization, and she never expected that Miss Lily, whom she met that day, was also a Demi-human like herself.

"Reed, I have some questions to ask you this time," Lily said to the tall man who had carried her down the stairs, gently pushing away Lenora who was clinging to her.

"Okay, let's go inside and talk. Everyone's waiting for you there," the man named Reed said with a smile.

The two entered a small room in the former wine cellar. Inside, there was only a long table and some chairs, with some cabinets in the corner. A few magic crystal lamps hanging on the stone walls were the only light source in this small space.

"Big sister, you're finally here!"

"I thought...I thought..."

"Go away, stop talking nonsense all day long. The alpha wolf is so powerful, how could it possibly be..."

When Lily entered, the atmosphere in the room immediately became lively, with everyone chattering away. Finally, Reed managed to quiet everyone down.

"Quiet down, everyone. First of all, the alpha wolf says he has some questions for us."

Only then did everyone finally quiet down and look at Lily, who had taken her seat at the head of the long table.

That was the spot everyone had reserved for her.

At first, Lily didn't like it. Although she did create the organization in the beginning, she never expected it to develop into what it is today in just a few years. She was also very unaccustomed to everyone treating her as the "alpha wolf".

But the enthusiastic people would always remove all the other chairs, leaving everyone either standing or sitting.

I had only done a small thing, just trying my best to help my fellow Ajin people in distress, providing them with some assistance and relief, and then finding them places that were more tolerant of Ajin people, such as introducing them to industries and jobs under the guidance of trustworthy Ajin activists and progressives for equality.

As a result, those compatriots who were introduced to the organization and gained a foothold there came into contact with and learned about the ideas of those progressive individuals advocating for equality. They then came to believe that they had been deliberately sent there for "further education" so that they would be able to do great things for the organization later.

Lily always felt that she was the only one in the entire organization who didn't know what this "big event" was.

"Was it you who caused the explosion at the Mayfair Theater a few days ago?" Lily asked, letting out a barely perceptible sigh as she thought about it.

"You know me, 'Alpha Wolf.' If it were really me, the palace would be the one blown to bits," Reed answered first.

"Big sister, you know me. If it were really me, you would never guess that I would do it."

"Leader, you know me. If it were really me, there wouldn't be anything left there..."

"Boss, you know me. If it were really me, we'd all be dead by now..."

Everyone rushed to prove their innocence, but Lily raised her hand to stop their increasingly outrageous claims. "Alright, I understand. You all possess extraordinary skills..."

"I know the theater bombing has been making headlines lately," Reed finally picked up where Lily left off, "and all the media outlets seem to think it was done by an extreme demi-human. But the play being performed that day was in support of the demi-human rights movement, and there was even a renowned demi-human activist in the audience. If someone really did commit the crime, wouldn't those who oppose the liberation of demi-humans be the more suspicious ones?"

"But what's the reality? The reality is that everyone is actually suspecting that it was done by an extreme demi-human! Even an extreme demi-human like me wouldn't do something that doesn't bring any benefit. I don't think there's anyone more extreme than me in all of Lentinion."

When Reed finished speaking, everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

I don't know if I'm agreeing that "there's no benefit to this kind of thing" or that "no one in all of Lontinion is more extreme than me."

According to Lily's understanding, it should be both.

If I hadn't been holding him back, this guy would have rushed into the palace to assassinate the king long ago.

"Therefore, I believe there must be someone pulling the strings behind this, someone deliberately trying to smear the demi-humans. Otherwise, why would those newspapers all be so unanimous, explicitly or implicitly accusing the demi-humans of doing it!"

"Then I arranged for someone to investigate, and sure enough, they found something interesting..." Reed laughed, revealing inhuman fangs that looked exceptionally terrifying in the dim light.

He got up and took a brown paper bag from a cabinet in the corner of the room, from which he pulled out a stack of papers:

"The Immaculate Dawn Order, that newly emerging sect in recent years, I have evidence that they were behind these events that occurred before and were recorded as accidents in official files. Based on the location and time of these cases, I reasonably suspect..."

"...It's reasonable to suspect that this is a sacrificial ritual organized behind the cult, isn't it?" Inspector Reid took off his glasses and put down a stack of reports in his hand. He then looked up and cast his gaze at Lily, who was sitting upright on the small sofa opposite him.