The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

"The city hall concluded that it was an 'accidental death.' They probably felt guilty themselves and didn't want to investigate further. Or perhaps, this guy was a pawn from the start... In any case, a pervert who likes little boys deserves to die."

The case descriptions in the newspapers were full of sensationalism, but contained very little information about the actual situation.

Fran rested his chin on his hand and then looked at other things.

By this moment, Sigrid had cleaned the entire kitchen and dining room spotlessly, and the marble countertops were so polished that they could even reflect one's face.

She let out a satisfied sigh, then stepped into the main hall and came to the tall wooden bookshelves.

"Row 5, Column 13..."

After some searching, Sigrid found the recipes Fran used when she was a beginner.

The book has a dark brown leather cover, and the pages are filled with a complex aroma of various spices, probably from years spent in the kitchen.

Its name is Hannibal Lecter's Secret Kitchen.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

09 North District, Moonbourne Street.

Moonburton Street is an affordable residential area.

Although the streets and houses are somewhat crowded, the supporting facilities are relatively complete and the area is fairly clean. Therefore, most young entrepreneurs and salaried workers choose to live here.

Haida walked quickly down the street, with Vivian following closely behind, holding a slightly crumpled advertising flyer.

The content of the advertisement is:

"Professional sewer unclogging, once you've got it all sorted out, everything will go smoothly! If you're interested, please consult Mr. Morlock Darrow, the most professional drainage system expert in Norlington."

“Sister Heda, I’ve heard from Grandpa Will these past few days that some strange things are happening in the South District. The White Cup Order has sent out exorcists, and it seems to be related to the sewers…”

Vivian herself wasn't afraid. After all, Secret Service agents often dealt with these things, and she was already used to it.

"Remember that vampire from before? The General Affairs Department believes that the recent series of anomalies are likely related to him. The person who filed the report this time claimed to have seen a monster in the sewers, which might provide clues about that guy."

Haida's eyes were cold and clear, as if she felt a little regretful about her prey's escape.

"The Funeral Court originally planned to conduct a thorough cleanup of the entire city's drainage system immediately after the 'Plum Blossom Festival' incident. However, the General Affairs Department only recently issued the inspection order to prepare for the cleanup."

Vivian shrugged and gave a helpless sigh.

"That matches my impression of the General Affairs Division being slow-paced. However, they made decisions quite quickly in the past, so perhaps there are other considerations this time?"

Walking through the streets of Moonburton, the two chatted as they went, and soon arrived at house number 23.

Boom, boom, boom.

Haida tapped her knuckles lightly, knocking on the door.

"Who?"

A wary, middle-aged male voice came from inside.

"Excuse me, are you the one who reported the incident, Mr. Morlock Darrow? Excuse me, I am a funeral maid from the Order of the Hunters."

Haida could sense a gaze peering at her through the peephole.

Therefore, she directly took out the Hunter's Order's credentials and showed the person behind the door the horizontally etched brass emblem.

"Hunters! Heavens above, God of Hunting, you have finally arrived!"

An elderly man with a graying beard quickly opened the door, his expression excited, as if he had seen a savior.

"Please come in, both of you. Respected nun, how should I address you? Oh, and this young lady... if I'm not mistaken, you are an 'agent'?"

Mollock was rather short but stocky. He was wearing standard work clothes. The clothes were very clean.

He jogged along to prepare tea, looking nothing like an ordinary sixty-year-old.

"Just call me Heida. She's Agent Vivian; we're currently both with Funeral Home."

Nanamida briefly explained their identities, then stepped from the entrance into the living room and briefly observed the environment inside the house.

The six rooms were very tidy, and many of the decorative items used for decoration were samples of modified metal pipes.

This aligns with the description in the General Affairs Department's task list. Aside from occasionally taking on large-scale dredging jobs, Mollock is actually a plumbing engineer. He even participated in the urban design of Norrington.

"I'm sorry, you two. But the North District has no shortage of salespeople and clueless missionaries. These guys will go to great lengths to knock on your door and then start harassing you and wasting everyone's time..."

Four Morlock placed two cups of tea on the table, then began to ramble on with a hint of apology.

Vivian nodded knowingly.

"Indeed. I can never resist those booksellers who come to my door selling little notebooks. I bought a copy of 'Secret Investigator II' online, but I can't find the first and third volumes at all..."

Jiao coughed.

Liu Haida glanced at Vivian beside her, then covered her mouth and coughed lightly, signaling her to be serious.

But in some ways, this is also a common tactic used by the Secret Service...

Sometimes, seemingly unintentional small talk can lower the target's vigilance and make the other person relax... People are more likely to reveal valuable information when they are less guarded.

"Haha, Miss Vivian, you are a very interesting girl."

Moloch laughed heartily, then picked up his glass and took a sip. Although he didn't know what book Vivian was talking about, the title suggested it was a detective novel.

Heda noticed that Moloch served them both hot tea, while he himself drank beer... This wasn't surprising, as the old man was indeed known for his love of drinking.

She paused for a moment, then got to the point.

"Well then, Mr. Morlock, please tell us about what you saw during the last pipeline repair. When you reported it, you said you saw a 'monster.' So, we'd like to hear your detailed description of it..."

-

Chapter Seventy: The Bottom of the Secret Passage

“Oh…that’s not a good memory, Sister Heda.”

Recalling what he had witnessed while inspecting a pipeline, Morlock took a sip of beer to suppress the rising fear. He was working so fast that foam appeared on his beard.

As a highly experienced pipeline engineer, he has personally experienced and witnessed many strange things...

As a survivor of the Great Plague of Norrington many years ago, he had witnessed the horrific scene of the rampant disease. Even carrion crows and vultures were infected and ravaged, lying paralyzed and rotting into mud beside unclaimed corpses.

Therefore, it would be difficult for this old man to show such an expression under normal circumstances.

"I was in the sewers on Sandrank Street, where there was a semi-abandoned passageway that was severely clogged. When I went in, I found dozens of headless corpses piled together like firewood..."

A dark and cramped environment, a sticky and putrid smell, rats and cockroaches crawling all around you, coupled with a pile of grotesquely dead bodies in the shadows...

Vivian narrowed her eyes as she imagined what Morlock had gone through.

"And then?" Haida gave Yue QuN:8&′崎粶∞liu. ⌒俬Molock some time to calm down before asking.

She knew very well that the old man in front of her had seen dead people before, but he probably wouldn't have reacted so strongly to a pile of corpses.

Meanwhile, Haida was particularly concerned about the headless corpse. Could it have been left behind by the Headless Throne...?

"When I approached with a light, I found that most of the corpses had bite marks. Moreover, their skin was so withered and emaciated that it was hard to describe, as if they had been dried and then smoked over a fire."

Old man, you saw a corpse and you didn't run away, but you even dared to look at it closely... Vivian admired Moloch's courage.

Noticing the slightly complicated look in the detective's eyes, Mollock chuckled smugly.

"Although I'm getting old, when I was young, I dug mud and mixed mortar in the trenches on the front lines! There was no shortage of all sorts of strangely shaped dead bodies there..."

“Mr. Morlock, please continue to describe what you saw in the sewers.”

Heda keenly sensed the old man's tendency to reminisce about the past, so she swiftly and decisively stopped him from speaking and steered the conversation back on track.

"Ahem, sorry."

Mollock realized he had fallen into his old habit again and continued talking about the situation in the sewers.

"At first, I didn't find it strange that there were bite marks on the body. After all, there are plenty of little creatures in the sewers that eat everything: maggots, flies, cockroaches, rats..."

"But when I got closer, I found that the bite marks were huge and gruesome, almost tearing the whole body apart... It was like encountering a large beast."

Moloch pursed his lips, his eyes revealing a complex mix of fear and excitement.

Haida placed her hands slightly together, carefully observing the old man's changing expressions. She knew... what he was about to say was probably the main event.

"Just as I was about to leave, I noticed that several people among the four corpses swayed and stood up."

"They were covered in semi-congealed, viscous blood, their skin and clothes were covered in rotting mold, making their faces unrecognizable..."

After saying that, Morlock breathed a sigh of relief. He then picked up his beer glass and took another swig.

"And then?" Vivian pressed, seeing that the old man remained silent.

"After that?" Moloch scratched his graying beard.

"Who wouldn't run away when they see this? A few strong young men from the construction team grabbed me and ran out of the sewer without looking back."

Vivian nodded approvingly upon hearing this.

All you need to do is run. She'd seen people terrified of monsters before, unable to move; not only that, the guy just sat there screaming, as if afraid the other person wouldn't notice him…

Although old man Moloch showed some signs of being frightened, his mental state was clearly quite good. He was able to communicate normally and did not require any emotional reassurance.

"After coming out of the sewers, I didn't dare go home and went straight to the Hunters' Order to contact you."

As he spoke, Morlock stroked a somewhat faded holy emblem. Cast in brass, it was horizontally shaped like a rhombus, resembling both an eye and a mouth... It was the emblem of the Hunter of Mysteries.

This old man was a follower of the god of hunting, and a very devout one at that.

"Thank you for your trust." Haida placed one hand on her chest and bowed to Moloch.

Her black nun's robe swayed slightly, and the guns and folding knives stored inside emitted a few barely perceptible metallic clanging sounds.

Morlock listened attentively, his expression a mixture of nostalgia and admiration.

When faced with inexplicable paranormal events, having a fully armed and well-trained hunter by your side can indeed provide a strong sense of security. This is precisely why he chose to worship the God of Hunting.

Moloch then waved his hand: "It's me who's troubling you."

"More than twenty years ago, if it weren't for the treatment by your medical minister... I probably would have died from the plague."

Vivian raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing across her face before quickly disappearing.

Mr. Mollock actually met the previous Medical Secretary? The mission materials from the General Affairs Department didn't mention that…

Among the four ministers, compared to the infamous "Chief Hunter" Yaheng, the previous Minister of Medical Affairs was arguably the most mysterious figure in the entire Hunter Order, second only to the Minister of General Affairs. Even Vivian, an agent of the Secret Court, knew very little about him.

The only confirmed information is that the medical secretary died of the plague.

"However, it has been so long that I can no longer remember what she looked like... I only remember that she was a gentle and elegant lady."

Morlock drank the wine in his glass with great emotion, then fell silent.

Before long, the sound of deep, peaceful breathing could be heard.

Judging from the scattered empty bottles nearby, it seems he had already drunk quite a bit by himself before Haida and Vivian arrived.

……

Visiting Mr. Morlock was a preliminary step in this exploration mission, with the sole purpose of obtaining information.

Since the old man was a devout follower of the God of Hunting and a loyal supporter of the Order of the Hunters... the inquiry ended in a very amicable atmosphere.

As Haida stepped out of Moloch's house, she glanced at Vivian almost imperceptibly.

From the moment Morlock formally discussed the sewers, Vivian took out her pen and notebook and began taking shorthand notes, which she continues to write fluently and quickly to this day.

She had already finished taking notes of the conversation; now she was recording some details and miscellaneous items, such as the old man's expression, tone of voice, or the room's decor.

Soon, Vivian preserved all the valuable things in her memory in written form.

"What a pity. If only Mr. Morlock's memory were clearer..."

She stopped writing, put the capped pen and the booklet into her pocket, and sighed with some regret.

Such secrets are generally only accessible to those with supervisory authority within the Hunter's Order. However, if someone accidentally learns something during a mission... the Order will not pursue the matter. A confidentiality agreement, however, must be signed afterward.

The two quickly headed to Sandrank Street, where the incident had occurred. It was in the southern part of the city, requiring a short drive.

After passing through the cordon and the hunter action team on duty, Haida and Vivian arrived at a manhole cover.

Fortunately, Norrington had a large drainage system. Although it didn't smell very good, in terms of sheer spaciousness... it was almost like an underground palace.

"The mission data says the White Cup Order sent assistants, but it's unclear who they are..."

"Good evening! Sister Heda, oh, Agent Vivian, you're here too."

Just as Vivian was pondering this, Child approached them, greeting them. He maintained his sunny and warm smile, and his massive sniper rifle was tightly wrapped in waterproof leather on his back.