"Elno?!"

Collins watched, his eyes wide with disbelief, as Elno’s body erupted in a spray of blood before his very eyes, transforming into a swollen, pus-filled corpse.

"Who is it? Show yourself!"

THWIP.

The only answer he received was another bullet!

[You have hit Collins Vazquez with a sniper rifle... Instant Death progress 42/30. Reward: Survival Points +3, Marksmanship +1.]

[Collins Vazquez has triggered the death trait - Instant Death. He is now deceased... Special Reward: Survival Points +5, Marksmanship +2, Spirit Level +1, Resilience Level +1.]

"Hngh... hhh... hhh..."

THUD.

Collins crumpled to his knees. Compared to Elno’s gruesome state, his own was much less grisly. His body simply began to wither, his hair turned stark white, and he shriveled like a man aged decades in an instant...

"Uh,"

Hector and Chirut exchanged a glance. ’He’s... just dead?’

"One of ours?"

"Obviously... It’s that kid?"

"Looks like it. Last time we were here, that one..."

Wei’en put away his sniper rifle and, holding Tina’s hand, appeared before the two men. "You two, are you all right?"

"Y-Yeah, we’re fine... Ah, no, that’s not it. Thank you for stepping in." Hector was nodding and shaking his head at the same time, staring at Wei’en as if he were looking at a god.

"Good, as long as you’re okay,"

[Consumable Source detected. Use Soul-Devouring Magic?]

Wei’en turned to look at the two corpses on the ground. ’As powerful as a full-force blow from a Minister-level individual with 50 Source? ...That’s a strong attack indeed.’

’I think 50 Source is the entry-level for Minister rank?’

He wasn’t entirely sure, only remembering that in the Nightmare Realm World, Captain-level was 20-50, and Minister-level was 50 and above.

’I’ll have to ask Flanta later.’

"Hector, who? Who attacked you?"

Before long, Santiago arrived, his expression grim as he scanned the area.

"On... on the ground."

Only then did Santiago notice Collins and Elno lying in pools of blood. "Dead? Who did this?"

"Him," Chirut said, clutching his severed arm and pointing at Wei’en. "You have Invest... Investigator Wei’en to thank. If he hadn’t intervened when he did, you probably wouldn’t be seeing us at all."

"Him?"

Santiago looked at Wei’en, then at the bodies on the ground, and then at the injured Chirut and Hector. "Thank you."

’Hm?’

"You’re welcome."

Wei’en watched the stiff smile form on the man’s dark-skinned face and found it secretly amusing.

’So even a heart of stone can be moved?’

’Even an iron tree can blossom, as long as you find the right way to make it happen.’

"How did you end up fighting them?"

Santiago’s face felt a little hot. He remembered giving Wei’en a mental shock the first time they met... It was a bit awkward.

Hector pointed off to the side. "We were just searching for parasites over in that alley. We saw them crawl out from underground, so we went to question them, and then..."

"Underground?"

"Yes," Chirut said, realigning his severed arm and waiting for the wound to heal. "Also, we just confirmed their identities. They’re members of the Vasquez Clan who have awakened the Blood of Greed and Corruption Extraordinary Bloodline."

"The Vasquez? Weren’t they said to have disappeared? Why would they show up in Caster?"

"We don’t know either..."

Santiago’s expression grew heavy. "We’ll report this to Minister Albert after the mission is complete."

"Alright."

"Um," Wei’en spoke up. "You’ve all been searching for a while. Have you encountered any parasites?"

"None on our end," Hector replied.

"The street to the south was clear too." Santiago hesitated for a moment before asking, "You didn’t find any either?"

Wei’en shook his head. "None on my end, either. I suspect there aren’t any parasites in Basil District. I doubt we’ll find much if we keep searching here."

"Oh?"

Santiago, Hector, and Chirut exchanged a thoughtful glance.

"So, Captain, should we continue?"

Santiago thought for a long while before making a decision. "The front half of Basil District is the most populated area. If we haven’t found anything even here, the chances of finding parasites further in are even smaller."

"We’ll turn back and support the adjacent Natali District. We can rendezvous with Kaggs and his team in the middle."

Hector nodded. "Agreed."

"What about over there? Shouldn’t we take a look?" Chirut asked, pointing at the alley. "It has to be significant that those Vasquez People came out of there, right?"

"Leave it," Santiago said, shaking his head. "Whatever their purpose, our top priority right now is to clear out those parasites."

"Don’t worry, Chirut. Once we’ve driven off those bastards from the Abyssal Sect, we’ll come back here."

Hector slung an arm over his shoulder and laughed. "Anyone who dares attack our Combat Department will find out what it means to have the Vasquez Clan wiped off the map."

"Alright, that’s enough talk. Let’s move out."

"Captain Santiago,"

Wei’en had no interest in investigating the secret passage. Instead, he pointed to the two corpses on the ground and asked, "Them... may I have them?"

Santiago nodded. "You killed them. It’s only right that the bodies are yours to deal with."

"Right,"

Wei’en was about to have the specters cast a Soul-Devouring Magic, but then he spotted the coin purse on Collins’s waist. As if moved by some unseen force, he stepped forward and gave it a pat.

CLINK, CLANK...

The sound was crisp, loud, and resonant—the unmistakable sound of gold pounds!

’This man was the butler for the Ceres Clan for decades. He should have quite a bit on him...’

"???"

’Fuck, that many gold pounds?’

Wei’en opened the purse and glanced inside, unable to stop himself from sucking in a sharp breath. ’Is this guy a walking vault?’

One, two... forty-five. There were forty-five five-gold-pound notes alone, and with the loose gold coins—233 gold pounds in total!