Chapter 407
Is this what a manufactured divinity looks like...
"Eleanor, about the Saint Claudia..." Mond hesitated before speaking, "I wasn't involved in that plan, but when I heard about the Saint's death, I saw a new brain being worshipped in the lab..."
At that moment, as Eleanor spoke, Shar's mind was racing.
She understood now why Qiangyin was involved.
After living for so long and repeatedly using his "uniqueness" ability, Qiangyin's thoughts and memories had become chaotic. He might not even be able to record his spiritual notes properly anymore... No one could decipher the intertwining of his real and illusory experiences in those notes.
If he had access to the technology of "manufactured divinity" from the Church of the God of Order, he could extract his erroneous or accurate memories entirely, storing them in another person, treating that person as a living notebook...
As long as he could regularly review that living notebook, he could continuously reinforce his impressions of the correct memories, making it less likely for him to descend into madness.
No wonder he cared so much about Windsor; that piece of frontal lobe was Qiangyin's living spiritual notebook.
But perhaps he was aiming for more...
If what Mond said was true, and the Church of the God of Order could indeed connect the thoughts of all its followers... then this technology could also be used against other churches and the general populace.
When that time came, who would lead the united thoughts?
Given Qiangyin's warlike nature, he would undoubtedly want that leadership role—one hundred percent. With "uniqueness" in hand, he could truly achieve it.
Meanwhile, Eleanor, upon hearing that her Saint had indeed perished at the hands of the Church of the God of Order and the Pharos Medical Society, took a deep breath and clenched her fists.
The simmering anger was palpable, even to Shar standing nearby.
"I need to report this to the Holy See..." Eleanor forced the words out, suppressing her fury.
But at that moment, Shar interrupted her, saying, "Remember, you can talk to them about merging with the Saintly Church... You can't compete against Qiangyin and the combined forces of the Church of the God of Order and the Pharos Medical Society... And there's also the Joyous Society up north."
"You need to unite for a stronger power... You're all serving the same deity, aren't you?"
Mond felt a slight shock at Shar's words.
A merger of churches?
The Church of the Savior, which had triumphed in the Holy Wars at its peak?
If that merger were to succeed... it would truly be a turning point...
Mond admitted she had some rigid impressions of the Key Person...
At least from her current interactions, she found that the once-stable Key Person was now displaying an exceptionally high level, far from how they used to be.
After a brief silence, Eleanor nodded gently, "If anything comes up, just call me."
Then, her figure flickered, leaving only a shadow behind.
Her true self was already rushing toward the Church of the Savior.
It was only after Eleanor left that Mond let out a slow breath.
She looked at Shar, forcing a bitter smile as she shook her head, "Why didn’t you let her remove the restraints on me? You've already won; our plans don’t conflict at all."
"Don't rush," Shar replied with a smile, shaking her head. "Our business isn't finished yet."
---
"Hey, this is my fault," Mond leaned in closer to Shar, lowering her voice. "I didn't know that person named Shar was your follower... I said it was a misunderstanding."
"No, no, no, I’m not here to hold you accountable for Shar's death."
Shar gently shook her head, propping herself up on the wooden crate behind her, sitting on it with her feet swinging lightly. She smiled and continued, "First question, did you kill Ashford?"
"It was Professor Lafayette's orders, and it was also Qiangyin's intention." Mond desperately tried to distance herself from the act. "Even if I hadn’t gone, someone else would have. He had to die."
"Even for the organization, he had to die. We both know that."
Shar seemed to ignore her explanation and continued, "Did you also kill Adele?"
Adele...
Who?
"Uh..."
Mond's mind raced, and she quickly recalled a name among those she had killed, "That 'Plague Doctor'? She has nothing to do with our plans, and her progress on the antidote was too fast—faster than Ashford!"
Of course, it was faster than Ashford.
The research materials Adele had were results from her own simulations over several days, while Ashford's team had only been working for a few days.
"Second question."
Shar narrowed her eyes, looking at Mond. "You said my plan has no conflict with yours... What is your plan?"
Shar wanted to clarify what Mond's plan was, as it would help her leave enough time to react in reality.
"Like you, I need to perfect my replication ritual," Mond had no intention of hiding this; it just couldn't be said in front of Eleanor. Among colleagues, it was no big deal. "I need to create a plague in the Eastern District."
Shar asked, "What kind of plague?"
"Cholera. There was an outbreak in Ansu City before, killing nearly six thousand people..." Mond paused for a moment, her tone taking on a hint of pride. "This time, with just a little push, I can easily take two thousand... no, at least three thousand lives!"
"And this plan won't be discovered by anyone. In fact, if you just hold up the Church of the Savior and the Redemption Society a bit, the death toll can rise again, and you can enjoy the results of this plan..."
Mond gazed at the Key Person, who was clearly just disguised as Shar, her tone laced with temptation.
This was at least thirty thousand lives; she didn't believe the Key Person, who had trouble digesting potions, would refuse.
If the cholera incident prompted the upper nobility to reform the entire underground pipeline, the Key Person could also reap the benefits—without lifting a finger.
Who would refuse free "achievements"?
"Oh..." Shar nodded slightly, then asked with a hint of confusion, "And then? Just three thousand?"
And... then what?
Just three thousand?
Shar's question caught Mond off guard, and she instinctively opened her mouth but said nothing.
"The replication ritual for the source of cholera only requires the death of ten thousand people, and I'm going for thirty thousand in one go!"
The Key Person actually asked, "And then?" and said, "Just three thousand?!"
That was thirty thousand!!! Lives!!!
Mond took a deep breath, suppressing the anger boiling within her.
Her meticulously planned perfect crime seemed utterly trivial and worthless in the eyes of the Key Person.
This was an insult to any inspector from the Joyous Society.
Mond knew the Key Person was deliberately humiliating her; if she lost her cool, she would be the one to suffer.
The Key Person could sway a fourth-tier charlatan; Mond didn't believe she could withstand the Key Person's verbal provocation.
"Nothing more," Mond forced the words out, her voice low.
At that moment, the black-haired girl in front of her feigned realization, speaking with a hint of apology, "Oh... I'm sorry, I forgot that thirty thousand is a huge number for you."
After Mond's explanation, Shar had roughly sorted out the relationships between the various organizations, as well as the roles played by Mond, Lafayette, and Qiangyin.
Including the Church of the God of Order, the Joyous Society, and other organizations, each with their different goals and methods in this matter.
Mond had three objectives: to protect Lafayette to maintain her identity within the Pharos Medical Society; to eliminate unstable factors detrimental to the Joyous Society's northern plans; and to complete her own replication ritual.
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