Chapter 65: Elegy for the Departed

Late at night, Mike was still eating barbecue in the East Street of the underground district.

"Your appetite seems just fine, you made me worry for nothing."

Rose crossed her arms and snorted coldly, "And next time you try to be sarcastic, can you be a bit more aware of the situation? It's only because the communication channel was cut off, otherwise if the people from the Dominion's manor heard it, what would they think? The reputation of our Heresy Tribunal is already bad enough!"

Although very angry, she was still happy to see the youth come out alive.

The Heresy Tribunal was too oppressive. It was a rare treat to have such interesting off-the-books personnel like him around, and they often addressed each other as mother-son or father-daughter, bickering happily.

Moreover, this young man was handsome and talented.

Aside from his foul temperament, there was nothing else wrong with him.

Damon ate the meat silently, though it was low-quality synthetic meat, he ate it with relish.

"I just can't believe it, the High Priest helped me, how can those people still nitpick and criticize me? They're the ones being cursed, it's already bad enough, can't get any worse."

Mike shrugged, "A negative plus a negative equals a positive."

Damn, that made a lot of sense!

Mike was secretly alarmed.

From this incident, he saw the completely different approaches between the Sanctuary and the Dominion's manor.

The former can be summed up in four words - "Compassion for the people."

The latter can also be summed up in four words - "By any means necessary."

One seeks to save everyone, and the other sacrifices the minority for the majority.

Although he couldn't judge who was ultimately right.

But given Mike's personality, he preferred to associate with the former.

Now that the High Priest had just run into trouble, the Dominion immediately stepped in.

"It's a pity Eric is not here."

David burped, placed some vegetables on the neighboring grill to roast, and sprinkled some salt on the synthetic meat skewers.

Amber took a sip of beer, "Where is he?"

Mike shrugged and complained, "That guy is flourishing now, but he's being chased around by a bunch of 'abnormal species' all day long, I don't know why, but he's not in any trouble."

Now the four of them were all doing well in the city.

Mike needed no explanation.

Eric had also joined Noah's Organization.

David had resumed his old business, and his vegetable stall had just opened with a booming business. In a short while, he would be able to cover the costs, and from then on, the profits would be pure after deducting procurement costs. In the not-too-distant future, he would be able to further expand the scale and complete the industrial transformation.

At that time, he would have no problem taking his daughter back.

As for Amber in the Law Enforcement Bureau...

Accompanied by the hum of a helicopter and the flashing red light of a camera, she was locked onto, "Junior Inspector Amber of the Law Enforcement Bureau, given your outstanding performance in the East District of the underground area, you have been exceptionally granted the right of life evolution. Please immediately proceed to the Seventh Temple to appreciate the sacred rhythm. Henceforth, you will receive ecclesiastical qualifications and go to the frontline of the Third City Guard to complete your tempering and evolution."

Amber was dumbfounded.

"Oh, I won't be able to be called 'officer' anymore."

David teased, "You'll have to be called 'sir' from now on."

Amber turned to the youth, "Mike is now my superior?"

Mike was also taken aback, "Looks like it."

But then he thought something was wrong, "Going to the frontline right now is not a good thing at all. With the High Priest's problem, the holy light barrier on the battlefield has collapsed, and the pressure on the frontline has doubled. No way, I can't eat anymore... I have to go back and take a look."

He didn't want to go back only to find the military base already ravaged by the aberrants.

He burped and turned to leave.

Damon and Rose also glanced at the time.

The law enforcement office had clocked out, and it was time to raid and arrest someone.

"I trust Damon to get the job done, but as for the obedient daughter you..."

Mike said sternly, "Work hard, or I'll zap you with electricity."

Damon was utterly baffled, not understanding what it meant.

Rose, having had a few drinks, teased, "Boy, do you have a fetish for that?"

At that moment, unbeknownst to them, some figures in clerical robes emerged from the shadows.

Damon and Rose were startled and quickly shielded the youth.

Not until they saw the sacred insignia did they relax.

"The Sanctuary?"

They were taken aback.

"Good evening, I am the Second High Priest from the Sanctuary. My name is Domoic, and the High Priest is my teacher. I have been entrusted to fulfill her promise." The High Priest spoke in a formal, almost stiff manner, like a student reciting a textbook.

After that, he took out a report and an iron token, handing them to the youth, "This is a token of gratitude and compensation from the Sanctuary. Please accept it."

Mike absentmindedly took them.

Domoic stared at him silently.

"Anything else?"

"Aren't you going to say thank you?"

"Oh, thank you."

Domoic nodded approvingly and slowly backed away, politely saying, "From now on, the Sanctuary welcomes your visits. This token will grant you free access."

"Free access to the Sanctuary?"

Mike was also thrown off, deeply bowing, "Okay, have a good day."

Domoic also bowed deeply, "You don't need to see me off."

They continued this awkward back-and-forth of bowing and dismissals, leaving the onlookers bewildered.

"Are these two idiots?"

On his way back to the military base by bus, Mike noticed that the base had not been ravaged by the Aberrant Tide, likely due to the military's defensive measures. However, along the way, he saw countless beams of holy light descending from the sky, like sharp swords piercing the city center, accompanied by anguished screams.

Using his military connections, Mike inquired with a priest and learned that the High Priest was conducting a purge of heretics within the city.

"How dreadful," Mike thought, wondering when he would gain such power.

Speaking of which, the power Olivia displayed was completely different from divination and Dark Matter - it seemed to be divine power, known as sacred arts.

It was quite remarkable.

The High Priest was also wielding this kind of power, only far more powerful and merciless.

Mike refocused his thoughts and looked down at the pathology report he had received, which had been translated into a human-readable language, with a suggested treatment regimen.

The ingredients included some unfamiliar items, like the rare Red Sunflower, which only grew in the magma depths and had exceptional heat resistance and regenerative properties. This was a key component needed to treat Isabelle's condition, but it was exclusively cultivated by the Duke family, who used it to forge soul blades.

"How am I going to get my hands on that?" Mike wondered, feeling a bit troubled.

Even with his connections to Lisa, he might not be able to obtain the Red Sunflower, being only a future secretary, not a husband.

As Mike entered the Third City military base, the guards greeted him respectfully, and he noticed many unfamiliar high-ranking officers along the way.

The soldiers said that these high-ranking officers were all from the lord's manor, and they were responsible for taking over the military's war situation to deal with the threat of the aberrant tide after the collapse of the Bastion of the Holy Light.

"Of course, wherever there are people, there will be power struggles."

Mike first went to the military supply depot to get medicine, which cost him more than 800 merits.

Damn, this place has no health insurance, and the medicine is really expensive.

With a heavy heart, Mike brought the medicinal herbs back to the military base dormitory, but while brewing the medicine, he was so disgusted that he almost vomited to death.

"Olivia!"

He strongly suspected that it was that nun who was tricking him.

Otherwise, how could this medicinal soup be so stinky?

Vaguely, he seemed to see the woman's cold-smiling face.

No matter what, curing diseases and saving people is the priority.

Mike endured the stench and brought the medicinal soup over.

Under the warm night light, Isabelle was curled up on the single bed, fast asleep, with her blanket slightly kicked off.

Mike had failed repeatedly in his attempts to feed her the medicine, so he simply found a large funnel and stuffed it into her mouth, then poured the foul-smelling medicinal soup down her throat, feeling a bit like doing a chemical experiment.

As soon as the medicinal soup entered her throat, Isabelle reacted.

She frowned painfully, as if having a nightmare, and her whole body trembled slightly.

Mike had reason to believe that this was due to the stench, not an illness.

After a while, Isabelle showed signs of waking up. Her long, curly eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her almost pale eyes, seeing the young man right in front of her.

And the bowl in his hand.

"Brother."

Isabelle sat up in a daze, "Why does it smell so bad?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I opened a can of sardines."

Mike carelessly tossed the bowl aside, afraid it might not be washable.

Isabelle was silent for a moment, like a cute doll, and climbed off the bed, a tuft of hair on her head swaying as she moved.

She went to the bathroom and immediately vomited.

Mike could only whistle as if he knew nothing.

After a long time, Isabelle came out of the bathroom, her face expressionless, and asked, "Brother, why is my hair short?"

Mike was silent for a moment. "It's because you've been shedding hair!"

Isabelle said seriously, "I'm human, not a cat."

Mike said again, "Humans also shed hair."

"Hair should shed whole strands, not just half of it."

"This is a special phenomenon, a kind of strange disease in Ember. It's all your fault for not eating meat, causing malnutrition. Malnutrition makes your hair break in the middle."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Brother."

"Hmm?"

"Brother, can you cut my hair more evenly next time?"

"Okay... Wait, who cut your hair for you?"

But at that moment, there was a loud rumble.

It was as if the entire dormitory building was shaking.

Isabelle looked out the window expressionlessly. "The aberrant tide is coming."

Mike was startled. "How do you know?"

"I dreamed about it."

Isabelle said calmly, "The military's understanding of this unknown aberrant sequence is limited, and it will be difficult to find a solution in the short term... Staying here will get us killed."

Mike thought of something. "Isabelle, do you remember a melody?"

He began to recall the melody he had obtained today at the Inquisition, tapping a few musical notes with his fingers, though his playing was quite poor.

Isabelle, however, paused slightly, and after a moment of silence, she extended her delicate, scarred white hand and began tapping rhythmically on the glass window, producing a rather melodic sound.

Her slender knuckles made the window tremble slightly.

The lively melody was tapped out by her, like playing a piano beautifully.

One bar, two bars, three bars, four bars...

Endlessly, as if in a loop.

This girl, who looked like a doll, suddenly came alive when playing this rhythm, and the pale glow in her eyes became brighter.

After hearing this sound, Mike's Dark Matter screamed in agony.

It was as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

This pain was more than ten times stronger than the impact of the frequency played by the Ancestral Tribe, clearly a powerful weapon against those immortalized aberrants on the battlefield!

Mike endured the pain and became excited. "You remember?"

"This is the Requiem."

Isabelle nodded seriously. "My parents taught me, said it could save my life."

Mike patted her head. "That's right, you should be grateful to your parents. This thing can save your life. Shall we use it to get the medicine to cure your illness?"