"I don’t know, Your Excellency."

Melbel stood beside her, his gaze occasionally drifting upward, as if something up there had caught his attention.

"I hope everything goes smoothly..."

But what they didn’t know was that, right above them in an ordinary little building, Lin Qiaoya, who had just returned to his office, was slumped over his desk with lifeless eyes.

A pool of blood spread out from under him.

Beside him, a figure in a black, skintight suit and a mask watched until he was completely dead before calmly turning to leave.

’Scholars... so clever. Such useful brains.’

’But sometimes, being too clever isn’t a good thing, is it?’

...

...

When the bells of Krimms Cathedral tolled four times, most people within the Caster City State were already fast asleep.

Doors and windows were sealed shut, the rooms within lit by gas lamps or candles. Their faint glow pushed back against the crimson moonlight, warding off the encroaching corruption.

But there were a few who rushed through the rainy night.

Members of the Secret Investigation Department’s Combat and Investigation Departments carefully shielded the lanterns in their hands while killing the parasites crawling out from the darkness, silently protecting the city state’s safety.

Aside from Basil District, which had been confirmed clear of parasites, sporadic gunshots could be heard from every other district in the city state.

The fighting was most intense in the northern Yidrisu District. Even with Albert’s power, it took a great deal of effort to hunt down all the parasites.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that nearly one-twentieth of the entire residential area’s population was infested with Bone-Eating Worms.

’These were all elite members of the city state, most of them irreplaceable technical experts...’

"Minister, this area is clear."

"How many have we cleared so far?" Albert stood in an open space, his face expressionless, letting the rain wash over him. The light in his eyes flickered uncertainly.

"So far, we have killed a total of 1,563 parasites."

"Mm," Albert nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Let’s go. To Laos District."

’Even though he didn’t want to recall the scene he had witnessed earlier... the mission had to continue. He couldn’t let Director Ales’s sacrifice be in vain.’

’As for everything else, it would have to wait until morning!’

Meanwhile, Wei’en’s group was busy until four in the morning before they finally met up with Marco and the others.

"Santiago, you guys cleared out so quickly?"

A member of the Combat Department with Marco, a man named Marcelo, was a loudmouth. His frame was even broader than Santiago’s, and he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Shut up, you idiot! Are you trying to wake everyone up?" Santiago snapped in a low voice.

"Can’t I even show a little concern?" Although Marcelo lowered his voice, everyone present could still hear him clearly.

*Pfft...*

Lydia burst out laughing. "Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to. It’s just, Marcelo’s voice is so... so pleasant, I couldn’t help it... Mmph."

Marco quickly went and covered her mouth, chuckling sheepishly. "Captain Santiago, she didn’t mean it." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Hahaha..."

It would have been better if he hadn’t tried to explain. His explanation just made everyone else start laughing too.

"You lot..." Santiago shook his head helplessly. "One last sweep of Natali District, then we return to the Secret Investigation Department."

"What about Basil District?"

"Don’t go there for now. The situation is a bit more complicated than we thought, but no parasites have been found."

"Alright."

Then, the group split up again, heading toward their respective objectives to clear out any remaining parasites.

[You have killed Shagdar Black (Bone-Eating Worm host) with a firearm. Evaluation... Special Reward: Survival Points +2, Gunnery +1.]

[...]

[You have killed Tulio Vincent (Bone-Eating Worm host) with a firearm... Special Reward: Survival Points +2, Gunnery +1.]

Since leaving that manor, Wei’en hadn’t let Zero kill any parasites for him. He even rushed to kill-steal from Santiago and the others with his firearm.

As he killed more and more parasites, his Gunnery experience was about to max out.

Gunnery Expert (957/1000)... (976/1000).

But even by the time the red moon vanished and the sky began to lighten, he still hadn’t been able to max out his Gunnery skill by killing parasites.

The latter half of Natali District simply had only a few dozen parasites that had slipped through the cracks.

’Looks like everyone’s a little too responsible.’

Wei’en wasn’t too bothered, though. He had saved up a good number of Survival Points during this time. He just needed to find a convenient moment to level up a few of his Magic skills and increase his strength.

It would only cost a few dozen Survival Points to raise his Gunnery by another level then.

Although this was a little different from what Wei’en had originally planned, he had gradually grown familiar with and accustomed to the fighting style of using various firearms combined with Magic.

He had to admit it—it felt damn good.

Especially after he crafted a sniper rifle; one shot, and his sense of security was maxed out.

It even gave Wei’en the illusion that he was now very powerful.

’Then again, maybe I really am strong now...’

"Mission complete! Return to the Secret Investigation Department!"

After they finished checking the last manor in Natali District, Santiago breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand, signaling that everyone could head back.

"It’s finally over."

"I wonder how things are on the Minister’s side. With Director Ales taking action, Laos District should be all cleared out by now, right?"

"Hector, are you saying you don’t trust Minister Albert, or you don’t trust Director Ales?" Chirut said with a mischievous grin.