Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1298 1270. Clues converge
Maria was wary of Lan, so she didn't alert anyone when she came back.

This is somewhat good news, as at least there won't be too many people getting in the way during the rest of the process.

"When did you come here?"

Lan En asked.

"I just arrived a short time ago." Maria said softly, "I saw these at first glance through the crack in the door. And the way you walked towards him with the syringe, so I rushed in."

As she spoke, Maria pointed with her slightly trembling hands at the bodies of the patients piled on the ground.

The demon hunter knew what was going on after a moment's thought.

She first saw the pile of corpses through the crack in the door, and she suddenly realized that she had been deceived and the suffering these patients had suffered.

Her anger made her lose control and she rushed directly towards Lan En who was walking towards the patient with a syringe in his hand.

But she came to her senses within half a second after the action was taken.

The bodies of these patients were obviously piled up during long-term experiments, and Lan En had only appeared for a few days?
A tall hunter who can use [Acceleration] and has amazing skills but has never appeared in Yharnam may be suspicious in himself.

But it is unlikely that these piles of patients' bodies are directly related to him.

That was why Lan En was able to conclude from her breathing that she didn't actually want to kill anyone, but was just in a state of subconsciously venting her anger.

Therefore, the witcher was able to maintain a relatively tacit understanding with Maria and stop attacking each other in time.

"You mean, gray blood disease is man-made?!"

Maria's voice was colder than ever before. She reacted immediately after hearing Lan En's brief description of the situation.

She walked to the laboratory table in her long leather boots, stepping on the wooden floor that had been soaked with blood.

Under the dim kerosene lamp, she looked at the broken pills.

"Those are the little pills distributed by the Good Cup Church."

There was danger in her tone, and Lan glanced sideways down at her.

Without further explanation, he just picked up a glass bottle stopper on the table and threw it towards the reagent cabinet next to him without turning his head.

There was a crisp sound of glass breaking, and a hole was made in a bottle, followed by a large pile of white pills that looked exactly like the ones on the table flowing down.

Since ordinary people and even hunters cannot discover the "added ingredients" in these pills, the clergy naturally do not need to be too careful to store them secretly.

After all, although this medicine was first distributed by the Good Golden Cup Church, the Healing Church also acknowledged that it has certain detoxification capabilities.

If you have reserves, it's normal to tell others about it. You can even put them on the shelf for people to see.

"This is.?!"

Maria stared blankly at the pile of pills left on the reagent cabinet.

If it were before, she would be able to watch calmly as this bottle of small pills with detoxification ability appeared in the laboratory in the research hall.

But now, it was clearly visible on Lan's laboratory table that the connection between gray blood disease and the pills was made.

Maria just felt her throat was dry, and she even had to open her mouth slightly to breathe smoothly.

This was simply unimaginable to her.

"This church! I mean the Healing Church." Maria forced herself to calm down. "The Healing Church has always wanted to use [Blood Healing] to save everyone. This can't be..."

Maria must have meant: This couldn’t have been done by the Healing Church, perhaps this was a slander by the Good Golden Cup Church?

Maria has given up hope on the clergy in the research hall, but she still has hope for the purpose of the Healing Church.

But Lan En didn't give her the chance to say those words.

Because a drop of alchemical reagent had dripped into the test tube, onto that tiny bit of patient's blood, barely less than five milliliters.

——On the blood of patients in the late stage of gray blood disease who have undergone [blood therapy]!

With a "bang", the glass test tube in Lan En's hand exploded!

But the witcher was not frightened this time, he simply took a step back.

Then there was a sticky "pop" sound, and the contents of the test tube exploded and fell directly onto the wooden floor, twisting and flapping like a live fish that had just come ashore.

Maria and Lan watched this scene in silence.

Because the moment Lan En's alchemical reagent was dripped into the small test tube with less than 5 ml of blood,
Suddenly, a creature as thick as an adult's arm and shaped like a marine mollusk jumped out from inside!
In an instant, a complex smell came to my nose.

Mixed with the stench of beastly patients and the fishy smell of seafood.

The hidden taste was completely exposed at this time!
"What the hell is this?!"

Maria said with difficulty.

But Lan En did not answer her, but just looked at her calmly.

The answer is actually very clear.

The only difference between this blood and the blood of ordinary gray blood patients is that it has undergone the "blood therapy" of the research center!
"Is that really a 'treatment', Maria?" The thing that sprang out of the little blood was still thrashing on the wooden floor, flapping its sticky limbs.

But it seemed that it was not adapted to the environment here. This thing, which was as big as an adult's arm, was moving weaker and weaker.

As Lan En spoke, he walked over. His boots, which were angular because of the dragon scales attached to them, stepped on the mollusk with a "snap" sound, making a sound like squeezing a water ball.

The mollusk's dancing tentacles suddenly stiffened and then went limp.

“In the process of exploring biology and medicine, disease is not only a disaster but also a resource.”

“Rare and uncommon diseases are valuable because perhaps a disease that has never been discovered can bring about deeper secrets of life. Secrets that have never been known to anyone.”

Lan En's feet ground.

“Disease is not just a disease, nor is it just an object to be cured, but also a means to explore mysteries.”

“Some knowledge can only be gained through contact with cases.”

As he spoke, Lan looked up at Maria who was stunned.

"What kind of people do you think those clergy belong to?"

Maria remained silent, just lowered her head, holding her tricorn hat.

She didn't have as much faith in the Healing Church as most people did. But on the other hand, her trust in the Healing Church actually came from her teacher's trust in the church.

With his status and experience as the "First Hunter", it is impossible for anything in the church to be hidden from him without leaving any trace.

But if I say that, doesn't it mean that the teacher is deceiving me? !

No, how could it be.
Maria shook her head subconsciously.

"We've had too much unnecessary conversation." The Blood Noble resisted the urge to continue thinking. She changed the subject, "I don't know who you are, Lan En. But I think we can work together to rescue the patients here first!"

"Stop those damn experiments! Then investigate whether gray blood disease is man-made or something else!"

Lan nodded in agreement, but his agreement was limited to the first half of the sentence: "Yes, we do need to do something. I feel like I'm getting close to the answer."

"The answer?" Maria looked up, her brows slightly furrowed under her tricorn hat. "What on earth are you talking about?"

This was a very explicit expression of emotion for her.

"I'm asking you a question, Ms. Maria." Lan used his toes to poke at the soft-bodied creature on the floor that had already stopped moving. "Is there a saltwater lake near Yharnam? Or a way to import seafood?"

What was discovered in the blood of gray blood patients was extremely marine.

From the taste and appearance, Lan suspected that this should be some kind of marine parasite with supernatural powers.

"Small fishing village." Maria also frowned. She still didn't understand what Lan En meant, but she still gave an answer. "Yharnam is close to the sea, and the small fishing village is the source of Yharnam's catch."

Maria got stuck halfway through her speech.

Lan En obviously noticed the jam.

"A small fishing village? What happened to that small fishing village?"

"That makes sense!" Maria suddenly calmed down. "Church. No! My teacher told me that the small fishing village is the source of gray blood disease. As long as the hunters hunt and kill a special monster there, the plague will disappear!"

"Wait!" This time, it was Lan's turn to stare slightly. "You said 'hunters' and 'hunting'?"

"You organized so many veteran hunters just to go to that small fishing village?!"

"Where is the target of the Great Hunt?!"

Lan En became more serious than ever before. There was actually not much difference between his previous calmness and the two expressions, but Maria still noticed it.

The demon hunter looked at the samples on the laboratory table that he had verified, those disgusting parasites.

Then he turned around and asked Maria, "You said you came back, which means you are going to the fishing village again, right?"

"Let's get going!"

Maria didn't know why Lann suddenly became serious, but the witcher knew it.

——The clues have converged!

In Yharnam's deepest, most dangerous nightmare, Simon is charged with tracking down the secrets of the Great Hunt.

Lan En chose the clue of the gray blood plague.

And now, the intersection of the two lines has appeared! This often means that the key to the truth and change has arrived!
Simon didn't know how many times he had died in this nightmare, but now was definitely the closest they had ever been to the secret of the nightmare!
The key to this nightmare may lie in that small fishing village!

Maria did not refuse.

Whether it was out of her duty as a hunter or the urge to verify a certain idea in her heart, she had to go back to the small fishing village.

Maria was convinced that her teacher would not deceive her.

By being wary of Lan, he witnessed so much information in a very short period of time, which shocked his spirit and played tricks on his kindness.
She firmly believed that once she arrived at the small fishing village, everything would be revealed.

(End of this chapter)