Chapter 386: The Child Stealing Brotherhood |
By the evening of the second day, not a single player could have predicted the method Lis Field would use to plunge all of Dolgod into panic.
It wasn't until the moon had passed its zenith that the Soloist and the little assassin returned from their scouting mission with news so startling that every other player fell silent at the same time.
Kidnappers had appeared in Dolgod. Many families' children — and even pregnant women — had been abducted without a trace.
Cheng Shi froze for a moment, then immediately thought of an organization — one that Turadin had once mentioned:
The Child Stealing Brotherhood.
At the time, he hadn't fully grasped what kind of organization it was. Now the name said it all: it was precisely what it sounded like — a group that stole children.
You had to admit — in a city that worshipped Birth, stealing Birth's "future" was a form of blasphemy only slightly less extreme than converting to Corruption.
Moreover, judging by Berios's attitude, he clearly knew about all of this.
Indeed — Dolgod's greatest filth was hidden within its most sacred Church. Lis Field truly was the underground king of Dolgod.
Several players huddled together to brainstorm. But after a long silence, no one spoke. Finally, an impatient Gao Ya broke it with a cold declaration:
"These are nothing more than faded echoes buried in ancient history. What is there to hesitate about?
Pointless kindness is stupidity. Can you two really not figure this out at your tier?
It's simple: find the children, kill the children, pin the blame on other false-god followers. That would amplify Dolgod's fear to the absolute maximum. Then spread word that a Holy Infant is about to be born, and everyone will fear him — everyone will demand the Church find him and kill him.
Berios is cooperating with us. He obviously won't suspect us. So as long as Turadin delivers the child at exactly the right moment, we complete the trial perfectly.
It's that simple. Don't tell me you haven't thought of it!
What exactly are you all agonizing over?"
Cheng Shi listened with a low whistle of amazement. 'What a wretched piece of work, this Folly follower.'
Gao Ya wasn't wrong — it was indeed a straightforward method, and everyone present had already thought of it. The problem was: sneaking off to murder a group of innocent children — who was going to do it?
One look at the furrowed brows told the story. Nobody was willing to carry out something so unconscionable.
The little assassin thought it over for a long time, sighed, and said: "There are still five days left. We don't need to go that far. Let's think — maybe there's another way?"
Gao Ya's contemptuous gaze swept over everyone. She scoffed and walked back upstairs.
Cheng Shi watched her leave, snorted a laugh, and shook his head.
'Folly followers only care about results, never the means. That's exactly how they end up creating horrifying things like Substitute Death Dolls.'
'These self-proclaimed geniuses are beyond saving.'
Zhang Jizu noticed Cheng Shi's relaxed, wholly untroubled expression and knew he probably already had a solution. He nudged him:
"Stop holding back. Spill it."
Cheng Shi laughed openly.
"There's an even simpler method. The Soloist is too stuck in the player's perspective.
This trial may be history, but it's also a real past. It's teeming with flesh-and-blood people. Why does the protagonist have to be us?"
At that, Zhang Jizu furrowed his brow in contemplation and nodded slowly, apparently guessing Cheng Shi's approach.
"The Child Stealing Brotherhood?"
Cheng Shi raised his eyebrows, once again marveling at how perfectly Squinty Eyes' brainwaves synced with his own.
'He may not pull elaborate stunts himself, but his understanding of them is second to none.'
"Exactly — the Child Stealing Brotherhood. All we need to do is leak word that the Brotherhood are actually followers of Corruption, that they're searching for their Holy Infant, and that's why they've kidnapped all those children. Once the rumor's out, people will naturally rally against them.
Driven by fury, the rumors will only grow more outrageous, more terrifying. By that point, our plan is already half-complete. After all, a clandestine organization operating beneath the Church can't exactly step out into the open and issue a public denial.
The infamy they've amassed will drag them into a pit of indefensibility. When the time is right, we simply deliver Turadin to the Child Stealing Brotherhood and, at the perfect moment, make a public appearance claiming they've found the true Holy Infant and are about to bring the child into the world. Done.
As for whether Big Beard will suspect us...
Even if he does, it won't matter. We're treating Go Lis. Compared to the Brotherhood being exploited, Go Lis clearly takes priority. It's an open scheme he can't refuse."
Scorpio drew a sharp breath, pondered for a moment, and then bowed deeply in admiration. "Bro, I'm in awe."
Gou Feng's eyes were practically blazing. He was about to say something to Cheng Shi, but Cheng Shi quickly pressed him back down with a hand.
"Big guy, please don't say it. I already know what you mean."
Gou Feng froze mid-motion, then burst out laughing.
Cheng Shi shivered slightly at the sound, then said with genuine feeling:
"Dolgod's waters run too deep. If we drag this out any longer, I'm afraid more problems will surface. Let's wrap this up as quickly as possible. Once Turadin delivers the baby, we scatter immediately.
I keep getting the feeling that hanging around you lot is asking for another accident!
But speaking of which...
Old Zhang, where exactly did you stash Turadin?
Share the location — just in case something happens to you in the next few days. I need to be able to retrieve her."
Zhang Jizu glanced at Cheng Shi. His expression grew rather colorful.
He didn't say a word, but Cheng Shi read his face instantly — and his own expression immediately became equally colorful.
He twitched the corners of his mouth, utterly stunned. "Don't tell me you... already sent Turadin to the Child Stealing Brotherhood?"
Zhang Jizu's eyes had narrowed to mere slits. He paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes."
"???" Cheng Shi went numb. "You predicted me?"
"...No, not really. Pure coincidence.
On my second trip to the Inquisition, I noticed a few suspicious trails. At first I thought nothing of them. But on the third trip — when we were fleeing the Church — I spotted the same individuals again.
Their positions had swapped, but the targets they were watching hadn't changed.
It so happened that during the daytime, on our first trip to the Inquisition, I'd noticed the households along the route. Four words summarize them: families with young children.
So I kept it in mind.
After you two departed this morning, I made contact with those individuals. They may not have appreciated my methods of contact, but that didn't stop me from extracting useful information.
They were members of the Child Stealing Brotherhood."
Scorpio was the first to freeze. He mentally retraced every observation he'd made along the way, utterly baffled. "Brother Zhang, I was also watching the surroundings the entire time. How did I miss these people? If someone was tailing us, as a fellow shadow-dweller, there's no way I'd have zero awareness of it."
Zhang Jizu explained with a smile:
"Here's the funny thing — they weren't conducting ordinary surveillance. They had 'died' in obscure corners near their targets that nobody would ever notice."
Scorpio's eyes went wide, and he let out a gasp. "Dead people?!"
...
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