Free Web NovelChapter 626: Chapter 625 Ordered to Take Your Life (1)
Several days later, Aiden finally confirmed his suspicions.
Over the course of those days, he repeatedly used the "Law" authority to interrogate new prisoners and new staff members. Astonishingly, he really did ferret out a follower of the Blood Moon Cult.
And it was indeed someone who had applied to work in the canteen’s kitchen.
Tony, who was responsible for the invisible investigation, found a bottle of something that looked like pepper on this person, who admitted under interrogation that it was the poison he had used to commit the poisoning.
Aiden immediately sent this substance to Meiruki for testing.
"Looking at the reaction effect, it should be a poison extracted from lilies," Meiruki eventually replied, "but judging from the reaction time, I fear this is not any known toxin."
"What’s with this strange statement?" Aiden pressed for an explanation.
"This substance exhibits remarkable toxicity. In animal experiments, just a tiny amount causes mice to lose mobility and then die within a second," Meiruki said calmly, "but my experience tells me the poison used here is just lily. It’s almost impossible to kill someone with lily that quickly."
"Can’t a larger dose achieve that?" Aiden asked.
"A poison causes damage to living tissue through reactions in the body, and these reactions take time, no matter the dose," Meiruki explained dispassionately, "but this substance kills almost without any perceptible reaction time. This must be an unintended ’poisonous’ effect of the lily. However, with such a potent poison, it would be superfluous to add other toxins. Doesn’t the person who poisoned know what they were using?"
"He doesn’t know; his only orders were to administer the poison," Aiden said, "Given your knowledge, what could be the possibilities?"
"I’m sorry, I do not know, and I think even the Potion Queen Lamia might not be able to discern anything more; this substance probably goes beyond the realm of potionology," Meiruki pondered, then added, "My feeling is... as if some peculiar force was involved, giving an otherwise ordinary poison the concept of killing."
The concept of death—this thought immediately sprang to Aiden’s mind.
He realized that the "pepper" used for the poisoning might be related to the power of the Grim Reaper.
The inherent lethal nature of the poison had been purified by the power of death, ultimately becoming the concept of death itself. As long as the poisoning process was completed, death would be assured on the spot.
Infiltrate the kitchen, then poison—the enemy had indeed resorted to this tactic, Aiden thought.
Moreover, the poison used by the enemy was the kind that could instantly strip away life, just as he had feared.
This gave him a chill, as "Return" was not an authority that could passively come into effect at any time. Aiden had to recite the sacred words, and only during the effective time of those words could he repeatedly bring himself back, naturally including automatic activation at the moment of death. But outside the time when the sacred words were effective, if he encountered instant death, he would not have the chance to "return" to a time when he was alive.
In this aspect, "Return" was similar to "Sacrifice." This nature determined that "Return" could only be used as an active skill that allowed him to have invincible time. Ordinary traps that instantly kill wouldn’t save him with "Return."
The item left to him by Abigail could block one death for him, but only once.
Just as Aiden had thought, Mr. Blood Coat planned to kill him by all available means, both sophisticated and crude, using any method that came to mind—with even the more crude methods sometimes serving as a distraction.
For instance, the prisoner previously sent by the Blood Moon Cult had at one point drawn Aiden’s attention; now it seemed probable that the news about actively recruiting female followers was also a tactic to divert his attention. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
But the real killer move was actually the poisoning... No, perhaps even that wasn’t it.
Aiden rethought the situation.
Perhaps even the poisoning was just another feint.
In the Sunset City base, Mr. Blood Coat had not hesitated to abandon his original body, so that he might block their path in time, leaving a lasting impression on Aiden.
It might be the influence of the "Hatred" authority, or perhaps Mr. Blood Coat’s character was inherently so, but in Aiden’s eyes, Mr. Blood Coat acted at all costs and did not mind taking risks.
In any case, having confirmed that the Blood Moon Cult was attempting to infiltrate both the prisoners and the staff at the same time, Aiden might have to take on the additional role of conducting "personal interviews," using the compulsory confession induced by the "Law" authority to root out the cultists one by one.
At this moment, Veronica knocked and entered the infirmary.
"Commander, regarding the staff expansion for the common area this afternoon, do you intend to interview them personally as well?" Veronica inquired of Aiden.
"For safety’s sake, let’s take a look," Aiden replied, somewhat reluctantly.
Could Mr. Blood Coat really intend to work him to death with this kind of tactic? Aiden couldn’t help but entertain this joking thought.
But regardless, in a situation where the enemy was in the shadows and he was exposed, he was destined to take a defensive position in the prison for the time being, responding to moves as they came, just as he had done in the past.
He called for the head of the personnel department and gathered the new staff of the common area in a small lecture hall, then ascended the podium himself, preparing to interrogate these people under the guise of giving a leader’s speech.
Giving a leader’s speech was one of the things he had hated most since he was young; but in this world, he had become a leader who could force others to listen to such speeches, which felt somewhat ironic to him.
The Rose Iron Prison had long suffered from a staffing shortage and was still in a period of expansion, with over twenty new employees for the common areas.
Aiden surveyed the crowd from the podium, ready to speak.
At this moment, someone suddenly raised a hand, drawing Aiden’s attention there.
Before Aiden had a chance to speak, the person preemptively said, "There’s no need for you to search, Warden. I am the Blood Moon Cult follower you’re looking for."
Aiden was taken aback by the unexpected admission.
He took a closer look and saw a young man with vacant eyes, a mechanical expression on his face as he gazed back at Aiden from a distance.
Such a blunt and foolish admission—what was the point of infiltrating then?
The surrounding people sensed the anomaly in the atmosphere and began to keep their distance from the young man.
"My name is Conrad, I am a servant of Mr. Blood Coat," the young man named Conrad stated expressionlessly, staring at Aiden. "I am here to take your life, Warden."
