The East District of Backlund was an area that even strike parades wouldn't pass through. The workers understood that a parade in such a place would neither attract official attention nor intimidate capitalists; if anything, they might even find themselves shaken down by the local gangs.
Most residents here lived very "energy-efficient" lives, as consuming physical strength outside of work would only make their already hungry stomachs even more ravenous.
Even skilled workers and gang members with slight surpluses could only occasionally visit low-grade taverns to order a glass of inferior, watered-down ale. There, they would boast and listen to others' boasts, experiencing a taste of "high-class" luxury.
They didn't have much to talk about; insults and boasting often split their conversations down the middle. Occasionally, a piece of big news that everyone could chat about was a rare celebration. But today, in the taverns of the East District,besides the newly executed Qilangos,there seemed to be some new material for conversation.
"Hey, hey, did you see that today?"
"Nonsense. It was so noisy; I'm not deaf!"
"Then do you know what exactly happened?"
"Who knows? Maybe those cats and dogs went mad?"
"Mad? I don't think it's that simple! I'm telling you, the lover of my oldest brother-in-law's sister has connections in this regard. He said this might be some kind of plague..."
"Don't talk nonsense! If a plague starts in a hellhole like the East District, it'll be a disaster!"
"That's why! Look at how that area has been surrounded by police! If it weren't for something big, why would those guys be interested in this dump?"
"Now that you mention it... we'd better be careful lately. If we catch some disease, it's all over!"
"No kidding. Right, I heard alcohol can disinfect?"
"Boss, another bottle of ale! Unwatered!"
...
"Weren't you a bit too flashy?" In a luxury mansion in the West District, Snow was currently lecturing the head-lowered Lily.
"Meow..." Lily shrank her head, a human-like trace of grievance on her face, letting out a thin cry.
"Don't you understand that too much is as bad as too little? I told you to provoke a cat or dog here and there, get them to bite each other,that's called sustainable development. You provoked every cat and dog in the entire East District into a massive brawl! You can forget about going back there for a month or two! What are you going to do about your potion digestion?" Snow wasn't fooled by Lily's acting; he continued the lecture with a serious face.
Earlier that morning, Snow had controlled Lily's body, tossing a cat's fur into a dog's territory or using the [Assassin] ability to steal a dog's food and drop it into a cat's domain. It didn't even need to use supernatural abilities like "Persuasion" or "Misleading" to get those animals with questionable IQs to fight tooth and nail, allowing Lily to reclaim a batch of digestion progress.
From this perspective, Snow felt that animals had a natural advantage in digesting potions early on,especially those with acting principles leaning toward "evil" deeds. After all, animals didn't possess high intelligence like humans and were easily provoked. For instance, the advancement ritual for a certain "Devil Dog" involved continuously hunting other animals; it was only at the [Desire Apostle] stage, because the target had the "once fell" limitation, that it had to start killing humans.
Lily hadn't disappointed, quickly learning how to make her foolish peers and the "Dog Planet" inhabitants fight. But just as Snow thought Lily was fine and withdrew his consciousness to handle his own work, she gave him a big "surprise."
In the end, he had still placed too much trust in the intelligence of a Beyonder animal.
Lily was smart, yes,perhaps too smart for her own good.
It seemed that after several consecutive "crimes," this cat found that doing it this way was too inefficient. She then spent half a day running across the entire East District, provoking every "famous" stray cat and dog group. In a certain trash dump,or rather, a hunting ground for stray animals,she instigated a massive "war."
Snow didn't know how much feedback Lily had received from this "war" involving hundreds of cats and dogs, but he knew that for the foreseeable future, Lily could forget about going to the East District to digest her potion.
As for other districts... stray animals weren't as easy to find as in the East District.
"Mee..." Lily seemed to realize her mistake. She extended a small paw, lightly pushing Snow's hand with her paw pad, and tilted her head up to look at him with watery eyes.
"Wow, you're even using [Charm] on me now? Come on, try charming me again?!" Snow rolled his eyes and lightly flicked her forehead. Lily immediately went stiff as if hit by a bullet and flopped over.
To be honest, if Snow hadn't known exactly how much force he used, he truly would have been startled by this cat!
"Right, I didn't realize you were such a drama queen. Fine, since you're so good at acting, go and instigate humans instead!"
"Meow meow meow?"
...
"Archbishop Snake, the results of the animal riot in the East District are in. Those animals weren't radiated by supernatural power; it shouldn't be a lingering issue from a Beyonder characteristic."
At the Church of Storms, Ace Snake was listening to a report from a Punisher. Hearing the phrase "no radiation of supernatural power," a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
An animal riot didn't sound like much, but as a veteran in handling supernatural events, Ace Snake thought of many possibilities.
For instance, his first reaction was that a Beyonder had died in the sewers, leading to a group of animals becoming polluted.
In fact, that would be the best-case scenario. More troublesome would be a Sealed Artifact with living characteristics being left out in the open, causing collective animal mutation. Compared to the former, this situation meant the pollution would persist.
Aside from that, there was also the possibility of aura residue from high-sequence Beyonders. Regardless of the type, it meant that more than just animals might be affected.
Coincidentally, there had recently been two troublesome Beyonders in Backlund. One died yesterday, while the other hadn't even been identified yet.
"Was the cause of the animal riot found?"
"No. We conducted inspections on all the captured animals and found no traces of pollution. Nor were they affected by necromantic spells. It shouldn't be that unknown powerhouse from before..."
The Punisher shook his head and pulled out an analysis report returned from the Machinery Mind Council. Ace Snake glanced at the report, which was filled with dense, strange words that made him feel a bit dizzy. He shook his head and said, "Continue the investigation. An animal riot cannot happen without a cause. A natural disaster of this kind cannot occur in Backlund; it must be a man-made calamity that drove them mad."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika Kagura]
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A/N: "Instigator" (教唆者) - Sequence 8 of the Demoness pathway. Lily's massive animal brawl is a unique (and noisy) way of "acting" to digest her potion.
A/N: "East District" (东区) - The "energy-efficient" lifestyle mentioned refers to the extreme poverty where every calorie counts.
T/N: "Archbishop Snake" (艾斯·斯内克) - Referring to Ace Snake, the high-ranking leader of the Backlund Church of Storms (Punishers).
T/N: "Machinery Mind Council" (机械之心) - The Beyonder team of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, known for their scientific and technical expertise.
T/N: "Punisher" (代罚者) - The Beyonder team of the Church of the Lord of Storms, known for their direct and often violent methods.