The Rat King, Lin Gerui, revealed his true identity to Jeanne immediately upon entering, quietly observing her reaction. Whether she had known his identity all along or simply had no idea what the weight of that title meant, she showed no signs of shock or panic.
Left in the dark about her thoughts, Lin Gerui pushed aside his confusion to focus on the matter at hand. While his logical mind told him she was simply a traveler, his gut told him this girl truly knew exactly who he was.
"Child, I won't beat around the bush. You must know what I want to ask. Please tell me what you saw; I promise there will be a generous reward once this is settled."
At this moment, Lin Gerui sounded less like a mob boss and more like an old man playing chess on a street corner. His tone was gentle, devoid of any criminal aura.
Jeanne recounted the events she had witnessed. The beginning was mundane enough—two gangs clashing over interests—until the anomaly occurred.
"I saw those who were fleeing shove something into their mouths. Afterward, their entire demeanor became abnormally violent, like a pack of mindless monsters who couldn't feel pain."
Hearing this, Lin Gerui understood that some kind of drug was responsible for that ghostly transformation, yet he hadn't received a single whisper of intel about it. This meant a group of people was operating right under his nose, selling high-risk drugs to the slum gangs, while his "eyes" in the city were failing him.
He narrowed his small eyes, stroking the handle of his cane in silence, wondering who could possibly possess the capability to bypass his network and stir up trouble in private.
"Unfortunately, I was too far away to see exactly what they put in their mouths. You'll have to investigate the specifics yourself," Jeanne added, feeling a pang of regret. Anyone who had seen the state of those men would know they hadn't swallowed anything good.
In fact, when Jeanne had taken down the four frenzied men, she hadn't found any drug-related items on them—not even residue.
"I see. So it truly was the effect of a drug that turned them into that?" Lin Gerui's response suggested he wasn't entirely surprised, as if he had already suspected a chemical catalyst. Furthermore, based on his tone, it seemed this wasn't the first time such an incident had occurred in the slums—though Rope, who lived there, had never heard of it.
"As I said, this isn't the first time this has happened in Lungmen. In the last two months, there have been no fewer than ten similar incidents in the slums."
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs. A Zalak girl with pink hair descended unhurriedly from the second floor, carrying a thick stack of documents. Lin Yuxia didn't acknowledge Jeanne; she simply handed the papers to Lin Gerui, whispered a few words, and left through the front door.
"That was my daughter. She's been introverted since she was a child and doesn't like talking to strangers. Please, don't take it to heart."
After Lin Yuxia left, Lin Gerui flipped through the documents before handing them to Jeanne.
"Eh? You're showing this to me?" Jeanne asked, puzzled. Was it appropriate to show such sensitive information to someone he had just met?
"These are the medical reports and files on the few who were brought back alive. See if you can make any sense of them."
Jeanne took the thick stack and began to read carefully. Lin Gerui waited patiently, even standing up to personally brew her a cup of tea.
As Jeanne scanned the files, she realized they contained not just information on the survivors, but also previous intel they had gathered. But why show her?
Suddenly, a specific detail caught her eye. The reports stated that the Originium content in the blood of these "monsters" had spiked compared to before.
"Does this mean they've all become Infected?" Jeanne muttered to herself, flipping through more pages. Strangely, the reports still classified them as non-Infected, even though the Originium levels in some of their bloodstreams were off the charts.
"A very strange phenomenon," Lin Gerui noted. "The drug seems to consume the excess Originium in their bodies before they can truly become Infected. As for those with 'off the charts' levels, they likely died before the drug could fully catalyze."
Though they acted like something out of a zombie movie after taking the drug, they weren't actually undead; a fatal wound would still kill them. This made Jeanne think of the villagers where Rope lived—could they have accidentally ingested this drug? But the timing of their symptoms didn't match.
"A terrifying drug. I can't imagine who would create such a thing, let alone test it on people," Jeanne remarked.
She wondered to herself—wasn't human experimentation a specialty of Columbia? Why was someone playing this game in Lungmen, and how were they staying hidden from the old man sitting in front of her? There was almost no one in the slums who could hide from the Rat King, a man who had spent decades ensuring the area's stability.
However, she did think of one person capable of rivaling him in this regard: Kashchey, the one who had been driven out. If he had left some hidden agents behind, it was possible. But... wasn't that snake currently aligned with the Emperor and under heavy surveillance? How could he have set all this up in Lungmen months ago?
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can offer anything of value," Jeanne said, shaking her head. There were too many questions, and it might even involve Kashchey. She would have to find a way to contact Talulah.
When they parted, Talulah had taken a long-range communication device. She said she would try to contact Jeanne once she reached the village, but given the distance between the Great Northwest and Lungmen, they could only rely on luck for the signal to reach.
"There's no need to apologize. Even we are at a loss. If you find any leads in the future, please let me know. Or, if you ever need help, feel free to ask."
Lin Gerui didn't mind. He then personally led Jeanne through a tunnel. This one was different from the last, emerging—after many twists and turns—back inside the candy shop.
"I'm just an old man who likes to sit in his shop. If you ever need assistance, just come find me. I'm almost always here."
Lin Gerui spoke while bagging some candies for Jeanne, his eyes subtly observing her every movement.
Jeanne thanked him, took the bag, and stepped out of the shop. She hadn't walked far when she saw two figures sitting on a stone bench, locked in a silent standoff.
It was Lin Yuxia and Ch'en. The two sat there without speaking, simply staring each other down.