The eccentric doctor never makes a misdiagnosis!

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"The Skinner's Curse is weakly contagious, so caution is advised. The clinic has quite a few sophisticated instruments..."

As he spoke, Fran took a long hose from a shop window on Fog Street, connected it to a fire hydrant, and began to clean up the skinner.

The shredded flesh and bones covering it were quickly washed away, leaving only the distorted metal shell.

"Let's disassemble it and then collect it. It's a pity that the living metal on his body has potential for pollution, otherwise we could have used it as a source of material."

She then opened the medicine box, took out her beloved circular saw... and began today's disassembly.

Before long, the hideous and terrifying skinner was reduced to a pile of parts, which she neatly sorted and collected.

Although it was just a single skinner, she was able to deduce a lot of useful information using the [Mechanical Biology] tracing technology. Moreover... the persistent curse afflicting this creature also had its value.

After that, Franco gave Sigrid and Heda a thorough physical examination, and after confirming that there was no contamination, he concluded today's medical examination and acceptance process.

It was getting late, and she was in a hurry to get back to the clinic to take a shower... so she didn't even try to persuade Haida to stay for a cup of tea.

Haida had no objection to this.

As a funeral maid who had risen to the position of supervisor, this was the first time she had faced this type of enemy directly.

The skinner is clearly a purely mechanical creation, yet it inexplicably gives people a feeling of being "alive"... but upon closer examination, one discovers that this sense of déjà vu in the presence of the living is some kind of illusion.

"Dr. Fran, do such monsters exist in our world too?"

Although she sensed that Dr. Fran seemed to have something urgent to attend to, she figured it wouldn't be too much to ask a question since she had been summoned late at night...

"No."

Fran's tone was firm and decisive.

"This thing is not a native product. It comes from a distant and dark universe... just like your sword. Speaking of which, the White Cup ancestors of the lost era were able to make similar products, but only with the help of a lot of secret arts and rituals."

"In terms of technological level alone, even the White Cup Cult at its peak would probably be no different from an infant in their eyes."

Haida nodded slightly, with a hint of understanding.

"I see."

As night deepened, she bid farewell to Fran and Sigrid, traversing the misty path back to the Order of the Hunters… to continue her unfinished sleep. A slight sense of satisfaction from taking down her prey's head quietly surfaced, sinking into her dreams along with it.

Fran was finally able to go to the bathroom, take off her clothes and stockings that were soaked with dampness and sweat, and wash away her fatigue.

-

The following day, in the South District.

Sandrank Street, Mandala Tavern.

Taverns are usually bustling with people at night and sparsely populated in the morning, as they always have been. But today is different.

Several Secret Service agents dressed in grey trench coats were searching for evidence in room number 8 of the tavern. The tall and slender Silver Feather Hydra stood among them, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.

She held a slender women's cigarette between her fingers, but it was not lit.

"Who invented this garbage ritual called 'Reflecting on the Past'? It will fail if it is disturbed in the slightest."

She complained somewhat irritably as she raised her hand to light the cigarette between her lips.

"Silver Feather Hydra Master, this spell seems to originate from the Funeral Court of a lost era..."

Vivian, standing nearby, offered a rather cautious reminder.

"Don't bring up such trivial details... I know."

Silver Hydra tapped her knuckles lightly and then patted her head.

Taking advantage of Sister Heda's absence, she was able to bully this former agent of hers without feeling guilty.

Soon, the other detectives had packed up several evidence bags and handed them to Silver Feather Hydra.

"Supervisor, we found fragments of inactive Cistanche deserticola among a large number of inactive flesh and limb remains. It can be inferred that the victims had entered the terminal stage of the parasitic state before their deaths."

“Obviously so.” The silver hydra was not surprised by this.

The crime scene revealed two shattered skulls without a single drop of brain matter, easily leading one to think of these brain-eating parasites.

The male detective then picked up the second evidence bag.

"There were also several spent cartridge cases and shrapnel, the caliber of which matched the rifle found at the crime scene. They belonged to the gatekeeper."

“There are also traces of the third type of arcane art, [Creating Doors], on the ground.”

The silver-feathered hydra exhaled a wisp of smoke, speculating about the specifics of last night.

Goalkeeper Guns and organizer Nicholas put up a fierce fight, but death still inevitably befell them. Even though Black Rong arrived at the scene immediately after receiving the alarm, she was still too late.

By the time he arrived, the corpses on the ground had almost bled dry.

"Completely devastating."

Vivian, standing beside Silver Feather Hydra, slowly uttered the word, which was exactly what she was thinking. Someone had ended this brief battle with overwhelming superiority in an extremely short time.

"An unknown high priest, or perhaps that 'nightmare visitor' from before?"

"Black Banyan searched all night but couldn't find it. This ability to hide one's whereabouts... could it really be Nightmare Guest?"

Just as she was still pondering, a tall figure dressed in a black nun's robe appeared at the door... It was Haida.

She didn't come with Vivian because she and Hei Rong had previously tried to track down the criminal and arrest him. Only after confirming that this was unsuccessful did she arrive at the scene to join the investigation.

Although Hei Rong wasn't interested in investigating the case and therefore didn't enter the tavern, Hai Da wasn't alone either. As she approached Yin Yu Xi, Fran also stepped lightly into the room.

Good day, Dr. Fran.

Seeing Fran walk in with a smile, Silver Hydra felt inexplicably guilty. It was like being caught red-handed by the team leader while sneaking a smoke with Alvin when he was young.

Fran slightly turned her head, and out of concern for her health, she couldn't help but remind her.

"Secret police work is a high-pressure profession, and it's understandable that smoking in moderation can help relieve stress. But it shouldn't be excessive, okay?"

"Ok, I know."

Silver Hydra was worried that her cigarette case would mysteriously disappear again like last time, so she was extra careful. As the head of the Confidential Court, it would be quite embarrassing to have something stolen from her twice by a doctor without her noticing.

She touched the small cigarette case in her breast pocket; thankfully, it wasn't lost.

Haida arrived at the center of the chaotic crime scene and looked solemnly at the doctor beside her.

"Dr. Fran, this happened suddenly. The workload may be quite heavy, thank you for your help."

“We don’t need to be so polite between us. Besides… this is what a 'coroner' should do.”

Fran put his hands behind his back, a sly chuckle playing on his lips. His amber eyes flickered slightly, as if he were preparing something.

She first took out the instruments from the medical kit and carefully and meticulously examined all the corpses. During this process, she was sometimes puzzled, and sometimes seemed to have a sudden realization.

After a while, Fran approached Nicholas, whose head had been shattered by a gunshot, and showed the organizer's gruesome split on the forehead to the people around him.

"Gun wound."

"This shot nearly shattered his head into pieces, matching the caliber of that bolt-action rifle. Although they were both under the control of [Cistanche deserticola], it's unclear why the accidental injury occurred. Perhaps the perpetrator possesses the ability to disrupt others."

"Disruption..."

Silver-feathered Hydra's eyes narrowed slightly, as if deep in thought.

After introducing the appetizers, Fran then walked toward Schmidt, whose heart had been pierced, lying on the ground.

"This deceased is the most unusual. His body had extensive burns, but none of them were fatal. The fatal wound was a penetrating injury to the heart. Another thing to note is... his brain is missing."

As she spoke, she tapped Schmidt's forehead twice, producing two hollow, crisp sounds.

During the previous examination, Fran had already cut open his head, revealing a pale, empty skull.

"The nerves were intact, the blood vessels were undamaged, there were no signs of the skull being opened, and there was no Cistanche deserticola present... Such a perfect organ harvesting technique is rare in Norrington."

"The last time I saw him was at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club."

The atmosphere became heavy for a moment, and then a name that was all too familiar quietly emerged.

...Nightmare Guest.

-

-

I can't do double updates...

Chapter Seventeen: Behind the Curtain

If the incident at the Mandala Tavern was indeed committed by that guy, then it means he didn't leave Norrington as expected... but instead hid in the city after his first crime, until he struck again yesterday.

"You're really brave."

Silver Hydra habitually shook the ashes of the lady's cigarette between her fingers, then noticed that the cigarette felt a little strange.

Hard, delicate, and with a strangely sweet aroma...

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it had been replaced with a chocolate bar, with the aroma of crushed nuts and cocoa butter wafting through the air.

"I baked these myself this morning! Hope you enjoy them."

Fran, who was standing nearby, picked up a woman's cigarette that had already been extinguished, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and confiscated it by putting it into his pocket.

Was it switched while I was distracted? But... why so quickly? I didn't even notice.

"……Thanks."

Silver Hydra squinted slightly, chewing the biscuit in its mouth with a hint of resentment.

Crispy and fragrant...delicious. Even the Silver Hydra had to praise her skill.

Although remaining calm is a basic requirement for Secret Service agents, for some reason, she always felt a strange competitive urge when facing this doctor...

Fran search ∑“Q group:9±four§〔ba∝；＞si馓`彡粦＜＝ He does like to tease others, but he usually knows how to keep his distance quite well, and Haida is already used to it.

Besides, this time the target isn't even myself...

Therefore, she didn't pay much attention to the little incident just now, focusing more on the details of the investigation.

"The blood vessel incision was clean and without tearing, and there were no signs of the skull being violently opened. The brain was indeed removed out of thin air."

"But this event is quite different from the one at the Mirror of Enlightenment Club..."

Haida carefully examined the traces of the battle on the ground, trying to reconstruct the true events of last night from the clues.

"At the Mirror of Enlightenment, Dorothy was able to defeat the Nightmare Guest with just one relic of the Cult of the Lamp. But this time... he killed all the victims in a one-against-three situation. It's very strange."

According to Dorothy's testimony, the trauma left by [S-066 Faded to Pure White] would render him incapable of performing the procedure for at least six months.

Silver Hydra arrived at the scene first and had been examining the artifacts for some time, so it naturally noticed this as well.

"Indeed."

“All indications suggest that what happened here last night was not a close fight, but an overwhelming massacre.”

She glanced at Guns' torso, now scattered across the floor, and curled her lip in disgust.

“A ‘Tide Listener’ from the Star Abyss Society, a ‘Gatekeeper’, and a White Cup Teaching Assistant… on average, they are all second-tier cult disciples, yet they didn’t even have a chance to escape when fighting on their own home turf.”

"Nightmare couldn't possibly do that when he's injured."

The people around him agreed with this view, and Fran, with his arms crossed, nodded in deep agreement.

Haida bent down, scooped up a little blood from the congealed blood on the ground with her fingertips, and sniffed it lightly.

The remaining spiritual essence in the blood had completely dissipated, leaving only a faint fishy and salty taste.

Since no eyewitnesses survived, she was unable to use her profiling talent for psychic empathy and could only make a rough judgment about last night's events based on her experience.

Carbonized burn marks, a gash running through the chest and abdomen, and a shattered upper body… each attack by the murderer was vicious and ruthless, a single, fatal blow. Did the killer never intend to leave any survivors, or did they know beforehand that they had become hosts for the Cistanche deserticola?

Or perhaps, both?

"But we still cannot completely rule out suspicions about Nightmare."

After careful consideration, she said in a deep voice.

"Silver Feather Hydra Supervisor, according to the Records of Relics, the effect of [S-066 Faded to Pure White] will be ineffective under three specific circumstances."

"First, purification through a specific ritual. Second, the covering of superior relics. Third, a fundamental transformation occurs within the victim themselves."

Haida's meaning was very clear, and Silver Feather Hydra couldn't help but start thinking about it.

"You mean... he advanced in rank? The eyeball of the Priest of the Lamp Cult was actually the spiritual material he used to climb to a higher level?"

"If it was Nightmare again who committed the crime, then there is probably only one possibility."