Chapter 21: Omniscience Society

“Seventeen lost ones, thirty-two frenzied ones.”

The white dove's voice remained steady, but its tail feathers suddenly flared out into a fan shape.

“There was an explosion at the bakery on Seventh Avenue this morning because a certain baker was trying to prove the infinite proliferation theorem with a yeast colony.”

It suddenly pecked off a piece of a book page.

The yellowed paper fluttered down to Mel's feet, covered in fractal geometry patterns drawn in red ink.

The moment Mel bent down to pick up the piece of paper, the white dove suddenly let out a crisp cry.

The next moment, Mel saw her own trembling fingertips touching those frantically growing mathematical symbols.

A cold shiver climbed up her spine.

“Then.... will you kill them?”

The piece of paper slipped from the young girl's fingertips, like a dead butterfly's wing.

Hearing this, the white dove made a short cooing sound, which was probably a sneer unique to birds.

“Death is the most inefficient solution.”

It released its claws, letting the book fall to the ground.

The book hit the floor with a dull thud, startling the crows perched outside the window.

“We will weave new cognitive cocoons for them, like guiding crazed worker bees back to the hive——of course, that's on the premise that they haven't completely lost control yet.”

“Then.... is there anything you need me to do?”

Mel asked cautiously.

“If you are willing to join the Fifth Department, it would indeed be a good thing.”

The white dove said, “Although your age does not meet the requirements, it doesn't matter, there are always exceptions. We will provide you with the same contract and salary as a formal employee, but do you really want to join?”

Hearing this, Mel pressed her lips together.

Under the white dove's gaze, she gently shook her head.

“Sorry”

The white dove's tail feathers twitched slightly, seemingly unsurprised by this answer.

“It's alright, at least you are honest enough.”

It spread its wings again and flew to the windowsill.

The midday sun plated its feathers with a golden edge.

“If you change your mind, go find Oliver. He can be your referrer.”

Just as it was about to fly away, it suddenly turned its head, its voice becoming unusually serious:

“Also, one more reminder for you——don't casually make sacrifices to those entities. Because you never know what they will give you as a boon.”

As its voice fell, the white dove spread its wings and flew high, disappearing from Mel's sight.

The Fifth Department, office.

The white dove landed on the windowsill, flapping its wings, then gently preened its feathers.

“Good work.”

A voice full of cold texture sounded.

The white dove's master reached out, gently stroking the dove's wing, then tore off a small piece of bread and handed it to the dove's beak.

The white dove opened its beak to take the bread, then hopped onto the desk to peck at it, while its master turned his gaze to the woman in a dark blue suit behind the desk.

Audrey Wynn, Section Chief of the Fifth Department's Dunke City Special Investigation Division.

“Overall, that Miss Shepherd's performance was acceptable. However, she rejected the Fifth Department's invitation, but this was also expected.”

“A Shepherd personally chosen by the Red Moon, huh....”

Audrey's fingers tapped gently on the desk, making a rhythmic sound, each tap like hitting some invisible metronome.

A faint scent of roses lingered in the office, the smell of the perfume she habitually used.

“Based on your intuition as a Messenger, do you think she will become a threat?”

She looked at the man by the window feeding the white dove, a hint of a smile in her voice.

“At least at the current stage, she has no malice.”

Blake said.

“But she is clearly fundamentally different from other Shepherds.”

“For example?”

“According to her, she became a Shepherd three days ago, and on the very night she became one, she killed Jessica, who had been a Shepherd for a year. Although Jessica's carelessness and underestimation of her enemy were contributing factors, judging from her subsequent handling of the situation, it's hard to associate her with a Shepherd in the Stress Phase.”

Blake's voice carried a hint of admiration.

She sacrificed Jessica's body to the Red Moon, letting the Red Moon erase all traces for her.

This method of handling things is almost like an innate instinct.

Hearing this, Audrey raised an eyebrow slightly, her long, slender fingers gently caressing the file on the desk.

She reached out, opened the file folder, and took out the information inside.

“Mel Rossetti, lives at number twenty-six, Iris Street, lives with her sister Veronica Rossetti, attends a public school funded by the government. The sisters' parents died of lung disease five years ago, leaving them an inheritance of one hundred pounds. It is worth mentioning that Mel and Veronica are not related by blood; the former was adopted. In the sixteen years before becoming a Shepherd, she had no contact with any people or things related to the extraordinary world. In other words, she was truly chosen by the Red Moon without any warning.”

Seeing this, Audrey's expression suddenly became a bit complicated, and she sighed softly.

“I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.”

“At least, she still retains her humanity.”

Blake said while feeding the white dove, as if answering Audrey's question.

“Most Shepherds chosen by the Red Moon will lose a part of their humanity to some extent. Just as Shepherds of Knowledge will uncontrollably crave knowledge, Shepherds of the Red Moon will become more and more submissive to instinct, like a wild beast. But she is different. She can restrain herself. This is the biggest difference between her and other Red Moon Shepherds. It is precisely because of this that I advocated for approving Oliver's guarantee for her.”

Listening to Blake's words, Audrey looked at the file in her hand thoughtfully.

“A beast that knows how to control its instincts, huh.... then what do you think we should do with her?”

“You're the Section Chief, Audrey, not me.”

Blake said faintly.

Hearing this, Audrey shrugged, then placed the file back on the desk, seemingly having made up her mind.

“Orders?”

“Observe, wait, prepare.”

Audrey said, “Since Oliver is vouching for her, let's just observe for a while. The current focus is on Jessica's mess, and those people from the Omniscience Society——have Hyde and Lawrence found anything?”

Blake nodded slightly, then took out a new file and spread it on the desk.

“Hyde and Lawrence have already found out the Omniscience Society's goal——they are preparing to hold a ritual in Dunke City to attract the gaze of (Knowledge). When they infiltrated one of the Omniscience Society's strongholds, it was filled with all kinds of heads. They advocate that the brain is the vessel of knowledge, so they want to use human brains as sacrifices to please (Knowledge).”

Hearing this, Audrey frowned slightly, her slender fingers gently stroking the edge of the file, her gaze lingering on the shocking photos.

Blake stood by the window, the white dove perched on his shoulder, gently preening its feathers.

“According to Hyde and Lawrence's report, they found this in the stronghold.”

He said, then took out a crumpled piece of paper from the file, as well as a small glass bottle containing a black liquid.

Audrey took the note.

It was densely filled with frantic mathematical formulas, the handwriting crooked and twisted, as if written in a state of extreme excitement.

Next, she looked at the bottle of liquid.

“Ink?”

“To be precise, it's ink mixed with the victims' cerebrospinal fluid.”

Blake added.

“It is said that symbols written this way are more likely to attract the attention of (Knowledge).”

Audrey's brows furrowed slightly as she casually flipped to the next page of the file.

The photo showed a room piled high with human heads.

Each head had been carefully treated, their eyes gouged out and replaced with inlaid crystal balls.

“These victims... who are they?”

“Scholars, professors, researchers... anyone they deem intelligent.”

Blake's voice carried a hint of coldness:

They believe that by collecting the heads of these wise men, they can construct a giant ritual in Dunke City.

The moment the ritual is completed, it will attract the gaze of (Knowledge).

But do you know what the most ironic part is?

Blake said coldly.

“They pursue knowledge to the point of madness, yet they have lost even the most basic common sense. Among those victims, a third of them weren't scholars at all, just ordinary citizens.”

Blake's white dove suddenly let out a sharp cry, as if in response to its master's words.

“Madness often begins this way.”

Audrey said softly.

“The madmen of the Omniscience Society have really gone too far this time.”

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