Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

"She’s pitiful," Ailuodi said with some concern, "The vital breath of that girl is unstable; perhaps she has contracted some disease."

"He is sending out a strong plea."

Chaoyang approached the other party. The boy also heard footsteps and raised his head to look over here.

"Are you encountering any trouble? Maybe I can help you solve this problem..."

He slowed his speech midway because the expression on the other’s face was clearly off. The boy first showed fear, then his expression turned to despair and anger. Even though they were several meters apart, Chaoyang could feel the hatred stored between the tightly clenched teeth of the other.

"You...give me back my father’s life!" He put down the girl in his arms, picked up a cobblestone from the roadside, and charged directly at Chaoyang!

"Be careful." Ailuodi’s reaction was much quicker than Chaoyang’s, she stepped in front of the demon, easily grabbed the boy’s wrist with one hand, and placed the other hand on the boy’s chest.

"Let me go, let me go! I want to avenge my dad!" the boy yelled with all his might, his voice hoarse.

Avenge?

Chaoyang touched his face... Could it be such a coincidence that Bariff had just happened to swindle this family?

"Ramon, Cat Head, Pike! The murderer is here, hurry up!" Seeing his own action was thwarted, the boy shouted loudly.

Suddenly, several heads peeked out from other alleys.

This time it was not just children, but also a few adults.

"We’ll be in trouble if we’re surrounded. We have to go!" Ailuodi immediately reminded.

Chaoyang also knew that the contract could definitely not be signed now. He nodded, turned, and ran, while Ailuodi pushed the boy gently and followed in retreat.

Only a swishing sound was heard, as something dark brown was hurled directly at Chaoyang.

Ailuodi reached out to intercept it, and upon hitting her palm, the object immediately shattered. Chaoyang immediately smelled a foul odor.

It was actually a lump of dung!

Unnoticed, silhouettes had even appeared on the flat roofs.

"Murderer, go to hell!"

"Get lost, this isn’t your place!"

"If you dare come back, I’ll take your dog life!" The people who had come running were shouting with fists raised, as if the murderer was someone who everyone agreed needed to be punished. But not one of the real aggressors came forward... Everyone just raged in place, watching Chaoyang leave the area.

Damn it all!

Catching his breath, Chaoyang asked, "Your hand..."

"It’s nothing, this stuff is only disgusting, not harmful," Ailuodi flicked off the filth on her hand, "I’ve stayed in the slums before, I can endure this stuff even better than you."

"Bariff seems to be more famous than I had anticipated. I didn’t expect even an ordinary resident encountered at random on the roadside to recognize this face," Chaoyang tore off a piece of his sleeve and wiped the angel’s hand—with the clothes being not his anyway, "Let’s change our plans, we’ll head for the eastern beach first."

"That might be better, but I think you need to disguise yourself a little," Ailuodi suggested.

Half an hour later, the two changed their route and skirted the city edge to reach the beach on the east end. Chaoyang got himself a hood, covering his entire face beneath the hem, and only then did they manage to pass through the "Lower City District" smoothly. However, the sights along the way remained starkly alarming. The further out they traveled, the more desolate the city appeared, with no sign of a functioning shop for a long while. Every household’s doors and windows were tightly shut, and the occasional inn or tavern had its entrance guarded by ominous men wielding machetes and iron rods. In some alleyways and corners, continuous cursing and shouting could be heard, and the people lying motionless on the streets seemed to be accustomed to such daylight brawls.

Even after reaching the beach, the situation showed no signs of improvement.

The beach was strewn with many fishing boats and nets left out to dry, but boats and nets alike showed signs of neglect, as if they had not been attended to for a long time. Chaoyang realized that this was obviously not normal—the city of Thistlefort was similarly backward, divided between the affluent Inner City District and the poor in the outer district, but backwardness had its own way of life, with lumber mills and transport companies never ceasing operations. It was because people earned little that they had to work twice as hard, to make the meager wages feed a family.

Yet, he saw no such scenes by the seaside.

Forget large fishing companies, shouldn’t at least the fishermen venture out to sea of their own accord? There should be places for drying fish on the shore, right? Merchants would come to buy the fish, wouldn’t they?

He still remembered what the Panlogical Machine had recorded about the City of Defense.

This was a chaotic and bustling small town. Due to the rampant smuggling activities and the gathering of "exiles" who were unable to enter the depths of the mainland for various reasons, the commerce here was supposed to be even more lively than in Thistlefort.

About five hundred meters to the north, a sea cliff appeared beside the beach. Although it was not as high as some hills, it was certainly notable in the City of Defense.

"That must be the location of the underwater cave mentioned in the log," Chaoyang said.

"What are those hanging from the poles over there?" Ailuodi squinted to take a look.

Soon, they knew the answer.

Corpses. All corpses.

The already narrow beach was lined with three rows of poles, with several hundred in total, either hung with the dead or those close to it. The sea breeze pushed the stench of decay out to sea, attracting scores of flying predators. Various birds, whose names they couldn’t call, perched on the wooden racks, pecking at the dead, occasionally aiming for those who were barely alive. They flinched only when pecked at certain organs, and their hoarse moans proved they were not completely dead yet.

Chaoyang took a sharp breath.

Could this also be Bariff’s doing?

"How... how could they do this?" Ailuodi couldn’t help but exclaim.

Beneath the cliff were not only dead but also many living people—compared to the abandoned beach fishery they had seen earlier, this place resembled the heart of the City of Defense even more. Layers of barbed wire were erected below the clifftop, and many armed Guards were stationed here, watching over the bustling crowd outside the barbed wire.

"You two there, stop!" one of the sentries barked, pointing his long gun at them.

"Don’t rush anything, just play it by ear," Chaoyang cautioned, then slowly took off his hood.

If even the common citizens recognized him, there would only be more who knew him here. After all, the Governor had said that Bariff was the person in charge of the excavation project.

Indeed, the moment he removed his hood, the sentry jolted and then stiffened to attention, "Good afternoon, Lord Bariff! Why didn’t you bring your guard squad with you?"

"Too many people, too noisy. I just came to have a look at the site."

"You are right... but it has been quite unsettling recently. You must be careful about your safety," the sentry said obsequiously.

It seemed Bariff’s reputation was indeed no joke, even if he didn’t dare breathe too loudly in front of the Governor, to these lower-level henchmen, his word was absolute. Even if what he said was clearly nonsensical, they wouldn’t dare to contradict it.

Chaoyang led Ailuodi through the wire blockade and all the way down the cliff, where, indeed, there was an opening that led downward.

"Lord Bariff, you, you’ve finally arrived!" A young man with glasses approached them, "Uhm... did the Governor agree to our request?"

Chaoyang obviously couldn’t ask directly what the request was.

He sized up the other party, who was wearing sturdy jeans and a denim jacket with a flame emblem on the right chest, inscribed with the words "Ransu Company." Besides that, the man had a pencil behind his ear and a rolled-up tape measure in his hand.

The man was likely a technical personnel, similar to himself.

"He agreed, but didn’t fully agree, just told me to wait a bit longer."

"What, what does that mean?" The other man was taken aback, "But we don’t have enough personnel, we can’t continue to explore the vulnerabilities of that wall..."

"How would I know what it means, why don’t you go and ask the Governor yourself?" Chaoyang coldly retorted.

The man immediately shut his mouth, "No, I’ll wait."

"Come with me and have a look downstairs." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Yes." He took a couple of steps and then stopped, looking at Ailuodi with some suspicion, "Lord, are you taking her with you?"

Ailuodi immediately grinned at Chaoyang, understanding the situation, "Go ahead, my lord. I’ll wait here for you."