For some reason, Malin felt an unparalleled tranquility within his heart, even if fools jumped out so foolishly. But to Malin... what could Chief Jonathan possibly do to him?
Arriving in the Underground District, the rules here weren’t dictated by the Chief—it was justice that ruled.
Power is both fine wine and poison, which is precisely why Malin’s heart had warned him more than once—justice isn’t a hollow proclamation; it requires action to adorn everything.
Take Chief Jonathan, for instance; Malin didn’t understand why he was speaking such outrageous words to him as if he had lost his mind. This isn’t your police station, and you’re not under the protection of your subordinates. Although the Church of the Goddess of Harvest is harmless to humans and animals, when it comes to killing, whether Jonathan is Chief or Duke no longer matters, because the one to die would be a Chaotic Believer.
This was something Malin thought was inevitable—otherwise, why would he jump out and try to fish someone out.
Malin had been suppressing the urge to kill; otherwise, he would have shot him dead earlier on the surface.
There were quite a few guests in the Underground District, a mix of heretics brainwashed by Chaos, nearly mad wizards, and sinners guilty of heinous crimes. But today, they all showed humble expressions towards Malin, who led the team.
"People are born sinless, like a blank sheet of paper. Some like to roll in the mud, some like to walk in the rain, but there are also those who consort with blood, who dine on sin. Thus, beneath prosperity, there is bloodshed, there are scars. All you see here is the eternal hell for those born innocent but who ultimately neighbor evil, unable to be freed."
Malin passed through an iron-barred door and glanced at the child inside. It had a completely distorted appearance, and upon seeing Malin, its vertical pupils in the eye sockets prompted it to scurry and hide behind the bed using its hands and feet.
"Is this also a sin?" Jason asked as he looked at the child.
Malin knew what he was thinking. He shook his head, "This isn’t sin, this is love. The city where this child’s mother lived was breached by Chaos. She survived in the underground waterways for a full eleven months, subsisting on the blood and flesh that flowed down from above, and that ultimately caused her mutation. But she still held this child in her arms. The Church killed her mother, but there was a very serious discussion about what to do with this child. In the end, my mentor brought the child back. It can only live here for its entire life because it was nurtured by the flesh and blood of its own kind. If it were allowed out, having tasted flesh and blood, it would become the most terrifying hunter, causing more death and injury."
Malin explained with the coldest of tones.
"Then what does he eat?"
"Them." Malin continued forward.
"What?" Jason looked incredulously at the cells in the corridor, and at the seemingly young girl locked inside: "You’re saying, that child... eats them?"
"Yes, the criminals here are fed to him as food after they die, though not the one you’re looking at. She’s Skin Peeler Sara. Your mother must have scared you with her stories when you were little," said the Punisher beside Malin with a smile.
Jason’s eyes widened as he looked at the girl, who was bashfully watching him.
The realization that she could easily have been his great-grandmother, a murderous maniac, finally brought home the truth of the adage: don’t judge a book by its cover.
To judge by appearances is truly fatal.
"Mr. Farum, don’t scare Mr. Jason. The child actually doesn’t eat humans. He prefers the flesh and blood of Chaos. That’s why I said the love of his mother is what matters, because even after becoming Chaos, she still nourished the child with her flesh and blood. We had never seen a mother do such a thing before, and we still haven’t seen a second mother do the same after that," Malin said while turning to glance at Chief Jonathan: "We will soon meet the Mr. Shibian you wish to see, but I suspect it will disappoint you."
Having said that, Malin led the two out of the corridor into a circular hall that resembled a Combat Arena.
Here, he could see the gentleman they had brought in last night writhing like a catfish in electric currents, the first Infiltrator to enjoy the gold nugget idea from another world, having been subjected to the Array.
Malin intentionally created an experience of transcendence that Gravediggers from these worlds could never hope for.
"This isn’t Shibian," Mr. Jonathan shook his head.
"No, this is indeed Mr. Shibian whom we brought from the Shibian residence last night."
After Malin finished speaking, he turned to look at the hanging clock: "Just three hours. Stop the Array, and let our Chaotic Infiltrator reflect properly."
Then he noticed Chief Jonathan collapsing to the ground, breaking down, and eventually holding his head as he cried out loud.
Malin looked at Jason: "Can you explain this?"
"I don’t know," Jason gave a very clear answer.
But still, someone offered an explanation for Jason. The old Bishop from the Church of the War God emerged from the corridor to Malin’s side: "Chief Jonathan’s paternal surname is Shibian, and his mother’s family shed all their blood in the last Tide of the Dead, so, he is the only one in the family who took his mother’s surname."
"No wonder he wanted to know so badly if it was Shibian I captured," Malin said with some understanding—The Shibian family had only that adult male, Guda Shibian. He did have several sisters, only...: "Is the Shibian family also among the thirty heroes of the past?"