Chapter 338: The Best Person (2)

Giant Horn City was one of the cities that had passed down this ancient art from generation to generation.

Giant Horn City had risen to prominence for its expertise in creating Fertile Containers. It once held the honor of having the Heirs it produced inherit the power of Fertile for seven consecutive generations.

These seven previous Heirs were the reason for the massive portraits hanging in the corridor.

The last portrait was of Song Yushi. This was because even the Abyssal Plan had employed techniques provided by Giant Horn City, using artisans who hailed from the city.

But this was also the beginning of a conflicted mindset.

The initiation of the Seven Days of Divine Descent Plan forced the Heir program to be suspended. Giant Horn City handed over its best researchers and the core techniques for creating Heirs to assist with the execution of the Seven Days of Divine Descent Plan. Furthermore, on the council’s orders, they shut down their laboratories.

But Giant Horn City was not content with this and secretly continued its research on Heirs.

It seemed the upper echelons of Giant Horn City firmly believed the Abyssal Plan would fail.

The higher-ups would still need Heirs.

Sooner or later, the world would still need these ancient arts for its preservation, so they had to create even better Heirs.

The Old Count of Skinning Manor had originally been drawn in by Giant Horn City’s expertise in this field. Under the pretext of researching grain, he even bought some of their “semi-finished products” to take back with him.

However, what he truly wanted to study was the Upper-Rank Power of the Black Goat. His ultimate goal was to use the Black Goat to summon Fertile into the physical world.

For generations, Giant Horn City had researched how to seal the power of Fertile. They did not covet it for themselves, and they certainly would never allow it to enter the physical world.

It was this fundamental disagreement that caused the two sides to have a falling out.

This fat woman had only known that the Little Lamb Girl was a “semi-finished product” the Old Count had purchased from Giant Horn City; she didn’t know why the girl had returned. But Han Su, connecting this with what he had seen before, already understood.

After buying the Little Lamb Girl, the Old Count placed her in Black Valley Village, using her to corrupt all the villagers. This was actually the same method used by the secret prisons: giving an Abnormal a false environment of freedom to lure out their true nature.

It was a method for breaking through Giant Horn City’s technological containment.

He used the villagers’ worship to try and activate the true will of the Black Goat, thereby opening a channel to Fertile.

In fact, he had made some progress. While in Black Valley Village, the Little Lamb Girl had mutated again.

She was beginning to approach perfection, able to directly influence plant life. This meant she was becoming a mature specimen.

It was this unique development that made Giant Horn City want to fight to get her back. Someone there had noticed something unusual about this “stray” Black Goat—the girl who was now out in the world.

They even realized she might be the perfect Fertile Container—the very thing Giant Horn City had been trying to create for so many years.

What followed was a struggle between the two sides.

Only after the Little Lamb Girl summoned the Fertile Forest right in front of everyone did Giant Horn City suddenly realize the truth: the Count had broken the one principle they had upheld for so many years. If the Circuit Knights were alerted, Giant Horn City could face annihilation.

Their secret research into Heirs could very likely have been forgiven by the council.

But meddling with the power of Fertile crossed the ultimate line.

That was an unforgivable crime!

“BEEP—”

Just as Han Su was rapidly absorbing all this information from the dead woman’s soul, a strange siren suddenly blared.

A strange and dangerous presence began to close in from all sides. Intersecting beams of light, like sharp swords, lanced toward their position.

Han Su slowly released the fat woman’s soul, allowing it to struggle and dissipate within the prison.

He glanced at the Little Lamb Girl, his expression complicated.

‘Ever since seeing her in Black Valley Village, I haven’t really seen her as a child—just a corrupted monster. Back in Qinggang, I dealt with far too many things that seemed harmless on the surface but were actually extremely dangerous.’

‘That’s why I wouldn’t have minded killing her, using her as a bargaining chip to achieve my goals, or even just handing her over.’

‘So when I found out she really was just a little kid, it stirred up some very complicated feelings.’

The Little Lamb Girl stared blankly at Han Su. Only after he released the fat woman’s soul did she dare to approach. She gave Han Su a little push with her small hands and pointed toward the window at the end of the corridor.

Han Su looked into her vacant eyes and understood. She was telling him to escape, and quickly. The strange thing was, she showed no intention of going with him.

The other children had also opened their eyes. Their faces filled with fear, they huddled together in a corner.

Outside, the chaotic lights and shrill whistles were closing in fast.

The sound of footsteps, the approach of some strange presence—it all created a terrifying pressure in one’s chest.

The children grew more and more frightened, but surprisingly, they didn’t make a sound.

They just hugged each other tighter, showing no intention of asking him for help. Not one of them even looked his way.

Looking at the Little Lamb Girl trying to push him away, and these other children who refused to ask for help, Han Su suddenly understood.

‘They don’t trust me.’

‘These children were brought here from all over. They’ve lived here, undergoing all sorts of experiments, for as long as they can remember. They stick together, but they’ve never believed that an adult could take care of them.’