Chapter 97: Assignment
"They'll find out sooner or later. Right now, all eyes worldwide are on us."
"We need to make a decision quickly."
"We can't drag this out any longer."
In the dimly lit meeting hall, a few figures were scattered sporadically.
Above the hall hung a large eye-shaped ornament, symbolizing the Association's motto of "Gaze into the Abyss."
A human man sat at the head, dressed immaculately, a corner of a pristine handkerchief peeking from his pocket. The light streaming in through the window illuminated everything below his chest, leaving his upper half obscured in darkness, his features indiscernible.
Only those eyes, weathered yet unnatural, emitted an eerie green glow amid the darkness.
A coin danced between his agile fingers.
He listened quietly to the increasingly heated arguments among the Association's high-ranking members but uttered not a word.
"Storage is becoming troublesome; it's drained too much of our resources, and the curse's power keeps escalating."
"There's nothing to hide. Externally, we can term this as an accident, and our efforts to contain the curse might even be seen as responsible behavior."
"Don't be naive. Thanks to that elf dwarf, we're walking on a razor's edge. Once this comes out, none of us will escape unscathed."
The commotion persisted until someone turned their gaze to the man who hadn't spoken: "President, don't you have an opinion? How should we handle the curse? We can't keep it under wraps for long."
The coin in the president's hand halted, landing on the table with a crisp sound, and a casually profound voice cut through, "There's a simple and easy solution, requiring no significant funds or manpower. Why hasn't anyone suggested it?"
Whispers filled the hall.
"President, do you mean..."
"Release the curse, let the world deal with it."
An immediate hush fell over the hall.
They had contemplated this approach, but no one had proposed it. Because it clearly crossed a moral boundary.
And breaking boundaries only happened zero or infinite times.
"It's just a trivial curse; it won't cause world-ending havoc," the president continued flipping the coin. "Our world is vast; digesting this bit of cursed power is effortless. Imagine the impact after the curse is diluted across the globe."
"Considering it on a global scale, the impact indeed seems negligible." After a brief silence, someone voiced their support.
"That makes sense. Perhaps a few forests could absorb this bit of curse. You know, forests have ample vegetation."
"But we must be extremely cautious. Once discovered..."
"We should choose a remote location as the release point."
"This is a task that must be handled with utmost care. It should be classified as the Association's top-secret."
The discussions in the hall involuntarily softened.
Whispers.
Murmurs.
Like whispers of demons.
...
"A new day begins."
Hua Mi stretched lazily towards the sunrise.
Last night's rest had been excellent, and his mental energy had fully recovered.
Early as usual, he headed to the greenhouse to tend to the flower fields.
Speaking of which, how was David Clark doing?
Could the unicorn really help him turn back into a human?
If unsuccessful, he wondered where David would go from here.
After all, as a vampire spawn, returning to human society was nearly impossible.
Hua Mi pondered these matters while tending to the farm chores.
Around noon, Carter arrived at the cabin.
He brought two gold coins for Hua Mi.
"This is the reward for the mission. Most of it came from the mayor; the Little Ford family didn't have much money, so they provided some supplies." Carter explained, "We all agreed that you should receive half of it, considering the significant effort you put in."
Hua Mi didn't refuse; he had indeed exerted considerable effort.
"Is everything settled regarding the mission?"
"Yes, everything's taken care of," Carter replied, appearing somewhat nostalgic. "Evidence strongly suggests that Theresa most likely committed suicide by poisoning herself. We found traces of poison in her room. Based on the timing, it seems she did it after hearing about Little Ford's death."
"..."
A sacrifice for love?
Alas, that was too foolish.
"Why did Little Ford come to the Black Forest then?"
"To prove himself to Theresa's family. Her father and two brothers, especially, felt he was too weak and never approved of Theresa being with him.
"Theresa's elder brother told us that one day, he made a bet with Little Ford to undergo a test in the Black Forest. If he succeeded, he'd earn their approval. The elder brother was merely teasing him and never took it seriously, but Little Ford did. He naively came to the Black Forest alone. However, he wasn't an adventurer, and the forest was too unfamiliar and complex for him. Perhaps he encountered danger or was poisoned... Ultimately, this absurd and meaningless venture led to his death.
"By some stroke of luck, he revived on the day of the funeral, but Theresa wasn't as fortunate."
Hard to say if he was lucky or unlucky.
After that, it seemed to unfold as previously speculated—the revenant took over Theresa's body and deceived Little Ford.
Perhaps claiming to urgently need a part from the unicorn to save her life, with no time to spare.
So, Little Ford accepted the vampire's pact, accompanying her to confront the unicorn in the Black Forest.
Recalling the scene, even in his near-deranged state, Little Ford unmistakably protected Theresa's body from being harmed during the battle, allowing her to rest in peace intact.
It was evident how deeply he cared for her.
The revenant wearing Theresa's skin easily manipulated him.
Love makes one blind.
The Pseudo-Flower Spirits listened tearfully.
"So pitiful."
"I hope they'll meet again after death."
"If they can linger as spirits, won't they be together?"
"Spirits don't belong in the mortal realm; your idea is too selfish. Besides, they're just ordinary people; whether they stay or not isn't their decision."
"Yeah, what if one stays while the other can't? That would be even sadder."
Seeing their downcast expressions, Hua Mi offered a kind smile, "Shall we head to the greenhouse then? Focusing on work might help you forget the sadness."
...
Under the diligent work of the Pseudo-Flower Spirits, the flower fields flourished.
The mother goddess's gift of honey was within reach.
The bee colonies here were comprised of Power Bees and Azure Fire Bees.
Another addition was the Bloodsucker Bees.
While they couldn't produce flames like the others, they inherited the Fire Bees' fire-resistant nature, unbothered by high temperatures.
Another group was stationed in the Thunder Flower Field, expected to yield valuable by-products during the honey-making process.
Days passed, yet there was no news from David Clark.
Hua Mi planned to seek out the Tree Spirit himself.
With the assistance of scouting bees, this task wasn't insurmountable for him.
So, that day, carrying the storage container gifted by Alyss, he set out to find the Tree Spirit.
However, progress didn't unfold as smoothly as he'd imagined.
After a morning's search, there was no sign of the Tree Spirit at all.
Hunting requires not only acute senses but also experience to a certain degree.
An experienced hunter would methodically proceed, while
he was just flitting around aimlessly, highly inefficient.
"This won't do; it's wasting too much time."
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