Chapter 403: Mermaid
Despite the operational halt, Hope Island's harbor district was still bustling with idle workers, waiting for odd jobs on the steps leading down to the docks. The idle workers revealed gloating looks upon seeing a group of people in black uniforms rushing into the Golden Fairy.
There wasn't any enmity between them and the tavern owner; they were just happy to see rich people suffer.
The deserted, high-end tavern instantly became chaotic as Aliya rushed into the tavern with District 3's police officers. The patrons of the tavern, as well as the girls entertaining them, panicked instantly and rushed out of the tavern.
The red-haired Aliya didn't even bother with any pleasantries; she whipped out her gun and pointed it at the head of a man embracing two women at once.
"I-I did not commit any crimes, officer! Every single bottle of liquor in my establishment has gone through rigorous customs procedures, and their duties are paid as well. There's not a single bottle of smuggled liquor here!" exclaimed the bearded man wearing a golden coat.
"This thing has apparently come from the sewers of your tavern! What on earth is this?!" Aliya exclaimed, almost shoving the green conical scale in the bearded man's face.
"I have no idea what that thing is, officer! I really don't know! I didn't commit any crimes as well. What is this? Are you trying to threaten me? And what is that green thing? How could something like that come from my tavern?" the bearded man replied, and the expression on his face showed that he wasn't lying at all.
"Do you really think that just because you've washed your hands, your hands can already be considered clean from the dirty crimes you've committed? I know what you did, Karst," said a hooded man while walking toward Karst, the bearded man wearing a golden coat.
"You opened this tavern using ill-gotten wealth, and I was just too lazy to even bother with you until now. If you keep lying to me, you better not blame me for tearing this tavern of yours apart!"
Karst cast a surprised gaze upon the hooded man. He didn't expect the hooded man to know about his past, and the fact caught Karst off guard. No one on Hope Island was supposed to know him so well, so he had to ask, "Friend, may I know who you are?"
"You're asking who I am?" The hooded man lifted his hood, revealing a terrifying fishman head as he lunged right up to Karst's face before the latter could even react to the reveal. "I'm none other than fucking Dipp! You actually asked me who I am?!"
Karst reeled back in horror as he cried out, "Chief Dipp?! How is that possible?! G-goodness! What happened to you?!"
"Cut the crap!" Dipp snatched the sharp, conical scale from Aliya's hand and thrust it into Karst's neck. "You better tell me where this thing is from right now! Beat around the bush, and I'll turn your brain into mush!"
Bang!
A loud noise echoed as the police officers of District 3 kicked open the door to Golden Fairy's basement. They looked around with their flashlights until they found a large water tank. A figure with a white upper body and a green lower body was swimming in the murky seawater inside the water tank.
The creature poked its head out of the water tank upon hearing the commotion at the door, and the charming face of a young girl appeared before everyone's eyes; the young girl waved her hands excitedly at the crowd inside the basement.
Karst immediately defended himself. "I just wanted to attract more customers to my tavern, which is why I decided to get a mermaid. Slave trading is illegal on Hope Island, but there aren't any laws prohibiting the harboring of mermaids!
"In other words, I did not break any laws! And as I said earlier, I didn't commit any crimes as well."
"That's a mermaid? I haven't heard of mermaids eating just human brains," Dipp said. He aimed his gun at the water tank and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet tore through the water tank, and the mermaid tumbled onto the basement floor along with the gushing water. The police officers of District 3 showed no mercy as they whipped out their weapons and rained down bullets on the mermaid.
However, the new holes in the "mermaid" didn't bleed. Instead, pus-like green thin worms crawled out from inside the wound.
"How disgusting hurry up and kill it! This mermaid has become a host of parasites, and her belly is full of those disgusting worms!"
The police officers fired nonstop, but the "mermaid" didn't seem like it was going to die anytime soon. As more new holes were created in the mermaid's torso, more and more pus-like green thin worms squirmed out of the mermaid.
Soon, a grotesque noise echoed as the lower and upper body of the "mermaid" split into two, connected only by a myriad of writhing green thin worms; the charming young girl earlier had vanished and was replaced by a terrifying monster.
A deluge of pus-like green thin worms rushed out of the "mermaid" like noodles. The thin worms quickly pervaded the turbid seawater on the floor and squirmed their way toward Dipp and the other police officers.
The bullets tore the thin worms apart, but what remained of their body squirmed incessantly toward the door.
"Bullets are useless, so let's go hardcore!"
Before the thin worms could reach Dipp, boiling hot oil was poured down on them, and a sizzling noise immediately pervaded the basement. Dipp could feel his skin getting dry as he stood before the conflagration.
The thin worms thrashed violently in the flames, but they eventually curled up and died, unable to withstand the inferno. Dipp sighed in relief at the sight. It was a good thing that the brain-eating worms weren't that strong despite their numbers.
If those worms had managed to propagate throughout Hope Island, things would have gotten extremely chaotic, and it would have been extremely difficult to resolve the issue by then.
"Get ready to put out the fire. I don't want us to cause a huge fire in the harbor district after having just resolved this case."
The police officers of District 3 put away their artifacts and guns before immediately getting ready to put out the fire.
Meanwhile, Karst looked anguished at the revelation. He finally realized why the mermaid was sold to him at such a low price. It turned out that there was something wrong with the mermaid!
However, Karst was more concerned about the fact that he was involved in such a huge incident, as it meant that he would have to pay a massive fine. Karst had paid for the mermaid, and he would have to pay a hefty fine as well. Karst knew that his efforts over the past year were wasted just then.
While Karst was ruminating in anguish over his losses, he felt something twitching in his nose, causing him to flinch. Karst stuck two fingers into his nose and found something soft inside.
Karst pinched and pulled it out sharply, causing an indescribable pleasure to course through him. The sensation was strange, and it felt like his brain was being hooked out of his head.
Looking down, Karst was instantly horrified. What he had pulled out was the same thin worm that had burst out of the "mermaid" earlier like a deluge.
"Ah! T-t-this is" Before Karst could scream, the thin worms poured out of his mouth, nose, and every single one of his orifices.
The thin worms seemed intelligent, and they made a beeline for Dipp, whose back was facing them.
"Boss, watch out!"
The thin worms were about to make contact with Dipp when his figure blurred as he transformed into a deep blue mist. Dipp whipped around, and the dagger in his hand moved swiftly, slicing the thin worms into dozens of pieces.
When Dipp reached Karst, the latter's arms had already been dismembered by the thin worms.
"Save me" Karst pleaded with a gaze full of desperation.
However, the trail of brain fluid that the thin worms had left behind told Dipp that Karst could not be saved.
Dipp lifted his right foot and lashed out, sending the staggering Karst toward the sea of flames behind him. The flames immediately consumed Karst, and his corpse was reduced to ashes along with the unfortunate mermaid.
Dipp didn't dare to waste time as he turned to his subordinates and roared, "I want a cordon around this place, now! No one is allowed to leave without my permission! Some of us may have been infected by those worms as well!"
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