13 Mink Street

Chapter 140: Code Of Order

The sedan was moving. Karon had intended to steal a bit more sleep, but just as he leaned his head against the window, Alfred, who was driving, freed one hand and passed over a small cushion. “Young Master, use this.”

“Where did you find it?”

“After I dropped you off at Apple Street, I went and bought it.”

Karon braced the cushion against the window, leaned into it, and closed his eyes. “Very comfortable.”

Alfred smiled and kept his attention on the road.

Little John had originally thought that saying the word “pigpen” would spark Karon’s interest. Anyone who has ever tried to curry favor knows that sometimes, just getting the person you are flattering to speak a few extra sentences can feel like a gift.

Instead, Karon’s flat reaction caused Little John’s mood to drop.

Mr. Pavaro reached over the seat to rest a hand on Little John’s head. The child felt a chill run across his scalp, and he jerked out of reflex. This man felt like he was dead.

“In fact, it has a soul.”

Confused, Little John asked, “It? Who are you referring to?”

“The thing you just mentioned.”

“The pigpen?”

“It’s taking revenge.”

“This...”

“You are its target.”

“Me?”

“You might think that having these special abilities is fun right now, but later on, when your corruption worsens and you lose control, you will regret that your parents ever gave birth to you.”

Mr. Pavaro withdrew his hand from Little John’s head, but the boy shivered yet again. “Then I- what should I do?”

Alfred spoke up, “You should learn faith.”

“Faith... then which church should I believe in.”

“Believe in the true first church.”

“But specifically, which is that?”

“You think you can believe just because you want to? This church has very strict review requirements for every believer.” At present, the only believers of this church were Alfred himself, plus half a cat and half a dog.

“Oh, okay.” Little John had no idea how to respond.

A short stretch of quiet passed.

“Mr. Alfred, can you put on a song,” Mr. Pavaro asked.

“Of course. Which one would you like to hear?”

“Anything is fine. I used to think listening to music was a waste of time, but now I feel that wasting time is itself a kind of beauty; a very luxurious kind of beauty.”

Alfred turned on the car’s radio. Soon, a melody and singing flowed out of the speakers. It was the song Karon had heard before, Write a Letter to My Past Self.

Mr. Pavaro tucked his neck deeper into his coat collar and tried to relax as much as possible. Of course, that was merely how it felt to him; His muscles had long since stiffened.

With his eyes closed, Karon said, “Feeling it?”

Mr. Pavaro smiled. “Now, anything I see or hear can stir something within me.”

Little John cut in, “So sensitive.”

Karon kept his eyes closed and continued sleeping, but Mr. Pavaro kept listening.

Little John suddenly went bug eyed. He bolted upright in his seat again, and the toe of his shoe awkwardly rubbed against the floor. Because of Alfred, the car radio acted like a CD player, and the song kept looping.

Karon fell fast asleep. His last few days had been too busy, and he had not had any time for proper sleep. He did not know how long he slept when he was awoken by Alfred’s voice, “Young Master, Young Master.”

Karon opened his eyes, set the cushion down, and pinched his neck as he asked, “Are we there?”

“Almost, Young Master. Um, do you think that truck up ahead looks familiar?”

Karon leaned toward the middle of the car to look out the windshield. “It does look familiar; that ad on the cargo box.”

“Exactly, Young Master. The last time you drove, on our way home, there was a traffic accident ahead of us involving a sedan colliding with a truck. It was a company vehicle with one taillight broken, and it still hasn’t been fixed. I remember it. That’s the same truck.”

“What a coincidence.” Karon paused. “And they’re playing the same song.”

“Young Master, a bit ahead of us is Marston Sausage Works. This truck is going in the same direction as us.”

Karon nodded.

They arrived at the sausage factory. The gate met the road at the bottom of a slope. They were open, and as the truck drove in, another truck drove out. Even at this hour, the factory still appeared to be quite busy.

“I never thought we would show up like this and knock right on the door,” Mr. Pavaro commented with a bit of excitement.

Karon smiled. “This is how my grandpa taught me.”

Alfred drove straight past the gate without stopping. After going a bit farther, he turned the car off the road and parked in an alley. There was a soft grating sound, and he sucked in a cold, pained breath. “Damn it! We scraped.”

Little John immediately tried to comfort him. “It’s just a car.”

Alfred ignored him and hurried out to check the damage.

Little John was left speechless. He did not know what was wrong with the night. He kept trying to join the group, flattering his way into a conversation, yet every time he spoke, he seemed to get things wrong.

Karon helped Mr. Pavaro out of the car. Alfred said, troubled, “I didn’t expect a utility pole to be in this alley. I’ll need to touch up the paint.”

Karon said, “It’s fine. A car is just a tool.”

Pu’er, who had slept during the entire car ride, was now riding on Kevin’s back. “Woof.”

“We checked this place before, but didn’t find anything unusual. It looks like there’s a simple concealment ritual array in place here.”

“I’ll investigate.” Alfred took out a small pouch, shook out some white powder onto the ground, then placed a few charcoal-like black lumps on top of the powder. They were materials for ritual arrays. When Karon had left Allen Manor, Alfred, who had spent time in the manor practicing ritual arrays, had brought some extra materials with him.

“Do we have enough materials left,” Karon asked.

Alfred shook his head. “Young Master, we next need to find a way to earn some credits.”

“Me and the stupid dog also need some specific materials.”

Mr. Pavaro said, “Once I collect my pay, we can buy them through the Church of Order’s connections. We can offer credits to a courier who comes by three times a month. He’ll help buy things in the main district and then bring them back.”

Pu’er said, “Your monthly pay isn’t enough to even buy Bloodspirit Powder, so how will it cover what we need?”

As soon as the words were spoken, Pu’er knew she had misspoken. She immediately said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

Mr. Pavaro replied, “Sometimes, I also wonder if I chose wrong.”

“You didn’t,” Karon said.

“But in front of my eyes, it’s hard for me to see where I did right.”

“You are someone who did his duty. How could that be wrong? As for what you said about not seeing where you did right, that’s because what is wrong is not you, but the church.”

“I’m starting to understand why you said that with your status, the people you least want to deal with are those from the Church of Order.”

“Order is Order, and the church is the church. What we believe in is Order.”

Karon did not say, “Order is Order, and the God of Order is the God of Order.”

“You see more clearly than I do.”

“You delve deeper than I do.”

“All of a sudden, I feel a little honored. Later, you can use my name and identity, no, that’s not the right way to put it. I would feel honored for you to use a mask made from my name and identity to provide you with a bit of convenience.”

“Woof.” Hearing that, Kevin barked, and his tail wagged excitedly. He even shifted his back about, trying to tell Pu’er atop of him to hurry up and translate.

“He says he’s the same.”

“The ritual array is ready. I’m going to test it.” Alfred stood and began to chant a spell from the Church of Principle.

He had prepared a simple test array. It was quite low level, and its only use was to sense if there was a ritual array operating nearby, but if the array was even slightly more advanced, nothing would be detected.

The black pieces placed in the center of the white powder burned, and were quickly consumed, releasing white smoke. Alfred stared at the way the smoke drifted, and finally confirmed, “Young Master, there is indeed a ritual array in the direction of the sausage factory.”

“How do we get in?” Mr. Pavaro asked. “Do we just force our way in?”

“Lucky for us, my grandpa taught me this too.”

Hearing that, Alfred ran off without needing to be told.

About a quarter of an hour later, a truck drove up in front of them. The driver’s eyes were dull. Alfred sat in the passenger seat. “Young Master, Mr. Pavaro, please get in. The factory is huge, and walking in would be tiring. It’s more convenient to go by truck.”

Alfred climbed out and walked over to open the cargo box, yet when he opened it, Alfred froze. He had taken over the truck right after it had exited the factory and he had not even had time to check it.

Karon helped Mr. Pavaro over and saw that the truck’s cargo was stacked bones. They were not human bones, but the skeletons of livestock.

“You should sit in the passenger seat, Young Master,” Alfred suggested.

“No need. I’ll sit here.” They still needed to get past the factory gate, and sitting inside the cab side would be crowded and inconvenient.

Karon helped Mr. Pavaro into the cargo box. The man sat down, and Karon joined him.

The golden retriever jumped in and immediately lay down. He even sniffed the air, seeming to enjoy the environment.

Little John also climbed up, but the moment he did, his face turned paper white. He crouched down and hugged his knees while trembling violently.

Mr. Pavaro asked, “Do you know what kept me investigating this case?”

“Tell me.”

“For these last few years, almost every night I would stand at the doors to my two daughters’ bedroom for a while. I could hear them choking back their sobs as they were tormented by their illness, suffering great pain. As their father, I felt their pain as well. I don’t know how many times I prayed that I could transfer the corruption from them to myself.

“After I started this investigation, when I went to sleep each night, the crying that reached my ears was no longer that of my daughters. Instead, I felt as if I heard many girls crying. They were all in pain, and they were pitiful. Most of them were about the same age as my daughters. They were of an age when they should bloom like flowers. Why should they suffer this kind of devastation?

“I couldn’t sleep if I didn’t complete the investigation.”

Karon closed his eyes and nodded.

“So I have to thank you. I originally thought that even if I didn’t complete the investigation, I could at least close my eyes forever. I didn’t expect you would hear my prayers.”

“Can I be honest with you about something?”

“Of course. For someone who might have only a single day remaining, what honest words can’t be said?”

“I can’t feel the same way as you. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have children, or maybe because I’ve always been rather detached by nature.”

“But you took my investigation notes from Annie. You even took me home and awakened me. Now, you’ve even brought me here. You may think that you are detached, but that doesn’t stop you from doing all these things.

“Maybe you aren’t really detached, but it’s because you have always had a set of rules you strictly follow. People with a strong ability to act usually don’t have much leisure to address their richer emotions. It’s not only that they don’t have the time, but more that they feel there is no need.”

“I am a psychiatrist."

“I’ve heard of that profession. It seems very lucrative.”

“So do I owe you a consultation fee?”

“Of course. Forty rels. It’s a fixed price.”

Karon and Pavaro both chuckled.

Pu’er lifted a paw and smacked Kevin lightly on the head.

“Meow. Meow.” (Do you think that smug little look makes you impressive? Look at them. That’s what you call refinement.)

“Woof...” Kevin looked deeply aggrieved.

The truck started back up. It turned around and returned to the factory’s gate, where it was stopped. Voices could be heard outside, but the truck quickly started moving again without turning back. Alfred must have controlled the driver during the factory’s security check.

“The defenses here are very loose,” Mr. Pavaro observed.

“That’s because just finding this place is difficult,” Karon said. “The real defenses are outside, not here.”

“Because of what happened today, I think they must have seen an entire region of the night sky light up.”

“Exactly,” Karon answered. “Tonight, they will be short on manpower.”

Many members of the Raphael family had been dragged over to serve as cannon fodder, and they had suffered heavy casualties, while people from the Church of Order had also been summoned to hunt down the Light vermin. This was truly the night when the factory’s defenses were at their weakest.

“All of a sudden, I feel that being hasty and direct can be a good thing.” Mr. Pavaro smiled. “Because then you don’t have to keep chewing and weighing things again and again. Not only might you lose an opportunity, but after repeatedly weighing a matter, you might still fail to think of a method that is more secure and more complete.”

“Yes.”

“So is that something else your grandfather taught you?”

“No.” Karon shook his head. “When I was with my grandpa, I could be as impulsive as I pleased. I didn’t need to weigh anything, because I didn’t need to worry about bearing the cost of failure or mistakes.”

The truck tilted forward as it started down a slope. They seemed to be entering something like an underground parking area.

At last, the truck stopped, and the cargo door opened. “Young Master, we’re here. You can get down. The workers in this workshop just finished the night shift. The few guards who are still here are all Tier-1 in the faith system.”

Karon helped Mr. Pavaro down. Kevin jumped down with Pu’er still on his back.

Little John still crouched in the truck, trembling harder than ever. He had once secretly hidden in his father’s car and visited this place. After his father found out, he slapped the child. That was the only time in Little John’s memory that his father had ever struck him.

At this time, Little John suddenly felt cold all over, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. Even breathing had become difficult.

“He shouldn’t have come,” Mr. Pavaro said. “This is where he was corrupted.”

“He’s repaying a little debt for his father. Get down.”

Little John looked at Karon. With visible effort, he forced himself to his feet, then clumsily climbed down from the truck. When he landed, his footing slipped and he fell. He did not cry out. Instead, he wrapped his arms around himself, shrinking down, flinching back from some unseen thing around him.

He eventually instinctively edged closer to Karon. The moment their bodies made contact, something rose up in Little John’s mind, the words he had once spoken during his session with Karon: “Your words shatter my pride. So, I’m just that fool who likes to twist his body in a pigpen fence to show off his fat?”

Now Little John trembled incessantly, murmuring, “I was wrong. I was wrong. I was wrong...”

“Young Master, this way.” Alfred led them forward. More precisely, a guard led the way, but the man was already under Alfred’s control.

Ahead of them stood a large sliding door. Alfred stepped forward and pulled it open, revealing what lay beyond.

Karon and the others stood on a raised platform. Down below, beneath the harsh glare of exposed lightbulbs, stretched a layout that was no different from a pig farm, except that each pen did not hold any: there were people.

Some were pale. Some were little more than skin and bone. All of them had been reduced beyond recognition. Not one still stood. Every last one of them was laying on the ground. It was possible that they no longer even had the strength to rise.

Several noticed movement up above and looked up. Even their eyes were empty; numb and devoid of all expectations.

Below stood a row of buckets, filled with stored blood.

Behind them ran a drainage trench. A dark liquid pooled inside it, and bodies floated there, having been discarded.

The air was thick with a rancid, stale stench. It was a scene that overturned something fundamental, because one could see with one’s own eyes how human beings were being raised as livestock.

Karon stood there, looking down. Mr. Pavaro’s emotions had already reached a breaking point. He dropped to his knees, eyes shut, fists clenched, and let out a low, trembling growl. “How can they dare... How can they truly dare... How can they dare to do this? They represent Order!”

Karon was about to kneel and steady him, but the man struggled to his feet on his own and gently pushed away Karon’s supporting hand.

He opened his eyes. He looked down once more. His expression was solemn, devout. “Following my investigation, it has been confirmed that this site is conducting the activities of a heretical church through the mutilation of ordinary citizens.

“In accordance with the Supplementary Provisions, Chapter Thirteen, Article One of the Code of Order, this site is hereby sealed. All members of the churches involved in this matter will be held accountable.”