The Survival Rules of NPCs

Chapter 4: Clues to the Blood Knight

"Good morning, Mr. Anglie..."

"Good morning, Attorney Charles..."

Unlike the refugee district in the north, Rose Avenue in the south of the city is home to a large number of the middle class in Holy Stone City. The streets here are clean and tidy, lined with many beautiful purple roses. Pedestrians are well-dressed and greet each other politely when they meet someone they know. It is a completely different world from the messy and smelly environment in the north of the city.

As soon as Bright entered the area, he could feel the strange looks he was getting from many people. Clearly, his clothes were out of place with the surroundings. Along the way, at least four sheriffs questioned him about his identity and background.

Compared to the refugee area in the north of the city, where people can simply pay a cremation fee to settle their deaths, the security guards in this area are clearly much more diligent.

The fundamental reason is that the people living in this area can pay sufficient taxes. The salaries of the sheriffs assigned to this area are three times higher than those in the North District. The key is that the sheriffs living here can always come into contact with useful people in this class. For example, the two I just greeted are a lawyer and a senior accountant from a local bank. The former can provide you with legal advice when you make a mistake, and the latter can recommend good financial products with low risk and good returns.

Sheriffs may not be considered a high-end profession, but the people in this area rely on them to ensure the safety of the area and are willing to maintain good relationships with them. As a result, sheriffs living in this area can enjoy the best medical, legal, financial, and educational services in Holy Stone City.

This was the circle that Brett once envied the most, but now his assets wouldn't even be enough to buy a toilet here!

Bright quickly found his target: the female knight who had brought Dog Egg's corpse last time.

At this moment, she was leading the security guards on patrol of the area she was responsible for. People passing by would respectfully bow from a distance. Before coming, Bright had inquired and learned that this female knight named Elsie had a very good reputation.

First of all, the other party comes from the Griffiths, an old knightly family in Holy Stone City with a history of two hundred years. This female knight also answered the king's call to participate in the war against the southern barbarians and returned with battlefield glory.

During his seven years back in St. Stone City, he reportedly managed the Rose Avenue area exceptionally well. No perpetrator who attempted to disrupt the area escaped punishment. Over those seven years, the security on Rose Avenue improved significantly, indirectly attracting more and more middle-class residents and creating a thriving community.

Could such a person be a traitor within the Blood Cult?

If it weren't for the fact that the notes had never been wrong, Bright would have doubted the authenticity of the information.

"Lord Elsie," Bright stepped forward and bowed.

The other person frowned and looked at Bright. Normally, when it was just a simple greeting, people would bow from a distance and not disturb the inspection. But the other person directly blocked his way.

"I remember you, the corpse collector at the crematorium in the north of the city, I think your name is... Bright, right?" The other person looked at Bright with questioning eyes: "What do you need me for?"

"It's about the body," Bright said, bowing his head. "There are some things I need to report to you privately."

"The female corpse?" The female knight shook her head directly and said, "I was only responsible for escorting it. If there are any problems with the corpse afterwards, you should find George, the knight and sheriff in charge of the North District."

He then decided to lead the team to continue their patrol.

Seeing this, Bright didn't mince words and said directly, "It's about the Blood Cult."

Elsie's gray eyes narrowed sharply, and when she looked at Bright again, the cold light deep in her eyes was colder than the surrounding wind and snow.

"You continue your patrol."

"Yes, sir."

After the others left, Elsie finally took a closer look at the unassuming corpse collector.

With gray hair, fair skin, and features reminiscent of the Eastern Shire, her features, though lacking the three-dimensionality of the Highgardeners, were delicate and gentle. Her beautiful, jet-black eyes were even more profound than the common blue or gray eyes of the Holy Stone City.

If he dressed up properly, his appearance might not be any worse than those pampered young noblemen. However, as a corpse collector, even with a good appearance, he probably wouldn't be able to marry a girl from a good family.

But how could someone of such lowly status know about their secrets? Who is behind it all?

"Shall we find a quiet place to talk?"

"Let's talk here." Bright felt reassured; the intelligence was indeed correct. The first intelligence report stated that there were members of the Blood Cult within the Knights' team, and yesterday's updated intelligence report said that due to player interference, she would be exposed prematurely.

The notes are written in Chinese characters that do not exist in this world. The character "she" should not be misspelled. There are only ten knight positions in Holy Stone City, and only one of them is for a woman.

"Is it convenient to talk here?" Elsie asked, frowning.

"It's quite convenient," Bright said casually. "The surroundings are spacious with a good view, and people will keep their distance when they bow to you. The people here are well-mannered and won't deliberately try to eavesdrop."

"You're quite clever..." Elsie sneered at the other party.

If you were to draw your sword and kill someone from this position, the person behind the victim would immediately receive the news.

"Tell me, what does the person behind you want?"

If someone suspects you, they should investigate secretly without alerting you. If they are sure you are guilty and want to judge you, they wouldn't send a corpse collector to test you; they are more likely trying to threaten you into doing something.

"Lord Allen needs to send a letter out for tonight's banquet, but the prosecutor is keeping a close eye on things lately. We need to infiltrate one of our own people to smuggle the letter out."

Allen?

Elsie was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected that the corpse collector was actually the highly regarded Minister of the Interior.

Allen Wood served as the Minister of the Interior of Holy Stone City for over fifty years, serving three generations of city lords. His seniority was even greater than that of the recently prominent Prosecutor, Lady. Allen Wood had met the old minister many times; he was a learned financial scholar and a kind elder. During his tenure, Holy Stone City developed black tin mines, improved its financial system, and introduced the bank of Mirandil. It can be said that the Minister of the Interior deserves at least 50% of the credit for Holy Stone City's excellent development in recent decades.

At the critical moment when the city lord was about to be assassinated, why would the other party secretly send out a letter? Could it be that the assassination of the city lord's heir is related to him?

"With Lord Allen's abilities, is sending a letter really that difficult?"

"The prosecutors are keeping a close eye on things; there's nothing I can do, otherwise they wouldn't have used someone as lowly as me."

Elsie squinted at the other party. The profession of corpse collector must come from the city lord's seal. Other nobles would not waste their seal power to obtain such a profession. It can only be that the city lord has no choice but to do so in order to ensure the normal operation of the city. I did not expect that such a small person could be won over by Lord Allen. It seems that this Minister of Internal Affairs is not as honest and gentle as he appears. He can even win over such a small person in secret. He is quite cunning.

Why did you choose to contact me?

"Knights can bring their trusted squires to banquets. The prosecutor has already offended many people by keeping an eye on all the nobles. It would be too much to be wary of even the knights' squires. The other knights have no weaknesses that could be threatened."

"Very well!" Elsie nodded with a cold laugh. "The banquet starts at seven o'clock, and I'll finish my inspection at five. Just wait until then and have your people come find me."

"Thank you, sir." Bright quickly bowed. "My master does not wish to be your enemy. This threat was a last resort. My master said this is the first and the last time!"

"I hope so..." Elsie nodded slightly, but her mind was preoccupied with how to resolve this trouble.

The Kingdom of Ryan, where Holy Stone City is located, adheres to the Sun Cult, the most exclusive religion. Once a noble knight like herself is found to have betrayed the faith, she will face the cruelest punishment. Her husband and her children may all be put on trial. She does not want such a weakness to fall into anyone's hands!

After taking his leave, Bright cautiously observed his surroundings, fearing he might be followed. To be honest, he was very reluctant to take this risk himself, but he could only be certain of the female knight's whereabouts when she patrolled Rose Avenue. The banquet was about to begin that evening, and the safest way to catch up was to finalize the cooperation during her patrol. Sending Wang Gou Dan directly to this event, even if he was disguised, would most likely result in him being recognized immediately, potentially leading to a conflict. In order not to miss the mission that evening, he had no choice but to take the risk.

It's not his fault for being in a hurry. If it weren't for the damned Forest Heart Cult's conspiracy and the approaching eerie forest outside the city, he would never have been caught up in this turmoil.

But things are different now. Holy Stone City is likely to be plunged into a terrible supernatural upheaval in a short time. The survival rate of ordinary people like myself is too low if I stay here. It would be better to complete some missions in advance and see if I can make a good fortune. If I can get enough money, even if I flee to other places, I will have the opportunity to buy a good identity.

He carefully returned to his crematorium and took out his notebook again. He remembered that the intelligence information would be updated immediately after he took on the last intelligence mission, and he wanted to see if it would be the same this time.

Upon opening it, the information was indeed different again.

Moreover, this intelligence... is quite unusual.

Intelligence 1: The Blood Cult's envoy infiltrated the Refugee City at 1 PM today and will attempt to contact the Elsie Knights around 5 PM, only to be discovered, thus exposing the identities of the Elsie Blood Cult members.

Intelligence 2: The Blood Cult's envoy is a mystic proficient in mysterious rituals. He has come on behalf of the Blood Cult's high command to bestow upon Elsie the "Divine Blood." The Divine Blood contains extraordinary properties, which could give Elsie a chance to become a "Blood Knight."

Intelligence 3: Elsie was unaware that the Blood Cult's envoy would arrive. Caught off guard, she encountered Sheriff Lady Claire at her residence at 5 PM. Due to the envoy's unauthorized contact, she was exposed and captured!

Intelligence 4: When the banquet begins, the Forest Heart infiltrators will take advantage of the Rose Avenue sheriff being investigated and the resulting security lapses to sneak into all the doctors' homes, kidnap their relatives, and take control of a large number of doctors!

Intelligence 5: The city lord's wife has been infected. As the envy of many noble ladies at the banquet, she must participate and also investigate who is framing the city lord. This courageous decision will cost her her life tonight and mark the beginning of chaos in Holy Stone City!

Bright's eyelids twitched as he looked at the intelligence report. Judging from the progress of the report, something big was about to happen, and he didn't have much time left. His original plan was to use Dog Egg to extort a big sum from the Minister of the Interior, and then leave after finishing the job.

But with this intelligence... should we go all out?