Enforcer Manual
Chapter 680: High-end ingredients often only require simple cooking_1

Chapter 680: Chapter 680: High-end ingredients often only require simple cooking_1

Just now, something strange definitely occurred.

Yaku witnessed the bizarre event that took place in this street block and subconsciously looked back towards the entrance to the sewer, his intense curiosity even compelling him to want to return to that place now occupied by the "Tree of Sin" to investigate. However, reason forced him to dismiss the idea.

Even if the person who activated their abilities bore no ill will towards them, the strange phenomenon that had just occurred was proof that the other party did not wish for their appearance to be seen.

"Let’s head to the prosthetic hospital first," Yaku decided. If even the company could not be trusted, the only person he could contact was Jasmine, "I’ll ask Sister Jasmine to come over."

...

Meanwhile, in the sewer.

A sharp and excited voice chattered non-stop beside Song Lan’s ear, with the Yeying on his shoulder so agitated that it flapped its wings ceaselessly, clamoring, "Song Lan, Song Lan, I want to eat this!"

After personally witnessing Song Lan’s shameful act of wasting food in The First Region, she had become more cautious. This time, she voiced her request before acting, "Don’t turn it into powder again; you can’t eat it if it’s like that! This thing is... wuwuwu."

She had only spoken halfway when she found that her mouth was blocked by something, preventing her from completing her sentence.

Her pupils shrank, and she abruptly looked towards the direction of the feast.

The sight that met her eyes caused her thoughts to blank for several seconds.

Huh?

When exactly had she sat down on these roots?

Then, the aroma of food reached her taste buds.

"Gulp—"

Instinctively, she swallowed, and the processed roots, like al dente noodles, were gulped into her belly.

Yeying, still in a daze, looked at the "ingredients" that her claws had grabbed at some unknown point, then at Song Lan standing at the center of the roots. The roots that had occupied and devoured the entire sewer were now dispersing.

"Song Lan, you should try it; it’s delicious!"

"You can have it; just be careful not to get diarrhea."

Song Lan didn’t turn around. His tone made Yeying feel a little unnerved, seemingly the most primal fear that living beings have towards the unknown. Fortunately, this emotion didn’t trouble her for long. She never liked to ponder such complex matters. As long as she had nice things to eat, she was satisfied.

Especially since this was one of the rare occasions when Song Lan didn’t restrict her and let her eat to her heart’s content.

While Yeying was feasting, Song Lan was carefully observing these plants as they fled. He vaguely understood the principle behind the appearance of these roots—the parts that took root in the walls were connected to another space.

No wonder when he destroyed the wall earlier, he found nothing.

And now, they were escaping into that unknown world.

Song Lan quickly realized that even if the roots were cut into pieces or destroyed from the inside, he couldn’t completely kill them because their main body wasn’t here at all. The extensions reaching into the sewer seemed to be tentacles used for feeding.

No matter the attack, they could slowly regenerate.

Unless,

they were eaten by Yeying.

The parts that Yeying swallowed stopped growing and were absorbed by her like nutrients. Except... the sight of her sitting by the sewage in the sewer and picking up food from the ground to eat would likely make passersby think he was mistreating a child if they saw her.

"Yeying, mind your eating manners."

"Slurp, slurp."

The little girl couldn’t care less about talking. She didn’t even bother to lift her head as she concentrated wholeheartedly on the generous meal in front of her.

...................

Elsewhere.

"This is the reason you fled The First Region."

"Dominate" stood atop an area covered with roots and vegetation. A female voice echoed from all around, pressing down on it. It looked up at the sky obscured by branches, blossoms, and fruits. In front of it stood a towering Old Tree stretching into the unknown, which seemed to be the source of the voice in this world.

This world contradicted human knowledge.

Here, humans were no longer the rulers.

Just like insects and animals, they became nutrients reserved for plants.

During its journey, "Dominate" had encountered countless ferocious plants unknown to humankind, and the life that spawned them was now right before its eyes.

"The power I’ve obtained is still far from enough, not enough to defeat the Devil," "Dominate" was well aware that to completely kill the Devil required not just unchecked madness, but also the help of other chosen by the gods and a comprehensive plan tailored to the abilities of the opponent.

"Consciousness of life can’t keep up with the leap in time. After time jumps, consciousness will have a gap of several seconds," "Dominate" said, "If you can make it past those few seconds of blankness, that will be the key to defeating the Devil."

"The caveat is that you survive through the leap in time."

This was a simple experiment, and the outcome presented them with many new puzzles to solve.

Among the psychic ability users known to them so far, time was undoubtedly the most enigmatic.

"So, I must patiently wait for the right moment,"

"Dominate" said, "Your ability is the key to everything, and I must make good use of you."

"I don’t like the way you’re speaking to me."

The Old Tree’s tone changed, and with it, the entire world underwent a violent transformation; all the plants grew ferociously in an instant, and thorny brambles wove together to form a cage large enough to obscure the sky. It was as if those man-eating plants, beyond human cognition, had suddenly become sentient, lashing out at "Dominate."

"You are merely a messenger chosen by the Father, and you do not have the right to give me orders."

"If that is the case, then as a child of the Father God, you must also be very aware of how much He wishes to eliminate that devil, don’t you?"

Desperate to the point of near madness.

So much so that "Dominate" had no doubt that, in order to completely eradicate that devil, He would sacrifice any messenger or offspring at any given moment.

This rhetorical question plunged the Old Tree into silence.

"Dominate" stood in place, feigning harmlessness, "I am not your enemy. You can channel your full fury on that devil, and I think Father God would certainly want you to do so."

.........

That night, artificial intelligence delivered an astonishing message to Lu Xiang.

Song Lan took Yeying out for a late-night excursion. Upon their return, Yeying sported a bulging belly and lay on the bed, unwilling to move. Logic would dictate that artificial intelligence should unconditionally support Song Lan, but the principled among them found such behavior to be against public morality, hoping Mr. Song Lan would reconsider his actions and return to his normal path.

And in their eyes, Lu Xiang was the only person who could pull him back on track at this critical moment.

Thus, Lu Xiang accepted this urgent task, driven in part by strong curiosity, and knocked on Song Lan’s door.

When she entered and saw the immobile Yeying on the bed, her eyes widened in astonishment.

Yeying still retained the form of a vulture, her wings spread and drooping onto the bed, eyes squinted, displaying a near-death appearance.

Lu Xiang remembered the last time she heard a similar report was back at the dumpsite.

The security team captain "Heavy Cannon" bluntly stated that there seemed to be some unusual sparks between Song Lan and Xinyue.

Could it be...

Song Lan had a fascination with birds, which he had been desperately concealing in front of her?

"Old Lu, let me explain. First of all, she’s simply overeaten."

Noticing Lu Xiang’s gaze, Song Lan hurriedly explained to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

A poor lie.

Lu Xiang’s face nearly expressed "I don’t believe it." Yeying had never overeaten during the time she spent at their place; the girl’s stomach seemed no different from rubber, always ready to accept any amount of rice from several rice cookers.

Lu Xiang’s gaze suddenly turned as intense as one interrogating a criminal, "You took her out earlier to investigate a case, didn’t you?"

She had firmly believed that the artificial intelligence had misunderstood Song Lan, but to her surprise, he had just told such an unbecoming lie right in front of her.

"Yes, the Yaku People were also found, and by now they should have made it to the prosthetic hospital."

"Then what?"

"Then we discovered one of the suspects not far from the crime scene."

"Hmm?"

"Well..."

Song Lan knew the situation was complicated to explain and tried to clarify it in the simplest terms possible, "A part of the crime suspect is now inside her stomach."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiang’s furrowed brow eased.

So it was just a matter of eating the suspect. It seems she worried over nothing.

For some reason, even after clearing up this unnecessary misunderstanding, Song Lan couldn’t shake off a sense of defeat.

Why did it seem so normal to Lu Xiang for him to take Yeying out to dispose of evidence?

She quickly focused on the matter at hand, "How many did she eat, and are there any witnesses?"

"There are no witnesses... no, that’s not right. What she ate wasn’t human, but some kind of bizarre plant."

Song Lan shared all the clues he had gathered with Lu Xiang. He happened to overhear a conversation between the Yaku and the girl, in which a former agent of Military Intelligence Section Seven, whose identity was still unknown, was sure that someone was secretly using the missing persons to feed these plants.

She referred to it as the "Tree of Sin," which had existed in the sewers of The First Region for several years.

Over the years, who knows how many innocent laborers had become its nutrients.

As Song Lan explained, Lu Xiang’s expression grew graver by the moment, for she quickly realized the truly terrifying aspect of the case—the person feeding it held so much power that they could easily cover up the whole affair.

Even in The First Region, they couldn’t trust anyone easily.

After a long reflection, Lu Xiang spoke, "We need to find a way to see the Chairperson of the Council as soon as possible."