Chapter 116: Not Genetics, It's Methamphetamine

Chapter 116: Not Genetics, But Methamphetamine

The Flower City demoness.

When Xie Liu spoke that name, Chen Jian's hazy memory suddenly snapped into focus.

He still recalled the first time he'd heard the term, back in the camp of the Blood Skeletons.

They had just slain the Blood Sun General, leader of the dread demons, and in the cellar they found two Flower City demonesses mingling among the Blood Skeletons.

At the time, everyone wondered whether this sudden 'mutated' Flower City had some shady deal with the Blood Skeletons, but since the minor incident didn't affect Chen Jian's later actions, he didn't give it another thought.

But who could have imagined that, after countless battles and events, that term would suddenly resurface?

The people of Flower City, it turns out, are active near Wuxue Town?

What are they doing?

Chen Jian stared at Xie Liu, brow furrowed in confusion, while she too was at a loss.

She had only tentatively identified the scent as coming from a Flower City demoness, but when asked why—

—where would she know to go?

Seeing Chen Jian's expression grow serious, she immediately spoke:

"I'm certain this scent comes from a Flower City demoness."

"It's a very distinctive odor; I noticed it when I was in Flower City."

"The whole city is shrouded in a faint, almost imperceptible smell; I asked the locals, and they said it's a blessing from life itself."

"I once suspected it was some kind of aphrodisiac poison, but it isn't."

"The odor itself doesn't provoke desire; rather, it seems to emanate from those who already feel desire."

"Can even genes alter this?"

Chen Jian asked, astonished.

Before Xie Liu could answer, He Shuo beside her interjected:

"Maybe it's not genetics at all, but methamphetamine."

"Ah?"

Chen Jian froze.

He Shuo coughed, then continued:

"You forgot? Back when we were in Mengla, many people there had a strange smell on them."

"But those who chew betel nut have an oily scent, plus a hint of rust—could I not smell that? Didn't Zeng Yi say it was floral? The two are worlds apart."

Chen Jian rebutted.

"That's not certain; who says they're using pure ice? There could be other stuff mixed in."

"Of course, I'm just speculating."

He Shuo paused, then went on:

"You see, according to Xie Liu's earlier account, Flower City collapsed suddenly; the process must have been brief, right?"

"Exactly, it was short."

Xie Liu answered firmly:

"Probably within five or six years; the whole city fell like a plague, swiftly overtaken."

"Right."

He Shuo spread his hands, then continued:

"Then, the trend of this decadence is lust."

"So, what's the most obvious sign of using this stuff? Do I even need to say?"

"The Flower City folk clearly show manic traits, coupled with swollen desire—this display is blatantly obvious."

"Moreover, in stark contrast to their degeneration, they still maintain considerable combat prowess—don't you find that exaggerated?"

"We used to think it might be their gear, but now it seems the equipment alone isn't enough; drugs likely play a part."

When He Shuo finished his analysis, Chen Jian stared, dumbfounded.

He never imagined that, even in the apocalypse, he'd still end up entangled with this.

But is it really that unbelievable?

It seems not.

Synthesizing methamphetamine isn't that hard; Old Bai could whip it up in a broken cart.

If someone happened upon its formula, then further discovered its effects,

its widespread abuse would be entirely logical.

Because, as Xie Liu said, Flower City—or the former Spring City—already had a shadow of fertility worship.

A substance that stimulates reproductive behavior might well become their 'divine drug'.

——

But this hypothesis still has a loophole.

"These residents couldn't be using drugs without notice; according to Zhao He, they were perfectly normal up to their deaths."

"And once they touched that stuff, they couldn't stay normal anywhere."

"Captain, you haven't grasped it."

He Shuo shook his head and replied:

"It's possible the ones who touched it aren't the locals here."

"But that monster."

An epiphany.

Chen Jian suddenly felt that many of the mysteries here now had explanations.

"So this monster is likely connected to Flower City?"

"Could it be that the monster is simply something they 'cultivated'?"

"They could supply weapons to the Blood Skeletons near Han Shui City; raising a monster here would also make sense, wouldn't it?"

"Possibly." He Shuo furrowed his brows and answered:

"If these odors are truly residues from ingested drugs, then Flower City may be trying to use them to control the monster—and humanity."

"This could also explain why they allied with the Blood Skeletons; they likely believe they've mastered a way to control them."

"But I don't get why they'd have the monster attack Wuxue Town."

"The experiment isn't even over; they'd have no reason to do that."

"That's another question, but at least we now have a line of inquiry."

Chen Jian let out a breath, while Xie Liu beside him stared, dumbfounded.

She couldn't even grasp how this line of reasoning had come together.

From her perspective, up to now, in the whole 'monster murder case,' they had found only two relatively reliable clues.

First, the monster is human.

Second, there is a scent from Huadu here.

With just these two clues, could you piece together those fragmented bits of information into a sound, logical conclusion?

She watched He Shuo and Chen Jian as they discussed, her eyes already carrying a sense of 'lofty admiration.'

Chen Jian noticed her gaze, raised his hand to interrupt He Shuo, and spoke to Xie Liu:

"You needn't be so astonished."

"Everything we have now is merely speculation, a rough decision based on current conditions."

"In fact, none of us can guarantee this speculation is correct, because intelligence updates in real time."

"But you can indeed learn from this line of thought."

"On the battlefield, making a swift decision is often more important than the accuracy of intelligence."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Zeng Yi and Xie Liu answered in turn; Chen Jian nodded satisfied, pondered briefly, then spoke again:

"If we follow this logic to speculate, our search range narrows further."

"Mayor Zhao, in the past few months, have any merchants from Huadu come to Wuxue Town?"

"No——well, not exactly none, but even if there were, we wouldn't know."

Zhao He hurriedly replied:

"In recent years, Huadu's reputation hasn't been great; many people avoid them at all costs."

"Under such circumstances, even if there were traders, they wouldn't voluntarily mention that name."

"Of course we wouldn't deliberately ask."

"So there are some?"

Chen Jian cut off Zhao He's question:

".I think there should be."

"That's good."

Chen Jian turned to He Shuo and continued:

"Keep the drone scouting."

"If this monster is linked to Huadu, then someone must be responsible for it."

"That is, the monster cannot be a solitary creature; rather, it may be surrounded by a small settlement."

"Just as the Mechanical God Cult did to tame the 'Mongol,' Huadu must have a complete system to control and train monsters."

"This scale wouldn't be too small; if they are near Wushan Lake, finding them should not be difficult."

"Understood."

He Shuo nodded immediately; then Chen Jian continued:

"On the other hand, we need to screen the merchants coming and going here."

"To train a monster, they certainly need supplies, and obtaining supplies via merchants is the most convenient method."

"They are unlikely to openly haul goods straight to Wushan Lake—after all, it's wilderness, too conspicuous."

"But if someone appears here and does not show up at the next stop, that basically pins down the investigation target."

".This is difficult."

He Shuo spread his hands:

"This world has no ID cards, no surveillance; investigating this direction would be too extravagant, wouldn't it?"

"Let's give it a try."

Chen Jian said indifferently:

"Anyway, if the drone yields no result, we can only wait here for the next attack."

"Since that's the case, we might as well do more, try different approaches."

"By the way, we need to contact Wang Lizi of the Ring Chamber of Commerce."

"The situation has surpassed our expectations; this is not just a monster, it may involve a considerable power."

"We need him to bring the contract price up to me."

"Otherwise, I won't work for him for free!"

(End of chapter)