Chapter 377 – Entrenchment
Chapter 377 – Entrenchment
The sound of machines running echoed through the plant facilities, a roaring stream of water rushed through the giant pipes, and the pungent smell of chemicals filled the air, making it sickening to smell.
Agatha stood by the protective railing and peered down into the buffer pool below, seeing the foul liquid tumbling and gushing through the huge reservoir, occasionally bubbling and flooding with weird colors, as disgusting as the stomach acid of a giant beast.
An executive in a light brown jacket with somewhat thinning hair stood behind the young gatekeeper with a nervous look on his face, one hand subconsciously tugging at the buttons on his chest.
“Drainage from Oak Street North and the perimeter of Cemetery No. 4 are converging here,” the administrator reported cautiously while paying attention to the expression on the gatekeeper’s face, “After receiving the order, we’ve already cut off the pipeline connections around the perimeter as soon as we could, and we’ve checked the alarms of every buffer tank. There was no sign of profane contamination found ……”
Agatha listened in silence for a moment before suddenly asking, “What is usually done with the sewage?”
“How is it treated?” The administrator froze for a moment and hurriedly answered, “The first step is to use high-pressure steam to purify it of any blasphemous contamination that may be in it – as you know, that sewage has been in contact with humans, and is flowing in pitch-black pipelines, so it’s inevitable that it’ll become a carrier for certain things. After the purification of the steam comes settling and filtration, and what you see here is the settling tank. Then comes a second steam purification, and after this purification, part of the water is sent to the factory for recycling, and the other …… part is discharged into the sea.”
Agatha nodded gently, then asked, “About how long does it take for the sewage discharged from Oak Street North to flow here?”
“It depends on the circumstances, but usually no more than two hours.” The manager replied.
“How long does the sewage stay here?”
“The water in the settling tanks is replaced once every seventy-two hours,” the administrator raised his hand, growing nervous under one of the gatekeeper’s questions, wiping the cold sweat from his head but answering accurately, “The purification and inspection process is strictly regulated, and it doesn’t take any shorter than that. ”
Agatha nodded slightly, at the same time in her mind quickly calculated the time between the occurrence of the “fake incident” and the sewage treatment in that mansion, and said thoughtfully, “That is to say, if that thing could really escape through the drainage system, then it should still be here now! ……”
“Your Excellency the Gatekeeper,” the administrator wiped his shiny brain again, finally unable to hold back his curiosity and spoke, “What exactly …… happened? Could it be that there is pollution spreading through the sewage system?”
“…… don’t rule that out,” Agatha glanced at the administrator, then her gaze went back to the black-clad guards who were collecting samples and testing the facilities not far away, “but based on what we’ve tested so far. everything is normal here.”
“Yes,” the administrator gave a somewhat forced smile, “there are alarms in every part of the place, specifically to detect possible profane contamination, and there are also three resident priests at the treatment center, who also test the water samples on a daily basis… …”
“Resident priests?” Agatha seemed to suddenly think of something and turned her head, “Did you just say there are several resident priests here?”
“Three …… three,” perhaps Agatha’s tone suddenly became a bit intimidating, the administrator stuttered subconsciously at once, “Is there a problem?”
“You can only have two priests here – there are strict regulations on the number of resident priests at all levels of municipal facilities, where would you get a third?”
The administrator’s expression froze instantly, followed by a layer of fine sweat visible to the naked eye appearing on his brain, and the color of nervousness and fear surfaced in his eyes.
Seeing this, Agatha immediately raised her cane and put it on the other’s shoulder, forcibly suppressing the “fear” from his mind, and at the same time, said with a serious expression: “Listen, you have to remain calm next – go and bring all the resident priests to the gate. Go and bring all the resident priests here, and tell them that the Gatekeeper needs to know more about the situation, and don’t show any other emotions, do you understand?”
The administrator’s mood quickly calmed down quite a bit, but there was still some nervousness left, and he nodded his head in a panic: “Yes, Ming …… understand …… I’ll go now.”
Agatha nodded and put away her cane, but as the other party was about to leave she remembered something and hurriedly spoke, “Wait, not just the resident priest – call everyone.”
The administrator turned around stunned, “Everyone?”
“Everyone,” Agatha repeated in a hushed voice, then asked uneasily, “Has anyone left this processing center since yesterday?”
“No!” The manager replied immediately, “The order was received exactly fifteen minutes before the shift change, and everyone who works here stayed behind.”
“Very well, bring them all in – tell them it’s a necessary inspection, be relaxed in your attitude and don’t arouse suspicion, go on.”
The somewhat shifty manager turned and darted away, calming down as he went, and Agatha stood motionless by the buffer pool until she watched the other woman’s figure disappear behind a door not far away, before she raised her hand to signal to the guardsmen around her who’d already noticed the commotion.
The black-clad guards nearby immediately began to move, laying out hidden runes in the open space around the buffer pool, sprinkling essential oils and crushed smoky powder between the intersections and pipes, and taking up positions in specific locations to make the appearance that they were still inspecting the facility.
Agatha, for her part, raised her cane as the guardsmen moved and slowly drew the outline of a triangle about two meters on a side around the area where she stood, then stood in the center of the triangle, leaning on her cane with both hands, calmly waiting.
It wasn’t long before the sound of footsteps came from the direction of the gate, and the administrator returned to the plant where the buffer pool was located, a large group of people following him.
Among them, three clerics wearing the robes of the Church of Death and the holy emblem were clearly visible.
A dozen or so processing center employees led by the manager came to Agatha, lined up in a loose line, nervously greeting the “gatekeeper” in front of them, while the three resident priests came from the side of the line, saluting Agatha in accordance with the etiquette and status of the clergy of the Church of the Dead.
Agatha ordered the three priests to spread out and then slowly swept her eyes over all the faces. She detected a sense of dissonance.
Though the eye did not see any suspicious expressions or gestures, and though perception did not sense anything out of place, Bartok’s blessing had confirmed to her the presence of the sense of dissonance – hidden in the very breath of these men, in their heartbeats, and even in the shadows they cast on the ground.
Agatha blinked, reconfirming that everything she had seen was normal, and came to her senses.
There was indeed cognitive interference – and it was still there, even in the presence of the Gatekeeper himself.
Was it simply because he had a lot of guts? Or was it because he didn’t understand the power of the Gatekeeper? Or …… this cognitive interference is not controlled?
Agatha slowly turned her head, her eyes fell on the three priests.
A dozen staff members aside, one of the three priests was definitely a fake – but which one?
“Recite the name of Bartok,” Agatha said slowly, “and let the Lord of Death gaze upon us, that we may discern falsehood on earth.”
“In the name of Bartok, the Lord of Death,” a priest immediately spoke, “may He watch over us ……”
Immediately followed by the second and third priests, who also spoke at once: “In the name of Bartok, Lord of Death ……”
The three voices sounded successively as echoes.
Agatha frowned.
Being able to recite the name of a god meant that none of them were “fakes” formed from mud, much less cultists with heretical beliefs, or else the violent clash of beliefs would be enough to tear apart their sanity.
But how is this possible? All three priests were real?
Agatha’s thoughts flowed instantly, but her expression remained calm as she nodded to the three, “Next, I need to do some necessary tests, please understand.”
With that, she then reached out and probed her left eye – a vivid eyeball immediately jumped out of its socket and landed precisely in her hand.
Agatha held up the eyeball and “looked” across the room at the three priests.
The figure of the first priest caught her eye – a withered old man, wearing linen robes, black as ink chains extending out from beneath his ribs, and at the end of the chains, the Profound Hound was raising its head in this direction, the foul energy of the blasphemy in its maw rapidly gathering and taking shape!
Heresy!
To actually dare to stand here in a dignified manner!
Agatha’s face changed slightly, but she was prepared, the moment the Profound Hound opened its huge mouth, her figure had already dodged to the side, and at the same time, the cane in her right hand had already been raised, with pale flames burning at the end of the cane.
However, the moment she was about to ignite the heretic, another low and obscure sound of magic spell chanting suddenly came from the side.
The eyeballs in Agatha’s left hand rotated violently, and in the next second, she saw a young man with withered hair and a high nose raise his hands towards her, and behind him floated a grayish-black floating jellyfish that seemed to be condensed from mist.
It was the second “priest”.
Dizziness washed over her, and Agatha was just about to stabilize herself when she heard a third spell being chanted.
A pale woman raised her hand at the edge of her field of vision, and beside her lay a cat made of bones and mist.
It was the third priest.
All priests were false.
The roars and sounds of battle came from all directions.
The moment the three Annihilationists stormed out, the guardsmen around them reacted and tried to support them, however, they also met their enemies.
The dozen or so “staff” brought by the administrators engaged in a fierce battle with the black-clad guards nearby.
In the corner of Agatha’s eye, she could see the surface of the staff’s bodies crumble like mud after being hit.
Only the thin-haired administrator ran wildly to a nearby pipe, letting out a helpless and terrified scream.
There was only one “human being” in the entire wastewater treatment center …….
(End of chapter)