I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Chapter 454: Chapter 316: Farewell to the Minstrel

“`

“What mysterious event…? I don’t understand, sir… As for the beef and milk you mentioned, oh, I admit the slaughterhouse conditions and hygiene are poor, but we definitely haven’t manipulated anything!”

Montelro said with a bewildered expression, obediently speaking.

‘Unaware…?’

Chen Lun thought to himself, his eyes slightly narrowing.

He then questioned the others, but the results were the same; they seemed to have not come across anything mysterious nor knew of any issues with the beef and milk… In fact, they were quite proud, believing that the latest batch of live cattle to arrive had the best meat quality they had ever seen. The milk supplied by the vendor was just as rich and sweet in taste.

...

Montelro Slaughterhouse was able to earn more Gold Pounds in Peacock City by relying on such high-quality meat and milk.

“Leader, what should we do next?”

Morey quietly asked from the side.

Chen Lun pondered for a moment.

“You and Barton go to Montelro’s office and see if you can find any clues through bills or procurement lists as to where that so-called supplier is from.”

“Yes, Leader.”

Morey and Barton looked at each other, then nodded at Chen Lun in agreement.

Afterward, Chen Lun directed the hypnotized slaughterhouse owner Montelro and his men to return to their respective posts… These oblivious ordinary people were still in a daze, obediently turning to leave, and would only return to normal after a few hours. They would completely forget they had ever encountered Chen Lun and the others.

Watching Morey and Barton follow Montelro away, Chen Lun himself went to investigate the live cattle area.

As he entered the large warehouse where the cattle were housed, he smelled feces mixed with some rotten straw. Several workers toiling away in the cowshed, emanating a stench and filth, looked at Chen Lun with confusion and tension.

“Don’t mind me, continue your work.”

Chen Lun chuckled lightly, and the shell necklace on his chest emitted a slight glow.

The expressions of these workers changed in an instant, and they turned back to their work, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Chen Lun no longer paid them any mind, stepping over an unclean mix of dark brown matter, and began to scout each beef cattle individually.

But the results were disappointing; there was nothing unusual.

They appeared to be very healthy, with no signs of mysterious contamination.

‘Where exactly is the problem?’

Chen Lun was puzzled.

When he attempted to communicate with these cattle using Beast Speech, however, he discovered something abnormal: the cattle lacked consciousness. They seemed like soulless husks, eating and excreting by instinct, mechanically living.

Moreover, they were incapable of reproduction.

This was illogical.

A moment later.

Chen Lun left the cowshed warehouse, and Barton and Morey returned with the results of their investigation.

“Leader, we’ve found some clues in Montelro’s office. The most recent batch of premium beef cattle comes from a farm area in the West Suburbs of Peacock City, which is part of ‘Jett Agriculture Corporation’s’ holdings.”

Morey held a list in his hand and handed it over to Chen Lun.

“And we’ve made an important discovery that the person responsible for breeding the beef cattle in the West Suburbs is named ‘Dolim’!”

Chen Lun showed a hint of surprise and took the list, indeed finding the name “Dolim” on it, but he couldn’t be sure if this was the same farmer he had been looking for.

‘In the original timeline, Dolim never left his farm, but now, for some unknown reason, he has moved away… Could it be that he moved to the West Suburbs and joined that so-called agricultural corporation?’

He speculated to himself.

After pondering for a while, Chen Lun immediately wrote a letter detailing the events that occurred here and his speculations about the beef and milk as a warning. He then instructed Barton and Morey to return to the vineyard and incidentally to deposit the letter in the secret mailbox at the Peacock City Shelter.

The beef and milk from Montelro Slaughterhouse in the past two days had already circulated in the market, with many people having made purchases and consumed them… But Chen Lun didn’t have the leisure to investigate, at most he could remind the authorities, letting them handle these troubles.

*

*

*

After leaving the slaughterhouse.

Chen Lun, following the leads, used “Cloud Leap” and instantly arrived at the West Suburbs.

Before him lay a vast expanse of grassy countryside, with the agricultural area standing upon it, developing and expanding along a tributary of a majestic river. The area not only provided fresh ingredients for the residents of Peacock City but also sent processed products to the East District Port, where merchant ships would transport them to other cities for sale.

Chen Lun surveyed the flourishing buildings of the West Suburbs from afar: massive warehouses, shed tops, and fences, along with orderly wheat and vegetable fields enclosed within fences.

He then proceeded to walk straight ahead, following some buyers and merchant carts into the agricultural district. He made up some excuse to brush off the reception staff at The Great Gate who wanted to inspect his intentions, stating he wanted to look around inside before deciding what specifically to purchase.

The reception staff, noticing his refined attire and gentlemanly demeanor, didn’t press further; they even enthusiastically mentioned that the most outstanding products of Jett Agriculture were their beef and dairy products.

Chen Lun declined an enthusiastic offer of a guided tour from one of them and began to stroll through the entire agricultural area on his own.

‘Everything seems very normal, with no traces related to the supernatural to be found.’

He thought to himself after exploring for a while.

But as he passed a simple farmhouse, Chen Lun heard dull thudding sounds from inside, pounding in rhythm, accompanied by the suppressed cries of a man.

“You damned fellow, how did you sneak in here?”

Another man demanded.

Thud, thud!

Two more punches.

“Speak up! Are you trying to steal something?!”

“This guy is covered in dirty, old clothes, looks just like a vagrant…”

Two men were interrogating and communicating.

“I’m not a vagrant! I am the great bard, Alec! How dare you slander me with theft! Such base deeds are beneath me. I simply came in to look around, seeking inspiration for my compositions… Ah!”

The sounds of punches and kicks, followed by Alec’s screams, rose again.

Chen Lun couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

‘Alec…?’

It sounded familiar to him. After a moment of thought, he remembered when he and Floey left Emerald Town for Amber City, they had encountered bandits capturing craftsmen in the wilderness near the city’s outskirts.

At that time, he had wiped out the bandits’ camp, rescued a group of craftsmen, and had a brief encounter with this boastful bard.

‘Go.’

With a raise of his hand, Chen Lun’s index finger detached itself and transformed into a white snake that dropped to the ground. It then wriggled its way through the gap under the farmhouse door.

Through this white snake, he used his Five Senses Perception to observe the scene inside.

A dirty, blond-haired bard was bound up and tied in a corner, with two workers standing in front of him, beating him up.

After a hectic activity, the two workers sat down on chairs to rest, panting heavily.

Clearly, beating someone up was a physically demanding task.

Alec, with a swollen nose and face, spat out blood and angrily cursed the two men.

However, the two workers no longer had the energy to punish him further and simply stared at the disheveled bard with cold, mocking grins, as if calculating how to deal with him.

“Come on, have some. This guy really takes a beating, heh.”

One of the workers pulled out some jerky from his pocket and shared some with his colleague.

“Brings back the days when we were scrambling for a living with the Blue Sail Gang, brawling every day. Now that we’ve thrown ourselves into working the land, we’re a bit out of shape.”

The other chuckled and started devouring the jerky after taking it.

“Indeed, we thought we could squeeze something out of this guy, but it turns out he’s just got a crappy wooden harmonica. Maybe that fancy hat and cape are worth a few Copper Kros, but I’m too lazy to bother going to the grocery store in town for that little money.”

As the two snacked on the jerky, they toyed with Alec’s wooden harmonica, laughing.

One smacked his lips.

“Mmm, this jerky tastes really good. Where did you get it?”

“From Dolim… heh, even the boss praises the quality of the beef he raises.”

Chen Lun stood outside for a while, understanding roughly what had happened. These two workers, formerly gang enforcers, planned to extort some money from Alec when they saw him sneaking into the agricultural area. Finding that he had no money, they decided to give him a thorough beating.

He felt these trivial matters weren’t worth continuing to listen to and was about to go in and knock out the two workers, and then ask Alec how he had come to know his alias “Jack.”

But just then, a mutation occurred!

Inside the farmhouse, the two workers sitting on chairs suddenly bulged their eyes out, and their bodies began to become engorged, veins popping… They collapsed to the ground in a manner similar to a sudden illness, with a dull thud.

Then, like an ugly, disgusting maggot, they writhed continuously.

With a pop, their skin cracked open, and countless fleshly tentacles burst forth. In painful screams, the two turned into monsters and uncontrollably rose up, lunging towards the only living person in the room, Alec.

Alec had witnessed the entire horrifying transformation, but being bound hand and foot, he couldn’t escape at all. He could only keep moving back until he was tightly pressed into the corner.

“You damn bastards… Even if you’ve turned into monsters, don’t think you can eat me!

Alec roared.

The two workers, now turned into Tentacle Monsters, twisted their faces, emitting eerie shrieks, and the next second they were about to grab and devour Alec.

The latter’s eyes widened.

The next second.

Suddenly, a slender, pale figure flashed by, and with a boom, an explosion burst forth, unleashing a red wave of air.

The two Tentacle Monsters were instantly blasted away, their limbs and chunks splattered against the wall, and within a few breaths, they decayed into a pool of black granular residue.

Alec looked up to see a gentleman in black standing before him.

“Jack?!”

He seemed very surprised, and then burst into laughter.

“You really are my loyal fan, coming from afar to rescue me…”

Alec’s face quickly showed a hint of regret.

“It’s a pity, though, I didn’t need your help. Two man-eating monsters, in my eyes, are nothing but a farce…”

“Oh, if that’s the case, then I’m sorry to have troubled you.”

Chen Lun gave a polite smile, adjusted his hat, and turned to leave.

After walking a few steps, he seemed to remember something, stopped to turn his head, and offered a piece of advice:

“By the way, you look quite suspicious right now, and there are two strange corpses next to you. I’m afraid you might spend your life in a Shelter from now on…”

Alec immediately coughed loudly twice.

“Wait… Wait! Can you help me loosen these ropes? My backside is a bit itchy…”

As he watched Chen Lun’s figure get farther and farther away, he called out in a panic:

“Jack! Help me! I can’t be caught!”