Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

”........”

Staring at the window in front of him, Fang Zheng fell silent for a moment before he stepped forward and gently tapped on the window. Soon, the voice of the little girl, filled with anticipation, came again.

”Hello, Mr. Hunter, have you still not found my mom?”

”... no, this...”

Hearing the hopeful voice of the little girl, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but hesitate. He turned his head and glanced at the elderly person behind him, then sighed.

”I’m sorry... I haven’t found her yet...”

”Oh...”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s reply, the girl’s voice sounded noticeably disheartened. But even so, she tried to muster her spirits and responded.

”Alright, Mr. Hunter, I’ll wait. But, is there anything I can do? Maybe my mom and dad are trapped outside... waiting for me to find them. What do you think, Mr. Hunter?”

”If you ask me, I think they’d want you to be safe and sound.”

Fang Zheng shook his head and spoke softly.

”Little one, it’s dangerous here. I’m about to take some others to the Odon Chapel, which is comparatively safer, and you won’t be alone. Trust me, they wouldn’t want to see you in danger; otherwise, they wouldn’t have left you at home alone, right? How about you come with me? It’s very dangerous for one to be on the streets alone. I can take you all to the church...”

”Mmm...”

Hearing what Fang Zheng said, the little girl’s voice became much cheerier.

”Okay, I’ll come! Thank you, Mr. Hunter, please wait just a moment, I’ll be ready soon!”

After a while, Fang Zheng saw the light at the window go out, then the previously locked front door slowly opened. A little girl with golden hair and a white satin ribbon emerged, and upon seeing Fang Zheng and the elderly person beside him, she revealed a joyful smile and hurried over to them.

”Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Hunter... ah, Miss Sophie!”

Seeing the elderly person behind Fang Zheng, the girl seemed to relax a lot, perhaps because she saw someone she knew, not appearing as tense or fearful as before. She hurried over to the elderly woman, happily gazing at her.

”Are you also going to the chapel?”

”Yes, my child.”

Looking at the little girl in front of her, Miss Sophie’s face showed a tender smile. She reached out and gently touched Cecilia’s hair.

”Come with me, Cecilia.”

”Okay!”

”Then, let’s go.”

Seeing the little girl’s joyful expression, Fang Zheng also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed bringing the elderly person here had been the right choice. If it were just him alone, finding topics to divert the girl’s attention might have been very difficult. But now, it seemed he didn’t need to worry about that anymore.

Fang Zheng didn’t plan to take the two back to the chapel by the same route; the path was full of ladders, not suitable for the elderly and children to climb, and the other reason was that if they took that route, they would also pass through a long part of the sewer. There could be monsters lurking everywhere there, and they might easily be ambushed by monsters from above. Therefore, after thinking it over, Fang Zheng decided to take them back to the starting point along the slope, and then from the other side of the bridge take an elevator to the church.

Although this route was a bit roundabout, it was safer. And... this world seemed to have no restrictions on time. At least for now, Fang Zheng didn’t feel that time in this world passed the same way as in the ordinary world.

An elderly person and a child obviously wouldn’t be very fast, but Fang Zheng wasn’t in a hurry. He walked ahead with Dual Swords in hand, vigilantly watching their surroundings. This area used to have many deranged villagers, but Fang Zheng had considered this earlier and cleared them out in advance. Judging by the bodies on both sides of the street, those villagers hadn’t reached the ”refresh” point yet.

”It’s so sad... they’ve gone mad...”

Looking at the bodies on both sides of the road, Cecilia murmured while Miss Sophie held her hand.

”Don’t worry, child. Everything will get better. The Night of the Hunt will eventually pass, and dawn will come...”

”How long does the Night of the Hunt last?”

Fang Zheng asked without turning his head; he could tell that this ”Night of the Hunt” wasn’t just referring to one night. If measured by time, from the moment Fang Zheng woke up in this world it had been almost twenty-four hours. Unless this world had a different way of measuring time than Fang Zheng’s world, the ”Night of the Hunt” should have passed already. But it looked like the situation was much more complicated than Fang Zheng had thought.

”I don’t know, but... the night will always pass.”

Miss Sophie gave Fang Zheng an ambiguous answer, clearly clueless herself. Hearing Miss Sophie’s answer, Fang Zheng didn’t say much more. Civilians like Miss Sophie and Cecilia probably wouldn’t know much; if he wanted to find more clues about the Night of the Hunt, he would likely need to find someone related to the hunt who was still lucid.

Well, that last condition was quite important.

Recalling Father Gascoigne who had gone mad before, Fang Zheng silently checked it off in his mind; he certainly didn’t want to be unexpectedly attacked by anyone again.

Just at this moment, suddenly, Cecilia’s voice rang out beside Fang Zheng’s ear.

”Miss Sophie, Mr. Hunter, there is a strange person over there.”

”Hmm?”

Hearing Cecilia’s voice, Fang Zheng raised his head and looked in the direction the girl was pointing. Below the slope at the gate, a figure shrouded in a black cloak passed by like a ghost, heading toward the other side.

”Another outsider...”

Miss Sophie seemed unsurprised; she snorted coldly, shook her head, and said no more. But Cecilia stared earnestly, her finger in her mouth, and spoke in a soft voice.

”That, that person doesn’t seem like a good person... Mr. Hunter, should we check it out? He seems to be heading toward Dr. Yushefka’s clinic...”

”The clinic?”

Hearing Cecilia’s suggestion, Fang Zheng thought for a moment, then remembered that it was indeed the place where he had first awakened... Yes, it did look like a clinic.

But, was there anyone there?

Fang Zheng hadn’t returned there since leaving, and he had been to the second floor, which was locked, so he instinctively thought it was deserted. If there was someone there...

A doctor should know more about these things than ordinary people.

”Let’s go check it out.”

Considering it was on the way, Fang Zheng certainly wouldn’t miss the opportunity. He led the two out the main door and then to the clinic next door.

To Fang Zheng, the entire clinic looked unchanged from when he had left. Surprisingly, the werewolf he had killed when he first arrived had not ”respawned” but still lay there as a corpse. To ensure it wasn’t faking death, Fang Zheng drew his sword and struck it once more. The werewolf did not react at all, obviously dead through and through.

The door to the second floor was still locked. However, after dealing with the troubles in Anan Town, Fang Zheng understood why it was locked. As he was about to knock and call out, suddenly, a dull thump came from above them, as if someone was being attacked, followed by a loud ”bang!” of a collision.

What was going on?

Startled by the noise above, the trio hesitated. As Fang Zheng was about to breach the door, suddenly, a voice came from the other side of the door.

”Oh, hello... Mr. Hunter, thank goodness, please help me with something...”

”Who are you?”

Hearing the voice inside, Fang Zheng furrowed his eyebrows and asked, while the voice inside paused before continuing.

”I am Dr. Josephka, Mr. Hunter. I see you have two survivors with you. They may come in. According to my Hippocratic Oath, as long as they remain human, I will care for them and even provide treatment...”

”This...”

Hearing the doctor’s response, Fang Zheng hesitated slightly. Meanwhile, the female voice spoke up again.

”This disease, these creatures, they are nothing to be afraid of. This night is long, and I might be trapped here, but I must do something. Come in, survivors, and rest; you must be tired...”

”You’re lying!”

However, before the doctor could finish, the little girl loudly interrupted her.

”You’re not Dr. Josephka at all; I know her, and her voice isn’t like this!”

”What?”

Startled by this, Fang Zheng suddenly felt alarmed. Meanwhile, the voice from behind the door trembled slightly.

”Oh, sorry, my dear, my voice is just hoarse from overworking recently...”

”Then, tell me my name!” freёweɓnovel_com

But Cecilia was clutching Mrs. Sophie’s hand tightly, staring at the front door.

”If you’re Dr. Josephka, you should know my name!”

”This...”

If Fang Zheng couldn’t hear the lie by now, he’d truly be a fool. Without hesitating, he kicked the clinic’s main door. With a loud ”bang!” the door was immediately flung open by Fang Zheng’s kick, and right there, a woman in a white coat with a look of panic appeared before Fang Zheng!