Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

『Siren, form teams of two. Report immediately if you encounter anything unusual. Nini, go to this location and stay outside the house. Keep watch on the people inside.』

Hughes transmitted the location of the house where the worker who secretly ate soap was confined directly to Nini’s mind.

『I have sent the locations of the others as well. Stay hidden as much as possible. Avoid being discovered by the islanders. If you spot any suspicious individuals wandering outside, detain them immediately. If they resist, you are authorized to kill.』

『If you encounter anything unknown or beyond your ability to handle, hold your ground and wait for reinforcements. The three nearest teams will provide support. The rest must not act without orders.』

『If you are outmatched, you may retreat. Report the situation in detail immediately』

『The Symbiotic Contract links us all. For the sake of our shared home, prepare for battle.』

Hughes paused for a moment and added in his mind:

『I have established two channels in the Mind Link. The first channel follows a silence protocol, only combat-related messages are allowed. The second channel is for issuing orders. Orders must be executed immediately. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly through a private link or use the previous group chat. Do not use the two channels for discussions to avoid confusion.』

『This time, we don’t know who the enemy is, how they will attack, or even if they truly exist. We are facing the unknown. Report anything suspicious to me immediately.』

Across the island, the Siren nodded in unison. At this moment, their thoughts were as one.Hughes exhaled deeply.

The Symbiotic Contract and the Mind Link granted him the ability to perceive the entire battlefield. This sensation was even better than modern communication back on Earth.

He originally wanted to suppress the issue of cognitive interference, but after reconsidering, he realized there was no need.

This was his territory. He was the absolute ruler of Castel, the Frontier Count. Even if cognitive interference was discovered, what could others do to him?

Instead, being well-prepared was far more important. If cognitive interference truly led to severe consequences, he didn’t want to be caught off guard in his own stronghold.

Thus, he followed the Church’s methods completely, deploying extraordinary individuals to control the situation.

Now, the factory, the soap, the manor, and even the entirety of Castel were under his control.

”Zoe!” Hughes called out towards the door. The maid, dressed in a long gown, quickly ran over.

”Have all the servants return indoors, including the night patrols. Everyone is to stay inside the manor and wait. No matter what happens outside, do not go out without my orders. Understood?”

Zoe was startled. She had already suspected something was wrong when Connor suddenly left earlier. Now, it seemed her suspicions were correct.

”Ah, Miss Ash!?”

Zoe gasped, covering her mouth. Not far away, Ash, swaying her serpent tail, entered her view. This was the first time she had seen a banshee outside the cave.

”I have matters to attend to and need to go out for a while. Don’t worry about me. There are Siren secretly guarding the manor. If anything happens, just call for help.”

”Ah…”

After giving instructions to Zoe, Hughes turned around and looked at Ash behind him.

”Let’s go. We’re heading to the church.”

Ash nodded silently.

The church was the only unknown factor tonight. That peculiar Brother Kaeski, whether he was an extraordinary being or some kind of extraordinary creation, remained uncertain.

Hughes had deliberately ordered the Siren to stay away from the church, but he planned to go there himself. If anything happened, he could at least provide an explanation.

He believed that the Candlelight Church’s extraordinary individuals would understand his actions.

If they refused, then the Silent Sanctum could help them understand.

With Ash as his protector,, and the Siren covering the entire island, Hughes wasn’t too concerned about the extraordinary beings in the church.

Standing at a distance from the church, Hughes quietly closed his eyes, sensing the information from the Mind Link.

Everything was normal.

After thinking for a moment, Hughes turned to Ash.

”Hide nearby for now. If someone comes out of the church, let me handle the conversation. There likely won’t be a direct conflict, but if there’s trouble, I’ll inform you through the Mind Link.”

Ash nodded. She could sense her fellow clansmen nearby, so she wasn’t too worried.

”How did the soap samples I gave you for testing turn out?”

”There’s something strange.”

”Explain.”

”We split into two groups, one took the soap into the Abyssal Trench, the other didn’t dive too deep but went further out to sea.”

”In both cases, the soap disappeared after traveling a certain distance.”

”Disappeared? What kind of disappearance?”

Did they fail to seal it properly? Was it dissolved by seawater?

No, that was impossible. Even if the soap was eroded by fast-moving water, it wouldn’t disappear so quickly, especially considering it contained nitroglycerin.

”The mutated soap and the nitroglycerin seemed to transform… into pollution. But the amount was very small, and the pollution quickly dissipated. They vanished almost simultaneously.”

The Siren were now mostly immune to pollution.

The life force transmitted through the Symbiotic Contract passed through Hughes, and though he didn’t understand the exact mechanism, he could efficiently purify any pollution.

”How far was this distance?”

”Very close.”

Ash mentally outlined a sea chart and transmitted it to Hughes through the Mind Link.

One group went farther, the other went deeper.

After estimating their positions in his mind, Hughes realized that the locations where the soap and nitroglycerin disappeared were both roughly ten kilometers in a straight line from the factory.

”Cognitive interference artifacts cannot leave their place of origin? If they do, they turn into weak pollution?”

Another clue had surfaced.

”But why…?”

『Seventh group has detected an anomaly. Repeat, Seventh group has detected an anomaly!』

『We’ve found a massive amount of tangible pollution!』

Hughes’ heart tensed.

He hurriedly checked the Mind Link’s light-dot map for the Seventh group’s position, then pulled out a map he carried with him. His fingers traced across it before stopping.

That was—

”The soap factory?”

『Report details. Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh groups move in to investigate. The rest, stay in place!』

『A moment ago, a sudden burst of pollution appeared. When I checked, I saw a massive amount of tangible pollution pouring from the sky!』

As expected!

Cognitive interference led to terrible consequences.

This sudden outbreak of pollution must have been one of them.

Only extraordinary beings could handle such pollution, no wonder the Church didn’t send ordinary people before.

Fortunately, pollution was easy to deal with.

Hughes made a decision.

『Make minimal contact to test it. See how it differs from deep-sea pollution.』

『Understood, I’ll—』

『Sixth group detected an anomaly!』

『Third group detected an anomaly!』

『Fourth group—there’s massive pollution here!』

『Eighth group detected an anomaly!』

『Ninth group—Una is buried under pollution!』

『Eleventh group detected an anomaly!』

Suddenly, urgent reports flooded in simultaneously.

Hughes’ pupils dilated instantly.