Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Chapter 383: Banshee Inspection Team

Hughes’ order still came one step too late.

By the time dawn broke the next day, rumors and all sorts of unofficial stories were already spreading through every street and alley of Castel. One only needed a single glance to know that Nini could not possibly be separated from the matter.

The key point was that this time Hughes had even sent people to supervise.

The Banshee Inspection Squad, led by Monica, had been patrolling since early morning, checking whether anyone was secretly selling newspapers. Originally, they intended to confiscate all the papers and destroy them together, but this time not a single copy had been seized.

”Not a single one was confiscated—do you have any idea what that means?!” Monica stood before Hughes, her face full of regret. “Even I didn’t manage to get one to read!”

“Really?” Hughes’ gaze was full of suspicion. “I seem to recall that you yourself once sold tabloids. How could you not know the selling routes? Was it not you stealing under the guise of guarding?”

Monica’s eyes widened. “How can you falsely accuse me? If I could have found even one copy, I wouldn’t be standing here empty-handed. Anyway, that’s just the situation. You deal with it however you see fit!”

Hughes’ teeth ached with anger. This little banshee might not have learned anything else, but she had certainly mastered memorizing his words.

You dare use my own magic against me?

“Fine, then I’ll investigate. Does Nini truly think I cannot uncover the truth?!”

Hughes gave a cold laugh, shoved Monica out, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Monica looked furious, but after sneaking a glance around, she quickly opened her Mind Link and joined a secret underground group chat.

This was a newly developed feature by the banshees: within the Mind Link one could establish a completely anonymous chatroom. Everyone inside had hidden identities. Monica called it the Dark Web.

『Agent No. 3 reporting, the Great Demon King is starting to grow suspicious. All comrades on the confidentiality front, be careful when selling newspapers!』

『Received, received. Transaction aborted!』

『Received, transaction aborted. No. 3, take care!』

『Ah, I haven’t even finished reading yet, today’s special issue was too shocking!』

『What, there’s a special issue? Why don’t I have it?』

『You’ve got the old version. The special just went offline. I’ve still got a hot copy right here!』

『Show me yours.』

Inside his office, Hughes shut the door, sat at the long table, elbows propped up with chin resting on his hands. His whole face was hidden in shadow.

“Ha, the Dark Web? Do they think I don’t know? It’s time… to let them witness the terror of the Sky Net.”

Hughes sneered as he pulled out a diary from the drawer.

“Chloe, my Sky Net. You hang every day atop the cathedral, overlooking all of Castel Cathedral. Surely you’ve seen their secret dealings?”

〖.〗

The diary paused for quite a while before messy handwriting began to appear.

〖Boss, I’m already dead! Dead!! Do you understand what dead means? You summon me every day like this—how are you any different from the heretic cultists who desecrate corpses?〗

“You swore loyalty to me—never said whether alive or dead.”

〖？？？！？！？！！〗

“So, did you see anything?”

〖Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.〗

“We cooperate. You won’t be without your share of benefits.”

〖Ha, you’re threatening a dead person? I don’t even have a body. What in this world could tempt me? What could I possibly fear? At most you’d scatter my soul. Honestly, being tormented by you daily is worse than death.〗

“I’ll show you Nini’s articles.”

〖？〗

Night. Behind the explosives factory, Gaia removed her goggles, enjoying the cool night breeze, when suddenly a question came from beside her.

“How does one appease the Machine Soul?”

Gaia’s eyes lit up. She glanced around warily, then lowered her voice. “Offer it the object dearest to the heart—”

The other instantly continued, “Offer it the unfinished wish.”

Their voices rose together: “With my blood, with my soul!”

From around the corner came a hooded figure, face obscured. He looked at Gaia. “Sister, want the new forbidden book?”

“How forbidden?”

“Look, six personal signatures—this is the special issue written by Lady Nini herself! The final chapter of Blood Harbor Tales, the grand finale of the Prince series!”

“Wow!” Gaia’s eyes sparkled. “Really, truly? I’ve been waiting so long… I just wonder if the Prince survived the disaster.”

“Of course he survived. Isn’t he even coming to the island these two days? Didn’t you see the notice?”

Gaia’s face darkened with anger. “How dare you spoil it!”

The man scratched his head awkwardly. “Alright then, sis—er, Lady Gaia, here’s the book. Do you want to buy it?”

Just as the two began to pull out their goods for a secret trade, several bright lights suddenly beamed onto them, blinding their eyes.

“Banshee Inspection Squad! Hands up immediately!”

“Down! Get down on the ground!”

“Don’t move! Move again and I’ll shoot!!”

Shouts filled the air as several figures quickly surrounded them.

Gaia and the hooded man exchanged glances. “How were we exposed? Did you bring a tail?”

The hooded man’s tone was urgent. “Impossible! I made sure I wasn’t followed!”

Seeing the banshees close in, Gaia’s eyes hardened. She yanked up her clothes to cover her face, then swiftly pulled several glass bottles from her pocket and smashed them on the ground!

Boom!

A blinding flash exploded, smoke billowing and spreading thickly around them.

The banshees coughed and staggered back, but by the time the smoke cleared, the two were gone.

“Captain, what do we do? They’ve escaped!”

“No matter. Move to the next spot. Follow the coordinates given by the Sky Net.”

“Yes, ma’am!!”

The Banshee Inspection Squad gradually withdrew.

Scenes like this played out all across the island.

In just one day, more than half the secret trades had been destroyed. Copies of forbidden books were seized. The battle between Dark Web and Sky Net rapidly intensified.

Inside the Mind Link underground chatroom.

『Today, several more sisters were caught. Even Lady Nini herself nearly failed to escape!』

『Those dogs of Hughes, those traitors in the Inspection Squad—how do they find us every single time?』

『There’s a traitor among us!』

『Ha, not just one traitor. Nearly every underground node was attacked simultaneously. This must be the Sky Net that the Lord spoke of!』

『Sky Net… what exactly is Sky Net? I heard the Moths Chasing Fire are working on patrol airships. Could it be that?』

『No, I have inside news. They say it’s connected to the one whose name cannot even be spoken.』

『What? Didn’t she die?』

『Believe me, sister. After death, she is stronger than when alive.』

『The Lord has touched the forbidden taboo of life and death, forcing the dead who no longer belong to this world to spy without rest. We must counter this!』

『I have a plan to break the siege, but it requires a small sacrifice from No. 3.』

『It doesn’t matter, I am not afraid. For our cause, no sacrifice is too great!』

『Good. Then listen closely…』

The next day, workers arriving at the factory were stunned to see a diary hanging overhead—Chloe, everyone knew that.

But next to it, sloppily tied up, was Monica, also hanging there, glaring down at everyone with a very unfriendly expression.