The Gluttony system's appraisal of the bone statue yielded two preliminary conclusions.
First, the dried bone marrow within the statue is a unique food ingredient.
Second, the statue itself aids meditation and can enhance the purity of one's beastly bloodline, though the specific effects are unknown.
Clearly, this is a priceless treasure!
Alan stuffed the statue into his storage bag and accepted it with a smile.
"Cough cough... cough cough..."
The cult leader, curled up in the corner, wasn't quite dead yet.
Coughing and spitting blood, he uttered a weak, vicious curse.
"Vile blasphemer! Cough cough... The divine punishment of our Lord Squark... will surely... befall you..."
The cult leader, on the verge of death, suddenly sat up, as if in a moment of last breath.
Alan was secretly surprised.
He quickly distanced himself from him.
Prepare for battle.
"Uh uh uh... Whoosh..."
The cult leader let out a strange roar, his face contorted.
A cluster of wriggling tumors sprouted from his body.
The tumors were huddled together, slightly bulging.
Like bunches of translucent red grapes.
Bang! !
Suddenly, all the tumors exploded simultaneously!
The cult leader's body disintegrated into countless pieces of flesh.
The bloody mass rolled on the ground, covered in gray dust.
Right before Alan's eyes, it transformed into bloody rats.
Each piece of flesh transformed into a rat.
There were no fewer than a thousand of them, gathered in a swarm.
Each rat had a black or white spot on its back.
All the scars coalesced, forming a giant human face.
It vaguely resembled... the face of the cult leader in his lifetime!
A trembling, blurry, and furious face!
"What the hell?!"
The bizarre scene before him made Allen's scalp tingle.
Watching the swarm of human-faced rats screaming and swarming towards him.
Without a second thought, he waved his hand and unleashed a wave of "Thunder Waves."
Thunder roared, reverberating through the sealed basement.
Within five meters of Allen's face, dozens of strange rats were instantly killed.
The rest of the rats were also stunned by the high-decibel noise.
Alan seized the opportunity, turned around, and ran!
He hadn't run far when he heard a squeaking scream behind him.
He glanced back and saw the rats rapidly approaching! Hound Step!
Alan teleported continuously, sprinting out of the secret passage at top speed.
"Rávé!"
He fired another "Thunder Wave" backhand.
The rats, whose fangs were about to bite his heels, were sent tumbling backwards like receding tides.
By the time the rats had regrouped, Alan had the ingredients ready for his spell.
A small bottle of distilled alcohol.
"Carir!"
Alan, holding the alcohol bottle, cast "Water Control" on the rats!
Alcohol rained down!
The rats were drenched.
"Die, monster!"
Alan gritted his teeth and threw the blasting bottle with all his might.
Boom!
A fireball exploded in the midst of the rats.
The splashing flames ignited the alcohol.
The flames quickly spread to both sides of the stairs.
Instantly, they engulfed the rats.
Alan slammed the iron door shut.
Only then did he have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
A faint glow of fire shone through the keyhole, accompanied by the screams of the strange rats.
Inside the door, there was a sharp rustling sound.
The rats, desperate to escape the flames, frantically bit and scratched at the iron door.
A moment later, silence returned to the other side of the iron door.
Through the keyhole, a burning smell wafted.
Footsteps were heard outside the warehouse door.
Alan turned around.
He saw Andy, with his red hair, walk in, his face somewhat gloomy.
"What are you doing here?" Andy asked unkindly.
"We tracked down the cult leader and came here, and we had a fight."
Alan briefly recounted the battle.
As for the statue, he didn't mention a word.
Andy listened to him, his eyes flickering.
As if secretly observing his expression.
Thinking he might be lying.
After Alan finished, Andy nodded at the iron gate.
Moving Alan to open it.
Alan showed no sign of his bossy attitude and turned to open the iron gate.
Cigarette ash, accompanied by a pungent, burnt smell, wafted out.
Andy covered his mouth and nose, his brow furrowed.
Across from the iron gate, looking down the stairs,
The ground was littered with charred rat carcasses.
"Let's go down and take a look," Andy gestured to Allen. "You scout ahead!"
Alan said nothing, stepping over the dead rats as he descended the stairs.
Andy followed him, his eyes filled with caution.
Underground temple.
Aside from a pool of blood, the scene was otherwise unremarkable.
Andy raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
A ball of magical light emerged from his fingertips, illuminating the dim basement.
Holding the ball of light, he circled the secret room, examining it carefully.
The room was small, with nothing worth seeing.
Andy quickly stopped, standing in front of the empty alcove, muttering to himself:
"This is the cult's secret church."
"Only core members of the church are allowed to worship here."
Andy slowly turned and stared at Allen, his eyes sharp.
"Since this is a church, it must house a statue. Bring it out."
"What?"
Alan managed his facial expression perfectly.
Confusion and bewilderment, expressed just right.
"A statue!" Andy suddenly raised his voice. "You took the evil statue that was originally placed in the niche, right?"
"What statue? I don't see it!" Alan said innocently. "Brother Andy, why don't you look somewhere else?"
"You'd better stop playing dumb," Andy said coldly. "Stop trying to test my patience."
"Brother Andy, I really don't know what you're talking about."
Alan smiled bitterly.
"The niche was empty when I came down."
"Perhaps the cultists had moved it away beforehand."
"Or perhaps it burned in the fire."
"I don't believe a word of your sophistry!"
Andy's eyes burned with anger as he slowly approached Allen.
"This is my last warning."
"Hand over the statue, or I'll search you and ruin your relationship."
"I really don't have any statues, but... a search?"
Alan's face darkened, his words tinged with hostility.
"Brother Andy, what have I done wrong to deserve your disrespect?"
"Hehe... who do you think you are?" Andy sneered. "You're from a low-class background, with trash blood. You only managed to get into the investigation team by clinging to the influence of Pansen and Tanya."
"What qualifications do you have to demand my respect? Do you deserve it?!"
Andy took a step forward.
A blazing, fiery surge of magical energy emanated from his body.
He made no secret of the murderous intent in his eyes.
"I might as well be frank. Killing a commoner like you, with no background, is like killing a chicken. Don't ask for trouble!"
"Brother Andy, everyone has a temper. You'd better not make me angry!"
Alan also harbored murderous intent.
The Evil God Statue was not only a special ingredient; it was also related to his beastly bloodline.
Alan absolutely could not give up.
Besides, he had already firmly insisted that he had not taken the statue.
Even if he gave in now and handed the statue to Andy, it would be difficult to clear his name from the deception he had previously committed.
With Andy's domineering personality, how could he tolerate being deceived?
Even if he took the statue, he would never let him off easily!
Might as well fight to the bitter end, to the bitter end!
Alan made a secret decision.
Andy was two ranks higher than him, and a normal fight wouldn't win.
If he didn't attack, it was fine. But if he did, he had to use his most powerful move!
Alan silently drew on his magic power, preparing to unleash "Bone-Breaking Explosion" for a one-shot kill!
Afterwards, he would burn the body to destroy all evidence.
Say Andy was ambushed by the cult leader, and they both perished...
At this critical juncture, shouts rang out from outside the secret room.
"Andy! Alan! Where have you two gone?"
It was Pamela.
"Captain! Brother Andy and I have discovered the cult's underground temple and are investigating!"
Alan turned around and replied.
Andy's expression changed slightly.
As if realizing he had missed his chance to strike, he glared at Alan and walked out of the secret room.
"Captain! I suspect Allen is hiding a cult idol!"
Andy complained to Pamela indignantly.
"This kid's full of excuses and refused a body search. He must be guilty!"
"Huh?! Are you serious?"
Pamela turned sharply, her blue eyes fixed on Allen.
"Captain, Brother Andy is just delusional! I didn't see any cult idol at all!"
Alan protested aggrievedly.
At this moment, Angel and Duke also approached.
Angel stared at his three agitated teammates in confusion.
Duke, with a sneer on his face, watched the show from the side with his arms crossed.
Pamela stared at Allen with a stern look on her face.
She seemed to be hesitating whether to force a body search.
At this moment, Angel broke the silence. "I have a question. What's the purpose of this evil statue you're talking about?"
Pamela and Andy exchanged a glance, remaining silent.
"I'm curious, too. If the evil statue is so important, why didn't you make it clear ahead of time so we could keep an eye out for it?"
Alan took over Angel's conversation, continuing to feign indignation.
Whether his acting had fooled anyone else was unknown.
Anyway, Angel believed it.
Giving him a sympathetic look, Angel then urged Pamela to speak frankly.
"Since we're a team, we shouldn't hide anything. Otherwise, how can we trust each other?"
Pamela pursed her lips and answered evasively:
"Cult idols, scattered among the people, corrupt people's hearts, aren't really that important..."
"If they're not important, is it worth fussing over something like that and destroying unity?"
Angel questioned unhappily, leaving Pamela and Andy speechless.
At this moment, Duke, who was watching the show nearby, suddenly burst into laughter.
"You're so dishonest! Let me be honest!"
"Worshiping the Beast Cult idol is said to aid meditation and increase the purity of beastly bloodlines!"
"Even if I can't use it myself, I can still sell it for a good price!"
"Brother Andy, am I right?"
Andy glared at Duke, his face rather embarrassed.
"Enough!"
Pamela waved her hand impatiently and said flatly:
"We have a more important mission. Let's end this matter here and don't mention it again!"
With that, she led everyone out of the underground temple.