coobybook Chapter 343 Lakeview Village (Part 5)
Chapter 343 Lakeview Village (Part 5)
Chapter 343 Lakeview Village (Part )
Conan and his companions followed the professor and walked slowly along a path. Some white shell fragments were scattered on the path, as if to remind people of the special nature of this path.
Conan stared at the professor walking in front of him. He didn't understand why this member of Oritis who claimed that he would not participate in the internal strife appeared here. From what the old village chief said just now, he brought a "child" with him?
At the end of the path was a small wooden house, with shell fragments scattered around it as a warning. The old village chief opened the door, and a fishy smell wafted out.
It turned out that one of the people who had fallen ill was scratching his body frantically, and he did not stop even though his skin was scratched and bleeding.
"Alkin, stop!" the old man shouted angrily. "Don't you want to live?"
"I'm sorry, village chief..." the young man named Alkin froze, stopping his movements. "But... it's itchy."
Conan looked at the young man. His body was covered with fish-scale-like patterns, and there was even a circle of fish scales around his neck.
There was another person lying on the bed next to him. His face was covered with scales and there were structures similar to fish gills growing on his neck.
A few people with milder symptoms had been applying alcohol to the affected areas of their skin and then burning them with sacrificial torches.
Apparently, this was of no use, so Conan asked curiously, "Is there no hospital nearby?"
"There used to be a hospital, but for some reason it was turned into a mental hospital and then abandoned, so there's no hospital nearby now," the old man said, somewhat helplessly. "Thankfully, Professor Lucchino is willing to come back and treat us."
"Professor Luchino...?" Conan remembered the little girl had said that Professor Luchino was a biology expert and that he might know the novelist. "But he..."
"Unfortunately, the hospital I used to work at suffered such a change, so I had to find another place to continue my research." The professor explained. "Ah, but I did recommend Orpheus. It's a good place to get materials."
Conan's pupils shrank. Another member of the Oletus organization who was hiding his identity and had a relationship with Uncle Orpheus. It felt like Uncle Orpheus was surrounded by members of the Oletus organization...
"The situation with these villagers..." Judy said. "Is it ichthyosis?"
"Ichthyosis won't cause real fish scales to grow on the skin." Cameron was a little confused.
Akai Shuichi and Conan exchanged a glance, both thinking that this might be some kind of human experiment organized by Oletus. Conan thought more, perhaps the "fisherwoman" had undergone such an experiment and grew fish scales and a fish tail.
After the old man left, Conan pulled the professor to the corner of the room: "Luchino... Professor, why are you also..."
"Ha, you don't think I betrayed that Orpheus guy either." The professor laughed easily.
At this time, Akai Shuichi walked over and said, "The symptoms of those villagers really do seem to be the result of human experiments. Moreover, we just heard that this is the hometown of Miss Margaretha. It's hard not to suspect that you are involved in this matter."
The professor smiled and explained, "I'm not so crazy as to use ordinary people for experiments. I prefer to do it myself."
Conan couldn't help but shudder when he saw the professor's mouth opening and closing as he answered, revealing lizard-like fangs and a forked tongue, as well as the scales on his forehead covered with a bandage.
Although I knew early on that the professor could transform into a lizard, it was still a bit creepy to see that his human appearance still had the characteristics of a lizard.
"Haha, look how scared you are! Haven't you seen anyone more exaggerated than me?"
Conan scratched his head. The fisherwoman with a fish tail, the fool's gold covered with stone, the hustle and bustle whose body was replaced with puppet joints and decorated with a carousel... After thinking about it carefully, it seemed that the transformation of the evil lizard was the most consistent with his understanding of science.
"However, some of the things happening in this village are indeed related to our manor. I came here to solve this small problem."
"Small problem? These people have very serious illnesses, and I'm afraid they can't be solved in a short time." Shuichi Akai frowned.
Conan then asked, "What's the part related to Oletus Manor?"
"It's the sacrifice here." The professor's face darkened. "Someone's using the name of a master in the manor to perform human sacrifices, but they're actually running a smuggling operation."
"Honestly, this kind of thing should have been handled by Miss Fiona, but I didn't expect a sudden epidemic to break out in the village..."
"An adult in the manor?" Akai Shuichi pondered. "Is he your true leader?"
"No," the professor shook his head. "But since that master personally commissioned it, someone will definitely take it."
"I remember that you were a member of the sixth group of experiments in the manor, and Sister Fiona said that you were a firm believer in science at the beginning. Then why do you believe in things related to theology such as sacrifice now?" Conan asked curiously.
[Priest: Given the current situation at our manor, I would believe Miss Nightingale even if she said another great god would come tomorrow.]
[Novelist: This is what happens when metaphysics and science coexist.]
[Explorer: I'm back from buying some jelly and brought you two cheeseburgers, Lucino. Calling Fiona, send me over remotely.]
[Professor: That's great. I've been eating fish every day these days and I'm about to throw up.]
[Priest: All you do is order me around all day long, huh!]
[Prophet: Come back and have some tea when you’re done. I’ve made some scented tea.]
[Mercenary: William, you are not allowed to drink from the teapot!]
[Forward: (Tun Tun Tun) Sorry, I'm so thirsty after my workout.]
[Spell Master: You drank the good tea like a cow. (He holds his forehead)]
[Prophet: It’s okay, I can soak again.]
[Forward: Great, another pot.]
[Air Force: Go drink it yourself in the tea room. Don't drink the tea we brewed for such a long time!]
[Doctor: Wait, don’t drink the water directly!]
"Conan, if you were a researcher who had been working on your path for a long time without making any breakthroughs," the professor leaned closer to Conan. "But then suddenly something called theology appeared and suddenly solved all your problems. What would you think?"
"This... this is impossible. All scientific developments are gradual." Conan began to feel confused.
"Oh, I witnessed this during the sixth set of experiments. After that, science and theology were bound together in my mind. Everything known and explainable with what I learned was left to science, while the incomprehensible, unknown, and even incomprehensible things were left to theology."
"There are many people in the manor who specialize in theology, but their theological systems are still too complicated."
Both Conan and Shuichi Akai expressed helplessness, after all, they knew nothing about theology.
"Okay, let's leave the treatment of the patients to the professionals. You kind-hearted people should think about how to expose the crimes of this village." The professor pushed several people out of the room.
Conan and his group were pushed out and looked at the closed door helplessly.
Conan even complained: "Science and theology, these two can actually be discussed together..."