Hell’s Handbook

“Bo Ya, it’s such a waste for you to be Situ’s subordinate. I think it’s more appropriate for both of you to exchange roles,” said Su Jin with a smile.

Bo Ya cupped her mouth and laughed quietly as she rolled her eyes at Situ Jin, then said sweetly, “Actually, our boss is very intelligent too. It’s just that he’s better at the big picture stuff. The developments that the Department of Supernatural Affairs has made over the past few years have been planned and executed by him alone. And based on our current situation, his plans have worked out very well!”

Situ Jin glared nastily at Su Jin, then looked back at Bo Ya lovingly. Su Jin couldn’t help but slap his own forehead and wail, “Oh nooooo my amazing Final Fantasy team has lost yet another great mage! What a tragedy!”

“Stop it, will you? Bo Ya said you were going… fishing? What’s that about?” asked Situ Jin.

Su Jin explained, “Bo Ya has already put it very clearly. To the people of this city, those people we chased out are officials and aristocrats, but to owners like ourselves, they’re nothing more than bait. If we don’t throw them out, then who would these monsters target?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Just then, the priest had returned from chasing the officials and aristocrats out. He said to Su Jin and the rest, “What is next on your plan?”

“Information. We need complete information, and the more detailed the better. I need to know exactly what I’m facing here,” Su Jin said to the priest.

But the priest slumped his shoulders and said, “I’m really sorry about this. The church did have information on those monsters, but…but a parishioner named Sherva borrowed it and he never returned it after that.”

“A parishioner? Where does he live?” asked Su Jin. Even though the monster they were going to face was a Level D Challenge monster, he felt that they should proceed cautiously, and it would be best to get as much detailed information as possible. It would be worth it even if they had to spend a little more time to gather more information.

The priest paused to think, then said, “He lives in the west of the city. There’s a slum there that’s so dark, even the lowest of thieves in the city refuse to go anywhere near there. The people who live there have been cursed by the devil. They eat the worst food and drink polluted water, so they’re people who might die at any time.”

“Why don’t you just say that they live in hell?” snapped Wu Chen impatiently. He couldn’t believe how this priest managed to find so many words to say.

The priest nodded in agreement. “You’re right. That place is basically hell on Earth. Only soldiers who escaped from war or people who have committed unforgivable sins would live there. In the whole of Mo City, our church is the only one who would give them food sometimes.

“A parishioner who lives there was suddenly very interested in the legend of the monsters, which the church has records of, so he borrowed the information from the church. After that, the crisis hit the city and everyone has been living on tenterhooks. It’s been a long time since I last went to the slum myself, so I didn’t get the chance to get the information back.”

Su Jin exchanged glances with the others. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they would definitely run into the monsters if they went to that slum. Based on what the priest said, he was quite certain that the monster crisis had started from the slum.

“Father, do you have any weapons here that could injure those monsters? We came here in a hurry so there are a number of things that we didn’t bring along.” Su Jin not only wanted information, but he also wanted equipment. It was definitely a good idea to get everything he could out of the place right from the start.

To their dismay, the priest shook his head. “I’m really sorry but the church is a place to alleviate the troubles of the people and a place to worship God, so we wouldn’t keep any weapons here. But… if you have some patience, we can make some holy water and it will be useful to bring along.”

“Holy water? Sounds like it’s quite troublesome to make,” said Su Jin when he heard the priest mention having patience.

The priest nodded. “That’s right. We need to hold onto a cross made from silver, pray before the statue of God for one day and one night, then place the cross into water to produce holy water.”

“Got it. In that case… I’ll have to trouble the four newbies,” Su Jin said to the four newbies, including Bo Ya. They weren’t able to fight much, so it would be too dangerous for them to go to the slum. But getting them to make holy water was a job well suited for them.

“The rest of us will head to the slum to get the information. Three days isn’t a short time, but it’s best not to delay if we don’t have to. If Team Boning Knife ends up dying in a Level D Challenge, we’ll be the biggest joke of the century.”

“I object! What if the four newbies get attacked by the monster while all of us are away?” asked Situ Jin with a frown.

Su Jin, Kano Mai, and Wu Chen burst out laughing. Su Jin patted Situ Jin’s shoulder and said, “I just knew you would object to it. So, you can stay here and watch things. If anything untoward happens to them despite that, you can end your own life! You’re no longer the great mage of my team anymore anyway.”

Situ Jin gave him an awkward laugh in return. Su Jin proceeded to walk out with Wu Chen and Kano Mai, but the priest ran after them and said, “Won’t you at least rest for one night?”

“There’s no need for that. We’ll have trouble sleeping if we don’t settle some of these things properly.” Su Jin waved the priest off.

So, including Situ Jin, the five left in the church began the process of making holy water, while Su Jin and his two companions moved toward the slum in the west of the city. They had spent too much time at the church, so the sun had completely set by now. Compared to how they had a whole group of people to welcome them when they arrived, Mo City was now as quiet as a ghost town.

Once they reached the west part of the city, it wasn’t difficult to locate the slum because this place was simply too obvious to miss. It was so filthy and so smelly. Just like what the priest had said, this place was like hell on Earth. Yet, to their surprise, there were still a lot of people moving around the area.

Compared to the rest of the city, this place was as filthy and chaotic as hell, but it was actually the only place where people were still moving about freely. They did look pretty much like zombies though. All of them seemed so terribly exhausted.

The arrival of Su Jin and his companions clearly also surprised the residents of the slum. However, they did have a good impression of the church, since the priest had come here often to give them essentials and teach them about the bible before the crisis occurred. Some people even saw the priest and other acolytes as a way to gain emotional relief, so when they saw the three of them wearing clothing that bore crosses, some of them immediately swarmed toward the trio and greeted them politely.

“Esteemed and highly respected soldiers of the Lord, praise be! What brings you to the ugly, lowly slum today?” An older woman bowed deeply to the trio. She was very polite toward them, but she had very ugly features indeed. Her facial features were not of the right proportions, and she was covered in many scars that had been left behind by illness.

Su Jin had no idea how to reciprocate her greeting, so he simply placed a fist on his chest and bowed slightly. “We are looking for a parishioner named Sherva. He has borrowed something from the church and we need it very urgently now, so we must take it back today.”

“Sherva? He’s not appeared for some days now.”

“If you guys hadn’t come looking for him, I’d have thought he was already dead.”

“He’s a real loner and just hides himself in his nest. He doesn’t really go anywhere.”

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Several others murmured such words among themselves.

Su Jin scanned their faces, then said in a bright voice, “Is there anyone who can tell me where Mr. Sherva lives?”

“Esteemed sir, I can tell you where he lives and I can bring you there too,” said the older woman respectfully.

“That would be wonderful,” said Su Jin gratefully. This seemed to make the older woman very excited, as if she had made a wonderful contribution.

The trio followed the older woman and quickly found themselves… in the sewers of Mo City. The slum was located right above the sewers in the first place, and many of them made their home in the sewer itself, including the man whom the trio was looking for.

Thankfully, the sewer was rather broad, reaching a height of more than three meters. Only the smell was a little unbearable. Also, one could spot the dead carcasses of animals that died within the sewer. The fact that the people living here didn’t end up with a ton of terrible diseases was a miracle in itself.

The older woman led them to a section that connected three pipes, which made this area especially spacious. There was a little door on a pipe here, so it was clear that someone had claimed this one as their own.

“Esteemed sir, this is where Sherva lives,” said the older woman politely.

Su Jin nodded. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re too kind. If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave you here.” The woman was so happy to receive a word of thanks from Su Jin, she looked like she had just won the lottery. Even the scars on her face trembled from her smile.

After the woman left, Su Jin noticed that Wu Chen was touching some of the pictures drawn on the pipe. He asked curiously, “Found anything?”

“Yeah. This diagram looks like something I’ve seen before. It should be some special sort of diagram that can control or drive away demons. If this was drawn by the person living here, then the person who drew it must be that Sherva we’re looking for,” said Wu Chen solemnly.

Su Jin chuckled. “Thanks, Captain Obvious, for that analysis.”

“Ahem! I’m not that good at deduction, that’s all. Everyone has their own gifts,” said Wu Chen as he glared back at Su Jin.

Su Jin shrugged, then walked into the pipe. The moment he set foot inside the pipe, a shrill sound hit their ears. This place seemed to be a different world from outside the pipe.

“Be careful, everyone,” said Su Jin before summoning White Ash from his Handbook, in case it came in handy.

The shrill sound was ear piercing and a terrible wind was rushing through the tunnel as well. In the dim light of the tunnel, all they could see was a man seated on a rattan chair. He was wearing a red coat and was searching his body for something.

“Mr. Sherva!” yelled Su Jin loudly.

But the man did not react at all. He continued to search his body and seemed to be mumbling something to himself.

Su Jin motioned to Kano Mai and Wu Chen to stay where they were before slowly moving toward the man by himself. But when he got close enough, he realized that the man wasn’t wearing a red coat. The red was coming from countless cuts all over his skin.