Perfikot walked to the lamp post and used her Eye of Omniscience to examine the lamp post, which displayed characteristics of alchemical constructs in her eyes. Her expression became extremely severe.

"Soul Gathering Lamp"

"Material: Ordinary"

"Craftsmanship: Excellent"

"Effect: Gathers souls within a 500-meter radius and collects grievances. Can store a certain amount of souls and grievances."

"Evaluation: A rather crude alchemical construct. A regular apprentice could make one in a day, but these are produced in quantity, not quality. Cover a city with them, and you can collect a large number of souls and grievances."

Looking at the information displayed by the Eye of Omniscience, Perfikot's face became even darker. She truly hadn't expected that right under her nose in Langton City, the Empire's capital, someone was collecting grievances and souls.

These two things might not seem like much, and the other party didn't appear to be harming anyone, just erecting a few lamp posts on the roadside, posing no harm to the residents living locally.

Nonetheless, collecting grievances and souls—it sounds like something only a villain would do.

What good person collects grievances and souls? Are you going to unite them in your Ten Thousand Souls Banner?

However, considering it might have links to certain religions, Perfikot decided not to deal with these things immediately. Instead, she turned to Shabelle and asked the Church Inquisitor, "Judge Shabelle, do you know anyone who would collect the souls and grievances of the deceased?"

"Collect souls and grievances? In my memory, I've almost never encountered such cases, only seen similar records in the church's files. It's said that in the era when magic was not as depleted as it is now, there was a heretical sect that worshipped death, driving corpses and enslaving souls, but this heretical sect was wiped out by the church over a hundred years ago," Shabelle recalled and finally dug out the information Perfikot wanted from the depths of her memory.

Upon hearing this, Perfikot had a grasp of the situation.

Clearly, the one collecting souls and grievances is confirmed to be the antagonist.

Nevertheless, she did not react immediately, but instead said to the two beside her, "I've found something, let's head back first!"

After she finished speaking, Perfikot looked at the street lamp again. She had intended to take it as crucial evidence but decided against doing so to avoid alerting the enemy.

Shabelle and Samantha didn't know what Perfikot had discovered, but they didn't ask many questions. They just nodded and prepared to follow Perfikot away from there.

Because it was a covert operation and the area was also a slum, Perfikot hadn't driven in. Now, to leave, she needed to walk to the edge of the slum.

For Perfikot, walking a segment wasn't a big deal. Instead, it helped her better understand this slum.

Located on the outskirts of Langton, this place had been a major gathering area for the impoverished. Compared to those civilians who can still find work to support their families in Langton, most people here do not have formal jobs.

They can't even afford to rent the cheapest apartment in Langton, so they live in these hastily constructed shacks outside the city, struggling below the poverty line.

For most people here, their so-called home might only have a plank large enough to lie down on and walls that leak wind.

As for anything else? It's a luxury for these destitute poor.

Perfikot personally saw a household that had at least four or five children, yet couldn't even provide clothes for each child. Instead, the four or five children crowded together on the plank, with only a bit of straw beneath them and covered by a piece of cloth that couldn't even be called a blanket.

As for the adults? The adults of this household sat with faces of despair at the doorway, it was clear they hadn't found work for a long time, their faces hungry and sullen.

Most people here can only do simple labor tasks, earning meager wages, such as dock workers.

If the Empire's overseas trade didn't have issues, they could manage to barely sustain their livelihood.

But now, the Empire's overseas trade has essentially become Schrodinger's cease, with docks not needing as many workers, thus they have become unemployed.

As for within Langton City? Relatively speaking, these impoverished folks living outside the city won't be hired, as whether it's nobles or factories, they have more options.

Those citizens with richer work experience, better physiques, and relatively decent education are better-suited workers for factories and more fitting servants for the nobles.

Thus, when the apocalypse comes and everything in Langton City plunges into depression, these people naturally can't find work, cutting off their sources of livelihood.

Even if there are still jobs within the city now, those physically stronger, healthier citizens, with better education levels and hygiene habits, won't be beaten by them, so why would it fall to these impoverished outside the city?

Disease, hunger, cold—these have completely enveloped this area. If no one helps them, they will soon fall into despair and die.

And this is why Eldest Princess Annie sought Perfikot's help; the situation here had reached an unmanageable extent. Even if Eldest Princess Annie mobilized relevant departments within the Empire for assistance, the help for the poor here would still be limited.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.