Chapter 737: Chapter 625: The Finger in the Salt Jar

Jeming didn’t rush to move.

He opened the private channel on the Magic Net Terminal, pulled up the map, and carefully studied the suspected areas marked by Oston.

The map was densely marked with hundreds of red dots, scattered across every corner of the Plane.

He needed to choose a suitable entry point.

There can’t be too many Wizards; after all, the more people there are, the more chaotic it gets, and when snatching spoils, no one will be polite.

With more Wizards, the possibility of obtaining the spoils would drastically decrease.

Nor could he choose places that were too remote.

If the eerie phenomena were indeed that dangerous, venturing alone into unknown territories, even for him, was something to weigh carefully.

Jeming’s finger swiped across the map, and his gaze finally locked onto a location.

The red dot was marked at the edge of a forest, a considerable distance from the nearest other red dot.

Map notes showed that the area had recently seen anomalous villager deaths.

"This is the one."

Jeming put away the map, transforming into a stream of light and disappearing into the sky.

Along the way, to prevent excessive flying speed from having too great an impact on the Plane, Jeming maintained a low steady flight speed.

He ensured his flight in the high sky was only at twenty times the speed of sound, dragging a faint stream of light under the amber sky.

Yet this miniature gossamer garden Plane, although exquisite like a toy, was not small in actual area.

From the teleportation platform where he was located to the target area, at his current speed, it would take about twenty minutes.

This time was enough for him to do many things... such as observing competitors.

Spiritual Power spread silently, extending outward in all directions centered at him.

The true body of Refining Void Perfection provided an astonishing boost to Spiritual Power.

Before advancing, his Spiritual Power coverage was already far beyond other Wizards of the same level, but there was still an obvious sense of boundaries.

Now, that invisible perception power felt more like a body of water continuously extending outward, no clear boundary, only gradually diluted concentration.

Even though the ability to collect intelligence would decline in the overly "diluted" outer region, it was already enough as an emergency or alarm.

Within this "body of water," he could clearly perceive other spirit bodies’ existence.

Approaching in his direction were eight.

Jeming slightly frowned.

This quantity, while a bit much, was still within his acceptable range when exploring an area with so many Wizards.

After all, the map identified over a hundred suspected locations.

While around many red dots, even ten to twenty Wizards rushed over, there were more locations where only single-digit numbers of Wizards were present.

In terms of number, the number of Wizards heading to this point was considered mid-to-upper level; competition pressure was significant, but naturally, safety was higher too.

Jeming continued flying while pulling up the Magic Net Terminal to re-examine the remarks information for that red dot.

Oston’s management Artificial People had been stationed in that area, and the Terminal would update their collected information in real time.

He clicked on the information page.

[Location ID: 017]

[Management Artificial People: Old Herman]

[Latest information update: Three hours ago by standard time]

Witness report summary:

In the past two weeks, continuous abnormal phenomena have appeared in this town and surrounding villages.

Several residents reported finding something that shouldn’t be there in their kitchen condiment bottles — an index finger.

All witnesses described it consistently: pale skin with age spots, nail creases forever in an unnaturally damp state.

It wouldn’t appear in conspicuous places but was hidden inside condiment bottles, especially salt shakers.

Only when someone opened a salt shaker to take salt would they find an unwanted finger inside.

This finger wouldn’t actively attack or relocate (at least not in front of the witnesses), but it would remain there continuously.

Even if extracted with tongs, thrown into fire or water, or simply replaced the salt shaker, it would reappear the next time someone opened the salt shaker.

Death case summary:

Confirmed death count: 47.

Commonality among all deceased: within 24 hours before death, each consumed food prepared in kitchens where the finger had appeared.

Shared symptoms of the deceased: the food tasted "bitterly salty," yet sodium content tests didn’t show excess levels.

Intense thirst, dehydration symptoms appeared within several hours after eating, then developed into full-body swelling, eventually dying of acute renal failure.

Conventional medical methods (including Low Level Healing Magic) couldn’t alleviate or reverse symptoms.

Manager’s notes:

"This isn’t ordinary salt poisoning. I’ve examined the corpses of these victims; their kidneys were ’preserved’ at a cellular level. It was as though their bodies were forcibly turned into salted meat by being immersed in vast amounts of salt."

"That finger is rather ’playful.’ It doesn’t kill everyone in the town simultaneously but goes from one household to another. Each time, it affects only one kitchen, causing only that family to eat fatally salty food. Once the family is dead, it moves to the next."

"I think it enjoys this process."

Jeming closed the information page, expression unchanged, but his gaze deepened.

Forty-seven lives.

In this garden Plane meticulously cared for by the Eighth Level Grand Mage, ordinary people lived peaceful, unworldly lives.

Then one day, they opened the salt shaker, finding a finger that shouldn’t exist and were horrified.

Finally relieved from their fright, the family gathered to eat, thinking today’s dishes were a bit salty, not caring much.

A few hours later, thirst, dehydration, swelling, death.

While the finger quietly watched everything, then moved to the next household.

"Playful."

Jeming’s mind conjured up the artificial manager’s appraisal of this eerie phenomenon.

Now, it seemed the word was precisely used, making people uncomfortable.

He continued flying.

Twenty minutes later, Jeming landed on a small hill at the town’s edge.

From his high vantage point, the town was larger than he imagined.

Building structures lined orderly along both banks of a small river, stone paths connecting every household, smoke rising from chimneys, children chasing playfully in the alley from a distance.

Appearances all seem normal.

But Jeming’s Spiritual Power had already detected a certain subtle "offness" in the air.

It was a feeling hard to describe...

Just like a clear body of water mixed with a drop of ink, very little ink, not enough to change the water’s color, but you know it’s there.

He turned around, looking at the figures landing one after another behind him.

Eight people.

Six men and two women, judging by the energy fluctuations, all were Sixth Level Wizards.

Their attire varied; some wore elaborate wizard robes, others donned tight-fitting clothes for easy movement, and one looked like he was in a lab coat, probably just out of the laboratory.

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