"Thud——"
Gauss struck the stone slab with his fist, the magical barrier to the basement flickered, finally unable to bear the weight and shattered with a loud crash.
An even more intense stench wafted out from within.
"Light Spell."
Gauss released a glowing orb that followed him.
The passage instantly became bright.
"Cough, cough!"
"How pitiful, have they been trapped in here all this time?"
Aaliyah gently fanned the air.
When the group stepped into the basement below, they finally saw the layout within.
Murky glass jars soaking various organs, forceps, saws, and other surgical tools, an experiment table, a workbench, and...
An iron cage covered with black cloth in the corner of the room.
Gauss quickly walked over and lifted the black cloth.
"Wow!"
Abby, whose body could not move, huddled in the corner, a dazzling light surged into her view as the black cloth was lifted.
The suddenly bright environment made her squint slightly.
Since being locked in here, it had been more than half a month since she last encountered such bright, warm light.
"What is this?"
Her vision was not yet fully restored.
A gentle voice that instinctively made her feel at ease reached her ears.
"It’s okay now."
Her pupils gradually adjusted to the brightness, the scene in front of her slowly became clear.
In the light, a figure bathed in a holy white glow slowly came into view.
This handsome man looked somewhat at a loss, with a hint of pity and sigh in the depths of his eyes.
"Crack, crack——"
The man placed his hand on the iron cage and exerted slight force.
The iron bars, thicker than a wrist, were easily bent open.
He gently lifted the missing girl Abby out from the iron cage, then took out a black robe and covered her dirty body after being imprisoned for so long.
Abby lay in this strong and powerful embrace, looking up at that flawless face.
"Is this... an angel?"
...
After rescuing the trapped Abby, Gauss did not linger long at the scene.
Ying first conducted a thorough search of the surroundings, ensuring there was no other survivor, then the group quickly scavenged the usable spoils at the scene.
Some evil items, such as experimental organs, notes, and records, were destroyed on the spot.
Finally, Gauss unleashed a shocking "Fireball Technique."
The scene was completely obliterated, the house, buildings, and various experimental equipment all melted under the high temperature of the fireball.
He destroyed all of it, ensuring that no second witch Megan was born.
However, before destroying, he had already recorded some key evidence using the "Memory Ball" to ensure that when needed, there wouldn’t be a lack of evidence.
This Memory Ball was a magical object purchased in Yuge Town.
Somewhat like a camera from a past life, the recorded scene can be preserved for a long time.
And the village chief Hodder and a few other village elders followed heavily as if burdened with a thousand pounds behind the group, while Gauss used a spell called "Friendship," but actually a "Truth-Speaking Spell," to interrogate Hodder and others.
Combining the notes in the basement and the statements from the village chief and others, he finally understood the entire story.
After returning to the village, Gauss gathered the villagers in an open area.
Then he told the villagers on the spot everything that happened in the stone house, about the existence of witch Megan.
Accurately speaking, witch Megan was still the ’ancestor’ of the Herbal Village villagers, a rare magical genius born in the village centuries ago.
In pursuit of power, she embarked on the path of an adventurer and, by chance, obtained a rare wizard inheritance, taking a completely different path as a Mind Shifter wizard.
Because the mind-shifting experiment required reducing the rejection response of body switching, she set her sights on the same clan people sharing a similar bloodline with her.
Thus began a "breeding" and "experiment" that spanned hundreds of years.
And to facilitate her management, she would choose an obedient person to become the village chief every few years, poisoning and killing those who were disobedient or rebellious, then selecting the next obedient manager.
At the same time, she would clear the surrounding monsters, regularly provide some materials or other forms of support to prevent her "petri dish" from encountering accidents.
Under this soft-hard carrot and stick strategy, the herbal village formed its current situation.
Meanwhile, the cost that came with it was that people in Herbal Village would occasionally "disappear," with some of the missing serving as new bodies for the witch’s replacement and others as experimental material.
Some went missing like Abby while gathering herbs, some left a letter to venture out of town, some contracted an incurable "strange disease"...
Although some villagers were suspicious, they were quickly reassured.
Moreover, this era wasn’t considered safe.
Even in a normal village, a young child wanting to grow up safely might encounter various accidents, with some naturally dying before maturity due to diseases, accidents, hunger, or monster attacks...
Compared to those unknown risks, the prosperous Herbal Village was already considered a good place for settlement.
Therefore, families who lost children could only endure the pain, comforting themselves with the misfortune of themselves and the children, then continue living their lives.
After all, the deceased are gone, but the living still have to face future life.
And now, in front of the villagers in the square, Gauss revealed the hidden bloody truth.