Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 608 - 606: Linden

Meow Meow Head: "You! Still! Know! How! To! Find! Me!"

A surge of intense anger seemed to burst from the chat window of the friend communicator. The Witch instinctively leaned back, ending up seated on the ground. She looked around, a subtly guilty expression on her face.

Meow Meow Head: "Do you know what it's been like for me here alone in Southeast Asia? I had to take care of everything in the Odd Jobs store—sweeping, mopping, stocking, selling, negotiating business, beating up customers—and you haven't stepped in once! ARGH, I'm so angry! I'm here, harassed by mosquitoes, while you're enjoying the good life in Great Britain..."

Her partner's complaints flowed endlessly, like a torrential river. The Witch guiltily plugged her ears with her index fingers and typed, "Hey, I'm busy too, you know. Being a Witch requires a quiet, undisturbed environment. I've been working hard brewing potions, conducting experiments, and making props, all for our sake in the end."

Meow Meow Head, the Witch's partner, was also a disciple of the "Professor," just like her. The difference was that Meow Meow Head had originally been a small, grey-and-white stray cat. When the Professor found it, Meow Meow Head was desperately fighting some stray dogs over dinner scavenged from a rubbish bin. Although it successfully fought off the intruders and awakened its player potential, it was also badly injured and close to death.

The Professor took Meow Meow Head back to the Syndicate, cared for it meticulously, and appointed his chief disciple to teach it everything about humans.

As a feline, Meow Meow Head's task types were entirely different from those of human players. With agile movements and keen instincts, it was promoted to Lv 10. After drinking a Magic Potion, it transformed into an upright-walking, half-human-height cat and was paired with the Witch.

If the Witch was a seemingly elegant and proud noble lady who was, in reality, greedy and stingy, then Meow Meow Head was like the girl-next-door type: outwardly cold and gloomy, but actually shy, possessing extremely strong self-esteem, and prone to using biting remarks to keep others at a distance.

Of course, the "girl" part was questionable. The Professor never revealed whether Meow Meow Head was male or female when it was picked up. The latter always dressed in gothic-style black robes and had a cold, androgynous voice. So, to this day, the Witch still did not know her partner's specific gender—they were both too proud to ask.

Well... In any case, Meow Meow Head's gender is Meow Meow Head, I guess.

"TSK!"

Meow Meow Head said coldly, "Get to the point. I have to groom my fur later; my tail has started to mat again recently."

The Witch, knowing she was at fault, gave a sheepish smile and typed out the information she had gathered during the mule task. Meow Meow Head could be considered half an information dealer, and its ability to gather information wasn't much worse than a mule's.

"The ruler of Tear Country, Moloch, art sculptures, Pizza Club, missing persons cases..."

Over in the Southeast Asia Odd Jobs store, Meow Meow Head frowned, extending a fluffy finger to push up the glasses on its pink nose. "I think I remember this case..."

"Oh!"

The Witch's eyes lit up. "Quick, tell me."

"Hold on."

Meow Meow Head casually snapped its fingers. The wooden door of the Odd Jobs store instantly closed. Several steel plates descended from the ceiling, completely sealing the narrow, merchandise-filled shop and blocking out the bustling noise from the street outside.

Meow Meow Head: "You should be aware of the child disappearance case that happened in Great Britain fourteen years ago, right?"

The Witch paused, then slowly typed, "Are you talking about the case in Sardinia? I know about it."

Fourteen years ago, a middle-class British couple took their three children, along with several friends who also had children, on a trip to Sardinia, Italy.

One night, the couple left their sleeping children in the hotel room while they went to drink and chat with friends by the hotel's swimming pool. At some point, the wife grew concerned about the children and went back to check. She was horrified to discover the hotel room window broken and their eldest three-year-old daughter mysteriously missing from the room.

At that time, British society at large paid great attention to the case; it was almost a matter of national concern. Great Britain and Italy deployed a considerable number of personnel for the search and investigation. However, all leads came to a dead end.

There was much speculation surrounding the case. Some said it was a long-premeditated kidnapping; others believed it was a drama staged by the couple, whose daughter had already died by foul play.

The couple firmly denied these accusations and made all public donations transparent. For over a decade, they actively continued searching for their daughter.

Rumor had it that a highly regarded Private Detective with strong professional ethics died mysteriously during the investigation. Scotland Yard's statement regarding the detective was, "The cause of death of the deceased is inexplicable."

Due to the sensational nature of the case, its public interest never faded, and the Witch had heard plenty of news about it.

Meow Meow Head typed, "The anonymous discussion website 4chan delved into this case before, with users associating it with an American performance artist. That performance artist is quite famous in New York, Washington D.C., and other places for his performance art shows. He owns a Pizza Club in Washington D.C. filled with many peculiar art pieces, and the walls feature paintings related to Moloch. According to internet sleuths, this club has hosted many high-society figures from the United States."

With that, Meow Meow Head sent several photos. They depicted an artist lying in a bathtub covered in sauce, sculptures of strangely twisted women, a sculpture of a man wearing antlers and holding a hoof, a goat's head decoration, and rhinoceros horn hats.

As a member of a long-standing Magic Family, the Witch's knowledge of mystical studies undoubtedly surpassed that of most players.

She instantly recognized the items in the photos. "Druids, the Earth Mother God, and the Beast Horn God?"

"Exactly." Meow Meow Head nodded. "This performance artist, lying in a bathtub drenched in sauce while American socialites dip fries into it to eat—on the surface, it seems like radical performance art, but in reality, it's an ancient Druidic practice from Britannia."

Contrary to the image of Druids reshaped by modern video game culture, the traditional Druids of Britannia were savage Wizards. Their practices were detailed in "The Gallic Wars," written by Gaius Julius Caesar between 58 and 52 B.C. They worshipped the Giant of the world, killed livestock or enemies with daggers, and performed Divination based on the shape of entrails. After Divination, they would also consume parts of the sacrifice. The remains of such victims were known as Lindow Man.

Like the Druids, many ancient Europeans worshipped the Earth Mother God and the Beast Horn God. The image of the Earth Mother God underwent multiple changes, with different versions existing in different regions. Over time, her worshippers were mainly characterized by wearing cone-shaped hats and masks—the pointed hats of Witches also stem from this worship of the Earth Mother God.

The Beast Horn God (depicted as a man with deer antlers holding a hoof-shaped ring) is an important deity in the Celtic Divine System, ranking slightly below the Earth Mother God, with a priesthood over nature and agriculture.

Although the Beast Horn God did not hold as high a status as the Earth Mother God, he had many followers due to the broad scope of his priesthood. These followers united under the Beast Horn God, the Earth Mother God, and the Moon God to fight against the invading Shan Tribe culture.

Unsurprisingly, they failed. The Earth Mother God, Beast Horn God, and Moon God were all deemed incarnations of evil. Antlers, pointed hats, crows, black robes, goats, and snakes were also considered evil symbols by Shan Tribe culture.

As the heir to a Magic Family, the Witch was well aware that traditional worship of the Earth Mother God and the Beast Horn God was never something venerable. It became even more corrupt and wicked after being stigmatized.

The American performance artist's actions in the photos were less about performance art and more a secretive display of the ancient, malevolent Lindow Man culture.

Considering the plethora of symbolic items like goat head decorations and rhinoceros horn hats in the Pizza Club owned by the performance artist, it wasn't hard to discern his true inclinations.