Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

”Strange, strange, this shouldn’t be happening?”

Feeling the unique vision at this moment, Hughes was full of confusion.

How could he be using Chloe’s vision?

He did possess quite a few unique abilities, most of which came from the Symbiotic Contract.

The contract granted abilities to both parties, which he understood.

Just now, he had inserted his finger into Chloe’s eye to use the contract to heal her injuries.

That, he could comprehend, was an intentional misdirection of the contract.

But now he could use Chloe’s vision, which made absolutely no sense.

He shouldn’t have this kind of ability, should he? He hadn’t signed a contract with Chloe.

Moreover, the Symbiotic Contract was an ability unique to Sirens and had nothing to do with either of them, right?Wait a minute, did this mean these abilities didn’t come from the contract but from some other source?

But what other connection did the two of them have?

Hughes looked down at his finger, which was still inside Chloe’s eye, and his expression twitched. Could it be this?

Chloe was lying motionless on the table. Her intense struggle earlier had left her nun’s robe slightly disheveled, with strands of her orange-red hair sticking to her forehead.

Had she passed out? Or encountered some kind of trouble?

Since this was the hideout of the Moths Chasing Fire, there should be others stationed here. He should go find someone.

Without overthinking, he quickly withdrew his hand.

However, in that instant, many things happened at once, overwhelming his mind.

【Shell】

The word flashed through his mind, and at the same time, his blurry vision gradually faded.

Suddenly, Chloe, who had been lying on the table, sat up.

”It worked! It actually worked!! Oh my god, it really can purify!”

A brilliant orange-red glow shone in Chloe’s eyes. She briefly examined herself and then gasped in shock.

”Wow, not just today’s pollution, all the accumulated pollution in my body is gone!? This… this is incredible!!!”

She sprang up from the table, her gaze sweeping over Hughes with a greedy glint as she licked her lips.

”Do you have any other knowledge you want to ask about? Ask anything! Since it can purify, oh my god, I have to go read books today, the most forbidden ones! I’ll study all night!”

Hughes was still in a daze. Too much had happened in that fleeting moment.

Looking at Chloe before him, he took a long time before finally asking, ”What just happened?”

”What happened?”

Chloe clasped her hands behind her back and circled Hughes, her eyes filled with growing appreciation.

Her gaze made Hughes shudder, it was the same look his boss used to give high-performing employees before he transmigrated.

”You stuck your hand in, touched the pollution, and then purified it, that’s what happened. Honestly, I’m quite shocked, it was instantaneous! And it even cleansed the rest of my body. I thought you’d have to stick your fingers in every affected spot!”

Hughes blinked. ”Instantaneous?”

”Yeah, that’s right! The moment you touched the pollution, it was purified.”

Hughes fell silent for a moment, then pointed at Chloe’s face.

Chloe: ?

She wiped her face with her hand. When she looked at her palm, her eyes widened.

Her hand was covered in blood.

Her expression turned dazed and shocked.

She then tried wiping her face with her sleeve, only to realize that her nun’s robe was also stained with blood in several places and had many rips.

”What… happened?”

When Hughes had slashed his palm with the dagger earlier, his blood was splattered everywhere. Chloe’s struggles had also torn parts of her robe.

She had been too caught up in her excitement to notice, but now that she was checking, everything seemed wrong.

Her eyes were still filled with blood, streaks of it radiating outward from her eye sockets.

Her hair was also stained, orange-red strands now mixed with dark red blood, creating an eerie beauty.

So when she had just approached him with a cheerful smile, Hughes had felt incredibly conflicted.

”This… this… what exactly is going on? Why is it like this? This is all your blood! My blood isn’t red… Hughes, what just happened?”

You’re asking me? I’d like to know too.

Hughes’ mind was in a mess. Everything had been too bizarre, both he and Chloe seemed strange. Something felt fundamentally off.

”I don’t know either. You suddenly lost consciousness and gripped my hand tightly. I… used some method to purify the pollution in you. Now it seems you’re fine. You really don’t remember anything in between?”

Chloe frowned, her expression subtly shifting.

Hughes had a gut feeling, she was using her Extraordinary vision.

That vision didn’t require her to look directly at something. Even though she had her head lowered, she was undoubtedly scanning the two of them.

After a while, Chloe lifted her head and looked at Hughes.

”I checked, both of our conditions are perfectly fine. There’s nothing unusual at all. And that’s what’s strangest… Is your healing ability some kind of Extraordinary power?”

Hughes nodded.

Chloe stared at him deeply. Pacing as she thought, she muttered, ”So… first I started wailing, then you found a way to heal me, and that’s when I woke up, right?”

”Yes. You really have no memory of it?”

”None. And that’s the strangest part, I’m a Extraordinary being. I shouldn’t experience memory gaps. Plus, I was struggling even after I lost consciousness, so why don’t I remember that?”

Hughes pressed his lips together.

He suddenly recalled something, the moment he withdrew his hand, a word had flashed through his mind.

What was it again?

【Shell】

Why had he thought of that?

Had she become an unconscious shell? Was that just a subconscious thought?

No, no matter how he thought about it, something was too strange.

Hughes’ heart skipped a beat. He looked up at Chloe.

”It’s late. I should head back. You should investigate this further, I feel like something’s off.”

Chloe seemed surprised. Then, as if she had thought of something, her gaze flickered before she raised an eyebrow.

”You don’t trust me?”

”Are you very trustworthy? You nearly crushed my hand just now. If I hadn’t activated my Extraordinary power, I might’ve bled to death right here.”

Hughes gestured at Chloe.

She was still covered in blood, his blood.

Chloe immediately looked a bit embarrassed.

”S-Sorry… I didn’t expect that to happen. Let’s go upstairs and deal with this first.”