The cafeteria gradually filled with people.

The students chatted and laughed, carrying their trays and finding places to sit.

Black Claw discreetly stacked the large bowls on its table... If left spread out, they would be too conspicuous. By stacking them, they were much more low-key! It crouched in its master's arms, tilting its head with a mischievous smile, thinking that foxes indeed were very cunning!

"Why do those traffickers also have missing pinky fingers?"

Bai Mo frowned, looking at the television hanging on the cafeteria ceiling.

The shot of the traffickers behind bars flashed by. But Bai Mo was certain he hadn't seen it wrong.

That dark red wound, the stark white bone – indeed, the pinky was missing!

He ate the spicy hot pot in his bowl, pulling out a piece of bamboo shoot and crunching it down.

He felt something was strange.

"Is someone collecting criminals' pinky fingers? Could it be the Committee?"

Still curious, he opened his phone to send a message to Zhang Shan to ask... but then felt Zhang Shan might not know. So he simply found Su Yaoyao in his message list.

[Committee Member Su, I saw on TV that many criminals were missing their pinky fingers. What's going on? Do you know?]

Soon, Su Yaoyao replied.

[Not telling you!]

[Last time you ate my water-boiled mutton, and all I got in return was a High Recruitment Fair souvenir protective talisman?]

[Does that do justice to my water-boiled mutton?]

Bai Mo tugged at the corner of his mouth... When he watched the West Ridge Military Factory livestream, he clearly saw several times that the protective talisman was always worn around Su Yaoyao's neck, even tucked into her collar.

He didn't reply.

Soon afterward, Su Yaoyao sent another message on her own.

[Everyone has noticed this, but so far, we haven't discovered why.]

[Some criminals suddenly lost a finger during capture.]

[Some lost a finger while in the prison cell.]

[The Committee even installed special high-frequency cameras to try and capture the truth.]

[Just yesterday, under these high-frequency camera watches, another few criminals lost fingers!]

[Experts from West State and Shangjing have both studied it, but they haven't come up with anything.]

[The big shots decided that this matter isn't urgent for now...]

[Anyway, those losing fingers are heavy criminals or those on death row.]

[Taking their pinkies isn't lawful, but it's not a major issue either.]

Bai Mo tugged at the corner of his mouth, already understanding in his heart.

The person taking the criminals' pinkies had a terrifying level of power. So he bent the law slightly, and the Committee simply turned a blind eye.

"Ying ying ying!"

It was Black Claw in his arms, spearing a piece of meat with a fork and feeding it to its master.

They had to eat quickly, otherwise, the broth would grow cold and the flavor would worsen!

Bai Mo opened his mouth, eating the slice of meat, and patted his disciple's head.

Suddenly, several university students walked by, trays in hand, glancing over with luminous eyes.

"Isn't that Bai Mo junior brother over there?"

"His Immortal Beast is so obedient!"

"Can we go over and touch it?"

"No! Involving immortals leads to misfortune! With finals coming up, we should conserve our luck, lest we fail due to bad luck."

In the distance, Bai Mo's sharp ears caught the conversation.

"This... worthy of university students, their logic is remarkably thorough."

Then he overheard some girls discussing the Yang Wan and Yang Zhan siblings from before.

"That Yang Wan who had a conflict with Bai Mo is said to be in detention. He won't finish his sentence in time for the new semester and will have to continue serving another month before he can report."

"Huh? Does that mean he won't need to join military training? No standing under the blazing sun, no running drills, no standing at attention?"

"Why should that be? He should attend military training first, and then continue serving his sentence!"

From afar, Bai Mo continued eating spicy hot pot, unable to help but nod.

"This... worthy of university students, their proposals are rational and well-argued."

And then a few male students walked past with trays, speaking mysteriously in hushed tones.

"Have you noticed, criminals on the news recently are all missing a pinky?"

"Did you see that? I saw it too!"

"It's so eerie."

"Who do you think is that ruthless, pulling every criminal's finger?"

The students exchanged glances, all wearing knowing smiles.

"Heh heh heh, it must be the West State Boss!"

"Probably, he needs a lot of pinkies for alchemy."

"After all, it's the Alchemy Path!"

In the distance, Bai Mo gave Black Claw a sip of rib soup, his face darkening.

"These... useless university students, making wild guesses, just talking nonsense!"

...

The fierce wind swept over the mountain ridges, pouring into the Fox Mountain Bronze Hall.

Bai Mo sat behind the desk, reading through the recently excavated documents.

"The recent documents are all focused on various execution grounds?"

Take the Copper Plate in his hand, for instance, which recorded the "Cannon Fodder" punishment method, detailing its implementation and the alchemists' observations of the human body during the Cannon Fodder process.

"Isn't this so-called Cannon Fodder essentially the basic method of preparing living ash?"

The documents described a huge pit covered with a thick layer of ashes and embers as the Cannon Fodder execution ground. The criminal would fall into it; in one moment, they caught fire, in a second, they struggled, in a third, they died, in a fourth, they turned into a charred corpse, and in a fifth, they were reduced to flying ashes, becoming part of the execution pit!

In the execution pit, a Bronze Beast suppressed the wailing souls, and over the years, this Bronze Beast, breathing in the ashes and embers, could even capture the souls!

"Is it really that mystical?"

Bai Mo read on, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Beside the desk, Black Claw acted as a temporary little secretary, wielding a brush to clean the newly unearthed bronze bone saw.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com