Extraordinary Voyage

Thud—

Wood, who never expected his deputy would attack him, lunged forward, desperately rolling on the ground to evade the following assault.

Barely managing to stand up again, albeit shakily, was only thanks to the superhuman physical resilience of an Official Knight. Under such a critical injury, it was hard to say how much combat power he actually had left.

Tap... tap... tap...

Clutching his wounded lower back with difficulty, Wood stared at his colleague approaching step by step with a blood-dripping longsword, incredulously asking, "Bastard, Chester, what are you doing?!"

"No, no, you're not Chester, when did this happen?!" Wood quickly realized that this middle-aged man catwalking in such an enchanting manner couldn't possibly be Chester.

"Hee hee hee..." The rough-looking middle-aged man covered his mouth, giggling coquettishly, causing a wave of nausea.

Simultaneously.

Among the team executing the mission with Wood, which consisted of four Extraordinary individuals and ten apprentices, several acted immediately following "Chester's" attack.

"Is he not the only one who betrayed us?!"

Squish—

Ah!

Clang! Clang! Clang!...

Caught off guard, some were struck down instantly, while others quickly drew their swords to counterattack.

Regardless, amidst such sudden changes, the main forces hunting the "Killing Ghost" had become entirely preoccupied with themselves, not to mention continuing the mission.

Perhaps feeling the victory was assured, the indescribable "Charming Man" rippled like a wave, slowly transforming into another appearance.

A beautiful and elegant noble lady in an ice-blue long dress, wearing a bluebell-shaped headpiece, holding a longsword in her slender jade-like hands, her eyes dancing with a constant smile.

"That's... Highly Poisonous Bluebells? How could it be her?!" In the corner, Aiven was a bit startled by his misjudgment, as the guests' reactions had clearly indicated it should have been the "White-Faced Dancer."

However, the realization struck him in the next moment.

"No good, there are two of them!"

Reliance on experience can be deadly! The "Killing Ghost" hadn't simultaneously struck in the past eight years; what guarantees that it wouldn't this time?!

The "Highly Poisonous Bluebells" mastered Illusion Techniques and Mind Control, but the control range had its limits. Even if her ability had once again improved, controlling nearly half of the City Guards to varying extents couldn't leave her still capable of controlling the guests.

This only meant that the "White-Faced Dancer" was hiding in the shadows, yet to show up!

"Aiven, do you have a plan?"

The current situation had already validated Aiven's guess, leaving Anthony with no choice but to pin his hopes on Aiven again. The "Highly Poisonous Bluebells" had the City Guards preoccupied and couldn't escape for now, making the urgent task to find the "White-Faced Dancer." Despite being terrifying, the exposed lion wasn't as deadly as the serpent lurking in the dark.

Especially since the concrete abilities of the "White-Faced Dancer" remained unknown; one careless move could turn this hunt into a reverse hunt, where even they couldn't escape becoming prey.

"I'll give it a try."

Aiven knew time was of the essence. Closing his eyes, the real-time monitoring picture compiled by the "Base Station" Owl Bess swiftly flowed through his mind, with "Data Visualization" assisting in identifying and modeling each person in the hotel.

"Do you see it?"

Recalling the information Anthony provided about the "White-Faced Dancer." A place where everyone could see, wouldn't possibly be secluded corners and hidden rooms, thus these places could be initially excluded.

The most eye-catching place in the whole hotel would naturally be the dance floor, where the "Killing Ghost" might be hiding among the crowd on the dance floor, enabling its use of abilities while making others wary of acting recklessly.

Thinking of this, Aiven immediately whispered a few words to Anthony, who upon hearing it, didn't hesitate to slip away to find the Governor.

Shortly after, a loud exclamation came from the direction of the Governor: "Everyone, turn your heads away, stop looking at anyone dancing in the dance floor!"

The voice resonated throughout the banquet hall, awakening the onlookers who were at a loss. Most listened to the directions of the on-site authority, temporarily gathering on one side of the banquet hall under the regular guidance of the attendants; Aunt Daphne and her friends were among them.

The reason they weren't immediately sent out was that they hadn't yet caught the true identity of the "Killing Ghost," and couldn't wholly rule out the slim chance it hid outside...

Breathing a slight sigh of relief, Aiven formed a guess about the abilities of the "White-Faced Dancer."

It should be some kind of "Meme!"

The concept of memes: the fundamental unit of "culture" transmitted through non-genetic means, particularly "imitation."

But this "Killing Ghost" wasn't spreading culture and information; it was spreading a life-threatening executioner's blade!

The "White-Faced Dancer's" method of killing should be a meme, an Extraordinary Power utterly beyond reasoning, adhering to rules far stricter than other "Killing Ghosts," yet offering no resolution.

Through combined intelligence and personal observations, Aiven preliminarily determined:

The longer guests observed her dance, driven by a certain form of empathy (specific type yet to be determined), the more stringent the mental judgment they received. If unable to pass the judgment, they became unable to resist joining in the dance with her.

At this point, the desire to dance would override everything, ignoring other emotions and even physiological conditions, unable to be halted by dislocated joints or being knocked unconscious.

Until the Evil Spirit changed its mind or they utterly exhausted themselves to... Death.

To outsiders, the only way to break the curse was to eliminate the source of the "meme"— the "Killing Ghost."

Within the pictures flowing through Aiven's mind from the investigation network.

Pushing back from the abnormal increase in individuals dancing, all males were temporarily excluded. All characteristics that could attract attention, such as beauty, grace, and uniqueness, and their owners were specially marked.

Then expanding the vision to the entire hall, determining on whom the audience's gaze primarily focused, eliminating individuals one by one.

As time ticked by, Aiven couldn't help but grow nervous, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

The City Guards were reaching their limit in holding on.

Likewise, the crowd on the dance floor, their frenzied dancing left every one of them in a state of excitement, with dislocations, sprains, and endless fatigue unable to stop their dancing desires.

Some older gentlemen with weaker constitutions had even collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath while still twitching their bodies.

"This one isn't... And this one isn't... Nor this... Three left, indistinguishable, which one is it? Damn it!"

Having conveyed the message to the Governor, Anthony had returned here, standing beside Aiven with Delis. Blending into the crowd temporarily taking refuge, they didn't appear conspicuous at all.

It wasn't until then that Krell ran in hurriedly from outside the banquet hall.

Aiven couldn't help but admire the man's thick nerves, noticing within a moment, despite his diversion, a lingering lip-print on his neck.

At least he's here now, Aiven thought, not wanting to waste time on trivial matters.

"However, finding the 'Killing Ghost' requires a few daring Warriors with rough nerves!"

So Aiven asked, somewhat mischievously, to those around him: "Did any of you bring Holy Water?"