As night fell, Xiao Lou leaned back in his seat and fell asleep. In his drowsy state, he felt his body being gently nudged, and he heard CEO Shao's familiar voice: " Professor Xiao, it's three o'clock, come and relieve me."
Yu Hanjiang was already in the driver's seat. Xiao Lou rubbed his eyes to wake himself up, walked over and sat down next to Captain Yu, and turned around to ask, " CEO Shao, is everything alright?"
Shao Qingge said, "There are no abnormalities at the moment. I'll leave the rest to you two."
Ye Qi was yawning sleepily. He handed the teleportation card from the card holder to Yu Hanjiang: " Captain Yu, here, you might need it."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Okay, you guys should go to sleep."
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi moved to the back row to sleep, while Xiao Lou took two pieces of wood and threw them into the stove. He sat in the front row to warm himself by the fire, and Yu Hanjiang whispered in his ear, " Has the skill of the Qin Guan card been refreshed? Change your binding target and bind it to my Telepathic Connection."
Previously on the cruise ship, we used two Qin Guan cards to facilitate the exchange of messages. Xiao Lou linked with Liu Qiao, and CEO Shao linked with Lao Mo. All card skills refresh at midnight. Liu Qiao was already asleep, so Xiao Lou retrieved the Qin Guan card and relinked with Yu Hanjiang. This way, the two could communicate without speaking, and they didn't have to worry about their voices disturbing their sleeping teammates.
The surroundings were extremely quiet. Xiao Lou quickly heard Yu Hanjiang's voice in his mind: "Old Mo said that most teams in Card World are stuck on level 8. I don't think that's right. Are the elite teams from the major guilds also unable to pass Red Heart 8?"
Xiao Lou said, "Old Mo's previous team didn't dare go to Red Heart 8, and we don't know what's going on there. After we get back to the main city and finish the B-level escape room, we can try to get some information from the Intelligence Bureau." Speaking of the Intelligence Bureau, Xiao Lou was very interested in the boss surnamed Tang. He couldn't help but joke, "By the way, the head of the Intelligence Bureau is so mysterious, can we just pay him to investigate?"
Yu Hanjiang replied seriously, "I'm afraid that won't work. An organization like the Intelligence Bureau must have regulations to protect its members. Otherwise, it would be too dangerous for their members to know so much."
Xiao Lou laughed and said, " Why is Captain Yu so serious? I was just joking."
Yu Hanjiang turned to look at him and met Xiao Lou's eyes.
Bathed in the light of the luminous pearl, those clear eyes held a faint smile, bright as stars… no, brighter than stars. Yu Hanjiang felt that these were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life, especially when they smiled, they were so captivating they could melt one's heart.
Xiao Lou's face flushed slightly—because he sensed what Yu Hanjiang was thinking.
Captain Yu was mentally praising his eyes...
Xiao Lou hurriedly looked away, her heart racing.
Yu Hanjiang also realized—he shouldn't let his mind wander; this was still connected to the Telepathic Connection.
He quickly changed the subject, saying, "It's past three o'clock. Shouldn't those who want to take action get started?"
Xiao Lou controlled his racing heart and said calmly, "It's very quiet around here, but most of the lifeboats have people on watch. Those people are probably still waiting for the right opportunity."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "We remain vigilant."
The sea was calm and still. The two chatted idly in their mental world. An hour passed, and nothing happened around them. Xiao Lou was a little puzzled. Could it be that the Challengers matched into the Weekly Routine this time were all relatively law-abiding people who wouldn't use extreme methods to steal cards from other Challengers? If that were the case, at least there would be no need for backstabbing.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, causing many of the surrounding lifeboats to rock, and the luminous pearl that had lit up also swayed from side to side.
Xiao Lou didn't mind, assuming it was just the wind. But the next moment, Yu Hanjiang suddenly grabbed his shoulder, gestured to the right front with his lip, and said in his mind, "There's movement over there."
Xiao Lou followed Captain Yu's gaze—to the southeast, an escape ark with a luminous pearl shining on it. The moment Xiao Lou turned his head to look, the luminous pearl shook violently a few times before disappearing.
If one weren't observant enough, the sudden disappearance of one of dozens of luminous pearls wouldn't attract any attention.
Xiao Lou immediately tensed up, thinking to himself, "Has something happened to that lifeboat?"
"It was too dark to see clearly, but the Luminous Pearl was shaking violently just now, which doesn't seem to be due to the wind…" Yu Hanjiang frowned. "I didn't hear any heavy objects falling into the sea, nor any sounds of struggle or resistance. If something had happened, wouldn't there have been no sound at all?"
"There was no sound of fighting either. Maybe we're overthinking it?" Xiao Lou also found it unbelievable. If something really happened on the whole ship, how could there be no sound at all?
Yu Hanjiang alertly pricked up his ears and stared intently at the southeast direction.
Nothing happened after that, and the two thought they were just imagining things. But after about ten minutes, a lifeboat in the southeast direction shook violently twice again, and then went out silently, as if an invisible hand had suddenly taken it away.
A dark and windy night is the perfect time to commit murder.
"Something's wrong!" Yu Hanjiang exclaimed alertly, "Those two ships have probably run into trouble!"
"..." But Xiao Lou didn't hear anything. He clenched his fists nervously, glanced at his sleeping teammates behind him, and asked, "Should we wake them up?"
"Not for now." Yu Hanjiang stared intently into the distance—the pitch-black night seemed to have opened a huge gaping maw, ready to swallow everyone whole.
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said decisively, " Professor Xiao, do you remember Compass's second skill? Invincibility within a 10-meter diameter range. Draw a circular boundary to protect our escape pod, and I'll put on the Invisibility Cloak and go check it out."
"Are you sure you'll be okay going alone?" Xiao Lou asked him worriedly.
"Don't worry, they can't see me when I'm invisible. Besides, we have a Telepathic Connection channel, so we can communicate anytime. I'll use Ye Qi's teleportation card to fly over the sea and see who's behind this," Yu Hanjiang said calmly.
"Okay, I'll stay here." Xiao Lou quickly took out Compass and drew a circle. The metal ring instantly expanded into an invisible circle with a diameter of 10 meters, surrounding the lifeboat. The upgraded second skill of Compass is equivalent to a "safety circle", which can make the circular area unaffected by any attack or control cards.
Yu Hanjiang donned the Invisibility Cloak and used Ye Qi's Teleportation Card to teleport 50 meters horizontally, arriving at the scene of the incident in the blink of an eye.
He followed his memory to find the direction in which the luminous pearl disappeared.
The first lifeboat did indeed malfunction.
Everyone on the lifeboat was dead—their throats had all been cleanly cut!
Yu Hanjiang's pupils contracted, and he instantly teleported to the vicinity of another escape boat.
The entire Challenger crew on board was wiped out. The man in the helm stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if he had seen some terrifying monster. Yu Hanjiang thought of a "monster," and Xiao Lou, receiving his mental signal, immediately asked, " Captain Yu, was it a sea monster attack?"
Yu Hanjiang replied, "It wasn't a sea monster, it was man-made—everyone had their throats slit, and it was swift and decisive. Two ships' Challengers have already been killed, and they're still on their way. Professor Xiao, be careful…"
Just as I finished speaking, I heard Xiao Lou's voice in my mind: "I can sense someone underwater."
Without hesitation, Yu Hanjiang teleported back and returned to Xiao Lou's side in less than 3 seconds—he saw abnormal fluctuations under the sea surface, and these Challengers actually had their eyes on their escape boat!
At the time, in order to avoid risks, Lao Mo deliberately parked the lifeboats on the outer perimeter.
Unexpectedly, these people specifically targeted the outermost ships—because there were too many ships in the inner circle, making it easier for other Challengers to notice something was wrong. The outer area was far away and less populated, making it easier for them to commit their crimes. Even if one or two escape boats disappeared, it would be difficult for others to notice in the dark.
If Xiao Lou hadn't used Compass to create a protective barrier beforehand, their ship might have been hit as well.
Xiao Lou was surprised to find that he couldn't hear any sound at that moment. He immediately called out to Yu Hanjiang: " Captain Yu, there's suddenly no sound around me. I can't even hear my own breathing. It's eerily quiet. Can you hear me?"
Yu Hanjiang thought for a moment and said, "I understand. It must be a sound-blocking card that affects ambient sound effects. We communicate telepathically, without making any sounds, so I can hear you." He whispered reassuringly, "Don't worry, I'm right nearby."
Hearing his words, Xiao Lou felt much more relaxed: "No wonder the Challengers on those two ships were killed without making a sound. It seems they had a card that could cancel out sound in a certain area, which is why the assassination was so silent."
A swift and decisive assassination.
Two ships, 16 people, died silently at sea in the dead of night.
There were countless Challengers keeping watch around, yet no one noticed.
If Yu Hanjiang hadn't been sharp-eyed and noticed the abnormal shaking of the luminous pearl, he and Xiao Lou might have overlooked the two escape boats in the distance—in the darkness, bloodstains had already stained the sea red, but because it was night, the color of the seawater was indistinguishable.
Yu Hanjiang's expression was extremely serious; this must be a very professional assassination team.
He took a deep breath and thought to himself, "Wake up Old Mo!"
Xiao Lou nodded and immediately shook Lao Mo awake.
At this moment, the surrounding sounds on their ship were completely blocked out. When Lao Mo tried to speak, he found that his mouth was moving but no sound came out. He stared at Xiao Lou in shock, pointed to his mouth, and thought he had become mute.
Xiao Lou quickly wrote in his palm: "Ambient sound shielding, there is an assassination team underwater."
Old Mo was suddenly startled, then wrote in Xiao Lou's hand: " Hunter?"
Upon seeing these three words, Xiao Lou immediately used the Telepathic Connection channel to send a message to Yu Hanjiang.
After careful consideration, Yu Hanjiang said with certainty, "It should be the Hunter. Two ships of people have already died. If they were ordinary Challengers, they wouldn't need to kill indiscriminately to steal cards. The cards that the people on those two ships had might not be useful."
Xiao Lou agreed: "When you're trying to steal a card, you definitely need to make sure the other person's card is good enough before you make a move. Otherwise, killing a bunch of people to get a bad card can easily lead to trouble... If it's Hunter, it's easy to explain. They don't need to pick and choose their targets when they kill; each kill is worth a million bounties."
Yu Hanjiang said coldly, "They also have cards. It seems they're getting smarter and smarter, knowing where the ' Outsider ' spell comes from. I think this 'Ambient Sound Blocking' card was something they picked up when they killed Challenger."
Xiao Lou still couldn't hear anything. He started counting silently from the moment the sound disappeared, and now it had been 10 seconds—such a long period of environmental impact must mean this is a very powerful S-level special effects card.
Since "ambient sound cancellation" is a change in ambient volume, it is not considered an attack method, nor is it a skill that controls people such as causing sleep or dizziness. Therefore, Xiao Lou's "safety circle" cannot withstand this effect of environmental change.
install
In the utter silence of the world, where not a sound could be heard, Xiao Lou and Mo Xuemin looked at each other in bewilderment.
Just then, Yu Hanjiang suddenly said, "Use the qin guan card to link Lao Mo in as well. I want to catch these Hunters."
Xiao Lou immediately used another qin guan card to contact Lao Mo.
He was connected to Yu Hanjiang and also to Lao Mo, essentially acting as a communications relay station.
Xiao Lou asked nervously, "Where are those people? Can Captain Yu see them?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "They originally intended to attack our ship, but since our ship is protected by a safety ring, they found it difficult to kill it, so they are now shifting their target to the ship to the left rear."
In the pitch-black night, visibility was very low, but Yu Hanjiang's eyesight was exceptionally good. He had caught criminals countless times in the dead of night. People at the police station said that Captain Yu's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and once he set his sights on someone, there was no way he could escape.
Several hunters were excellent swimmers, and realizing that Xiao Lou and his crew's boat was difficult to deal with, they immediately changed their target.
However, as long as it moves underwater, ripples will be generated on the surface of the sea.
Yu Hanjiang stared intently at the dark sea, where ripples were rapidly moving to his left rear—there was a lifeboat with 10 people on board, two of whom, the men on night watch, were dozing off.
Yu Hanjiang said to Xiao Lou in his mind, "3 seconds countdown, have Lao Mo paint that area of the sea with color."
Xiao Lou immediately relayed a message to Mo Xuemin, suggesting, "Use green; the human eye can distinguish green light better at night."
Old Mo nervously gripped the [Color Element] card and immediately used it after 3 seconds of countdown. The entire hull of the escape boat to the left rear, along with the surrounding sea area, and the entire 500-square-meter environment were dyed fluorescent green!
Under the illumination of the luminous pearl, that fluorescent green was absolutely obvious!
Soon, all the Challengers discovered the anomaly.
The man who was initially dozing off was shocked to discover that his teammate had turned completely green. He exclaimed, "Holy crap! Dude, you're green!" The other man's face darkened. "Go to hell! Can't you speak properly? What do you mean... Hey, why are you all green too?"
As the two finished speaking, they suddenly found themselves mute, and the rest of their words were cut off.
The next moment, a deluge of silver rings crashed down, followed by a massive 5-meter diameter balance, its two metal pans plunging into the water! The two men stared in horror, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Nearly 500 square meters of the surrounding sea area turned fluorescent green!
In the distance, Challenger, unaffected by the noise, quickly woke up his teammates. The group turned to look, discussing amongst themselves: "The seawater over there looks green..." "That ship is green too!" "It must be a card effect!"
A girl noticed the sea turning green in the distance and immediately took out her night-vision binoculars to observe more closely. What she saw was the brutal murder of the Challengers from two ships. The girl screamed, "Ahhh, people are dead! There are two ships with dead people over there!"
The scream woke up all the Challengers around, and they all stood up nervously to see what was going on.
In the distance, a patch of seawater was dyed a glaring fluorescent green. Three men, as if they possessed a Lightness Skill, teleported toward the lifeboat. One man controlled the Ring, smashing it into the sea with a series of crackling sounds, while another man controlled the Balance, throwing the scale pan into the water.
The ocean, dyed fluorescent green, made the hunters lurking in the sea nowhere to hide.
Yu Hanjiang used Balance to control them, then threw out a long white silk ribbon with his right hand. The ribbon seemed to have a spirit of its own, automatically binding all the Hunters together.
A gasp rippled through the crowd: "Ah, who are these people?!" "What happened? Are people dead?" "I heard from that girl earlier that two boatloads of people died!"
Someone said in a panic, "Could we be unlucky enough to run into the Hunter?"
Panic-stricken voices rose around them as everyone craned their necks to look at the green light area. Yu Hanjiang suddenly pulled the white silk in his hand, dragging the Hunter from underwater to the surface—all three of them were young, strong adult men.
To prevent the three from committing suicide by poison again, Yu Hanjiang teleported over and stuffed a rag into each of their mouths.
The three people who were about to bite through their teeth and expose the poison inside were speechless.
At this moment, all three of them were dyed green, making it all too obvious.
The ambient sound masking card expired, and the surrounding Challengers resumed their voices: "Holy crap, that's definitely a Hunter! They specialize in lurking underwater, killing people for bounties!" "Were people on two ships really killed?" "I saw it, over there, two ships, all 16 people are dead!" "My god, I was just having a wonderful dream, and these people kill so silently...it's terrifying!"
The guy who had been stained green, disregarding his appearance, exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, big brother! You saved us, right? If the three of you hadn't suddenly appeared, we would have been asleep and wouldn't even know how we died..."
Yu Hanjiang said calmly, "You're welcome."
After he finished speaking, he dragged the three men back to his own boat.
CEO Shao and Ye Qi had already been awakened by the commotion around them. When they saw Captain Yu bringing over three prisoners, they were all quite surprised.
Xiao Lou briefly explained what had happened to everyone, and Yu Hanjiang quickly searched them and found three cards in their pockets.
The S-level special effects card [Quiet World] can block out any sound within a 10-square-meter area, isolating the selected area from other areas and plunging it into complete silence. What would it feel like to not even hear a breath? That kind of silence is like being abandoned by the entire world.
Quiet for 5 minutes, cooldown time 15 minutes.
The A-level special effect card [Water Ghost] grants teammates within a 10-square-meter radius a 200% boost to underwater movement speed and allows them to hold their breath for 30 minutes without surfacing to breathe.
The A-level special effect card [ Stiff as a Statue ] causes all targets within a specified 10-square-meter area to become stunned, unable to perform any actions, for 10 seconds, with a 15-minute cooldown.
Xiao Lou said with a trembling voice, "It seems that with the help of [Water Ghosts], they have been lurking underwater. After getting close to the lifeboat, they first blocked the sound, then used the [ Stiff as a Statue ] special effect card to control the crowd, and then slit the Challenger's throat! They can kill an entire ship's crew silently when the other party is unable to resist or call for help!"
It's terrifying to think about. If we hadn't used Compass's ability to create a safe zone and block the " Stiff as a Statue " control, the Hunters ' next target would have been the lifeboat where Xiao Lou and his team were. If they had been hit, Xiao Lou wouldn't have been able to call for help, and his sleeping teammates would have been killed in their sleep!
Shao Qingge felt a chill run down his spine: "Luckily, the two of you were alert enough, otherwise, we wouldn't even know how we died."
Mo Xuemin's face was grim: "Damn it, what bad luck! We've run into Hunter twice in a row on the Weekly Routine!" He took a deep breath, still shaken, and looked at Yu Hanjiang, saying, "Last time on the Weekly Routine, because of Hunter, only 20 out of 100 of us survived. If it weren't for you guys this time, I reckon more than 200 of these 400+ Challengers would have died silently tonight."
Yu Hanjiang frowned as he looked at the three people who were tied up.
The three men, with rags stuffed in their mouths, glared angrily, as if they wanted to devour Yu Hanjiang alive.
They had never failed in their assassinations of outsiders, following their boss's orders, but today they had unexpectedly met their match!