Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 760 - 121: Nightfall Approaches (Part 2)

Almost at the moment Ethan had this thought, a shadowy curtain enveloped the hospital bed, blocking the light outside. The crystallized lamp used for illumination malfunctioned, flickering in the dark as if it might go out at any moment.

"On this seemingly ordinary afternoon, Ethan encountered... Meow—!"

"Little Dark, how many times have I told you that mind reading isn't meant for such things!"

Ethan grabbed the tuft of fur at the back of the black cat's neck. The black cat froze as if its fate's throat had been choked, obediently like a delicate cat doll, and the sudden "horror movie prologue" immediately came to an abrupt halt.

Adding horror movie elements in this kind of scenario could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

If it were someone else, under intense mental stress, seeing a red octopus face suddenly appear in the corridor might just prompt them to cast a Fireball Skill.

But actually, in the guild manual's illustration, the red octopus face is merely a specific-dimensional species, no different from the sea tribe, the Aionim kin, except that their skin is redder, looking as if they were steamed.

In the history of the Empire, they are known as "Time Travelers."

Ethan deeply felt the value of "knowledge can overcome fear," like that nervous waving octopus face colleague was expressing no malicious intent, not baring teeth to eat them.

"Mr. Ethan, please forgive me for meeting you this way, I come from Station 003."

The red octopus face's mouth quivered, its voice penetrated Ethan's eardrums, reaching his mind.

It's the innate talent of the octopus faces; they don't need to learn languages, nor express intentions through sounds, thus becoming a backbone at the guild—the "language translation" module in the guild book was completed by octopus faces, helping investigators quickly understand local languages of any dimension.

Regrettably, the appearance of octopus faces makes them regarded as the Evil God's kin in over seventy percent of dimensions, and their inherent communication ability only substantiates people's judgments.

You could only say prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain.

"The station master of Station 003 hoped I could contact you soon, as you are now one of the guild's strongest investigators."

Despite having just joined the guild resulting in a C-level rating.

But as everyone knows, C-level is most likely to have monstrous ratings, potentially stronger individuals than S-level investigators.

"What happened?"

To make the station master urgently send someone to the Imperial Capital to find him, it must be a major event. Ethan had enough self-awareness; after the "Canopy" dimensional incident, he became a dangerous figure in investigators' minds. Unless necessary, most colleagues didn't want to be involved with him.

Besides, there is currently an unconscious guest traveler from another world in the hospital room.

Facing Ethan's questions, the red octopus face showed difficulty, its mouth quivering, yet no new thoughts entered Ethan's brain.

Because they temporarily couldn't confirm the truth of the matter, only all investigators could feel something big was about to happen.

"Overnight, the guild detected decay in more than 17 dimensions, and local disasters of varying degrees occurred; since the guild was established, such a situation has never happened."

"What did the guild's higher-ups say?"

Ethan immediately realized the problem.

There were some missing persons when Lao Ba helped piece together "human material" for the shelter as a favor.

Besides special citizens disqualified from resurrection games due to previous misconduct, familiar faces like Merlin, Zhuang Xiao, Song Xian also disappeared, and when they opened the freezing chamber, it was empty; the "pioneer team" members were nowhere to be found. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

They still lay in freezing chambers when the shelter turmoil erupted, missing all of it.

Optimistically, they might have completed the teleportation ritual with Little Dark, seamlessly integrated into the dimension they were in; however, now it seemed, maybe the situation wasn't as optimistic as Ethan imagined.

"The guild headquarters has already implemented corresponding measures, but to date, none of the founders appeared."

An uneasy atmosphere quietly spread within the guild.

In the past, such serious anomalies had occurred, and the founders should have convened meetings long ago, but this time, they disappeared silently, causing investigators to speculate whether the simultaneous decay in 17 dimensions was related to the founders' disappearance.

"I understand."

"Station 003's master reminds you, danger is approaching, please prepare preventive measures... farewell, I must return to the station immediately."

Leaving a warning, the octopus face backed away several steps, melting into the shadows.

.........

At the same time, a shadowy figure slipped past the Knight Order's patrol, entering the inner side of the Imperial Capital.

What a bustling big city.

It watched the flowing crowd; it hadn't witnessed such a scene in some time. Compared to those lifeless cities and towns, people here seemed truly alive.

Though the sky darkened, faces of these seemingly frail residents showed no sign of fear. They chatted and laughed merrily, discussing evening plans and recent happenings in the Imperial Capital, street after street lit up, and the city became livelier in the night.

Good!

The shadow blissfully licked its lips.

It loved the bustling metropolis feels, because only in such a place could it fully enjoy the thrill and contrast when it implanted fear and despair in every heart.

These foolish humans definitely believed it was dead under the magic cannon and dared to embrace the night fearlessly.

And tonight, they will pay for their ignorance.

It tracked the golden ship here, witnessing its slow descent into the city's air harbor.

But before spreading fear, it needed to convert some kin to help understand local affairs.

The shadow strolled through the streets, effortlessly avoiding everyone's gaze, its eyes sweeping across each Imperial resident like hunting for the right candidate.

Quickly, it found tonight's prey.

A young man dressed in military attire walked alongside a scruffy middle-aged Hunter.

It fancied the identities of the two.

Military attire suggested the young man likely served in the Kingdom's army, knowing much about the Kingdom's military movements, whereas a Hunter represented the Adventurer's Guild, undoubtedly the place with the most circulated information in every city, and paired like this implied military was exchanging intel with the Adventurer's Guild.

The shadow cracked a terrifying smile.

It silently trailed behind the two humans.

Let's start with these two tonight.

"Argos, did you know? They have the best oatmeal beer in the entire Imperial Capital here, brewed by a master brewer they specifically invited from Thunder City."

The shadow listened to the two's conversation.

Argos?

The name seemed odd for a Hunter; those living at society's lowest tiers usually had the most ordinary, inconspicuous names: Peter, John, Jonathan—checking the Adventurer's Guild registration list, nine out of ten were these names.

"I arranged with Anapolis; He said He'll come later."

Old Hunter named Argos said, "Kane, it's your turn to treat."

"Of course."

Ha, Kane.

An ordinary name, clearly a commoner born into a middle-to-low-class family.

The shadow saw through everything.

Plus, adding in the "Anapolis" mentioned by the old Hunter... with the night descending, let's begin with you three tonight!