Chapter 623: Capture

After the message that the Barrier was complete arrived, Gao Jie Ming stood up from the side of the fountain and retracted his diffused spiritual sense.

A half-hour of continuous scanning did not place much of a burden on his spirit, but continuously combing through the threads of fate had exhausted him quite a bit.

Fortunately, with the assistance of the Fate System, it was still within a tolerable range.

"Even if the life form has already been converted into an information-based organism, wanting to control fate is still quite difficult..."

Gao Jie Ming sighed, stretched his neck, and his bones emitted a faint clicking sound, then he walked toward the assembly point designated by the male wizard in the dark blue robe.

The assembly point was set in a fruit storage room on the north side of the town.

This was a semi-underground stone structure that maintained a cool, dry environment year-round, used for storing the autumn fruit harvest.

At this moment, the interior of the storage room had already been cleared; the originally stacked wooden crates had been moved to the walls, leaving a fairly large empty space in the center.

When Gao Jie Ming pushed the door open and entered, more than half of the other eight wizards had already arrived.

The storage room was filled with the faint, sweet fragrance of fermenting fruit, mixed with the damp scent of the stone walls.

Several glowing crystals were embedded in the walls, emitting a soft, cold light that made the entire space bright but not glaring.

The male wizard in the dark blue robe stood in the center, holding a palm-sized crystal test tube in his hand.

The test tube contained half a tube of blue liquid; the color of the liquid was very deep, almost opaque, and tiny ripples occasionally appeared on the surface, as if some kind of invisible force were stirring it.

"This is..." Gao Jie Ming walked closer, his gaze landing on the test tube.

"The core of the bait." The male wizard in the dark blue robe held up the test tube, letting the cold light pass through the blue liquid. "I collected the genetic material information of everyone in the entire town and concentrated it in this tube of solution."

"Everyone? Including us wizards?" Gao Jie Ming raised an eyebrow slightly. "When did you collect it?"

"It was also collected from the other wizards besides you; it was mainly done while setting up the Barrier." The wizard smiled, his smile carrying a trace of the detachment belonging to a high-tier wizard.

"My specialty is bioinformatics; collecting genetic material is as natural as breathing to me. The townspeople's samples came from their shed hair, skin dander, saliva, and so on. As for yours..."

He looked at the other wizards present: "I mentioned it to them when setting up the Barrier, and I can also sign a contract to ensure that this genetic information will not be used for other purposes."

The wizards nodded; no one showed any displeasure.

Although for a wizard, handing over one's own body tissue or genetic information to another wizard was slightly taboo.

But since the other party was willing to sign a contract, and it was to collect the teammates' genetic information in order to achieve the goal...

Although it slightly overstepped conventional social boundaries, considering the value of the target of this hunt, this small offense was completely acceptable.

"These genetic materials are concentrated in this 'information solvent'." The wizard continued to explain, "The blue liquid is a special medium that can maintain the activity of the genetic information while simulating the illusion of 'a large family.' In this test tube, the townspeople's genetic information is woven into a huge family tree, and everyone can find their place on this tree."

"So to that anomaly, this test tube is like a container filled with 'potential victims'." The Curse Witch walked out from the corner, her pale gray eyes under her hood fixed on the test tube, her tone carrying a hint of appreciation. "As long as it manifests, it can come into contact with the genetic information of the entire town at once."

"Exactly." The wizard nodded. "And I also specifically placed various seasoning jars nearby..."

He pointed to the stone table next to the test tube.

A row of ceramic jars was placed on the stone table, more than a dozen of them, large and small.

Salt jars, sugar jars, pepper jars... each one was open, and the seasonings inside emitted their respective scents.

"Give it a familiar environment for its crimes." The wizard said. "The salt jar is its first choice, but I put the other seasoning jars up too, to see if it has any other preferences."

Gao Jie Ming thought for a moment, also signed a contract with the other party, and then handed over his own genetic information.

"Is there anything else I need to do?" Gao Jie Ming asked.

The male wizard in the dark blue robe looked at him: "You have mastered knowledge related to fate. We need you to use fate-system methods to connect everyone's fate threads to this crystal test tube as tightly as possible, ensuring that this thing will have no flaws in terms of fate. Then, find the fate threads related to the anomaly as much as possible to ensure it notices this place."

Gao Jie Ming pondered for a moment and nodded: "I can try."

A bright light flashed across his forehead, and the Fate System operated at full power.

The information processing network built by the Incense Dao unfolded deep within his consciousness, and countless fate threads extended from the virtual network, floating in the air like spider silk.

Gao Jie Ming's spiritual power probed into these fate threads and began to comb through them one by one, connecting them to the genetic information in the crystal test tube.

This was not a simple process; after all, Gao Jie Ming's knowledge of the fate system had only just entered the entry level.

Fortunately, Gao Jie Ming had the Fate System.

This information processing network built by the Incense Dao was best at handling matters in this area.

With the assistance of the Fate System, Gao Jie Ming organized the fate threads of the entire town in an orderly manner, connecting them to the crystal test tube according to the kinship of the genetic information, the closeness of social relationships, and even the distance of their residences.

The blue liquid began to change.

The originally still liquid surface began to ripple, as if something were gently stirring deep within the liquid.

The color of the liquid was also slowly lightening, turning from deep blue to indigo, and then to a fluorescent blue-purple.

That was the external manifestation of the successful connection of the fate threads.

After completing the first step, Gao Jie Ming let out a long breath, his expression becoming more serious.

Next was the main point!

The power of the Fate System began to rise, the Five Elements Transformation Rainbow Mirror also became active, and a steady stream of computing power surged from his soul.

Gao Jie Ming began to collect all fate fluctuations related to the anomaly based on the chronological order of the events.

Using this as a benchmark, he searched for all similar fates and connected them to the blue liquid.

Finally, Gao Jie Ming retracted his spiritual power, and a layer of fine sweat beads seeped out on his forehead.

The fate of all the characters in a town and the fate of the things happening in a town were completely not on the same order of magnitude.

Combing and connecting tens of millions of fate threads, even with the assistance of the Fate System, still consumed a considerable amount of spiritual power.

"Done." He said.

The male wizard in the dark blue robe looked at the test tube and then at Gao Jie Ming, a trace of approval appearing in his gaze: "Impressive. For a moment, I actually subconsciously felt that this thing had a connection to me."

The other wizards also verified it with their own methods one after another, and all nodded in satisfaction. The latest update is online, waiting for your interpretation.

"Then, let's begin now." The Curse Witch walked to the stone table and sat cross-legged not far from the seasoning jars. "I'll be responsible for the lock. Once that finger appears, I will immediately shift the focus of the curse from the test tube to us."

"Don't mess this up." The burly male wizard looked at her with some suspicion.

The Curse Witch did not answer, only raised her right hand, and a complex black rune emerged from her palm.

The rune rotated slowly in her palm, emitting an aura that made people instinctively uncomfortable.

The burly male wizard tactfully shut his mouth.

The other wizards found their own positions in the storage room and stood or sat, forming a loose encirclement.

Everyone restrained their own aura, suppressing their energy fluctuations to the minimum to avoid startling the anomaly.

Gao Jie Ming chose a position where he could see the entire stone table, leaned against the stone wall, and sat cross-legged.

He was not good at this part of the matter, so he simply did not participate, instead diffusing his spiritual power over a wide range as before, constantly paying attention to the changes around him.

The storage room quieted down.

There was only the faint sound of ripples from the blue liquid and the sound of the wind seeping through the cracks in the stone wall.

Time passed in the silence.

No one spoke; the nine high-tier wizards were like nine statues, each maintaining the posture most suitable for attacking, waiting for that thing to appear.

About twenty minutes passed.

Gao Jie Ming's spiritual power captured a trace of an extremely subtle anomaly.

That feeling was hard to describe...

It was like an almost invisible object suddenly appearing on a calm lake, causing the entire lake surface to ripple at the same time.

Then, he saw it.

There was an extra finger in the salt jar.

Pale skin, covered in age spots, and wet in the fingernail crevices.

"It's here." Gao Jie Ming said softly.

He didn't need to remind them; almost at the same time the finger appeared, everyone's gaze focused on the salt jar simultaneously.

That finger was quietly inserted into the salt grains, motionless.

But everyone present could feel that some kind of invisible force was surging out from the finger, spreading toward the crystal test tube.

That was the "writing" process of the curse.

"Locked." The Curse Witch's voice was very light, but every word carried an unquestionable certainty.

The black rune in her palm exploded instantly, turning into countless tiny black threads, spreading in all directions like living creatures.

The threads precisely entangled that finger, while simultaneously shifting the focus of the curse from the crystal test tube to the wizards present.

She took the initiative to let the anomaly target them.

Sure enough, that finger reacted immediately.

"Ugh..." The wizard specializing in the life system suddenly groaned, his body stiffening slightly.

He subconsciously reached out to press his waist, his brows furrowing tightly.

"Hit?" The wizard next to him was a bit envious. "How does it feel?"

"A very novel feeling." The life-system wizard's expression was a bit strange, as if he hadn't felt such discomfort for a long time. "The curse is attacking my kidneys; I can feel many tissues being replaced by salt."

"Is there a salty taste in your mouth?"

"Yes..." The life-system wizard took a deep breath, his expression becoming even stranger. "It really is too salty."

"Even you can't stand it?" A wizard felt very curious.

After all, the person in front of him was a Tier 6 wizard; even if he deliberately relaxed his defenses to let the curse take effect, he shouldn't be driven to the point of being unable to bear it by a mere taste.

With the physique of a Tier 6 life-system wizard, even if he ate a whole salt lake raw, there shouldn't be any discomfort.

"Yes. My mouth is full of salty taste, salty to the point of bitterness." The life-system wizard licked his lips. "The mechanism of this thing... should be to make the cursed person feel only a salty taste that exceeds their own tolerance limit."

As he spoke, a layer of pale green light appeared on his body surface.

That was the signature ability of a life-system wizard: Life Form Transformation.

The pale green light circulated within his body, and his soul and flesh changed structure rapidly in the light, transforming from flesh organs into an elemental state composed of pure life energy.

The whole person completed the transformation from a flesh body to an elemental organism in an instant.

"The elemental organism I've transformed into now theoretically doesn't have the sense of taste for 'salty'..." The life-system wizard paused halfway, his brows furrowing again.

"But I can still taste the saltiness."

This sentence caused a subtle change in the atmosphere in the storage room.

A Tier 6 life-system wizard, transforming himself into an elemental state, theoretically had already escaped the influence range of conventional sensory curses that could affect the sense of taste.

But he could still taste the saltiness.

This meant that the curse of this anomaly did not just act on the material body, nor did it act on the soul, but acted on a more essential level.

"Interesting." A flash of light appeared in the Curse Witch's pale gray eyes; it was the excitement unique to a researcher facing an unknown phenomenon. "The action level of this curse is higher than I imagined. Since it's not matter, energy, or soul, then it is..."

"Concept." Gao Jie Ming interjected. "It acts directly on the concept of 'salty.' No matter what form your body is in, as long as your understanding includes the attribute of 'salty,' it can make you taste saltiness."

Because he was quite familiar with conceptual materials, Gao Jie Ming judged it very quickly.

"This conceptual level..." The male wizard in the dark blue robe also revealed an excited expression in his eyes. "If it can be captured and studied, it will have a great boost to the understanding of law theory."

His gaze landed on the finger in the salt jar.

That finger was still inserted in the salt grains, but the Curse Witch's black threads had already entangled it tightly.

One end of the thread was connected to the finger, and the other end was connected to the black rune constantly rotating in the Curse Witch's palm.

"I can seal it." The Curse Witch said. "Although after the curse is released, this finger becomes a useless object. But before the curse is released, this finger is the embodiment of this anomaly. Sealing the finger is equivalent to sealing the anomaly."

"Then do it." The burly male wizard urged.

The Curse Witch nodded and began to cast the spell.

The black rune rose from her palm and drifted slowly toward the salt jar.

The rune constantly expanded during the drifting process, changing from the size of a fingernail to the size of a fist, and then to the size of a human head.

Dense incantations appeared on the surface of the rune, and each incantation was emitting a low hum; that was the sound of the sealing formula being activated.

The other wizards also took action one after another, assisting the Curse Witch in reinforcing the seal. ===== CHAPTER 624 =====