Chapter 389: Vicious

Inside the room with thick curtains drawn.

Lu Mian suddenly felt the "Mirror Substitute" placed inside his clothes become unusually ice-cold. Even separated by a linen shirt, it made him unable to help but shiver.

His heart tightened. He couldn't care about pretending to sleep anymore, rolled over and sat up, and took out that mirror.

Under the dim crimson moonlight, the mirror became gray and hazy, held in his hand as if it were a piece of solid ice.

Lu Mian knew this represented that something had happened to Franca. Without hesitation, he relied on the occult connection between the substitute and the main body, letting the black mark on his right shoulder emit a ghostly light.

His figure suddenly disappeared from the bed and was outlined in the living room of that apartment at 6 White Coat Street.

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mian saw that the surroundings were gray and hazy, as if covered by a layer of fog that could block the crimson moonlight, while Franca lay on the armchair, her body stiffly twisting, as if struggling in the throes of death.

Her lake-blue eyes were mixed with emotions such as anger, fear, urgency, and worry, vaguely surrounding a figure. Her head seemed to want to sway slowly, but was pulled by invisible threads, stuttering.

Just at this moment, the sound of fingernails scratching a blackboard sounded in the ears of Lu Mian and Franca simultaneously.

Those were words they couldn't understand, piercing into their spirit bodies, carrying their spirits to climb upward, arriving at a gloomy void flickering with countless stars.

At the very top of the void, there were numerous wandering, mysterious symbols that were difficult to describe in specific forms.

They surrounded the darkness that even light couldn't penetrate, forming a dynamic, strange gate.

Lu Mian and Franca's spirits flew toward that gate involuntarily. Before they even got close, they heard a faint sound coming from inside.

This seemed to contain the mysteries of all worlds in the entire universe, and it was like the madness, self-destruction, and darkness hidden in the bottom of everyone's heart.

The closer they got to that dynamic gate, the more obvious the mumbling became, causing Lu Mian and Franca's heads to have intense throbbing pain, but there was also a strong, instinctive desire driving them to enter the gate, overlap and stick with the invisible objects behind the gate, and establish a secret connection, thereby obtaining knowledge about essence, source, supernatural, and power.

As those countless mysterious symbols wandered, the gate opened slightly, and a large number of invisible objects that could only be sensed but whose specific forms couldn't be seen crowded to the crack of the door.

With a buzz, Lu Mian and Franca's minds went blank, as if they had been hit hard by a giant hammer.

The mumbling they had heard before came alive in their hearts, and every word turned into shadow-like, strange-shaped creatures, eroding toward every corner of their spirit bodies and flesh and blood.

Franca's eyes suddenly widened, her flaxen hair rose without wind, floating to mid-air, vaguely becoming a bit thicker.

From the corners of her eyes, her nostrils, her ears, her mouth, and many pores on her body, drops of fresh blood overflowed, as if a devil inside her body was trying to separate her flesh and blood from her skin.

Franca's thoughts appeared in intense chaos, like a human being thrown into a factory's mixer.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the "Wraith" attached to her left this "Pleasure Witch."

The "Wraith," dressed in a black short formal suit, with gloomy green but dull and stiff eyes flickering, then opened its mouth and let out a harsh shriek.

The sound of shattering, both illusory and real, sounded simultaneously. Franca's body disappeared from the armchair and appeared in the only bedroom.

Although the "Mirror Substitute" was naturally activated, she only got rid of the possible influence of losing control and still fell into a coma, losing consciousness on the spot.

Under the reflection of the mirror fragments that shattered the armchair, Lu Mian, who also received the double blow of mumbling and shrieking, was in a much better state than Franca.

Every time he advanced in Sequence or prayed for gifts, he would suffer from more severe and terrifying whispers. Relying on the protection of the seal and his own perseverance, he persisted time and time again, having a relatively high resistance to such attacks.

At this time, although he also had severe head pain, loss of thinking, and capillary rupture in many parts, he still hadn't completely lost his instinctive reaction and basic thoughts. He just bent his waist and back unconsciously, his face twisting hideously in patches of blood.

The next second, that "Wraith" disappeared in front of the armchair and was reflected in Lu Mian's blue eyes.

His head instantly became blurry, his body felt cold, and his blood seemed to have frozen into white frost.

Taking advantage of being able to do some thinking, Lu Mian immediately wanted to use the "Spirit World Travel" ability to leave this room and transfer to several hundred meters away.

He knew very well that a "Marionettist" didn't have the ability to turn into a "Wraith." Even if they possessed similar magical items, given their combat style, they wouldn't personally take the field. So, the "Wraith" possessing him was likely a puppet. And such a thing as a puppet, once it left the "Marionettist's" control range, would lose control and no longer exert effect.

At that time, Lu Mian would "teleport" back again, trying to take Franca away.

Although this would make him basically lose his combat ability, it also wasted one of "Loki's" marionettes, forcing the other party to weigh whether to go all-in or cautiously retreat. After all, he didn't know how many times Lu Mian's spirituality could support "teleporting." This wasn't an ability an "Incendiary" should have, and "Loki" likely couldn't accurately judge!

Lu Mian was just about to activate the "Spirit World Travel" mark when a magnetic voice sounded in his ear:

"It's useless, give up."

This voice pierced into Lu Mian's spirit body, bringing a burst of chaos, interrupting his attempt.

Immediately after, his thoughts began to stagnate, his body becoming increasingly stiff and dull.

The magnetic voice laughed without covering up:

"I don't know what traps you set in your room. This might be related to 'Lady Lady Hai La.' After all, if she didn't cooperate, you couldn't have impersonated 'Muggle' and mixed into the research society, right, Aurora Lee's younger brother Lu Mian Lee? I've seen your wanted poster.

"In Trier, the most easily contacted Beyonders are of the 'Hunter' pathway, so there's a saying circulating:

"Don't fight a 'Hunter' on his home turf.

"No one knows what strange traps 'Hunters' will bury in their 'home.'

"I don't want to take risks, nor do I plan to face 'Lady Lady Hai La,' although I'm not too afraid of her either, unless she has already thought of a way to become a demigod. In short, why would I fight a 'Hunter' on his home turf? My choice is to ambush 'Sleeve Sword,' lure you to save her, and move you away from your home turf to fight in a place I preset.

"In the probe this afternoon, I determined that you have items to observe each other's status or have established some kind of occult connection. Hmm, it should be the exchanged 'Mirror Substitute.' Hehe, what do you think my other marionette was doing at the time?

"Actually, I didn't intend to kill 'Sleeve Sword,' nor did I plan to turn her into a 'Marionette.' A living 'Witch' tastes better, and I can even use this encounter to make her both painful and desperate. Once she uses this to advance to Sequence 4, I will have a demigod marionette..."

This voice didn't have a "Provocation" ability, but every sentence made Lu Mian's anger climb straight up.

And these words clearly could affect the spirit and spirit body, always interfering with Lu Mian's use of abilities. Added to the double restriction of "Wraith Possession" and "Marionettist," Lu Mian almost turned into a statue that couldn't speak or move, standing stiffly in place, waiting for the final judgment of fate to arrive.

Thin gray fog permeated the room, making the movements here difficult to spread to the outside world.

The magnetic voice smiled and continued:

"Originally it shouldn't have been so troublesome, but unfortunately, you have a high-level existence sealed in your body. Only by turning you into a marionette can I ensure my safety. I don't want to face a high-level existence after you die. No one knows if he will thank me or just kill me along the way.

"Are you very puzzled why I can recognize you? That seal on your body, others likely can't sense, but in my eyes, it's as bright as a firefly in the dark night. As soon as you arrived in the room with the typewriter, I determined you were the one who impersonated 'Muggle.' So, unless you can shake me off by a distance, just like the first counter-surveillance, otherwise I can follow you without a marionette.

"Yes, when you appeared in the gathering and came to our 'April Fool's' group, I knew you had a problem. I suspected at the time that 'Muggle' relied on the seal to get rid of the soul's splitting. Who knew, she really died, and you are her younger brother.

"Haha, I still remember in the second half of last year, every time she participated in the gathering, she would find 'I Have a Friend' to treat the psychological problems and mental hidden dangers brought by the incorrect use of 'Spirit Calling,' and 'I Have a Friend' would pass on her pain, her desire, her struggle, her softness, and her changes to us again and again.

"This is quite vicious, completely violating the doctor's guidelines, but it's very fun, very interesting, making us all gain enough sense of achievement, making us all laugh there."

Hearing this, Lu Mian's mind buzzed.

When "Loki" pointed out his loopholes, he was only a bit annoyed, but when "Loki" described Aurora's encounter, it made him angry to the extreme.

Aurora was sick and very sincerely went to a doctor for treatment, but the doctor not only perfunctorily treated her but also regarded her pain and miserable state as a source of happiness, and sold her privacy again and again, telling everyone about her illness and her struggle, letting them laugh at her behind her back.

Moreover, "Spirit Calling" was also sold to Aurora by this group of people.

Damn it!

This group of people, every one of them, deserves to die!

Deserves, the most miserable, way of death!

Although his thoughts were full of stuttering, the anger in Lu Mian's heart finally erupted, igniting his spirit and spreading to his flesh and blood.

He didn't control it, and under constant interference, he couldn't control it.

Crimson flames began to emerge from Lu Mian's body, and in Lu Mian's eyes, fine red tubes protruded one by one, full of hideous blood color.

This was a precursor to losing control. If it continued, he would truly lose control.

But Lu Mian didn't fear, even actively cooperating.

Even if I, lose control and become a monster, become a madman, I must, drag you, this group of people, together, to fall into the abyss!

Relying on the body's "instinctive reaction," the crimson flame streams spread in all directions. This burned the "Wraith," ignited the furniture, and created a fire.

Unfortunately, this didn't have much effect on "Loki" and the wraith-like marionette who didn't know where they were hiding. In a short time, the flames couldn't burn to that extent.

The only effect was that the magnetic voice stopped for two seconds, and then he smiled again:

"It's useless. I know you mainly want to rely on fire to ask for help from the outside, rather than attacking me. But I deceived 'Sleeve Sword' before, saying it was to speed up the progress. Actually, it was to use the power of gray fog to create a special environment and block the information here.

"If you went all out, you could indeed break the obstruction of the residual fog. After all, I can't request too much power, but now, it's useless."

As soon as "Loki" finished speaking, a crazy, terrifying, violent, and exaggerated aura erupted from Lu Mian, directly breaking through the separation of the thin fog and rushing toward the sky.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 390 =====