Chapter 421

What is Maip Maier doing back in the Market District?

This question appeared in Lu Mian and Franca's minds simultaneously, and they both smelled the scent of hidden danger.

Could it be that Maip Maier truly loved Susanna Mattise and wanted to avenge her?

But even so, telling the other core members of the "Felicity Society" about the real "murderer" and the hidden secrets would be the best way to get revenge!

Not mobilizing and relying on the power of the entire organization, but relying solely on personal strength, would only indirectly help Lu Mian, the enemy!

Looking at Beatrice, whose face was pale and whose eyes were empty, Lu Mian tried to put himself in Maip Maier's shoes and think about the reasons for doing so from his perspective:

"Maip Maier is a Sequence 6 'Awarded', who has an irrepressible desire to seek affirmation from others and a strong desire for achievement...

"In the situation of being excluded and alienated by other core members of the 'Felicity Society,' he indeed has the motivation to make a major contribution on his own, attempting to truly gain recognition...

"Although telling Beatrice and the others about the 'Shadow Tree' matters could also be considered a contribution, it definitely doesn't carry as much weight as single-handedly making up for previous mistakes and pleasing the 'Mother Tree of Desire' to the greatest extent. The latter is more likely to gain him recognition...

"For ordinary people, it's hard to understand this kind of awkward competitive thinking, but it's not strange at all when it happens to an 'Awarded'...

"The problem now is, what exactly does Maip Maier want to do to gain recognition?

"Seek revenge on me? Although he has no hope in a head-on fight, hiding in the dark and suddenly exerting influence at a critical moment to make a fatal strike can still genuinely threaten me. After all, I don't have the ability to use a substitute, and my physical strength hasn't undergone a qualitative change compared to ordinary people. A revolver could kill me.

"However, Maip Maier should have heard quite a few things about me from Susanna Mattise and likely knows that an angel is sealed inside me. Isn't he afraid that if I die, the contamination will erupt and drag him down with me?

"If he dies, how can he satisfy his desire for recognition?

"Or, does he just think that dragging such a powerful enemy to die with him would make other members of the 'Felicity Society' both shocked and impressed, and regretful from the bottom of their hearts, making him climax with emotion, and then be driven by desire to die?

"Otherwise, does he also want to perform a sacrifice similar to Susanna Mattise's? Hmm. Gaining the 'Mother Tree of Desire's' recognition is a higher-level, more worthy recognition to pursue.

"But the 'Shadow Tree' was severely damaged and won't recover for a long time. How can he perform a sacrifice?"

Lu Mian analyzed it back and forth but couldn't clearly analyze Maip Maier's plan and what he wanted to do; he could only vaguely grasp his motivation.

But no matter what, whenever Lu Mian thought about the pedestrians on the road, the nearby tenants, the customers in the dance hall, and the peddlers everywhere, there was likely a pair of cold eyes hidden among them, and whenever he thought about the acquaintances around him being replaced by Maip Maier without knowing it, he felt a burst of irritability and violence, wishing he could immediately drag that "Actor" out.

The accumulation of the negative effects of the contracts, items, and brands on his body still made his emotions less stable than they were a while ago.

Franca didn't do too much thinking. Although the "Mirror Spirit Channeling" lasted much longer than ordinary "Spirit Channeling," it wasn't completely unlimited and still had a limit measured in minutes. She didn't want to waste time on analysis that could be done at any time later.

She continued to ask Beatrice Ancour:

"Among all the members of the 'Felicity Society,' who is Maip Maier closest to?"

Beatrice's voice became more and more illusory:

"He is closest to the members in the Market District, but those are either dead or captured."

He really is being excluded quite severely... Franca tried to ask without much hope:

"Who in the 'Felicity Society' is most likely to know Maip Maier's whereabouts and plans?"

Beatrice said lifelessly:

"No one, even the new High Priest doesn't know."

Franca had to change the question:

"Who is the new High Priest?"

Beatrice answered with eyes so empty it was chilling:

"It's Xibeier."

"What is her real identity?" Franca pressed.

The face Beatrice projected on the mirror surface was much more transparent than before:

"I don't know. She joined later. At that time, we were no longer a purely women-loving-women organization, and we began to pay attention to hiding our original identities.

"Xibeier might still be a theater actress now."

…………

On the outer wall of Adana's apartment.

Blanche Solon, like a giant black spider, clung there quietly.

Through the curtains, she only saw two black shadows not far apart, and the voices she heard in her ears were even more blurred and distant than before, only vaguely distinguishable as female voices.

Are Adana and the fake Theresa still chatting? No, at this distance, with an "Assassin's" hearing, even through the closed glass window and thick curtains, I should be able to hear clearly... What exactly is the situation inside? Blanche Solon became increasingly worried and curious, trying to extend "Invisible Spider Silk" through the gap in the window.

…………

The "Mirror Spirit Channeling" reached its limit. Franca rationally ended the maintenance and watched Beatrice Ancour's figure disappear from the mirror surface.

She wasn't too disappointed because she had already mastered the real-world information of several core members of the "Felicity Society" and the time, location, and method of their weekly gatherings.

But it seems there's no need to track them personally. They don't know about Xia Er's problem, and even if the "Rose School of Thought" finds them, they won't be able to ask any useful information... Franca turned her head to look at Lu Mian, put away the mirror, and lifted the "Wall of Spirituality."

In the sound of the wind, both of them simultaneously sensed movement at the window, a black shadow suspected to be human.

—The "Wall of Spirituality" isolated movements and reduced interference, but it also affected their sensing and monitoring of the surrounding environment.

Franca's figure suddenly disappeared from where she was, while Lu Mian took a few steps to the side, avoiding the front of the window.

They didn't launch an attack immediately because they vaguely guessed who was outside.

In the sound of rustling, Blanche, who had quietly pried open the window, saw the curtains retreat to both sides "on their own," and her figure was suddenly exposed.

Just as she was about to react, she saw the face that Franca Roland had disguised herself as tonight.

The two made eye contact, and there was a silence of more than ten seconds.

Finally, Blanche came back to her senses and asked with concern:

"Where is Adana?"

"She's asleep." Franca pointed to the carpet near the window.

Blanche looked at her companion a few times and then looked at the motionless fake Theresa, asking the question again:

"Is it resolved?"

"Resolved." Franca answered calmly.

The spirit channeling was already finished!

Blanche's gaze moved back and forth between Franca and Lu Mian in the corner, and she asked with surprise and confusion:

"When did you guys make your move?"

Before the curtains were fully drawn... Franca wanted to answer like this, but felt that this would expose some of Xia Er's and her own fighting styles, so she quickly changed her words and said with a smile:

"Guess."

Blanche Solon recalled the various faint movements she had sensed just now and hadn't found any obvious signs of battle.

This made her even more astonished:

Are this wild Witch and her young lover actually this powerful?

Are more experiences and more complex gains really that useful?

Feeling the pain brought by jealousy, Blanche jumped into the room and closed the window.

Not worried at all about being attacked by us... Is her experience too little, or is she very confident in the various substitutes of a Witch, or does she have other support? Lu Mian watched coldly and didn't pay any attention.

Franca smiled and said:

"We found out some intelligence, including the current High Priest of the 'Felicity Society' and some core members..."

She told everything she had obtained from Beatrice.

Blanche became more and more astonished as she listened.

They actually found out so much intelligence?

This should have taken a lot of time!

When exactly did they make their move, and how long did it take to resolve the battle?

It couldn't be that as soon as the fake Theresa entered the room and approached the window, she was suddenly attacked and resolved with a snap, right?

According to the various performances observed earlier, this member of the "Felicity Society" should be equivalent to a Sequence 6 "Awarded," on the same level as herself and Franca Roland, and higher than Xia Er Dubois, who was suspected to be a Sequence 7 "Pyromaniac"!

Franca didn't care about Blanche's reaction and said after finishing on her own:

"I'm very happy to tell you that our problem was simpler than expected and has already been resolved. Next, it's your problem. Hehe, it's not just Beatrice, a core member of the 'Felicity Society,' who has set her sights on the Red House Café."

She said this in the hope that the Witch Sect would "take over" the cleanup operation of the remaining members of the "Felicity Society."

"Are you instigating me?" Blanche asked sharply.

Franca answered with a smile:

"No, just a reminder."

While they were talking, Lu Mian returned to Beatrice's corpse, squatted down, and began a more detailed search.

This time, he found banknotes and gold coins worth 1500 gold pounds and a neatly folded note.

Lu Mian opened the note and saw it written in Intis:

"Within three days, go to the hostel to take away that painting."

Hostel... What hostel? What painting? Was this a deal reached by the real art dealer Theresa, but the receipt fell into the hands of the impersonator? Where is the real Theresa now... I forgot to ask about this aspect just now... Lu Mian looked at the note in his hand, and many thoughts flashed through his mind.

He stood up, preparing to ask Blanche Solon if she knew the situation of the real Theresa. Although Blanche knew Franca was instigating her, she had to admit that what the other party said made a lot of sense.

She looked down at Adana, trying to wake up her companion.

Just then, the three of them stopped their movements simultaneously and cast their gazes at Beatrice Ancour's corpse.

The light there seemed to dim a little, and the corpse seemed to have undergone some subtle change.

(End of chapter)