Chapter 912: First Sight

When it came to observation, although Lu Mian was already a demigod, his abilities in all aspects were suppressed to the Sequence 7 level. Feeling he was not as professional as a "Spectator," he yielded the rear seat position closest to the target building to Anthony. He himself relied on the eagle-like vision brought by the "Witch" and the "Hunter's" sensitivity to visual clues to gaze from afar.

The driver in the front seat, Franca, had finally managed to complete the parallel parking. While leaning her elbow against the car door and watching the target area, she felt secretly proud. Jenna turned around, leaned forward, and squeezed her head above Franca's shoulder, watching just as intently.

As time ticked away second by second, Franca suddenly smelled the scent of meat and spices stewed until soft and tender.

She turned her head and discovered that in the very corner of the back seat, Ludwig was silently gnawing on a meat sandwich all by himself.

"It hasn't even been two hours since breakfast, has it?" Franca blurted out.

Why is he eating again?

Lu Mian answered simply:

"It hasn't."

"I'm thinking, he has this same frequency and volume of eating in reality too..." Franca muttered to herself.

Previously, she hadn't had an intuitive understanding of just how much Ludwig could eat; it only existed as a concept regarding money. But in the few days before entering the dream, she had often helped Jenna supervise Ludwig as he did his homework and practice tests. The two "Witches" had truly witnessed what a glutton was, leaving them with an extremely deep impression.

Franca continued:

"In the dream, aren't all special traits restricted to the Sequence 7 level? Yet I haven't seen him eat any less..."

Hearing this, the gazes of Lu Mian, Jenna, and Anthony snapped toward Ludwig.

Ludwig hurriedly stuffed the entire meat sandwich in his hand into his mouth and said indistinctly:

"Because it's delicious!"

"You'd rather stuff yourself until you're full than stop eating?" Lu Mian raised an eyebrow.

"Mm." Ludwig nodded heavily.

Seeing Ludwig like this, Jenna couldn't help but laugh:

"It really is delicious."

Lu Mian thought for a moment and decided to indulge Ludwig for two days, because he himself was also eating more than usual.

"It is delicious, right?" Franca grew proud again. "What I can't figure out is how none of you got diarrhea. Jenna and Anthony were even shouting about how spicy it was while eating!"

"My digestive system has withstood the burning of flames. 'Ascetic's' also have a strong resistance to extreme environments." Lu Mian indicated that something like spice couldn't trouble a "Hunter" like him who enjoyed self-harm.

"Swallowing a ball of fire" was an exaggerated metaphor for others, but for him, it was an objective description of something that happened occasionally.

Anthony continued to observe the entrance and exit of the building, saying calmly:

"The 'Spectator's' mythical creature form is the Mind Dragon."

Although his combat abilities hadn't improved much, his physical strength had significantly increased.

Just as Jenna was about to describe her own feelings, Anthony and Lu Mian said in unison:

"Mr. 'Fool' is here."

Jenna hurriedly returned to her previous posture and cast her gaze outside the car window, which was covered with dark film.

She saw a young man wearing a black short-sleeved polo shirt, light-colored casual trousers, and a pair of brownish sneakers. He was holding a cup of soy milk and carrying a bag of steamed buns, taking a few steps up the stairs and walking into the building.

This man had relatively short black hair that had been simply combed. Behind a pair of non-prescription glasses covering his deep brown eyes, his face was much thinner than in the portrait from the files. His facial contours were soft, and he even had a somewhat handsome air.

He was exactly the target of Lu Mian and the others, Mr. "Fool's" dream image, Zhou Mingrui!

Once Zhou Mingrui's figure disappeared into the building's lobby, Franca took a breath and said:

"Compared to the original sketch, Mr. 'Fool' has become much thinner and a bit better looking...

"Could the speculations of the Major Arcana card holders be correct? That he was misled by the Celestial Worthy into drinking the 'Assassin' potion?

"Is the Celestial Worthy trying to make Mr. 'Fool' have cognitive problems by changing his gender, thereby achieving victory?"

The Major Arcana card holders mentioned in the files that one of the most important phased goals for Lu Mian's team was to prevent Zhou Mingrui, who was suspected of having already drunk the "Assassin" potion, from truly becoming a "Witch"!

"Does the 'Assassin' potion also improve one's appearance?" Lu Mian asked Franca and Jenna.

He had jumped from the "Hunter" pathway to the "Witch" pathway and hadn't experienced the "Assassin" sequence in detail.

"It mainly adjusts the body shape to make the consumer more suitable for being an assassin. This brings a slight change in appearance, but very little." Franca recalled and said, "Mr. 'Fool', uh, Zhou Mingrui must have successfully lost weight passively. Becoming better looking is mainly due to the weight loss, and only secondarily due to the slight improvement from the 'Assassin' potion."

She felt it was better to refer to the target as Zhou Mingrui for now. Constantly using Mr. "Fool" made her terrified, and she didn't even dare to discuss it.

Lu Mian nodded and asked Anthony:

"Did you discover anything?"

Anthony said:

"Mr. 'Fool's' footsteps on the stairs were very light, which matches the description related to the 'Assassin' potion...

"Mr. 'Fool' is wearing non-prescription glasses to cover up eyes that are no longer nearsighted, which shows he doesn't want to change his life in the short term and will continue to go to work...

"Mr. 'Fool's' emotional state is good; he shouldn't have encountered any major events yet...

"For now, I can't tell if he has drunk the 'Instigator' potion..."

After hearing Anthony's observation results, Lu Mian said thoughtfully:

"Continue to observe and record the people mentioned in the files and those who show certain abnormalities..."

"Okay." Jenna responded first, then pointed to the opposite side. "That is Luo Shan. In reality, she is a clerical staff member of the Church of Evernight, already married and has children. In the dream, she is Zhou Mingrui's colleague. It's currently uncertain if there are any abnormalities..."

Franca followed up:

"That person wearing a white tailcoat and bowtie in thirty-degree heat, with long silver hair, is Vice President Wu from the company next to Zhou Mingrui's. He is suspected to be..."

Speaking of this, Franca turned her head to glance at Lu Mian and found that her companion's expression was calm, and his gaze hadn't changed much.

Only then did she continue:

"Suspected to be the 'Angel of Fate' Ouroboros of the 'Aurora Order,' a King from the ancient era."

According to the files, the company next to Mr. 'Fool's' should be the projection of the "Aurora Order" in the dream.

Until ten in the morning, Lu Mian and the others finished the first round of observation, matching many people to the content in the files, but they didn't discover anyone truly suspicious.

"Emperor Roselle, uh, Boss Huang didn't come." Franca said with quite a bit of regret.

Emperor Roselle's image in the dream was the boss of the "Intis Group" where Mr. 'Fool' worked, a business tycoon and a domineering CEO.

Before Lu Mian could respond, Franca laughed to herself:

"He's probably still in the bed of some actress, streamer, or singer."

Lu Mian also felt a bit of regret, but there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

Having not attended university, he was already prepared to apply for a security guard position at the Intis Group.

"Then let's go buy clothes now." Lu Mian looked down at his own shirt and trousers, which were still quite normal, and then looked at Jenna's blue, waist-cinching dress that had a classical charm.

At this moment, Ludwig raised a question:

"What are we eating for lunch?"

Franca, who was currently responsible for the entire team's income, said immediately:

"How can we eat out every day?

"In a while, we'll go to a large supermarket to buy dozens of catties of noodles and some side dishes. I'll cook noodles for you all, enough to keep you full!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Franca saw that the smile and anticipation on Ludwig's face had vanished, and he looked slightly aggrieved.

Not only did she not feel heartache or guilt, but she secretly slapped her own thigh:

Damn it, Jenna should have said those two sentences just now! What a great opportunity to digest the "Suffering" potion!

After confirming the itinerary, Franca carefully drove the car out and merged onto the wide highway.

…………

Inside a large shopping mall.

Lu Mian and the others, with their attire completely refreshed, took the elevator from the underground parking lot to the first floor.

Franca looked at Jenna once again, only to feel that the simple combination of a white patterned T-shirt, light blue jeans, white sneakers, and socks of the same color covering her ankles was worn by her in a fresh and clean way. It both retained a student-like youthful aura and added a bit of natural allure in her glances, attracting the gazes of many passersby.

This is the type I used to like, no, I still like it now! And Jenna wearing heavy makeup is another kind of flavor... Franca did not hide her appreciation.

As for her own tall stature and atmospheric appearance, she wore an ordinary black T-shirt and women's wide-leg pants with maturity and confidence, making many people only dare to sneak a glance.

Lu Mian was still in a shirt and black pants, but with a bit more casual and relaxed feel. Walking together with the two "Witches," they looked as beautiful as a painting.

The clothes on them were all very cheap. Franca gave up on the kind sold by weight and chose the ten-yuan variety, buying a pile of them.

Lu Mian's gaze swept across every corner of the mall, only to feel that it was spacious, bright, and clean, even more shocking than the most luxurious department store in Trier.

Franca had no intention of taking Lu Mian, Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig shopping here and headed straight for the escalator going to the basement floor, intending to enter the supermarket.

Money must be saved!

Lu Mian, Jenna, and Anthony had just arrived at the entrance of the supermarket when they were dazzled by the dazzling array of goods, the artistic arrangement, and the light that was both soft and bright.

Franca suddenly froze for a moment and instinctively turned her head to look at Ludwig, discovering that the little boy's gaze had already solidified, filled with burning heat.

"Let's go back!" Franca blurted out. "I'll buy the things online and have them delivered!"

In a place like a supermarket, a child simply couldn't control themselves!

Hearing Franca's words, Ludwig's expression collapsed instantly.

After asking for the reason, Lu Mian and Jenna both agreed with Franca's decision.

Turning around and walking a few steps, Lu Mian's peripheral vision suddenly swept across a figure.

That figure had her head slightly lowered, her black hair hanging down, and the ears that were vaguely revealed were small and exquisite.

She walked quickly and disappeared into the depths of the supermarket.

Lu Mian stopped instantly and said in a deep voice to Franca, Jenna, and Anthony:

"I might have seen that resurrected female corpse."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 913 =====