"It's fine if you can't finish your task, we've hacked the amusement park's surveillance, so it won't leave any trace, but you'd better put on sunglasses to cover your eyes." The maid glanced at her mobile phone and waved a hand at Mo Yu. "I still have something important to take care of. If you can't handle it, just drive back the way you came."
Mo Yu drew out his reply in acknowledgment, watching the maid leave.
He was quite happy to act alone.
He looked at the Blood Text covering the ground.
These were all walking Attribute Points!
The Illustration Book's reward mechanism was based on cumulative kills, and with monsters clustered together like this, it was the perfect situation to farm rewards.
He checked the time.
8:52.
Mo Yu took out the amusement park's promotional flyer, checked the Map, and familiarized himself with the terrain.
Deceive Elise, figure out her scheme.
Make contact with the Demon Hunter.
Hunt the Conceptual Pollutant in the amusement park.
He put these three matters on his schedule. The order of actions mattered, so as not to let the Butterfly Effect interfere with the Mirror Image's actions.
Mo Yu decided to carry out Elise's plan first, luring the target beneath Volcano Castle.
A Sightseeing Car drove past, packed with people, adults playfully teasing children, laughter and cheer unceasing.
Mo Yu's gaze followed the Sightseeing Car as it moved.
Not a bad car.
The amusement park was so big, he could get one for himself.
……
"Big brother, you're amazing!"
Mary hung onto Monte's arm, her voice pitched sweet and coy, while he wore a smug, floating expression. Her other suitor, Fuge, had a face black as the bottom of a pot.
The two of them, vying for her favor, once again climbed into go-karts and started another round of racing.
Mary sat on a bench, legs crossed, one hand propping up her chin, the other toying with the Cross pendant at her chest.
She felt utterly bored.
Though she was still a high schooler, as the eldest daughter of the seventh seat of the Moon Tear Organization, the "Ripper," her life had been eventful since childhood. She was a seasoned veteran of romance, and it had taken only a little effort on her part to have both boys wrapped around her finger.
Toying with them was just a way to pass the time.
She'd come to study in Black City because she'd stirred up some trouble and needed to lay low for a while.
The heir of the Lambert family, Monte.
The heir of the Broad family, Fuge.
These two Demon Hunter clans were the leading Factions of Black City's underworld. When Mary's father had pulled strings to send her here, both patriarchs had taken notice of her and sent their sons to make contact with her.
Mary knew exactly what they were after. She deliberately stirred up rivalry between the two of them, just to add some fun to her dull life.
In truth, she didn't think much of either of them at all.
They were far too green.
Having grown tired of playing with them for so long, she deliberately sent them off elsewhere, sitting alone in a daze.
"So boring. Where did everyone go?"
Mary muttered under her breath. She looked around and realized the other four club members who'd come along had all vanished — she had no idea when everyone had scattered off to do their own thing.
Just as she sat there in a daze.
"Yo~ pretty lady, all alone?"
The voice came from behind her.
Mary scoffed inwardly — was anyone still using pickup lines like that these days?
She turned around and froze.
"Just my type!"
The one who'd come to chat her up was a young man in a floral shirt, wearing sunglasses, a cigarette between his lips — devastatingly handsome, with an eerie air about him, like a villain boss straight out of a movie.
Mary was instantly smitten, tossing her father's prohibition to the back of her mind.
She'd already decided this one was hers.
As for the two boys, they soon sent messages saying they weren't feeling well and had left early on their own.
Mary straightened her upper body, leaning back slightly, one hand brushing back the hair blown by the wind, and said with irresistible charm:
"That's right. Are you alone too, big brother?"
"...Of course. Want to hang out together?"
"Sure!"
Mary, playing the part of a naive, innocent girl, followed after him.
The two of them chatted and laughed, trying out different rides. In less than an hour, they seemed thoroughly familiar with each other.
Mary got handsy.
The two of them went to an attraction called Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
It was an underground cable car combined with a holographic tunnel, simulating undersea space. Those who came for this ride were mostly couples — once the cable car entered the tunnel, it became a dark, enclosed space.
The ride lasted a full half hour.
The perfect setting for something to happen.
The two of them boarded the cable car.
As the announcement played, the cable car began to move slowly, entering the dark tunnel.
Beneath the veil of darkness, Mary laid her cards on the table, dropping all pretense, and pressed herself against him quite boldly.
A man's voice came questioning from the dark:
"What are you doing?"
"Ugh, you bring a girl to a place like this and then ask her that?"
Mary spoke provocatively, sensing him draw closer, wrapping an arm around her waist, his other hand reaching toward her chest.
Splat.
A tearing, searing pain shot through her chest.
Mary's eyes widened in terror. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clamped around her throat.
A faint light lit up the tunnel.
She saw it clearly — the man's open right hand was covered in blood, a golden, crack-riddled Cross lying in his palm — her protective talisman.
"Found it. So it really was inside her body. Eleventh time."
Mo Yu's voice rang out once more.
Mary forced out words through her terror. "Why... how do you... Grandpa De, save... me..."
"That old man can't get in here. Don't worry, you won't die." Mo Yu murmured in reassurance.
He increased the pressure of his grip, pressing down on Mary's carotid artery. Starved of oxygen, her brain quickly gave way, and she fell unconscious.
He released the target.
Mo Yu examined the Cross in his hand.
He had no idea what material it was made of — its surface gleamed gold, strikingly visible even in the dim light, covered all over in cracks.
This was a good item, a talisman capable of protecting its bearer. It was this very thing that had caused his mission to fail time and again.
Only after rewinding eleven times did he manage to successfully knock Mary out.
This woman's identity was no simple matter.
Not only did she have a protective talisman, but there was also a hidden expert guarding her.
The first attempt.
Mo Yu hadn't bothered chatting her up — he'd picked a deserted corner, tried to bag her and haul her off by force, and then an old man had suddenly leapt out and cut him down.
Once he confirmed she had an expert protecting her, he changed his approach and went to chat her up instead.
He'd figured it would be somewhat difficult, but he never expected this woman to... actually be a hunter disguised as prey.
Turned out the prey was him.
He took Mary strolling around, trying to make his move in several different spots, but each time, the old man would leap out and stab him dead with a single strike. In the end, he chose this Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea attraction — once the cable car burrowed underground, the old man couldn't follow.
Mo Yu had thought he'd finally pull it off smoothly, but the moment he made his move, a burst of golden light erupted from the woman's body and sent him flying.
He simply couldn't get close.
He rewound a few times and tried snatching the Cross from her chest, only to discover it was a fake.
Sent flying yet again, he noticed her chest was glowing.
And so came the eleventh attempt.
With a swift, ruthless strike straight to the heart, he tore the Cross embedded in the skin of her chest right out, then used Brute Force to choke the target unconscious.
Mary's injury wasn't severe, but Mo Yu had no medical supplies on hand, so he simply used Rewind again, returning to before he and Mary had boarded the cable car, using the excuse of needing to use the toilet.
He let the Mirror Image handle Mary.
Mo Yu himself went to find the old man. Leaving the toilet, he headed straight for the nearest food stall.
There weren't many people around. An old man sat in the corner. He was dressed in worn, old-fashioned clothes, his white hair neatly combed without a strand out of place, his body sturdy and full of vigor, a cup of cold drinks in his hand.
Mo Yu lit a cigarette and plopped himself down across from the old man, brimming with insolent swagger.
The old man's face showed displeasure at first, but the moment he recognized Mo Yu, his expression changed.
Mo Yu smirked arrogantly. "No use waiting. I've already taken her."
✦✦✦