The second time Lin Sanjiu and the man in the top hat confronted each other, the positions were reversed. There were only three members left in Top Hat's team, and one of them was injured. On the other hand, Lin Sanjiu's body was nearly completed, so her strength had reached an unprecedented level. After that escapee yelled and revealed where Lin Sanjiu and Rena were, Lin Sanjiu simply gave up ambushing. She jumped to the top of a bookshelf without hesitation and sprinted toward Top Hat's group.
Even though her feet did not really touch the surface of the bookshelf, she moved so quickly that when she stopped abruptly, the draft she created over the wooden surface actually created a faint bit of white smoke. At the same time, the last syllabus from the escapee's words just faded.
Top Hat stared at the white smoke rising from Lin Sanjiu's feet. Even though he didn't make a sound, it was apparent to everyone that he had a terrible expression on his face now.
"It had only been two days, how can that skinless person's ability improve to such a degree?"
The intense aura emanating from Lin Sanjiu's body was like an abyss or a giant beast. It created such a suffocating atmosphere that Top Hat quickly made a decision even before fighting with her.
"Let's go!" he shouted to his team members on his left and right. With that, he flung a piece of gray cloth into the air.
[3D Movie Kit]
This isn't some random 3D movie created just to make more money. The content displayed to the target is a high-definition, "hyper-realistic world". The targets would feel as if they had entered into a movie and would not be able to differentiate between what is fiction and what is real. The effect of this item is extremely useful for deception, aiding battles and escaping.
Noticing that Top Hat and his team were planning to escape, Lin Sanjiu jumped down from the bookshelves. However, she sensed a sudden slight change in the atmosphere. The next moment, she found a vine hanging over arms without any warning. She pulled it away from her arm without thinking. She was stunned when she looked up and found herself staring at a dusky, thick jungle.
The protruding tree roots under her feet felt hard and realistic. Lin Sanjiu raised her hand and brushed aside the tangle of aerial roots ahead. She looked around but she didn't see any sign of Top Hat and his people. Even though she knew that everything was an illusion, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help stopping, feeling somewhat disconcerted. The illusion was so realistic that Lin Sanjiu could not make out even any semblance of the library.
Just when Lin Sanjiu was feeling unsure as to which direction she should head in, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned behind and discovered that Rena had just stepped out from behind a few trees.
"This is… an illusion they created?" Rena said with a half-gaping mouth, "But, this effect shouldn't last for long, right?"
Lin Sanjiu really couldn't tell either. She took a few steps forwards but finally let out a sigh of resignation.
In reality, the effect of [3D Movie Set] indeed didn't last long. However, for the people from the north wing, one and a half minute was more than enough time for them to escape.
"Hey, can you hear me? Why aren't you replying?"
Reno's puzzled voice sounded once again from the communicator only when the jungle scenery disappeared from Lin Sanjiu's and Rena's eyes and they saw the familiar dimly-lit library once again. Apparently, the [3D Movie Set] could also cut off sounds from the outside world.
"I said, the person who is wearing a helmet is running toward the south wing, can you guys hear me?"
Rena, who had been scanning her surroundings, suddenly snapped back to reality and answered her brother. Next, she looked at Lin Sanjiu and asked, "They've entered the south wing, should we continue chasing?"
The people had previously thought that Lin Sanjiu was a backup sent by the south wing. Now that they were in danger, they immediately ran to the south wing.
Lin Sanjiu shot a glance at the south wing. The south wing was dark. She could only see the vague outlines of te bookshelves. Even though they knew very well that a group of people had just entered the south wing, the south wing was unusually quiet, as if there was no one there.
"Since they have already formed an alliance, it would be difficult to deal with them," Lin Sanjiu replied. Remembering the woman from the south wing, who had only spoken but not revealed herself, Lin Sanjiu felt that the person was going to be trouble. "Forget it, since there is only three of them, I don't think they can create much of an issue."
"What should we do next?" Rena bit her lips and asked. Rena sounded a lot calmer than before. After this confrontation, they might only have a single book, but the numbers on their back had increased significantly. The number on Rena's back was now "21" and Lin Sanjiu's was "29". Reno was the only one with an unchanged number.
"Let's look for your brother before discussing about the books," Lin Sanjiu said as she walked to the banisters surrounding the north wing. "He is kinda stuck downstairs, it must be quite an ordeal…"
Before Lin Sanjiu could finish her sentence, a voice suddenly sounded from the West Wing. The voice was grating against their ears, as the person said with a raised tone, "That's not the people from the north wing. I think they headed toward the south wing!"
" The people from the west wing had been observing the situation here?" Lin Sanjiu and Rena froze for a second and immediately found a spot to hide. They kept quiet and listened for any other movements.
From the looks of it, the west wing team had only lost a single member from their battle with Silvan, and not their overall strength. From the west wing, their murmurs continued for some time before a voice suddenly yelled out, "You people from the south wing! Get out here now!"
The person who spoke was still that leader. When he raised his voice, his words pierced the eardrums of the people around him, "Did you say that we should work together? Now, I know why you didn't send anyone here to help us! You formed an alliance with the north wing! You better give me a proper explanation! What do you mean by this?"
As expected, the west wing and south wing had also formed an alliance. When Lin Sanjiu heard his words, she couldn't help looking at the south wing once more.
"That woman managed to secretly collaborate with the teams from two different wings without them knowing about each other. That is certainly some tactic…" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself.
However, the question from the west wing was met with absolute silence. No one replied. There was only pin-drop silence.
"They can't be feeling guilty, right?"
The mushroom man cursed loudly with his horrible, screechy voice, but the woman from the south wing did not respond at all. It was as if she had suddenly become deaf and dumb. Not only that, there wasn't even the least bit of sound of them moving. Just when Lin Sanjiu was feeling slightly suspicious of the situation, a long terrifying, wretched scream rang out from the south wing. Suddenly, a human body was tossed into the air violently, like a ragdoll, before the victim fell heavily down once more.
A top hat flipped a few times in the air before it fell down after its owner.
Amidst the horrible screams, the snapping necks, and the sound of splattering blood, everyone heard the chilling, goosebump-raising last words from Top Hat. With blood spluttering, he screamed, "The South Wing team are—"
Splurt.
A small beam of white light shot out from the south wing, ending Top Hat's words along with his life.
" The South Wing team are?" Just when Lin Sanjiu was still baffled by what the man said, she didn't react when Silvan suddenly shouted, "There is something very wrong with this! I remember that there are two people from the south wing in the central hall. Anyone with light-producing items should just illuminate the central hall so that we can see them!"
"There are actually two people from the south wing in the central hall?"
As every team was moving independently, no one really took note of the situation in the central hall. With those words, Lin Sanjiu felt her heart rising to her throat, Rena also became anxious. "Hey!" Rena repeated over the communicator many times, but she heard nothing from Reno's side. When they thought about it carefully, they didn't know when they stopped receiving Reno's voice from the communicator.
Once Silvan said that, a beam of light came from the flashlight he was holding. The snow-white light pierced the darkness and created a circle of light in the central hall. It immediately drew everyone's attention. When the circle of light first cruised around the central hall, it seemed empty. The light reflected off the tables and chairs with a painful intensity. However, when the beam of light reached Siri's desk, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help letting out a soft, "Ah."
Reno had already left his previous hiding spot long ago. Right now, he was holding his injured shoulder while fighting with another person. It was only when the beam of light hit the person's face that he, along with the other people in the library, noticed that person's face.
It was a bloodless face without any facial features. It was a duoluozhong.