Chapter 91 The Final Feast of Revelry (XI) The docks were in complete chaos.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
Misinterpreting Dong Shiwu's reaction as fear, the newcomer scoffed. His human pupils, which had somehow been replaced by two sixteenth notes, were jumping and spinning incessantly in their sockets.
Looking into those strange eyes, there's an eerie feeling that draws your soul into them.
"Humans are a problem."
Repeatedly chanting "Dong Shi Wu" in his heart still had some effect, and only then did the Seventh String suppress the restless destructive desire and murderous intent surging within him.
“I was sent by the Lord, the seventh string of the Joyful Orchestra.”
Seventh String, disguised as a member of the Gentlemen's Club, clicked his tongue impatiently, waved his left hand in the air, and a simple-looking seven-stringed zither appeared out of thin air, bouncing a few times before disappearing.
He was pleased to see the seemingly terrified human opposite him "calm down," look around, and unceremoniously find the most comfortable chair to sit in, bending his left leg and crossing it over his right.
"I've been looking everywhere for you. Tell me, how did you end up in here?"
While controlling his body to react in accordance with Dong Shiwu's "persona," Du Yu pondered in his mind who this person in front of him was clearly from the Joyful Band.
For some reason, the other party always gave me a strange sense of familiarity—not because I had been summoned to the car outside the mine not long ago.
Seven-stringed lyre... seventh string... fiftieth string...
After Du Yu absentmindedly finished explaining why she was imprisoned here, and seeing that the man who called himself the Seventh String remained noncommittal, she suddenly found the source of the familiarity in her consciousness.
The same person who also claims to be the messenger of the "Mimi Yin" spirit, this so-called seventh string, is the brown thread that Du Yu encountered in the spirit world when he was saving Wang Erqi and completing the side quest "Evil Sacrifice - Part 1"!
【The Evil Sacrifice】is a series of side quests triggered when Du Yu confronts the brown line that comes to harvest the miners' spirits during his spirit world wandering in the mine. It is also the only side quest that Du Yu has triggered so far.
It was this seemingly insignificant side quest that provided Du Yu with two very important rewards. The importance of the [Temple Upgrade Blueprint - Twilight] goes without saying. Regardless of the system's purpose, she was now completely in sync with the system, sharing its fate and suffering, and had to upgrade as quickly as possible.
Another task reward is the somewhat puzzling "[Newbie God's Work Manual] (Chapter 1)". The name itself seems nonsensical, but it provides what Du Yu desperately needs: information.
It was this job manual that gave Du Yu a basic understanding of elements, tendencies, and divine positions, so that she wouldn't be completely clueless about what the people of Mimiyin and Quark were doing when they were all fighting in front of her.
These two important items are actually just rewards from a side quest that you can choose to accept or not?
Thinking about this, Du Yu felt that the system had dug a pit for her. From this perspective, the system's presence was not as strong as that of 166, who liked the fluctuating black cat Xiao Jiu, but every time it popped up, it was for something very important.
Moreover, the quest description for this side quest is quite interesting: "Crush the conspiracy of the false god and protect potential believers."
Since this is a series of quests, and I have only completed [Evil Sacrifice - Part 1], it means that the so-called "conspiracy of the false god" is still ongoing.
Does "false god" refer to "decadent music"? Or is it not just "decadent music"?
While Du Yu was lost in thought, Seventh String seemed to have reached the limit of patience. He suddenly grabbed Dong Shiwu's shoulder and, with a slight force, a dull thud of bones breaking came from under his palm.
Just as Du Yu was about to manipulate his body to react, a strange energy that was sometimes cold and sometimes hot entered his body. Du Yu paused slightly, and his shoulder felt as if it was covered by a thin membrane, and he completely lost sensation.
However, in Du Yu's eyes, that "membrane" was thinner than paper. There was no need for the purple fire. If she wanted to, and if she put a little more "intensity" into her gaze, this membrane, which had already begun to tremble, would collapse on its own.
He was just an ordinary person whose abilities had not yet awakened. After injecting energy into the Seventh String, he withdrew his hand and was satisfied to see Dong Shiwu looking dazed. He warned her, "I'm not as easy to talk to as they are. Take me to the No. 1 central building. If you keep arguing, it won't be just a small skirmish like before."
A murderous intent flashed through Du Yu's mind. He slowly rubbed his tongue around his palate. Time may erase memories, but it cannot erase the conditioned reflexes etched deep in one's soul.
Du Yuping hated being coerced more than anything. If he hadn't been rational enough to tell himself that he still needed to know the movements of the Joyful Band, Zi Huo would have already rushed out before the Seventh String Hand even touched Dong Shiwu's shoulder.
"good."
Dong Shiwu was silent for a moment, seemingly startled by himself. After a few seconds, he raised his head, tugged at the corners of his mouth, and forced a stiff smile.
No one knows what method the Seventh String used, but even though "Dong Shi Wu" was still under house arrest, when its strange eyes swept over, the musical notes in its pupils turned, and everyone it encountered, regardless of their strength, all became dazed and ignored the two as they passed by.
Du Yu couldn't help but think of the car that was parked not far from the dock, but the Gentlemen's Club patrol personnel hadn't noticed it. It seemed that this ability to reduce one's presence, which was better than invisibility, was Seventh String's special ability.
What kind of trait is this? Is it from the spiritual realm? It's not surprising that someone would believe in "decadent music".
While controlling Dong Shiwu to "shrink" behind Seventh String, Du Yu secretly observed Seventh String's ability. Although this ability seemed to be unbeatable, even ordinary people would forget the existence of the two of them after making eye contact with Seventh String.
Is eye contact a prerequisite for activating the ability?
While guessing, Du Yu led Seventh String to the No. 1 central building and stopped: "I am still under house arrest. All my permissions have been frozen. I can't get in."
The Flès-de-Léon was seized by the Gentlemen's Guild from the Bearded Pirates. Apart from creating a bizarre mine, the basic layout remained unchanged, except that a section in the middle was enclosed and designated as the central area.
Broadly speaking, the apartment buildings where Dong Shiwu and Lange's group lived were all within the central area, requiring access control and facial recognition for entry and exit, making it inaccessible to ordinary miners.
But only this building, number 001, is the most heavily guarded and highest-security area in the entire dock. Dong Shiwu had only been here a few times before, all for the sake of the "Scales of Fate".
She's currently under house arrest, so there's no doubt she can't get through to Building 001.
The Seventh String's ability belongs to the higher element of "mind," so theoretically it shouldn't be able to affect machinery.
"continue."
The pure black musical note swirled in the pale eye sockets, the black growing ever deeper, like a nebula containing a myriad of colors. The Seventh String seemed completely unconcerned, so "Dong Shi Wu" could only lower his head and approach Building 001, only to be stopped quite a distance away as expected:
"You? What are you doing? Aren't you that blue dog? Who let you out...?"
The surprise in the burly bald man's eyes hadn't faded before it was replaced by bewilderment and blankness. His lips opened and closed in vain, but no sound came out, like a malfunctioning machine endlessly repeating the last action before it broke down.
The people behind him also fell victim to it one after another. The Seventh String seemed to have some kind of magic. When anyone noticed it, they would immediately and involuntarily look into its eyes. Its ability was definitely not something that could be triggered simply by making eye contact.
But it didn't work.
This scene was no different from the journey ahead, and it seemed to be going very smoothly. However, Du Yu's heart was in his throat. Unlike ordinary roads, Building 001 was definitely the place with the strongest defense force in the entire dock, and the security procedures were certainly more than what was on the surface.
Sure enough, although several bald patrolmen fell for the trap one after another, and after being stuck in place for a long time, they completely ignored the two men and turned their attention elsewhere, but ominous red lights appeared from the two cameras next to the streetlights, the screen in the security office, the searchlight on the windowsill, and even the trash can.
Du Yu felt as if her body was locked in place by a force. Her sense of danger, honed through years of life-and-death experiences, was frantically warning her. It was as if she was not facing an ordinary-looking building, but rather entering a battlefield unarmed, with a tank's gun barrel about to be aimed at her head in the next second.
With his mind highly focused, Du Yu even faintly heard a cold, mechanical voice belonging to AI: "Target locked, aiming, anchoring successful, fire fire fire fire—"
Just as the "launch" command was about to be given, the AI, like the bald men standing in front of Building 001, got stuck in a malfunction-like state. Now!
The strange energy at the shoulder where the seventh string had snapped suddenly turned icy cold, as if a layer of cold water had been poured over one's face in the dead of winter, making even one's soul tremble with cold.
A hand grabbed her shoulder and shoved her face directly into the security scanner. Her iris was scanned three times, a test that shouldn't have passed from any angle. The machine beeped twice, and she passed through smoothly.
"Welcome, guest from Lange Communications."
The AI's announcement rang in his ears, and a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind. Before Du Yu could capture it, it had already disappeared. Behind him, Seventh String sneered and did not let go of the hand gripping "Dong Shiwu"'s shoulder. He carried "Dong Shiwu" into Building 001 as if he were carrying an object.
The environment inside the building was similar to when Du Yu last visited, except that strangely, there was no one in the room. Seventh String, however, seemed unfazed, his expression as natural as if he were back in his own home. He chuckled again, and this time Du Yu could clearly hear the sarcasm in his voice.
"The full moon is tomorrow, but the ceremony starts today? How can someone so afraid be a good lackey for the company?"
The ceremony begins today?
Du Yu was startled. Before she could think further, Seventh String walked around the room, tilted his head slightly, as if he had heard something funny. His smile widened, the musical notes in his eyes suddenly reversed, and he stretched out his hand and made a heavy sweep in the air. A door made of jumping musical notes appeared out of thin air!
At the same time, Du Yu felt his hair stand on end. A loud bang came from behind him, shaking the entire building and causing the chandelier to scream hysterically.
"Dong Shi Wu" cannot see it, but with the help of the spirit world, Du Yu can clearly "see" that a huge hole has been blown open in the northeast corner of the fence built by the Gentlemen's Association, and several members of the Gentlemen's Association are lying in pools of blood, their fate unknown, while the nearby miners flee in panic.
The docks were in complete chaos.
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Author's note: So sleepy... I'll catch the bugs when I wake up tomorrow.
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