Free Web NovelChapter 334: Chapter 138: Riddler Himself
In the darkness, many could sense the sudden arrival of someone’s presence, but only Qin Zong, who stood aside, could hear the conversation between the two.
Bai Wu.
As one of the rising talents, and the person Qin Zong most valued, he had never imagined... that this young man, audacious as he was, dared to make such a brazen appearance here.
How did he achieve this pitch darkness?
The High Tower was initially like a massive "mansion". Inside the mansion were all the energy facilities.
When people first entered the High Tower, its ceiling was already capable of simulating day and night, operating on its own.
But as the rulers of the fifth level gradually consolidated their power, they discovered that, apart from the sixth level, they could manipulate almost everything in the five lower levels of the High Tower.
This included the energy supply and the operation of all equipment. And if the higher-ups wished, the buildings within the High Tower could also be dismantled.
Because the massive elevators were entirely capable of transporting building materials.
The reason why the civilization levels between layers were so vastly different is multifold.
After attaining immortality, the rulers possessed absolute power. At a time when humans could only gather living materials in the white zone, enduring hardship, the rulers could already travel to many more advanced areas.
However, such things would not be recorded in history.
Great power also brought great demand among these rulers. Even Xie Yingjie, a figure like himself, when deciding on the resource distribution of the lower four levels, also agreed with the other rulers, allowing the fifth level to have absolute control, whether in strength or resources.
As a member of the Qin Family, Qin Zong naturally knew some of the affairs of the ruler hierarchy. The entire third level plunged into darkness, something only rulers could have managed.
Knowing that this person was Bai Wu, who had once asked him to meet someone from the Xie Family...
After connecting all the dots, he immediately thought of a possibility—the Xie Family was preventing the Qin Family and the Yan Family’s arranged marriage!
The light gradually strengthened, and emergency power supply equipment quickly started operating. The ceiling remained dark and devoid of light, but Mingyu Estate was slowly brightening up.
Although it was still the Masked Strange Person, this time, the mask was not one of a smiling face, but the demon mask worn during the invasion of the Yan Family.
As the view grew clearer, and given that most of the people at the wedding scene possessed strong perception abilities, with a few even having "visual sequence" abilities, they soon realized something—
Someone was stealing the bride!
The Yan Family father and son saw that familiar mask and fear immediately showed on their faces.
Meanwhile, the Qin siblings instantly fixed their sights on Bai Wu. Not only that, the experts from the Investigation Corps and the elites from the Garrison Corps all kept a close watch on Bai Wu.
Bai Wu showed no panic, simply pulling out a magician’s top hat used for performance and placing it atop his head.
"Hey! I’m back! Surprise or not, expected or not, happy or not?"
Bai Wu waved to the Yan Family father and son as if he didn’t take them seriously at all. The bride was in the hands of this Masked Strange Person, and for a moment, no one dared to act rashly.
Qin Zong found himself in a dilemma.
He had confirmed that this was Bai Wu, which made him even more puzzled—why did this person have such audacity?
In fact, Qin Zong had already thought of an exit strategy: he would marry Yan Jiu, but would not touch her. How Yan Jiu lived before, she could continue to live that way after.
This was the compromise he made for the sake of the common people on the lower two levels, for the Investigation Corps, and also for Bai Wu.
It was also an extremely wise decision.
However, Qin Zong had not expected that Bai Wu’s methods would be so radical; this was akin to a blatant slap in the face of both the Qin Family and the Yan Family, effectively placing himself squarely against both the ruling families.
Even with the Xie Family as a backer, this was still too reckless.
Qin Zong had indeed guessed part of it, but Bai Wu’s "recklessness" had only shown the tip of the iceberg.
What he planned to do was far more shocking than stealing a bride.
"What do you want to do?" Faced with the character who had boldly intruded into the Yan Family, even the old ancestor was wary. Yan Heyu clearly hadn’t easily forgotten.
Where was the composure he had when facing Yan Jiu?
Yan Jiu’s heartbeat raced. How would Bai Wu take her away? There were masters everywhere; would he be in danger?
She had recovered from the touching descent of the Savior from the heavens and began to feel an almost tangible murderous intent that made her worry.
"Everyone, no need to be nervous, I’m just performing a magic trick. Of course, since it’s a performance, it would be better if it could be a bit brighter."
Bai Wu snapped his fingers:
"Let there be light."
As if responding to Bai Wu’s words, a beam of light suddenly fell from the ceiling of the third floor.
And it landed precisely on Bai Wu.
At that instant, he became the center of attention for everyone present.
This action, while appearing ostentatious, was actually full of warning, especially for the Qin siblings and the guardians from the Investigation Corps.
Liu Hu, despite his recklessness, was very clear that "light" was controlled by the ruler.
This meant that the Masked Strange Person, who suddenly appeared during the ring exchange, was related to the ruler.
This was something worth contemplating for them.
If there is light in a dark place, people will subconsciously look towards the light source and ignore everything else.
Bai Wu’s abduction of the bride, followed by the command "Let there be light," was truly shocking. Even those hidden in the dark with other duties couldn’t help being distracted.
And the noise in the darkness could cover up many things.
"Don’t be so serious, you all. Don’t you know what an entertainment program is? Don’t you think this wedding is too boring, too absurd?"
"Tsk, tsk. The leader of the Investigation Corps and the leader of the Garrison Corps are brothers, but this leader, despite being devoted to the lower classes, never received favor from his family."
"Let’s take another look at this bride. The bride is very beautiful, pity she’s mad. It’s said that when the old ancestor of the Yan Family was young, he impregnated a woman, then, during her pregnancy, he had someone turn her into an Evil Fallen."
"This was truly a revolutionary act. The Evil Fallen gave birth to a boy and a girl, who in the end were taken away by Yan Zhao. Such an act seemed to violate some sort of world rule, and from then on, every Yan Family birth resulted in one male and one female, with the possibility of emotional deficiencies. Just like this bride, who can’t feel joy and is crying on stage, this is not empty talk."
"So this wedding is quite interesting. The Qin Family’s unwelcomed son, marrying the Yan Family’s unwelcomed madwoman."
Bai Wu’s words left everyone in shock.
Some things, not even the guardians of the eight great families knew, and Wang Su scoffed coldly:
"This circle really is chaotic."
"What he’s saying might not be true," said Liu Hu.
Pang Li always had a sickly pale complexion, and he remarked:
"Looking at the Zhong Family, I’m not surprised. By the way, where’s Xie Xingzhi? Why don’t I see him?"
Zheng Yue shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t seen him, and just reminded them:
"Don’t you think that all of this isn’t the point?"
The four of them were the most formidable experts here, far more so than the Qin siblings, the Yan Family Father and Son, and all the other experts among the guests.
Bai Wu had first kidnapped the bride, then made a startling move, and now he had made astonishing remarks.
No one knew what he was going to do, but everyone’s attention was here, including the four members of the Investigation Corps.
Still, even though they were concerned about Bai Wu, they could still sense some activities in the darkness.
"I will be right back," said Liu Hu.
Zheng Yue yawned:
"Isn’t watching the show good enough? In the end, this is a matter for the Qin and Yan Families. Do you think you’re stronger than Yan Zizai? The other party might be stronger than you imagine."
"But this is an opportunity to sell a favor to both their families," said Pang Li.
"Anyway, I’m not going; you guys can go if you want to," Zheng Yue said, still listless.
Laziness was one thing, but sensing a certain familiar presence was the main reason he did not want to get involved.
"Shut up! What are you babbling about?" Qin Yi, the eldest daughter of the Qin family, shouted sternly.
Bai Wu was facing away from the Qin siblings and sideways to the audience, directly facing the Yan Family Father and Son.
"Hahahaha... Did I accidentally reveal a secret? Ah, so it turns out that among the rulers of the eight great families, there are immortal monsters who have lived for seven hundred years, and yet, not many people know about this."
Every revelation was more shocking than the last, leaving the members of the Garrison Corps and the Investigation Corps utterly astonished.
Members of Team Seven, who were the most agitated just moments before, were now the calmest.
"Who exactly are you?" Qin Xuan asked.
"Like I said, I’m a magician, and now I will perform two magic tricks: one is a duplication trick, the other is bring a person back to life."
"Ah, seeing how shocked you all are makes me feel so regretful. Don’t you know that the fifth floor of the High Tower is home to several immortal monsters? Isn’t that standard knowledge for the Investigation Corps?"
This familiar mocking tone made Team Seven instantly think of something, and their expressions changed at once.
"Oh, the Garrison Corps is here too. But there’s not much that’s standard issue for the Garrison Corps, is there? After all, members of your Legion always seem to appear and disappear out of nowhere. Every year, a bunch of experts emerge, and then after a while, they disappear, isn’t that right, Captain Qin Xuan? If my memory was regularly wiped clean, I surely wouldn’t have much standard issue on me either."
Qin Xuan’s face was as dark as water. Qin Yi issued a warning:
"Release the bride, or you won’t leave here alive."
The Masked Strange Person gave her a very strong impression, and it seemed the Yan Family Father and Son were quite wary of him. Moreover, this person appeared to know a lot of secrets about the fifth floor of the High Tower.
She did not want to rashly make an enemy of such a person, but if she allowed him to continue to spill secrets, the situation would undoubtedly spiral out of control.
Qin Zong looked puzzledly at his sister and brother.
The members of the Investigation Corps and the Garrison Corps were horrified as well. Why were there so many masters in the Garrison Corps? This was a mystery to the Investigation Corps, and even the leaders of the Garrison Corps had no idea.
The strength of the Investigation Corps came from ventures outside the tower, but what about the Garrison Corps? Because many members of the Investigation Corps had died outside the tower, it was ironic that the personnel changes in the Garrison Corps were also significant.
Bai Wu, like an onlooker who didn’t fear the escalation of chaos, was actually the instigator of the turmoil.
"Is that so? Then, can you wait until I have finished performing my magic tricks before killing me? Okay, okay, you all are looking forward to the magic tricks and don’t want to hear me prattle on. So, let the magic begin!"
"Duplication trick!"
His cloak began to sway, and in that instant, countless presences locked onto Bai Wu; any dangerous move he made would be met with swift attacks from the many experts present.
But then something eerie occurred.
A Masked Strange Person, identical in dress to Bai Wu, instantly appeared by his side.
It was as if he had been duplicated right out of Bai Wu’s cloak.
The original beam of light on Bai Wu began to dim, and another beam of light fell on the newly appeared Masked Strange Person.
In the contrasting shine of light and shadow, they looked like the substantive body and its reflection.
"Clang! The magic show ends perfectly! What? You want to see the grand revival? Well, let me tell you a secret, these two tricks are actually combined!"
Bai Wu and the Masked Strange Person beside him both dropped their cloaks at the same moment, just as several beams of light fell from the 900-meter-high ceiling.
The entire stage was enveloped in light, and by the side of the two unrobed Masked Strange Persons, Yan Jiu was nowhere to be seen.
The crowd was stunned. Even the Qin siblings couldn’t see clearly how the stranger had appeared so suddenly, nor how they had whisked away Yan Jiu.
"Where’s the bride? What have you done? Hand over the bride!"
Once the bride was gone, they had no more reservations about Bai Wu.
"A magician naturally won’t reveal his tricks. So now, are you going to use the Guard Army to kill me? That’s fine by me, if you can pull it off. After all, I still have one more trick left, called the grand death."
Upon hearing the words "Guard Army," the Qin siblings’ faces changed. They could not allow Bai Wu to continue with his nonsense.
The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, each drew out a triangular spike, one aimed at Bai Wu and the other at the Masked Strange Person, and launched their attack!
But even without considering the existence of Prayle’s Eye, Bai Wu was easily able to avoid it purely based on the disparity in strength.
He dodged Qin Yi’s attack and, at the same time, snapped his fingers.
At the same moment that Qin Xuan’s trident was about to strike his opponent, he seemed to see a look of disdain in the other’s eyes through the eyeholes of the mask.
It was like the proud lion eyeing its prey, but just as Qin Xuan sensed danger and subconsciously wanted to withdraw his move...
The Masked Strange Person before him... suddenly turned into another entity—
A corpse.
The trident pierced the eye socket of the corpse, leaving Qin Xuan in confusion.
"Hahahaha, this is too interesting, thank you for your cooperation. After the great transformation from living to dead, the performance was a huge success!"
Qin Xuan and Qin Yi didn’t immediately attack again, not because they sensed the other’s composure while dodging, but because the corpse—came from the Guard Army.
"Where is the Guard Army!"
Qin Yi shouted loudly. No one responded. Those stationed in the shadows, meant to prevent any mishaps during the wedding and at the same time to intimidate Qin Zong, the entire Guard Army was devoid of life.
Indeed, there was much commotion in the darkness, but mostly it came from the Investigation Corps and the Garrison Corps.
They were startled by the wedding, by the sudden appearance of this ghostly, masked figure.
Though there are some Sequences that Bai Wu knows as a matter of course, in fact, to those without Prayle’s Eye, many Sequences had never been truly seen before.
Even if there might be a few descriptive words about them on the Sequence lists, the depiction in text and the actual demonstration of abilities could sometimes be vastly different.
Like... Bipolar Transposition.
Aside from a few overseers, no one knew how exactly the Masked Strange Person had managed to whisk away the bride, and why a corpse from the Guard Army suddenly appeared.
"So it’s him, this is very strange indeed, the Guardian of the Yan Family wants to sabotage the wedding of the Yan Family’s daughter?" Wang Su furrowed her brows.
"This is a chance to challenge him!" Liu Hu said.
"Give it up, you can’t beat him," Zheng Yue helpfully reminded.
The few overseers were caught between enjoying the spectacle and the urge to jump into action. Zheng Yue didn’t dissuade them, but his lazy tone and seemingly indifferent attitude toward the situation proved more effective than verbal discouragement.
And the three words "Guard Army" also left the people from the Investigation Corps and Garrison Corps present full of confusion. Many among them, including other commanders, had never heard of this formation. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Qin Zong was the most shocked of all. Was this person really Bai Wu?
He suddenly realized that he might not know this rapidly rising subordinate at all...
"Who are you, really?"
"Good question. Who am I, indeed? Hahaha, call me the Riddler. Now, I have a riddle for you, listen carefully," he said.
"I come from the lowest levels of the High Tower ninety years ago, my troops and I, full of ambition, ventured into the Red Zone. We fought bravely against powerful enemies without fear. Yet, we were destined never to return to the Tower, to tell those in the High Tower that humans can set foot in the Red Zone."
"Because our Return Roulette, alas... had a little malfunction."
Qin Zong’s eyes widened; ninety years ago, the Red Zone, he certainly knew what was being referred to.
Could it be that from that disaster... there were survivors? Could it be that the annihilation of the two armies... held secrets?
No, that’s impossible, this person must be Bai Wu... Qin Zong was already somewhat confused, and he wasn’t the only one in turmoil.
Bai Wu was well aware that in this plan, the most crucial role was Qin Zong’s. Which of the major families was scheming, who he truly was... only the leader knew.
So from the moment he appeared, he kept releasing bombshells, and now, he was about to reveal the most shocking truth and force him to make a choice.
Speak human with humans, ghost with ghosts; from this appearance, Bai Wu knew the kind of role he needed to play: part madman, part lucid, and part mocker.
An evil, ghostly laughter echoed in the darkness:
"Who am I, really? I am a Wandering Spirit delayed by Return Roulette for ninety years! I am the nightmare of the High Tower’s evil rulers! I am the avenger from the Red Zone come to claim lives! Hahahahaha..."
