Luo Wei suddenly opened his eyes, finding himself back in the old house from a day ago.
[Chapter Two: The Weigner Terror Incident (End)]
[Save Point: Riverside Road, Old House]
[Save Slots Remaining: 3/5]
Time was running out, and with only three chances left, Luo Wei quickly recalled all the clues from the previous two attempts.
As he pondered the explosions that had rocked the lower district and the maniacal laughter of the mastermind hidden in the thick fog, a plan began to form in his mind.
Luo Wei immediately turned to Helena and Evelyn, "Follow me, quickly!"
He swiftly changed his clothes and, once again armed with his revolver, rushed to his neighbor's house to "borrow" a car. With the pedal to the metal, he met Ophelia at the checkpoint of the lower district.
The next steps mirrored the previous attempt: he forced everyone involved to wear modified gas masks, had the officers set up barricades, positioned Gerald at a high vantage point for fire support, and then joined the agents in clearing the square of cultists.
This blatant overstepping of authority naturally drew dissatisfaction from some of the agents, but Luo Wei had no time to care about their feelings.
The cultists in the square were quickly dealt with, their higher-ranking members captured, and the fake summoning ritual was destroyed once again.
When everything seemed to have "settled," the police chief began chatting warmly with Fred, and the third prince, eager to claim credit, reappeared like a lingering ghost in the square.
Everything seemed identical to the last attempt...
The only difference was that this time, Luo Wei called Ophelia to his side and asked her in a low, serious tone:
"How large an area can your Dreamscape cover? I mean the kind that can affect reality, not just within dreams."
Seeing how serious Luo Wei had been throughout the journey, Ophelia answered truthfully, "The last time at the manor was my first attempt to use Dreamscape to affect reality. It covered about... the size of this square."
She gestured roughly, "It could be a bit larger, but it would become increasingly unstable."
After hearing this, Luo Wei finally nodded in relief.
Ophelia looked at him curiously, "By the way, why are you asking this?"
Luo Wei glanced at her, then leaned in to whisper something in her ear.
Ophelia's eyes widened in surprise.
Then, taking advantage of the chaos in the square, her figure gradually faded into the mist, disappearing without a trace.
Luo Wei remained standing in place, silently observing the crowd in the square, as if waiting for something.
From his last save, he already knew the condition for the summoning ritual: "chaos."
Once Saint Callen descended into enough chaos, the evil god would manifest. The mastermind had even prepared a backup plan for this.
When he realized the ritual at the site had been destroyed and the cultists wiped out, he immediately cast a spell to trap everyone present and detonated the magic crystal explosives hidden throughout the lower district.
The mastermind's plan was meticulous, but he could never have anticipated Luo Wei's ability to reload saves.
After his last risky spell, Luo Wei had already exposed his location.
Luo Wei carefully scrutinized every face in the square: police officers, members of the Special Affairs Department, and the Holy Edict Knight Order...
From the intelligence provided by the cultist in the mental hospital, he knew the mastermind was an insider, someone who was familiar with every official raid, which was why the Truth Cult had repeatedly escaped capture.
Moreover, during this period of city-wide lockdown, only someone within these three organizations could have hidden so many dangerous items throughout the lower district.
So...
The mastermind was here, possibly very close to him.
To prevent this disaster, Luo Wei had to expose this person.
He waited patiently.
About ten minutes later, as expected, something happened.
The temperature plummeted, and the fog in the square grew thicker, drastically reducing visibility.
Then, a terrifying rumble echoed across the sky above the square.
"What is that?!" Everyone looked up in shock.
They vaguely saw an enormous black shadow looming in the sky, almost blotting out the sun. But due to the thick fog, the horrifying figure quickly vanished.
Although they couldn't make out the exact appearance of the entity, the sheer unknown made it even more terrifying.
For a moment, chaos erupted in the square.
"It's the evil god! The evil god has descended!"
"How can this be? Wasn't the summoning ritual destroyed?"
"We're doomed..."
While everyone else was panicking, Fred glanced suspiciously at Luo Wei, who stood nearby.
He noticed that the fifth princess was no longer by Luo Wei's side.
Having assisted Ophelia before, Fred knew this was her ability. But what were these two planning?
As the monstrous entity appeared, a chain reaction followed. Explosions rang out from the lower district beyond the fog.
"Brother?"
Luo Wei held onto the nervous Helena, signaling her to stay calm.
He looked around. From the appearance of the monster to the explosions, everything seemed to be a repeat of the last attempt.
But after the final explosion faded, an eerie silence fell.
The massive shadow in the sky did not reappear, and no chaos erupted in the lower district. There were no cries of panic from the citizens, no battles breaking out.
Apart from the thick fog lingering, it was as if nothing had happened. The world was unnervingly quiet.
This strange turn of events left everyone in the square murmuring in confusion.
"Is it over?"
"That's it??"
The anticipated catastrophe had not occurred, as if the climax of a play had been abruptly cut short.
Luo Wei watched the crowd's stunned expressions with satisfaction, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
But the show wasn't over yet.
Soon, the sound of synchronized footsteps echoed from beyond the fog. A young officer from the city defense force walked in, surveying the crowd before stopping in front of Fred.
"Sir Fred, His Highness has already evacuated the citizens of the lower district. The threat of the evil god's manifestation has been largely neutralized."
"What?" Fred exclaimed in surprise, "The second prince anticipated this?"
The officer nodded, "Indeed. Please follow us with your agents. We still need your expertise to locate the remaining magic crystal explosives. We require skilled spellcasters."
Hearing that the threat of the evil god had been averted, most of the people present broke into relieved smiles. The incident had been a rollercoaster, but it seemed to have ended without disaster.
However, a few individuals' expressions remained unsettled.
And this was exactly the effect Luo Wei had aimed for!
For instance, the third prince stood with a dark expression, perhaps displeased that his chance to claim credit had been snatched away.
And then there was...
Laure, the third prince's trusted knight, whose face was even more grim than his master's.
Luo Wei narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him closely.
Laure's expression was dark to the extreme. He clenched his fists, lost in thought for a long moment, as if weighing his options.
Suddenly, his eyes met Luo Wei's, and in that brief moment, his gaze was filled with malice.
In an instant, Laure's figure blurred as he dashed into the thick fog.
"Laure?!" The third prince turned in shock, "Where are you going?"
Luo Wei immediately shouted,
"It's him!!"
"He's the mastermind!"
At the same time, an [Attack Command] instantly locked onto Laure.
Though Helena didn't know why her brother had marked him, seeing Luo Wei's intense expression, she didn't hesitate. Her six tentacles instinctively lashed out toward the target.
A crimson shadow flashed by as Evelyn, wielding the Crimson Blade, also gave chase.
This sudden turn of events left everyone in the square momentarily stunned. Only Fred reacted quickly, pointing in the direction where Luo Wei and the others had vanished, shouting, "That knight is suspicious! Capture him!!"
At his command, all the agents sprang into action.
Finally, only the third prince remained, standing dumbfounded in place.
He muttered in disbelief:
"How could this be, how could this be..."
This is it, it's over...
...