In an instant, the once lively and boisterous interior of the bus, filled with the clamor of voices, was plunged into silence. Even the old man who had been snoring earlier now had a furrowed brow, making no sound. He was huddled in his seat, as if in the throes of a terrible nightmare.
"Alright, the last batch of 'offerings' is taken care of."
Having confirmed this, the tour guide at the front of the bus, who had been chattering endlessly about the traditional myths of Shan Country, the legends of Kachin Snake Valley, and all sorts of local folklore, stopped his "chanting" and released the Hand Seal he had been secretly forming.
Scanning the entire bus, the perpetually grinning Shan Country man with his yellowish-brown complexion gradually became expressionless.
"Capturing over thirty offerings at once. This is the biggest haul in fifty years."
He let out a breath and said in a low voice, "The Organization's plan is almost complete. It doesn't matter if we're discovered now. Hey, Moba, get ready to turn. The pickup point is just ahead."
"Yes, Lord Ge'ang!"
The young driver replied fanatically. He quickly spun the steering wheel, causing the entire bus to swerve violently off the highway and charge directly toward the lush, dense jungle!
At the same time, Ge'ang raised his hand. His ten fingers, as if boneless, intertwined like snakes to form an incredibly bizarre yet strangely sacred Secret Seal. He muttered an incantation, producing a sound extremely similar to the Spirit Sound he had used to hypnotize the crowd, and his entire hand began to glow as he formed the seal.
The moment the bus was about to crash into the dense jungle, Ge'ang completed his seal. A pale green light spread out, and shimmering, illusory ripples of light appeared in mid-air. The image of the jungle wavered like a reflection on water before completely swallowing the tour bus, which vanished without a trace.
The jungle in this area was, in fact, nothing but an illusion!
The engine roared as the bus accelerated, leaping into the illusion. Its wheels didn't touch soft earth, but a hard-packed gravel road!
This was already a sparsely traveled tourist route. The illusion disguising the road also contained magical traps that required a specific Seal Technique to bypass. Passing tourists would never notice it with a casual glance. The locals rarely walked this way either and wouldn't recklessly enter an unfamiliar jungle, making discovery even more unlikely.
The bus sped along the gravel road. It still jolted as it left the highway, despite the builders' preparations.
But no matter how much it jolted, not one of the thirty-five passengers woke up.
The elderly and the young, men and women—all of them remained in their seats, brows furrowed, seemingly trapped in unpleasant dreams.
After swallowing the bus, the surface of the jungle illusion flickered and quickly returned to normal.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Leaving the highway, the bus sped through the forest. Normally, even with the gravel road absorbing much of the vibration, the noise should have been enough to startle the birds and create a racket.
But now, the surrounding forest was deathly silent.
There were no birds, not even the incessant chirping of insects that should have filled a summer day. The only sound was the dry, rustling whisper of wind through the trees.
Putting aside these strange occurrences, the bus full of unconscious tourists soon reached its destination: a clearing that had been artificially created.
Above the clearing, sheets of green camouflage netting painted with forest patterns concealed the area. This was combined with a small Array Disc for Illusion Techniques. The setup was presumably to avoid immediate detection by potential aerial reconnaissance or by satellite scans unaffected by the illusions.
In the clearing, the bus slowed to a stop. The Shan Country driver, Moba, began to turn the bus around to park.
Later, after the pickup team arrived to transport the "offerings," he would have to drive the bus to another part of the scenic area as a diversion.
Next to the driver, the high-ranking member of the Shan Country Mysterious Organization known as Ge'ang could be seen maintaining a Secret Seal. A faint green light enveloped the bus, absorbing sound and suppressing the vitality of all nearby life, ensuring their operation wouldn't be discovered by accident.
"Suppressing souls and muffling sound the whole way… it took a lot out of me."
After reaching their destination, Ge'ang let out a breath and released the Secret Seal.
He looked somewhat exhausted, and the green Spiritual Light around his body flickered, looking as if it was about to go out.
Then, the man who had been a cheerful, friendly, uncle-like tour guide casually reached out and placed his hand on the head of a robust man sitting next to him.
BOOM! In an instant, the green light flared intensely. The man whose head was being held down snapped his eyes open, his mouth agape in a silent scream. His body tried to struggle, his arms and legs flailing, but under Ge'ang's suppression, his resistance grew weaker and weaker until it ceased entirely.
Pop.
With the sound of something shattering, wisps of white, mist-like light could be seen flowing from the man's seven orifices, finally gathering in Ge'ang's palm and converting into green Spiritual Light.
The man's spirit was completely extinguished. The whites of his eyes showed, and drool trickled from the corner of his mouth. Although his body still breathed instinctively, he was now just a living piece of flesh.
Ge'ang's gaze was indifferent to this. A faint smile even touched his lips. With a soft "heh," he swallowed the Spiritual Light in one gulp. His Spiritual Radiance was instantly restored, and he nodded in satisfaction, muttering to himself.
"One Human Soul is just about enough."
Beside him, Moba showed no fear at the sight; in fact, he even revealed a faint expression of envy.
To these two members of the Mysterious Organization, the people on this bus were nothing more than materials, mere reserve rations, not independent, intelligent life forms.
'If the Organization's plan succeeds, there'll be as much of this 'foodstuff' as we want in the future.'
Feeling his spirit replenished, Ge'ang thought of the Organization's ongoing plan and couldn't help but feel a flush of excitement. His body grew warm as he began to fantasize about the glorious prospect. 'At that time, with my Secret Technique, becoming the headquarters' Leader might even be possible!'
His heart surged with emotion, but the high-ranking member of the Shan Country Mysterious Organization didn't have time to continue fantasizing about his wonderful future.
Because a long, clean, but very powerful arm had reached out from behind him, wrapping around his neck with furious intent.
'Where did this come from?!'
On skin that had begun to sweat and flush with excitement, every pore instantly clamped shut in terror. Ge'ang suddenly felt a chill shoot up from the base of his spine straight to his scalp.
An incredibly dangerous warning blared in his mind. Thought became action—his right hand instantly squirmed into a seal, a pale green light appearing around it. He raised his left arm to deliver an elbow strike behind him while his body simultaneously writhed like a snake, trying to break free from the arm.
In an instant, a mental shockwave like a Thunderbolt, born from the Seal Technique, blasted toward the person behind him!
This was a Secret Technique passed down in the Organization, created by simulating the Sound of Ghosts. The 'Soul Shocking Skill: Snake Kiss' was powerful enough to instantly render a strong adult man unconscious, or even inflict irreversible, grievous damage to their Soul!
An unprepared Soul hit by this would feel as if a venomous snake had driven a fang full of corrosive poison under their fingernail! Beyond the excruciating pain, it would also corrode both body and mind!
Ge'ang was certain that even one of the rare 'Awakeners' in the Organization would have a hard time taking a direct hit like that!
But the Secret Technique, though it struck its target, did not produce the result Ge'ang had imagined.
"Fuck!?"
A cry of pain came from behind him, which couldn't help but make Ge'ang feel a surge of delight.
But it was obvious that the emotion in that cry was more shock and anger than fear. The arm's owner only faltered for less than half a second before continuing to tighten his grip with even more ferocious speed!
"Since you kill people so easily, you must have considered the possibility of being killed yourself, right?"
"Urgh—"
As the strong arm choked his neck, forcing the air from his lungs, the series of movements was as fluid as if rehearsed. Just as Ge'ang was screaming 'This is impossible!' in his mind, the arm deftly and powerfully locked under his chin, its hard muscles bulging!
The explosive power from those flexing muscles crushed Ge'ang's final resistance. His breathing was forcibly cut off, causing his eyes to bulge and his tongue to loll out.
Then the arm abruptly yanked upward, snapping the head of the Mysterious Organization's disguised high-ranking member backward, forcing him to look up. Then, with a powerful twist and wrench of the shoulder and elbow—
Ge'ang, who had been about to shout and was in the middle of forming a second Seal Technique with his right hand, suddenly went limp.
'This… this is impossible… I still have my Seal Technique, my Secret Spells, and my Snake Gu… I… I still have…'
'Where did… this Awakener… come from…'