Prit, Tivian.
Within a small, dark grove near the outskirts of the Tivian South District, three figures stood. Hardi, who had risen after being marked with the rune, a slight smile appeared on his lips after looking at Adele and Grego before him, and then he spoke.
"Well then, you two, let us officially begin now. Next, please allow the Madam to step aside."
After speaking, Hardi cast his gaze towards Adele not far away. Adele smiled slightly and then spoke.
"Oh my~ Madam stepping aside? Well, in that case, I shall temporarily withdraw to preserve my heart, which is purer than a child's." While speaking, Adele glanced at Hardi with a playful look, then covered half her masked face with a fan and exited the scene. After hearing Adele's words, Hardi couldn't help but purse his lips, then looked towards Grego ahead.
"Alright, Mr. Shadow Masked Man, let us begin now. Are the things ready?"
"Of course."
As he spoke, the two identical-looking people in the grove began to take off their clothes. After removing their undergarments, they exchanged them. Grego then put on Hardi's undergarments, while Hardi put on Grego's. Then, Hardi put his original outer coat back on, but did not button it completely, instead leaving a portion of the undergarments exposed at the top.
On the other side, Grego did not wear his outer coat, but only wore Hardi's original shirt on the outside. Then, from the bag he carried, he took out a small blood pack obtained from a hospital. After cutting it open, he smeared large amounts of blood onto his shirt, making himself look as if he had just been severely injured.
After smearing himself with large amounts of blood, Grego took out a small package from the bag and threw it to Hardi. After receiving it, Hardi pressed the contents of the package. After feeling the hard object inside, he put it on his person, then spoke to the miserable-looking Grego.
"Alright, everything is ready now... Are you ready, Mr. Shadow Masked Man?"
"Anytime..." Grego said in a disciplined manner. He then scanned the surroundings, looked at his and Hardi's appearances, glanced at the distant warehouse, and then spoke with a hint of worry.
"According to what you, Detective, said before, there is likely a Chalk stage and several Black Earth Stage combatants inside... To deal with such a setup, the An Yin Bureau would need to deploy at least two Chalk squads to act together. Now, just a few of us are going to face them... Is this okay?"
"Don't worry, it's fine. As long as everyone fulfills their duties and cooperates well with each other, it won't take much effort. Even if some parts aren't coordinated well and there are some mistakes, I have subsequent measures. With that Madam assisting in the dark, there won't be any big problems."
With a calm and composed expression, Hardi said directly. Listening to Hardi, although there was still a trace of worry in Grego's eyes, he still nodded. Thinking of the mysterious Madam who had just left, Grego couldn't help but fall into contemplation.
In Grego's impression, the woman who had just left seemed to be hiding her true abilities, seemingly possessing some strange power no less than the Detective's. The lookout sentinel before them seemed to have been brought over by her use of abilities. Grego could sense that the other party might be some kind of mysterious Extraordinary above him, and the other party also gave him an indescribable sense of déjà vu.
'The Detective who can exert influence from a distant place, the mysterious Madam who can use invisible abilities to control people's subconscious actions... The powers wielded by the Rose Cross are all very rare and hidden, making it impossible to guard against... Such an organization indeed cannot be measured by ordinary concepts of strength. I cannot apply the bureau's standards to the Rose Cross...'
Grego thought this way in his heart. After clearly understanding that the power of the Rose Cross could not be judged by ordinary common sense, his original worries were immediately greatly reduced. Grego then prepared to execute the subsequent plan with more relaxation.
"Alright, if that's the case, then let us begin."
...
In a semi-enclosed space built from a pile of messy Stone bricks somewhere in a deserted warehouse on the outskirts of the South District, a'Silence' magic circle drawn with bone ash was imprinted on the ground. Above the magic circle, the bound and unconscious Nu Nuo Te lay upon it.
At the edge of the magic circle, A Tiff, with a beard and a long robe, sat cross-legged, staring intently at Nu Nuo Te lying in the center of the circle. At this moment, he was pondering and analyzing the powerful soul protection mark on Nu Nuo Te's body, trying to find a way to break it.
Just as Nu Nuo Te was immersed in the ritual of breaking the mark, suddenly, his spiritual sense, belonging to a'Silence' Extraordinary, perceived a strong message. It was the sound of wailing spirits, the warning sounds emitted by the spirits on alert outside the warehouse.
Upon hearing this sound that only a'Silence' Extraordinary could hear, he immediately frowned. Then, rising from his cross-legged posture, he quickly walked out of the semi-enclosed space surrounded by broken brick walls and entered the wider space of the warehouse outside. As soon as he came out, he saw his three subordinates in the warehouse quickly gathering towards him.
"Lord A Tiff, the spirits outside are crying out! Someone has invaded!" one of A Tiff's subordinates said with slight tension. A Tiff, however, calmly scanned the environment within the warehouse. After finding nothing unusual for the moment, he spoke sternly.
"Where is Hardi? He should be on lookout tonight, right?"
A Tiff said this, and before his subordinates in front of him could give any other response, the warehouse door was suddenly pushed open a small gap. From that gap, a figure stumbled out. It was indeed Hardi.
"Lord, outside, someone has broken in! They are very strong, I am no match at all..."
With a look of terror, Hardi covered one of his arms and ran towards A Tiff, swaying with each step. Seeing Hardi, who looked terrified and was getting closer and closer, A Tiff initially eagerly wanted to wait for the other party to come over and report the situation truthfully, but as he watched the other party walk over, he noticed something was not quite right.
What Hardi had just shouted, although it was indeed the language of North Africa, his accent was a bit strange. Moreover, Hardi, who was walking towards him, had disheveled clothes. Under the illumination of the lights, A Tiff saw that the lining of the other party's clothes seemed different from what he remembered. This series of abnormal phenomena made A Tiff recall what Hardi had said to him during the day.
That was in the Blackwater Street area, where a person who looked exactly like the old butler they had captured was giving alms. At that time, A Tiff suspected that the occurrence of this strange event might not be accidental. If two people who look exactly alike appear in this world, either they are brothers, or some Extraordinary power has changed one person's appearance into another's.
After realizing this point, A Tiff's eyes widened slightly. He then looked at Hardi who was walking towards him, and then spoke sternly.
"Wait a moment, don't come over now, stand still where you are!" Just as Hardi was about to reach him, A Tiff immediately spoke out to stop him. Upon hearing A Tiff's words, not only did a look of astonishment appear on Hardi's face, but his subordinates beside him were also surprised.
"Lord... What is this..."
After being ordered to stop, Hardi looked at A Tiff with a confused expression. A Tiff, however, stared at Hardi with a very serious look, then spoke sternly.
"Hardi, answer me now, what is your full name? Where are you from? When did we first meet?" A Tiff asked Hardi three questions in a row. After hearing these questions, Hardi's expression became blank, and then his look became even more confused.
"Ah... what my full name is, let me think..."
With a somewhat flustered tone, Hardi said this. Looking at Hardi, who did not answer the question immediately, A Tiff's expression became close to indifferent. His hand had already secretly clenched a bone shard under his robe.
"Stop!"
Just at this moment, there was another sound from the warehouse entrance. Following the sound, everyone looked towards the doorway Hardi had just entered from, and then they saw a scene that astonished them.
A man covered in blood, without an outer coat, and extremely weak, was leaning against the warehouse door, staring with hatred at the interior of the warehouse, specifically at Hardi who was standing there. His blood-stained face bore the exact same features as Hardi's. Upon seeing him, A Tiff's subordinates couldn't help but be startled.
What's going on? There are two Hardis?!
"That guy... is fake! He can transform into the appearance of others... He is... an Extraordinary... He's fake!"
Leaning against the door, the extremely weak Hardi tremblingly raised his hand, pointing to the other himself standing inside the warehouse. With a mouth full of blood and slurred speech, he trembled as he warned. The Hardi he pointed at had a gloomy expression on his face at this moment.
"You guy... you're not dead!" Turning his head, the Hardi standing in front of A Tiff gritted his teeth and shouted at the man at the door who looked exactly like him. After hearing his words and witnessing the previous series of events, everyone present understood the situation.
Clearly, Hardi had been attacked and replaced! The person who replaced him possessed the Extraordinary ability to change appearances, and he was the one inside the warehouse, right before their eyes!
After understanding the whole story, A Tiff's subordinates immediately became vigilant towards the Hardi closest to them. Upon seeing the situation before him, that Hardi gritted his teeth, then pulled out his dagger as if breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats, rushing towards A Tiff as if to make a final stand.
Facing the "fake Hardi" rushing towards him, A Tiff, who had long been prepared, showed no panic. He clenched his hand tightly, and after relying on the spirits sealed within the bone artifact in his hand, he opened his mouth and exhaled a chilling gust of wind.
A bone-chilling frost was sent out from A Tiff's mouth, rushing towards the "fake Hardi." The "fake Hardi" was hit head-on by the cold air, and his entire body was instantly enveloped in deep cold white mist. His entire body was corroded by the cold.
Gradually, the "fake Hardi's" body lost function in the ice and cold. Covered in a layer of white frost, he fell straight to the ground, making the sound of a hard object hitting the ground. His final resentful expression was frozen on his face.
After using his ability to kill the "fake Hardi," A Tiff couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Afterwards, he and his other subordinates looked towards the "true Hardi" at the door, only to see that he, who was "severely injured," seemed to be on the verge of dying.
"Hardi! How are you! Hold on!"
Seeing the "true Hardi" in this state, several treasure hunters wanted to help him. At this moment, the "true Hardi," breathing heavily and covered in blood, could no longer support the weight of his body and knelt on the ground. He raised his head and looked at his former colleagues before him, tremblingly stretched out his hand and pointed at them, then continued to remind them in a weak voice.
"Hoo... hoo... Be careful... Besides me... there are others who have been replaced... That guy... he has accomplices... He wants to create chaos and then... seize the opportunity to act... Be careful..."
After speaking, the "true Hardi" directly slumped down, as if he could no longer hold on and had breathed his last. Upon seeing the "true Hardi" fall, the treasure hunters in the warehouse couldn't help but be slightly stunned, and then began to stare at each other, their eyes filled with suspicion.
After hearing the "true Hardi's" dying words, all the treasure hunters present realized that the current crisis had not been resolved. There was more than one Extraordinary who could change appearances! There were actually his accomplices present! And other people had been replaced!
Upon realizing that the enemy might be by their side, and that their companions might be fakes, all the treasure hunters couldn't help but move away from each other. The four treasure hunters, including A Tiff, began to scrutinize the other companions with suspicious eyes, wondering if the other party was the enemy. The atmosphere instantly became tense.
"I'm real, Captain A Tiff, I was behind there the whole time..."
"Captain A Tiff, I definitely haven't been replaced. I was guarding the door the whole time you were doing the ritual..."
"I'm real..."
For a moment, the scene became noisy. Three treasure hunters began to prove themselves to A Tiff, the leader who absolutely could not be swapped. The tension on the scene began to escalate. However, A Tiff, facing this situation, did not panic. He calmly and composedly said.
"Don't panic! All of you shut up first! I will ask you questions one by one! You just need to answer them!"
A Tiff's stern words brought the chaotic scene back to order. The three treasure hunters couldn't help but shut up after hearing A Tiff's words, preparing to be verified by A Tiff one by one.
Just as A Tiff was about to question the first subordinate, not far from him, the "fake Hardi" who had fallen to the ground and was covered in a layer of white frost, suddenly showed signs of movement.
Inside the "fake Hardi's" clothes, there was a small bag filled with gray powder, and inside the gray powder, there was an iron box. In the iron box at this moment, a rat suddenly flashed with electric light, and then detonated the explosives contained in the iron box. Immediately, the explosives exploded.
"Boom!"
Amidst a roar, the iron box exploded. The violent explosion also blew up the small bag around the iron box. The dust contained inside was blown into the air in an instant, coupled with the ground dust stirred up by the bomb itself. For a time, the entire warehouse space was filled with dust, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
"Cough cough cough... What is this..."
"Can't see anything at all!"
"Be careful! Don't let that guy take advantage of the chaos!"
Because the power of the bomb was not too great, and the explosion was a bit far away, this sudden explosion did not cause much damage to the treasure hunters present. However, their verification process, which had just begun, was directly interrupted, and the dust that filled the entire space, making them unable to see each other clearly, plunged the atmosphere back into anxious tension. They looked at the chaotic environment around them, and couldn't help but fall into deep anxiety.
"That guy wants to create chaos, and then seize the opportunity to act..."
This was the "true Hardi's" dying wish, a warning to every treasure hunter present, warning them to be careful of the impostor still hiding among them! Now this warning is echoing in the hearts of every treasure hunter in the dust.
Isn't this scene corresponding to the chaos in the dying wish? Then the next thing should be the impostor seizing the opportunity to act?!
Upon realizing this, everyone present felt their hearts leap into their throats. They couldn't help but take out their bone shards containing spirits and entered a state of tense alert. They looked around, gazing at the blurry figures in the dust, seeming to feel that every figure could be an enemy.
Highly focused, highly tense, to prevent being ambushed, the treasure hunters in the dust were vigilant of everything around them, suspicious of everything around them. They felt that every shadow in the dust could be an impostor, and would attack them at any time and any place, thus they developed hostility towards every shadow.
With hostility, there was a desire to attack.
Since it's an enemy, should we strike first? Would it be better to take the initiative to attack rather than wait for the other party to attack? Being on guard like this is too passive. Can I defend against a sudden sneak attack from that fake?
So maybe... I should attack first...
Kill the enemy before they attack me. As for which one of the shadows the enemy is, that's not important anymore!
Under this high-pressure mental state, such thoughts grew in the hearts of the treasure hunters and spread uncontrollably. In everyone's eyes at this moment, madness was dyed.