Chapter 27: Control Hub

After midnight, whether it was the Web or those Stitched Monsters, they would all disappear. Sylvia had mentioned this point before.

It was the same in history. After midnight zero hour, this block would stop being noisy. Those late-returning pedestrians would return to their homes at this time.

Therefore, Xiao Fen was already able to vaguely see the traces of scattered pedestrians on the road, which made him further speed up his running.

This world had already become very different due to continuously triggering Lux-related tasks, or rather, it had a clear difference from history. World Natives might also participate and affect the entire task process.

Xiao Fen had to ensure that this unnecessary interference was minimized, which required him to find his target faster.

A few minutes later, the battlefield from earlier was already clearly visible. Xiao Fen could see that there seemed to be a few people standing there.

“The Trialists of the Li Family still only think that Sylvia is the protagonist triggering the Lux series of tasks. They haven’t realized that the progress of this world was actually changed by a guest.”

Xiao Fen reduced his speed, continuing to move towards the direction of the battlefield while thinking rapidly.

“So, they still haven’t discovered my existence. And my current appearance is no different from a Native. As long as I don’t make unnecessary actions, they won’t worry about me.”

Thinking of this, Xiao Fen didn’t think too much anymore. He paused, straightened his appearance, and then walked towards that battlefield which was once extremely chaotic.

There were no more bloodstains or stains on the ground. The corpses of those Stitched Monsters had disappeared. The entire battlefield, although very messy, no longer showed any sign of the fierce battle that had taken place here.

Ahead were a few pedestrians. They gathered together, seemingly facing something strange, whispering to each other.

Xiao Fen walked over calmly, took a look, then stood there and listened to the exchange of several pedestrians around him. He did not stay but started to calmly walk along the street towards the depths.

His heart was beating wildly. In that circle just now, he had seen a corpse.

The corpses of Stitched Monsters would disappear, and Natives caught by the Web would be devoured. Corpses in the Trial World would mostly be reset to zero, with one exception.

The corpses of Trialists.

Xiao Fen had just seen the corpse of a Trialist, and it should be a Trialist from that squad of the Li Family.

That was a Trialist nailed through alive by ropes. The holes in his body were clear proof. The question lay here, why would the ropes suddenly attack a Trialist?

Where did the other members of the Li Family squad go? Would they be observing nearby, wanting to see if Sylvia would return?

Xiao Fen walked calmly, trying his best to make himself look not so abnormal.

However, his thoughts were destined to be shattered. Behind him, a rustling sound of leather shoes stepping on the ground suddenly came, and this sound was clearly heading towards him.

“Mr. Palin, you may have gone in the wrong direction.”

A cold voice suddenly rang out. This caused Xiao Fen’s body to pause slightly. He calmly turned his head, looked at the person walking from behind, and asked, “You know my name?”

“Of course. There is only one decent tavern in this block. Go there and ask what outsiders have been here in the past two days. It is very easy to ask for your name. Natives will not refuse to answer Trialists’ questions; a little skill is enough.”

The person behind spoke English skillfully while slowly revealing his figure from the thick fog.

That was a British man with a face around forty years old. Sharp light flashed in his sharp eyes, and his aquiline nose seemed sharp enough to cut wooden planks. All these could leave a very deep impression on people.

Considering that such an appearance likely came from the disguise of a mask, Xiao Fen didn’t pay too much attention to it. On the contrary, he paid more attention to the other party’s clothes and body.

The dark gray coat had blurred edges in the mist. Both hands seemed to be casually stuffed in the pockets, and the elbows were slightly bent. It looked like although the other party seemed fearless, his true heart still had considerable guard against Xiao Fen.

His hands were probably holding weapons in his pockets, guarding against a possible sudden attack from Xiao Fen.

Xiao Fen stared at the other party. The other party’s English was good. This small detail made Xiao Fen quickly realize the difference. The other party likely mistook him for Sylvia, so he used English to converse.

Thinking of this, he smiled slightly and similarly asked in English, “Where is Sayena?”

The other party shrugged and answered, “Who knows? He is always with the Young Master, unlike us pawns.”

Xiao Fen asked, “What do you want with me? Don’t tell me you have completely forgotten what happened the day before yesterday.”

“Of course not. That was decided by the Young Master and Sayena. We are only responsible for action. Holding a grudge against us pawns is meaningless.”

Xiao Fen smiled slightly, and his brain began to think rapidly.

“They don’t know Sylvia is a female. This shows that Sylvia also did a disguise when entering this world, and it was an outfit that could confuse gender.”

“They not only didn’t know Sylvia’s gender, but also didn’t know Sylvia’s name, so they thought the name Palin was Sylvia’s name.”

“Until now, Sylvia’s true identity has not been exposed. She, appearing in a female form, is still safe.”

“However, the two people who appeared and then disappeared at the First Blacksmith Tavern in the past two days also included Sylvia. Therefore, to ensure that Sylvia can be safe for a longer time, there is only one choice. Admit here that I am that surviving person.”

“Then, kill him!”

Killing a person was also a huge challenge for Xiao Fen.

Before this, although he had realized that in such a world, he would always encounter things he had to do, such as killing, killing a Trialist, not those Natives.

However, he did not expect that something like killing would come so quickly.

Xiao Fen had a good habit. He would not let emotions affect his thinking. He always first made judgments and plans for what he had to do, driving those emotions aside, and only after the matter was completed would he re-engage in some sighs.

Therefore, although he hadn’t expected killing to come so suddenly, the first thing Xiao Fen did was not struggle with whether or not to kill the other party, but began to consider how to kill the opponent.

“The first thing to do is to make the other party let down their guard. And now, the best way to make the other party let down their guard is to show weakness.”

Thinking of this, Xiao Fen turned his head again and said, “In the Trial World, Trialists cannot harm each other. If you want to bear the punishment of Yggdrasil, then go ahead. My injuries have not fully recovered yet.”

With his back to the other party, plus this sentence, it obviously made that Trialist of the Li Family relax a bit. His always-tense elbows loosened down.