Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 31 – Spring Breeze Pavilion
“…It feels… familiar,” Luo Yan whispered.
“Hm?”
Qin Wen’s expression turned serious. She knew Luo Yan possessed the same “Witch of Envy” power as the Devil’s minion.
Perhaps, with her own senses failing her, Miss Luo Yan’s intuition was more reliable.
When Qin Wen first encountered Luo Yan, she had clearly sensed the demonic aura because, at the time, Red Butterfly hadn’t yet mastered the “Witch of Envy’s” power.
But now, Red Butterfly had not only merged with the power of “Envy” with the help of the Witch’s will, but she had also spread a large number of “Gu Seeds,” creating flesh puppet seeds.
Although these “Gu Seeds” hadn’t yet activated, they still carried a faint demonic aura.
Qin Wen had tracked these faint auras to Flower Street’s “Gold-Melting Kiln,” but because of this, she couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.
“It’s like… something I sensed in the town…”
Luo Yan frowned slightly, trying to recall.
“Perhaps… in the church?”
Qin Wen had only heard the general story of “Ghost Town,” not the full details, so she didn’t know about the church.
However, this didn’t prevent her from understanding.
“So, it’s related to the Devil’s minion?” Qin Wen asked.
Luo Yan hesitated.
“I’m not sure. Let’s go and see.”
Qin Wen nodded and strode towards the location Luo Yan indicated.
She held Luo Yan’s hand, preventing her from getting lost in the crowd.
Davis followed behind them, her face full of worry, exasperated by the two young ladies’ apparent lack of caution.
Walking so casually in the “Gold-Melting Kiln”…
Didn’t they notice the numerous gazes directed at them?
However, with Qin Wen’s imposing 1.9-meter height, and Luo Yan using her life hack to minimize her presence, most of the attention fell on Davis.
Even her Apprehension Department uniform couldn’t prevent it; after all, the uniform itself was… a certain type.
She hadn’t understood a word of Luo Yan and Qin Wen’s conversation, only that they seemed to be heading somewhere.
Wherever it was, as long as this ordeal ended quickly…
Davis followed them absentmindedly.
“There seem to be a lot of people,” Luo Yan said, sensing the complex mix of auras and the cacophony of sounds, her breathing technique struggling to keep up.
She moved closer to Qin Wen, her smaller frame practically nestled against Qin Wen’s side.
Lowering her head slightly, Qin Wen could see Luo Yan’s striking silver hair resting against her shoulder.
Resisting the urge to reach out and touch it, she said,
“They all seem to be heading in the same direction you sensed the anomaly, the crowd is very dense.”
“Crowds are troublesome,” Luo Yan’s expression was slightly troubled. “My ability isn’t easy to control, and it’s difficult to sense my surroundings with just the breathing technique.”
Qin Wen thought for a moment.
“Should I carry you?”
“Eh? Would that be too much trouble…?”
Luo Yan asked instinctively.
“Miss Luo Yan, this is your problem. You always think being helped is a burden to others.”
Qin Wen effortlessly lifted Luo Yan onto her back, as if she were a small doll. “Actually, being able to help a close friend, even just a little, is a joyful thing.”
“…Sorry.” Luo Yan didn’t know how to respond.
“Why apologize, Miss Luo Yan?” Qin Wen chuckled softly. “Close friends, we’re close friends! —Right?”
“Close friends…?” Luo Yan repeated softly. “Yes, I understand.”
“The crowd is getting larger, something doesn’t feel right.”
Qin Wen observed the people around them, their expressions unusually excited, almost fanatical.
As if under the influence of some power…
And as the crowd grew denser, the Devil’s minion’s aura intensified.
There might be a connection.
“Should we ask someone?” Luo Yan suggested.
Qin Wen nodded, grabbed a man who was excitedly pushing through the crowd, and lifted him by the collar.
“What’s happening up ahead?”
She was at least a head and a half taller than the man, and with her ability user’s strength, lifting him was effortless.
“Hey…!”
The man, suddenly lifted into the air, was instantly enraged.
But as he was about to yell, he looked up and saw Qin Wen, and his anger deflated.
It wasn’t that Qin Wen was ugly. She was… pleasant to look at.
But her 1.9-meter height and murderous aura were rather intimidating.
“B-Because Young Master Liu has booked the entire venue, and everyone who can grab a seat can watch Miss Red Butterfly’s performance…”
The man stammered, wondering inwardly why a woman would be interested in this…
“Red Butterfly? A performance?”
Qin Wen blinked. That was it?
So many people crowding together just to watch a performance…
Davis, who had caught up to them, saw Qin Wen casually interrogating a passerby and twitched her lips.
But she also overheard the man’s answer and explained to Qin Wen,
“She’s probably a courtesan, or something. Rarely seen in public, and now there’s a chance to see her for free, so these people don’t want to miss it.”
Davis paused, then snorted.
“Men are all like this.”
“…?”
The innocent Qin Wen and the naive Luo Yan were confused.
“What’s a courtesan?”
“What about men?”
They both asked questions Davis couldn’t answer easily.
“Forget it, since we’re already here, let’s go and take a look,” Davis sighed. “It’s not like you two have anything better to do…”
She had finally realized that these two had a knack for navigating the “Gold-Melting Kiln,” while she was the only one suffering.
This place… was truly… something.
Qin Wen released the man and nodded seriously.
“Yes, I’d like to see this so-called courtesan. To attract such a large crowd, she might be connected to the Devil’s minion.”
Luo Yan agreed. “Yes, I sense an unusual aura from these people, as if they’re being controlled.”
“…”
Davis was silent for a moment. These two were still playing their detective game.
She sighed.
“Sure, whatever.”
…
Meanwhile, Spring Breeze Pavilion was packed.
Despite its name, Spring Breeze Pavilion wasn’t a pavilion, but a small theater, its audience seats divided into three levels.
The first level had the most ordinary seats, the further back, the worse the view of the stage.
The second level was slightly higher, offering a clear view of the entire stage, but the seats were the same as the first level.
The top level, of course, was the VIP area, with private rooms, luxurious seating, and dedicated service staff.
And once the doors were closed, what happened inside was completely private.
…The purpose of such a design in this kind of establishment was anyone’s guess.
Barely ten minutes after the announcement, all one thousand seats on the first level and six hundred seats on the second level were filled.
When Luo Yan and Qin Wen arrived, they could only see a few staff members desperately trying to hold back the crowd pushing against the partially closed doors.
“It seems there are no seats left,” Davis said hesitantly. “Miss Luo Yan, should we just leave?”
“Why leave? If there are no seats, we’ll just go in,” Qin Wen said, puzzled. “Don’t worry, I’m experienced.”
Experienced…
Davis wanted to facepalm. Just what had this bodyguard done in the past…?
“We can’t force our way in, we’ll alert the target,” Luo Yan interjected, her expression serious. “Qin Wen, you can sense it too, right? The Devil’s minion’s aura is getting stronger.”
“Yes,” Qin Wen nodded. “The larger the crowd, the stronger the aura. Could it be that he…”
Looking at the dense crowd, Qin Wen shuddered.
While hunting this Devil’s minion in the Endless Wasteland, she had witnessed him transforming people into flesh puppets.
Countless tiny worms, devouring flesh and bone, accompanied by horrifying screams, filling the victim’s body until it became a monster controlled entirely by the worms, nothing but an empty shell remaining.
Back then, the Devil’s minion had been weak, able to transform only a few people at a time, and his control was poor, the process noisy and impossible to hide.
But what if… he had obtained enough power from the “Witch of Envy” to transform dozens, or even hundreds, of people at once?
Or if he could control the worms to lie dormant… until the right moment, absorbing them all at once?
Either scenario would result in a catastrophic loss of life.
Qin Wen wouldn’t hesitate to slay demons, but she couldn’t bring herself to harm ordinary people who could still be saved, even if they were controlled by a Devil’s minion and on the verge of becoming flesh puppets.
“Therefore, we can’t be discovered before we find the Devil’s minion’s main body,” Luo Yan said seriously, the current situation reminding her of the irreversible tragedy in Ghost Town. “We only have one chance to strike, we can’t hesitate.”
They were lucky they hadn’t launched a large-scale operation. At least for now, the enemy didn’t know they were close.
“But if we don’t force our way in, how do we get inside?”
Qin Wen looked at the staff members blocking the entrance, troubled.
“Simple, just another life hack,” Luo Yan snapped her fingers. “But to use it on you, I need to look at you.”
The power of “Envy” was to rewrite souls and consciousness. Using it on herself was fine, but using it on others required the “Eye of Fear, Envy, and Defilement.”
“Look at me?” Qin Wen immediately recalled her near-death experience from a single glance and shook her head vigorously. “No, no, let’s just force our way in…”
“You won’t die from a single glance.”
“I will!”
“Don’t worry, I can control the intensity, it’ll be fine.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, I promise,” Luo Yan nodded, then turned to the confused Davis. “Miss Davis, come here as well.”
Davis, completely lost, pointed at herself. “Me? What for…?”
“Look into my eyes.”
Luo Yan whispered, then slightly lifted her eye mask.
Her eyes were closed beneath the mask. She opened them slightly, just a sliver.
A wave of unknown terror descended, but Luo Yan carefully controlled its range.
The surrounding crowd only felt a sudden chill, a bone-deep coldness and tremor.
But because they hadn’t looked directly into Luo Yan’s eyes, that was the extent of the effect.
Qin Wen and Davis, however, felt the full force of the fear, like falling into a bottomless abyss.
Less than a second later, Luo Yan closed her eyes and replaced her eye mask.
“Done.”
“Phew, that scared me. I thought it would be like last time,” Qin Wen patted her chest. With her willpower, this level of fear was nothing. “Is that all?”
“Yes, but it will only last for about an hour,” Luo Yan replied, then turned to Davis, who was unusually quiet. “Miss Davis, are… you alright?”
“I’m… fine…”
Davis forced herself to appear calm, but the sweat on her forehead betrayed her.
She hadn’t even registered what she had seen, only realizing afterward that she was trembling all over.
A mark of “fear” was now deeply imprinted in her mind, as if those terrifying eyes were constantly watching her.
Luo Yan’s so-called “control” was relative to a “Ruin” level ability user.
But Davis wasn’t “Ruin” level; she could barely withstand it.
Fortunately, Luo Yan hadn’t meant any harm; otherwise, Davis would be unconscious on the ground.
And the “fear” mark wasn’t a big deal; only Luo Yan could trigger it.
“Are you okay?”
Qin Wen looked at Davis’s slightly distorted expression and asked, concerned.
“I’m fine…”
“Good, time is of the essence, we have to hurry,” Luo Yan whispered. “I can’t use this ability casually, it will worsen… Anyway, let’s go.”
Her condition was deteriorating.
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