Chapter 195: Chapter 194: Blizzard Manor Mode
On the deck of a colossal vessel resembling a coffin, the missing Sherry, Parker, Danell, and Gais, a Third-Level Apprentice who should have been on deck, stood back to the staircase exit, facing the ocean, straight as four statues.
Potter stared with widened eyes and took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his emotions as he shouted, “Sherry?!”
The sound he made, like a handful of sand, scattered by the night wind as soon as it left his mouth, followed by… no response.
“Parker! Danell! Gais!” Potter called out the other three names, still to no avail. The four of them remained motionless.
Potter stepped forward, the Blood-colored Gem in his hand crackling, his knuckles turning blue, and the sound of Mana swiftly circulating within his body resounded in his inner ears as he slowly approached the four standing figures.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Eventually, Potter came face to face with the four, only to see them standing emotionless on the deck, collectively staring blankly at the distant sea, as if something important lay there.
Potter moved forward, approaching Sherry, and upon touching her body, he asked, “Sherry, how are you?”
Still no response, but at the moment of touch, Sherry’s eyes seemed to shift slightly before a string of blood trickled from the corners. The blood, like tears, streamed down her cheeks, down her neck to her clothes, soaking them, and then “drip, drip, drop” onto the deck.
Potter turned to look at the other three, only to see them shedding blood tears just like Sherry, allowing the blood to continuously gather on the deck. Under some mysterious force, the blood began to slowly form a pattern like a Pentagram.
With a “bang,” Sherry’s blood ran dry, her body swayed and fell on the deck, and the other three collapsed in succession.
Potter looked at the four bodies, his lips moved several times as he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Earlier, he had wanted to tell Sherry to “be careful,” but now there was no chance—never a chance again.
Potter’s whole body trembled slightly, either from fear or anger when suddenly, he heard a noise behind him and, without looking, lashed out in attack.
A blood-red beam shot out from the gem Potter was holding, hitting a seabird that attempted to land on the deck. The bird screeched and exploded in a spray of blood and flesh.
A few droplets of blood splashed onto Potter’s lips, the taste foul and nauseating, causing his body to sway, his face turned deathly pale, as if his soul had been severely damaged.
“Bang,” as if his bones had been yanked out, Potter’s body went limp, slumped forward, and he dropped to his knees on the deck. His head hung low, fists clenched, eyes blinking, mouth open, without tears, without crying, just silent.
In that moment, Potter himself didn’t know what he was thinking. It took him a long while before he got up, staggered toward the distant chamber where the wizard resided, and knocked on the cabin door in the night.
At about the same time.
On the third deck, within the cabin where Richard resided.
“Zhi niu,” Richard shut the cabin door.
He was still somewhat surprised by Potter’s earlier knocking and questioning, but judging by the other’s demeanor, he was even more surprised or perhaps had already panicked.
His previous speculation had turned out to be correct. The murders onboard the giant ship were not merely killings but a complete plan.
Starting from the sailors to the ordinary students, and now to the Wizard Apprentice, it was deliberately created as a gradually escalating phenomenon, continuously intensifying the atmosphere of terror on the ship. The ultimate purpose was to gradually provoke the wizards, making them restless and eager to act—the murderer’s target had always been the wizards, from beginning to end.
Now, it looked like the plan was reaching its end, and the grand finale was about to commence, and the true outcome was about to be revealed.
Even though there were four legitimate wizards on the giant ship, he was not optimistic about the wizards’ fate. The murderer was clearly well-prepared, and the fact that they had executed their plan for so long on the giant ship without being discovered by the wizards, who found no clues, already spoke volumes.
The outcome might very well be a devastating defeat for the four wizards; they could possibly be slaughtered to the last.
It made him wonder—should he be considering an escape plan?
It was undeniable that if he had known this would happen, he might have chosen other means to travel to the continent instead of boarding this giant ship from White Stone Tower.
But now, being at sea, it was too late for regrets.
If there really was any danger, jumping into the water with Pandora and escaping should be no problem, but the question was, where could they escape to?
The sea was vast and also very dangerous. The ship, navigating through it, was both an oasis in the desert and a prison, making it truly impossible for those on board to escape.
Indeed, it was because of this that the ongoing deaths on the ship only served to heighten the atmosphere of terror.
A relatively closed environment, isolated from the world, unable to communicate normally, with everyone unable to leave, bizarre incidents occurring, and continuous deaths…
All these circumstances were a typical interpretation of the “Blizzard Mountain Villa mode” from crime novels, though now calling it “Isolated Island mode” would be more apt.
Speaking of which, it wasn’t possible that the murderer actually intended to kill everyone on the giant ship, was it?
Logically, after dealing with the wizards, the perpetrator should stop. The way they behaved did not seem like someone who genuinely enjoyed killing; it seemed more a deliberate act of revenge against White Stone Tower.
But he still needed to make some preparations just in case.
Richard thought about all these as he groped his way in the dark cabin towards one side, lighting the oil lamp and illuminating the cabin.
Looking to the side, he saw under the bed… Pandora was sleeping with her eyes closed, having fallen off the bed earlier which had drawn Potter here. Fortunately, he had disguised it perfectly, avoiding any suspicion.
He sighed softly, walked over, and lifted the plump Pandora back onto the bed. Then, he thought of something, turned his head, and looked towards the corner of the cabin.
On the floor in the corner, there was a quietly lying heap of black powder.
Without much surprise, Richard walked over, took out a glass bottle, and carefully collected the black powder.
After collecting the powder, he sat down at the desk, squinting his eyes, and murmured to himself, “Does every visit have to leave something behind to clean up? It’s a bit of a hassle. But the most troublesome thing is, what exactly does the other party mean? It seems they don’t want to make their intentions clear. In this case, I must make some preparations. Otherwise, who knows if they’ll turn against me at the last moment…”