Making a Move

"According to the academy's investigation, the cognitive barrier is easily broken, but if we run away in advance, they might not even be aware of the existence of this power."

"Yes, then we'll make our move."

This time the operation was very fast, and Ye Qian said that the few students she randomly selected could not handle it.

After the battle, although she managed to teleport and rescue her team in time, one of the boys still died.

At the last moment, girl number 14 threw out a blue cloth, which suddenly exploded violently just as it was about to cover the target.

Without a doubt, they were ambushed by the Explosion Ring.

The amount used this time was so large that she suffered serious injuries, with her arms and back covered in blood.

"Damn it."

He cursed coldly, then landed on the ground, but the figure from before was nowhere to be seen.

Upon seeing this, Number 15 narrowed his eyes. "It's disappeared again, just like before."

The enemy fought to the very last moment, then suddenly vanished without a trace.

But a trace of deep Pollution still lingers in the air.

"This feeling... space?" The boy looked at his hands.

Chapter 140: The Move Has Been Made

"Let's retreat."

All the locations related to Dusk that had been identified were cleared away, and the people at the scene didn't think much of it and immediately prepared to leave.

Of course, this process will also be subject to investigation by the college.

Meanwhile, the team leader received information that their cognitive barriers had been temporarily strengthened, making it relatively easy for them to escape the academy before the higher-ups took action.

And as it turned out, they succeeded.

When the four people stood in the old town of Lianwen, they had already changed into ordinary clothes.

No one would have guessed that they were previously wearing the uniforms of the Transcendent Academy and acting as students.

I quickly walked into a nearby bar, where the fortune teller wearing a black top hat came into view.

The team leader walked up to him and said, "Most of the enemies have been dealt with."

"I already know." The other person stood up. "Unfortunately, my divination results show that we are the losers."

"What?" Number 14 was surprised.

"I just performed a divination about the future. Even if we return to the outside of the academy, we are not safe. That society is trying to launch a new attack on us. Perhaps... we underestimated the capabilities of this secret society. Their foundation is deeper than we thought."

"The Blood Cherry Society has really given us a lot of trouble."

Seemingly sensing the lack of sincerity from their collaborators, the people present were somewhat displeased.

"There is still a chance to make amends. The battle between Transcendent has not yet begun; it is only a probing phase. We have indeed suffered losses, and more than once."

The fortune teller took off his hat, gave the two of them a meaningful look, and walked out of the house.

"The master seems very unhappy," the woman, number 14, said with a wry smile.

This was a complete failure.

Indeed, sending students to attack instead of having core members strike from the outset was the biggest mistake.

However, their choice was also to preserve the core strength of the Fading Lamp Society as much as possible.

Students who are misled can be trained again after they die, but these formal members, even those on the periphery, are cultivated little by little with great effort, and some of them may even become future backbone members.

"This incident must have made the higher-ups very unhappy. It's just targeting a force whose name hasn't even spread yet, and our base has suffered such a huge loss." Number 15 suddenly felt that his future was not very bright.

"They may have already sent people from other outposts to take over."

"Perhaps. Lianwen needs more energy to do important things right now and doesn't have time to spend too much energy on things like this."

In another location, inside a villa.

"Are you leaving already?" Nona looked at Felyua standing at the door with some regret.

She really didn't treat the other party very well this time, and even went out to attend a party in the middle of the trip, which made her feel quite embarrassed.

"Yes, I had a lot of fun this time. You should come visit me sometime." Felyua bowed slightly and took a half step back.

"Okay, it's a deal."

Goodbye, Qi!

After they parted ways, Nona hummed a little tune as she went to the vanity on the second floor. After quickly doing her makeup, she began to imagine things for the future.

"If you look closely, Miss Dusk's gathering is actually a group of unrelated people. However, there should be two of them who are in a real organization... a secret organization that worships Miss Dusk."

Honestly, looking back now, that deity really did have a strange sense of majesty.

He remained silent throughout the entire gathering, shrouded in shadow, and no one knew what he was thinking.

He wouldn't just send people to that space randomly; there must be some purpose behind it.

"What use am I? Or rather... what's the value of this gathering?"

She stretched, then suddenly remembered something and got up from her chair.

"I need to find a way to make some money. I happen to have two unused consumables on hand, so I'll just sell them somewhere. The people at the party were trading for dozens of Purple Crystal Coin, so they must be good items."

Nona's family was actually quite well-off, but that was ordinary money; they didn't have many Purple Crystal Coin that could actually be used in the Hidden World.

She saw hope for her future advancement at the Dusk Gathering, and perhaps the key to it all was money.

As I stepped outside, my phone suddenly rang.

Nona glanced down; it was her friend's number.

"Hmm."

Is it Mrs. Barn? We haven't been apart for long, why is she calling now?

"Hello, Mrs. Barn, what can I do for you?"

The voice on the other end sounded somewhat somber, "I'm sorry to bother you so suddenly, but something happened to my grandson... he's dead."

"What? Dead? What happened?"

"I don't know, but something seems to have happened at the Transcendental Academy, and the academy is dealing with it. I... must now prepare for his funeral. I heard that you and my grandson have a fairly good relationship; I wonder if you would be willing to attend his funeral."

"No problem, I'll definitely go."

After hanging up the phone, Nona looked somewhat dazed.

He met Mrs. Barn in Hidden Circle, but before that, she was already acquainted with the man's grandson.

Well, I actually liked that boy in the past, but in the end, I was too shy to pursue him, so it's been delayed until now.

Upon hearing the news of the other person's death, she still felt an emptiness in her heart.

Two hours later...

Nona arrived at the funeral site.

Inside the funeral home, a group of people sat quietly.

Mrs. Barn stood in the doorway, her eyes red-rimmed, and nodded slightly to her.

"What exactly is it? Do you know anything more subtle about it?" Nona asked.

"The academy provided detailed information. They discovered that several students, incited by an unknown society, launched a series of insane suicide attacks. Those students... are all dead, and my grandson was also affected."

My condolences.

Nona wasn't in a better mood than the other person, but she could only grit her teeth and comfort them.

"Child, this neighborhood is not safe anymore. The academy told me that the attackers came from a clandestine organization called the Fading Lamp Society."

"What?"

Fading Lamp Society?

Hearing the name, Nona's heart skipped a beat.

It was this force?

Mrs. Barn had told herself from the beginning that it was a force that gave her a very bad feeling.

Then at the Dusk gathering, they learned that they were going to take action against the Fading Lamp Society.

"I originally thought this had nothing to do with me, but I never expected..."

Faced with this behemoth, Nona felt a sense of powerlessness.

She was doing fairly well in the Hidden Circle, but that was about it. Compared to some of the larger societies, she was ultimately a free agent.

"I've managed to find out more information about the Fading Lamp Society. Nona, remember, no matter what happens, don't clash with them. This organization is incredibly dangerous." Although her grandson was in trouble, Mrs. Barn was still worried about Nona's safety and reminded her, "They have clashed with the Shadow Bureau before, and they are one of the very few forces that have remained intact since then."

"I see."

Nona didn't know what to say.

The government of the Kingdom of Order, no matter what, has a large number of powerful figures who are a super force capable of deterring most of the country's secretive organizations.

I never imagined the Fading Lamp Society was so terrifying.

Of course, the fact that nothing happened after a conflict with the Shadow Bureau doesn't necessarily mean that an organization is very strong; there might be other reasons that led to the cessation of fighting between the two sides.

The fundamental purpose of organizations like the Shadow Bureau is to maintain the stability of the Hidden Circle within the Order and prevent them from undermining the ruling structure.

In other words, the Shadow Bureau's primary service recipients are not ordinary people, but the royal family of that country.

The specifics of the relationship are beyond the knowledge of an ordinary person like her.

"The Dusk Organization is actually going to war with such a terrifying enemy? No... it's not the Dusk Organization, but rather more like a conflict between a small number of their members and the enemy."

Regardless, the fact that they were about to take action without any fear surprised Nona.

Being in that situation, she felt mostly uneasy.

"The attack on Mrs. Barn's grandson might not be so simple. Perhaps he offended her in some way and became her target. In other words, we can't rule out the possibility that Mrs. Barn and her family are at risk. And as someone who knows her, there's a chance that I might be noticed."

Nona felt that she was still too weak, that she was actually worrying about something like this.

But such a thing is not impossible.

Most importantly, I also have a little bit of a connection with Dusk.

"I'll definitely ask about it at the next gathering."

Three hours later, an official arrest warrant was suddenly issued.

There were three photos among them, all of which were of strangers that Nona didn't recognize—wanted members of the Fading Lamp Society.

Of course, the wanted notice did not specify any organizational information; it only stated that the three individuals were highly suspected and urged anyone with information to report them.

However, being Hidden One, she immediately deciphered the coded message that the Tibetan authorities had sent specifically to the Hidden Circle in the newspaper illustrations.

That's the distorted pattern on the background image.

The first man Transcendent of the Fading Lamp Society, Black Iron Rank diviner, and a high threat.

The second man and the third woman are also Black Iron Transcendent, and they are also individuals who require close attention.

"Starting from an extraordinary level on the wanted list, huh? I hope I don't get involved in things of this caliber." She gave a wry smile.

The tall-hatted fortune teller from the Fading Lamp Society, who was sitting at the dining table eating a pancake, glanced at the news on his phone, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

"How could it be me?"

He was stunned.

He only consulted the oracle about the whole thing and didn't participate at all.

Moreover, both the 14th and 15th were protected by cognitive barriers. How could the Shadow Bureau have known about them and even issued arrest warrants in just a few hours?

After some thought, the final conclusions all focused on one point... the Dusk Society.

"Could it be that those people somehow managed to inform the academy's officials about our existence, which then led to the Shadow Bureau finding out? No, how could these people have our photos and know who we are?"