Abyss Party Invitation (2-in-1)

After slaying Clement, the Snakefolk Marauder Leader, Ahan moved like a tiger among sheep. With almost every slash of his two-handed greatsword, he took the life of an Elite Tier Snakefolk warrior, making him a veritable battlefield reaper.

Bai Xiaowen's eyes twitched. Judging from the strength that Ahan had displayed, it was practically comparable to that of Rare Boss Tier.

Just as Bai Xiaowen deduced, the difficulty of the main quest has been reduced by 50%, which is very simple for Awakened Ones. As long as they find the mastermind, they don't even need to actively participate in the battle; the powerful NPC Ahan can handle it all by himself.

To Bai Xiaowen's slight disappointment, neither the Snakefolk Boss Tier Clement nor the other Snakefolk warriors dropped any treasure chests, only symbolically giving Bai Xiaowen some Psionic Points. As the saying goes, you reap what you sow; awakened beings without corresponding combat contribution points certainly cannot benefit from monster drops.

The only thing that made Bai Xiaowen feel gratified was that, since he had fired a shot at each monster, which counted as participating in the kill, the Black Soul Stone could absorb the souls of the dead Snakefolk, which further increased the Black Soul Stone's growth rate.

Including the hunting in the Dead Spirit Lake Treasure Ground Space for several consecutive days, Bai Xiaowen's Black Soul Stone has now reached level 5 (475/2000) in growth, accumulating 510 points of Soul Essence.

The entire Snakefolk Marauder party was wiped out. Ahan, carrying his heavy sword, walked up to Mayor Halerum.

Halerum was pale.

"Tie him up," Ahan said after a moment of silence, giving the order to the militia.

"Alyosha!"

The sound of horses' hooves rang out in the distance, and a woman rode up at full speed.

Bai Xiaowen narrowed her eyes and sighed softly, "What's meant to happen will happen."

The woman who arrived was Alexei's wife, Halerum's daughter, Ginny David.

Ginny dismounted and came to stand before Ahan.

"Alyosha, I beg you for one thing, can you spare my father?" Ginny called out Ahan's nickname, her beautiful face drained of color. "You must believe that doing this was never his intention. You know what kind of person he is; he is kind at heart!"

Ahan's eyes, framed by thick eyebrows, were fixed on Ginny: "You knew about this all along, didn't you?"

Ginny felt a little awkward under Ahan's gaze and slowly lowered her head.

Ahan smiled grimly, "So, I've been kept in the dark all along. Mayor Halerum, can you now explain why you kidnapped your own residents and handed them over to these long-tailed monsters?"

Mayor Halerum stammered, "I don't know why... One day I was fishing by the sea when a small wooden carving was washed ashore by the waves, and I was instantly captivated... After that, a strange voice began to whisper in my ear, tempting me to do irrational things... Then, the Snakefolk appeared, using some mistakes I had made to blackmail me... I really didn't mean to!"

Ahan shook his head and said, "That's no excuse for you."

Mayor Halerum sighed, "Alexei, this is my own fault for being weak-willed; it has nothing to do with Ginny. After she found out, she tried to dissuade me many times... but at the time, I was only focused on protecting my wealth and status, so I could only go down this path to the bitter end."

"Then you'll have to accept the judgment of the people," Ahan said expressionlessly.

Ginny stood in front of Ahan, tears streaming down her face, and said, "Alyosha, I've never begged you before since I married you... This is the first time I'm pleading with you to give my father another chance, please?"

Mayor Halerum also said, "Alexei, if you can preserve my reputation, after today's events, I am willing to step down as mayor and choose you as my next mayor. Your child with Ginny will become my heir to the title. I have always regarded you as my son, Ginny is my most beloved daughter..."

Ahan remained silent, and Bai Xiaowen could clearly see his large hand trembling slightly. "Protect your reputation? I don't have that ability."

Seeing Ahan remain silent, Mayor Halerum added fuel to the fire, saying, "Ahan, the situation isn't beyond repair yet. The Snakefolk who came to pick us up are dead, and these kidnapped residents have been secretly held captive and have never seen my face... Just pin the blame on these Snakefolk! Your patrol militia are extremely obedient to you; if you order them to keep quiet, they will never reveal the truth."

Suddenly, Bai Xiaowen received a notification from the Spirit Realm Rules.

"Main Quest: The Truth in the Mist - The progress has Transformation. Halerum David, the perpetrator of the missing persons case, is attempting to reach a deal with Sheriff Alexei Ahan to deceive the public."

"If the truth behind the missing persons cases cannot be revealed, the main mission will fail."

"Please prevent the two sides from reaching an agreement."

Li Shuyi's expression changed slightly, clearly indicating that she had received the same notification. She looked at Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen waved her hand slightly, signaling Li Shuyi to calm down. Bai Xiaowen had actually been prepared for this situation.

"Mayor Halerum, you think you can deceive the people?" Bai Xiaowen stepped forward and said.

Halerum glared at Bai Xiaowen: "Who are you? What gives you the right to speak to me like that?"

Ahan said in a deep voice, "The Skellboom siblings are my capable assistants. Without their involvement, I still wouldn't know the truth of the case. He is fully qualified to speak on this matter."

Halerum's eyes were filled with astonishment, resentment, and fear. He looked Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi up and down, then his tone softened. "You two are friends of Ahan, so you should know that if this incident is exposed, it will deal a heavy blow to Ahan's family and his reputation. The residents may no longer trust Ahan, and he will be stripped of his position as sheriff... For Ahan's sake, please keep the truth of this incident a secret."

It must be said that Halerum's intelligence is not low, given that he became the mayor of Hodge Town. At this moment, he absolutely cannot threaten Bai Xiaowen and his companion, as that would only backfire. However, bringing up Ahan would greatly increase the likelihood of silencing Bai Xiaowen and his companion.

However, Bai Xiaowen was not about to back down. He shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, it's too late now."

"What do you mean?" Halerum's expression changed slightly.

"Someone's coming! Lots of people..." A militiaman came running from afar, panting heavily.

A cacophony of footsteps and voices filled the air. From the western intersection, a long line of torches could be seen as hundreds of residents of Hodge Town arrived.

Where is the murderer?

"Severely punish the kidnappers!"

"My son... I beseech the Lord of Light to protect him and keep him safe!"

Halerum's face turned deathly pale again, this time completely devoid of color.

Ahan's gaze fell on Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen said calmly, "I notified the families of the missing persons. Of course, during the notification process, some overly curious residents also came along, and the number was more than I expected. I believe that residents have the right to know the truth—at least the victims' families have this right."

After a pause, Bai Xiaowen continued:

"If Mayor can keep all these angry victims' families quiet, then I can only admit your power and acting skills, and I will no longer interfere in this matter."

The mayor of Halerum was pale. Silencing a small group was easy, but silencing hundreds, especially the victims' families, was no easy task.

Mayor Halerum suddenly realized something and lunged forward, grabbing Ahan's arm. "There's no time! This is your last chance! Announce to the residents that these Snakefolk kidnapped them! I... I'm here to help you solve the case!"

Bai Xiaowen shook his head slightly. There was no time left. There were still two patrolling militia teams present. To conceal the truth, in addition to relying on Ahan's prestige to issue the order, Mayor Halerum would also have to bribe the militia with gold coins, then unify their story and fabricate a lie that everyone could accept.

Furthermore, Bai Xiaowen wouldn't sit idly by and let Mayor Halerum get away with it; it was necessary for him to stand up and expose them. Since their identities were those of residents of Hodge Town, not outsiders, their words were quite credible, which was one of the advantages of adopting a different identity.

Ahan's large, iron-like hand gripped Mayor Halerum's wrist, slowly but firmly removing his hand, and said, word by word, "I will not do that. The people have the right to know the truth. You can explain why you were misled and ask for the people's forgiveness! Then, relinquish your noble status to atone for your death sentence!"

This is the advantage of the evil feudal system: crimes committed by nobles and commoners are completely different. Minor crimes can be redeemed with money, and even serious crimes like serial kidnapping can be redeemed by stripping noble status. However, for nobles, this is practically the same as killing them.

Mayor Halerum slumped to the ground, muttering, "No, you can't do this... The David Family cannot fall into my hands, Ginny, Ginny!"

Ginny, her face streaked with tears, hugged Mayor Halerum: "Father, this is the best choice for you. Giving up your noble status is acceptable, so that you can no longer suffer the torment of your conscience."

Next, the victims' families arrived at the dock, where Ahan dispatched his militia to explain the details of the missing persons case to the residents. Some were angry, some were shocked, but most expressed relief that their kidnapped family members were not in mortal danger, which was a good thing.

Ahan did not take credit for the case, but attributed all the credit to Bai Xiaowen "siblings".

Bai Xiaowen watched this scene in silence, then suddenly said to Li Shuyi, "Let's go. In the Spirit Realm, I'm not used to being thanked by so many people."

When the residents, following Ahan's explanation, prepared to thank the two courageous siblings, they couldn't find them. Ahan searched everywhere but couldn't find them either, and his expression was complicated. He now truly regarded Bai Xiaowen and her brother as upright people who sought no fame or fortune, only justice, and he felt ashamed of his previous hesitation.

"Main Quest: The Truth in the Mist is complete. Submit now?"

"Submit."

"You have completed the main quest within three days. You have obtained a special item: Abyss Party Invitation."

"For the next 7 days, 15 hours, 23 minutes, and 5 seconds, you are free to explore and leave the Spirit Realm at any time. All the Psionic Points, equipment, and items you have acquired in the Black Tide Plane will remain intact."

"An invitation to the Abyss Party?"

Bai Xiaowen's first thought was of the Poisoned Milk Game from the Common Era, and the voice of a certain blonde girl:

O one undergoing trials, may you, like this cross, use your unwavering will to drive away evil!

In another timeline, Bai Xiaowen became increasingly thin and addicted to the game "Dungeon Fighter Online" during his university years. The reason he eventually quit was... he no longer had the money to protect Arad. Well, that's roughly it; those were the days he didn't want to look back on.

After letting his thoughts wander for a fraction of a second, Bai Xiaowen checked the instructions on the Abyss Party Invitation.

[Abyss Party Invitation: An invitation imbued with mysterious power, usable only in the Black Tide Plane. Using this item will trigger a new main quest. The time you spend in this new main quest will not conflict with the time you spend in your first main quest.]

[WARNING: The mysterious power of this invitation is rapidly dissipating. Please choose whether to use it as soon as possible.]

[Warning: The difficulty of the triggered quest may not match your Awakener level.]

On a slightly worn parchment scroll, a line of text was written in Old Latin:

"He who gazes into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into him."

At the end of the parchment scroll, a Mars ignited and then spread at a visible speed. Judging from the speed at which the Mars spread, the invitation would completely self-immolate within a minute. This was probably the first warning sign. "The mysterious power of the invitation is rapidly dissipating."

The two exchanged a glance.

Li Shuyi reacted quickly and decisively, saying, "You make the decision; don't feel burdened."

Bai Xiaowen smiled and nodded, "I choose... to use it!"

Bai Xiaowen had already checked the Spirit Realm Rules and found that the time spent in the Spirit Realm Plane resulting from the second main quest and the first main quest were independent of each other and did not conflict. In other words, the time limit Bai Xiaowen received after accepting the second main quest would not affect the remaining 7 days of Free Exploration Time from the first main quest.

If Bai Xiaowen accepts the second main quest and receives a 10-day deadline, and completes it on the eighth day ahead of schedule, then the additional two days of Free Exploration Time will be added to the Free Exploration Time of the first main quest, ultimately resulting in more than nine days of Free Exploration Time.

If Bai Xiaowen fails to complete the second main quest by the deadline, the new Psionic Points, equipment, and items he gained during those ten days will be nullified. However, the gains from the first main quest and the subsequent seven days of Free Exploration Time will still remain, so he will not suffer any loss.