The Plan is to Wait for the Rabbit

"Amitabha."

A Buddhist chant rang out, calming the restless hearts of everyone present.

Despite wearing clothes that felt completely out of place, at this moment, Tang Luo still possessed the demeanor of an enlightened high monk.

"There is no need for you benefactors to be anxious. In this humble monk's view, we hold the advantage."

Tang Luo spoke up.

"The advantage?"

"Correct." Tang Luo nodded. "Regardless of whether Benefactor Chu's analysis is correct or not, there is one thing we can be certain of: Jack the Ripper has always regarded us as his targets."

"Therefore, we do not need to rack our brains trying to find him. We only need to wait at our ease, sitting and waiting for Jack the Ripper to come to us."

"Once he appears, this humble monk will find a suitable opportunity to smash his dog head, and the mission will be complete."

It sounded incredibly reasonable, leaving no room for rebuttal.

Chu Chongtian widened his eyes.

The Ripper transformed into a phantom, killing people and stealing corpses, his chilling aura freezing human bodies—he was eerie and dangerous.

But...

Thinking back carefully, he had always operated in the shadows, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark.

Did this not mean that Jack the Ripper was not as powerful as they had imagined?

At the very least, he was no match for Master Xuanzang!

The events of the past three nights all shared one commonality.

That was, they all occurred when they were not by Master Xuanzang's side!

It was only tonight that Jack the Ripper truly came face-to-face with Master Xuanzang—albeit in the body of Old John.

And the result?

He was "cut in two" by Master Xuanzang and fled in a panic.

What did this mean?

It meant that Master Xuanzang was the real boss.

Jack the Ripper was merely a cowardly schemer hiding in the shadows, unable to see the light of day.

If he had the guts, he should fight head-on!

Master Xuanzang could smash his dog head in a minute, couldn't he?

Chu Chongtian had a sudden epiphany.

In the God and Demon Game mission worlds, everyone instinctively viewed themselves as "players," trapped in the fixed mindset of "clearing dungeons and taking down bosses."

Naturally, they imagined Jack the Ripper to be an irresistibly powerful force.

Of course, that wasn't wrong.

Exuding an ominous aura that suppressed everyone until they couldn't move, Jack the Ripper was indeed an existence they could not resist.

He was indeed a boss.

But now that a stronger bald boss had suddenly emerged among the players, the original boss was in for a tragedy.

He had been downgraded to an elite mob, forced to shrink into a corner and stir up trouble in the dark.

Having latched onto the right thigh, Chu Chongtian felt he could finally strut with confidence.

He felt that this mission was in the bag.

Though, why couldn't the God and Demon Game allow for team formation?

He felt like he would die if he didn't have a powerful thigh to hug in the future!

"But if he doesn't come looking for us anymore, the mission will fail," Zhou Zhenguo said.

Waiting for the opponent to come to them was fine.

But what if Jack the Ripper didn't show up?

"It's our first time anyway, what's there to fear?" Li Liang, the salted fish, had the awareness of a salted fish.

He even thought about the dark side of things.

If everyone failed the mission together, he wouldn't be the only one out of luck, which gave him a great sense of balance.

"..."

Zhou Zhenguo did not speak.

While it was the first time for others, he, Zhou Zhenguo, had already failed several missions.

If he still achieved nothing this time and the mission ended in failure, he would very likely disappear.

To disappear is almost synonymous with being erased.

Because everyone harbors a shred of luck and hope, they use terms like "missing" or "disappeared."

Everyone understands that the probability of such a disappearance not being a total death is far too small, far too small.

"Rest for now."

Tang Luo said, "We will make plans tomorrow."

As the excitement faded, a sense of exhaustion surged like the tide, wave after wave.

Their eyelids suddenly felt as heavy as if lead weights were hanging from them.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning.

"Xiao Zhou has gone missing too. Is Jack the Ripper really that interested in our 'bodies'?"

Chu Chongtian said with a hint of self-mockery, "Could it be that to the 'natives,' we God and Demon Walkers are like Tang Monk meat?"

"Trying to eat Tang Monk meat will only break your teeth."

Tang Luo remarked.

Xiao Zhou, who had become little more than an empty shell, was undoubtedly an excellent vessel for Jack the Ripper.

That was why Zhou Zhenguo had left him aside.

He avoided getting too close to prevent any unexpected situations.

After one night, Xiao Zhou had simply vanished.

Old John's corpse was still there, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhou Zhenguo and the others had disposed of it.

In the morning, the innkeeper returned.

Chu Chongtian inquired about it, and the owner said he had gone to bed very early last night... he himself didn't even know why that had happened.

It felt as if he had just woken up to find it was already dawn, his memories hazy and unclear.

Most likely, he had been possessed and controlled by the Ripper to go to sleep.

This was to clear enough space for the hunt of the God and Demon Walkers.

As for why the Ripper didn't just possess the owner to attack them, it remained unclear.

One could only speculate that there were restrictions on possession, that it wasn't something one could do at will, or perhaps Old John was simply more convenient to use.

Having realized that only Master Xuanzang could save him.

Li Liang no longer lay on his bed like a salted fish.

He followed closely behind Tang Luo, step for step.

After all, as someone who had very likely been possessed by the Ripper before, if Jack the Ripper were to strike again.

Li Liang was undoubtedly the most vulnerable one.

"Actually, you don't have to follow so closely." Chu Chongtian felt the threat.

"If I don't stay close, what if the Ripper finds an opening?" Li Liang said.

Only one truly cares for oneself.

Chu Chongtian patted Li Liang on the shoulder and said earnestly, "In the event—I mean, just in case."

"In case? In case of what?"

"If you get possessed, if the distance is far enough, there might still be a glimmer of hope." Chu Chongtian said, "But if you're right next to the Master, you're truly finished."

"The Master can save me immediately!"

Li Liang said, completely forgetting the words he had used to lecture Xiao Zhou.

"No, I think that, given Master Xuanzang's style of conduct, he would instantly smash your head in." Chu Chongtian said.

"...Isn't he a monk?" Li Liang said, wondering what happened to the promised compassion.

"You don't understand Master Xuanzang." Chu Chongtian said, "Even monks have the manifestation of the Wisdom King."

Li Liang swallowed hard, recalling the fear of being dominated by Tang Luo wielding a candlestick that night.

He immediately slowed his pace, widening the distance between himself and Tang Luo.

"Hmph!"

Chu Chongtian let out a smug hum in his heart.

Zhou Zhenguo looked at Chu Chongtian, speechless.

The young man was falling into depravity quite quickly, then he looked at Tang Luo and asked, "Master, is it really okay for us to just charge in like this?"

Although they had intended to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and have Jack the Ripper come to them.

But they couldn't just do nothing.

Given that they currently had almost no leads regarding Jack the Ripper.

Opening a "Side Quest" might not be a bad choice.

Tang Luo and his group were currently targeting a member of the Organization.

It was time to lead everyone in punishing evil and promoting good!

For three consecutive days, Tang Luo led the group to sweep through the remnants of the Organization.

They gained a considerable amount of Merit Points.

As for Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian, the visible gains were various weapons.

The most common were revolvers and ammunition.

Two "sword-canes" with blades hidden inside walking sticks.

Brass knuckles, kukri knives, and the like.

Oh, and a small amount of explosives.

Zhou Zhenguo, this veteran, finally displayed his impressive combat prowess.

Aside from Binding Chain.

He also possessed another skill—Powerful Strike.

It could concentrate power to deliver a forceful blow, with various forms of execution.

For instance, smashing with his head, punching with his fist, slapping with his palm, kicking with his leg, or even biting with his teeth.

It could also be applied to other objects for throwing.

It was simple to use, basically "moving as the heart desires," making it a fairly typical combat skill.

In short, it was an instantaneous burst of power.

Zhou Zhenguo used Powerful Strike to throw a small stone with power no less than the firearms of this world.

He successfully eliminated a dangerous enemy.

However, after using it, he fell into a weakened state.

Zhou Zhenguo did not hide anything from Xuanzang.

The current cooldown for "Powerful Strike" was two hours, and it would result in a 30-minute weakened state after use.

In the weakened state, it was equivalent to sprinting for several kilometers; being able to continue walking was entirely dependent on willpower.

It belonged to the category of a final trump card.

He would not use it unless absolutely necessary.

This left Chu Chongtian somewhat disappointed.

He hadn't expected the skill's cooldown to be so long.

Binding Chain was one thing, but "Powerful Strike," clearly a typical combat skill, had a cooldown as high as two hours.

It was impossible to use it frequently in battle.

Daily combat still had to rely on basic attacks.

Spamming skills?

That didn't exist.

Of course, that is not to say that all skill cooldowns are this long.

At the beginning, they certainly wouldn't be short, but as one's mastery of the skill increased and the skill level rose, things would become different.

It was not impossible for some skills to be used as regular attacks.

But for Chu Chongtian and the others right now, that was too far off.

Even for Zhou Zhenguo, he had only just begun.

Nighttime.

Outside a vast manor, the four of them—Tang Luo and his companions—stood in the shadows by the side of the road.

"The Organization's biggest financier, Count Leo Thorndike," Tang Luo said. "The security is very tight."

Three days had passed.

The remaining members of the Organization had naturally reacted.

Not to mention that Tang Luo and his group had also taken on the role of cleaners, sweeping away the remnants of the Organization.

This Count Thorndike could not have failed to react.

His manor was now extremely heavily guarded with bodyguards, hounds, and security measures.

Interestingly, he was holding a banquet tonight.

It was likely an excuse to gather the remaining forces of the Organization once more.

This was to deal with the newly emerged "dangerous enemies" and resume their research.

One could say this banquet had "rounded up" all the prominent figures in the small town.

Its stated purpose was for everyone to work together to curb the small city's deteriorating public safety.

These past few days.

Aside from the "cases" caused by Tang Luo, there was also Jack the Ripper, who had fallen into a state of madness and begun killing frantically.

In just three short days, the number of victims reached nine.

Upon waking each morning, three disemboweled corpses would appear in some unknown alleyway or even inside a house.

A sense of panic spread, impossible to suppress.

It hung over the entire small city like a heavy, suffocating cloud.

No one could remain unaffected.