Infiltration

The cases committed.

Tang Luo and the others had not failed to investigate them.

Unfortunately, other than discovering a person suspected of having been possessed by Jack the Ripper, they had gained nothing.

Tang Luo had no interest in handing that person over to Scotland Yard as Jack the Ripper.

Their goal was to complete the mission of "Finding Jack the Ripper," not to collect a bounty from Scotland Yard.

"Master, are we moving tonight?"

Chu Chongtian asked, his glasses firmly secured to the back of his head with a strap to prevent them from falling.

The original look of immaturity had vanished, and he appeared much more composed.

After all, these past three days had been spent in constant combat.

Having stained his hands with blood, his ferocity and killer instinct had been ignited, leading to rapid growth.

As for Li Liang, he had attempted to participate in the cleanup operations.

Alas, he was not cut out for it and had been scared out of his wits.

He decided to remain a salted fish who only knew how to cling to others' coattails; regardless, he would at least survive this mission.

As for future missions, he would worry about those later.

Li Liang, the salted fish, stuck to his principles, following the three of them while keeping his presence as low as possible to avoid causing them any trouble.

The three of them did not mind continuing to shelter him.

Mainly because since Master Xuanzang had spoken, Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian would certainly not object.

"Should we postpone it for a night?"

Zhou Zhenguo suggested.

The guest list for the banquet included a Scotland Yard inspector—he had no connection to the organization.

But as the highest law enforcement officer in the small town, and with the theme of the banquet being the resolution of public security issues, his presence was inevitable.

Therefore, besides Count Thorndike's private security detail, the manor was also guarded by a detachment of Scotland Yard patrolmen.

The security was more comprehensive than ever before.

Before arriving, Tang Luo and the others had not known there would be a banquet that night.

After all, they were merely outsiders.

Even the residents of the town only knew that the local bigwigs had finally lost their patience and intended to join forces to solve the security crisis, but they were unclear about the exact time of the gathering.

"Since we're already here, let's go in and take a look."

Tang Luo uttered the four-word curse; under this spell, one could be convinced to eat the worst food or experience the most terrible activities.

Of course, it could also lead one to experience a joyous time.

The manor was located in the suburbs, about an hour's carriage ride from the main urban area of the town.

Since they had already arrived, Tang Luo was unwilling to leave.

"You two can stay outside and provide support for me," Tang Luo continued.

Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian exchanged glances and nodded.

Tang Luo was bold because of his high skill, allowing him to "since we're already here," and charge straight in.

They, however, could not.

The meager benefits they had gained over the past three days were not enough to incite them to seek wealth through danger.

Chu Chongtian had become much more steady, not to mention Zhou Zhenguo, who was already composed and preferred to open with the Binding Chain.

Reaching up to adjust the black hat on his head, Tang Luo walked toward the manor.

As he walked, he took the Merit Jade Lotus hanging around his neck.

He tossed it gently into the air.

The Merit Jade Lotus hovered above Tang Luo's head, emitting a soft glow.

The light did not spread outward but hung down like tassels, shrouding Tang Luo.

"Hm?"

Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian, who had been watching Tang Luo, felt their eyes blur, and Tang Luo's figure vanished from their sight.

"He's gone?"

Chu Chongtian looked at Zhou Zhenguo, confirming he hadn't seen things.

"He's gone." Zhou Zhenguo nodded.

"How did he do that? Was it a skill?" Chu Chongtian asked.

"It's possible; invisibility skills do exist." Zhou Zhenguo was now increasingly certain that Master Xuanzang was a "senior veteran."

"I'm so envious. I really want a skill, too," Chu Chongtian said.

"If we can complete this mission, you'll have one." Zhou Zhenguo's desire to complete the mission was stronger than anyone else's, as it was a matter of life and death.

The reason Tang Luo had disappeared had absolutely nothing to do with skills acquired as a God and Demon Walker.

It was merely the ability of the Merit Jade Lotus.

To be precise, Tang Luo had never directly used the power of merit to heal wounds or save people.

He was using the Merit Jade Lotus, a profound magical treasure that utilized the "power of merit" as its "power source."

This time, Tang Luo did not adopt a "Xuanzang-style infiltration."

He chose to consume a portion of his merit power to activate the Merit Jade Lotus, casting a concealment technique.

He was in a state of being "invisible."

If he were wealthier and consumed a massive amount of merit power, he could achieve not only invisibility but also "inaudibility" and "intangibility."

It was a top-tier method for self-preservation and escape.

Of course, Tang Luo was not using it to escape right now, but rather for infiltration.

With the Merit Jade Lotus hovering above his head, Tang Luo swaggered through the main gate and into the manor.

The manor's banquet was beginning.

Most of the guests had already arrived, with a few still trickling in.

Walking into the banquet hall, one could see bright, ornate decorative lamps illuminating the entire hall as if it were broad daylight.

The lighting fixtures used seemed to have jumped ahead by several decades.

Delicious food was laid out on long tables.

Attendants holding wine bottles stood nearby, ready to serve the guests at any moment.

On the wall directly opposite the main entrance hung a portrait, likely of a prominent ancestor of Count Thorndike.

Below the portrait was a specially constructed platform, about two steps high.

On both sides were staircases leading to the second floor.

A man dressed in luxurious attire was standing on the platform, giving a speech.

He was full of emotion, his voice loud and resonant, and highly infectious.

The theme of the speech went without saying: restoring the long-term peace and stability of the small town and solving the damned Jack the Ripper serial murder case.

However, if one listened carefully, one would find that there was actually no substantial content at all.

The entire speech was lyrical and called for everyone to donate money to solve the problem together.

As for how exactly the donations would be used to solve the serial murder case and restore long-term peace and stability, that was not a concern for these big shots.

No one would even truly pay attention to how the funds were ultimately spent.

What they sought, more than anything, was reputation.

The headlines in tomorrow's newspapers.

The praise and respect of the common folk.

We are responsible for providing the money; others are responsible for doing the work.

Hasn't it always been this way?

Finishing his impassioned speech, the man stepped down and began greeting the surrounding guests.

A spring-breeze smile was plastered on everyone's faces.

This confirmed to Tang Luo that the man was Leo Thorndike.

Before this, Tang Luo truly had no idea what Thorndike looked like.

Thorndike moved through the crowd like a tourist, stopping occasionally to chat with people, though it was unclear if any of them were members of the organization.

After about half an hour, he headed toward the stairs alone.

Before this, several people had already quietly gone up the stairs one after another.

The staircases on both the left and right were guarded by tough-looking bodyguards.

Tang Luo leisurely followed behind Thorndike, arriving with him at the second and then the third floor.

Compared to the bustle of the first floor, the second floor saw only occasional movement, while the third floor was completely empty.

In the long corridor, only dim lights were glowing.

The only sound was that of footsteps.

Count Thorndike suddenly stopped in his tracks, a strange expression appearing on his face.

How could he have heard footsteps?

--Not his own footsteps.

He turned around, confirming that there was no one behind him.

Count Thorndike frowned, loosened his slightly tight collar, and continued walking forward until he stopped in front of a swinging door.

Pressing down on the handle, Count Thorndike opened the door and stepped inside.

Inside was a study.

Only the desk lamp was lit.

Count Thorndike looked around, then poked his head out to check the hallway twice more. Only after confirming that the footsteps he heard earlier were an illusion did he close and lock the door.

He was being extremely cautious even in his own home.

He walked to the bookshelf, shifted a few books aside, and triggered a mechanism.

The bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing a narrow elevator hidden within.

Count Thorndike stepped into the elevator and pressed the switch. The elevator began to descend slowly, and the bookshelf gradually moved back into its original position.

The light grew dim.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, Count Thorndike heard a sound.

At the same time, the elevator shook, as if something heavy had slammed onto the roof.

"Who's there!"

Count Thorndike immediately reached inside his coat, ready to draw his gun, while looking upward.

Through the hollowed-out top designed to reduce weight, he saw no trace of any person or object.

"Another illusion? Was it just the elevator shaking?"

Count Thorndike's expression was grim.

With members of the organization being murdered one after another over the past few days, he had become highly sensitive.

The slightest disturbance made him jumpy.

After staring at the ceiling for a long time and confirming that there was truly nothing there, Count Thorndike finally lowered his head.

By this time, the elevator had reached the bottom.

Count Thorndike stepped out.

Outside was a fairly bright basement.

In the center sat a round table.

Four people were seated there.

Behind each of the four people stood bodyguards.

Two for each person, with an additional two bodyguards standing by the wall.

Ten in total.

Several of them were gripping revolvers directly.

Their waistlines were also bulging, clearly indicating they carried a second weapon.

Of the two tall men standing near the wall, one was holding a dagger.

The dagger danced and spun between his palms, flashing with a cold glint from time to time.

"Everyone is here."

Count Thorndike said this as he walked to his seat and sat down.

In truth, three seats remained empty.

But the owners of those three seats would never arrive.

They were all dead, killed within these short three days.

It wasn't just them; other members of the organization had also suffered a catastrophic fate.

It started that night, after the incident at the mental hospital.

Their underground research facility had collapsed directly into a death trap.

All their results were buried.

Jack White, their most important researcher, had also vanished.

If he were lucky, he might not be dead.

If he were unlucky, he was likely buried within the research facility.

If it weren't for Jack the Ripper beginning his spree of crazed crimes to draw attention, and them secretly exerting influence to suppress the matter...

The newspaper headlines right now must be filled with the sensational case at the asylum.

"Clues, I need clues."

Thorndike looked at the others and spoke.

Clearly, his status here was the highest.

"There are no survivors," someone said, "but there are still leads. Someone witnessed these people appearing..."

He pressed several portraits onto the table and pushed them firmly, sliding them into the hands of the others.

The sketches on them bore a slight resemblance to Tang Luo and his companions.

However, to be honest, such attire was not uncommon in this small city.

Moreover, because of the rampage of Jack the Ripper, everyone preferred to travel in groups.

"Useful?"

Thorndike suppressed his anger and said, "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"We could have Scotland Yard assist us, claiming these people might be connected to Jack the Ripper—"

"Screech!"

At that very moment, a sharp, ear-piercing sound of metal tearing and snapping rang out.

Thorndike whipped his head around.

A figure dropped down, "crashing" into the narrow elevator.

One hand pressed against a hat, head slightly bowed, making it impossible for anyone to see his face.

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