Infiltration

The crimes he had committed.

It wasn't as if Tang Luo and the others hadn't investigated.

Unfortunately, aside from finding someone who might have been possessed by the Ripper, they had come up empty-handed.

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

Their task was to "find Jack the Ripper," not collect Scotland Yard's reward.

"Master, are we moving tonight?"

Chu Chongtian asked. His glasses were firmly fastened around the back of his head with a cord, so they wouldn't fall off.

The youthful innocence he had once had was gone without a trace. He looked much more composed now.

After all, the past three days had been a fight for survival.

His hands had been stained with blood, and the violence and ferocity within him had been stirred awake. He had matured remarkably quickly.

As for Li Liang, he had also tried taking part in the Sweeping operation.

Unfortunately, he just wasn't cut out for it. He'd been scared half to death.

In the end, he decided to be a useless freeloader who clung to others for protection. No matter what, at least he could survive this mission.

He could worry about future missions when they came.

Li Liang the freeloader stuck to his principles. He stayed close to Tang Luo and the others, kept as low a profile as possible, and made sure not to cause them any trouble.

The three of them didn't mind continuing to protect him.

Mainly because Master Xuanzang had spoken up. Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian certainly wouldn't object.

"How about we put it off for one night?"

Zhou Zhenguo said.

The guest list for the banquet also included a detective from Scotland Yard—someone with no connection to the organization.

But as the Small City's chief law enforcement officer, and with tonight's banquet focused on dealing with the city's public safety problems, he couldn't possibly be left out.

So, in addition to Count Thorndike's private bodyguards, there were also some Scotland Yard officers at the estate.

Security was tighter than ever.

Before they arrived, Tang Luo and the others hadn't known there would be a banquet tonight.

After all, they were just a few outsiders.

Even the Small City's residents only knew that the city's important figures had finally run out of patience and planned to join forces to tackle the public safety problem.

They didn't really know exactly when the meeting would take place.

"We're already here. Let's go in and have a look."

Tang Luo uttered the four-word spell: "Since we're already here." With those four words, one could almost persuade people to eat the worst food or try the most awful activities.

Of course, they could also lead to a fun time.

The estate was out in the countryside, about an hour's carriage ride from the main urban district of the Small City.

Since they were already here, Tang Luo didn't want to leave.

"You can stay outside and be ready to help me," Tang Luo continued.

Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian exchanged a glance and nodded.

Tang Luo was skilled and fearless. He could decide, "Since we're already here," and charge straight in.

They couldn't.

The small gains they'd made over the past three days weren't enough to tempt either of them to risk everything for riches.

Chu Chongtian had become much more level-headed, and Zhou Zhenguo had been cautious from the start, always preferring to lead with his Binding Chain.

Tang Luo adjusted the black hat on his head and headed toward the estate.

As he walked, he took the Merit Jade Lotus hanging around his neck and tossed it gently into the air.

The Merit Jade Lotus floated above Tang Luo's head, casting a soft glow.

The light didn't spread outward. It hung down like tassels, enveloping him.

"Huh?"

Zhou Zhenguo and Chu Chongtian had been watching Tang Luo, but their eyes blurred for an instant, and then he was gone.

"He disappeared?"

Chu Chongtian looked at Zhou Zhenguo to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"He's gone," Zhou Zhenguo nodded.

"How'd he do that? A skill?" Chu Chongtian asked.

"Possibly. Invisibility skills do exist." Zhou Zhenguo was now even more certain that Master Xuanzang was a "seasoned veteran."

"I'm so jealous. I want a skill too."

Chu Chongtian said.

"If we complete this mission, you'll get one." Zhou Zhenguo wanted to complete the mission more than anyone else. His life depended on it, after all.

Tang Luo's disappearance had nothing to do with any skill he had acquired as a God and Demon Walker.

It was simply the Merit Jade Lotus's ability.

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

Instead, he used the Merit Jade Lotus, a wondrous magical treasure powered by "merit power."

This time, Tang Luo hadn't used "Xuanzang Style Infiltration."

He had chosen to expend some merit power to activate the Merit Jade Lotus and cast a concealment spell.

He was now "invisible."

If he were more extravagant and spent a large amount of merit power, he could become not only "invisible" but also "inaudible" and "untouchable."

It was a top-tier method for staying alive and escaping.

Of course, he wasn't using it to escape now. He was using it to infiltrate.

With the Merit Jade Lotus above his head, Tang Luo strolled right through the main entrance and into the estate.

The banquet was underway.

Most of the guests had arrived, and a few were still trickling in.

Inside the banquet hall, bright, ornate lights illuminated the whole room as though it were broad daylight.

The fixtures looked as if they belonged to a few decades in the future.

Delicious food had been laid out on long tables.

Servants stood nearby holding bottles of wine, ready to attend to the guests.

On the wall opposite the entrance hung a portrait of some important ancestor of Count Thorndike's.

Below it was a platform about two steps high, specially built for the occasion.

Stairs on either side led up to the second floor.

A richly dressed man stood on the platform, giving a speech.

His voice was loud and his delivery impassioned, stirring the crowd.

There was no need to guess the subject of the speech. Naturally, it was about restoring lasting peace and stability to the Small City and solving the serial murders committed by the accursed Jack the Ripper.

But if one listened closely, there was not a single practical proposal in it.

The whole speech was sentimental, with a call for everyone to donate money to help solve the problem.

As for how the donations would be used to solve the serial murders and restore peace and stability, that wasn't something these important figures cared about.

They wouldn't even pay much attention to how the money was ultimately spent.

What they wanted, more than anything, was a good reputation.

Tomorrow's newspaper headlines.

The praise and respect of the common folk.

"We provide the money; others take care of the work.

"Hasn't that always been how it works?"

After finishing his rousing speech, the man stepped down and greeted the guests around him.

Everyone wore warm, welcoming smiles.

That was enough for Tang Luo to confirm that this man was Leo Thorndike.

Before this, Tang Luo hadn't known what Thorndike looked like.

Thorndike made his way through the crowd, stopping now and then to talk to people. Tang Luo couldn't tell whether any of them belonged to the organization.

After about half an hour, Thorndike headed up the stairs alone.

A few people had already quietly gone upstairs before him.

Burly bodyguards stood guard at the top of the stairs on both sides.

Tang Luo followed Thorndike leisurely up to the second floor, then the third.

Unlike the lively first floor, the second floor had the occasional person walking about, while the third floor was completely deserted.

Only dim lights illuminated the long corridor.

The only sound was footsteps.

Thorndike suddenly stopped, a strange look crossing his face.

Why did he hear footsteps?

They weren't his own.

He turned around. The corridor behind him was empty.

Count Thorndike frowned, loosened his tight collar, and continued down the corridor. He stopped in front of a door that was ajar.

He pressed down on the handle, opened the door, and went inside.

It was a study.

Only the desk lamp was lit.

Thorndike glanced around, then poked his head out and looked down the corridor in both directions. Once he was sure the footsteps he'd heard had been a trick of his imagination, he shut the door and locked it.

He was extremely cautious, even in his own home.

He went over to the bookcase, moved several books aside, and triggered a mechanism.

The bookcase slowly slid open, revealing a cramped elevator.

Thorndike stepped inside and pressed the switch. The elevator began to descend, while the bookcase slowly slid back into place.

The light gradually faded.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, Thorndike heard a loud thud.

The elevator shook, as if something heavy had struck its roof.

"Who's there?"

Thorndike immediately reached inside his clothes, as if about to draw a gun. He looked up at the same time.

The hollowed-out ceiling had been designed to reduce weight, but there was no sign of anyone or anything up there.

"Another trick of my imagination? The elevator just shook a little?"

Thorndike looked unsettled.

The organization's members had been murdered one after another over the past few days, making him increasingly jumpy.

The slightest disturbance put him on edge.

He stared at the ceiling for a long while. Only after making sure there really was nothing there did he look down.

By then, the elevator had reached the bottom.

Thorndike stepped out.

Beyond it was a fairly well-lit basement.

A round table stood in the middle.

Four people sat around it.

Bodyguards stood behind them as well.

Two for each person, plus another two stationed by the wall.

Ten in all.

Several of them held revolvers in their hands.

Their waists were bulging too, clearly hiding a second gun.

One of the two tall, burly men standing by the wall held a dagger.

The dagger danced and spun between his hands, flashing in the light from time to time.

"Everyone's here."

Thorndike walked over to his seat and sat down as he spoke.

In fact, three seats were still empty.

But their occupants would never arrive.

They were all dead, killed in the space of these three short days.

The other members of the organization had suffered the same devastating fate.

It had all started the night the Mental Hospital incident occurred.

Their underground research facility had collapsed completely, leaving nothing but a ruin.

All their research had been buried.

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

If they were lucky, he might still be alive.

If not, he was probably buried somewhere in the research facility.

If Jack the Ripper hadn't started killing wildly and drawing everyone's attention, and if they hadn't secretly used their influence to keep the whole thing under wraps, the Mental Hospital's sensational case would surely be all over the front pages by now.

"Clues. I want clues."

Thorndike looked at the others.

Clearly, he held the highest position here.

"No survivors," someone said. "But we do have a lead. Someone saw these men around..."

He pressed a series of portraits onto the table, then shoved them hard toward the others.

The sketched faces bore some resemblance to Tang Luo and his companions.

But honestly, plenty of people in Small City dressed similarly.

And with Jack the Ripper on the loose, people preferred to travel in groups.

"Is this useful?"

Thorndike spoke through his anger. "We're searching for a needle in a haystack."

"We could ask Scotland Yard for help. We could say these men might be connected to Jack the Ripper—"

"Eee!"

Just then, a sharp, grating sound rang out, like metal tearing and snapping.

Thorndike whipped around.

A figure dropped down, landing in the cramped lift.

One hand held down his hat as he lowered his head slightly, making his features impossible to see.