"Hey, Kit, are you sure your plan won't backfire?"

"Don't worry, I only had in-depth interactions with Ruth for less than two hours. She won't suspect a thing. I need to be more careful next time. These MI6 guys are even using seduction to catch people now, it's so despicable. Oh, my Ruth, and I loved her so much..."

"..."

In the bathroom of the banquet hall, Suren listened to the plan in the communicator, feeling utterly speechless.

Kit was squatting in the next stall.

That guy had somehow confirmed that the MI6 agent was indeed the "Ruth" from before.

Kit's plan was for Suren to disguise himself as "Jack," one of his aliases, while he, Kit, would steal the Tarot card as "Phantom Thief Kit."

This way, the two identities would be completely separate.

The Tarot card was about to be auctioned, and there was no time to waste. Suren opened the bathroom door.

As soon as he stepped out, his black tailcoat transformed as if by magic into a gorgeous white suit. He swiped his face, and a bionic skin adhered to his face. The quick change transformed him instantly.

Suren pulled from his tiger's mouth, and a cane appeared in his hand. He put on a top hat and walked out of the bathroom.

He was every bit the suave "Jack."

As soon as he came out, Suren felt a subtle gaze fixed on him.

The surveillance was skillfully executed, obviously by a professional agent.

......

The auction continued, and the auction price of the [Hanged Man] card continued to rise.

The auction also attracted many Tarot enthusiasts.

But it seemed that the young master Alex was determined to win, and each bid was decisive and confident.

Suren didn't care about the auction and walked out of the banquet hall.

He came to the deck.

It was completely dark now, and the sea breeze was gentle and refreshing.

Just then, a beautiful woman with wavy auburn hair approached and greeted him affectionately, "Jack, why are you here alone?"

Suren knew this woman was here to keep an eye on him; she had been watching him since he went to the bathroom.

Having harvested "acting" and "ventriloquism" skills before, he could imitate Kit's voice with ninety percent similarity, even without the voice changer hidden in his bow tie.

He imitated Kit's voice and nauseating tone, and replied, "Ruth, I wanted to enjoy the sea breeze alone. The auction inside is too noisy."

Although Kit had confidently said that the woman wouldn't notice, Suren still tried to get into character as much as possible.

Ruth came over and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek.

She also subtly sniffed his scent to identify the cologne.

Suren was proficient in various "espionage skills," and he keenly noticed some anomalies in the other party.

He immediately knew that this woman might also suspect he was a substitute and was trying to identify him.

Suren understood Kit's personality well; in this situation, the horndog would definitely make a move. Keeping too much distance would certainly arouse suspicion.

So, the instant Ruth came into his arms, Suren's hand naturally wrapped around her slender waist, and then he casually stroked and grabbed her firm buttocks.

Ruth gave a coquettish cry, "Oh, darling, we're on the deck!"

Although her words were scolding and disapproving, her body didn't avoid him at all.

Suren thought these intelligence officers were really dedicated.

But he could only fully cooperate with her act and engage in some intimate whispers.

He figured that if it were really Kit, this atmosphere would probably end with a paid scene.

Fortunately, at this moment, the auction house also took action.

With a "boom," like a magnesium flash, a strong white light flashed in the hall.

Just then, someone shouted, "Phantom Thief Kit has appeared!"

This shout broke the silence of the night.

Suren only felt the delicate body in his arms tremble violently.

Although Ruth tried her best to hide it, her crystal eyes were full of disbelief.

And in the secret communicator in her ear, a teammate's voice came, "Captain, confirmed it's 'Phantom Thief Kit.' He appeared in the hall and stole the Tarot card!"

Ruth's face instantly stiffened. Even with her high level of professionalism, she couldn't help but feel a little unnatural at this moment.

Suren seemed completely unaware, with an enchanting smile on his lips, he asked, "Oh, what's wrong, dear Ruth? You don't look so good?"

After a pause, he added as if reminding himself, "Oh, did I just hear someone shout something? Why is the auction in such a mess?"

Ruth gently stroked her forehead. "Darling, I'm not feeling well."

Suren put on an anxious expression, "Then shall I take you back to your room to rest?"

Ruth's mind was a complete mess, and she felt dizzy all over. "Oh, no, I want to be alone."

"Phantom Thief Kit" had already appeared, so who was this Jack in front of her?

She had worked so hard to investigate so many clues, all pointing to this Jack, waiting to catch him in the act tonight, but it wasn't him?!

So, had she been swindled?

Of course, with such a handsome guy, whether she was swindled or not wasn't important.

But would her superiors think their entire investigation team was a bunch of fools?

Just then, the commotion grew louder and louder.

"Quick! Catch Kit!"

"Damn it, don't let him take that Tarot card away!"

"..."

After a moment of noise, a figure wearing a Zorro mask broke through the observation glass on one side of the banquet hall and flew out.

The figure did a beautiful roll in the air, and a pair of angel-like white wings spread out behind him with a "bang," and he glided down towards the enchanting sea under a hail of bullets.

Suren raised an eyebrow slightly. This presentation was indeed not bad!

No wonder he could capture the hearts of young girls and ladies.

Ruth was no longer in the mood to linger with "Jack" here; she still had to catch the Phantom Thief.

She made an excuse and left.

......

Seeing that no one was around, Suren took out a gold card. With a flick of his finger, a burst of energy fluctuated, and a guy in a white suit appeared out of thin air beside him.

Two identical "Jacks" looked at each other.

One smiled brightly, the other smiled helplessly.

Suren stretched out his hand, and the quick-change magic instantly transformed him back into his black tailcoat. He also tore off the bionic skin from his face.

Kit showed off the Tarot card in his hand and handed it over, "Oh, thanks, brother Suren, you've done me a great favor!"

Suren reached out and took it. A black hole in his hand immediately absorbed the card into his Little Void Realm.

Now, even if there were tracking methods, it could no longer be found.

Kit's short-distance teleportation card wasn't a spatial spell but a special "spiritualism," which was his profession—a Spiritual Magician.

Although not as convenient as spatial techniques, it was very suitable for some special scenarios, such as the "reverse spiritualism" just now.

Suren didn't plan to stay any longer and said to Kit, "Now that communications have been cut off and the Tarot card has been stolen, those from the Giant Hermit Society should be making their move. There might be some big changes on the ship, so be careful."

Kit smiled brightly, "Okay!"

Suren didn't say much. He formed a hand seal, and a spatial fluctuation flashed.

Then, he had already appeared next to the utility room in the banquet hall.

At this moment, the banquet hall was already in chaos.

Various armed personnel, whether they were from the cruise ship's security or MI6, were searching everywhere.

"That guy is still on the ship! Search! Find all suspicious people!"

"We absolutely can't let him take the Tarot card away!"

"..."

In this vast sea, although "Phantom Thief Kit" had looked like he flew away just now,

everyone knew that he was definitely still hiding on the ship.

And Suren had disguised himself as "Jack" before, so that guy now had an alibi.

Moreover, the stolen goods were on Suren, so there was no way to find them.

This matter was destined to be an unsolved case.

Suren straightened his clothes and quietly walked out of the corner.

At this time, the two disciples were still sitting on the sofa in the corner.

Abelek was still practicing with the Rubik's Cube, completely uninterested in the noise.

Karma, on the other hand, was watching those people searching everywhere with great interest.

Suren walked over and sat down, watching along with them.

He wasn't really interested in watching the excitement; he wanted to see what those people from the "Giant Hermit Society" were planning to do.

Until now, those people hadn't revealed what they were going to do.

But it was certain that the theft of an important "prop" like the [Hanged Man] card had disrupted their plans.

Suren also paid special attention and saw that the sixth-tier Professor Virginia was gone.

He didn't know where she had run off to.

But he felt that as long as the young master Alex was still here, those Outer God believers would definitely come.

......

The auction had to be canceled due to the sudden accident.

Naturally, Phantom Thief Kit couldn't be caught either.

Because Suren had already seen that guy in the banquet hall, flirting with some wealthy ladies.

Under normal circumstances, everyone would stay a little longer and wait until those people really discovered they couldn't find the stolen goods, then everyone would go back to their rooms to sleep.

But just then, Karma suddenly frowned, as if sensing something, and said, "Teacher, something bad seems to be happening."

Hearing this, Suren turned his head and looked over.

He hadn't forgotten that his disciple's talent was [B-098-Sixth Sense], which gave her a special premonition of good and bad fortune.

Thinking of this, Suren took out his black umbrella and released his perception. As expected, he discovered that there were indeed changes in the cabins several decks below.

Some soul fluctuations that were clearly human had suddenly become distorted.

Abelek looked at Suren's slightly solemn expression and asked, "Teacher, are we going to fight?"

Suren nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Those Outer God believers wouldn't put all their plans on one Tarot card. Now that the card had been stolen, some plans still had to be implemented.

Not far away, Caroline, the black gang boss who had tried to strike up a conversation earlier, also seemed to have noticed something and looked over.

Just then, a scream suddenly rang out outside.

Immediately afterward, dense gunfire crackled and popped.

"It's terrible! A lot of distorted monsters have suddenly appeared in the lower hold! They're biting people on sight and are now rushing towards our upper deck!"

"Damn it, the people who are bitten are turning into monsters too! There are more and more monsters... Ah, save me!"

"Quickly block the passageways! Monsters, a lot of monsters are rushing up from the lower cabins!"

"Damn it, monsters are climbing up from outside the hull!"

"..."

It was only a minute or less from the discovery of the monsters to the sound of intense gunfire.

The wealthy nobles and ladies in the banquet hall, dressed in gorgeous clothes, hadn't figured out what was happening when they saw the ship's security guards randomly firing their guns at the outside of the ship.

These nobles now only had panic on their faces.

They didn't know what to do and were like headless flies, restless and uneasy.

The students from the Royal Academy performed quite well. After all, most of them were second-tier professionals, and they usually participated in extracurricular activities to hunt distorted monsters and magical beasts.

Now, hearing that a monster tide of unknown origin had broken out on the ship, they all took out various luxurious equipment, looking ready for a big battle.

The young master Alex, however, glanced towards Suren's direction.

Because of the business card that Karma had handed out earlier, he was more cautious.

He guessed that the monster tide might be coming for him.

The footsteps outside were getting faster and faster, and the sounds of gunfire and screams were getting closer and closer.

From the lower cabins all the way up, it looked like they would soon approach this deck with the banquet hall.

Suren had been carefully sensing the movements downstairs, pondering in his heart, "The movement speed isn't too fast, they can climb walls and infect after biting... A blood-transmitted zombie species?"

It seemed that there was no threat for the moment.

But he couldn't act yet.

It was currently known that there was a bishop from the Giant Hermit Society, a sixth-tier professor, and more than thirty followers who hadn't appeared on the ship.

This monster tide was obviously just the beginning of a conspiracy.

Moreover, the ship's defensive forces weren't weak, so there wouldn't be any major problems in the short term.

Suren thought for a moment and decided not to passively wait for the enemy to unfold their conspiracy. He had to actively learn some information.

He said to his two disciples beside him, "Karma, Abelek, the monsters that have appeared so far aren't very strong. You stay here, I'll go down and take a look. Um... be careful, and act according to the situation."

The two nodded, "Okay, Teacher."

Suren said this, then found a corner away from people's sight and teleported down.

......

Downstairs was the cabin area, and Suren teleported down.

He knew that rooms V3011, A2066, and B1066 had special restrictions, and several groups of Outer God followers were living inside. He didn't enter the rooms to check earlier because he was afraid of alerting the enemy. Now that the incident had broken out, it was a good opportunity to go down and take a look.

But not long after he came down, as if they had smelled the scent of a living person, several distorted monsters rushed out from the corner of the corridor.

They looked a bit like skinned humans, and the scarlet muscle fibers were like living worms.

Suren appraised them and found that they should be ordinary humans distorted into zombie species, and their strength wasn't even at the first tier.

There was no threat at all.

The only trouble was that the distortion factor was transmitted through blood, and one would be infected if bitten.

This was no different from what he had guessed before.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Suren raised his hand and fired three shots in lightning succession, and the three distorted monsters fell to the ground.

Having easily solved the three monsters, he originally wanted to continue forward. But unexpectedly, the fragmented "spiritual bodies" inside these three distorted monsters hadn't dissipated.

"Not dead?"

Suren discovered the anomaly and waited patiently in place to watch for a moment.

Then, a bizarre scene appeared.

Under Suren's gaze, streaks of blood-red worms like blood vessels slowly emerged from the hollows of the three monster corpses. They stood up like blood-thirsty leeches, making one's scalp tingle.

"Are those the Outer God's parasites?"

Suren was very familiar with them, because he had seen them twice before.

However, in the previous two instances, the people were dead, and the worms died soon after.

Now, these worms were full of vitality, and more and more of them were gushing out from the wounds of the corpses.

"Evolved? Or has the Outer God's strength been improved?"

Suren guessed at various possibilities in his heart.

He didn't interfere and patiently watched from the side.

Then, these three corpses pieced themselves together in front of him, relying on those red worms. Three merged into one, flesh and blood fused, slowly turning into a distorted monster with three faces and six arms.

One face on the head, one face on the chest, and one face on the crotch...

It was as disgusting as it could be.

Sensing it again, the energy fluctuations of this distorted monster were much stronger than before when it was a single entity.

"Not only can't they be killed, but they will also fuse corpses, and their strength will also stack... This is a big trouble."

Looking at the three-faced monster in front of him, Suren finally understood the threat of this move by those Outer God believers.

He had thought they were some low-level monsters without any threat.

But now, the problem was big!

This three-faced monster was no threat to Suren.

But what about a three hundred-faced monster?

What about a three thousand-faced monster?

Judging from the current situation, who knows how many passengers in the lower cabins had been contaminated.

Just thinking about it made him feel like it would turn into a living hell.

"They really are a cult! They're not only targeting that young master Alex, but they're actually going to sacrifice the entire ship?"

Suren thought of something and inexplicably felt a surge of anger.

No wonder Mr. Mirror had always said that those Outer Gods were mostly evil gods. They didn't treat humans, this "low-level creature," as a life form worthy of respect, at most as nourishment for faith.

Many ancient evil sacrificial activities involved human sacrifices.

Suren watched as the "three-faced monster" stood up and threw out a fire spell.

......

A few minutes later.

Suren looked at the distorted monster that had been completely beaten into a pulp under his feet, with a complex expression.

He dialed the communicator and solemnly stated the conclusion he had reached after his experiment, "Karma, Abelek, be careful, don't kill those monsters if you can avoid it, otherwise it will be very troublesome..."

He had tried various methods just now, and those monsters with red-line parasites in their bodies couldn't be killed by physical damage from guns or swords at all. Instead, they would fuse into higher-level monsters after death.

Even magical damage was very limited.

Finally, after beating it to pieces, Suren still relied on "Haki" to directly destroy its biological structure, and only then did he completely kill those worms.

However, not everyone knew Haki.

On this ship of five thousand people, Suren felt that apart from himself and that sixth-tier professor, it would be difficult to find a third person.

Suren took a deep breath, feeling that the situation, from the moment it broke out, had directly reached a terrible situation that was almost impossible to reverse.

Seeing this, he didn't dare to delay any longer and went directly to those Outer God follower rooms.

.......

On the other hand,

in the banquet hall on the top deck,

it was already in chaos.

It was like a scene from a Resident Evil horror movie.

Screams were as sharp as fingernails scratching a blackboard, even drowning out the gunshots, making everyone's spines tingle.

"Quick! Block all the stairwells and passageways, we absolutely can't let the infected people come up!"

"Quick, open the door, save us, the monsters are coming up! Please..."

"We can't open the passageways, they might already be infected!"

"Yes, we absolutely can't open the door. Those dirty commoners must have brought the distorted species on board. Oh, damn it, I said a long time ago that the cruise ship shouldn't sell cheap tickets!"

"..."

After blocking the passageways, cries for help, screams, and the sounds of monsters devouring were endless.

The terrifying emotions were like a large stone pressing on everyone's chests, making it difficult for them to breathe.

Almost all of those qualified to attend the auction gala were wealthy people from first-class cabins and above. Almost all of the defensive forces on the "Empress Rodrika" cruise ship were concentrated here. Their firepower was fierce, and it looked like it wouldn't be possible to come up to this deck for the time being.

However, the people in those ordinary cabins on the lower decks had no chance of survival at all. Hearing the sounds of fighting, it was some professionals mixed in with the ordinary passengers who were struggling to hold on.

Those people didn't know that the monsters they killed were quietly merging into more terrifying "ten-faced monsters" and "hundred-faced monsters" in the lower cabins.

While everyone in the banquet hall was nervous, in the corner, there were still two people sitting calmly on the sofa, silently observing everything around them.

Karma had just received Suren's communication and asked, "Abelek, should we tell them what Teacher said?"

Abelek was expressionless and said, "We can't say it. There must still be Outer God followers among those people. If we speak, we won't gain anyone's trust and will put ourselves in danger."

He seemed to have Suren's absolute calmness, paused, and then said, "Besides, it's meaningless to say it or not. The focus of this change is in the densely populated areas on the lower decks. If Teacher can't control it, these people in the banquet hall will all die sooner or later."

Karma sighed a little upon hearing this, "Oh."

She also knew that this was the case, but she couldn't bear to hear those screams.

Abelek didn't say anything more, his eyes scanning the people in the banquet hall, and the Rubik's Cube in his hand still didn't stop.

Just then, a black-skirted woman with a solemn expression quickly walked over.

This person was none other than Caroline Worcester, the black gang boss from Lingdun.

She saw the brother and sister sitting on the sofa, but didn't see Suren's figure, so she opened her mouth and asked, "Young man, where is your teacher?"

Abelek glanced at her, seeming not interested in talking much, and only calmly replied, "Teacher went down."

"Oh."

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

The two disciples were still there, so he shouldn't have left.

Things had far exceeded her expectations. From the moment this situation started, she knew that she couldn't control it.

She took a deep breath and prayed in her heart, hoping that things wouldn't get any worse.

But those Outer God followers hadn't made a move yet!

Caroline's heart was already weighed down by the enormous pressure, and her eyes were fixed on the young master Alex in the distance.

If this "big shot" really died, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But in stark contrast to her tension, Abelek and Karma were still sitting calmly on the sofa.

The brother and sister's performance was out of tune with the tense atmosphere in the banquet hall.

Coming back to her senses, Caroline found it incredible.

Thinking about it, she asked, "Aren't you nervous?"

As soon as these words came out, Abelek asked in return, "Why should we be nervous?"

Caroline was stunned by the question, thinking that he was too young and hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation, so she said again, "There are so many distorted monsters, maybe they'll rush up here in a moment..."

However, as soon as these words came out, Abelek calmly asked again, "If we act 'nervous,' will the monsters not rush up here?"

"..."

Hearing this and looking at the two siblings' expressions as if they were looking at an idiot, Caroline's eyes twitched fiercely.

She looked at the brother and sister as if they were monsters.

One was at the second tier, and the other was at the first tier... yet they were even calmer than her, a fourth-tier!

Where did they get their confidence!

But she glanced at the Rubik's Cube in Abelek's hand, which hadn't stopped moving even while he was talking, and she seemed to understand something.

This child didn't not understand the critical situation, nor was he pretending to be calm; he was really calm!

This calmness and composure made people seem to see the shadow of that man from before.

Exactly the same!

Caroline felt that Abelek's words were a bit sarcastic, and that his childish face showed a lack of surprise that you'd see on some old monsters, as if his whole being was exposed, with no secrets.

"Where did this little monster come from..."

Caroline muttered to herself.

She knew that this little brat wasn't easy to fool, so she turned to Karma and said, "Oh, your teacher is the most gentlemanly man I've ever met. He must also be a powerful professional..."

She wanted to hear more information, and if he really was a top-tier professional, it would give her more confidence.

But unexpectedly, Karma looked at her.

Their eyes met.

And then there was nothing.

Want to get information out of her?

Hmph, no way!

Caroline: "..."

The atmosphere was a bit awkward for a moment.

This woman still wanted to get more information, but just then, Abelek discovered something, and the fingers playing with the Rubik's Cube suddenly stopped.

He suddenly said, "They're here!"