There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game
Chapter 902: 744: Reversal

Chapter 902: Chapter 744: Reversal

Catalina had no idea why he was taking off his clothes.

But as she watched the young man remove his outer robe,

his entire figure underwent a subtle transformation.

The luxurious attire he had been wearing changed into a simple shirt and trousers; his silvery-white long hair turned jet-black and short; his previously refined and handsome face took on a younger, softer appearance.

Of course, he also became just a little shorter.

Earlier, he was half a head taller than Catalina.

Now, he had transformed into being half a head shorter than her.

In summary,

the young man had become… youthful.

Following that, Xu Shuo donned the armor robe he had just removed once more and then flipped his hand to produce a Sun Crown helmet, which he placed on his head.

Catalina watched his actions with lingering confusion.

Once he had finished dressing, she finally spoke, “Why are you changing forms again? What exactly are you planning to do like this?”

Xu Shuo glanced at her. “Stop asking pointless questions. The trouble outside hasn’t been dealt with yet. Doing this, of course, makes it easier to resolve him.”

Catalina: “?”

What, changing your hair gives you the instant advantage to win?

She was still considering this when she saw silver-white long hair suddenly unfurl again beneath the Sun Crown helmet worn by the young man.

Catalina felt completely out of words to express her astonishment.

Xu Shuo spread his arms and faced her. “Compared to earlier, is there anything different about me now?”

At these words, Catalina earnestly scrutinized him up and down.

And then she realized…

Compared to before, the young man’s figure now appeared somewhat thinner.

After all, the Pope of Light possessed an outstanding physique—tall, robust, and graceful. He always seemed to loom half a head taller than anyone, even surpassing the slender and elegant Ice and Snow Elves.

As for other differences, the Sun Crown’s concealment made comparisons almost negligible.

But…

One glaringly important fact remained:

He was shorter than her!

Before, Catalina had to look up when facing Xu Shuo.

That put her at a disadvantage even when throwing out sharp remarks.

But now, that was no longer an issue.

Of course, this wasn’t something Catalina planned to point out to him, so she nodded solemnly and said, “Nothing’s amiss at all!”

Just as she was secretly rejoicing over the situation, however…

She watched helplessly as the young man not only altered his frame but also grew taller by a full head—once again towering over her.

Catalina: “…”

The Ice and Snow Elf’s complicated emotions…

were now manifesting as distortions across her facial expressions.

…

The reason behind Xu Shuo’s decision to revert to resembling the Pope of Light after using his Character Card was to avoid alarming Wald XVIII.

This opponent, after all, was nothing like those others he had toyed around with before.

If Wald XVIII were to discover the existence of the Character Card, he would likely opt to flee outright—or resort to concealing his true strength to avoid any direct combat.

However, the use of the Character Card meant that maintaining the appearance of the current script’s character became impossible, introducing some challenges.

Thus, a degree of camouflage was essential.

Fortunately, after transforming, he had the freedom to change his clothing as he pleased.

Fortunately, Alpha’s abilities made altering appearances quite effortless.

After all, with this Character Card, as long as the player’s spiritual power sufficed, nearly anything was achievable.

Xu Shuo extended his “Mind Network” outward.

In an instant, a full three-dimensional map of Franks City-State emerged in his mind, including the army of two hundred thousand soldiers marching swiftly toward the city from three kilometers away.

“By the way, Catalina…”

After surveying the situation within and surrounding Franks City-State, Xu Shuo turned toward the nearby Ice and Snow Elf.

Despite the young man’s eyes being hidden under his hood and unable to meet hers directly, in that moment, Catalina felt as if she was being pierced by some invisible gaze, her whole body suffused with an oppressive sensation that made escape impossible.

This instinctively triggered a defensive resistance within her, causing the Power of Faith connected to the Dawn Belief inside her to stir involuntarily.

“Huh?”

As Catalina released her Faith power, Xu Shuo was surprised to find that the spiritual forces he had directed at her had suddenly become sluggish, like they’d fallen into an impenetrable vortex.

Earlier, it had been effortless for him to read Catalina’s innermost thoughts.

Now, however, it seemed he would need to exert some effort.

Xu Shuo felt a fleeting urge to analyze this Faith power…

But in the next moment, that spiritual force wasn’t merely stuck in a vortex—it plummeted like a stone into a viscous pool of tar, its movements hindered entirely.

“Forget it, let’s get down to business.”

Xu Shuo decisively avoided wasting time.

He said to the still-dazed Catalina, “You’ve already consumed that blood, haven’t you? When I engage Wald XVIII in battle later, you’ll immediately activate the Elven bloodline suppression.”

Catalina nodded dumbly. “Okay.”

Just after responding,

she suddenly seemed to think of something and remarked, “Wait, what if the bloodline suppression doesn’t work? I didn’t expect him to be capable of summoning the Dawn Belief’s Guardian God’s Acolyte…”

Possessing a Guardian God’s Acolyte imbued with Faith power essentially made Wald XVIII akin to a half-Executor of Dawn.

Right now, Catalina couldn’t help but feel…

It must be Wald XVIII’s existence that caused her to struggle so much—even against the Pope of Light!

Xu Shuo retorted at this moment, “Don’t worry about whether the suppression works or not. Your only job is to activate the bloodline suppression at that moment—I need to gauge his reaction.”

Upon hearing this, Catalina hesitated to voice her doubts.

But after delivering those orders, Xu Shuo was already moving toward the window, dispersing the Spirit Array that had been painted around them by the little paper constructs earlier.

He looked out at the mist-shrouded town outside.

His Mind Network locked onto a specific location—a specific individual.

Then, as the Paper Man Spirit Array dissipated…

that person suddenly turned to look in this direction.

At this moment, Catalina’s voice broke the silence from behind him: “Do you have confidence in dealing with him?”

“Confidence in dealing with him?”

Xu Shuo raised an eyebrow and glanced toward her. “That’s not something for you to worry about. The only thing I’ve ever lacked confidence in is enlightening someone like you.”

Catalina: “???”

Before Catalina could recover from the sting of his oddly affectionate insult,

a sudden cold wind gusted into the room.

From the window, faint flashes of silver light could be seen.

Xu Shuo abruptly extended a hand, gesturing toward Catalina’s direction—and in an instant, her body was sent uncontrollably flying out of the window.

“Boom!”

The castle they had been sheltering in was pierced by a massive silver greatsword that descended from the heavens.

Wald XVIII had tracked them down!

Forced out of the building, Catalina wobbled briefly before steadying herself mid-air. She anxiously looked back toward the castle, only to see two figures intertwining in battle.

It was then that she recalled her assigned task.

She hurriedly sought out the bloodline power.

…

Xu Shuo gripped the confiscated dagger tightly as he moved in calculated anticipation toward the spot where Wald XVIII would land from his sudden attack.

Wald XVIII’s face betrayed a flash of surprise.

He swiftly arched backward in an attempt to evade this preemptive strike.

But in the next instant…

An icy chill surged through his bloodstream, freezing Wald XVIII mid-air like a stalled machine, unable to move.

Thud!

The dagger unerringly pierced his chest.

Wald XVIII’s expression turned exceedingly grim!

But his body wasn’t entirely paralyzed—his gaze locked fiercely on Xu Shuo, and his fingers curled inward in a clutching motion.

The next second, Xu Shuo’s chest was inexplicably ripped open by an unseen blade, as though something sudden and sharp had stabbed right through him. Blood splattered everywhere.

Hiss—

Xu Shuo calmly withdrew the dagger.

Then, beneath his helmet, his lips curled into a faint grin. “You’d better get prepared for running now.”

…