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Chapter 293 - 290: "Soul Hunter

Chapter 293: Chapter 290: "Soul Hunter

"What’s wrong?"

"What is inside..."

Voices filled with a slight panic arose, and the high-decibel screams of the crew members burst out again:

"Soul... Soul Clan—"

"There are Soul Clan—on this ship!"

It was like a bolt of thunder exploding in the crowd, which instantly erupted into chaos.

"—Isn’t this the great Yate Vessel? The Yate Vessel that carries the empire’s future hopes, how could the Soul Clan have infiltrated it!?"

"The Soul Clan of the Yate Empire was nearly extinct, why would there still be..."

"It’s over, it’s over, it’s over! We still have two full days before reaching the Maritime City, who knows how many more will die in the meantime..."

Upon hearing the news of a Soul Clan attack, the jubilant crowd instantly turned pale; joy disappeared from their faces, and they became like a flock of sheep fearing their natural predator.

Ming’an didn’t understand why these people were so scared; he had only seen the system information and had yet to understand the full terror of the Soul Clan.

He approached the room where the incident occurred, peering through the open door crack.

A faint smell of blood wafted from inside, with dark red blood seeping into the floor.

Inside the room, on an extremely uneven bed, lay a woman with eyes gaping open in death.

Two small holes were opened on the woman’s neck, with a few drops of blood lingering on them. Her complexion was pale, eyes lifeless, as if her soul had been sucked away.

Yet the fearsome race that caused her death had already disappeared without a trace.

...Is this the appearance of someone attacked by the Soul Clan?

It was said that the Soul Clan feeds on human blood and souls, and the woman’s appearance indeed looked like her soul had been thoroughly drained.

Ming’an didn’t know if the so-called Soul Clan would be his greatest enemy in achieving a perfect pass, but judging by the people’s emotions, the Soul Clan seemed terrifying.

"Rin..."

At some point, Saya had moved to his side.

She tightly clenched his clothes, her expression filled with fear.

"The Soul Clan has even infiltrated the great Yate Vessel..." fear was evident in her eyes, "What should we do now?"

"Don’t panic," Ming’an said. "A ten-day journey, and only now do we see a victim attacked by the Soul Clan, which suggests that there aren’t many Soul Clans aboard the Yate Vessel, maybe even just one... It couldn’t remain undetected by the crew in the early stages, forcing it to act alone in the end... I just hope we won’t receive news of more deaths from others simultaneously."

"..." Saya’s eyelids drooped slightly: "Rin, I hope there is only one too. If their numbers increase, so will the casualties..."

She looked at the woman’s deathly appearance and turned her head away: "For the Soul Clan to survive, they must periodically prey on humans. Although they can temporarily suppress their appetite, once the attack begins, the number of victims will only increase... "

She continued speaking, her voice tinged with sorrow:

"They... have the power to completely overpower humans. Unless we have a Soul Hunter, ordinary humans simply cannot stand against them... Moreover, Rin, what worries me more is that this is the Yate Vessel, the empire’s hope. Although there are powerful Soul Hunters on board, the Soul Clan is adept at disguises. As long as they are not captured, peace will not return to the ship, and our ship of hope will crumble into pieces..."

She looked up and sighed softly into his ear:

"Rin... it seems we have to take care of ourselves in the next two days."

Ming’an, listening to her words, gradually grasped the importance of the Yate Stone.

It was the only method that could accurately identify members of the Soul Clan, but it was extremely scarce. So much so that it could only be used to verify the identities of some suspicious individuals.

While the large number of civilians had also undergone strict inspection and were closely monitored, they had not been verified by the Yate Stone, and there was still a possibility that members of the Soul Clan might have infiltrated their ranks.

The Yate Stone was precious, important... and very rare.

Even Saya only possessed a small one in her hand.

Su Ming’an didn’t know why he, a down-and-out noble, also happened to possess one.

The two were talking near the door when they suddenly saw a group of people coming down from the cabin to conduct identity checks on those gathered in the hall.

The people were forced to stop the music, take off their masks, and line up to wait for the inspection, like a group of prisoners waiting for interrogation.

Saya tried to blend him into the crowd, but they were quickly singled out.

"... Miss?"

An aged voice emanated from a line of interrogators dressed in pitch-black uniforms.

It was the butler who had previously followed Saya.

However, unlike before, he now wore a transparent star on his chest and carried an object resembling a Sword Bag on his back—it was the exclusive attire of a Soul Hunter.

He was currently staring sternly at Saya, who was covered in a layer of gray dust.

"Valen grandfather..." Saya, like a child caught doing something wrong, hesitated to step forward.

Valen’s somewhat grim eyes shifted to Su Ming’an’s face, carrying a faint glint of murderous intent.

However, the murderous intent was fleeting, and soon he reined in the emotions in his eyes, extending his hand towards Saya:

"Miss, do not come to such chaotic places in the future. The journey will end in two days. Stay in a safe place, and with the intervention of Soul Hunters, you will be safe."

"Yes, yes..."

Saya timidly responded, returning to Valen’s side and leaving the area with him.

As he turned around, Valen’s sharp gaze swept over Su Ming’an once more, seemingly warning him not to approach Saya again.

Su Ming’an met his gaze, his face showing no fear.

...Indeed, it was a narrative of a poor boy and a noble girl, thwarted by circumstance.

Although he felt that he was unlikely to be an ordinary poor boy, and Saya was unlikely to be an ordinary noble girl.

He didn’t mind Valen’s gaze; in his view, Valen’s strength was not likely to surpass his own.

In the current instance, other than encountering beings like the Holy Initiation from the Fifth World with Combat Power of 9999, some big boss-level characters fundamentally could not defeat him, and he did not need to fear some unlikely NPCs.

In his view, the critical point of the current instance should lie with the Soul Clan...

Sure enough, just as he thought this, a system message popped up.

"Ding-dong!"

[Detection of this instance as an open-class world, perfect completion route assistance service will be provided.]

[Acquired Perfect Completion·Heaven’s Line·Main Quest]

[Main Quest·Find the Truth (1/3): Find the assailant before the Yate Vessel reaches the Maritime City.]

[Task Completion Reward: Unlock the next segment of the route, obtain the key prop for a perfect pass.]

[Perfect Completion Progress: 10%]

...

After Saya and the old man left, Su Ming’an didn’t wait in place either.

The civilians around him emitted a mixed odor of dust and the fishy smell of the sea, a scent that was difficult to endure, and he wondered what sufferings those players disguised as civilians had endured.

He directly showed his identification to the inspector and successfully returned to the fourth floor.

As he climbed the stairs to the rooftop on the fourth floor, he glanced outside and suddenly noticed something.

It was three in the morning by then, and it was deadly quiet outside.

The bottomless darkness swallowed up the large ship sailing through the storm, with no one on the deck.

The torrential rain covered the windows. He opened the window, shielded his forehead with his hand, and gazed into the distance.

He did this because he vaguely saw a special area.

...in the air.

Bright white lightning cleaved the dark sky, emitting a relentless bright light, and he saw a shadow floating in the midair.

It appeared out of nowhere, like a huge and thick dark cloud appearing in the snowy white lightning.

The shadow was very unclear. If Su Ming’an hadn’t cut into Shadow State and looked with all his might, he wouldn’t have noticed that shadow.

...Cloud City.

If his guess was right, then it must be the treasure city floating in the air, a City of Gods above the Maritime City.

From this, it seemed that Maritime City was not far from the giant ship, and they could reach it by tomorrow given the distance.

...But why did the crew say the journey still had two days left?

Su Ming’an felt a hint of a conspiratorial shadow. He closed the window, shook the water droplets off his hand, and walked to the door of his room.

With a "click," the door opened.

He entered, and walked straight to the last clue under the bed, a place he hadn’t had time to check before.

He squatted down and saw a suitcase under the bed.

He flipped the suitcase out and carefully searched it, finally finding a Yate Stone hidden in the lining of a garment.

Compared to the one he had found earlier in the wardrobe, this Yate Stone was bigger and brighter, like a treasure that breathed on its own. Holding it in his hand, he could even feel the unique energy flowing inside it.

...How could this be.

Considering the size of the Yate Stone, this one... was almost the equivalent of several major noble families of the Empire put together. If sold, it would be enough to buy back an entire Saya’s family, and calling it priceless was no exaggeration.

Why would a destitute noble possess it?

Moreover, if Su Rin had always possessed such treasures, how could his family have fallen into such disrepair? Even using such treasures to exchange for a Duke would be feasible.

Su Ming’an gradually realized that the character he was embodying seemed to be hiding many secrets...

He also dragged the stone into a backpack slot to ensure it wouldn’t be discovered.

After doing all that, he carefully checked the sealed door and windows, then went to sleep.

...

In the dirty, large cabin, people in tattered clothes slept huddled together.

Green crawled up from the hard floor and quietly walked into a nearby storeroom.

In the storeroom, his teammates, the Player with dagger weapons Feng Sheng, Berserker Fang Enze, and the exploration type Intelligence player Qiao Yuyu, were already waiting inside.

They were a slightly above-average Player squad, whose members trusted each other completely. They had already gone through two instances together.

They squeezed into the small storeroom, with Fang Enze’s head still hitting a mop, all three of them looking dusty and utterly disheveled.

"You’re here?"

"I am," Green replied in a hushed voice, "Keep it down, the NPCs just fell asleep. Don’t talk tactics too loudly."

"This damn hideous identity, I’m so frustrated... When have I ever suffered like this? If only I had a slightly better identity, like a rich merchant, I wouldn’t be covered in dust..." Fang Enze complained.

"Cut the chatter. The main quest has clearly started. Tonight, that attacking woman from the Soul Clan is definitely the biggest threat. If we don’t want to be killed by that thing, we need to strike first, search for clues," Green said.

He was the captain of this squad, and also a veteran player. Except for dying once in the First World, he had always managed to survive up to this point, although he had never achieved a Perfect pass, but he had also accumulated quite a lot of assets.

He knew the nature of the game instances well. If they were indifferent before such a special event, the only thing waiting for them would probably be a very poor outcome.

Qiao Yuyu glanced at her system task panel, "You all must have received the task prompt as well."

"Yes, the first step of the Perfect Completion quest, find the attacker," Green said. "Although our target is not perfect completion, following the hint’s path will surely benefit us, as every player’s target must be that Soul Clan member."

"I’ve got some bad news, Green."

"What is it?"

"The folks from the Sword of the Yellow Rose are also aboard this gigantic ship. Just now, when I was checking, I overheard someone shouting Luna’s name. The Sword of the Yellow Rose likely has someone with the identity of a Soul Hunter... Their status is high, which is bad for us, we absolutely must avoid being discovered by those people."

"...Them? Damn it, the grudge from the Fifth World has even carried over here, such bad luck. It was just a matter of killing one of their guild members back then..."

Qiao Yuyu blinked her eyes, "Also, Green, I’ve noticed something very strange."

Her tone suddenly became grave.

Green’s face also grew somber.

Qiao Yuyu’s skill could enhance her observational power, giving her a kind of sixth sense; if she sensed something was wrong, it definitely meant a tough situation.

"I’ve noticed..." Qiao Yuyu furrowed her brow, "our ten-thousand-person instance seems a bit peculiar."

"What’s peculiar about it?"

"Haven’t you noticed, Green," Qiao Yuyu said, "...there are too many big shots."

Green was slightly taken aback.

"Earlier, while checking the channel chat, I found it strange. With over twenty thousand parallel instances, how come our instance gathered so many big shots... Top-ranked players like Yamada Machiichi, Bonnie, Agnes. Sword of the Yellow Rose’s Luna. United Group’s Gao De. Remote Legion’s Rimu Sheng, Fang Yuanyi. Solo Adventure Squad players Eli, Anli..." Qiao Yuyu bit her fingernail, "These are just the names I saw in the chat. I’ve heard there are even more big shots hidden in this instance, many have seen familiar skills...

A hundred top-ranked players, and five or six are in our instance alone, not to mention the thousands more among the top players, trying to explain it with probability just doesn’t make sense, our ten-thousand-person instance’s concentration of big shots has far exceeded the norm.

"—Green, I have a terrifying conjecture."