Chapter 73: Thousand Faces

Yorkshire City, Relief Street.

Most of the people walking along this street were couples. The entire street was closed to vehicles, and the shops along the roadside had set up tables and chairs outside, with umbrellas erected.

Several men and women sat at a table. Among them, some wore hooded jackets, while others simply went shirtless, revealing their bronze, muscular upper bodies.

"It's been a long time since I've joined such a comfortable team. You three better not cause any trouble."

A burly man with bronze skin spoke half-jokingly. His aura was bold and unrestrained, likely marking him as a tank-type.

"Sure thing."

A short-haired woman replied. Whether it was her tone or her pitch, it made one suspect she was mocking someone. Her name was Shelley, a contractor from Apocalypse Paradise.

"Recently, things have been getting more chaotic around Gaman City. It's been over ten days since we entered Alliance Star. Calculating the time, this world's progress should be nearing its end. It's time to start the carnival."

A man in a white suit spoke, maintaining a gentle expression on his face. Yet beneath that gentleness, a hysterical madness was suppressed.

"Warlock, don't go crazy."

The short-haired woman, Shelley, looked wary. The man in the suit, whom she called Warlock, was from Reincarnation Paradise. If he weren't a mage, she would never have agreed to let him join the team.

"Slander, pure slander against our Reincarnation Paradise. Let me tell you, most contractors from Reincarnation Paradise are actually quite normal. Only a small portion are crazy. What's with that look? Believe me, if you've ever been to Reincarnation Paradise, you'd trust my words."

The Warlock, whose class inheritance was that of a mage, argued vehemently. In fact, his code name was Warlock.

"We believe you. None of us have ever fought in a World War. We're all idiots, alright?"

The burly man's words made the Warlock want to argue further... explain a bit more, but at that moment, the man in the hooded jacket sitting beside him stood up. His gaze swept across the street, and his expression began to sour.

"Assassin, what the hell is wrong with you now?"

The short-haired woman, Shelley, looked at the man in the hooded jacket across from her. She had always been wary of this person; she even felt he was more dangerous than the Warlock.

"Three of you, I have some unfortunate news to share."

The hooded man sat back down, grinning. He continued, "Actually, I'm a violator."

"Holy shit."

"Don't joke around."

"A violator? That's a thing?"

The burly man, Shelley, and the Warlock each reacted differently. Among them, the Warlock's gaze toward the hooded man began to shift strangely.

The hooded man didn't mind this. He smiled and continued:

"I'm a violator from Reincarnation Paradise. Coincidentally, there's a hunter from Reincarnation Paradise in this world. Guess who it is."

"Stop beating around the bush. If you have something to say, say it. If you have a fart, let it out."

The burly man, though unclear about what was happening, had already started preparing to flee.

"Who's hunting you?"

The short-haired woman, Shelley, as an eighth-rank contractor, was no stranger to violators, hunters, battle angels, and the like.

"Three of you, I have some things to take care of. I'm off."

The Warlock stood up. Through the hooded man's words, he deduced many things, including who the hunter from his side in this world was.

The Warlock hurried away, disappearing at the end of the street in no time. He had fled.

Only three people remained at the square table by the street. The burly man and the short-haired woman, Shelley, exchanged glances and both decided to leave immediately. If they weren't worried about the self-proclaimed violator across from them suddenly attacking, they would have left long ago.

"Since you're a violator, there's no need to cooperate..."

Before the short-haired woman, Shelley, could finish her sentence, the hooded man across from her suddenly raised his hand and slammed it on the table, like a smoke bomb exploding.

"Not good!"

The tank-type burly man leaped back repeatedly. The smoke filled with crystalline micro-particles appeared quickly but dissipated even faster, vanishing into the air after only 0.5 seconds.

The tank-type burly man focused his gaze. Beside the shattered remnants of the table and chairs stood two Shelleys. Seeing this, the burly man sneered dismissively. Disguise or transformation abilities? Mere tricks.

The burly man's eyes turned pitch black. After a thorough observation, he was inwardly stunned. This didn't seem like a disguise ability; there really were two Shelleys.

The burly man didn't hesitate any longer. He turned and fled, leaving only the two Shelleys staring at each other.

"You..."

"Stop mimicking me."

"I have no grudge against you. Don't drag me into this!"

The two Shelleys pointed at each other, both showing anger. They both made as if to turn and flee but stopped simultaneously. Running now would mean taking the blame.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then gritted their teeth and leaped toward each other. Back to back, Shelley A spoke:

"Did you notice? The pedestrians on the street weren't startled. Look at the sky. Why would Yorkshire City have a peregrine falcon?"

Shelley A squinted, very concerned about the peregrine falcon circling high above.

"You're my big brother, alright? Don't drag me into this. I'm just a nobody who scraped by to eighth rank. I can't possibly withstand your enemies."

Shelley B was on the verge of tears. She was innocent. She was the real Shelley. The one behind her was the hooded man, who had transformed into her likeness.

"Oh, I know. You like yogurt pudding, you're clean-living, but you often..."

Shelley A spoke with a smile, her gaze fixed on the falcon above.

"Brother, stop, I beg you."

Shelley B was in despair. She had realized that this monster behind her could not only take her form but also had access to some of her memories. What a terrifying ability.

"I'll head east, you go west. Run!"

The hooded man, now transformed into Shelley, shouted sharply, then vanished with a pop, leaving only Shelley alone. She was dumbfounded.

In an instant, all the pedestrians on the street stopped in their tracks. A pair of eyes fixed on Shelley.

Click, click~

Folding saw knives with wooden handles snapped open, their blades glinting coldly. Every pedestrian held a folding saw knife in one hand and a short shotgun in the other, staring intently at Shelley.

Dozens, no, hundreds of superhuman beings focused their gazes on Shelley. As someone who had only recently scraped into the eighth rank and had mustered great courage to enter a fully open world, Shelley felt she couldn't handle this level of attention.

Shelley, a contractor from Apocalypse Paradise, was somewhat of a rich woman. She did have escape items, but if she so much as moved a finger now, she would be riddled with holes.

In this life-or-death moment, Shelley's brain cells were practically burning. She recalled every detail from before, even everything that had happened since entering this world. Suddenly, she remembered a post on the world communication platform. She had been browsing idly when she saw it. It was from a big shot named Fairy Queen, posted over ten days ago. Part of it read: 'You're a hunter, I'm a violator.'

And this statement was directed at Reincarnation Paradise's Bai Ye, the infamous Night of Decapitation!

Bai Ye, hunter, violator·Hooded Man—these pieces of information raced through Shelley's mind.

Shelley didn't hesitate. She shouted, "I'm Bai Ye's frien—"

Bang!

Shelley felt a heavy blow to the back of her head. Just as she was about to retaliate, a cold gun muzzle pressed against her forehead.

"Where is that person?"

Skinny Monkey·Siri spoke while tightening his grip on the trigger, the short shotgun in his hand on the verge of firing.

"I really don't know."

Shelley was both angry and wronged. This was a classic case of rotten luck. Or rather, from the moment she met the hooded man—no, the violator·Thousand Faces—she was destined to be unlucky.

Thousand Faces was Su Xiao's hunting mission target, violator No. 14023. Thousand Faces had two known characteristics: super speed and the ability to transform into others.

This transformation ability must have relatively strict prerequisites.

This transformation wasn't a disguise but a 100% change, even capable of stealing some memories from the target.

As for why Thousand Faces was in this team, it was the seventh team he/she planned to screw over in this world. The previous six teams had been silently devoured by him/her.

Both ends of Relief Street were sealed off. In the middle of the street, Siri looked up at the peregrine falcon·Horus in the sky. Horus hadn't left, meaning the target was still nearby, possibly disguised as one of them. Thinking this, Siri crouched down, placing one hand on the ground as if sensing something.

The surrounding hundreds of organization members stood motionless. They did this deliberately. The enemy could disguise itself; moving rashly would only cause chaos.

No one ordered them to do so; they acted on their own initiative, showing the average quality of the organization's members.

At the edge of the street, an organization member wrapped in bandages shifted his gaze. He only glanced at Siri before quickly looking away.

After sensing for a moment, Siri clicked his tongue and stood up with a grim expression.

"The target escaped. This scene... it's just like the 'Blood Countess Incident' eight years ago."

After saying this, Siri paused for a few seconds, giving the other organization members time to react. Dangerous Object S·026 (Blood Countess) could disguise itself as anything. This incident was widely circulated within the organization. Eighty-six organization members had died then. Besides the casualties, the method to deal with Dangerous Object S·096 (Blood Countess) was also passed down within the organization.

No one spoke. Seven seconds passed, and Siri let out a hiss through his teeth, using the gap between his molars and his lips to blow air.

Almost simultaneously, all the organization members on the street raised their right hands. Among them, one 'organization member' standing in front of a clothing store, wrapped in bandages, was a moment slower.

"Heh~"

Siri revealed a grin like a madman's, raised his hand, and fired at the bandaged man. He was certain this was the enemy.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Short shotguns fired. Red-hot metal fragments flew everywhere. The bandaged man vanished from his spot in an instant, leaving behind a deafening sonic boom.

Crackle, crackle!

Electric arcs spread at the street corner. Over a dozen layers of lightning nets appeared. Amidst the surging lightning, a humanoid figure could faintly be seen.

At that moment, all the organization members on the street opened their mouths. They pressed their thumbs, adorned with special metal rings, against their upper teeth. A subtle vibration traveled from their teeth to their eardrums—a form of self-protection.

Boom~

A wave of sound spread. Siri's eyes rolled back as the vibration from the ring against his teeth intensified. Even with the protective measure, being hit by the 'magnetic resonance' was an unpleasant experience.

The figure in the lightning let out a miserable scream. This was Thousand Faces. As the sound wave passed, phantom images appeared around his body—water molecules stripped away by the high-penetration oscillation.

Thousand Faces, crackling with electric arcs, fell to the ground. He propped himself up with one hand and vomited a large mouthful of blood.

Ding, ding~

Two anklets snapped onto Thousand Faces' ankles. He clearly felt as if he were carrying a thousand pounds. That wasn't the main issue; the problem was that these anklets were pulling him toward the ground, severely hindering his escape speed.

Thousand Faces' entire body was numb. Just as he waited for the numbness to fade so he could escape, several organization members in an alley dozens of meters away pulled a dark green tarp off a large object. It was a ship's main cannon.

Boom.

The main cannon fired. At such close range, the shell reached Thousand Faces in an instant.

Thousand Faces flew backward, crashing into the light barrier behind him. The shell, its tip pressed against his neck, exploded.

Boom!

Flames engulfed Thousand Faces. When the fire subsided, Thousand Faces had vanished.

A kilometer away, on an empty street, Thousand Faces, his face covered in blood, fled in large strides. His speed was restricted. The shackles on his ankles were created four years ago by the organization to deal with Dangerous Object S·049 (The Invisible Man).

Thousand Faces looked up at the falcon in the sky. He was certain this thing was tracking him. Short-range escape items were useless. As for long-range escape items, they required at least five to six seconds of channeling time or a pre-set coordinate. He didn't have a long-range escape item that could be used instantly with a pre-set coordinate; obtaining such an item required luck.

Thousand Faces ran. The narrow street was empty, and the apartment buildings on both sides were eerily silent. Suddenly, Thousand Faces stopped. At the end of the street stood a figure.

Seeing the appearance of the one blocking his path, Thousand Faces' heart sank halfway. It was Reincarnation Paradise's Bai Ye. He had previously paid no attention to this hunter, even acting as if he didn't exist.

Thousand Faces stared straight ahead. The corner of his eye twitched, and he let out a low roar: "Damn it!!"