But the eerie thing was, when the word "woman" actually appeared—
The entire world seemed to freeze as if it were lagging.
The colossal Sea Beast in the sky suddenly displayed mosaic-like patterns.
Mia's voice had a certain bewitching quality, throwing everyone into a daze.
Every local NPC who heard Mia's voice suddenly stopped, muttering the word "woman."
Their voices were not loud, but their sheer number made them spread like a virus.
Originally, only the city center had the black cloud, but then, as more and more people began chanting the word "woman"…
Most of the city became shrouded by the black cloud.
But Wen Xishu noticed that the Sea Beast, which was supposed to attack him, actually stopped.
Even though the black cloud was spreading, the Sea Beast looked like a pile of garbled code.
When all the nerves are affected by a bug, and when all the underlying codes are altered by a virus…
Then how could the antivirus software driven by the same system still function properly?
This city suddenly had a concept implanted, but because of this concept, it fell into a special state of "system crash."
Aside from the unconscious Mia, only seven people could still move.
In an instant, Wen Xishu appeared in the building where Horn was located.
Even though he was exhausted, badly wounded, and covered in blood, he could still traverse the city.
Horn, seeing Wen Xishu so severely injured, felt some guilt:
"Sorry, I was too slow… and you got seriously hurt."
Wen Xishu replied:
"No, you were truly amazing. If I were to play your role, I wouldn't have done as well as you."
Yet Horn still felt a twinge of remorse:
"Luckily, we won. Now, we just need to clean up a few loose ends. Sigh."
Wen Xishu knew what he was referring to.
"You mean a few of those people might expose issues on the Ark. But it shouldn't… include her, right?"
Wen Xishu pointed at Judy.
Horn nodded:
"Yes, I'm guessing that when we wake up, or rather, when we return to the Ark, we'll definitely be tested."
"But if it's just you and me, our acting skills will surely deceive the captain. As for Judy, she helped me, so I need to help her in return. I'll ensure she won't be the one causing trouble."
Judy didn't understand their conversation but sensed a chill, as if the two were planning something big.
Wen Xishu nodded:
"But the others won't do."
Horn sighed helplessly:
"Yes, the others won't do. I seem to understand what you mean. Sometimes, slaughter indeed turns out to be the most effective method."
Wen Xishu was indifferent, simply wiping off the black blood of the octopus-like creature from his face, and said calmly:
"I'll go kill them. End this island expedition. Once we return to the Ark, we'll have an even greater crisis."
Judy shivered upon hearing this.
Horn nodded.
Wen Xishu suddenly asked:
"Actually, you've never seen Sirius, nor do you know what kind of being Sirius is, whether good or bad. But now, you're helping me and helping Sirius escape…"
"You're going against the captain of the Ark. What's your motive?"
Horn wasn't surprised at all by Wen Xishu's question, nor did he avoid Judy.
He just responded calmly:
"I don't like the captain of the Ark. The Ark turning out this way is his fault. And although I don't know who Sirius is,"
"I know I must leverage his power because what the captain aims to achieve is precisely what I must prevent."
"My ambition is to become the new master of the Ark, but I lack the strength. To defeat an enemy far stronger than me, I cannot be too picky about who becomes my ally."
Wen Xishu laughed:
"Horn, it's a real pity that someone like you hasn't awakened, hasn't become an Ability User."
Horn neither agreed nor disagreed, but merely sighed softly:
"I leave it to you, Wen Xishu. Though I don't know where you come from, in the future… the Ark will be your friend."