The eerie environment permeated with the scent of preservatives, along with such a painting, such a symbol, and such a line of words, instantly conjured a sense of eerie horror, causing everyone who saw it to feel a shiver down their spine, and an unconscious desire to avoid it.

Just then, Shang Jianyao suddenly turned around and said in a deliberately deepened voice:

"It would be even better if we closed the door now."

Jiang Baimian followed his gaze and looked over, thoughtfully saying:

"This is an electric roller shutter door. With some preparation, it should be remotely controllable."

O'Dike, who had been somewhat influenced by the atmosphere, immediately felt a bit out of place upon hearing this inexplicable conversation.

They were actually discussing how to enhance the current atmosphere.

Before O'Dike could think of anything else, he heard a rattling sound.

The aluminum-white roller shutter door at the entrance actually began to lower on its own, quickly isolating the inside from the outside.

The already limited lighting inside the hall was reduced by more than half, making it dimly lit and even more eerie and oppressive.

At the same time, in the previously darkest corners, one fluorescent light after another flickered on, casting a ghastly white glow.

On the corresponding walls illuminated by them were stick figures, each in a different pose, like children's scribbles.

The common feature of these stick figures was that their faces lacked features, being completely blank.

Under the "gaze" of these blank faces, static snow-like noise appeared on the liquid crystal display screen hanging in the center of the hall. After a few flickers, a person appeared.

This person was wearing a black trench coat and a pale mask without any facial features, with only two holes cut out for the eyes, revealing a pair of pupils.

Those pupils were as deep as an ancient pool in a forest, with what seemed to be circles of swirling currents at the bottom.

The moment O'Dike, Jiang Baimian, and Shang Jianyao saw this person on the screen and made eye contact, they found it difficult to look away.

The person wearing the pale mask opened his mouth, and his voice echoed through the speakers located in different places:

"There is no truth in the world, please believe in God with all your heart..."

This voice seemed to carry a peculiar rhythm, reverberating in the minds of O'Dike and the others.

Suddenly, Shang Jianyao interrupted forcefully, asking earnestly:

"Do you feel uncomfortable wearing such a mask, gradually suffocating?"

There were no holes for the mouth and nose!

The black-trench-coated man with the pale mask on the screen froze for a moment, as if forgetting what to say next.

O'Dike and Jiang Baimian immediately broke free from the indescribable atmosphere, feeling like they had returned to reality and were truly standing on the ground.

Jiang Baimian didn't feel any lingering fear, quietly glanced at her left arm, and nodded slightly.

O'Dike then realized something and said in a deep voice:

"You deliberately lured us here?

"The abnormal behavior along the way, combined with the layout here, is like a large-scale hypnotic ritual!"

He knew that the ability of "hypnosis" could be enhanced by external arrangements, increasing the distance to some extent.

The figure of the "priest" wearing a pale mask and a black trench coat on the screen suddenly twisted, breaking down into a large amount of snow-like noise.

But his voice still came through the speakers located everywhere, making it difficult to pinpoint his exact location:

"If I can't hypnotize you, who will be the key player to get close to Xu Liyan and deliver the fatal blow?

"Unfortunately, I encountered someone who doesn't play by the rules...

"But it doesn't matter, it's just a little more effort..."

Before he finished speaking, O'Dike had already taken out a light blue item, about the size of a walkie-talkie, with a very textured feel.

He turned it on, ready to talk to the designated recipient.

However, all that came from the earpiece were rustling and buzzing sounds.

The "priest's" voice echoed again in the hall, with a hint of mocking laughter:

"Knowing that Xu Liyan has a close relationship with 'Mechanical Paradise', how could I not prepare equipment and create electromagnetic shielding?"

After hearing this, Shang Jianyao regretfully clenched his right fist and struck his left palm:

"Too bad."

Jiang Baimian fully understood what this guy was regretting:

He was regretting that he was out of range and couldn't use "Reasoning Clown" through the conversation over the electronic device.

Otherwise, with the "priest's" loquacity, Shang Jianyao could have made him kneel down and call him daddy willingly.

Faced with the "priest's" mockery, O'Dike's expression didn't change at all. He simply put the electronic item back in his pocket and took out something else.

It was a black hand grenade.

O'Dike quickly pulled the pin on the grenade, braced his back, swung his arm, and threw it at the glass window next to the door.

After a crisp shattering sound, a booming explosion echoed outside, and a fireball rapidly expanded.

In mid-air, a drone produced by "Mechanical Paradise" that had been following O'Dike silently recorded this scene and transmitted it back to the operator's eyes, letting the corresponding person know that something had gone wrong here.

Inside the hall, when O'Dike took out the grenade, Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian had already started running, each finding a pillar for cover.

When the explosion subsided, O'Dike, leaning against a wall, shouted:

"There are two people approaching!

"From both sides of the corridor!

"Uncertain if the 'priest' is among them!"

He relied on the ability of an Awakened to sense two human consciousnesses, but because Awakened Ones could disguise themselves to deceive this kind of sensing, he couldn't be sure if the "priest" was among those two people. The "priest" might have hidden himself and approached quietly, or he might have done the opposite, deliberately mixing with his companions, pretending to be an ordinary person... O'Dike didn't directly force the target to fall asleep to deal with them one by one, indicating that the current distance exceeded the limit of the "forceful sleep" ability, but was within the range of "dream influence" or another ability... Many thoughts flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind.

She then looked at Shang Jianyao.

Shang Jianyao nodded vigorously, indicating that what O'Dike said was correct.

Jiang Baimian didn't waste time, holding the "Ice Moss" pistol and adjusting her posture.

At the same time, she used her other hand to take down the dark green grenade hanging on her belt.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out from both sides of the corridor, sending sparks flying from the walls.

The enemies seemed to be very wary of O'Dike's abilities and didn't dare to get too close, only engaging in long-range attacks.

O'Dike was forced to change positions, returning fire with his pistol.

Suddenly, he slapped his own face with his empty left hand.

A slightly crisp, small sound followed.

But to Shang Jianyao's ears, it was like a muffled thunderclap exploding right next to him.

It made his ears ring, his head spin, and his body seemed to lose balance.

Similarly, the gunshots from both sides of the corridor stopped. They were clearly also affected, as if stepping on violently shaking ground.

Jiang Baimian, on the other hand, only tilted her head slightly, feeling that the sound seemed a bit loud, like thunder exploding in the air.

Other than that, she felt no abnormality.

Because she had hearing impairments.

This was one of O'Dike's Awakened abilities, called "Auditory Mastery."

He could freely make the hearing of all humans within a certain range extremely sensitive, or reduce it to the point of severe deafness.

Just now, he had used the technique of increasing the sensitivity of hearing.

The only problem with this ability was that it couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, it just didn't affect himself.

Seizing this opportunity, O'Dike rolled forward, closing the distance between himself and one of the enemies.

Just then, Jiang Baimian suddenly raised her hand and fired a shot at the stairwell not far from O'Dike.

With a bang, a figure lurking down from above suddenly lunged to the side, appearing very hurried.

However, he had reacted the moment Jiang Baimian raised her hand, so he still avoided this sudden shot.

The stairwell was quite narrow, and the figure slammed into the wall, rebounding and rolling to change direction.

Only at this time did Jiang Baimian clearly see what this person looked like.

He was supporting himself on the ground with one hand, half-crouching and half-kneeling, wearing a black trench coat, with slightly disheveled short hair, and a pale face, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

"Priest."

The dangerous figure of the "Anti-intellect Church," "Priest."

"Priest" looked at Jiang Baimian, a hint of astonishment in his eyes, wondering how she had discovered him.

He had always believed that the main opponent this time, and the only one he could consider an opponent, was O'Dike.

Who knew that in that ordinary hunter team, the man had a strange way of thinking and could always ruin the atmosphere, and the woman seemed to have a special ability to sense things, actually detecting his approach in advance.

And O'Dike had only now discovered that an enemy was hidden in the stairwell.

At this time, he hadn't had time to put the target not far away to "sleep."

After "Priest" dodged that shot, Jiang Baimian didn't delay at all, throwing the pre-prepared grenade over in quick succession.

This time, she didn't have time to pull the pin.

But on the other side, Shang Jianyao had already raised his hand to aim, preparing to pull the trigger on that grenade.

With the stairwell in that semi-enclosed state, once the grenade exploded inside, it was almost impossible for "Priest" to avoid the shockwave, he would be seriously injured even if he didn't die, unless he could jump to the lower floor of the stairs in time and lie prone on the ground.

However, just as Jiang Baimian's grenade was about to be thrown, her left arm suddenly became a little uncontrollable, lifting upwards as if trying to slap herself.

This was like An Ruoxiang stabbing herself with a knife.

"Automatic Body"!

Bang!

The arc of the grenade was higher and more off-target than planned, landing elsewhere, and Shang Jianyao's shot undoubtedly missed.

But Shang Jianyao was not at all disappointed or frustrated. Before the grenade landed, he rushed out from behind the pillar and ran wildly.

Then, he dove forward, connected with a roll, and quickly closed the distance between himself and "Priest."

The moment he raised his head, he saw those eyes as deep as an ancient pool in the forest.

Then, he smiled and made a face at "Priest."

A face.

And this didn't affect him at all raising his hand, aiming, and firing.