Covering Martha's eyes to prevent her from seeing the monsters, Lynch felt a lingering sense of dread. If he had only focused on questioning the reporter instead of insisting on taking Martha home first, the three of them would have been trapped in the carriage by a group of ghouls by now.
Lynch could proudly confirm that he definitely would not have lasted thirty seconds, unless he activated his divine authority directly. No wonder he felt like he was being watched the whole way; it must have been them. What exactly was the origin of these ghouls?
They certainly were not hillmen. Could they be the sewer ghouls that had never shown themselves? That would explain why they had been tracking them through the sewers, which was why he had never noticed them.
Turning his head, he could not read the reporter's expression, but her body was trembling slightly. Lynch knew she must be feeling the same fear, so he gestured toward the outer wall they had intended to climb over earlier.
Her murky red eyes were momentarily lost, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded at Lynch. Holding Martha between them, the two slipped back toward the outermost perimeter, following the cover of the abandoned carriages.
Clang. A dull thud echoed from behind. The group of ghouls had reverted to their vagrant forms and were rummaging through other carriages, not yet realizing that their targets were escaping.
The wall was not very high, but since the ghouls had keen eyesight, they would certainly be discovered if they tried to climb over. Gritting his teeth, Lynch put on his gloves and placed a hand on the reporter's shoulder.
Divine authority, concealment, ability, presence, activate.
Yet, there was no reaction.
Hmm?
Only then did Lynch remember that this ability had a limitation: the target must trust him sufficiently, otherwise the success rate would drop proportionally.
It could not possibly fail at such a critical moment, could it?
He tried again, and failed again. Lynch finally understood what it meant that he had succeeded on the first try with Officer Angel last time.
Time did not permit him to slowly gamble on success rates. The ghouls were searching and destroying one carriage after another. Watching them draw closer, Lynch felt as if he were burning with anxiety.
What to do? He had to find a way.
You are a transmigrator. Your greatest advantage is the breadth of thinking from an information-saturated era; you have open-minded thinking.
With so many strange abilities, as long as you use them correctly, you can perform wonders. It is just that you have not thought of it yet, Lynch.
Creak, creak. Another carriage was invaded by several ghouls. Even the door was torn off and tossed aside carelessly. It flew over the trio's hiding spot, struck the wall, and leaned against it at an angle.
Hmm? It seemed there was a bug he could exploit here.
Looking at the space beneath the corner where the door met the wall, Lynch felt a spark of realization. He understood that this ability had a flaw.
It did not make the target invisible; rather, it caused those around them to ignore the target of the ability, rendering them unseen. In other words, the target still existed in that space. What if something were hidden behind the target?
The hidden object was theoretically blocked by the target. Since the target was not actually invisible, the enemy's line of sight could not bypass the target to see the hidden object. Thus, a paradox was created. The hidden object, which was not covered by the ability, achieved the effect of concealment through this paradox.
For example, the reporter and Martha. The flying carriage door was the perfect hidden object delivered to them. There was plenty of trash and debris piled against the wall, which was just enough to help the two climb over.
Lynch immediately used his ability to mask their sounds and briefly explained his idea to Martha and the reporter, Maya. The ghouls were about to finish their search, so there was no time for experiments or hesitation. Trying was better than waiting for death.
There were only three seconds, and they had to succeed on the first try.
The two ladies, one big and one small, stared at the debris in the corner with tense expressions.
Fortunately, neither of them seemed to be a delicate lady; their movements were still quite agile. After watching for a few seconds, they both nodded at Lynch.
Using the cover of the nearest carriage, the three crept to the base of the wall. Lynch took a few deep breaths and gripped both sides of the carriage door tightly.
Three, two, one.
He mouthed the number one, then used all his strength to lift the carriage door over his head to block the wall. Simultaneously, he activated his presence ability. The two ladies did not have time to be surprised that the door had suddenly vanished; they moved at the same time, scrambling up the wall under the cover of the door panel.
Lynch had forgotten to breathe. The problem was that even his own vision was blocked by the door, so he could not see the two ladies climbing the wall at all. He could only focus on listening to the sounds from the ghouls' direction.
It must succeed. It must succeed.
Thud. The sound of a heavy object landing made Lynch's heart leap into his throat. However, he immediately distinguished that it came from outside the wall, meaning one of them had successfully jumped over.
The ghouls were still acting normally, continuing to destroy and rummage through the carriages.
There was still a rustling sound coming from the top of the wall, indicating the other had not yet succeeded.
A scream like that of a crying infant rang out. Several ghouls seemed to have discovered something and were communicating with each other. The sound was too bizarre for Lynch to decipher, and he could only suppress his unease.
Thud. A second thud came from outside the wall. At the same time, the piercing sounds of the ghouls on the other side of the carriage drew closer. Lynch did not even care if the door was still in a state of concealment; he gently placed it on the ground, immediately activated his lurking ability to fade from sight, and bounded onto the wall like a cat.
The moment he escaped, several vagrants rounded the back of the abandoned carriage. Their gazes swept over Lynch, who was crouching on the wall, but it was as if they saw nothing. They circled the area, found nothing unusual, and wandered back the way they came.
His heart finally settled. Lynch clutched his cane and jumped lightly from the wall. As soon as he landed, little Martha, looking excited, rushed over to take his hand.
They were not yet out of danger, so Lynch did not want to delay. He signaled the reporter, and the two walked one after another across the road, diving into the depths of the alleyway opposite. Once they entered the empty alley, they ran wildly until they had circled several buildings and confirmed the ghouls could no longer see them, at which point the three finally stopped.
"Whew." Lynch let out a long breath. "Safe for now. I am afraid you cannot stay here any longer. Do you still have a place to stay?"
The reporter did not respond. She looked around anxiously before shaking her head blankly. "I do not even know who else is looking for me, let alone where is safe."
"I will recommend a place for you," Lynch thought for a moment. "I know you do not trust anyone right now, but I happen to know a place that is currently empty: the Thorn Flower Club. It was occupied by a group of cultists, but it was recently raided and the building is abandoned. It is currently managed by the Watchers, but there is only one caretaker. If you can avoid the caretaker and get inside to hide in the underground secret passage, you should not be found."
"Okay." The reporter knew that only Lynch could help her now, and she did not hesitate at all.
"I will take you there first. Once you are hidden, I will take Martha home. You..."
Lynch's footsteps suddenly paused, and his voice came to an abrupt halt.
A cry like that of a crying infant, unique to the ghouls, came from the alley behind them, accompanied by the sound of messy footsteps.
Then, a voice, exceptionally low even for a ghoul, sounded slowly.
"I smell her scent. She passed by not long ago. Find her. We cannot fail this time."
Lynch's heart sank. He realized that while he had avoided the Rangers and the sewer ghouls, he had neglected the hillmen who had not appeared all day.
The elder hillman had caught up.
"You know the Thorn Flower, right? Good. You go first, and I will block them."
"You..."
"Do not talk nonsense. My relationship with you has not reached the point where I would sacrifice myself. If I dare to stay behind, I naturally have the ability to protect myself. Go there and wait for me. I will be there in a few hours at most."
"Thank you. You... be careful."
The reporter was quite decisive. She bowed deeply to Lynch before turning and running into the alley. Lynch let out a deep sigh and turned to face the direction from which the hillmen were gathering.
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