The air was thick with a suffocating, stagnant haze.
The smell of low-quality tobacco, the sour tang of over-fermented ale, and the sweat of countless sailors combined into an invisible, physical wall.
Because of the massive crowd indulging in wild revelry and letting their excess hormones run wild, the air inside the tavern was sweltering.
“What now?”
Standing to the side, Ophelia clutched her bag tightly, her voice sounding a bit weak.
She was clearly overwhelmed by the rowdy scene, and a layer of fine sweat had broken out on her fair forehead.
The respectable female reporter, who usually spent her days in a clean newspaper office, was currently struggling to keep up behind the tall man.
She looked up at the mysterious man known as Bruce Wayne, who had just finished a whispered exchange with the waiter at the bar.
Shortly after, his gaze locked onto a grimy set of red curtains in the corner.
“Wait here.”
Elias turned around and looked at her. Seeing her wide-eyed, almost pure simple-mindedness, he spoke without ceremony.
“The scene inside isn’t suitable for you.”
His tone was very calm, as if he were merely stating an objective fact.
After all, a hidden map shielded by illusions was definitely not something a normal person should be exposed to.
However...
Upon hearing Elias’s warning, Ophelia’s face flushed a deep crimson that reached all the way to her neck in the blink of an eye.
“Wha... wha... what’s inside?!”
She stammered, her tongue seemingly tied in knots.
In her extreme nervousness and unease, her hands began to frantically smooth and crumple the fabric of her well-tailored skirt.
Elias stopped in his tracks.
He turned his head and gave her a peculiar look.
What on earth was she blushing for?
Elias couldn’t help but rant inwardly. What kind of unspeakable, smutty thoughts were filling this foolish reporter’s head?
He hadn’t said anything suggestive, nor had he used any double entendres.
The problem was, how could she be so practiced at imagining such scandalous things?!
Nevertheless.
On the surface, Elias didn't expose her pathetic little pretense.
Instead, a sudden surge of mischief took hold of him, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.
He gave Ophelia a look that was a precise cocktail of mockery, coldness, and nonchalance—a perfect mask of ambiguous intent.
“What do you think is inside?”
Elias lowered his voice, making himself sound like a quintessential rogue.
“Let your imagination run wild.”
With that, he reached out and casually patted Ophelia’s soft shoulder.
Then, without a hint of hesitation, he turned and walked straight toward the corner where the red curtains hung.
He left the reporter with nothing but a cold, ruthless view of his back.
Ophelia was left standing there, completely stunned.
The surrounding noise of the crowd seemed to fade away in that moment.
She felt like a steam engine on the verge of exploding from excessive pressure.
White steam seemed to be whistling out of the top of her head.
What exactly did he want her to imagine?!
That bastard!
Ophelia gritted her teeth in fury.
Outside the office earlier, and even when they first entered the tavern, she had actually thought this Mr. Wayne was a good man—sharp-tongued, perhaps, but possessing a clean moral compass.
After all, he had just shooed away those vulgar women with a look of pure disgust.
Now it seemed all men were cut from the same cloth!
This cold-faced guy was no different from those bloated, black-hearted factory owners who were full of nothing but greed and vice!
As she was venting her fury internally...
She suddenly heard someone call her name with precision through the cacophony.
Ophelia looked up blankly.
She saw Mr. Wayne ahead of her. He didn’t turn around, but instead threw something backward over his shoulder.
A silver arc traced through the dim light of the room.
“Clack.”
She instinctively reached out and caught the object.
It felt icy to the touch.
Ophelia opened her palm and found a thin metal plate engraved with dense, strange patterns.
Holding it closer to the light, she realized it was actually a piece of pure silver!
“Hold onto it.”
“It’s a silver amulet.”
“If you run into danger, throw it.”
“I’ll know immediately.”
It was Mr. Wayne’s voice.
Though separated by several meters and a rowdy crowd, the voice sounded as if it were right next to her ear—clear and steady.
Ophelia was stunned for a moment.
Feeling the cool touch of the silver plate against her fingertips, her irritation vanished instantly.
What was this? A slap followed by a piece of candy?
She bit her lower lip and carefully tucked the silver amulet into her inner pocket.
She treated it as if it were some kind of life-saving token.
She took two deep breaths, forcing herself to stop the untimely wandering of her thoughts.
Then, she turned around.
In the smog-filled tavern, she quietly found a relatively secluded corner and sat down.
She clutched her bag tightly with both hands, looking like a wary quail.
On the other side.
Elias had reached the red curtains.
He stopped.
He didn’t just barge in like a fool.
In this world filled with ancient malice and madness, any seemingly insignificant decoration could be a lethal trap.
“Old Ed,” Elias checked repeatedly in his mind.
“These curtains aren't some deadly trap, are they?”
“Like, I pull them back and there’s a giant mouth full of teeth waiting for me?”
“No,” Old Ed’s raspy voice rang out.
The old man sounded very relaxed.
“It’s just a common illusion.”
Old Ed paused, acting as a temporary guide for the newcomer.
“If you don't believe it's fake in your heart, it will have physical substance.”
As Old Ed explained, Elias reached out and tentatively lifted a part of the red curtains.
Sure enough.
Behind the curtains, there was no hidden space filled with lights and music.
Blocking his path was a solid red brick wall, so tight that he could even see the rough cement mortar on it!
Elias tapped it lightly with his knuckles.
“Thump, thump, thump.”
The sound was dull and solid.
The touch was cold and rough.
“Of course,” the old man continued his leisurely explanation.
“If you activate 【Moon Vision】, you will see through its magical foundation.”
“You will see the spiritual lines used to weave the lie.”
“Once you see its essence with your own eyes, you will naturally stop believing it’s an illusion.”
The old man gave a final summary.
“Then, you’ll naturally be able to pass through it.”
“Remember, most illusions in the enchantment school follow this underlying principle.”
Schrödinger’s wall, huh?
Elias activated 【Moon Vision】 once more.
In the next second, his gaze pierced through the fake brick wall without any resistance.
He clearly saw the scene on the other side.
The foundation of the illusion was completely shattered.
Elias’s hand followed, reaching forward.
Without suspense, his palm passed through the wall as if it were a layer of cold morning mist, cutting straight through the seemingly indestructible barrier.
Then, he stepped forward.
He walked right in.
The corner of his coat caused a slight ripple on the surface of the brick wall before he disappeared entirely.
In the far corner...
Ophelia rubbed her eyes.
She thought she had misseen.
She had originally planned to be a well-behaved quail, staying quiet and waiting for Mr. Wayne to return.
Who would have thought that in a tavern like this, a young, beautiful woman alone was like a piece of fresh meat thrown into a pack of wolves.
Just a moment ago, a drunken gang thug had come over to hit on her.
His breath stank of booze.
He had even mistaken her for one of the tavern’s clearly priced special service girls!
“What kind of special service girl wears such a conservative skirt?!” Ophelia roared inwardly.
Had these people’s brains been pickled in alcohol?!
However, she looked around the room.
In this damned tavern, she really didn’t see a second woman dressed as respectably as she was.
This undoubtedly deepened the drunkards' misunderstanding.
Fortunately, as a reporter for a major newspaper, she wasn't some delicate damsel in distress.
She pulled a sharp letter opener from her bag and brandished it fiercely, managing to scare the drunkard away.
But just as she let out a sigh of relief and looked up...
Her gaze swept through the crowd and landed exactly on the corner where Mr. Wayne had gone.
Then, she saw it clearly.
The mysterious Mr. Wayne pulled back the large red curtain.
Behind the curtain was clearly a solid red brick wall with no gaps!
But that tall man didn’t pause for even a second.
As if he were just taking a stroll, he walked directly into the wall!
The hard bricks didn't block him in the slightest; instead, they swallowed his body like the surface of water!
That’s not right!
Ophelia stood up abruptly.
She stared at the red curtains, which were still swaying slightly.
She rubbed her eyes hard once more in disbelief.
The wall was still there.
The man was gone.
This kind of wall-walking, which only existed in folk legends, had just played out right before her eyes.
Combined with the terrifying explosion she had experienced at the office today...
And that invisible air barrier...
“I knew it!” she murmured as she slumped back into her chair.
Her hand tightly gripped the cold silver amulet in her pocket.
“Something is wrong with this world!”
Rate on N.U.
