Chapter 1 The Clock Strikes

The melodious and ethereal chimes of a bell echoed above Freedom Auditorium.

Built a century ago to commemorate a victorious war, Freedom Auditorium still possessed an ancient tower, draped in ivy, atop which sat an old bell.

For a hundred years, the old bell had faithfully tolled on the hour, bringing a sense of peace to those who heard it.

The bell still rang.

It was a symbol of peace and a manifestation of freedom—

"It's nine o'clock."

Gu Shen heard the faint, magnificent bell chimes through the wall. The ball had been going on for two hours without him realizing... and it was only when the bell rang that he noticed the atmosphere in the concert hall was a little too quiet and orderly.

The last time he came to the auditorium...

Although it wasn't a formal occasion... the "admirers" sitting below would whisper to each other as they listened to the symphony. In the formal auditorium, the sound of their whispers could be ignored.

But it couldn't escape the senses of an extraordinary.

And now... the source of the sound was very simple.

Only the soaring, magnificent music reverberated off the walls of the auditorium. The amplification equipment and related instruments had been turned off at some point... making the performance sound particularly real.

Gu Shen's expression suddenly turned serious. He noticed the rows of seats in front of him. Those "young nobles" who had been whispering to each other were now leaning against each other, looking extremely intimate, while those who had been sitting alone had their heads drooping, as if they were asleep.

"...Senior Sister."

Gu Shen spoke subconsciously, looking at Lu Nan Jin, and then his pupils contracted slightly.

He... received no response.

Lu Nan Jin, leaning against the corner at the back of the auditorium, had her arms crossed and was hidden in the shadows, her eyes closed and her breathing light...

"They're asleep."

Zhou Jiren's voice echoed from the last row.

The old guy stretched lazily, opening his eyes. His pupils were calm, deep as the sea, and locked directly onto the orchestra above the stage in the concert hall, over the rows of seats in the auditorium.

"There are many ways to spread mental energy... sound is one of them. In theory, a top-tier mental-type extraordinary can hypnotize an entire city through sound."

Mr. Shu said expressionlessly, "Remember the third trial of the Deep Sea, which is the stage you are currently at? The method of leading multiple people into a dream is called 'Mass Hypnosis.' In this case, if you forcibly wake up the dreamers, it is highly likely to cause indelible damage to their brains."

Gu Shen's gaze locked onto the first three rows.

Madam and Zhao Xilai, Chen San and Cui Zhongcheng... were still talking.

These four important figures all possessed top-tier "defense seals."

"Don't try to remind them... these four are not in a dream yet, but it's only a matter of time. Look carefully, the space in the first three rows has been 'isolated.'"

A wisp of blazing fire appeared between Gu Shen's eyebrows.

Without the augmentation of the Blazing Fire, the auditorium was just a little quieter.

After using the Blazing Fire to augment his vision, Gu Shen saw a terrifying scene that made him feel suffocated... The extraordinary source material floating in the air was several times richer than that on Yuandan Street, so thick that it almost condensed into tangible water droplets.

The auditorium was like a floating pool filled with extraordinary source material.

And an invisible barrier of darkness stood in front of the first three rows, forming a clearly defined boundary around the four most important people at the ball, enclosing them within a thunderous confine.

That was where the sound of the orchestra's performance first impacted, and the impact of the mental energy diffusion became weaker the further back it went.

This behavior... was like releasing enough carbon dioxide in a locked room.

By the time the people inside noticed something was wrong, the oxygen would be exhausted.

Even if those four had top-tier mental defense items, being trapped in the barrier... falling asleep was only a matter of time.

Zhou Jiren gave a cold, sardonic compliment, "Truly an amazing method. I've been sitting in the auditorium for so long... and I didn't notice anything unusual until the performance began."

Gu Shen looked towards the center of the stage.

Pierre Heitinger, who was waving the baton, was immersed in the magnificent sound. A thick, inseparable bloody mist appeared between his eyebrows, as it did for every musician in the orchestra.

"That's Owl's extraordinary mark... Bloodfire!"

Mental-type extraordinaries could perform mass hypnosis.

But... the Bloodfire between the eyebrows of these people was not quite the same as the symptoms of "hypnosis."

"Remember the conclusion we reached last time when we interrogated Chen Mei?"

Zhou Jiren slowly stood up, "Owl is likely not a single person... His ability should be to manipulate the spirit, seize the will of the target, and make them his puppets."

This planner, whose ability was unknown but exhibited significant mental characteristics, revealed a corner of his true face in the grand performance at the Freedom Ball.

Although they both belonged to the mental system, different abilities had great differences.

Pulling others into one's own dream and externally releasing one's own dream were completely different concepts. As for manipulating the minds of so many people, this had already surpassed the "extraordinary manifestation" recorded in the Federation's spectrum.

"The Lucerne Orchestra has been completely controlled..."

Cold sweat trickled down Gu Shen's forehead.

The security at the Freedom Ball was actually not weak. The enforcers from the three departments formed layers upon layers of protection, and the titled powerhouse that Councilor Chen San carried with him, as well as the strongest combat power of the Chengxin Association's Beidang, were all near the auditorium at this moment.

He clenched his fists.

In the end, he had failed to identify the target when reviewing the guest list.

"Don't blame yourself."

Mr. Shu saw through Gu Shen's thoughts and said calmly, "With such an ability, he can enter any occasion at will... He doesn't need any disguise, nor does he need to fear any precautions. He only needs to seize the will of the invitees. Before this exposure, we couldn't take effective countermeasures."

"The situation isn't that bad... after all, I haven't fallen asleep."

Zhou Jiren straightened his white suit and said indifferently, "Presumably, titled extraordinaries can easily resist this level of 'mass hypnosis'... The original estimate of Owl was that he could cause Zhou Yu's death and likely possessed extremely dangerous titled-level strength. Looking at it now, his strength may not be as strong as we thought."

Mass hypnosis had a large range, but its power was small.

It was only effective against those whose mental strength was far lower than his own.

"I haven't fallen asleep either..." Gu Shen looked down at his hands and frowned.

"Don't overthink it. You haven't fallen asleep... this is purely an 'accident.'"

Mr. Shu looked towards the center of the auditorium and said calmly, "Don't think that because your ability is special, you can escape this level of hypnosis... You haven't fallen asleep because he doesn't want you to fall asleep."

"Look at the compass in your arms."

The bronze compass was constantly vibrating.

Just like how Yuandan Street shrouded its host, preventing them from getting lost in the fog... it was also protecting Gu Shen at this moment, preventing him from being drawn into the dream by this grand soul sound.

Gu Shen silently put the compass away.

At this moment, the provocation that Owl had said to him at the end of the misty long street flashed through his mind once again.

["Dare to accept this compass... the future savior of the capital, the great hero."]