【18】Pretending... I replaced the wanted criminal?_1

It was past two in the morning when Pei Jinye left Ice Sister's safe house.

He had mostly recovered his vitality and physical strength.

The two-hundred-thousand-dollar healing pod let Pei Jinye experience firsthand what they call the power of wealth—it was a hundred times more effective than the medicinal soup from the Bronze Association!

Pei Jinye donned a hat and, using the methods he remembered, disguised himself.

Watermelon Head's voice came through his ears, "Can you hear me?"

"I can."

"Good, now walk twenty meters to your left and stand in the shadow. Four seconds later, a Night patroller will pass by…"

Pei Jinye fell silent and decisively turned to walk to his left…

Four seconds later, a Night patroller's police car whizzed by with flashing lights.

Wandering around the streets at this hour would only invite questions, something Pei Jinye, with his current agenda, did not want, especially not to be caught on surveillance.

"At three o'clock, there's a wall. Climb over it…"

"Walk straight for twenty meters…"

"At nine o'clock, there's a blind spot for the surveillance…"

"All clear here. But inside this building, there's an interference device. I can't determine the situation, nor can I contact you in time… What are you going to do?"

Pei Jinye, his face calm, replied, "I'll contact you later."

He cut off the signal and then quietly climbed into Lan Feng's secret room.

Through memory, he quickly found the safe hidden behind the painting by Lan Feng.

With a "beep—click,"

The safe opened.

What met his eyes was a stack of crisp new banknotes, easily worth at least two hundred thousand.

Stacked atop the banknotes were a dozen or so gold bars, a few bottles of Blue Potion, and an old-fashioned cell phone.

Pei Jinye's face lit up with surprise.

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

The phone sitting on the banknotes suddenly began to vibrate.

The light from its screen instantly shattered the darkness.

The moment it lit up, something flashed through Pei Jinye's memory.

He silently squatted in front of the safe, eyeing the phone.

[This is... an internal phone from the Old Gods Association.]

Narrowing his eyes, a dangerous gleam flickered within them.

A bold idea emerged.

He answered the call.

No one spoke from the other side; they were being cautious.

Pei Jinye lowered his voice and uttered their secret code, "The abyss never falls."

The other party's vigilance finally eased, and they snapped, "What the hell are you doing? Why doesn't anyone answer when I call that phone? Is the person taken care of?"

Pei Jinye caressed the gold bar in his hand, "There's been a slight complication."

"What happened? Did the Jiang family discover you?"

"No, I can't explain it clearly…"

"Then let's meet and talk, I'm already here."

Pei Jinye tensed up internally.

They arrived so quickly!

The plan to notify Ice Sister and catch them all in one fell swoop fell through on the spot.

He hastily returned the gold bar to its place, tidied everything up, and picked up a spare silver mask that Lan Feng often used from the bedside drawer.

Five minutes later.

In the living room.

A mysterious person wearing a silver mask looked bewildered, even through the mask.

"What's with this ghostly get-up?"

The "Lan Feng" in front of them had undergone quite a change in physique. If they hadn't uttered the secret code of their group, "he" might have even mistaken their comrade for an imposter.

In barely ten seconds, Pei Jinye had thought of the best solution for the current moment.

In the Old Gods Association, members showed themselves with masks, so no one knew each other's identities.

"You're asking me?"

The silver mask scratched their hair, "Give me a moment, my head's a mess right now… Sorry about this, I've never dealt with something like this before… So what are you going to do? Do you have a way to recover on your own?"

Pei Jinye remained silent.

The silver mask opened and closed their mouth, "Why did this happen? What exactly happened at the time? Damn, my head hurts, why do I have to think about such complex issues… So what exactly happened?"

Pei Jinye answered woodenly, "I'm not sure. I was hypnotizing the kid, questioning whether the message had leaked when I triggered some medium midway through. I can't explain it; it's somewhat similar to the unique abilities of a Cursed Object… Anyway, when I woke up, I was like this…"

According to Lan Feng's memories, in this world, there existed all kinds of Cursed Objects contaminated with misfortune, those who touched them might at the very least be unlucky or at worst die.

The higher the level of the Cursed Object, the wider the range of its influence.

If Lan Feng hadn't really come into contact with one, Pei Jinye would not have dared to mention it recklessly.

"Cursed Object?" The man in the silver mask exclaimed, startled, and hastily took a step back, "Then, have you felt unwell anywhere?"

Pei Jinye shook his head, "No."

The room fell silent for a moment before Pei Jinye looked up at the somewhat collapsing man in the mask, "However, we might have to postpone the plan. Also, given my current situation, I haven't figured out what to do about my sister yet... What am I going to explain to her? What if she finds out about the Old Gods Association..."

The man in the silver mask twitched his mouth, "It's beyond my capability. I need to consult Black Shark. If nothing unexpected happens, you may need to undergo a checkup..."

Pei Jinye nodded.

But he felt a tightness in his chest.

If there's a checkup... I might not be exposed, right?

The man in the silver mask didn't avoid Pei Jinye and pressed something on his arm. Soon, an image was projected, showing Black Shark, a man in his early forties, looking placidly.

"What's the matter, contacting me at this time?"

The man in the silver mask quickly gave a report.

The room sank into a moment of silence.

Black Shark frowned, "Perhaps it triggered a curse. Cursed Objects possess undetectable abilities, there have been cases of soul swapping before. Thus, I will arrange for a doctor to give you an examination to confirm whether you have any ominous aura from the curse left on you. As for the mission... Arrogance, you withdraw for now. Silver Art, you'll take over Arrogance's responsibilities for the time being. This matter is to be kept secret, only the three of us shall know."

"Alright."

Arrogance is Lan Feng's codename in the Old Gods Association.

Silver Art is the man wearing the silver mask in front of me, and is also Lan Feng's teammate for the time being.

The doctor is also a codename, a Transcendent who can detect ominous signs.

...

The projection ended.

The room fell silent.

Silver Art maintained a safe distance from Pei Jinye, looking at him hesitantly, somewhat wary.

Neither of them spoke.

One didn't want to talk, the other didn't dare to.

Ten minutes later.

Someone knocked on the door three times.

Silver Art hurried to open the door, and a middle-aged person walked in wearing a mask and a hat, with gloves on, and a small medical kit on his shoulder.

"Where?" he asked in a low voice.

Silver Art gestured towards the inside of the room.

The doctor nodded and immediately sprayed Silver Art with a special solution, as if giving him a preliminary cleanse.

Silver Art: "???"

The doctor, expressionless, said, "You had contact with him. Also, stay away from me."

Silver Art: "..." Damn, I really want to curse!

Ignoring him, the doctor looked down at his equipment to confirm there was no magnetic field reaction before entering.

He met Pei Jinye's gaze as he did so.

The doctor quickly sprayed a special liquid around the room.

Then he looked down at his device.

It gave a faint twitch.

Silver Art leaned in, "How is it, any trace of the curse left?"

"There is, but it's very faint now. It's probably because the ability has been activated, so it's dispersed," the doctor said gravely.

Silver Art's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly kept his distance from Pei Jinye.

This guy really has come into contact with a curse.

Pei Jinye also had his doubts.

Could there really be a curse?

From behind, Silver Art whispered, "Doctor, what do we do now?"

"Be quiet."

The doctor pulled out a white spider from his pocket, placing it near Pei Jinye, and softly said, "Don't be nervous, this is a Curse-Eating Spider. It's fortunate that the ominous aura you've contracted is quite weak, it can handle it. If it had been earlier, I'm afraid... I could do nothing."

Yet Silver Art was anxious, "Am I in trouble then? I've had contact with Arrogance a few times, I don't want to die."

The doctor, annoyed, replied, "You won't die."

"Why won't I die?" Silver Art didn't believe it.

The doctor became furious.

This annoying guy.

He simply ignored him altogether.

Looking up, he turned back to Pei Jinye, "Perhaps... do you remember what the Cursed Object looked like?"

...

...

...

(Note: Silver Art's mask can change body shape)