Chapter 81: The Attack Begins

The neighboring members-only restaurant was not a complicated place inside.

Like other high-end restaurants, it had bright, spacious corridors and passageways, artful interiors in warm tones, and widely spaced wooden tables.

Although it had everything, there was no memorable style.

It was as if you wandered into a custom decor store, let the clerk recommend a random set, and called it a day.

At this moment, a few people were busy in the store.

One short man wearing thick glasses held a Rubik’s Cube in its original state and directed the others.

“Stick it more neatly, clearer, don’t let anything block it, and after you’re done, pat it with your hand to see if it’s steady.”

Under his instructions, the others used long strips of stickers in six colors, placing them all around the hall.

If there was a wall, they stuck them there; if not, on the floor, or the ceiling.

For floating areas, they had to find a stand attached to the floor and stick the sticker to a sign at the top.

Is this really useful?

Those doing the work were ordinary members without mysterious items—they had never seen such things before.

But the short man with glasses and the Rubik’s Cube was pondering something else.

“Is the Leader being too cautious? It was just a photography operation being discovered, not like anyone was brought here. Yet now we’re setting up instantly.”

He was told to mark things clearly and identify each area’s original position, preparing to use the Rubik’s Cube Ability.

That meant this place was about to become a battlefield.

With all this setup, the restaurant was filled with things for stickers, making it impossible to eat normally.

In the Leader’s eyes, it seemed they might not even get to have dinner tonight.

“Even if they were discovered, could they really come so fast?”

He muttered quietly, thinking no one heard him.

But someone pulled him from behind.

He turned to see a woman in a dress covered with sparkling sequins, looking like she’d just left a nightclub, holding a Mirage Card in her hand.

If Su Qingyu were here, she would recognize it instantly—Mirage, the item stolen from the family.

“Stop complaining. If they really come after us, we’re in for a fight. Don’t forget what they did in the Unfinished Building.”

The glasses man just glanced at her, too lazy to argue.

The weaker the Ability, the lighter the responsibility.

Mirage was among the lowest-ranked of their group, making her the least secure, with little to defend herself.

If the enemy pushed forward, she’d be the first to die.

As for what happened in the Unfinished Building, it was true—a whole squad was wiped out, half by suicide.

No one reading that report could help but shudder.

Even so, the glasses man found it hard to empathize with the nightclub woman.

If your Ability is weak, then when the fight starts, use what you can to interfere—if it works, celebrate, if not, hide.

After all, hallucinations don’t distinguish friend from foe; if you trick your teammates, then what?

But he was different.

As the owner of a control-type Ability, he needed to use the Rubik’s Cube for a long time, and each step could decide the outcome of the battle.

The nightclub woman, bored, turned to the others.

“Where did the Photographer go? I haven’t seen him for a while.”

But no one answered.

***

In the bathhouse room, the girls were holding their final strategy meeting.

Bai Xia asked a critical question: how long could Bai Xiaoya’s Ability of Disruption last?

Actually, Bai Xiaoya had mentioned it the first time, but she wanted to confirm it again.

The big-chested girl shyly opened her hand, showing five fingers.

“Five minutes,” Bai Xia said.

Su Qingyu cleared her throat, her small face tensing awkwardly.

Objectively, the duration was short.

Subjectively, it was a bit longer than hers…

“Alright, for its effect, it’s already strong,” Bai Xia analyzed calmly.

“But from a practical perspective, we need careful planning.”

Bai Xiaoya understood.

In plain terms, it wasn’t enough.

“We should force all of their people out, especially the mysterious item holders,” Su Qingyu said.

“Once they’re all out, let Aya act, then eliminate as many of the holders as possible within those five minutes.”

She and Bai Xia had the same idea.

Simply put, the core tactic was to use misdirection—to disable the enemy’s supernatural methods during the five minutes of Total Domain Silence, then once that ended, the remaining ordinary members, even if armed, could only be cut down by the Magic Flute and Pocket Watch.

With the core tactic confirmed, they could start moving.

Su Qingyu pressed herself against the window, stretching her head to look outside, but from this angle she couldn’t see the restaurant, only the outline of the building’s edge.

“How do we rush in? What kind of opening should we have?”

Hearing this, Bai Xia looked at the long-haired man lying on the floor.

“Let’s give them a chaotic welcome.”

***

The man was dressed in bathhouse clothes, holding his own change of clothes, and wearing slippers.

He walked out, eyes dazed, ignoring even the staff calling after him.

His head buzzed and his memory was fuzzy, as if he’d blacked out from drinking.

He remembered being a hitman for an evil organization with photography skills, but that wasn’t important.

What mattered was that he had accepted a mission and, during it, encountered three beautiful girls.

Then… what happened?

In his hazy memory, he seemed to have endured inhuman torment—forced interrogation and beatings.

But honestly, he doubted the reality of those memories.

If he’d really suffered that much, why was he so calm—not angry or afraid, just confused?

Within the confusion, there was also a hint of fanaticism—a willingness to die for them.

“Why? Why is it like this?”

In the corner behind, Bai Xia looked at the Pocket Watch in her hand, ready to slice away any emerging emotions—pain, anger, fear—leaving only confusion, excitement, and the fence-sitting mentality he had from the start.

And so, carrying these strange feelings and thoughts, the Photographer walked back to the restaurant.

The people sticking stickers were still working, and the nightclub woman was the first to spot him.

“Yo, did you go for a bath? Unbelievable—we’re working ourselves to death and you’re enjoying yourself! Come help!”

She reached to pull him into work.

But at that moment, the Photographer’s eyes shone.

He grabbed her in return.

He finally remembered what he needed to do.

–Because in an instant, Bai Xia cut away the confusion, and excitement exploded within the vacuum of his mind.