novelraw Chapter 309: The duplication had started early again!
Chapter 309: The duplication had started early again!
Resisting the urge to lash out, Alexander ignored the absurdity surrounding him and took out his phone to start the cloning process once again.
The speed of duplication had indeed accelerated; within a few breaths, another Alexander, his head wrapped in a cloth bandage, emerged from the bathroom.
"You’re into group activities too, huh?" The rotund woman’s eyes lit up as she addressed Zoe.
However, Zoe brandished her machete a few times in her direction, prompting her to wisely close her mouth.
The duplications of Alexander continued, each one emerging from the bathroom one after another. On the other side of the room, the chubby woman continued to pester her four husbands.
"Darling, just take one more selfie! Then we can have a 1v8!"
Strangely enough, the four men actually seemed to hesitate. The whole spectacle was too much to bear.
Shaking his head, Alexander activated his ring, and the spatial rift to reality reopened.
Astonishingly, the couple’s immediate reaction was to run towards the rift. Alexander hadn’t anticipated that they’d make such a bizarre move.
Still, he chose not to stop them. He was curious to see if people from the Mist Instance could actually traverse the rift into the real world. If they could, he would gain a massive army.
Nobody harbored more resentment toward the Mist world than the inhabitants stuck in an endless cycle there. If Alexander could free them from the cycle and the Mist world, he would undoubtedly earn their heartfelt gratitude.
However, the moment the five of them left the Mist Instance, they were immediately engulfed in white mist and disintegrated into ghost energy with painful moans.
After a moment of contemplation, Alexander understood. They weren’t true specters but rather products crafted by the Mist Instance to refine Ghost Energy.
Maybe their obsessions were the only real parts ripped from actual ghosts, but their forbidden qualities came from the Ghost Energy collected by the Mist system. Once outside the Mist Instance and without the Mist system to sustain them, they were even more horrifying than regular ghosts thrown into the Mist world.
When ordinary ghosts enter the Mist world, their Ghost Energy would be tainted by the Mist, losing control and corrupting their consciousness.
But these natives, these instances, had only their obsessions to call their own. Stripped of the Mist world, their ghostly forms would truly disintegrate in a Rampage State. Their obsessions, lacking a vessel, would likewise dissipate.
"They’ve found a sort of liberation, in another sense," Alexander mused, casting a forlorn glance at the spatial rift before resuming his duplication.
This time, he spent a full eight hours cloning himself, creating tens of thousands of duplicates.
Just as the sounds of battle ceased outside and Alexander prepared to venture forth in search of Dominic, the Mist appeared again. The cycle was about to restart!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Alexander dashed toward the fifth floor. If he could find Dominic’s body and throw it into reality before the new cycle fully commenced, he could produce the same effect as the last time he had natives carry away a corpse—bringing the cycle to a complete halt.
Then, he could resume his duplication in peace. At most, he would be sacrificing the ghost crystals for this cycle.
However, something unexpected happened again. The moment he opened the door, the spread of the Mist suddenly accelerated.
Normally, the restarting of a cycle was not an instantaneous event; the Mist would gradually thicken, lanterns of the dead would rise, and the cycle would resume. It was a process that took at least five minutes.
Alexander was already on the fourth floor. Under normal circumstances, it would only take him two seconds to burst through the door and rush up to the fifth floor.
But this time, as soon as he kicked open the first room door, the Mist had already reached an incredibly dense state.
Alexander even activated his special abilities, using his spatial talents to survey the area. But he was still a step too late.
In the final moment, Alexander’s gaze fell on the desk in the room. It was empty, except for a newspaper laid out. A vaguely familiar photo on it caught his eye, making his pupils contract sharply and his eyes explode with silvery light.
The date was the day before yesterday, and the content...
"Tonight at 8 PM, a heinous assassination occurred in our city. Renowned businessman Dominic was assassinated, and the perpetrator turns out to be a young girl..."
...
"Big brother..." Zoe’s voice echoed from behind him again.
With a sigh, Alexander began to undress.
Three hours later, he looked at a flushed Zoe and spoke directly, "Let’s go. This time, we’re heading straight to the fifth floor."
"In such a rush? Can’t you let me rest for a bit? You were pretty intense just now..." Zoe blushed, too embarrassed to elaborate.
"We can’t afford to waste time. We must find Dominic before the cycle starts duplicating again, or at least pinpoint his location."
Alexander had caught a glimpse of the hallway situation on the fifth floor before the Mist had fully obstructed his view. Locating Dominic should have been easy; wherever there were people guarding, that room was likely where Dominic was.
However, during his last trip to the fifth floor, the duplication had already begun. Several pairs of indistinguishable gang members were arguing, while a crowd of others were watching with interest.
The conditions for the duplicates to appear were specific: they needed a blind spot, away from anyone’s direct line of sight. That meant a duplicate could potentially emerge not just from Dominic’s room, but from any room in the corridor.
As a result, the guards who were initially at Dominic’s door might have shifted positions. There was no way to know for sure which room they were guarding now.
Hence, Alexander had no choice but to select a room at random based on its name when he first entered the fifth floor. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right one.
That’s why Alexander was in such a hurry to get up there; if he could identify Dominic’s room, he could seize the opportunity to burst in during the chaos. Even if the Mist began to form, obstructing his path, he could still use his spatial abilities to teleport directly into the room.
"Fine!" Zoe looked reluctant but put her clothes back on. She skillfully leaned on Alexander’s shoulder, feigning the appearance of being drunk.
With Zoe in tow, Alexander didn’t head down to the dance floor this time; he went straight upstairs.
First floor, second floor, third floor... As he reached the stairwell leading to the fifth floor, he froze.
At the same spot, in the same location, four gang members were looking at each other, all seemingly as dumbfounded as the last.
When they saw someone coming up, all four sets of eyes turned towards Alexander. The duplication had started early again!
And these guys were rather dedicated; all four were glaring intently at him, their faces guarded.
"What is this, some kind of prank show? Guys, the disguises are spot-on! I can’t tell who’s who!" Alexander spoke first, worried about possible complications.
"Who are you? This place is already reserved; it’s not where you should be," said one of the gang members who had guided them in the last cycle, eyeing Alexander cautiously.
"Lei sent me up here with prey! He just picked out a new one downstairs and wants to have a little fun with both. I’m new here! My name’s Tommy DeVito!"