The resentments could not affect the inside of the containment facility, so Wen Wen could protect dozens, or even hundreds, of voters within it.
However, just dozens of people were meaningless, as the target of the resentments was over seven thousand people in total!
Wen Wen could not possibly put all seven thousand people into the containment facility. Moreover, unless they stayed hidden in the containment facility forever, they would eventually become targets of those resentments.
Furthermore, how would the more than seven thousand people be handled if they were kept in the containment facility?
As prison guards? That would be too cruel.
To support them? Wen Wen was not that kind-hearted.
Besides, merely fitting over seven thousand people into the containment facility would be a monumental undertaking, requiring Wen Wen to spend so much time on the monotonous task of jailing that it was practically impossible.
Therefore, the idea was discarded as soon as it appeared.
Wen Wen posted a plea for help on the Hunter website, seeking ideas to resolve this incident.
He also informed the Washington Hunter Association about the matter. Such a tricky case could not be handled by Wen Wen alone.
After everything was dealt with, Wen Wen's hunting terminal rang. It was Tao Qingqing calling.
Wen Wen had previously asked Tao Qingqing to search the entire city using bats, and the phone call indicated she had found something.
Wen Wen transformed into a data stream and appeared beside Tao Qingqing through the phone. He found himself in a rented apartment. The scene inside was somewhat familiar; it was likely the same room where Ning Zhewan had recorded his video.
There was a pool of blood on the floor. The blood had coagulated, and countless blue-green mold had grown on it, resembling eyes peeking stealthily.
However, what caught Wen Wen's attention was not the blood but the dark red magic array drawn on the floor.
The material used for the array was the blood of a special monster, but Wen Wen couldn't identify the specific monster.
But the most crucial aspect was the array itself.
From the video alone, nothing much could be discerned, but after seeing the array with his own eyes, Wen Wen felt a pang of shock.
What was drawn on the floor was not a generic array usable in various situations but a new array created specifically for this incident!
If it were a universal array, anyone could create it with the appropriate blueprints and a certain level of rune calligraphy mastery.
However, creating such a complex and new array could only be done by a true rune master.
This meant that the mastermind behind this was definitely not Ning Zhewan; there was a more powerful individual behind him!
The core of the array consisted of three runes, whose meanings were Vengeance, Fate, and Death.
There were hundreds of other auxiliary runes, including but not limited to runes related to human emotions, scrying, positioning, and spacetime.
So many complex runes were connected together, forming a powerful array that could affect over seven thousand people.
To activate this array, not only blood sacrifice was required, but also a ritual to establish contact with all the victims. This ritual was likely the video from the adjudicator.
Simultaneously, the array's capacity was limited to about seven to eight thousand ordinary people. The reason the adjudicator wanted to exclude those who did not vote for death was likely due to the array's inherent limitations.
Unfortunately, after the array was activated, it lost its effect, and part of its patterns were obscured by bloodstains.
Even if Wen Wen wanted to reverse-engineer it from the remaining array, he couldn't.
However, Wen Wen still managed to trace the array, as it held significant learning value. Furthermore, Wen Wen could glean some clues from the array, which would help him better deal with the upcoming situation.
Wen Wen was voter number twenty-six. Once midnight arrived, the attacks could begin at any moment. He intended to see if he could find some crucial information by leveraging the faint connection during the attacks.
Afterward, Wen Wen handed Tao Qingqing a list of voters from twenty-two to forty-two, including their addresses.
Tao Qingqing nodded and transformed into a swarm of bats, flying away.
Wen Wen's task for her was simple: find these people, capture them, and confine them in an open space, then await the execution.
Although Wen Wen also had a mark on him, the array alone was definitely incapable of killing him. Thus, considering the possibility of continuation, he had called voter number forty-two.
Wen Wen himself found a warehouse to await the arrival of the next day.
During this time, he continuously observed Ning Zhewan's movements through the chain. After disappearing, Ning Zhewan reappeared at the home of voter twenty-nine. However, he only intimidated the voter before leaving.
Wen Wen had hoped to see if Ning Zhewan would contact the rune master behind the scenes.
But to Wen Wen's disappointment, after leaving voter twenty-nine's home, Ning Zhewan avoided crowds and wandered alone through the shaded paths, appearing somewhat pitiable.
However, Wen Wen would not sympathize with him, nor would he let him go.
Regardless of whether Ning Zhewan was being manipulated by resentment or genuinely sought to avenge the victims, his current form of existence was too dangerous.
Even if he could maintain his sanity now, the resentments would eventually consume his mind, leading to a catastrophe.
However, by observing Ning Zhewan, Wen Wen did gain some insights.
The locations where he appeared informed Wen Wen that the hourglass's effect was to teleport Ning Zhewan to another voter's side after the sand ran out. The hourglass in the voter's hand served as a spatial coordinate.
Furthermore, the fact that voter twenty-nine was unharmed strongly suggested that the resentment and Ning Zhewan could only kill twenty people per day.
Once the quota of twenty people was filled, they could not harm other voters, which provided Wen Wen with some opportunity.
Wen Wen looked at the still-empty warehouse, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Before midnight, the voters who would die tomorrow would gather here.
And Ning Zhewan would likely chase these voters. Wen Wen wondered what his expression would be upon seeing him.
He figured Ning Zhewan would be extremely pleased.
...
"What's going on? Don't kill me. I have leukemia, schistosomiasis, and... well, sepsis."
A tall woman in a bathrobe flew in mid-air, babbling incoherently.
Upon closer inspection, a small bat could be seen on the collar of her bathrobe.
She was voter number twenty-nine. The hourglass in her hand made her unable to sleep or eat, but a mysterious force prevented her from seeking help.
Just two hours ago, she had suddenly seen a distorted monster appear in her home. She had been so terrified that she fainted. When she woke up, she found her underwear soiled.
So, she had to take a bath. But while bathing, she was snatched away by a small bat.
If not for the bat's relative kindness, she might have been in a very indecent situation.
But even with a bathrobe, her predicament wasn't much better. She suspected the adjudicator was actually a vampire, and the so-called execution was merely a pretext to obtain food. She was about to become a vampire's meal.
However, after only two minutes of fear, her cheeks suddenly flushed as if she had thought of something. She said to the small bat,
"Do you think it might be a bit too revealing if I go to see your master like this? If he's captivated and wants me to be his vampire bride, should I agree..."
In her mind, the scene had transformed into a dramatic television drama, imagining a life of uninhibited bliss with a handsome vampire.
The small bat behind her neck rolled its eyes, thinking it was still daydreaming at such a time.
Indeed, there was no cure for a cretin...