Xia Weiyi, at the lowest point of his life, felt a sense of salvation after being chosen by the 'spirit'. He never considered if Lovis might be deceiving him, as this was his only hope, and he dared not think about it.
Thus, he began to obsessively pursue Lovis's descent. To achieve this, he used the knowledge from the Rune Book to twist Ning Zhewan into a monster and meticulously orchestrated the Arbiter's video from beginning to end.
This was his salvation, and also his revenge. Deep down, he wanted those seven thousand people to die, to become nourishment for the spirit's descent.
For that purpose, he was willing to sacrifice everything, including himself.
If the ritual were to be completed as planned, the connection between Lovis's Rune Book and Lovis would facilitate a very rapid descent, unstoppable by anyone.
However, Xia Weiyi had now been captured by Wen Wen, and Ning Zhewan, who was in the most critical position of the ritual, had already wavered. Therefore, Xia Weiyi had to initiate the ritual immediately; otherwise, there would be no chance.
Although he hadn't killed those more than four thousand people according to the plan, causing some flaws in the ritual, he had long ago etched the markings onto their hands by repeatedly watching the videos.
Even if activated prematurely, those people wouldn't escape, and his revenge would still be successful, and even more sensational!
...
Chirping bats flew wildly above the warehouse, implicitly shielding the dozen or so people below.
The factory's electrical circuits had been completely ruined by repeated short circuits. However, there was no need to worry about the darkness, as the factory's roof had also collapsed, allowing the cool moonlight to stream into the building.
Occasionally, a steel bar would fall from the ceiling, but it was blocked by the small bats.
Tao Qingqing expertly controlled the protective force. Amidst a series of intense accidents, only seventeen living people remained in the factory, including Cai Wenshang.
Cai Wenshang was the first to be targeted by an accident. However, after the first attack failed, there were no more attacks directed at him.
This indicated that although these accidents were subject to rules, the ultimate controller was the resentment. Wen Wen's earlier idea of disrupting the order was useless.
But it was precisely because of that resentment that Cai Wenshang was no longer attacked after the first one.
Due to the influence of the bone plate, Cai Wenshang's apology was the most sincere. The resentments felt Cai Wenshang's intentions and therefore tried their best to spare him within the rules.
If things continued like this, by the time Wen Wen resolved the situation, at least a dozen or thirteen people would have survived, and the rest would be safe.
But suddenly, the black hourglass markings on the hands of all seventeen voters turned blood red!
These blood-red markings slowly siphoned the flesh and blood of the voters, causing them to writhe on the ground, clutching their backs of their hands. Wails echoed throughout the factory.
The constant small accidents also stopped at this moment.
Because, there was no longer any need for accidents.
Tao Qingqing grabbed a voter and discovered that at this rate, they would be drained dry in at most five hours.
Without wasting any time, she informed Wen Wen of what had happened here through the chain...
Ning Zhewan ran rapidly through the city. He only stopped when he reached the outskirts, intending to wait for Wen Wen and Xia Weiyi's battle to cease.
Xia Weiyi's previous attempt to erase his memories sent shivers down Ning Zhewan's spine. Who knew how many times Xia Weiyi had done such a thing.
In his memories, his life was nearing its end, leading him to have profound questions about life and despair for the world. He had actively sought out Xia Weiyi, wanting to do something right before he died.
The entire process had been incredibly smooth, and he had accepted almost everything Xia Weiyi had said.
But upon closer thought, was that truly the truth?
During this process, might he have felt several times that Xia Weiyi's plan was flawed, only to have his will forcibly distorted by Xia Weiyi?
The mere thought of this possibility made Ning Zhewan break out in a cold sweat.
After a moment of hesitation, the blue-green aura within him surged into his right hand. There was a black marking there too, imprinted by Xia Weiyi during their collaboration.
Because of this marking, Ning Zhewan possessed the ability to move between voters. But it was also precisely because of this marking that no matter how far he ran, he remained in Xia Weiyi's grasp.
He couldn't place all his hopes on Wen Wen, so he had to remove this marking himself!
The blue-green energy poured into his right hand, rapidly corroding the marking. When the marking finally vanished, Ning Zhewan's entire arm exploded.
Looking at the scattered flesh and blood, Ning Zhewan smiled. Although he had lost an arm, he had broken free from Xia Weiyi's control...
But immediately, Ning Zhewan's expression froze. All the faces on his body were closed in agonizing moans, shedding tears of blood. When they all opened their eyes, Ning Zhewan saw that in every single eye, there was a red hourglass marking!
...
As Wen Wen drew closer, Lovis's Rune Book began its resistance.
Its size increased, various runes condensed out of thin air, and wave after wave of attacks struck at Wen Wen.
These attacks could not be blocked solely by the Calamity Gauntlet, so Wen Wen continuously dodged and weaved, greatly slowing his approach.
However, in Wen Wen's view, this was merely a death throe.
Because most of the Rune Book's power was being used to facilitate Lovis's descent, the attacks were not particularly powerful, even weaker than when it was in Xia Weiyi's hands.
Resistance of this magnitude would only add to Wen Wen's sense of accomplishment when enjoying the final outcome.
Many men preferred the process to be a bit more winding than directly obtaining the result, as long as it didn't become impossibly winding.
Suddenly, Wen Wen frowned. The back of his hand stung slightly, and the black marking turned into a red hourglass.
The energy within his body began to drain rapidly. At this rate, he would be completely drained by the crimson marking within five hours.
Simultaneously, numerous small red hourglass markings began to appear around Lovis's Rune Book. These markings continuously supplied energy to the Rune Book, and the rift in the sky began to widen at a visible rate.
The Rune Book alone could not bring about Lovis's descent; hence the need for a ritual and a blood sacrifice.
The lives of those seven thousand-plus people, and the resentment represented by Ning Zhewan, were the nourishment required for this ritual. When the descent began, their life force would be absorbed by Lovis's Rune Book to facilitate the spirit's arrival!