Mystery: Mr. Witch and Ms. Hunter

Chapter 11 Grouping
When Altaïr woke up, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon of the next day. The swelling on his face had subsided, but his whole body still felt as if it was cut by a blunt knife. Although the "Assassin" path had enhanced his physical fitness and recovery ability to a certain extent, it was impossible for him to heal his wounds instantly like a high-sequence strongman.

"Although Vinata's injuries were more serious than mine, most of them were healed by that magical item..." Altaïr couldn't help but envy Vinata. After staying in bed for more than ten minutes, he finally made up his mind and got out of bed. However, as soon as his feet touched the ground, he grimaced in pain because of the excessive movement.

If Gagran had advised me to get married at this time, I might have considered it. Otherwise, if I got hurt, I wouldn't even have anyone to take care of me... But should I marry a man or a woman? Thinking of this, Altaïr's head hurt even more.

Altaïr stumbled downstairs, ready to get two loaves of white bread from the pantry, but when he stepped sleepily over the holy book on the floor and walked into the kitchen, he found that the white bread and the remaining cream stew on the table were gone, and there were two unwashed porcelain bowls in the sink.

"If you were looking for bread, I ate it. By the way, the stew tasted good, but it was a bit cold."

Altaïr turned around suddenly and found a pile of worn-out knitted clothes on the recliner beside the table, and a bag on the ground. The sound came from the pile of clothes.

Sensing Altaïr's gaze, the pile of clothes slowly rose, revealing Venata's face hidden beneath her hood.

"As you said, I came to your house to find you. You demolished my house, so you have to arrange a place for me to live. It's reasonable, right?" Vinata stretched, revealing her beautiful curves. "But I didn't expect you to sleep for so long. I came in this morning and saw that you had eaten the food on the table before you got up at noon."

"But what about the Zmanger Party? If you move here, won't they come looking for you again?"

Altaïr frowned.

"Look at this morning's newspaper," Venata said, throwing a roll of paper toward Altaïr. "There are no more Zmangers."

Altaïr took it, unfolded the front page and read it quickly.

"Last night, a large-scale gang fight broke out in the East District. Led by the Blackland Party, the three largest gangs held a large-scale orgy gathering. The Zmanger Party raided the gathering site, which eventually caused a gas explosion. So far, the death toll has reached 72, and the number of injured is over 100... The police have intervened in the investigation and have controlled most of the gang members..."

Altair's face was gradually filled with astonishment.

"If I hadn't gone to the party last night, I would have probably returned to the gang's gathering place and joined them." Venata took out her daily necessities from her pocket and began to organize them. "If that were the case, I would have probably been captured by the Mandated Punisher and taken to the basement of the Holy Wind Cathedral to be a Sealed Artifact researcher... Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I forgive you or anything. In fact, if I hadn't had this psychological hint, I would probably have torn your head off right now."

"How should I put it? Friendlier than I thought?" Altaïr smiled awkwardly.

"But what are you gangsters up to now?" Altaïr took out a teapot from the cupboard and prepared to make a cup of tea for Vinata. "Whether it's the Blackland Party or your Zmanger Party, you were not very active before, so why are you suddenly preparing to make a big move now?"

"First of all, thanks to you, I can no longer be a gangster. Even if I escape the search because I was not there, if I come into the sight of the official Beyonders again, I will definitely be suspected of being involved in this kind of thing."

Venata rolled her eyes at Altaïr and said, "So I'm not going to pay you the rent. Is that a problem?"

"No problem..." Altaïr smiled bitterly. He had never thought of staying under the same roof with the target of his failed assassination attempt. He inevitably felt guilty, so he could only accommodate him in every way.

"That's more like it... Then let's get back to the topic."

Venata lowered her hood, let her hair down, and shook her head. Her hair was a rare two-tone color, brown at the ends and nearly golden at the roots, and when she let it down it looked like molten gold flowing.

"In fact, their behavior is indeed very abnormal. I heard from the old men in the gang that the 'Zimang Party' was originally one of the subordinates of the Kingdom of Intis in Loen, but because Ambassador Backlund was assassinated by the group of lunatics of the Aurora Society two years ago, the middlemen who contacted the gang were also cleaned up by the Nighthawks. Since then, the Zimang Party has been leaderless and was almost swallowed up by other gangs. But soon after, the Backlund smog incident occurred, and all the gangs suffered heavy losses. No one was able to swallow up anyone, so the Zimang Party was preserved until the war."

"During the war, the Zmanger Party absorbed a lot of Feysac remnants like me. Although there weren't many Beyonders among them, they were brave and daring, and they also had a lot of controlled items like high-pressure steam rifles. For a while, they actually revived."

"However, our leader still has some brains. He is a Sequence 7 Weapon Master. Although this sequence does not increase intelligence, it at least does not cause any damage to his mind. As someone who grew up in the East District, he still has the most basic judgment ability. He is quite clear about things like seeking benefits and avoiding harm."

"That is to say, it is impossible for him to create a big scene like this and get himself involved in it?"

Altaïr asked thoughtfully.

"You are quite smart. And the people of Blackland are also very strange. Although they are all fools dominated by desire, it is too much to hold such a disgusting party."

Venata nodded and continued her comment with a hint of disdain.

"I think the people from Blackland might have been involved in something related to some evil existence. After all, they were looking for me for a commission two days ago, and it's obviously not like they would do something like this. An orgy party... Tsk tsk. It's really outrageous."

Altaïr sighed, placing the cup in front of Venata.

"But I don't want to bother with these trivial matters. Recently, I just want to rest for two days and heal my injuries quickly. If you want to live here, the second bedroom upstairs is yours."

Altaïr sat down across from Venata.

"Then let me formally introduce myself. My name is Altaïr. I am a killer and bounty hunter, and the 'instigator' of Sequence 8."

Vinata raised her head slightly: "I am Vinata, a former gang member, Sequence 8 'Provocateur'."

The two looked at each other, stretched out their hands and shook hands lightly, both of them using some strength.

"But I suggest that since you don't want to be a gangster anymore, why don't you find a decent job? If you get caught, it will be troublesome for me as the landlord."

Altaïr advised kindly.

"My idea is the opposite of yours," Venata laughed sarcastically, "If your assassination attempt fails one day and someone turns it into a sealed object, the master bedroom will belong to me."

"It seems your 'provocateur' has digested it well." Altaïr said through gritted teeth.

"In comparison, your 'instigator' didn't digest it very successfully..." Vinata was about to sneer, but suddenly she shut up as if she remembered something. Her face turned red, and she picked up the package on the ground and fled to the second floor, leaving behind a few words.

"I'm going to clean up the room. Don't call me until dinner is ready."

Altaïr's facial muscles twitched slightly, and in the end he could only let out a helpless sigh.

Who made me fail? I have to buy one more meal tonight. Altaïr calculated the expenses and said in a poor voice. With the mission from Miss Pride, I will be promoted sooner or later. The materials for Sequence 7 potions are worth about 1000 pounds... If I hadn't bought the Blood-Eating Dagger, my financial situation would be just right. Altaïr sighed secretly.

On the other side, inside the accident site surrounded by the "Manufactured Punishers", the former "Mechanical Heart" and the "Nightwatchers", the captain of the Manufactured Punishers, Credence Isaac, was staring at the evil scene in front of him with a frown. Although the members of the former Mechanical Heart rushed to the scene as soon as possible and used firepower to thoroughly clean up everything in the house, the scene here is still enough to become a lifelong nightmare for the timid.

In the open hall, the ground was rolled up by various purification bullets, and the "rolling" itself seemed to have become a part of the hall. Everyone who walked in here would feel that this rolling state was the norm in the hall. The ceiling and walls were covered with strange blood and flesh stains, as if a big hand had stretched the human body into various strange shapes at will, and then forcibly stuffed it into the creeping cracks in the wall.

Credence closed his eyes slightly, trying to recreate the scene in his mind.

The official statement was that it was an orgy party, which was true in a sense. However, this was a party without women. All the people present were frantically entangled and copulating with the activated walls, floors, furniture, and even the ceiling in the most primitive way of "fusion". Flesh and blood, in the crazy release of desire, accompanied by cement, logs, and steel, formed a huge green body with giant green eyes the size of footballs. The whole room was filled with the stench of Toningsman leaves that had been rotting in the cold room for a long time...

Such a terrifying anomaly, such an evil gathering... Credence felt a chill in his heart, a feeling he had not had for a long time since he was promoted to "Wind-loving One". This feeling only occurred when he had just encountered his first extraordinary event and almost lost his life.

At this time, the Mandated Punisher next to him exclaimed: "It needs to be destroyed like this... Which evil god did this?"

Credence took a deep breath. Then, he slowly uttered a name.

"The Mother Tree of Desire."

(End of this chapter)