I'm an antique shop owner, so it's reasonable for me to know some magic

Chapter 516 Lurking
While the British people certainly do a lot of absurd things, it's not to the point of having to commit impart when their lives are hanging by a thread.

The only explanation is that they were all blinded by evil spirits and were acting against their will!
Andrei hurriedly dressed and walked quickly to the police officers.

"Wake up! Stop grinning like an idiot!"

Andrei shook them and shouted in their ears, but it had little effect.

Left with no other choice, he could only use his large, fan-like hand to slap the other person's cheek.

The movements were a bit rough, but the effect was exceptionally good.

The slapped officers didn't immediately come to their senses, and most of their silly grins disappeared. The reason I say "most" is because a few of them, instead of waking up after being slapped, became even more ecstatic.

The experienced and knowledgeable police officer, Andrei, was so shocked that he could only keep wiping his hands.

Fortunately, most of the officers eventually woke up from that bizarre dream, so his efforts were not in vain.

While they were awkwardly getting dressed, Andrei quickly explained the situation and elaborated on his speculation.

"Then what should we do now?"

"Could we try to wake up the other people?"

The officers raised different questions.

"You can go, but let me make it clear beforehand that ordinary calling and shaking won't work; you need appropriate sensory stimulation to be effective. If necessary, you can do what I did..."

The officers watched as Andrei gestured with his hand, while rubbing their own swollen cheeks, inwardly groaning.

"Boss, I have a question."

"explain."

"Since they can be awakened by sensory stimulation, why don't we get some water and splash them awake?"

Andrei was taken aback by what he heard.

"You're pretty quick-witted, kid. Alright, let's go find water now, in groups of three, don't get separated."

"Yes."

After receiving orders, the police officers went to the water dispenser at the front desk and got a few glasses of cold water to wake up those who were still immersed in their delusions.

Of course, they followed the procedure: first call out, then shake, and finally add cold water.

Thanks to their tireless efforts, many people regained their senses.

For a few stubborn individuals, the officers had a solution: pouring cold water down their necks into their clothes.

Those who were subjected to this treatment did wake up, but without exception, they all started cursing at the police officers.

These British police officers, accustomed to dealing with mundane family matters, paid no attention to this and instead returned to Andrei to report back.

"Boss, everyone has been awakened, and no one has fallen back into that strange coma."

After finishing his report, the police officer paused, unable to contain his curiosity, and asked a question.

"Boss, were you also caught up in that dream back then?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask, boss, what did you see in your dream?"

"You brat, is that something you can ask?!"

"Don't be angry, boss. That's not what I meant. Actually, other people also want to ask this question. They mainly want to know why you can wake up from your dream so quickly."

"The content of your dream is probably quite similar to yours. Damn evil spirits, they actually want us to commit the sin of lust here..."

Andrei wasn't quite sure what the evil spirits wanted to do, but he knew those things wouldn't be so kind as to give them a sweet dream.

He could only guess that the other party wanted them to commit the sin of lust, one of the seven deadly sins, in order to create an area that would weaken God's protection and make it easier for them to commit crimes. "At that time, I only heard a very shocking clap of thunder, and then I felt as if I had been thrown from a warm bed into ice water, and I immediately woke up."

At this point, Andrei and the police officer exchanged a glance, both recalling the methods Shen Xuanxuan had used to deal with the evil spirits.

"Could it be a backup plan left behind by Master Shen?"

"I think so."

"Master Shen is truly a prophet. He foresaw what methods the evil spirit would use before he left and made arrangements in advance."

Andrei was shocked, but his respect for Shen Xuanxuan grew even stronger.

"Enough of this small talk. You and the others go and take a headcount to see if anyone went missing while we were unconscious."

"no problem."

With seven police officers present, Mr. Lin had about twenty people, so counting them wouldn't take long.

Andrei waited for news, but almost ten minutes had passed and no one had come to reply.

"Have the police officers these days forgotten how to count? Damn it."

Just as Andrei was about to burst into curses, a police officer finally came to report.

"Hey kid... what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The police officer in front of me was pale, unsteady on his feet, and seemed disoriented, as if he had suffered some major blow.

Andrei swallowed his initial scathing rebuke and instead tried to soothe the other person's emotions, while also preparing for the worst in his mind.

"Someone has gone missing, right? Have you found their remains?"

"No, sir, no one is missing, and the number of people who followed us into the hotel has not decreased."

"Then why do you look like that? It's like you've seen a ghost."

"Sir, it's more serious than that. I don't know if what I saw was a ghost or a person..."

The officer's teeth chattered as he spoke with some difficulty.

“When we entered the hotel, there were 7 police officers, including you, sir, plus 15 civilians, for a total of 22 people. But when you asked us to count the number of people just now, we found that the number has increased.”

"Added..."

Andrei murmured the same thing over and over, feeling as if the temperature in the room had dropped slightly.

"Did you miscount? Did you double-check?"

“We’ve counted it many times already, otherwise we wouldn’t be telling you so late…”

How many people are there now?

"Now... there are 25 people."

Andrei's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the ordinary people who had regained consciousness.

They were tidying their clothes, and an awkward silence fell between them because of what they had done in their half-awake state.

Among these perfectly normal people, three non-human beings had infiltrated.

He carefully examined each person's face, trying to find a breakthrough, but to no avail.

Is it that long-haired teenager who looks underage and has a rebellious vibe? Or is it that rock girl in the black jacket with heavy makeup?
Or perhaps it was that ordinary-looking middle-aged man in a knitted hat?

No... are there really only three non-human beings who joined?

Could it be that one of them has been unknowingly switched, becoming a wolf in sheep's clothing lurking among the flock?
(End of this chapter)