Mystery: The Witch of Desire

Livre quickly manipulated the writhing hunger to devour Pratt's soul, and then used her identification ability on the pale blue object.

The result pleased Livre: the identification ability was very useful, and the pale blue object was indeed a remarkable characteristic of the Faceless Man.

The Faceless Man seems to be Sequence 6 of the Diviner's Path. Doesn't that mean I've obtained the key to Klein's future advancement? Good heavens, I need to make him thank me in some way. There's not much I can squeeze out of Klein right now...

With a hint of excitement, Livre ignited black flames and burned Pratt's corpse to ashes.

Then, she transformed into the 'Collector' Pratt: tall, fierce-looking, with long red hair that reached her neck.

Pushing open the door to the lounge, Livre, disguised as Pratt, walked towards the gambling table and saw Pratt's men.

Pratt has two Sequence 8 Beyonders and four Sequence 9 Beyonders under his command, most of whom are Sailors. This is why Livre chose Pratt: his pirate crew has considerable strength, especially the Sailors Beyonders, who are more effective in the turbulent seas.

Seeing his captain approaching, First Mate Gisson asked with a smile:

"Boss, it's over so quickly? Are those women's stockings really that good?"

Livre ignored him, simply sat back down at the gambling table, and said in a low voice:

"Let's play one more game, then we'll go back."

She didn't want to waste time in the noisy casino and preferred to go back to the ship to do more preparations.

"So fast!"

The men couldn't help but complain a little, but they dared not disobey the captain's orders, so they all placed their bets with extra care.

At this moment, the casino owner, sitting in the dealer's seat, laughed:

"Platter, since we're leaving anyway, how about we make one last big bet?"

Liviel wasn't particularly interested, but to maintain her public image, she didn't directly refuse, and instead asked calmly:

"What are you gambling?"

The casino owner revealed a mysterious smile:

"She has red hair just like you, you'll definitely like her."

As he spoke, he clapped his hands, and two casino thugs escorted a woman in shackles up to him.

Livre glanced over, but was instantly stunned:

The woman was strikingly beautiful with bright red hair; she was none other than Elaine, whom she and Edwina had previously controlled.

After boarding the Golden Dream, Edwina arranged a ticket for Elaine to return to Intis. She should have already returned to Intis, so how did she end up here... Could it be someone else who looks similar?

Livre calmly observed Elaine, who was being held up by two thugs. Her eyes revealed a sense of despair, but beneath that despair lay an unyielding stubbornness, like a small beast ready to pounce and tear at her at any moment.

That expression was exactly the same as when she first met Elaine. An actress's intuition told Livre that this was the red-haired Elaine!

Moreover, her hands were bound behind her back with shackles, and the curves of her chest were very consistent with Elaine's actual size...

What on earth is going on... Did the casino owner rob a passenger ship bound for Intis?

Suppressing her intense confusion, Livre said in a deep voice:

"Okay, I accept the bet."

The casino owner raised his eyebrows excitedly:

“Very good, I knew you would be interested in her… You might not believe it, but this girl injured several of my brothers. She’s a Sequence 9 hunter. Just killing her and selling her extraordinary traits would be worth at least 200 pounds. Add to that her outstanding looks and body, and it’s not unreasonable to offer her as a 500-pound bargaining chip, is it?”

Without saying much, Livre took all the gold pounds from Pratt's pocket, added a few dozen pounds herself, and placed a bet of 500 pounds.

A few minutes later, she lost everything...

Damn it, my luck is absolutely terrible!

Livre couldn't help but want to swear; she had used her extraordinary abilities to accurately judge the size of the dealer's hand in every round.

To her dismay, the dealer's smaller cards were all bigger than her larger cards.

The casino owner laughed wildly as he hoarded the chips into his pocket, a defiant expression on his face.

"Sorry, it seems I'm having better luck today!"

Livre, disguised as Pratt, sat in the chair, flicked her finger, and remained silent for a long time.

After a long pause, she revealed a cold smile:

"I don't know if you're lucky or unlucky."

In an instant, the disease-causing power lurking in the air erupted, shrouding the entire casino in an atmosphere of pain.

All the gamblers simultaneously broke into violent coughing fits; the more severely affected ones collapsed to the ground, clutching their chests and coughing up dark, foul-smelling blood.

The most seriously ill was the casino owner sitting opposite Livre; his body was convulsing uncontrollably, and his scarlet eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

Whoosh! A black flame appeared out of nowhere and pierced his throat. The casino owner writhed on the ground in agony and was quickly reduced to a pool of blood and flesh.

"Disease is coming! Disease is coming!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, and the entire casino erupted in chaos. Everyone rushed outside, and the scene descended into complete disarray.

Taking advantage of the situation, Livre grabbed Elaine's waist, tucked the struggling Elaine under her arm, and then led her men to blend into the crowd and flee.

After escaping for some distance, the group entered a remote private harbor and saw a medium-sized sailing ship moored on the dock in the distance. It was Pratt's pirate ship, the Treasure.

Upon seeing his own pirate ship, First Mate Gisson let out a long sigh of relief:

"Captain, we've finally escaped! How unlucky we were to run into Vice Admiral Disease... By the way, did you see her? I heard she's a deadly beauty..."

Livr rolled her eyes at him, annoyed.

"If we ever see her face, we'll probably die like that idiot who runs the casino!"

Gissen clicked his tongue in disappointment:

"It's a pity I didn't get to see what the disease-stricken general looked like...but..."

He changed the subject, leering at Elaine who was nestled in Livre's arms:

"This woman is truly exceptional; it must be incredibly enjoyable to play with her..."

As he spoke, he reached out and touched Elaine, whose expression was one of terror.

Livre shouted sharply:

"No one is allowed to touch her. I want this woman!"

Gissen's hand trembled, froze in mid-air, then he withdrew it and laughed loudly, completely unconcerned:

"Haha, Captain, you're so possessive of your food!"

Pratt, as a Sequence 7 with little combat ability, doesn't have absolute authority in front of the Sequence 8 First Mate... After all, if it really comes down to a head-on confrontation, the Appraiser is most likely no match for the Wrathful People.

While Livre was pondering, she took the red-haired Elaine back to the Treasure and temporarily placed her on the table in Captain Pratt's cabin.

Then, Livre went into the bedroom separated from the captain's cabin by a door and ordered her men to bring in brand new bedding and toiletries.

After tidying up, she helped Elaine, whose body was trembling slightly, up from the table, took her to the bedroom, closed the doors and windows, drew the curtains, and built a ritual wall to isolate her from external sound exchange.

Having done all this, she looked at Elaine with Pratt's hawk-like, sharp eyes, casting a chilling gaze.

Elaine shivered, her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the large round bed in the bedroom. She let out a low, panicked cry like a fawn, struggling to maintain her balance. She kicked her legs, trying to lean back against the wall for a semblance of comfort and security.

"You, you stay away!"

Elaine's trembling voice was filled with fear as she struggled desperately with her hands cuffed behind her back, only to make the shackles clang in vain.

Chapter 202 Blaspheming the Lord of Storms

Livre didn't speak, but slowly walked up to Elaine.

She hesitated, wondering whether to face Elaine as Pratt or as herself.

If he were to show his original appearance, he would likely gain Elaine's trust more easily, but he might face the risk of Elaine revealing his identity.

However, Elaine shouldn't have any grounds to do so, and besides, the pirates on this ship are all weak, so even if they know she's an imposter, they won't pose any threat to her.

Thinking of this, she wiped her face, regaining her beautiful and charming appearance, and revealed a meaningful smile:

"Don't be so afraid, I mean no harm."

Elaine was stunned for a moment, and after a brief moment of confusion, she exclaimed in astonishment:

"It's you!"

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then tensed up again, shrinking further into the corner. In her memory, the woman who had asked her so many strange questions wasn't much better than Pratt.

"Is my image in your eyes really that bad, ma'am?"

Livr gave a wry smile, turned around and poured a cup of hot tea for Elaine, placing it on the bedside table.

Elaine sensed her kindness, but there was a hint of resentment in her eyes: I'm still handcuffed, how am I supposed to drink water?

Livre smiled knowingly:

"Do you need me to open it for you?"

Elaine nodded slightly, her eyes filled with anticipation.

“Unfortunately, I left the casino in such a hurry that I didn’t find the key to the handcuffs…” Livre spread her hands helplessly. “However, if you don’t mind, I can try some other methods, but it might hurt you.”

Elaine paused for a moment, then became somewhat hesitant.

After a long pause, she pursed her lips and said softly:

"Then please give it a try."

Livre nodded noncommittally, pointed to the center of the bed, and gestured for them to proceed.

"Lie down, that will give me more room to maneuver."

Elaine was taken aback by his words, her cheeks instantly turning red with embarrassment. Her dazed eyes hesitated for a moment before she slowly turned around, kneeling to support her body, her hands behind her back, her upper body pressed against the bed, her waist slumped, facing Livia in a very undignified posture.

A flicker of surprise crossed Livre's eyes, followed by a wry smile as she said:

"Madam, generally speaking, the action of 'lying down' is not done like this..."

A flicker of surprise crossed Elaine's eyes as she suddenly realized her lapse in composure. She quickly straightened her legs and lay down on the bed like a normal person, but her cheeks flushed even more. She buried her head in the soft mattress, her body still trembling slightly with embarrassment.

My goodness, Tracy has turned this place into something amazing...

Livre inwardly grumbled as she examined the shackles on Elaine's hands.

Fortunately, these shackles, which did not have any extraordinary abilities attached, were not difficult to remove. Livre inserted the spider silk into the keyhole, changed its shape at will, and quickly opened the shackles, then threw them aside.

Elaine slowly got out of bed, stretched her arms which were sore from being handcuffed for so long, and said softly with shy eyes:

"Thank you, thank you..."

Livre handed her the water glass and watched as she greedily gulped down the entire glass of water, her previously dry lips slowly regaining their rosy hue.

Would you like something to eat?

Before asking Elaine her questions, she first offered the unfortunate woman some words of comfort.

Just then, Elaine's stomach growled, and she nodded awkwardly. Livre went out of the captain's cabin, called over a pirate, and ordered him to bring some food.

A short while later, the pirate brought over a large bowl of long-grain rice stir-fried with various seafood and vegetables. At sea, this kind of food could be considered a luxury, and it was usually only available after resupplying and landing ashore.

Elaine's eyes lit up when she saw the food, and she couldn't wait to start eating.

"They didn't give you food or water?"

Liviel was somewhat puzzled. Generally speaking, from the perspective of maintaining the value of a commodity, people who traffic in people would not mistreat those beautiful women.

Elaine mumbled through her large gulps of food:

"They tried to force me to submit through starvation, but... but I never let them succeed..."

It seems that if Tracy were a man, you would have already committed suicide to prove your innocence...

Livre couldn't help but recall Elaine's answers during the last interrogation. Elaine had been using Tracy's female identity to emphasize that she had not been insulted and to maintain her last bit of self-respect.

Livre asked with some sympathy:

"Lieutenant General Iceberg should have already arranged a ticket for you to return to Intis, so why were you captured by those people again?"

Upon hearing this, Elaine's eyes instantly reddened, and she let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“After I returned to Intis, I found that my family had perished in a fire, and my father had accumulated a large amount of debt from loan sharks that he was unable to repay. I was being hunted down by my creditors, and I had no choice but to flee back to the sea.”

"I intended to take a passenger ship to the colonies in the southern continent to start a new life, but we encountered a storm en route. The passenger ship I was on was very large, and normally it shouldn't have capsized in a storm of that magnitude. However, it seems the sailors on board mutinied, and due to a combination of natural disaster and human error, the ship eventually sank. I was rescued by an armed merchant ship and sold to Bayam through slave traders..."

This sounds a bit like the Clover disaster... Could it have been Tracy who did it?