Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 528

How did he knock that girl unconscious the night before last? He simply maintained continuous contact while in a blurred state.

In his ethereal state, he is like a ghost, and people cannot feel him "touching" them at all. By the time they feel dizzy, it is too late. Even if they can still run, it is useless because he can stick to them at an extremely fast speed. Unless they are at the sixth or seventh level, their speed is too fast, and even in his ethereal state, he cannot catch up with them.

"Heh, these are three really nice women. This is going to be fun."

Buck walked slowly to Ravana and extended his hand.

Lavana was completely unaware of his presence and continued her indiscriminate attacks.

He raised his hand, and his ghostly hand passed through Ravana's head, placing itself inside her brain without Ravana feeling anything.

“Now,” Louise, now part of Liz, spoke in her inner world, “There,” pointing Liz in the right direction.

If Buck doesn't touch Lavana, Louise definitely won't be able to lock onto him.

Because Louise wasn't locking onto his soul, nor could she; she was locking onto the source that caused the mutation in Ravana's soul.

Liz launched an "attack" instantly, using her stitching ability to forcibly pull Buck's soul, just as Sigrid had done to them during their previous combat training.

"Ah!" Buck screamed in agony, his physical form appearing as he knelt on the ground, clutching his head and continuing to wail, "Ooh-ooh!"

Having little experience in combat, his ability to endure pain was extremely poor. Faced with the agony of his soul being torn apart, he completely lost control, unable to maintain his ghostly state due to the unbearable pain.

The moment his physical form appeared, the three highly trained individuals wasted no time and immediately severed his limbs, rendering him unable to move.

Louise looked at Buck, who was curled up in a ball and still screaming in pain, and said, "Take him back and let that girl deal with him. Tie him up and let her personally smash his thing to pieces to vent her anger."

Lavana shook her head at Louise, "After being hurt like that, she probably just wants to leave this place and never come back, as if nothing ever happened."

“Ah, this…” Louise was very annoyed and had to admit that Lavana was right.

“Then let’s do it. Anyway, he’s a superhuman. Even if we smash his thing, he won’t die.” Liz said, walking over to pick up the hammer that Lavana had brought. She came back and kicked Buck over, then swung her arm in a wide arc, smashing the hammer into Buck’s groin.

The hammer smashed both eggs instantly.

Instantly, another heart-wrenching scream erupted.

Blood immediately soaked his crotch.

Louise took the hammer, gripped it with both hands, and said, "My turn. Watch me smash that arrogant beast's rotten thing into mincemeat."

Just then, a figure burst through the window, swept past the three of them, and in the blink of an eye, carried Buck, whose limbs were crippled and whose lower body was smashed, away from the living room and disappeared without a trace.

"Don't even think about leaving."

Lavana and the other two instantly merged, and a black winged knight appeared, flashed past, and gave chase.

However, as soon as they left Buck's villa, Sigrid stopped them. Sigrid looked at the three of them and said, "Don't chase after them rashly. The other party is obviously the mastermind behind this Ghost Disease. Do you really think you are invincible now that you are chasing after them without any preparation?"

The three separated and returned to their original forms.

"Then what do you suggest we do, our beloved teacher Sigrid?" Louise asked, somewhat displeased.

“The best course of action would be to wait for your Mr. Ronan to arrive,” Sigrid replied.

Chapter 1227 Internal and External Isolation, Ghostly Seal, Various Parties' Plans

Outside the Vienna metropolitan area, which includes the surrounding towns, the scenery is the same as the rest of the country, with pine trees everywhere. This is Österia, a country surrounded by mountains and forests.

At the top of a black pine tree more than 20 meters tall, Ronan stood steadily, gazing at the distant city of Vienna.

Who would have thought that Vienna is now in a state of isolation and closure?

A short while later, a dark figure climbed to the top of the tree, and Ashley, holding a black umbrella with a white bone handle, emerged from the shadows. She then pulled Falek out. "How is it?" Ronan asked the two.

“I can’t get in,” Ashley said as soon as she came up.

Her shadow is a kind of rule-based magic, which is almost like a plane. Not to mention two objects that seem to have no gaps, even a whole object, her shadow can pass through directly. No one would think that there is anything that does not have a "gap" in its whole, right?

Usually, there's only one reason why Ashley can't get in: some kind of all-around isolation by a special force.

Immediately afterward, Falek spoke up, "It's neither a barrier nor someone's supernatural ability."

A barrier is a magical manipulation technique, which Ronan determined from the beginning was not the case, because the strength of a barrier could not possibly prevent someone above the seventh rank from violently destroying it. As for extraordinary abilities, some people's extraordinary abilities are simply sealing, which is not surprising, but if Falek says it's not, then it definitely isn't.

The question is, what exactly is this force that isolates Vienna from the outside world?

"The special soul power that gathers from the collective is so strange, it's like being both dead and alive, existing in an indescribable state between the living and the demons. Then, someone utilized the disordered energy field formed by this power, making it orderly, and thus creating this special, super-large-scale seal." Falek gave her observation results.

"What is their purpose?" Ronan asked.

“I don’t know,” Falek replied. “However, those three are probably in trouble. This kind of soul power is closely related to artificial superhumans.” Ronan nodded helplessly and sighed. “Never mind what it is for now. Let’s find a way to break through it and then go in.”

“I can’t give you a timeframe,” Falek said.

There is nothing in the world that cannot be broken, but how long it will take is hard to say. Vienna, the capital of Austria, is one of the largest cities of this era, with a population of over one million. It is the central hub of the entire Western world and holds a very high position in politics, economy, and culture. It not only gathers most of the country's superhumans, but also superhumans from many surrounding small countries, totaling 150,000 to 160,000. Among these 150,000 to 160,000 superhumans, the vast majority are only first or second-tier artificial superhumans with magical artifacts implanted in their bodies.

Among these artificial superhumans, nearly 100,000 have contracted this "disease" that is mistakenly identified as ghost disease due to its highly contagious nature, and he wears long, simple riding boots.

A long, straight sword with a handguard hung at his waist.

With her hairstyle and clothing, along with her facial features, she has a very sharp and heroic look, especially her slightly prominent eyebrows and bright blue eyes. On her own, she exudes the sharpness of a teenage female knight on the battlefield.

However, her languid demeanor, tinged with a touch of indifference, made her overall aura much more mature than her appearance suggested.

She is none other than Amandina, a veteran, shareholder, and top enforcer of G&A Company, and currently the number one female mage on the mainland.

“Would I cause you trouble at a time like this?” Armandina retorted, questioning Garcia in his wheelchair, and shrugged. “After all, we’re on the same side.”

Garcia sneered, "Ha, then tell me, what's this ghost disease all about? It's all too similar to a certain project that was once shut down."

"After that accident, morale plummeted and the team disbanded. It's not surprising that some of those who left secretly conducted research. Besides, a number of important experimental subjects escaped a few years ago, have you forgotten?" Amandina retorted. "Actually, it doesn't matter who did it. What matters is that the mastermind is clearly preparing to do something big. You either stop it now, or wait until something happens and then try to take advantage of the situation."

Garcia gripped the armrest tightly, lost in thought. After nearly a minute, he spoke again, "Ten days. If those people who should be inside, or Ronan who is outside, haven't resolved this matter within ten days, then you should resolve it. I don't want these crazy remnants to drag me into this mess."

The group that surrounded Guts and Ahriman back then was a bunch of lunatics, including Guts' lover, Armandina, who was also prone to madness.

Amandina reached out her hand, "Then you should at least give me something that allows me to enter the Ghostly Seal, a layer of seal formed by a special power that is both dead and alive."

No, I can't get in.

“I’ll give you the stuff in three days,” Garcia replied.

At this moment, his suspicions about Amandina had not lessened at all, but rather increased. However, firstly, he was unable to act personally and needed her to handle the matters; secondly, Amandina ultimately needed him to have any hope of reviving Guts.

Meanwhile, in Vienna.

"What?" Louise and Liz exclaimed in unison.

Lavana was also shocked.

Sigrid looked at the three of them impatiently. "Do I need to repeat myself?"

Huh? Vienna is now a place where people can't get out from inside and can't get in from outside.

Louise put her hands on her hips in anger. "Then why did you just say you were waiting for Ronan?" Sigrid smiled. "Maybe he can get in? Of course, I guess he can't do it anytime soon."

Chapter 1228 Methods, Hidden Hands, Stance

Seeing Sigrid's calm and even joking demeanor, Louise immediately became anxious. She clenched her fists, straightened up, glared, and her white hair stood on end. "You stopped us from chasing after them, and then you just spout nonsense here?" Sigrid shrugged. "I know you're in a hurry, but don't be so hasty."

“The person behind this definitely has some big ambitions,” Liz said. “In any case, we can’t just sit idly by and be completely passive.” Ravana crossed her arms. “We don’t need to worry about this thing that’s supposed to be a sealing barrier, since we can’t break it anyway. We don’t need to care what the person behind this is trying to do. What we need to do is find out who it is and then deal with them. That way, everything can end and we can go back to normal.”

"So, what we need to think about now is how to find him."

Clap clap clap, Sigrit clapped his hands, "As expected, Lavana, you are a little more mature. However, at least I don't know how to find this person. If I had known, I would have said so already."

“Teacher, don’t you have any ideas?” Louise asked.

“I told you from the beginning, wait,” Sigrid said with a smile. “Use your little brain to think about it. Since this strange disease, similar to ghost disease, is spreading widely among artificial superhumans, and some people have even gained unimaginable power, then the person in charge must want to build a team of people with this kind of extraordinary power. No matter what he does next, at the very least, he must do one thing: find a way to gather the target together.”

“Sending someone to take away a target alone, like just now, is a method, but it is inefficient and only works against specific individuals.”

“He will inevitably resort to a more efficient method, one that can quickly and massively notify people, much like how the village chief calls out when something is about to happen in a village.” Liz’s eyes lit up; she had already understood Sigrid’s meaning. “I understand. He will definitely make a signaling gesture from a conspicuous location to get his target’s attention. Then, we will also know his location, and we will blend into the crowd to deliver a fatal blow.” “That’s right.” Sigrid gave Liz an approving look.

Of course, this is something that anyone could think of, and in Liz's view, there is nothing admirable about it.

“First, I’m afraid we can’t get close to them by infiltrating. Their target is someone like that guy named Buck, who gained the special ability to disappear after getting sick. We don’t have that ability.” Louise thought Liz was being too naive. She raised a second finger as she spoke. “Second, we’re not sick, and we might not even be able to receive any notification.”

Lavana maintained her crossed arms. "It's alright, really. Since Professor Sigrid said this disease is highly contagious among subjects, and tens of thousands of artificial superhumans may already be infected, then, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the people in our apartment should also be infected. We can rely on them." "Good idea," Liz agreed.

Louise paced back and forth with her hands behind her back. She seemed to have thought of something but couldn't quite put her finger on it. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to look at the group of people. "I felt like I'd overlooked something. I just realized something."

"He issues a notice to gather people together, but how can he guarantee that tens of thousands of artificial superhumans who have gained new abilities will obey his commands?"

"Just drawing a pie in the sky? That's not enough."

Louise seemed to be in the shoes of the mastermind, gesturing wildly as she muttered, "If I were the mastermind, I would definitely find one or more collaborators before spreading this stuff, and then use their power to accomplish my goals. Once the collaborators' subordinates have a mental expectation and understand that everything depends on me, they will be able to gain power after getting sick and be used by me."

"After that, I used these people as my base, and by making promises, I aimed to unite and bring together more people."

"So, the question is, where in Vienna are there at least a thousand artificial superhumans gathered?"

Louise suddenly stopped, looked at Ravana and Liz, and smiled smugly. She answered her own question, "There are two answers: schools and military camps. Vienna has over 100,000 artificial superhumans scattered across various professions. Only schools and military camps have large groups of artificial superhumans gathered together. But I think it's the military camps. Students, while easy to incite, are difficult to organize and might become a disorganized mob that hinders us. Soldiers, accustomed to following orders, are far superior to students." Liz rubbed her chin. "I can't help but suspect that the mastermind behind this is likely colluding with the country's high command."

“I think there’s no doubt about it, it must be,” Ravana said, adding in a low voice at the end, “It’s insane.”

At this moment, Sigrid clapped his hands to attract attention, "Alright, my three good students, if you really intend to do something dangerous, I can't accompany you. Your teacher, unlike you, is not qualified to spar with the best."

She was able to fight against the combined three because her move was very effective against combined attacks, not because she actually had any real strength.

She is not good at fighting, and the magic she has is all for research purposes. If she were to face a real seventh-tier opponent, she would be defeated in one move, making her weaker than most sixth-tier opponents.

If the guess is correct, the mastermind behind this is already in cahoots with the highest levels of this country. If they want to be hostile to the other side, they will most likely have to face a seventh-level opponent.

“I think if this disease, and their motives, don’t pose a threat to us, we can do nothing,” Lavana said.

When high-ranking officials in other countries do things, those extraordinary individuals from those countries are probably quite willing to do so. What right do they have to interfere?

They have no stance.

As long as it doesn't affect them, let them do whatever they want.

Of course, if this infectious disease, or even the subsequent goals of these people, affect them, then action must be taken.

"I agree, however, our investigation will still proceed."

Liz said.

Even if I don't go to the military camp, I still need to find ways to learn more.

“Let’s go back to the apartment first,” Louise said, then looked at Sigrid. “Teacher, where are you going next?”

“Of course I’m going back to my own place,” Sigrid replied. “Whatever you want to do, I can’t help you, and I’m not planning to do anything. I’ll just lie down and that’s it.”

She was very direct, and her message was simple: "I'm a researcher, not a combatant. I'm lying down. Do whatever you want."

"Let's go.

Louise called out and walked at the front.

The three quickly returned to the apartment, which had been converted from the main building of the small manor. Sure enough, in the day or so that they went out to investigate and identify the perpetrator, Buck, the girl who had been assaulted first was infected, and then, through her, the "ghost disease" spread throughout the entire apartment.

Many people have already shown signs of weakness and the standard symptoms of the ghost disease, but whether anyone is like that Buck is the question.

Chapter 1229 Clues, Obstruction, Forgotten Symptoms

Inside the apartment, the group of international students, who were generally a few years older than Louise and Liz, were actually inferior to the two of them in terms of both ability and mentality, and even more so to Lavana, who had experienced more trials.

Thus, with only very basic aura perception, plus some conversational techniques disguised as casual chat but actually just quibbling, Louise, Liz, and Lavana successfully identified the person among the dozen or so international students still living in the apartment who had acquired the same ghost-like ability as the sexual assault Buck.

If the estimate is correct, six people have gained the power of ghosthood.

This result is somewhat alarming.

The reason it's terrifying is that there are fewer than twenty people in total, and six of them can become ghosts. This means that one-third of the people who might contract this special ghost disease will gain this ability. If this were in Vienna, which has more than 100,000 artificial superhumans, then the birth of 40,000 ghosts would be a certainty.

Forty thousand ghosts with the ability to switch between reality and illusion, to penetrate objects, and to cause stun upon contact? It's unimaginable.

“This is just the probability of naturally turning into a ghost after being infected,” Liz said, stroking her chin.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, with her legs crossed, Louise nodded slightly. "That's right. It's possible that some things can be done artificially to help with ghostification, such as using the flesh and soul of someone who has successfully gained ghost power to refine a stronger infectious agent, allowing patients who haven't gained ghost power to acquire it. But that's just pure speculation."

"Since we have nothing else to do, shall we go to the city center and take a look?" Lavanati has isolated the entire city of Vienna from the outside world and has developed such a strange illness. Most people are certainly unaware of this, and among those unaware are many wealthy, powerful, and even influential people.

They will definitely demand an explanation from the government and the royal family.

Besides them, Vienna also has a large number of naturally gifted individuals who would not ignore such a major event.

In short, if you go to the government palace now, you're sure to see something interesting.

“Okay, let’s go downtown,” Louise agreed.

“Okay,” Liz quickly agreed.

If we consider the north at the top and the south at the bottom, then Vienna is divided into two parts by the Danube River, which runs through it longitudinally. The right half, where the three of them are currently located, is much smaller, while the city center, where the Royal Palace and government buildings are located, is in the left half of the city. From their current location, after crossing the bridge across the river, it's not far to reach the city center.

But as soon as the three of them left the room, before they even went downstairs, they were stopped by a group of international students in the apartment building.