Snowman

Qinghua was very sharp. While everyone else focused on the priest's robe, she was different. "Loop, are you saying there's a 'hidden' wardrobe?"

"Yes, extremely hidden. If the teleportation point hadn't opened right there, it would be very difficult to tell it was a wardrobe from the outside."

"Why make a wardrobe so hidden? Come on, let's go back and take a look."

Qinghua, Loop, and Chen Miemie arrived at room 1802.

Apart from the priest's robe, there were only a few pieces of undergarments inside the wardrobe. Nothing else was found.

They pushed the wardrobe door open.

"Wait a minute," Loop called out to stop them. "Look at the floor first."

On the ground outside the wardrobe door, there was a thin layer of light dust.

"Looks like no one has been here for a long time."

"It makes sense that no one has come. Chen Miemie has been living here for over three weeks. If someone had been coming and going, there's a high chance we would have noticed."

Stepping out of the wardrobe and closing the door, the exterior of the door immediately blended seamlessly into the surrounding wall, making even the seams difficult to see.

The three of them searched around the room.

Overall, the level of renovation in 1802 was similar to room 1805 where Joker lived. Neither was fully furnished; they were semi-bare.

Failing to find any other clues, the three quickly left.

Pure Water, who had been inside Chen Miemie's body all along, suddenly chimed in, "There's something wrong with that priest's robe."

"What's wrong with it?" Loop had inspected that garment thoroughly.

"There are no moon or sun patterns on it. It's just a piece of clothing that looks a lot like a priest's robe."

With Pure Water's reminder, Loop immediately realized what was off.

In this world full of [Mysticism], a "priest" was a high-ranking member of the Sun and Moon Church, a position not just any ordinary clergyman could hold.

Conversely, anyone who could become a priest must possess unwavering faith in the Sun and Moon.

How could such a person not have their faith printed on their priest's robe?

Whose robe was this? Why were there no sun or moon patterns on it? Why hide it so deeply...

Just like that, another small note was added to the evidence wall—or rather, a few more questions.

Night fell.

Tonight was a Frost Moon.

"Hiss, it's so cold." Chen Miemie glanced at his watch.

Leng Ruxue had sent a message saying that this week was special, so there would be no gathering, and told Chen Miemie not to run around outside unless necessary.

Sitting in the living room, Chen Miemie leaned closer to Loop.

"Loop, do you feel that it's exceptionally cold today?"

Chen Miemie had already put on extra layers and was wearing quite a bit, but he still felt a chilling draft, even wanting to squeeze into a warm blanket.

"It is indeed colder than a usual Frost Moon night." Loop felt it too.

Pure Water was the most sensitive to temperature. "Of course it's cold, it's snowing outside."

"What? Snowing!"

Chen Miemie and the others stood on chairs, leaning close to the narrow transom window to look outside.

"Wow! It really is snowing, and it's heavy, like goose feathers!"

It was only just early evening, 7:30 PM.

City Hall.

The Big Three hastily assembled.

President An said, "This isn't the season for snow. There's something wrong with this snow."

Dean Deng added, "The snowfall is unnatural too. It's only been twenty-some minutes, and snow is already accumulating outside. The roofs and the ground have all turned white."

Commander Sun drew a conclusion. "It seems someone is playing tricks. This is [Mysticism]. Hmm? Why is everyone quiet?"

Dean Deng spoke with difficulty, "Such an extremely natural-looking heavy snow that can cover the entire city... if it is [Mysticism], then it should be at least..."

"[Mysticism] 6," President An finished for him.

Commander Sun sighed. "That's what I thought too. Now, you two, this isn't the time to hide things. Do either of your factions have a hidden [Mysticism] 6 powerhouse?"

"The school does not."

"As far as I know, none of the secret societies do either."

"Then what do we do? City Hall doesn't have one either. Are we supposed to tell our [Mysticism] 5s to throw their lives away? Not to mention the [Mysticism] 5s wouldn't be willing, but even if they were, we can't even find where the enemy is right now!"

"Let's prepare on two fronts. On one hand, assemble the [Mysticism] 5s. On the other hand, find a way to locate the enemy. If things go smoothly, five to six [Mysticism] 5s could stall this [Mysticism] 6."

"Bullshit, stall them? Keep dreaming. After they pick us off one by one, what will we have left to fight against the masters of other races?"

"What else can we do? Let this [Mysticism] 6 do whatever they want?"

"We stall. As long as we guard the key locations, it's not like they can slaughter the whole city. With such a large-scale attack, I don't believe they can keep it up all night."

The street patrols of the various secret societies naturally noticed the anomaly as well.

[Court of the Silver Moon].

Fina looked at the heavy snow outside the door, remaining silent.

The situation that the Big Three could analyze was naturally apparent to the higher-ups of the major secret societies as well.

"Tonight will be tough for Sixiang City. A lot of people might end up dead."

Leng Ruxue was also to the side. "This [Mysticism] 6 shouldn't dare to risk universal condemnation by slaughtering ordinary people, right?"

"A war between races, who knows. Placing our hopes on the mercy of others is not the attitude our society should have. Issue the Frost Moon Hunting Summons."

"Should we call Xi and Fei Dongsheng too?"

"No, don't even call the [Mysticism] 4s. Going would just be throwing their lives away. Only [Mysticism] 5s."

"What about Chen Miemie?"

"Call him. How could we leave out our next president in a major battle like this?"

Leng Ruxue smiled. "True, he won't die. The ones who should have a headache are the enemies."

South District Building, Room 1803.

Chen Miemie had already crawled into bed, wrapping himself tightly in his blanket.

He didn't usually sleep this early; he just hid in the blanket to keep warm.

A circle of anomalies in his home gathered by the bed, chatting with each other.

His watch lit up; a new message had arrived.

Time: 19:43

Sender: Leng Ruxue

Content: Emergency assembly, Society Hunt. The target of the hunt is the mystic who created the city-wide snow.

Chen Miemie immediately kicked off the blanket.

"Bring me my clothes, it's freezing to death. I'm going to kill the bastard who made it snow."

It took only twenty minutes for Chen Miemie to rush to the [Court of the Silver Moon].

After waiting for a few minutes, his teacher Dawn and his teacher's wife, Cassan, arrived last.

Chen Miemie counted the people present.

Rubik's Cube head Fina, bad joke fanatic Leng Ruxue, bone monster Framework, teacher Dawn, and his wife Cassan. There were only five people in total.

"What's going on, is it just us?" Chen Miemie asked.

Fina's Rubik's Cube head turned toward him. "Yes, apart from Keyuan who is currently breaking through, everyone at [Mysticism] 5 and above is here."

Chen Miemie was very satisfied with the soon-to-be-retired president's wording, because according to this statement, he, the reserve president, was also included in the [Mysticism] 5 category.

Fina didn't say much more to Chen Miemie and turned her head to Dawn, who was wearing sunglasses. "You are pushing yourself too hard. Don't go."

Dawn took off his sunglasses, his yellow eyes with horizontal pupils looking at Fina. "I'm fine now."

Just from that demonic glance, goosebumps instantly rose on Leng Ruxue and Framework.

Fina asked with slight hesitation, "You... advanced?"

"Yes." It would be exposed during the upcoming battle anyway, and they were all from the same society, so Dawn didn't hide it.

The jokes Leng Ruxue told were cold, but he as a person was not cold at all.

He excitedly clenched his fist: "Great, I thought I was going to have to fight for my life later. I didn't expect a big shot to emerge on our side too."

Chen Miemie took advantage of Leng Ruxue's excitement to launch a sneak attack on him: "Life has hammered me in every possible way, making my flesh chewy and bouncy."

Leng Ruxue, caught off guard, was successfully ambushed. Unable to handle it, his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Fina's Rubik's cube head also spun rapidly twice to show her joy.

"Very good, congratulations."

Framework also offered a round of congratulations.

Jokes aside, this [Mystery] 6 was an incredibly massive hurdle. If the timing wasn't so inappropriate right now, the [Court of the Silver Moon] would have loved to throw a banquet, doubling the monthly bonuses for all peripheral members.

Just then, the heavy snow in Sixiang City had accumulated to knee-deep.

Walking normally was very difficult.

And that hidden enemy [Mystery] 6 initiated a new move.

Along the streets, round snowmen began to appear one after another.

They were about the height of an adult woman, composed of two snowballs, one large and one small. Their eyes and noses were formed by them grabbing roadside stones and shoving them into their own faces.

All of a sudden, the streets and alleys of Sixiang City, the rooftops of buildings, and every nook and cranny were completely overrun by snowmen.

"It's over." This was the shared thought of the Big Three in the City Hall.

The moment they saw the snowmen, they immediately knew who the mastermind behind this was.

"This, this is the [City-Burying Mourning Apparel] of the Phantom Clan!"

"[City-Burying Mourning Apparel]. Rumor has it that his snow is a ritual of purging and resetting. Right now, every snowman outside is equivalent to an aberration."

"He wants to use the snow as a canopy to drape our entire Sixiang City in mourning clothes! How dare he!"

Just as the Big Three had said.

The eyes of all the snowmen across the city glowed with a red light. Although they lacked mouths, they still emitted a unified, eerie sound. Blended together, it sounded like an incantation echoing throughout the entire city:

"Civilization clamors, and sin breeds. With a grand snowfall as the curtain, we lay the old era to rest and prepare the bed for the new soil."