The Mary Resurrection Ritual!

【That Joker is dead.】

【Number Four personally cut open his chest.】

The news was reported to William. He, in turn, passed it along to Captain Cook.

And so, a strange misunderstanding began to unfold.

Number Four, believing she had killed Wu Wang, found the whole ordeal unlucky. She left the storage room without a second glance, intending to find the cleaning staff to dispose of the body.

Number Five remained frozen in place, completely at a loss.

The gentlemanly guest had been chatting and laughing with her just a moment ago. Now, he was a corpse on the floor.

An emotion she had never felt before, yet was somehow familiar, surged up within her. She felt a tightness in her chest.

She didn't know what it was.

But Mary, deep in her mind, knew.

It was called grief.

"Miss Mary, I wish to mourn him."

Number Five requested permission from the Mary consciousness deep within her mind.

The other party was silent for a long time. Finally, Mary responded.

"Your thoughts are my thoughts."

With that, Number Five stepped forward to handle Wu Wang's body.

But just as she reached out to turn him over, the body shot up and clamped a hand around her wrist.

He grumbled.

"Wasn't one stab enough? You damn girl, you want to finish the job?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had grabbed Number Five, not Number Four, the woman who had just killed him. He quickly let go to avoid another misunderstanding.

Wu Wang now understood why those two special effects were so powerful. They had granted the 【Xiaochuan Broken Sword】 a full twenty points of Strength.

Fuck!

This side effect of 【Karmic Retribution】 was no joke. Few people besides him could withstand it. It was a guaranteed disaster every single time.

"Sir, you…"

The tears in Number Five's eyes hadn't even had a chance to fall. Wu Wang's sudden revival had forcibly choked them back.

How did he come back to life?

Wu Wang just gave an awkward laugh.

"Have you ever heard of Monster Reborn? I secretly slipped one into my Decade card pack."

With that, he actually pulled a card from the decorative card pack on the side of his suit.

"Impossible! The boss doesn't make mistakes!"

"What the hell are you, you damned thing!"

Captain Cook was going mad. He roared and cursed at Wu Wang.

Fuming, he strode right up to Wu Wang, mere words no longer enough. He tried to tear off Wu Wang's Tokusatsu suit.

Click.

But just then, Wu Wang shoved the fountain pen into his hand.

Captain Cook felt the power of the cruise ship's rules flowing through him.

The bet was over.

He had lost.

Now, he had to truthfully answer one of his opponent's questions.

In just an instant, Captain Cook's expression turned ugly. Without a doubt, this was the man who had made the bet with him.

"My dear captain, there are too many people here, and my question is rather private, so…"

Hearing Wu Wang's words, Captain Cook sighed. He knew his darkest hour would arrive after the ball ended. If this man's question touched upon the boss's plan, revealing it would mean certain punishment.

"So, you will answer me now!"

Wu Wang's voice boomed.

"Tell me about your boss, the ball's organizer, William! What is his so-called Mary Awakening Plan?"

"Halt! Demon! Confess the truth!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent. The expression of the previously furious Captain Cook froze solid.

The gazes of Bei Lang and Fox Loli, Ms. Black Cat and Thorny Show-off hidden in the crowd, and every guest in the hall all froze in place.

The ball's organizer was William.

The name echoed through the hall. After a moment of dead silence, a commotion erupted.

"Holy shit! This bastard knows who the ball's organizer is?"

"William? There are too many people named William. Which one?"

"Mary Awakening Plan? What's that?"

The rising and falling voices of discussion instantly set the venue ablaze.

The Mary Cruise Ship's ball had been held for decades, yet no one had ever known who the organizer was. Some even suspected it was a lonely ghost from the depths of the sea. They couldn't imagine what kind of hidden tycoon could maintain such an expense without any of the world's top elites knowing.

And now, some guy in a strange costume had casually revealed the secret.

It came out of nowhere. No one could have possibly guarded against it.

The other players were also dumbfounded. They hadn't expected Decade to be so crazy. He had revealed everything right in front of everyone, making all the guests focus their curiosity on him.

No matter how much of a lone wolf he was, he was still one of them. If he became a public target, they would all have a much harder time.

"You! Don't go too far!" Captain Cook threatened through gritted teeth.

But Decade just shrugged.

"The bet only said you had to answer a question truthfully, right? It didn't say only the two of us could know. This is a fun secret. We should share it with everyone."

That was right. Wu Wang had changed his plan on the spur of the moment.

From the start of this cat-and-mouse bet, Wu Wang had realized something important. Simply knowing William's whereabouts was meaningless. This cruise ship was too big, and there were places like the 【Back Kitchen】 that didn't exist in the normal areas.

Even if he found William, the man could use his intimate knowledge of the ship to simply hide somewhere else.

So, he had to solve the problem at its root. He had to make William come out himself.

Wu Wang didn't know the full details of the revival plan. Thanks to the Calamity Cult's involvement, even Mary herself was in the dark. But he knew the old plan required sacrificing six specific roles. This new plan would only be bloodier and crazier.

If William wouldn't come out for him alone, then he would just blow the whole operation wide open.

He would make everyone on the ship go crazy together. He would make sure everyone knew the deep trouble they were in. If they weren't careful, they would all end up on the chopping block.

As long as he could ruin the revival plan, William would definitely appear in person.

Wu Wang laughed wildly.

"Hurry up! Tell us what you know! And tell us what you only suspect, too! Hahaha!"

"Crying? Crying wastes time!"

At that moment, everyone's expression as they looked at him became a little strange. He looked less like a hero and more like a cackling villain.

Captain Cook felt like he had just eaten shit. But the rules of the bet were absolute. Even though he absolutely did not want to speak, his mouth began to move against his will, spitting out the words.

“The Mary revival plan was created by my boss, William. For fifty years, he sacrificed six people annually to a special existence. The sacrifices followed the order of 【The Fool】, 【The Courtesan】, 【The Monk】, 【The Sinner】, 【The Wise One】, and 【The Warrior】.”

He paused for breath, his face pale.

"He did all this to awaken the soul of this ship, Miss Mary, who was his former lover.”

Before the passengers could even register their shock, Captain Cook continued.

"But fifty years passed, and Miss Mary showed no signs of awakening. So, Boss William made a deal with a group of people in black robes."

“This time, the ball will sacrifice everyone. He isn't just trying to awaken her. He plans to fully resurrect her!”

“The method of sacrifice is related to the nightly ball, but I don't know the specific details.”

“But most of you must die at the ball.”

“I suspect it has to do with your dance partners. Boss William warned me not to participate in the ball. He said if I wanted to fool around with women, I had to do it during the day. I am forbidden from touching any woman at the ball.”

“You will all become sacrifices!”

Having said his piece, all the strength drained from Captain Cook's body. He collapsed to the floor like a deflated ball, despair etched across his face.

He muttered to himself.

"It's over… The boss will definitely kill me…"

However, before the guests could process his words, the ballroom lights suddenly dimmed to an intimate glow.

The change in lighting made the players' faces drain of color.

It was starting.

Bei Lang glanced at the doors. They had been locked at some point. It was too late to escape.

He quickly turned to look at Fox Loli. Since it had come to this, they had to stake everything on their original plan.

Before he could speak, Fox Loli pulled a white cloth strip from her backpack. With lightning speed, she tied their hands together.

Bei Lang's mouth twitched. Her knot-tying skills were way too practiced.

He could clearly feel that he couldn't break free. It wasn't just her technique. The cloth strip itself was clearly a special item.

A beautiful piano melody began to echo.

The atmosphere grew heated, and a haze of confusion and hunger veiled everyone's eyes.

The second night's ball.

Had begun.