The eerie wind occupied the sky above Victorray Harbor, with every household's windows tightly shut.

Such a scene in this city was truly unusual. According to common sense, the tropical monsoon from the Floating Sea should bring ample moisture, and with the abundant sunlight from the Sun Lifting Tree, Victorray Harbor has always enjoyed a comfortable tropical maritime climate, unrelated to overcast, dry, and cold weather.

Quinn Mahmut held a pipe, his gaze passing beyond the window, his eyes emitting a purple murky glow unique to the Void, seemingly trying to oversee the course of the sailing route beyond the leaden sky.

Yet even with the aid of the Void's strength, all he could see was the thick fog rising over the sea, blocking his brother's southbound fleet.

"The situation is not looking good, young master."

The butler, Maight, walked over, speaking with concern:

"This dry cold wind is quite mysterious, and according to many sailor captains, there is a high density of floating ice beneath the sea, causing many ships to suffer. The shipyards in Victorray are now full with queues."

Quinn shook his head: "That's nothing major. The environment of the Border Abyss is ever-changing, with heat sometimes spreading inexplicably. A piece of ice can even heat a glass of water to boiling. That the dry cold wind could freeze the sea is not an unusual thing."

"Indeed, the Border Abyss has many oddities."

The butler glanced at Quinn and said:

"But coincidentally, Asher and his lackeys disappeared the day the eerie wind appeared."

Hearing this, Quinn Mahmut lifted his pipe, as if wanting to take a puff, furrowed his brow, and finally said:

"Asher, leading the sixth team, was tasked to keep an eye on outsiders. His strength should be decent. Although he hasn't adhered to the Pathway, he is more than capable of dealing with mortals and stowaways."

In the Border Abyss context, mortals refer to those who are Kappa Rank (10) and without a Pathway.

In fact, due to insufficient educational resources, the illiteracy rate in the Border Abyss is generally much higher than in the Layer Abyss, and the spread rate of the Pathway is notoriously low.

But with the strong basic conditions set here, for those stowaways who came down unnoticed, Asher, who has the level of Lambda Tier (11), should handle them like snacking on peanuts, one bite at a time.

"Asher has been missing for two days now."

The butler said:

"The members of the squad are also missing."

"An entire team, four good hands disappeared." Quinn frowned: "Did they run into a tough nut? They wouldn't have provoked people from the Narrative Civilization, would they?"

"Young master, you know, if they had provoked people from the Narrative Civilization, they would have already wiped Victorray Harbor off the map by now."

The butler explained:

"I asked those acquainted with him, and Asher had previously targeted two stowaways staying at the Strange Hotel, doing some manual labor and just indulging in the hotel's complimentary tea and refreshments daily."

"Heh, who knew they'd hit a brick wall with those two tough nuts—you think you're writing a third-rate street novel?"

Quinn wasn't angry about his men getting killed; the inability to discern the opponent's background and capability is purely a personal issue. Such a minor figure wouldn't provoke his anger.

What truly made him uneasy was this timing.

The eerie wind and disappearance came simultaneously, just when he was re-establishing communication with the Void.

"No one knows about Asher's disappearance, right?" Quinn asked.

"I had people find an excuse, saying he went out of town to handle some affairs."

"Well done, without my brother here, even the Senators are starting to underestimate us. We must not let anyone seize this period when we communicate with the Void."

"Are you worried about the Union's arbitration court? As far as I know, the Border Abyss maintains a neutral attitude towards the Void."

"Neutral? Neutrality is relative. When a dwarf and a strongman fight, and you stand by claiming to be permanently neutral, you are essentially supporting that strongman. If we get exposed, the arbitration court won't spare us."

Though not as shrewd and decisive as his brother, Quinn was no fool and clearly understood the bigger picture:

"Lately, due to large-scale activities of the Society, many people have fallen. In the past few years, as the Underwater Abyss Port was closed, the regulation on trade with the Void by the Narrative Union has relaxed. But our family's conversion to the Path of the Void, they probably can't accept."

"Those two stowaways might incite retaliation, but at most, they would only kill a few underlings, not threaten us. Stowaways are still stowaways. Once they commit excessive actions, they would inevitably face the entire Victorray Harbor's onslaught."

Even so, the butler offered a cautious suggestion:

"Considering the larger environment, why not endure for a while? A return trip from north to south takes only two or three years. If necessary, you can write a letter to Lord Elliott, and have the One-armed Gun return first, which would only take four or five days."

"That won't be necessary. After all, we still have 'that child' in our hands; ordinary people don't have the qualifications to trouble us... Before departing, my brother had already settled our parents in the countryside, I will discuss with him later."

Quinn pondered for a moment, quickly employed a spell to compose a letter, looked at the gray and white sea outside the window, then suddenly thought of something, turning to ask:

"Maight, do you think this eerie wind has any connection with those two stowaways?"

"I don't know, young master. Many Pathways have the ability to influence weather, but if it were the strength of a Pathway, then the Guardian of Victorray Harbor and the Overlord's Hotel should post notices or release reports explaining the source."

"Not a Pathway's strength?"

Quinn murmured:

"Then, besides the Pathway, what strength would directly change the weather?"

"The weather in the Border Abyss is not that easy to manipulate. Even Demigods can only passively cause meteorological disasters. Only a Phantom Beast Species, Holy Beasts who stand alongside Deities can do such a thing."

Maight thought for a while and said:

"The most representative would be a dragon, right?"

Crash!

A bolt of lightning suddenly tore through the thick clouds, striking directly at the top of the Mahmut family's manor, scorching sparks instantly bloomed, and electric sparks immediately coiled around the metal parts of the entire building.

Almost instantly, the entire house was ignited, servants and family members were startled but quickly calmed down, rushing around to fight the fire.

"Truly strange, how could it thunder in such dry weather?"

Maight expressed surprise:

"Though the clouds outside are thick, there's not a drop of rain."

"Not a hint of magic aura either."

Quinn's eyes lit with the Void's unique purple hue. He scanned around but detected no elements of magic.

"This seems to be merely a natural phenomenon, perhaps an excess accumulation of lightning elements in the air." Maight said: "It appears necessary to request the Guardian of Victorray Harbor to trigger rainfall or absorb some lightning elements."

However, the butler's words failed to provide Quinn with reassurance.

After some time, the internal noise and clamor of the family caught Quinn's attention, as the temperature didn't decrease with the firefighting but the intense smoke made him frown.

The fire seemed on the brink of being out of control.

"Maight, wait here."

He opened the door, immediately choked by the strong scent of sulfur, Quinn quickly covered his nose, grabbing a passing maid, asking:

"What's going on? You all have been fighting the fire for a while, why is the blaze still growing?"

Unexpectedly, the maid completely disregarded his identity, just yelling:

"Run, young master, there's a creature in the inferno! Anyone approaching gets consumed by the fire."

"A creature?" Quinn grabbed her, "Explain to me clearly, what exactly is it?"

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