Hongmen Club.

It was located on the highest floor of the Mary Cruise Ship.

There was only one rule to enter this floor.

【Obtain an invitation】.

It was a seemingly simple rule, yet for decades it had barred countless elites who yearned to enter. The problem was, no one knew who issued the invitations.

And those who did happen to receive an Identity Card certainly wouldn’t publicize it.

In this supposedly high-class circle, everyone knew how dirty things were behind the scenes. No one would flaunt a personal advantage. The principle of not showing off one’s wealth was second nature.

By understanding this mentality, William had kept the Hongmen Club’s existence a secret to this day.

However, the club’s interior was not as magnificent as one might imagine.

There was only a single long dining table.

The entire floor was so sparse that speaking caused echoes.

Right now, two people were seated at the table.

The man in the main seat, facing the door, was impeccably dressed in a suit, his hair combed meticulously. He looked to be only in his thirties.

A delicate, fang-shaped brooch was pinned to his jacket. He appeared dignified, but his face was as pale as a corpse that had been dead for days, lending his entire demeanor a strange and sinister quality.

If Wu Wang were here, he would have definitely asked what brand of face paint the man used.

The person sitting beside him was draped in a black robe, their face obscured by a large hood. Their voice was odd, distorted as if by a cheap voice changer from a video game.

“Mr. William, why all this trouble? You know we have an insider. Don’t you trust our people?”

The deathly-pale William simply picked up his wine glass, swirled the contents twice, and spoke softly.

“This is a necessary ritual.”

The black-robed person was clearly displeased.

Their organization had made a deal with William, making them responsible for coordinating the ritual on the ship this time. Since they weren’t from this world, they couldn’t interfere much beyond the ritual itself.

After interacting with him for the past few days, they wanted nothing more than to kill William.

The man was a complete enigma, the kind of person who would leave even batman scratching his head.

But William was in charge here. The robed figure could only take a deep breath and ask with forced humility.

“Mr. William, forgive my ignorance, but could you please explain why the ritual requires them to come here?”

William glanced at them.

He took a light sip of his red wine before finally speaking.

“The thousands of bodies and souls are merely a sacrifice to my Lord, an offering to gain the strength He bestows.”

“But strength without direction is useless.”

“The deaths of the six Descenders are the anchor points for that strength.”

“Only by completing this part of the ritual first can the large-scale sacrifice guide my Lord’s strength into Mary’s consciousness.”

At these words, the black-robed person froze.

The organization had never told them that William knew about the players!

Descenders. That’s what some powerful NPCs in the game worlds called players. They were aware of their existence.

The organization had investigated William thoroughly before making contact. He shouldn’t have been powerful enough to know about players!

Sensing their confusion, William laughed mockingly.

“My friend from the Calamity Cult, are you surprised that I know about the Descenders?”

“What if I told you I even know what you’re planning?”

“Would that surprise you even more?”

Thump, thump.

The black-robed person’s heart hammered against their ribs.

But the enchanted robe they wore concealed their physiological signs, making it an excellent disguise.

They feigned composure.

“Oh? Then by all means, enlighten me.”

The moment the words left their lips, two rusty iron plates shot out from the chair.

They slammed into the black-robed person, pinning them to the seat.

The move was completely unexpected.

William, however, began to explain unhurriedly.

“Your Calamity Cult wants the strength gifted by my Lord.”

“Oh, no, that’s not quite right. To be precise, you want the Mary Cruise Ship after it has received my Lord’s strength.”

“So you can use it to travel to other worlds, correct?”

Thump, thump, thump.

The black-robed person’s heart hammered relentlessly. The face hidden beneath the hood was a mask of terror.

He knew! This guy knew everything!

For years, the Calamity Cult had scoured different game worlds, searching for powers that would allow them to leap between realms. This mission was supposed to be routine. They had discovered that the Mary Cruise Ship possessed just such a power.

After a thorough investigation, they determined that this power came from a ritual performed at the annual ball. But the ritual’s controller, William, would mindlessly inject this power into the ship itself every year, trying to awaken the consciousness of ‘Mary’ within it.

Since he clearly had no idea of the power’s true potential, the Calamity Cult decided to take it for themselves.

They used a Legendary-grade item as bait, claiming it could amplify the ritual’s power to the ship’s absolute limit. With a sacrifice far greater than in previous years, Mary would surely be awakened. This was how they persuaded William to let them assist with the ritual.

In reality, the item did amplify power. But the ultimate recipient of that power, the Mary Cruise Ship, would fall under the Calamity Cult’s control.

This black-robed person was the one sent to seize control.

And William knew everything!

The black-robed person wasn’t pretending anymore.

“If you knew, why did you cooperate with us?”

They asked the question through gritted teeth.

They struggled, but found they couldn’t exert any strength. The iron plates binding them had a special property. They were continuously draining their stamina and mental strength, holding them on the very brink of consciousness.

This was just one of the Calamity Cult’s many operations, so the agent they sent wasn’t particularly powerful. After all, the stronger an individual, the greater the rejection they faced when entering other worlds.

Right now, they had no way to escape.

William narrowed his eyes, a red glint flashing within their depths.

“Cooperate? You’ve misunderstood something.”

He casually picked up a small knife from the table. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying, neatly slitting the black-robed person’s wrist.

A stream of crimson blood flowed from the wound, but it didn’t drip to the floor.

Instead, it floated upward, trickling into William’s wine glass and enhancing the wine’s aroma.

The canines on either side of his mouth seemed to lengthen, making him look as ferocious as a vampire from legend.

“The Calamity Cult wants to plunder my Lord’s strength, and I want to use your item to resurrect Mary.”

“This isn’t cooperation. It’s mutual exploitation.”

“And it just so happens that I have the upper hand.”

The black-robed person was silent for a long time. They no longer cared that their blood was slowly becoming an additive for the other’s drink.

William was right. This wasn’t cooperation. Both sides were just using each other.

But they still couldn’t understand how William knew so much. He shouldn’t have been able to comprehend these things at his level.

At this moment, William leaned back in his chair, his spirits high. He hummed an ancient tune, his hand instinctively beating time like a conductor.

“Praise the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire!”

He knew all of this because it was a gift from his Lord!

His Lord clearly intended for him to double-cross the Calamity Cult. He would obtain the power to leap between worlds and personally pilot the Mary Cruise Ship to the Sea of Desire to pay homage!

My Lord would personally bless his and Mary’s reunion!

Actually, there was one more thing he had deceived the Calamity Cult about.

The six special Descenders did have to die. But not in any specific order.

There was only one true condition that needed to be met.

【The Warrior must die willingly】

The soul of this willing 【Warrior】 would become the anchor point to attract the power.

The entire purpose of the Hongmen Club… was to inflict such endless suffering that 【The Warrior】 would have no choice but to willingly accept death.

That was why this place was filled with trap-like items, like the one that had just restrained the cultist, and countless other instruments of torture.

Come, my Warrior.

Let me see how long you can last.