abnormal mutation

Chapter 145 Enemies meet on a narrow road
Roland was all too familiar with that physique and that violent aura.

The Gluttony Pathway isn't exclusive to the Thistle Flower Merchant Guild, but it's the Gluttony Pathway sequence in the Sid Empire that's mostly theirs.

"Does having a prince backing you make you so arrogant?"

Roland shook his head slightly. The Thistle Merchant Guild was probably the mastermind behind the Richard family, smuggling new weapons. They were incredibly audacious.

I wonder if the seemingly shrewd Eighth Prince knew about it.

With a wave of his hand, a mermaid with dark green scales appeared out of thin air beside him, holding a long staff.

"I love it here." Nami took a deep breath, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she opened her arms as if embracing the ocean.

“You can live here, as long as you want.” Roland smiled slightly. “Now, keep an eye on that big cruise ship ahead. We’ll deal with it together after I’ve rescued the people.”

"No problem." Nami leaped into the air, her supple figure drawing an arc in the air, elegant as water, without making a splash.

The ocean is the mermaid's home; once she enters the water, even Roland might not be able to catch her.

Roland strolled downstairs and pulled Colin out of the cabin. Spider silk probed into his body, finding a clump of alien spirit coiled around his head. He cut and pulled the silk out, cleaning it away bit by bit.

A few minutes later, Colin slowly woke up.

After a brief moment of confusion, he suddenly sat up, adopted a defensive posture, and warily surveyed his surroundings.

The girl hanging from one side of the cabin, the man holding her with a knife in a strange posture, the mess on the ground, and the golden-robed man sitting leisurely at the stern admiring the night view—the style of the cloak seemed familiar.

"Didn't you say it was just you and the crew on board?" The man in the golden robe turned around, his tone slightly teasing. "Why are you with a woman? On your honeymoon?"

“Roland…” The familiar voice immediately awakened his memory. Colin was overjoyed, but when he saw that Roland had not taken off her hood, he quickly shut his mouth after uttering the first word, “I… she came up here secretly.”

As if he had just thought of something, he cautiously pointed upwards and whispered, "You've got the situation under control?"

Roland smiled faintly: "Speak freely, the situation is under control."

"Thank you." Colin bowed very respectfully, then asked curiously, "How did you get here so quickly? Did you invite a high-ranking member of the Northern Merchant Guild, or did you come from within the organization...?"

He was afraid of exposing the hive, so he didn't dare to continue.

“A mere mid-level sequence doesn’t need anyone to help.” Roland beckoned to him, signaling him to come with him. “Help me recognize the person, then remember this face and help me look it up.”

The two arrived in front of the middle-aged man on the rooftop. Roland used his mind projection to take a real-life photo and sent it to Hive for private messaging.

Colin circled the middle-aged man with the strange posture, a sense of dread creeping into his heart: "What... is wrong with him?"

"Do you recognize it? It's a sequence in the gluttony pathway." Roland still didn't give him a direct answer.

Colin's reaction told him that low-sequence extraordinary individuals had difficulty even detecting spider webs, let alone guarding against them.

Like a "prey," it wanders aimlessly in a spider web, completely unaware that its life or death depends entirely on the whim of the "web weaver."

“I don’t know him, I have no recollection of him at all.” Colin wisely refrained from asking further questions. After carefully examining the person for several seconds, he shook his head. “There is no such person among the higher-ups of the Thistle Flower Chamber of Commerce. I will send someone to investigate immediately. As long as there is any trace, I will definitely be able to find him.”

He wasn't just doing it for Roland, but also for himself. He almost died today, and he wouldn't be satisfied if he didn't get revenge.

“Hmm.” Roland silently sent the picture to Mandy, asking her to investigate through the intelligence department’s channels.

With a snap, he snapped his fingers, the spider web trembled slightly, tightened instantly, and then frantically plundered the life of its "prey".

The hair and skin of middle-aged people wither, age, and dry out at a visible rate, as if they are weathering and dehydrating, or as if decades of time have been stolen away, leaving them withered and frail like a candle in its twilight years.

His body was hunched over, his breathing grew weaker and weaker, his heart gradually stopped beating, and his whole body quietly turned into a dried corpse, as if he had been dead for many years.

A moment later, the extraordinary qualities were released. Roland wrapped them in spider silk and casually sent them into the spirit world, his technique incredibly skillful.

Colin stood frozen, staring in horror at the scene, unable to believe that it was the work of the man he had been chatting and laughing with.

Roland closed his eyes slightly and activated [Bloodline Resonance]. The surroundings immediately became chaotic, and fragmented memories surged forth.

Armsman, Richard, Bastad, Gluttony, Thistle Merchant Guild Deacon...

"It really is you!" Roland sighed and turned to go downstairs.

Unfortunately, his memories were too few, too fragmented, and mostly recent, so their value was limited. "Oh, what?" Colin snapped out of his daze, forcing himself to remain calm. A breeze swept over him, making his back feel cold, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

"We can't kill that girl!" He finally realized and strode after Roland.

"You don't need to tell me." Roland rolled his eyes at him, but Colin couldn't see it because of the hood.

The girl and her brother are still alive. He was just a passerby who came to save his friend. What would it mean if he killed them both?
The spider web has been removed, and more than half of the lives have been lost, but with so many lives saved, it's a huge win.

Inside the cabin, after the control was lost, the man collapsed to the ground with a thud. He gripped the dagger and tried to rush forward, but found himself extremely weak, with half of his hair turned white, and the dagger in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Bang! Colin rushed up and kicked him away, then slashed Windsor's restraints with a knife.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you." Windsor staggered to her feet, composed herself, and curtsied to Colin and Roland, who was standing not far away. "Thank you both. The Richard family will remember this."

"You almost got me killed." Colin gave her a cold look. "You'll have to get past the law enforcement officer first."

The Richard family's arms smuggling is undeniable. Official law enforcement is investigating, and the Thistle Trading Company, which is behind the scenes, has suffered heavy losses and will certainly not let the Richard family off the hook. Windsor's troubles have only just begun.

"Keep an eye on him," Colin instructed her, before beginning to help his assistant and the crew.

His two assistants were his right-hand men, and they had been through life and death together with him, so he couldn't abandon them.

These crew members were all hired by him. If they died, he would have to pay a lot of money in compensation, and without someone to sail the boat, they would have no way to go back.

They were about to attack the cruise ship in front of them. If they didn't control the situation properly and the two ships collided, there was definitely a scene that no one wanted to see.

Roland wasn't in a hurry. There were no strong people on the cruise ship, and they couldn't escape the vast ocean.

So much time has passed, and perhaps some people have noticed something amiss, but the highest-ranking and most powerful person is on this ship. If something really happens, what difference does it make whether they notice it or not?

They probably wouldn't dare to think in that direction.

Windsor tied her brother up and gagged him, then sat quietly to the side watching Colin work, her expression shifting, lost in thought.

Minutes passed.

The two assistants managed to save only one person and revive five crew members, but only three of them were able to move. However, they were considered lucky, as most of the crew members would never wake up again.

If Colin hadn't been so famous, and the other party hadn't yet decided how to deal with him, it's uncertain whether he would have survived until Roland arrived.

The next step is to take control of the large cruise ship as soon as possible. The frequent use of light signals should alert the other side.

"I'll go first, wait for my signal before you make a move." Roland waved his hand and, in stealth mode, stepped onto the cruise ship along the tow rope.

A suppressed but heated argument reached his ears on the wind.

"Something must have happened, what should we do?" The voice was anxious.

Cut the cable!

"Are you asking for death? Even the deacon was taken down silently, let alone us..."

"What if the deacon is alright?"

"At worst, I'll get a beating or a scolding, but that's better than dying, right?"

"Then we have no choice but to jump ship..."

"madness!"

"..."

Roland smiled faintly, his hair flying wildly, stretching endlessly, quickly weaving a simple three-dimensional spiderweb. This was sufficient against these people.

The spider silk silently seeped into everyone's bodies, unnoticed by anyone.

The next second, the spider web tightened instantly, and the ship fell silent. Everyone's bodies stiffened, their faces filled with terror, like mosquitoes trapped in amber, struggling desperately, but their movements became increasingly sluggish.

Roland's figure appeared at the stern, but no one could threaten him anymore.

(End of this chapter)