Chapter 386: Unable to Move
Spider simply could not understand it. He had executed his hypnosis flawlessly. By all accounts, the two individuals sitting on the couch should have been trapped in a waking nightmare, completely paralyzed by their darkest fears. Yet, they sat there without a single reaction.
But that did not matter right now. Spider shifted his attention toward Ganyu. The blue-haired secretary remained entirely oblivious to the silent battle in the room, her back turned to him as she carefully brewed a fresh pot of tea. A cold, mocking sneer tugged at the corners of the assassin's mouth.
With no one else actively interfering, he could focus his full attention on dealing with this woman.
Gathering his focus, Spider prepared to make his move.
Right on cue, Ganyu finished preparing the tea. She arranged several delicate porcelain cups on a wooden tray and turned around, walking with measured, graceful steps toward the coffee table in the center of the room.
This was the perfect opportunity. Just moments ago, her back had been turned, making it incredibly inconvenient for Spider to establish the necessary visual contact for his illusions. Now that she was facing him directly, the timing was flawless for him to plant a deep psychological suggestion.
Spider subtly initiated his technique. He began weaving a complex web of rhythmic sounds and shifting optical patterns, projecting them directly into Ganyu's line of sight to drag her consciousness into a trance.
However, as the minutes ticked by, the assassin's initial absolute confidence began to fracture into genuine anxiety. He amplified his efforts, layering more suggestions and visual distortions into the air. Yet, the woman standing before him displayed absolutely no reaction. She simply blinked, completely unaffected by the high-level mental manipulation.
What in the world is going on?! Spider screamed inwardly. He stared at Ganyu, who was now lifting the teacups off the tray. She tilted her head slightly, offering him a look of pure, innocent confusion at his strange, intense staring. Could it be that my hypnosis is entirely ineffective against her?!
His expression darkened, twisting into a grimace of frustration. He could not afford to wait any longer; he had already wasted far too much precious time on these stubborn targets.
As the top assassin of a highly secretive, dangerous syndicate, Spider absolutely refused to believe he could not handle a lowly corporate secretary.
Narrowing his eyes, he decided to stop playing around and use his true abilities.
A moment later, three distinct, glowing red dots of light materialized in the air directly in front of Ganyu's eyes. They spun in a captivating, hypnotic rhythm.
Watching Ganyu's gentle amethyst eyes gradually lose their focus and become entirely vacant, Spider finally exhaled a long, heavy breath. His shattered confidence immediately returned.
Of course, he thought with a smug smirk. How could his ultimate hypnosis possibly fail?
Still slightly irritated by the flawless projection scenes he had witnessed earlier, Spider decided to ask his first question, his tone laced with lingering resentment. "There must be some fatal flaws in this Holographic Projection Technology, right?"
Ganyu responded, her voice drifting and hollow, devoid of its usual warmth. "No. The company's technology is flawless. There are absolutely no shortcomings in the Holographic Projection Technology."
Spider ground his teeth together, deeply dissatisfied with the answer. However, knowing that any further delay might invite unwanted complications, he quickly pressed on with his interrogation. "Listen to me. Where exactly is the core code for the Holographic Projection Technology kept?"
"Underground," Ganyu replied mechanically. "On the first basement floor."
Spider leaned forward, his voice tight with urgency. "Then how do I get inside? Is there a specific identification or keycard required?"
"No," Ganyu answered. "Only Lady Ningguang is permitted to enter that place."
Spider clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tsk. Just as I expected. These low-level employees cannot access any real confidential information at all," he muttered under his breath.
"Since you already guessed that much, why did you still insist on targeting the employees of the Jade Chamber?" a calm, youthful voice suddenly echoed through the room.
Spider answered on pure reflex. "To cause trouble for the Jade Chamber, obviously."
A split second later, a chilling realization hit him. He snapped his head around. Amuro and Conan were sitting on the couch, watching him with leisurely, perfectly sober expressions. Neither of them looked even slightly hypnotized.
To make matters worse, Amuro casually shook the smartphone in his hand, the screen glowing to indicate he had just recorded the entire confession.
A lethal, cold light flashed across Spider's eyes. Without a single moment of hesitation, he launched himself directly at Amuro, his killing intent flaring as he sought to destroy the recording and the man holding it in one brutal strike.
In the blink of an eye, Amuro reacted. Moving with explosive agility, he slipped the phone securely into his jacket pocket. He shifted his weight, allowing the menacing assassin to strike nothing but empty air.
Spider pivoted, throwing a flurry of rapid, calculated strikes. Amuro parried and dodged with practiced ease, his movements fluid and precise. After exchanging several heavy blows, Spider came to a grim realization. This blonde man truly was the prized disciple of the great detective Kogoro Mouri. He was a highly trained fighter, definitely not someone to be taken lightly. Subduing him quickly would be entirely impossible.
At that exact moment, Spider caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Ganyu had blinked, the vacant look vanishing from her eyes as she effortlessly broke free from the hypnotic trance. Spider's eyes flickered with malicious intent. He subtly shifted his footwork, angling his body toward the secretary.
Amuro keenly tracked Spider's shifting gaze and understood the assassin's intention immediately. Yet, he did not step forward to intercept.
This was the perfect opportunity. He wanted to witness the true combat strength of the Teyvat Organization's Liyue branch members for himself.
Judging the distance to be perfectly within his strike zone, Spider abruptly abandoned his assault on Amuro. He spun on his heel and lunged viciously at Ganyu.
"Ganyu, watch out!" Conan shouted. The young detective had immediately retreated to a safe distance the moment the fight broke out, but seeing the assassin target the seemingly defenseless secretary forced a panicked warning from his throat.
Spider sneered inwardly. Too late! He was going to make this woman pay a heavy price for daring to play him for a fool.
Having seen Amuro and Conan's clear-eyed reactions, Spider knew they had broken free of his illusions long ago and had merely been acting to lower his guard. This secretary had done the exact same thing, pretending to fall under his spell just to feed him useless information.
Her answers about the underground floor and Lady Ningguang were probably complete lies as well.
The more Spider thought about the deception, the more his fury burned. But as he closed the final gap, looking at Ganyu standing well within his reach, that anger twisted into a dark, sadistic pleasure. He would take her hostage, break her bones, and teach them all a lesson in respect.
However, in the span of a single heartbeat, the situation inverted. Just as Spider's hand reached out to grab her, Ganyu pushed off the floor. She leaped backward with impossible, weightless grace, her movements as light as a falling feather. In an instant, she had opened up a massive gap between herself and the assassin.
Before Spider could even process her inhuman speed, a bone-chilling, soul-piercing cold violently swept over the room like a tidal wave. The freezing energy slammed into him, tightly wrapping around his entire body. This terrifying, unnatural frost possessed an absolute binding force, freezing his muscles and locking his joints. His entire body went completely stiff, rendering him entirely unable to move a single inch. He could only stand there, trapped in a prison of ice, watching helplessly as the gentle secretary landed safely across the room.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]