Almost ten minutes passed.
Catalina glanced at the brooch and pocket watch again. She didn't hear any noise from the fight, but faintly heard the noise of some arguing coming from upstairs.
The original plan was as follows: First, let Ed create some chaos outside the door to attract attention, buy time for the one-eyed spider to destroy the window lock, and then let Quinn climb out of the window to assassinate the target.
She herself lacked relevant experience in this area, so she was not assigned a task. She only had to stay alert in the room and be on standby.
Boom, boom, boom. There were footsteps approaching.
Katarina stood up warily and put her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"nailed it."
Ed pushed aside and walked in. When he said this, he patted the briefcase in his arms with a relaxed expression, as if he had just gone downstairs to ask for a glass of lemonade.
"Where's Miss Quinn?" Catalina sat back on the bed with a sigh of relief and asked with concern.
"Don't worry, she's handling...the aftermath."
Ed said it more euphemistically, but Catalina could understand what it meant:
"Would it be difficult to clean the blood stains?"
"No, just don't hit the aorta. Penetrating the eyeball and directly stabbing the brain stem will cause the opponent to go into shock instantly, and almost no blood will flow out."
Stab the eye...
This technique was something Katarina had never heard of. From a purely fencing perspective, the head is not a perfect target:
The skull is the strongest bone. Considering the distribution of the center of gravity of the sword, it is relatively difficult to break through the defense. If it does not penetrate the eyeball, it will easily be hit by the opponent's desperate counterattack. Moreover, the opponent's head in a sword fight is in motion most of the time, so it is not easy to hit the eyeball.
Most importantly, this technique is difficult to train. In regular training, the fragile soft tissue of the eyeball will cause serious damage even if hit with a blunt or wooden sword. Therefore, the rules do not allow deliberate attacks on the opponent's eyes.
From a personal point of view, she prefers to attack wrists, knees, legs, neck and other targets that are relatively easy to hit and are enough to incapacitate the opponent.
But this may not be a strange move...
Just when Catalina was thinking about how to put the newly acquired knowledge into practical use, Miss Quinn had already climbed in through the window.
She moved like an agile leopard, barely making any sound when she landed.
"I got the things, but I hid the person under the bed."
As she spoke, she threw something shiny on the soft bed.
It was a gold-plated half-face mask, with complex thorn-like patterns flowing and spreading on its face, and its eyes were wrapped in a layer of blue enamel, like some ancient and mysterious makeup.
Turning over the front of the mask, a pale green engraved metal card was clamped behind it, looking like a ghost. The corners on the four sides have been trimmed into smooth arcs, with club patterns stamped by molds and hand-etched numbers imprinted on them:
"0141".
Holding the mask in her hands, Catalina looked at the false face staring back at her. She felt her hands tremble a little:
"This is really..."
"There are still fifteen minutes until the banquet is entered. If you're scared, you'd better tell her in advance. There's nothing to be ashamed of." Quinn leaned against the window and looked at her to remind her.
"It's so much fun!"
She had long dreamed of transforming into a vigilante and wearing a mask to infiltrate behind enemy lines, but she never expected that one day her dream would come true.
Think about it, those monsters and ghosts were talking loudly to the "companions" in front of them one second, thinking that they were safe and sound, but they didn't know that the companions in front of them were their disaster stars, and the next second they would be in disaster.
"..."
Quinn looked out the window silently. For a moment, Katarina seemed to notice that the whites of her eyes were exposed, but it seemed like it was just her illusion.
…
Room No. 107 is at the end of the green-grey painted wall corridor, as if it shouldn't exist. Although there is electricity, the guest rooms on the first floor do not use electric light sources, but use traditional fuel wall lamps and chandeliers for lighting.
The light source was getting darker and darker. Without the protection of the black gold armor, Catalina felt less secure, but her duty still made her move forward.
A huge log-colored exhibition stand blocked the way. There were a few small candles placed on the display stand, and a little light could be seen.
Catalina's eyes swept over the dusty exhibits, unable to stay even a second longer. Her tutor taught her some basic appreciation knowledge, but these things should be kept in the grocery store.
"What are you here for?"
asked a respectful but cold voice. The wine bottle in front of her was moved away, revealing a light blue eye in its place.
Calm down, Catalina, stay calm at all times. she said to herself.
"Hello, I'm here to attend the dinner. This is my membership card."
Catalina showed him the pale green card and placed it close to the candle light source so that the other party could see it clearly.
"I'm sorry, please go in first. There are many guests today, and you may need to queue up during the inspection. Please be patient."
The cold voice was a little gentler. With the sound of mechanical rotation of the crank handle, the floor-standing vase at the bottom of the right side of the shelf, which is about one person tall, was moved in by the pulley mechanism to make way for a passage.
Katarina held up her mask with her hand and walked through at a faster pace.
Room No. 107 was about ten steps away, and there was a man dressed as a waiter wearing a half-face mask like her standing in front of the door.
Seeing Catalina coming over, the man opened the door of the room respectfully. It suddenly became clear inside——
The room was almost three times the size of Ed's guest room, and the only window was tightly sealed with security bars and boarded up.
Although the orange light of the incandescent lamp is bright and hot, there is a strange morgue-like atmosphere here from the inside out:
There were about a dozen people in the room, each wearing a ghostly mask. They did not communicate, but lined up quietly, keeping their distance, waiting for the two masked waiters at the front to search and let them go.
Katarina didn't dare to say anything rashly at this time, so she had to stand silently in the last row and follow the team's slow progress. Until it was Catalina's turn, the team behind her still showed no intention of shrinking:
"Hello, please show me your membership card." Two waiters, one male and one female, spoke softly on the left and right sides.
She showed the card again, and the other party bowed slightly after confirming:
"Welcome, member No. 0141. Weapons and other dangerous goods are prohibited at this banquet."
"This is my amulet. I always carry it with me. Do you think I can bring it in?"
Katarina generously took out the broken handle of the family heirloom sword "Heart of the Tree" from her waist. This was the argument that the three of them had discussed in advance.
The waitress took the hilt of the sword and carefully pulled out the broken sword. The pattern was like a starry night, and the cold light was still there. The "Heart of the Tree" has been broken in the hands of the Silver Knight for nearly a hundred years. Very few people have seen it, so she is not worried about being discovered.
"I still recommend that you put the sword outside. The club will keep it for you, and the club will fully compensate for any losses." The waitress said tactfully.
Compensate "Tree Heart"? Catalina only found it a little funny. I was afraid that even if the entire club was demolished, it would not be able to afford the thousand-year holy sword, even though it was only a part of the remaining fragments.
"No problem, I will cooperate if necessary. But I still want to know the specific reason for you to do this, as well as your employee number. I think this is my legitimate rights and interests, okay?"
Catalina said with great momentum, this was the explanation given to her by Ed. If you really can't bring it in, her "Crystal" secret text can also be used to use the secret binding person on small objects such as table knives, but the combat power will be greatly reduced.
The look in the waitress's mask suddenly became timid. She couldn't just return the sword to Catalina, and she didn't dare to insist on asking for it.
At this moment, Catalina was not in a hurry to speak or go any further. Time was on her side, and the opponent's momentum would become weaker with every second that was delayed.
"Okay, there are many people behind us, so don't waste time."
The silent waiter finally spoke. He took the broken handle, put the remaining sword back into its sheath, and held it respectfully to Catalina with both hands.
"I see it's a nice souvenir. Madam, please come in."
