Good Evening, Watcher

When the Transcendent believers surrounded them, Yaxiu had thought they were in for a bitter battle. Although the Transcendent believers posed no threat to him in his god-hosted state, he couldn't very well slaughter everyone in their home after robbing them of their grand law. Silver Lantern might be shameless, but he still had pride! Yet utterly unexpectedly, the Transcendent believers did not attack right away; instead, they were willing to hear their explanation. If it were any other cult, Yaxiu might have assumed they were chickening out, but such a concept simply did not exist for the Transcendent Cult. Their decisions were the calculated results of their intelligent computational hub. If they judged Yaxiu to be the culprit who had seized their grand law, they would have thrown every single believer into keeping him there, no matter the cost. Right now, Silver Lantern had already made off with Resonating Strings, and the remaining Transcendent Prison was on Yaxiu. Even if they wanted to talk, they surely should have subdued Yaxiu before negotiating. Yet when Yaxiu went to explain, the Transcendent believers pointed at Harvey and demanded that the necromancer speak. After hearing Harvey's account, the Transcendent believers stated they were willing to believe them, provided Yaxiu returned the Transcendent Prison Grand Law before leaving in the morning. Everyone was astonished by Harvey's favorability with the Transcendent Cult. Recalling Harvey's actions, Yaxiu couldn't help asking, "Could it just be because you can play the harmonica?" "How could that be?" Harvey replied. "Probably because I'm very close to the undead right now." The undead? Yaxiu paused, then immediately realized. Transcending consciousness, shedding the self. The undead. A necromantic creature—possessing intelligence but devoid of consciousness—wasn't that precisely in line with the goal pursued by the Transcendent Cult? Of course, there was one decisive difference: the undead were already dead, whereas the Transcendent Cult sought to evolve while alive. Harvey's "cold flowing fire" existed in a superposition between life and death. His consciousness drew incomparably close to that of a silent undead, yet he was still alive. It was just right to gain the recognition of the Transcendent Cult. Even so, Yaxiu still suspected the harmonica had something to do with it—the little girl's fondness for Harvey had surely been uploaded to the intelligent computational hub as well. If one person liked Harvey, perhaps the entire Transcendent Cult liked Harvey. Then the Transcendent Cult posed a question: had Yaxiu obtained citizen clearance for the Transcendent Prison Grand Law? Upon receiving an affirmative answer, they proposed a deal: if Yaxiu was willing to use his citizen status to help them unlock a few Grey Fox legacies, they would gift one legacy to Yaxiu and his companions, and allow Yaxiu to remotely host the Transcendent Prison Grand Law. "Remote god-hosting?" The silver-haired beauty's eyes flickered. "Did you convert to the Transcendent Cult?" "No." Yaxiu produced a card. "But they gave me this." "Oh." The silver-haired beauty came to a sudden realization. "An indulgence." Indulgences—every cult could produce something similar, crafted during worship rituals through the resonance between believers and a grand law. Its original purpose was not god-hosting, but helping believers cross the night. Although resolute believers could pass through the night's Strangling Green, there were always those less steadfast who would be corrupted and mutated by Strangling Green. As long as a believer carried an indulgence, they would remain safe and sound even if their willpower was insufficient to resist Strangling Green. Only later did believers discover that an indulgence was the sturdiest channel connecting to a grand law, making it all too perfect for remote god-hosting. "In other words, not only did you avoid clashing with the Transcendent Cult, you also gained an indulgence and a legacy..." The silver-haired beauty nodded thoughtfully. Yaxiu gave a smug chuckle, stood up, and said, "I'm not afraid to tell you what legacy I got, either—this right here: the god-hosting belt!" Around Yaxiu's waist was a wickedly cool belt with a slot in the center, seemingly designed to hold an indulgence. "Paired with the indulgence, this belt allows me to achieve perfect god-hosting even when the Transcendent Prison Grand Law isn't by my side," Yaxiu said. "Even if I encounter Silver Lantern again, I'll have the power to fight." Though he said Silver Lantern, his gaze fixed on the silver-haired beauty, clearly directing the veiled threat at the Four Pillar Cult as well. In any case, his god-hosting prowess would inevitably be exposed in future clashes with Silver Lantern, so he might as well use it now to intimidate Mercury Trojan. However, as formidable as the god-hosting belt sounded, in reality, it was just a toy from the Grey Fox Divine Era. When Yaxiu first picked up the belt, his citizen status yielded feedback from it: [Unregistered user detected. Please log in to Type Zero Toy Company to register or continue as a guest...] [Type Zero Toy Company thanks you for your purchase. The Type Zero Henshin Belt currently only supports the god-hosting function. Please use in conjunction with a grand law point card! Log in to unlock additional features—supports up to 10 point cards simultaneously, with more plug-ins available for download!] [God-Hosting: Operates after inserting a grand law point card. Maximum load: 100%. Maximum capacity: 1.] Grand law point cards, indulgences—the exact same thing carried different names and different expectations across different eras. From this, Yaxiu could also appreciate the intelligence of the Transcendent Cult: the god-hosting belt was utterly meaningless to Transcendent believers, who would never leave the Transcendent Building anyway. Giving it to Yaxiu, however, meant that no matter how he used it outside, it would wear down the strength of other cults while serving as a walking billboard for the Transcendent Cult. The Transcendent Cult came out ahead either way. If the indulgences ran out, Yaxiu would have to return to the Transcendent Cult for replenishments, and with enough back-and-forth, he might even become a Transcendent believer—though that was merely Igola's perspective, as Yaxiu consistently felt that the one the Transcendent Cult truly coveted wasn't him, but Harvey. After all, while the Transcendent Cult had indeed given Yaxiu the Grey Fox legacy of the god-hosting belt as agreed, they had also custom-made a polyphonic harmonica for Harvey as an extra. The silver-haired beauty glanced at the belt without much concern and asked, "You say you almost caught Silver Lantern?" Yaxiu nodded and briefly recounted the pursuit between him and Silver Lantern. As she listened, the silver-haired beauty suddenly raised a doubt. "Your fighting style changed. Earlier on, you showed no long-range attack capabilities whatsoever, and as far as I know, god-hosts have a very hard time attacking at range. Yet later, you suddenly inflicted heavy damage on Silver Lantern from a distance... What happened?" Yaxiu naturally wouldn't lay everything bare to a future enemy. "I had a breakthrough during the fight." "You possess an unknown ability I know nothing about," the silver-haired beauty said calmly. "And you can't use it continuously, or you would have dealt heavy damage to Silver Lantern right at the start. Let me guess... a hidden persona?" Igola immediately looked at Yaxiu. The silver-haired beauty shook her head. "No. With a mind sorcerer's help, even a hidden persona could be forged into a conventional weapon. So it wasn't a hidden persona, but..." "Your hidden self." Yaxiu neither confirmed nor denied it. He had no interest in leaking any more information to the Four Pillar Cult. "Your turn. Time to tell us about Silver Lantern." Yet the silver-haired beauty kept her gaze fixed on him. "I want to see what is real beneath that human skin of yours." Yaxiu answered calmly, "Sorry, I sell my body, not my art." "Is that so? If the mind sorcerer beside you were turned into a wooden horse as well, would you still refuse to let your true self come out for a breath of fresh air?" *Smack!* The tavern patrons turned their heads to see a red-haired girl flipping the table and grabbing the silver-haired beauty. Seeing it was just a fight between women, they promptly turned back to continue drinking. Yaxiu had no intention of causing a scene here. Dragging the silver-haired beauty out into the alley, he slammed her against the wall. "What did you say?" "Right now, you're merely experiencing ordinary anger," the silver-haired beauty said, shaking her head. "Still quite a ways from that true self." *Thud!* A punch struck her in the stomach. The silver-haired beauty instinctively doubled over, but she still shook her head calmly. "Useless. At best, your strength right now could give a massage. In this place, you'd struggle even to crush a Lalafell... Of course, if you host a god, you could break the Kaleidoscope's restraints and kill me. But would killing me accomplish anything?" None at all. She was merely a Four Pillar believer puppeted by Mercury Trojan; kill her, and Mercury Trojan still had countless pawns. What was more, if... "Or would you prefer I come see you in another body?" she whispered softly in Yaxiu's ear. "The silent necromancer? Or the cunning mind sorcerer?" *Smack!* Yaxiu silently withdrew his hand, looking down at the silver-haired beauty he had slapped to the ground. "Are you here to announce that our cooperation with the Four Pillar Cult has officially fallen apart?" "Of course not." Sitting on the ground, the silver-haired beauty rubbed her cheek and shook her head. Looking toward Igola, who had settled the tavern bill and was walking over, she chuckled. "He doesn't seem to care that much about the rest of you either." "If you knew how we met," Igola said calmly, "you wouldn't have any bizarre misconceptions about our relationship." "If you came to provoke us, please leave. Otherwise, give us the intelligence on Silver Lantern." The silver-haired beauty stood up, patted the dust from her skirt, and said, "Silver Lantern is right here in Black Robe Town." Neither Yaxiu nor Igola was surprised by this information—Black Robe Town was the closest and largest town to the Transcendent Building, and given its nature as a trade hub, it was only natural for Silver Lantern to resupply here. "Also, how did you recognize the two of us?" Igola asked. "Our appearances and attire are completely different from our real bodies." "Please allow me to keep that a secret." The silver-haired beauty lightly tapped her lips with a finger. "Since Yaxiu refuses to reveal his true self, I must maintain a little mystery of my own. Farewell, then, gentlemen." Watching the silver-haired beauty vanish into the crowd, Igola turned back to see Yaxiu leaning against the wall, lost in thought. "Time to get back to shopping." "Yeah." Though he agreed, Yaxiu showed no intention of moving, still deep in thought about who-knew-what. The Swindler glanced at him, then walked straight into the pedestrian street. A moment later, he returned with two ice creams, holding one for himself and passing the other to the cult leader. Unafraid of the cold, Yaxiu took a huge bite, smearing cream around the corners of his mouth. Once the ice cream melted on his tongue, he suddenly said, "She's lying." "Hm?" "There's no way she could have planted mercury in you two; back then, neither of you even touched the wooden horse. If her touch ability didn't even require physical contact, she would have turned Silver Lantern into a wooden horse long ago. How could she have been reduced to having her power usurped by Silver Lantern?" Igola started, thought it over carefully, and nodded. "You're right. That's indeed a glaring flaw." "Then why use a lie like that to provoke me?" Yaxiu frowned. "Just to see what hidden trump cards I'm holding back?" "Speaking of which, there's something that has been bothering me," Igola said. "Setting aside how she recognized the two of us... why did she only ask about Harvey?" Yaxiu blinked, realization striking him in an instant. Mercury Trojan wasn't just Mercury Trojan; she was also Tanomu, Tamaxi's former companion. Given Tamaxi's hatred for her, when she saw that Tamaxi wasn't with them, why hadn't she asked about Black Crow, inquiring only about the necromancer instead? Just as the thought was about to hatch, someone called out from outside the mouth of the alley, "Found you two at last. Even with a prophecy miracle, red-haired, crimson-eyed women are hardly rare around here..." Turning around, they saw an unfamiliar woman and asked, "Who are you?" "Haven't you gotten used to my entrances yet?" She chuckled. "Since Tamaxi isn't here, you can just call me Mercury Trojan." ... Void Realm, Distant Sky Realm. When the four operators appeared inside the phantasm bubble, Sonia immediately looked at Yaxiu and asked, "How did your battle with Silver Lantern go?" "Thank goodness you logged into the Void Realm tonight." Diya breathed a sigh of relief as well. "I was worried something happened to you." Because the clash with Silver Lantern had been planned beforehand, Yaxiu had long prepared himself for being unable to log into the Void Realm for a day or two. He had originally intended to let the Sword Princess and the Witch team up to explore on their own; even though the Dream Treasury was bound to him, a team of multiple sorcerers was always more efficient than exploring solo. Yet after a moment's hesitation, both the Sword Princess and the Witch had objected to the idea, preferring to act independently. Yaxiu had found it rather strange—hadn't they been quite close before? But since they were unwilling, so be it; after all, it would only be for a night or two. "It's a long story, and something very puzzling happened just now..." Yaxiu looked toward the quiet young woman beside him and took the initiative to greet the new operator: "Good evening, Weise." Weise lowered the hand touching her cheek and smiled. "Good evening, Watcher."