Because of this unexpected incident, Yang Qizhou was in a terrible mood.
"That damn ’Beauty God’s Appearance,’ building a massive harem and enjoying every imaginable kind of beauty, yet still dares to ask a miserable single guy like for help? Just go die already. I swear I’ll add two more stabs when the ti cos."
"Lamp Holder," Zhou Xu suddenly asked, "did soone from the ’Dark Star Mont’ offend you?"
Yang Qizhou replied with a blank expression, "No, I’m fine, just asking for no reason..."
Envying a popular guy? Like hell he’d admit to sothing like that.
Shortly after, the two of them arrived at the first-floor living room. The ’Hermit’ had been waiting for a while, legs pressed together on the couch, engrossed in a book titled *One Hundred Years of Solitude*. The mont the Hermit spotted Yang Qizhou, they hurriedly stood up.
"Sorry about that, the book’s just so good—it’s hard to put down." The Hermit waved the book for emphasis as they spoke.
Though for so reason, the title seed glaringly ironic.
With an impassive face, Yang Qizhou walked to the seat across from them. "Group Leader, before we discuss this ’Deceit Bureau’ mber’s purpose for coming here, shouldn’t you first give an explanation?"
Sure enough, introducing Zhou Xu to the Lamp Holder had stirred this one’s displeasure.
The Hermit felt a hint of nervousness in their heart.
"Bringing Zhou Xu here—I know this wasn’t appropriate. I originally wasn’t planning to tell anyone about your stay here, but this matter is of great importance. It involves the convergence of the ’Old Earth’ and the ’real world.’ After much hesitation, I finally made this decision."
After a pause, the Hermit continued resolutely, "Lamp Holder, perhaps you could at least hear Zhou Xu out before getting upset."
The convergence of two worlds?
Yang Qizhou narrowed his eyes, suddenly intrigued.
So the ’Forget Worm’ had manifested through the ga layers and taken root in a player known as the ’Fox.’ While this wasn’t a common phenonon, it did make him realize sothing... The distance between the ’Old Earth’ and the real world might not be as far as he had thought.
"Go on, let’s hear it," he said.
Zhou Xu took a deep breath and said gravely, "Lamp Holder, have you heard of the ’Deceit Prison’?"
Of course, he had. Wasn’t that the prison for locking up the most vicious and lawless players from the ’Deceit World’? Yang Qizhou nodded silently, signaling him to continue.
"A few days ago, sothing happened in the ’Deceit Prison.’ A convict nad ’Luo Fusheng’ escaped. Luckily, a mysterious player dealt with him before he could wreak havoc on society. But the real issue ca to light afterward. Luo Fusheng’s escape... wasn’t random. Behind it lies the hand of a secret organization."
"The Hermit Association..."
Luo Fusheng?
Oh, wasn’t that the moron who tried to steal the ’Dream Hidden World Clothes’ from a couple of days ago, only to get himself killed? What a loser.
Of course, Yang Qizhou knew. Not only that, thanks to the effects of the ’Heart Dream Source,’ he already knew that sothing dreadful would happen in the ’Deceit Prison.’ Luo Fusheng had likely sensed that disaster and chosen to break free.
"Keep talking; I’m listening," he said.
Zhou Xu nodded. "Lamp Holder, you’ve dealt with the Hermit Association before, so you should know what kind of Hidden Organization they are. When I realized Luo Fusheng’s escape was connected to them, I imdiately applied to my superiors to conduct a thorough investigation of the ’Deceit Prison.’ We managed to uproot quite a few plants they had inside."
Yang Qizhou stayed silent, knowing this mber of the ’Deceit Bureau’ wasn’t finished yet. If the prison’s issues had been resolved, Zhou Xu wouldn’t have co looking for him.
Sure enough...
"Lamp Holder, by all rights, this should have been the end of it. I thought so too... But sothing bizarre happened not long ago in the ’Deceit Prison.’"
Finally, the main point. Yang Qizhou leaned in with interest. "Oh? What kind of bizarre thing?"
Zhou Xu hesitated for a mont before answering, "The prisoners in the ’Deceit Prison’—they’ve all started lying. For instance, even if soone spent the whole morning lounging in their room doing nothing, they’d tell others they did a hundred push-ups. That’s just an example, of course, but that’s the gist of it."
What’s so strange about that? Yang Qizhou shrugged.
In his eyes, anyone locked up in the ’Deceit Prison’ was already a devious, relentless player who’d obtained power from the ’Deceit World’ to wreak havoc. Forget lying—he wouldn’t be surprised if they rioted one day.
But soon, Yang Qizhou frowned.
The idea of everyone in the prison suddenly lying... Why did that sound so familiar?
"And? What does this ’convergence of two worlds’ the Hermit ntioned have to do with it?"
Zhou Xu seed prepared for the query. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I suspect this isn’t just a random natural phenonon. It might be part of a mysterious ritual. Soone could be attempting to open a passage between the ’Old Earth’ and our world—and looking to gain sothing from within."
A ritual?
A flash of inspiration struck Yang Qizhou, and he suddenly rembered.
No wonder the abnormality in the ’Deceit Prison’ had triggered such déjà vu. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of scenario that the player ’False Disguise’ had once described? The ’Deceiving Apostle’s’ ascension ritual?
When the ’ritual’ begins, everyone in ’Asgard’ starts lying, and through those lies, the Apostle ascends to godhood.
"Any evidence?" Yang Qizhou asked gravely.
Zhou Xu gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "No evidence, no clues. Sotis, I even suspect I’m overthinking it, that those inmates aren’t actually lying—or if they are, it’s just a big joke. But every ti I recall it, an overwhelming sense of unease wells up inside ."
Yang Qizhou nodded thoughtfully.
That made sense. If Zhou Xu had any solid evidence—or even a shred of corroboration—he wouldn’t be here asking for help. He’d have already reported it to his superiors and mobilized the ’Deceit Bureau.’
"So even you’re not sure if there’s a supernatural force involved?"
Zhou Xu fell silent for a mont. That silence was as good as admitting it.
Yang Qizhou relaxed slightly and asked, "Alright, then. What do you need from ?"
The Lamp Holder was willing to act?
Zhou Xu’s heart filled with relief. Honestly, his request was made without much expectation. "Lamp Holder, I don’t need much—just a way to contact you. If sothing does go wrong in the ’Deceit Prison,’ I hope you’ll intervene."
"Sure, no problem," Yang Qizhou said.
"Really?"
"Of course..." Yang Qizhou shrugged, then added with a sly grin, "But my help doesn’t co cheap. You’d better be prepared."
Zhou Xu froze montarily before realizing. Right—this man wasn’t a mber of the ’Deceit Bureau,’ much less a friend or subordinate. Why would he work for free? Paying a fee was only fair.
Although it looked like he was about to bleed his wallet dry, the thought strangely put Zhou Xu at ease.
"That’s fine, Lamp Holder. You—"
But before Zhou Xu could finish, Yang Qizhou waved him off. "Hold on. Don’t agree so quickly. I haven’t told you my price yet. If I help, the paynt will be 10,000 ’Old Sacrifices.’"
Old Sacrifices?
Zhou Xu felt relieved. If it had been a higher-grade ancient object, like sothing epic or beyond, the Bureau might’ve struggled. But ’Old Sacrifices’? They had plenty of those.
"How much?"
"10,000."
"Oh, so 10,000. Wait, what...?!" Zhou Xu’s eyes widened in shock as the sheer price hit him.
Even the Hermit rolled her eyes nearby. As expected, the Lamp Holder was as ruthlessly greedy as ever.
The Hermit still rembered the 3,000 Old Sacrifices incident.
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Yang Qizhou repeated nonchalantly, "10,000. Can you afford it? If not, forget it."
Ten thousand Old Sacrifices. That was enough to request direct intervention from a ’god’ on the Old Earth. Zhou Xu hesitated for what felt like an eternity before finally gritting his teeth. "Fine. 10,000 it is, Lamp Holder. How will I find you when the ti cos?"
A faint smile tugged at Yang Qizhou’s lips.
He could almost taste the 10,000 Old Sacrifices in his hands. As for the Bureau trying to weasel out of the deal? Ha, let every one of their mbers suffer misfortune. That wouldn’t be his problem.
As for how to contact him... After a mont’s thought, Yang Qizhou smirked and spoke up.
"Recite a divine na."
The second the words left his mouth, Zhou Xu’s expression turned strange. He confird again, just in case: "Lamp Holder, are you sure about this?"
Who could bla Zhou Xu for his reaction?
Divine nas were traits exclusive to gods, representing certain cosmic symbols. Reciting one could lead to one of two outcos:
1: The god is alive, and the recitation draws their attention.
2: The god is dead, and the act invokes so strange, ominous entities, leading to disaster.
And now, the Lamp Holder wanted him to recite a full divine na?
The Hermit, on the other hand, remained relatively calm, having once recited the na of the God of Victory and lived to tell the tale.
"The Great War Blood, you are the embodint of iron and fire, the Star Spirit that governs courage... That’s the na. If anything strange happens in ’Deceit Prison,’ just chant it. I’ll appear on my own," Yang Qizhou said impatiently, before adding one last detail: "And don’t forget the 10,000 Old Sacrifices."
Not the full na of the God of Victory?
Just how many divine nas did the Lamp Holder possess?
The Hermit cast a profound glance at the figure in front of her, once more deeply shaken.
Though the cost was enormous, they felt a bit more at ease knowing they had the Lamp Holder’s support if things went south. After a few polite exchanges, Zhou Xu made his exit on the pretense of needing to attend to matters back at the ’Deceit Bureau.’
Once he was gone,
Yang Qizhou turned to the Hermit and asked, "Why are you still here?"
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