"Doctor, are you searching for Divinity?"
The Blind One broke the silence amid the collective scrutiny. She turned to Wang Mou with a smile, her sealed eyes seeming to emit a mysterious glow, inviting him to address Mo Rabic's claim.
This answer was critical — it might well determine whether Wang Mou could remain a teammate in the trial going forward. Cheng Shi and the Torchbearers had also co for the Abyss Colorful Crystal; if they simply watched the Divinity that was rightfully theirs get "picked up" by soone else, the Torchbearers might be willing to let it slide — but a certain clown would not.
True, an ownerless thing belonged to whoever found it first. But the problem was: you took the lead I brought to the inn, then beat
to the Crystal I wanted. No matter how you sliced it, that felt like being backstabbed.
Cheng Shi had a headache. He knew the Abyss Colorful Crystal couldn't belong to him alone, but he also couldn't let the Truth follower before him hoard it all. At minimum, half-and-half was basic courtesy. So from the mont he'd heard Mo Rabic's words, he'd been calculating how to secure his share — plus perhaps the two Torchbearers' — from the hands of an assassin.
Qin Xin and the Blind One were also weighing the situation, keen to learn what this Truth teammate truly intended.
And then, to everyone's stunned disbelief, sothing jaw-dropping happened. Wang Mou apparently had no intention of hoarding the spoils at all. He retrieved eleven pieces of Abyss Colorful Crystal of varying sizes from his personal space, laid them out neatly on the ground, and — under everyone's thunderstruck gazes — said in his characteristically deadpan manner:
"I searched every mine shaft, warehouse, and miner's hidden stash. This is all there was. The current period isn't ideal for Abyss Colorful Crystal collection — these are likely stockpiles they gathered during the Abyssal Volcano's last eruption.
If I'm not mistaken, this wise man of yours is sohow related to La Biao, a Grand Scholar from the Tower of Logic's Creation Alchemy Departnt. I've studied him, seen his portrait. That's how I first learned about Abyss Colorful Crystal.
I also found so records related to the Divinity tempering experint during that trial — but most were failed drafts. The vague 'core experintal material' ntioned in them beca the biggest obstacle to my replicating the experint...
So — friends of Folly — you possess the ans to refine these Crystals, don't you?
Otherwise, I can't imagine why my teammates would bring a group of unrelated NPCs to the mine in search of leads."
Sharp, rational, intelligent, composed — Cheng Shi saw in Wang Mou every quality a Truth follower should embody. This should have been a perfect opportunity to deepen his understanding of the man, yet Cheng Shi couldn't shake the feeling that sothing about Wang Mou was fundantally off.
If Wang Mou had presented this persona from the start, Cheng Shi's impression of him wouldn't have been negative. But the man had opened with lies, then exposed himself, looking every bit like soone with hidden agendas and ulterior motives — only to now "generously" lay out a full day's worth of Abyss Colorful Crystal for everyone to see.
This erratic, contradictory behavior left Cheng Shi's perception of Wang Mou in disarray. The man's image felt like a defective product stitched together from countless fragnts rather than a harmonious whole from the outset.
Why?
Could he be... soone's slice?
It wasn't unreasonable for Cheng Shi to think this. Truth followers excelled at exactly this sort of thing. And after witnessing the Divinity Germination Experint, no anomaly in a slice-person's personality could surprise him anymore.
With this thought, a new layer of scrutiny entered Cheng Shi's gaze. He studied Wang Mou for a long while before smiling:
"What exactly do you an, Doctor? You intend to... share these Abyss Colorful Crystals with us?"
Wang Mou nodded frankly:
"Correct. I have the materials. You seem to have the thodology. Collaboration between us can effectively advance the experint's replication.
If these two Folly followers can truly complete the experint and extract Divinity from the Crystal, I don't need any share of the resulting Divinity. I only want to observe one complete experint.
That is the entirety of my purpose."
"But that's not why you were waiting for us here, Doctor. Before running into us, you had no idea our party included wise n who understood the experint." Cheng Shi's retort was as incisive as ever.
"True. Observing the experint is rely my hope — not my reason for seeking you out.
But Fate Weaver, you needn't be so guarded against . I harbor no ill intent. I am simply devoted to pursuing Truth.
I ca here because I couldn't be certain whether the Investigator behind
would act preemptively and strip
of all the Crystal I'd found.
Fairness has never been a niche topic. When few people are present, no one can guarantee fairness. Only before a crowd does fairness even have a chance of being invoked.
So you could say it was 'fear' that drove
to find you as quickly as possible — though you arrived faster than I expected.
Speaking of which — I've been this transparent already. Investigator, are you still not going to co out and join us?"
Wang Mou turned to look behind him. The mont the words left his mouth, Li Wufang erged from behind a small hill in the distance, a smile playing at his lips. In one hand he held a rope, and at the other end — two n trussed up like packages, forced to hop forward like zombies.
Everyone recognized both "zombies." One was Ad Ric, the man the Doctor had identified as the "present anomaly." The other was none other than the group's target — the Proxy Hand's boss, A Rad!
No one had expected A Rad to end up in Li Wufang's hands. The mont Shi Lolin spotted her brother in the crowd, her face darkened into a murderous glare as she sneered: "A Rad — so your day has co!"
A Rad was still too far away to hear his sister's greeting. Li Wufang, however, had sharp ears. He glanced at Shi Lolin among the group, then back at his captive, the smile at his eyes deepening.
He strolled over with the two in tow, expression casual, seemingly unbothered by the Doctor's veiled accusation. He didn't even acknowledge Wang Mou's stare. His drifting gaze skipped over everyone else entirely and landed squarely on Cheng Shi — and in the brief instant their eyes t, he squeezed Cheng Shi a conspicuous, deliberate wink.
"?"
Cheng Shi's heart skipped a beat. That covert signal was clearly no ordinary greeting between teammates. Why was the Investigator suddenly trying to curry favor with him? What had he discovered?
Or rather — what did he want to say?
Cheng Shi was puzzled but didn't dare show it. He could only respond with his trademark smile, then casually shifted his gaze back to the Abyss Colorful Crystal on the ground, smacking his lips appreciatively — ostensibly addressing Wang Mou, but really deflecting the Investigator's attention.
"I'm not being guarded against you. I'm just surprised that you're so... generous?"
"Generous? Perhaps. When cooperation improves efficiency, I will always choose cooperation.
After all — Truth is not Folly. Knowledge should flow freely."
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