825: Chapter 825: Arrogant Person 825: Chapter 825: Arrogant Person He Ao turned his head and looked at the glass cabinet door he had opened, reflecting a blurry “painting” on this faintly translucent door.
The Elderly in the painting had fallen to his knees, with even light showering down on him.
This “portrait” did not change from front to back as He Ao’s perspective shifted; what he saw was always the “front” of the portrait, or rather, the reflection of the portrait projected in his mind.
And as He Ao gazed upon it, a series of distorted and strange hymns gradually echoed in his mind, and in a place infinitely far away, a Great Being seed to be casting its gaze through endless ti and space.
Two lines of blood tears seeped from the corners of He Ao’s eyes, and following that, his pale skin began to be covered with a strange flush, then fine lines of blood seeped from beneath his skin, gradually spreading across his entire body.
The infinite contamination ravaged within his body, but his gaze did not stray from the “portrait” at all.
Under his watch, this “imprint” displayed on the glass cabinet’s surface began to fade quickly, becoming lighter and lighter until it disappeared completely.
In the end, the “painting” vanished entirely from the glass cabinet, and those contaminants surrounding He Ao finally ca to a gradual halt.
He Ao looked up at his surroundings.
The twisted patterns that had gathered around this glass cabinet had completely dissipated without notice, returning to tranquility.
What was on the glass cabinet was not a real ‘painting,’ but a simple ‘reflection’ left by the original painting that had been inside this cabinet.
And as the cabinet door was opened, this reflection disappeared along with the changed structure of the cabinet.
He Ao stared at the now empty cabinet, falling into a brief silence, and at this mont, the entire library was engulfed in an eerie stillness.
“Is it done?”
A soft voice, tinged with a bit of nervousness, that of a young girl’s, broke the dim silence.
“It’s done, you can open your eyes now,” He Ao replied, his voice calm as he withdrew his gaze from the empty “painting.”
Vili removed her hands and opened her eyes, with the first sight that t her field of view being the He Ao drenched in red, like a blood-soaked figure, her voice slightly rising, “Your body!”
“It’s nothing.”
He Ao shook his head and jumped down from the side of the glass cabinet.
Vili hurriedly fetched a pack of tissues from the side.
He Ao reached out, took the tissues, then forcefully pulled out several sheets, and wiped his face clean of blood, “Thank you.”
Was his gaze still fixed on that empty frosted glass cabinet?
“This is?”
Vili also raised her head and followed his gaze, “Was the item inside taken by soone?”
She also started to piece things together, pondering aloud, “After father passed away, apart from you, only Carrie and I have entered this room, and both you and Carrie are trustworthy people,”
She paused, then speculated, “Has there been a thief?
When?”
“I’m afraid a long ti ago, perhaps even before your father died, the item in this cabinet was taken by soone.”
He Ao’s eyes observed the edges of the glass cabinet covered with dust; before he opened the frosted glass cabinet, it had accumulated a very thick layer of dust.
However, the cabinet itself was quite airtight, so there was little dust inside, and the remaining dust was uniformly distributed, without any signs of a long-term object being stored inside.
“Before father died?”
Vili was slightly stunned, for her, that was a very distant mory.
“When your father was still alive, did he bring anyone to this library?”
He Ao turned to look at her, “Do any people know that a special ‘oil painting’ is kept here?”
“My father often brought people in here during his small etings, he liked to bring people in,”
Vili paused as if struggling to rember, “Besides Uncle Endir, Uncle Jeko, and Vincent, many from United Industries and even the City Cabinet have been in here.”
She glanced around at the dense collection of books, “Many of these books were also ‘collected’ by my father’s ‘friends’.”
“Is that so?”
He Ao ca back to his senses and looked up at the frosted glass cabinet again.
“Are you suspecting…”
Vili looked up at He Ao.
“One would have to know about the painting’s existence before taking it, wouldn’t they?”
He Ao lowered his head to look at Vili.
After all, this library’s valuables weren’t limited to the painting, but only the painting had been taken.
“Hmm,”
Vili paused then whispered softly, “It could’ve been Vincent who took it.”
Too many people had access to this library, which couldn’t determine who ultimately took the painting.
Then Vili paused again, her voice a bit lower, “Or it could’ve been soone else…”
“One thing is certain, whenever sothing is done, it always leaves behind other traces,”
This ti, He Ao looked up at her, but didn’t continue, instead he asked, “Did your father also see this painting?”
Just a ‘reflection’ contained a terrifying contamination, the painting’s own strength must have been far more frightening than He Ao had originally guessed.
Even if it wasn’t an Extraordinary Item, it might have ‘touched’ a Higher Being in so way, endowing it with so unique strength.
If Skone, an ordinary man, had seen this painting, he shouldn’t still possess his full sanity.
“Hmm?”
He Ao’s question caused Vili to be slightly lost in thought; her delicate brows furrowed as she tried hard to recall, “This painting seems to have been here a long ti ago, I was still very young then.
I rember it seed like my father brought it back wrapped in thick black cloth, and then placed it in the glass cabinet.”
“The painting was wrapped in black cloth when it was put in the cabinet?”
He Ao blinked in surprise.
That black cloth was most likely a form of seal, allowing ordinary people like Skone to be unaffected by the painting.
However, if the painting itself was covered, how could a reflection be left on the glass cabinet?
Was there so unknown strength within the painting that penetrated the seal, or…
He looked up again, taking another glance at the glass cabinet.
The one who took the painting might have ‘seen’ the painting here, briefly unsealing it in this library, and the overflowing strength from the painting was imprinted on the glass cabinet.
Those black cloths may not have completely sealed the painting’s strength; the painting itself might have the ability to tempt soone to unseal it after being looked upon, otherwise Skone wouldn’t have ‘re-sealed’ the painting with a frosted glass cabinet, and put it out of easy reach.
In the Federation, antique collecting really is a high-risk hobby.
Who knows what one might suddenly receive.
He Ao lowered his gaze, letting out a long sigh.
Not until this mont did all the fragnts in his mind finally co together completely.
“That should be it,”
Vili nodded gently, she turned her head to look at He Ao, “So, is there a problem with this painting?”
“Perhaps,”
He Ao fell silent for a mont before saying softly, “this is the ‘Origin’ of the Eternal Secret Teachings.”
Vili lifted her head and stared at the empty glass cabinet.
The na of that painting was called ‘Baptism.’
Washing away the dirt, converting to the Divine Being.
Aside from Vincent, all the United Industries executives and City Cabinet mbers who had been in this library had been quite nice to her.
Even Vincent, when he saw her, tried to be as gentle and smiling as possible.
When she was very young, she even thought for a mont that Vincent was a good man.
Even after Vincent had overthrown her father, her father would still invite this ‘old subordinate’ to visit his library and collection when Vincent visited in a personal capacity.
“Has the old Mayor gotten back to you?”
The boy’s gentle and soft voice reached the girl’s ears.
His calm voice seed to possess a sort of invisible power that smoothed the ripples in her heart.
“Just a mont,”
she lifted her head, took a deep breath, and while looking at He Ao, quickly spoke as she raised her bracelet,
“I just called Uncle Endir and couldn’t get through, which isn’t reasonable.
So I had Carrie, who’s gathering information outside, go to the Mayor’s Mansion.
By this ti, Carrie should have gotten there, and she should send a ssage once she arrives,”
Her words halted mid-sentence, her gaze fixated on the content on her bracelet.
After a brief silence, she lifted her head to look at He Ao,
“The Mayor’s Mansion is surrounded by United Industries people!
It seems like they’ve cut off the Mayor’s Mansion from the outside world.”
She took a deep breath and looked at He Ao,
“If we can’t get in touch with Uncle Endir, we won’t be able to secure support from the City Defense Army.
Plus, we don’t know if United Industries will go mad.
Uncle Endir’s Mayor’s Guard lacks weapons and ammunition; they can’t beat United Industries,”
She lifted her bracelet, “I’ll contact the Twilight Society to gather people; we need to rescue Uncle Endir.”
“Don’t panic,”
He Ao shook his head, his gaze fixed on Vili, “Calm down.”
Vili lifted her head to et the boy’s calm gaze.
Her chest heaved violently at first but gradually slowed from rapid to steady.
She slowly lowered her bracelet and watched He Ao.
“What you’re dealing with now might not only be United Industries,”
He Ao continued, “There are several B-levels in this city.
Is the power of the Twilight Society enough to stand against United Industries, to stand against the Eternal Secret Teachings, to stand against these B-levels?”
Vili’s heaving chest finally cald completely.
He Ao looked up at her eyes, “Do you trust ?”
Vili gazed at the boy’s cheeks, still sared with a tinge of fresh red.
She parted her lips slightly, then slowly closed them, finally nodding emphatically.
“The more dire the situation, the more we need to remain calm.
United Industries has only surrounded the Mayor’s Mansion, which ans they probably don’t have plans to sweep the Mansion yet,”
He Ao looked up briefly at the dense books surrounding them, picked up the Knight’s Sword leaning against the wall beside him, slung it over his back, and headed towards the underground passage, “Let’s leave here first.
Contact the Twilight Society first, and from here on, follow my instructions.”
Vili watched the figure of the boy heading towards the underground passage; the bright chandelier stretched his shadow long against the wall of books piled up, as if holding up the entire sky.
The earlier panic, hesitation, helplessness, and fear all began to slowly dissolve at this mont.
The golden-haired, twin-tailed girl hurriedly followed behind the boy.
The two quickly passed through the underground corridor and arrived at the exit.
“Can we really defeat United Industries and the Eternal Secret Teachings?”
Stretching her hand to toggle the switch that opened the exit, the girl looked at the boy’s profile and asked in a low voice, “We’re so far behind in number, strength, and equipnt.”
“I don’t know,”
The boy’s voice maintained its steady calm as he turned on the flashlight on his bracelet and, carrying the Knight’s Sword nad ‘Consistency,’ climbed up the staircase.
The flashlight’s glow pierced the darkness of the narrow alley as the boy looked up at the overcast sky, “But in the night of this city, there are those who stand outside the spotlight.”
The golden-haired girl stepped out of the passage and stood behind the boy, the slightly chilly breeze winding through the night air and brushing past their hair.
Vili turned her head, using the stray light from the bracelet’s flashlight to watch the boy’s profile.
She knew very well that the strength of the Twilight Society compared to United Industries and the Eternal Secret Teachings was like an egg against a rock, but she had no other options, no other choice.
If it weren’t for He Ao, she might have really led her people to fight United Industries to the death.
While the ‘young boy’ wasn’t old and sotis his words could sting,
it seed that wherever he was, there was hope for overcoming any difficulty.
“What’s wrong?”
He Ao glanced at Vili who was bending slightly forward to watch him.
“Nothing,”
The girl imdiately withdrew her gaze, looking to either side, “It’s a bit too quiet around here; there could be an ambush.”
“There’s no ambush, I’ve checked,”
He Ao looked at her curiously, “Let’s go.”
He tightened his scarf and walked toward the end of the alley.
The golden-haired girl trailed half a step behind the boy, her lips curling into a faint smile.
They quickly reached the road where a black off-road vehicle was parked.
The two of them swiftly boarded the vehicle.
This ti, Vili sat in the passenger’s seat while He Ao sat in the back.
“Where are we heading now?”
Vili turned her head to look at He Ao in the back.
“We’re going to find Lena first.”
He Ao’s tone was calm.
anwhile, he looked towards the ethereal cards in his field of view.
[Would you like to pay 7 Exchange Stars to redeem ‘The Presumptuous’?
(Your currently available Exchange Stars: 8)]
[You have successfully redeed ‘The Presumptuous’]
[Would you like to use one Exchange Star to redeem ‘The Presumptuous’ for 12 hours of use ti?
(Your currently available Exchange Stars: 1)]
He Ao stared at the system subtitles in front of him and took a deep breath.
Could it be possible to redeem with just half an Exchange Star?
A thought flickered through his mind.
Seemingly sensing his idea, the subtitles in his view slowly changed,
[Would you like to use 0.5 Exchange Stars to redeem ‘The Presumptuous’ for 6 hours of use ti?
(Your currently available Exchange Stars: 1)]
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