797 Determining the Situation
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797 Determining the Situation
Looking at the swollen, blue-black corpse on the counter, Lumian chuckled to himself, They’re not even trying to hide it, are they? Cla.s.sic Morora, the City of Exiles…
Lumian did a quick inspection, confirming that the highly decayed corpse was indeed the other body part of the Abscessed Hand. Besides missing the left half, the corresponding part of the head, and the Abscessed Hand’s body itself, it was fairly intact.
If it weren’t for the rotting flesh at the spine writhing and trying to regenerate, Lumian might have doubted that the two steaks served to him and Albus had come from this corpse, let alone that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of such “steaks” had been sold.
This made Lumian frown slightly, a question he had pondered earlier resurfacing in his mind: Must I do a recall of all the steaks sold?
Judging by the corpse’s completeness, it doesn’t seem necessary…
Moreover, the residents of Morora had been eating such steaks for some time. Who knows if they’ve actually digested and absorbed the rotten flesh…
From what I sense about the subtle connections between the corpse, even if digested, the rotten flesh likely just changes form without fundamentally altering…
As he pondered, Lumian quickly stuffed the half-decayed corpse into the Traveler’s Bag, using the Sword of Courage and other plain swords to separate it from the other half to prevent unwanted fusion before finding the head.
“So we were served this stuff, and it looked pretty appetizing,” Albus’s voice came from the kitchen doorway as Lumian put away the half of the Abscessed Hand.
Albus, the former member of the Iron and Blood Cross Order and Medici family member, wore a black jacket with dark red patterns, one hand in his pocket, marveling.
He didn’t seem disgusted by almost eating rotten flesh steak.
Lumian turned and responded with a smile, “I was looking forward to seeing what changes you’d undergo after eating it.”
“Gradually gain some self-healing ability, become stronger on moonlit nights, and learn some dark spells,” Albus replied in a report-like tone.
“But in return, self-control would significantly decrease, intelligence would regress, and nightmares would be frequent.”
“So, you came to investigate after noticing the odd behavior of those guys?” Lumian asked with a smile.
He wasn’t really seeking confirmation; he had already determined it. He was using this question to indicate that he was also investigating and hadn’t come specifically for the half-corpse.
“A Hunter must conceal their true purpose to avoid traps set by others.” The red-haired Albus smiled. “They tried to keep this a secret, hoping only they and their collaborators could enjoy this bar’s special food.”
“Who in Morora isn’t selfish?” Lumian asked, changing the topic. “How did you notice their intelligence regression?”
Albus raised his right hand, palm up. “If their intelligence hadn’t regressed, how could they have revealed their secret to me so easily, leading me to this bar?”
Lumian nodded slightly, looking thoughtful. “So, should I kill you to keep this secret from spreading?”
Albus met Lumian’s gaze calmly, smiling. “Do you think those idiots can keep a secret?”
With that, the Medici family member turned and walked towards the bar hall, exposing his back to Lumian.
Lumian stood still, watching him leave, as if deep in thought.
For a moment, he had the urge to kill.
He considered using this chance to eliminate Albus Medici to prevent him from interfering with his approach to 0-01, or even marking it for the Red Angel before him.
Ultimately, Lumian resisted this impulse.
For two reasons: First, he judged that becoming an experimental subject would severely impact his self-awareness. Unless it was his only option, he didn’t want to try it. In that case, having an extra person, a “cannon fodder” to help navigate the dangers, was a viable strategy.
Second, he wasn’t confident he could kill Albus Medici. If Albus was still in the same state as when they explored the Red Swan Castle, he would be easily dealt with, but several months had pa.s.sed. He had become a Reaper and had even fully digested the corresponding potion. It was unlikely the other party hadn’t made any progress.
Moreover, if Albus was indeed representing the Red Angel in approaching 0-01, the King of Angels would likely enhance His descendant’s strength, providing powerful items to ensure he was among the apex below demiG.o.ds, capable of handling Morora’s dangers.
Lumian didn’t leave the kitchen immediately. He checked around again.
He was looking for any other special ingredients-the bar owner’s slightly sluggish behavior made him suspect it was caused by randomly eating something in Morora, a common cause of death for Beyonders of the Gourmet pathway.
Unfortunately, Lumian only found ordinary ingredients like flour, b.u.t.ter, and milk.
He then went up to the second floor of the Carnivore bar, entering the Depriver’s bedroom.
He planned to stay here as the duel winner for the time being.
The bedroom was cleaner than Lumian expected-no grease stains, no c.o.c.kroaches, mice, or insects. Aside from being slightly messy, it was fine.
Lumian walked around the bedroom, trying to activate the black mark on his right shoulder to see if he could teleport out of Morora.
He couldn’t sense any of the places he had been to.
As expected, I can’t leave. I can only teleport within this mountainous area… But it’s not like Morora residents want to leave… I wonder if Albus has such thoughts… Lumian muttered silently, taking out ritual materials from the Traveler’s Bag.
He conducted his second experiment: Summoning a messenger!
But neither the doll messenger nor his own messenger responded to his call.
Disconnected from the spirit world? At least to some extent… As expected from a place sealing 0-01… Lumian stood at the window, gazing at the dim environment and the slightly less intense rain, feeling the cold dampness seeping in.
He proceeded with the third experiment according to his plan.
He walked to the full-length mirror in the room, placed his right hand on it, and activated a black mark on his body.
He was using the contractual ability from b.l.o.o.d.y Jack to sense the mirror marks he had left elsewhere!
In the blink of an eye, Lumian sensed three faint marks through the mirror.
They were in Moron Avigny’s study, the Blue Avenger’s treasury, and Franca and Jenna’s rented apartment.
This meant that if Lumian could enter the mirror, he might be able to use his teleportation ability to reach the mirrors corresponding to these marks. Even if not, he should be able to exchange information with the outside world through them!
Lumian was both pleasantly surprised and satisfied that his hypothesis was confirmed.
Having read the 0-01 data, he knew its origin and its connection to Fourth Epoch Trier. Given the similar sealing methods, many details should also be consistent-Trier had a special mirror world, so this place likely did too. Trier had Mirror People, so this place likely had them too!
The experimental subjects’ detail, “if not blindfolded, the one who leaves the mausoleum will be a monster resembling him,” was evidence of the Mirror People and the special mirror world’s existence.
Based on these premises, Lumian thought using the mirror world’s abilities might establish some contact with the outside world.
With this hypothesis, he borrowed the Mirror Cufflink from Franca, who had become a Demoness of Affliction. In a few days, she could use the pretext of investigating Mirror People to request charms from the Demoness Sect that would allow her to use the mirror world for teleportation.
Lumian reached into the Traveler’s Bag and took out the gla.s.s-like cufflink.
He didn’t rush to confirm if it could be used to leave directly or only to transmit information, as the Mirror Cufflink had only four uses left. He’d wait for important information or urgent matters to test it.
Grr, grr… At that moment, Lumian’s stomach growled with hunger.
He couldn’t help but gripe internally, Seriously, the Church of Knowledge is so stingy. Not even a meal or a sip of water before sending me into Morora. I’m not Ludwig, who can finish all the prison food…
Muttering, Lumian descended to the first floor, intending to cook something in the kitchen and wait for the rain to stop before looking for the Abscessed Hand’s head.
By now, the bar owner’s body had been taken away by the enforcers, and the bloodstains on the floor had been cleaned, but the destroyed bar counter and the hall’s scorched remains hadn’t been dealt with. Gla.s.s shards and wood splinters mixed with the scents of liquor and charred wood.
Just as Lumian picked up the bar owner’s legacy left by the enforcers- 420 sa.s.sen gold-someone walked in from the doorway.
It was the humble-looking human meat chef, Lez.
Lez was soaked, glanced around, and asked Lumian, “Are you hiring a chef here?”
The Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence? Lumian suddenly laughed. “Sure, go to the kitchen and make something. I’ll try it and see how it tastes.”