Chapter 904 The Driver
After quickly reading through the information, Jenna remarked in disbelief, “Mr. Fool’s ident.i.ty in the dream is so ordinary.”
....
There’s no sign at all of him being a great existence!
“What should we do next?” Franca looked at Lumian. “Find an opportunity to make contact with Mr. Fool?”
The doc.u.ment had already roughly outlined Zhou Mingrui’s, that is, Mr. Fool’s dream ident.i.ty’s daily routine. As long as Lumian and the others weren’t too unlucky, they could soon see and interact with Mr. Fool.
Earlier, when she saw the name Zhou Mingrui, Franca’s heart had suddenly skipped a beat.
She hadn’t expected that the name Mr. Fool used in the dream wasn’t in the style of the Northern and Southern Continents, but rather very close to the style of her country before she transmigrated.
Of course, this was consistent with the current city’s situation. But if the name “Zhou Mingrui” belonged to the Celestial Worthy rather than Mr. Fool, Franca would understand and accept it more easily, because the t.i.tle “The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings” itself was in the style of her country before her transmigration.
Could it be that the Celestial Worthy has gained the upper hand, to the extent that Mr. Fool’s dream city is the same as my motherland, and even took a name like “Zhou Mingrui”? As Franca muttered internally, Lumian thought for a few seconds and said, “Let’s not contact Mr. Fool yet. We’ll observe the people and events around him for a few days.”
As the team leader, Lumian didn’t just give orders; he briefly explained, “Mr. Fool himself is certainly under close monitoring by that Celestial Worthy. If we rashly contact him, it would be easy for the Celestial Worthy to detect anomalies, lock onto our ident.i.ties, and kick us out of the dream.
“Additionally, although Madam Justice’s information includes Mr. Fool’s daily routine and the people he frequently interacts with, I still want to observe for a while myself. This isn’t about distrusting the abilities and intellect of the Major Arcana card holders, but I feel they know too much background information, which might interfere with their judgment, preventing them from discovering subtle hidden issues.”
“Mm, cognitive bias,” Franca summarized Lumian’s meaning using a term very much in the style of the current dream world.
Lumian nodded.
“Some people mentioned in the information might no longer be in contact with Mr. Fool, but I’ll still observe them to look for possible commonalities and differences.”
“Then let’s first go rent a place to settle down in one of these areas marked on the map,” Jenna said, holding a city map taken from the brownish-yellow envelope.
The marked locations were all residential areas close enough to Mr. Fool’s current residence to overlook that area, but not too close.
“I have no objections,” Franca said instinctively. “Then I’ll get a taxi first.”
As she spoke, she reached into the pocket of her red jacket, fumbling for a few moments before realizing something. “No phone…”
She immediately suggested, “Let’s buy five phones nearby for a few hundred each, no, four phones and one children’s smart.w.a.tch.
“Without phones, life in this city will be very difficult and inconvenient. Sometimes, what can be done with a phone doesn’t need to be done with Beyonder abilities. The latter is more likely to lead to our ident.i.ties being exposed. I think the previous lucky coin holders might not have paid attention to this aspect and were in a hurry to contact Mr. Fool, which is why they were quickly discovered by the Celestial Worthy and kicked out of the dream.”
“Alright,” Lumian nodded slightly, holding Ludwig’s hand as the boy ate a sausage.
He looked around and asked, “So, where should we go to buy them?”
Franca chuckled. “Lend me the Lie earring for a moment.”
After putting on the silver-white earring, she adjusted her hair color and eye color, slightly modifying her nose bridge and facial contours. In an instant, she blended in with the pa.s.sersby around her, though still with a hint of mixed-race features.
At this moment, a slightly chubby young man pa.s.sed by. Franca approached him in a few steps and smiled, “Could you help me with something?”
The young man, dazzled by her bright smile and beautiful face, blurted out, “What is it?”
Franca said a bit embarra.s.sedly, “I lost my phone, could you…”
The chubby young man instinctively took out his own phone, then came to his senses and asked warily, “You’re not going to ask to borrow my phone to make a call, are you?”
Such an old scam!
Franca sighed and replied, “I just wanted to borrow some money for food.”
Before the man could respond, she smiled again. “Just kidding, how could I use such a cliché scam?
“I just wanted to ask if there’s a mall or phone store nearby. If you don’t know, could you help me check on your phone?”
Sounds harmless, with the phone in my hands the entire time… The man cautiously searched and earnestly gave Franca directions.
Franca waved with a smile. “Thanks!”
The man’s eyes glazed over again, and he asked as if struck by inspiration, “Do you want to be a celebrity, or maybe a live streamer?”
“Are you a talent scout or from a Multi-Channel Network (MCN) company?” Franca asked curiously.
It had been a long time since she had chatted with someone like this.
The man came to his senses and said with an awkward smile, “Neither, but if I could sign you, I’d become a talent scout or start an MCN company! Beautiful, can I get your number?”
Franca finally understood that this guy was indirectly complimenting her looks. Everything before was just a setup; this was the real point.
Tsk tsk, people these days… Even when I used to play murder mystery games, there weren’t so many tricks… Franca inwardly sighed and said with a sincere face, “Didn’t I tell you? I lost my phone, so I’ll have to change my number later too.”
With that, she didn’t give him a chance to harbor any hopes, waved goodbye, and jogged back to where Lumian and the others were.
The chubby young man watched her go and muttered to himself enviously, “A group of otakus…”
Half an hour later, Franca led Lumian and the others out of the nearest mall to the roadside.
They had used the ID doc.u.ments and cash provided by Madam Justice to buy four phones, one off-brand children’s smart.w.a.tch, and five SIM cards, spending a total of 2,400.
But except for Franca, who was constantly tapping her screen, and Ludwig, who occasionally licked his children’s smart.w.a.tch, Lumian, Jenna, and Anthony were just holding theirs like bricks, not knowing how to use them yet.
“I’ll teach you once we’ve settled in!” Franca said, having linked the ID doc.u.ments and a.s.sociated bank cards with the corresponding apps. Instead of going to a nearby branch or ATM to deposit money, she directly took out a micro-loan and started to call a car.
Just then, a motorcycle roared past, almost grazing her, the wind from its pa.s.sing slapping her face.
Franca angrily looked at the motorcycle, cursing under her breath, “Racing on the street? Are you in a hurry to be reborn?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the motorcycle swerved to avoid a light truck from a moving company, only to find a hole dug for road repairs ahead, surrounded by yellow metal barriers.
The motorcycle desperately swung its tail and crashed into a nearby utility pole, making the concrete pillar visibly shake.
With this commotion, motorcycle parts flew in all directions.
Franca watched in astonishment, murmuring, “It’s not my fault…”
Although Demonesses were indeed skilled at curses, they didn’t work through mere words!
Just as she was about to call for an ambulance to see if the motorcyclist could be saved, the helmetless rider stood up without a scratch, pushing the severely deformed motorcycle away from the scene.
“He’s fine after that?” Franca blurted out in shock.
A thought immediately flashed through her mind, and she whispered in unison with Lumian, “A Beyonder?”
Lumian immediately said to Jenna and the others, “Let’s go take a look.”
Taking advantage of the green light, they crossed the intersection to the accident site, seeing that even the utility pole was slightly deformed and cracked.
Lumian cast his gaze to the ground, crouched down, and pulled out a rather ordinary-looking white paper figurine from a nearby flower bed.
The paper figurine was already tattered.
“Paper Figurine Subst.i.tutes? Was that motorcyclist from the Seer pathway?” Franca quickly deduced.
Jenna frowned slightly and said, “One of the Celestial Worthy’s subordinates?”
“Possibly. Let’s use Dream Divination later to recall his appearance,” Lumian nodded, stuffing the paper figurine back into its original position and quietly using a Demoness’s black flame to erase any traces he might have left.
Franca grumbled, “That guy didn’t look anything like a Beyonder from the Seer pathway, racing on the street and even crashing. All the Seers I know are cautious and cunning, full of schemes.”
As she complained, she used her phone to book a car.
Soon, a white sedan stopped in front of them.
Although Franca had already explained what internal combustion engine cars and electric cars were, when they actually got in, Jenna and Lumian were still a bit shocked.
The ordinary electric car, similar to a hired carriage, felt luxurious, as if the words “civilization” and “technology” were written everywhere.
Anthony sat in the front pa.s.senger seat, while Jenna, Franca, and Lumian holding Ludwig squeezed into the back. Even so, the s.p.a.ce didn’t feel too cramped.
The cold air from the air conditioner dispersed the summer heat as the vehicle carried Franca, who couldn’t conveniently explain things in such a setting, and the silent Lumian and others to their destination in just over twenty minutes.
As they got out of the car, Anthony gave Lumian a meaningful look, gesturing for him to look at the driver.
Lumian walked to the front door of the vehicle and peered in, noticing that the driver had a wide forehead, a gaunt face, slightly curly black hair, nearly pure black eyes, and a monocle that looked as if it were carved from crystal in his right eye socket.
Amon!
The driver, who resembled Amon, seemed to recognize Lumian. He smiled and waved, then started the car and vanished at the end of the road.
“Amon?” Franca and Jenna had also seen the driver’s appearance. “How did he get in? Is it a false image created by Mr. Fool in the dream?”
“It should be real. He clearly recognized me,” Lumian replied gravely.
Franca exhaled and said rea.s.suringly, “It’s okay. Madam Magician said that in the matter of putting the Celestial Worthy to sleep and awakening Mr. Fool, that individual is on the same side as us.”
Lumian looked at the intersection where the car had disappeared and said in a low voice, “But Madam Magician also said that that individual probably doesn’t want Mr. Fool to wake up too early.”