Chapter 965: Chapter 963 Prism (End) Chapter 965: Chapter 963 Prism (End) “Despite appearances, you really are afraid of getting hurt!”
While Fu Qian was gathering his rewards, the Masked Man had also arrived at a probing conclusion and was quite pleased with it.
The fellow before him might be terrifying, but he was clearly subject to many limitations; not only were his means of attack simple but he also feared injury. With no ranking disparity, the advantage was mine.
As for the other party’s nonsensical ramblings, they had no hope of causing any psychological impact on me.
“So, how many months has it been since you received your first mission?”
But it seemed the other party was not willing to give up and kept trying to disturb me with his words.
“Why don’t you guess…”
The Masked Man naturally wasn’t one to just take things lying down. Not only did he not answer, but he even took the opportunity to reverse-influence the mood.
Indeed, this guy was lucid but not so cooperative.
Fu Qian shook his head inwardly and changed the question.
“So, the task you just received was to collect flesh to block up that well, and the reward was to be able to lift the restrictions on your power to a certain extent?”
Quack, quack!
The Masked Man clapped his hands together at once.
“You guessed it, one hundred percent.”
“That’s right. Although it came a bit late, I believe that if you were me, you would choose to act according to the instructions as well.”
Could it really be some sort of source code presence?
Ignoring the Masked Man’s arrogant demeanor, Fu Qian’s thought process became clearer and clearer.
First off, it was almost certain that these five masked figures were predecessors.
However, their presence here wasn’t about any kind of cross-temporal cooperation.
They were most likely already dead or only a wisp of a remnant soul remained, just like Captain Colt in the source code, controlled by some higher being quite familiar with the warehouse.
And when the higher being thought it might be disturbed by the warehouse’s surveillance, they let them out.
Using the former administrators’ traits, they not only synchronized with the missions, controlling the movements in real-time, but even under the guise of teamwork, they led the real Scavenger into the ditch.
At first listen, it might seem a bit exaggerated, especially pulling in as many as five Puppets.
But think about it, and you realize that with the first puppet in hand, manipulating and guiding the rest becomes much less difficult!
This is too much!
The more Fu Qian thought about it, the more indignant he became.
The warehouse, being somewhat dim-witted to start with, had managed to recruit an employee with great difficulty, and here these fellows were, eagerly fleecing the place.
There had been Patch deviously swindling SAN Points, and now they were even starting to abduct employees!
Of course, as said before, all of this was still just speculation. The concrete information needed to come from the warehouse itself.
Although “dim-witted,” I had already verified that the more information collected in the mission, touching upon the more hidden nature of the world, the more feedback the warehouse would provide in the end.
If it weren’t so, why would I bother with such hard work? It would be much better to finish the mission early and go rest!
You couldn’t rely on the organization; you had to drag yourself forward.
“Of course, the mission is always the top priority.”
Amidst these reflections, Fu Qian agreed with the Masked Man’s statement.
“In fact, just like you, I also acted according to special instructions to recover to my current state.”
“You’re talking nonsense…”
The Masked Man was slightly startled, then almost instantly countered, though with a somewhat scattered smile.
This guy acted according to special missions as well?
Naturally, that was nonsense, but it was clear that it had a significant impact on the Masked Man.
On one hand, he didn’t want to believe it, because that meant his status as the protagonist of the story wasn’t unique anymore.
But if he didn’t believe it, on the other hand, it brought up another issue–the other party found a way to recover his strength without needing any prompts.
Compared to that, getting absorbed in team management here made oneself appear quite foolish.
Was it ability or luck? It was a tough choice to make at the moment.
“Fellow Daoist, don’t be nervous. Although we may take different paths, we’re all serving the party and the country. We need to work together in what comes next.”
“Is that so? That’s great.”
Amid Fu Qian’s nonsensical talk, the Masked Man finally seemed to break free from his internal dilemma, and his answer was–
“Because my next task is to send you off. I hope you’ll cooperate actively.”
Is it still the same old narrative of the victor being king?
Everyone has their claims, but who is real if they survive until the end?
Vulgar!
Amidst the disdain, the Masked Man in sight was already radiant all over, resembling a deity.
It was undeniable that this person’s power manifestation had quite the visual impact, appearing far more righteous than I did.
Even the fluorescent light that had once spread all over his body had been completely dispelled.
The Red Dragon and their kin, if alive, would find it all too easy to defect to that side, given the circumstances.
Luckily, I had also been well-versed in the art of image management.
Confronted with the Masked Man, who was wrapped in light and threw a punch, Fu Qian snorted coldly and narrowly dodged, simultaneously activating the Decree Residue and–
[SAN Points reduced by 10]
Apart from Mercy and the Tranquilizer that were visibly equipped, all my items were now available for use, including the Pseudo-Divine Being.
In fact, if it weren’t for this last safeguard, why would I have pushed to such an extreme?
…
As it turned out, when resolve wasn’t strong enough, one would kneel not just before True Gods but Pseudo-Gods as well.
Although the Decree Residue didn’t go beyond Demigod Level, with full activation and the augmentation from a Divine Being’s Ranking, the Masked Man’s attack was visibly warped.
From his slightly scattered gaze, it was clear his faith was being tested.
“What on earth are you…?”
Regrettably, Fu Qian paid no heed to his question.
After another effortless dodge, he responded with a question of his own for the last time.
“What is the name of the last item you contained?”
“The last item…”
The clearly bewildered Masked Man didn’t resist; he genuinely began to recall.
Meanwhile, Fu Qian felt the entire space tremble under its load, as if it might collapse at any moment.
“The number is…”
In this instability, the Masked Man seemed to finally remember the answer.
“Shut up!”
However, as soon as he began to speak, a voice that seemed to manifest directly at the level of consciousness, swept across the space.
Even Fu Qian found himself similarly constrained in an instant.
At the same time, the confusion in the Masked Man’s eyes vanished, replaced by an aloofness that dismissed everything.
The glow was restrained, yet unbearable to look at directly, as if some lofty existence far surpassing everything else had descended upon him.
Has it finally come?
Fu Qian felt a surge of excitement at this change.
The answer from the Masked Man wasn’t important in itself. He had asked simply to see if anyone would stop the Masked Man from answering.
Sure enough, the one behind the scenes made a flashy entrance.
Given how things had turned out, if I hadn’t activated the Pseudo-Divine Being, dropping to zero SAN Points would not have been a dream.
The side effect, however, was that at the same moment, the floor of the entire lab exploded with a roar, revealing an indiscernible chaotic Abyss below.
Even the original fluorescent light had transformed into a thick red mist like liquid and was rolling madly with the attitude of swallowing everything.
The Abyss’s reaction was also triggered, now a three-way standoff, and of course, I was clearly the weakest link, in imminent danger.
Luckily, there was no need to maintain appearances any longer.
Resisting the terrifying pressure from the Masked Man and the chaotic erosion from below, Fu Qian raised the Henry in his hand.
In the next instant, a huge triangular head slowly emerged from the red mist, followed by two bulging eyeballs.
A frog?
With red eyes and green skin, this creature composed entirely of pure chaos and madness, was indeed in the shape of a frog.
In marvel, the creature opened its mouth wide, and Fu Qian cooperatively tossed the cat inside.
For me, this was now a friendly faction.
[Current task completed, containment successful, number 1-105]
“What is your name?”
In the moment he regained the ability to speak, Fu Qian did not forget to ask the Masked Man.
Unfortunately, there was no response from the other side.