Chapter 927: Misfortune? |
After discussing matters related to the reanimated female corpse, Madam Magician affirmed Lumian and the others' current strategy. She said one major reason why previous gold coin holders failed to find a way to awaken Mr. Fool was that they were too eager to contact the target person, resulting in being locked onto by the Celestial Worthy and kicked out of the dream, or fully restricted, only able to make some contributions in accumulating intelligence.
At the end of the letter, Madam Magician told Lumian and the others that some gold coin holders could still enter this dream city, but they could not communicate with Mr. Fool or intervene in any events. However, they could act as human cameras, helping to collect information on certain occasions.
The content displayed on the ice crystal screen ended here. Lumian flicked his wrist, burning the letter, and turned to Ludwig. "The background of the reanimated female corpse."
Ludwig was staring longingly at a snack shop on the street, and reluctantly recounted the information he obtained from the corpse:
"Panatiya, a member of the Demoness Sect, nicknamed Nation of 'Despair Nightingale', was one of the perpetrators of the Great Smog of Backlund incident. She became the marionette of Antigonus, a great noble of the Tudor Empire, in a secret town on the way to the Nation of the Evernight. At that time, Antigonus was in a state of madness, mentally closer to the Celestial Worthy you guys talk about…"
"For the top level of the Marauder pathway, the Despair Nightingale is indeed equivalent to the Celestial Worthy's marionette." Lumian nodded slowly after carefully listening to Ludwig's statement.
His gaze turned to outside the car window, watching people coming and going at the entrance of the police station, and he said as he pondered, "Fooling, Grafting, dreams, reality—I don't fully understand these concepts, so I can only trust Madam Magician's explanation for now. What puzzles me is why the Celestial Worthy had to bring the Despair Nightingale marionette into the dream city, rather than using her virtual image here?
"It couldn't be just to give us Beyonder characteristics and special mirror world fragments, could it?"
"Indeed," Franca agreed, also finding the Celestial Worthy's choice in this matter incomprehensible.
The Celestial Worthy chose a more complicated method over a simpler one, which had to imply hidden reasons.
These reasons might be crucial.
Anthony, sitting in the back, followed up with his analysis of the character's psychological state.
"If the description in the information and Madam Susie's reminder are correct, Mr. Fool's dream image is very cautious and careful. So sending a Demoness to approach him with reasonable excuses and in a gradual manner, cultivating feelings through daily, moderate interactions to dissolve unfamiliarity and wariness, might not be the best choice. Because Demonesses are too beautiful, it would instinctively make someone who considers themselves ordinary draw a line in their heart, feeling that it's not something they could obtain."
Lumian, Jenna, and Franca—the three Demonesses—all looked at Anthony simultaneously.
Anthony paused for two seconds before continuing, "If I were to arrange it, I would find a way to turn one of Zhou Mingrui's current female colleagues into a marionette. That colleague should preferably be very ordinary, not a Beyonder, and not particularly pretty, but still have her own charm from certain angles or expressions.
"After she becomes familiar with Zhou Mingrui, arrange for her to drink the Assassin potion, gradually and unobtrusively enhancing her charm, allowing love to develop slowly…"
Lumian's eyes flickered a few times, but he remained silent.
"You Spectators…" Franca sighed sincerely.
Indeed, better at writing scripts than the Celestial Worthy.
She had just seriously thought about it and felt that if it were her former self before transmigrating, she definitely wouldn't be able to resist!
"Then why did the Celestial Worthy have to bring His own Demoness marionette into the dream city, and even use the power of the Great Mother to give her new life?" Jenna repeated Lumian and Franca's previous confusion.
After a brief silence in the car, Lumian thoughtfully said, "Don't you think there are too many Demonesses appearing in this matter?"
"What do you mean?" Jenna vaguely guessed what Lumian wanted to say.
It was the dream symbolism he had been emphasizing several times every day recently.
Lumian slightly curled his lips.
"As a team coming to the dream to awaken Mr. Fool, the number of Demonesses among us is abnormally high, exceeding half. And the main opponent abandoned the simple approach, chose the complicated one, and even brought a Demoness marionette belonging to Himself here.
"The Major Arcana card holders have said that Mr. Fool has authority over fate, and that Celestial Worthy must have it too.
"The lucky coins ultimately gathered in our hands, bringing us to this dream city—doesn't this symbolize the choice of fate, symbolizing that it will be a Demoness who awakens Mr. Fool? Similarly, it will also be a Demoness who helps the Celestial Worthy achieve victory?
"I had previously felt that the pathways chosen by the lucky coins this time were too monotonous, and the appearance of the reanimated female corpse deepened my suspicion."
"Then why must it be a Demoness? And why must it be an external Demoness with real consciousness?" Jenna mused along this line of thought.
Perhaps figuring out this question would reveal how to awaken Mr. Fool.
Lumian chuckled.
"For now, I can only think of two reasons:
"First, a real Demoness symbolizes real calamity, and real calamity will bring great changes to the dream city. Where there's change, there's opportunity—maybe good, maybe bad. But this doesn't explain why there aren't as many Hunters, as Hunters are also symbols of calamity.
"Second, some crucial thing, a path leading to Mr. Fool's awakening, can only be completed by a Demoness of a not-low Sequence."
"It could be both reasons," Franca said, while worrying about the air conditioning costs and considering switching to ice blocks for cooling, but also concerned about being detected by Beyonders in the police force. She continued observing people entering and leaving the police station.
Thus, they observed and discussed intermittently until noon.
During this process, Lumian and the others saw Officer Deng and his fiancée Daly leave hand in hand to find a restaurant for lunch, and also saw key figures like Old Neil who bore the title of Interpol officer.
Their observations largely matched the descriptions in their information.
"Didn't see Mr. Star…" Franca withdrew her gaze, preparing to drive onto the road.
"He's probably out investigating the case at the mall's surveillance room," Lumian had noticed this information while scrolling through his phone earlier.
Franca didn't say more and drove the car to the new urban district, full of high-rise buildings and a modern atmosphere, parking opposite a building over a hundred meters tall.
Their next observation target, also a key suspect, Peng Deng, worked here.
Just as Franca parked the car, Lumian and the others saw the target approaching from a distance.
He was a young man with an unremarkable appearance, holding an iced coffee and looking down at his phone.
Every time Jenna thought he would bump into pedestrians or obstacles on the road, Peng Deng, without raising his head, would skillfully maneuver around them.
Almost simultaneously, Peng Deng's information flashed through Lumian and the others' minds:
"Peng Deng, 24 years old, from the same hometown as Zhou Mingrui, classmate from kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school, schoolmate in high school, currently an interior designer, living in Herun Community next to New City Garden.
"He has a girlfriend named Nie Zhen, living in the High-Tech Zone, planning to move in with Peng Deng after their current lease expires.
"Currently sharing rent with a foreign worker named Grisha, who has an eccentric personality, is paranoid, and has crude manners…"
Lumian carefully observed Peng Deng, who was wearing a light-colored shirt with sweat seeping through the back, not missing any of his movements or facial expression details.
Only after Peng Deng walked back into the building did Lumian withdraw his gaze and ask Anthony, "Did you notice anything?"
Anthony shook his head.
"That's normal. If it were that simple to discover problems, the Major Arcana card holders would have had results long ago," Lumian wasn't disappointed.
He said to all team members, "We're not sure if Peng Deng will go out in the afternoon. Let's go observe his girlfriend and his roommate for a while first. Tomorrow is the weekend, and there's a possibility of contacting Mr. Fool at the tutoring class in the afternoon. We need to quickly go through all the listed personnel that need observation."
Jenna and the others had no objections.
Franca tried to start the car but couldn't complete the ignition no matter what.
The rumbling sound failed to transform into a steady hum.
"Dammit! The car broke down…" Franca slapped the steering wheel, unable to hide her frustration.
At this moment, only one thought appeared in Lumian and Jenna's minds:
We'll have to pay for repairs…
Immediately after, Lumian furrowed his brow.
"Isn't this too coincidental?
"The car breaks down right after we observe Peng Deng…"
"Indeed, there were no signs of trouble before." Franca also began to find this suspicious.
Would approaching Peng Deng with ill intentions lead to misfortune?
But the Major Arcana card holders who had previously observed Peng Deng hadn't mentioned any similar situations.
"This is an anomaly, let's record it…" Lumian said to Anthony.
He opened the door and got out of the car, habitually wanting to check it himself to see if he could repair it. But after standing in the sun-scorched area, he remembered that he had no understanding of the structure of internal combustion engine cars. The only thing he could do was bang on the hood a few times, hoping that vibration and luck might somehow make the vehicle fix itself.
"I'll call the car rental company," Franca said, picking up her phone from the holder.
Just then, an enthusiastic voice came from the roadside.
"Hello, Li, and An, what's wrong?"
Lumian and Anthony, who had also gotten out of the car, looked towards the street and saw it was Stiano, the foreign exchange student they had met yesterday, who was suspected to be the dream image corresponding to a high-ranking member of the Church of Steam.
"The car broke down." Lumian pointed at the gray sedan.
Stiano, carrying a travel backpack, brightened up.
"Maybe I can help you fix it."
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