Chapter 975: The Diligent Magic Mirror |
Late at night, in room 2303 of Dechuang Garden.
Lumian, Franca, and Jenna sat side by side on the long sofa, with the silver mirror bearing ancient patterns and black gemstones on each side placed in front of them.
Anthony had taken Ludwig out for a late-night snack, politely avoiding the question-and-answer session with the magic mirror Arrodes.
Of course, they had already discussed and decided which questions to ask beforehand, focusing mainly on two parts: first, Zaratulstra's current situation, and second, matters related to the dream city.
They had listed over twenty questions, but considering the subconscious limitations of the dream on various aspects, they believed it impossible to keep asking until all their doubts were answered by the magic mirror Arrodes. They suspected that the mirror could only answer a limited number of questions at a time or in a day, just like how Magic Mirror Divination normally only allowed three questions. Therefore, Lumian adjusted the order of the questions, placing the most important and crucial ones at the beginning.
"Shall we start?" Jenna turned her head to look at Lumian.
Lumian nodded and said calmly, "I'll go."
"No, we'll take turns. We can't let you bear the mirror's questions alone," Franca emphasized. "It must be fair!"
She felt that she should also make some sacrifices and not always let Lumian face the terrifying questions of the magic mirror Arrodes.
Franca took a deep breath and looked at the magic mirror Arrodes.
"Great Arrodes, may I ask you a question?"
Since they had already rented the magic mirror from Star Dream Provisions Store, she didn't follow the mystical ritual procedure and directly inquired of the other party.
The surface of the ancient silver mirror instantly became dark, as if sinking to the bottom of lightless waters. Rows of blood-colored words in ancient Feysac then appeared: "I can answer any question you ask, but you must also answer an equal number of questions from me, in the presence of at least one witness.
"If you refuse to answer, or if you lie, you will face punishment."
Franca recalled the list of questions and carefully phrased her words, "My question is, what are the current manifestations of Zaratulstra's Beyonder powers in the dream city?"
This was one of the questions their team most wanted to know the answer to.
When Lumian watched the surveillance footage and listened to the wiretapped conversation last night, he only confirmed one point:
Zaratulstra's summoning of images from the Historical Void had significant limitations. He wouldn't always use historical projections to replace himself in activities while hiding in the fog of history—before going to open the door for Jia Yu, he pulled out a past version of himself from the Historical Void, and that historical projection then communicated with Jia Yu for nearly a quarter of an hour.
Based on this, Lumian speculated that Zaratulstra would only use historical projections to replace himself for a period of time when he felt danger or had to face certain problematic individuals. As for disguising marionettes as his true self, Lumian believed that the Sequence 7 Faceless ability probably couldn't achieve this, but he didn't rule out the possibility that a similar ability descended from Sequence 2 to Sequence 7 might be able to.
The blood-red ancient Feysac words on the surface of the magic mirror Arrodes writhed and changed, revealing row after row:
"Zaratulstra can currently manipulate two marionettes. Through Spirit Body Threads, He can initially control a target for 20 seconds, and completely marionettize them in 1 minute and 30 seconds;
"His marionette manipulation range is 50 meters. He can switch positions with the marionettes. The marionettes can use their own abilities as well as borrow all of His abilities, but all at the Sequence 7 level;
"He can only maintain the existence of one Historical Void image at a time, including people, objects, scenes, and spirituality;
"He can currently maintain summoned Angel-level Historical Void images for 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on His closeness to or understanding of the corresponding target. If He summons His past Sequence 1 self, it can be maintained for 1 minute and 30 seconds. If summoning His Sequence 2 self, it's 3 minutes. His past selves below angelic level can be maintained for up to a quarter of an hour. Other people, objects, and scenes below angelic level range from two to ten minutes;
"His Shapeshifting ability allows marionettes to disguise themselves as Him, surpassing any makeup effect. However, upon careful observation, differences can still be seen to determine authenticity;
"He can also Wish, creating some miracles, but the effects of these miracles are still restricted to the Sequence 7 level;
"His past Sequence 1 self could make the Spirit Body Threads of the dead or certain objects reappear, thereby marionettizing them. If one eats marionettized food, they will be corrupted and gradually become marionettized;
"His past Sequence 1 self could also Graft physical entities or abstract concepts that normally couldn't be directly connected, combining them to achieve incredible effects. However, these incredible effects are still only at the Sequence 7 level;
"His past Sequence 1 self could distort space and time, creating a Realm of Mysteries that surpasses the Bottle of Fiction and possesses concealed properties;
…
"His Air Straw is twenty meters long, potentially helping Him avoid areas densely populated with mystical pathogens."
The magic mirror Arrodes described all of Zaratulstra's abilities and their current manifestations, causing the blood-red words on the mirror's surface to change several times.
However, it didn't provide enough details about the Sequence 2 and Sequence 1 level abilities, only briefly mentioning them.
The mirror is really working hard to awaken Mr. Fool… Franca couldn't help but grumble inwardly after reading everything carefully.
Lumian, meanwhile, recalled the historical projection of Zaratulstra that had conversed with Jia Yu.
Judging from the fact that they had talked for nearly a quarter of an hour, Lumian deduced that it was a Historical Void image of Zaratulstra before he became an Angel.
This also indicated that Zaratulstra wasn't a born mythical creature, but had ascended step by step from lower Sequences.
After displaying Zaratulstra's current abilities, the blood-colored words on the surface of the ancient silver mirror changed again:
"Based on the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask a question.
"If you answer incorrectly or lie, you will be punished."
Franca gritted her teeth and nodded slightly.
What do they not know about me? There's nothing to be afraid of!
On the mirror, new words began to form, composing a sentence: "After entering the dream city, have you ever thought about doing something with Lumian when Jenna wasn't around?"
Dammit, that's harsh… Franca didn't dare look at Jenna and squeezed out a word through her teeth. "Yes…"
She immediately defended herself, "I just thought about it occasionally, never put it into practice! This is Mr. Fool's dream, how dare I do anything inappropriate? If Mr. Fool's subconscious remembers it, I'd be socially dead for real!"
Lumian glanced at the rapidly speaking Franca and the silent Jenna, suspecting that while making Franca feel ashamed and embarrassed, the magic mirror Arrodes might also have a hidden intention of helping Jenna digest the Affliction potion.
It's really going all out to wake up Mr. Fool…
Franca finally finished speaking and mustered the courage to look at Jenna, receiving an encouraging smile and slight nod from her.
Lumian spoke on Franca's behalf, "The second question is, has Zaratulstra discovered my surveillance?"
The ancient silver mirror with two black gemstones like eyes displayed new blood-colored words: "Zaratulstra discovered that someone was spying through mirror-like objects, but doesn't know who. He also learned about the existence of pinhole cameras and wiretaps, because He has a Saint-level Seer subordinate living next door who can marionettize mosquitoes and hide them in the room to observe the situation."
So, when I cautiously used the Fire of Destruction to burn all spiritually imbued things in Zaratulstra's room, it made him alert that someone had infiltrated his room. After a covert search, he discovered the pinhole cameras and wiretaps? But because his marionette subordinate died, he only knows someone infiltrated his room, not who it was… Lumian immediately analyzed the important information hidden in the magic mirror Arrodes' answer.
At the same time, he suspected that Zaratulstra knew Mr. Huang had concealed the fact that someone was spying through mirror-like objects but didn't expose it on the spot.
Moreover, knowing there was surveillance, Zaratulstra still had Jia Yu come to his room for a private conversation. Was this to mislead us, making us think Jia Yu was important and focus our attention there? But his plan to poach Jia Yu wasn't a sudden decision; it should have started before I went to spy on him in the hotel room… Does he think that deep contact with Jia Yu holds hidden dangers, and without knowing certain details, it could easily lead to him being kicked out of the dream? So he deliberately exposed his intentions to let us step on the landmine? Lumian's thoughts were in turmoil, feeling that Zaratulstra—this Seer—was really quite similar to a Conspirer, his mind full of conspiracies and schemes.
Now that he knew Zaratulstra had discovered his spying and had been acting all along, Lumian could design targeted action plans.
Demonesses had ways and abilities to evade the dangerous premonitions of a Seer!
After answering, the magic mirror Arrodes routinely displayed the corresponding prompt before posing a question to Lumian: "Is your feeling for Franca and Jenna love, or just valuing them?"
Lumian fell momentarily quiet before responding, "I value them."
After a few seconds of silence in the sofa area, Jenna moved forward slightly and said, "It's my turn to ask."
Lumian and Franca both nodded.
Jenna recalled the list of prepared questions and looked at the ancient silver mirror.
"The third question is, who was the last person to rent you?"
The blood-red words on the mirror's surface suddenly disappeared, leaving only a faint shimmer of water.
After several seconds, a few words appeared on the deep, dark surface of the mirror—the unique text of the dream city, all in a pale white color: "It's Peng Deng."
Peng Deng? The person who spent 220,000 to rent the magic mirror Arrodes for a day was Peng Deng? Lumian, Franca, and Jenna were all shocked.
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