Chapter 207

Cai Mao quickly calculated in his mind the material costs and the firearms' selling price, and finally, he asked the most crucial question.

"So... how does the Saint intend to allocate the profits?"

Ying Duo was silent for a moment.

Yang Yixie was swiftly adjusting the fan-shaped chart that popped up on the computer screen before him; he earmarked a portion of the profit as a "Guild Construction Fund." This "Entropy Light Secret Sect" outpost was far too shabby and needed an upgrade—he wanted to see how grand the Undercurrent's facilities were.

Another portion was allocated to his "personal reserve"—he could just come and take it when he ran short of money; the remainder would be the hire fee for the NPCs.

Cai Mao waited for a while, and Ying Duo finally spoke.

"Forty percent goes toward the outpost's renovation, twenty percent as your wages, and the rest you keep for now, but I will come regularly to collect it."

That was already considerably more than he had originally envisioned.

Cai Mao breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; although twenty percent sounds small, against the massive profits the firearms generate, letting the people of District Eight live each day comfortably was no problem.

And Ying Duo even contributed another forty percent as the outpost's renovation cost...

Perhaps he truly regarded this place as his own faction and was taking it seriously.

Their "Saint" not only acts oddly and possesses inhuman abilities, but at least at this moment he considered the lives and dignity of us "ground dwellers."

"... The Saint has thought of everything!"

Cai Mao's voice was less deliberately lowered and cautious than before, and carried a genuine admiration.

"We'll do as you say. I'll immediately dispatch people to gather the materials. As for the "Guild," rest assured—I, Cai Mao, will make sure the brothers do the work beautifully, worthy of your trust!"

【Cai Mao Loyalty +5】

【Cai Mao Loyalty +5】

Two System Prompt sounds rang in succession.

Ying Duo didn't seem surprised by Cai Mao's reaction; or rather, he didn't care about Cai Mao's inner drama at all.

He nodded, and then Ying Duo's gaze fell on the dusty old television in the corner.

That counted as his "teleportation anchor"; its filthy state was hard to overlook.

"Clean that television," Ying Duo pointed at the corner TV, "the dust on it is too thick and interferes with the signal."

Cai Mao subconsciously followed Ying Duo's finger with his eyes—ah, that broken TV...?

It's still a young one...?

A thought suddenly sprang in Cai Mao's mind, and his tense nerves relaxed a bit, even making him want to laugh.

He quickly nodded.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll have someone wipe it clean right away and maintain it regularly! Guarantee... uh, a clear signal!"

You never know when the other side might want to watch TV; it's better to keep it ready.

Ying Duo gave a "hm" sound, seeming quite satisfied with Cai Mao's reply.

He said no more, turned and walked toward the television; this time, Cai Mao actually witnessed the entire process of how Ying Duo had just slipped in.

Under Cai Mao's gaze, Ying Duo's body flickered and disintegrated like a corrupted video signal, turning into countless glowing green "0"s and "1"s.

Then, this cluster of glowing green data stream whooshed in a flash and vanished entirely into the TV screen; the screen flashed a blinding green light for an instant before going completely dark.

It seemed as if it had never been activated.

Ah...

Could this be the famous... from the Old World era...

Sadako?

——————————————————

Meanwhile, Min Tianyou finally dragged his exhausted body back to his residence, a two‑bedroom apartment on the top floor of a building in the old district of Tianmian City.

He took off his dust‑covered coat, its cuffs even singed, and casually tossed it onto the living‑room sofa, but did not enter his own room.

He pushed open the door to the adjacent room.

The world beyond the door was a world apart from the outside.

The walls were a warm beige, light‑brown curtains hung by the window, and a single bed with a soft velvet comforter rested in the corner, beside which sat a petite dressing table.

The most striking feature of the room was a huge full‑length mirror set into the wall, its frame an exquisite carved wood, the surface gleaming like new.

Min Tianyou walked to the mirror, quietly gazing at his own weary face reflected there, and sighed.

He left the room's lights off, only the faint light leaking from the living room, making the reflected image appear hazy and unreal.

After a moment of silence, Min Tianyou slowly extended his hand and gently pressed his fingertip against an inconspicuous carved recess on the side of the mirror frame.

"Click," a light sound rang, and the mirror together with its heavy backing swung open silently like a door, revealing a secret space hidden within the wall.

The back of the mirror was also reflective, but the wall sandwiched between the two panes displayed a completely different scene.

The once flat wall had been carved into a neat recessed cavity, now densely covered with photos, clippings, and printed document screenshots of various sizes and sources.

Some were taken from covert angles, some were blurry re‑photographs of official files, and some were stills captured from surveillance footage.

These images were firmly pinned to the wall with nails of different colors; red, blue, black, and white threads criss‑crossed among them, linking together and sketching a relationship web so complex it dazzled the eye.

Min Tianyou took out several freshly printed photos from a specially made pocket inside his clothing.

They were members of the Mercenary Corps—Ying Duo, Shen Zexi, Qi Hengyu, and others—of the "Version Answers" group.

He picked up a nail and pinned each of those photos onto the adjacent blank area.

Just after he nailed the last photo, he seemed to lose all strength at once, exhaling a heavy, foul breath, and the once‑confident detective began to doubt himself.

"Have we succeeded?"

In the mirror, the "Min Tianyou" with an identical face was quietly "watching" him.

At some point, the corner of the mirror person's mouth began to lift slowly, forming a curve opposite to Min Tianyou's current solemn, weary expression.

The mirror person's palm lightly rested on the inner side of the glass, just opposite Min Tianyou's palm pressed against the mirror, separated by a layer of cold glass.

The reflected image rippled like water; Min Tianyou's outline blurred and melted, then re‑sketched and coalesced—

The woman appears in the mirror.

She has facial features extremely similar to Min Tianyou's, but the lines are softer, and a natural warm kindness shines between her brows and eyes.

Min Xingyao has smooth long hair, a few strands naturally hanging at her cheeks; she looks at Min Tianyou, and there is no coldness of a reflected mirror, only a gentle encouragement that seems about to overflow.

"Of course, you did well."

Her voice sounds directly at Min Tianyou's ear, clear and gentle, bearing a soothing power that dispels the fatigue and chill that had enveloped him.

"Use illusion to display the conclusion of deduction, thereby disguising yourself as a Fate System Mystic, drawing all of the Dome's attention onto you, to prevent the real Fate Oracle from getting into trouble........."

"You've worked hard, get a good sleep."