Chapter 214

Franca calculated the time and asked in detail:

"What danger is hidden in the altar? To what extent has Susanna Mattis recovered today?"

As soon as Lu Mian heard Franca's question, he roughly guessed what she was thinking:

If it were feasible, why not take this opportunity to destroy that altar and let Susanna Mattis, who was still in a weakened state, dissipate completely!

After leaving the Breeze Dance Hall and before tracking the fake Eif, Lu Mian had considered a similar question—because Lentas was taking Charlie underground, he believed the opponent's destination was Susanna Mattis's hiding place. So, when he took the calcium carbide lamp, he took a few bundles of detonators from the safe, hoping to use the special environment to blow those guys all to death.

Lentas's blurry, pale face seemed to have gained a bit of holiness:

"The altar is just an altar; there is only the radiance of my Lord, no danger at all."

The moment you say that, I feel it's even more dangerous... Lu Mian stood beside the "Wall of Spirituality" and muttered.

Lentas continued:

"I don't know Susanna's specific situation, only that the week before last she couldn't let us see her, occasionally being able to make sounds. Last week, she could communicate with us normally, and under the condition that we opened our 'Spirit Vision,' we could see her. By today, she is no different from before, but she appears very weak."

Susanna was originally a "Corrupted Tree Spirit" equivalent to a Sequence 5; has she now recovered to strength close to a Sequence 6? Lu Mian made a preliminary inference based on Lentas's description.

If it weren't for the fact that Susanna was hiding in the altar of the "Mother Tree of Desire," Lu Mian would have felt this was worth the risk.

Franca thought for a moment and said:

"Do you usually pray and receive gifts at the altar?"

"Yes." Lentas said in a tone of recollection, "Susanna is our priestess, letting us feel that the Lord loves the world, feel the most real desires of every person, and truly recognize ourselves."

Hearing this, Franca rationally gave up further questioning, turning instead to seek the truth from the minute details:

"Is the altar protected by anyone usually?"

"Susanna is always there." Lentas's blurry, pale face swayed gently on the mirror surface.

Franca looked at the makeup mirror in her hand and said:

"During the two weeks Susanna suffered heavy injuries, was the altar protected by anyone?"

Lentas's spirit answered truthfully:

"No."

Franca couldn't help but turn her head and look at Lu Mian, finding him also wearing a look of disappointment and regret.

From Lentas's answer just now, they both clearly recognized a fact:

That altar had a hidden protection mechanism, and it was very strong!

Otherwise, no matter how hidden it was underground, no matter how difficult it was to find, it would have to consider how to guard against those bounty hunters and cave adventurers who liked to search for treasures in underground Trier, and at the same time, guard against smugglers who changed routes temporarily and college students wandering everywhere.

Franca exhaled, feeling that it was better to leave the problem of the altar and Susanna Mattis to the official authorities to worry about.

That evil spirit still had two days before recovery, and she and Lu Mian had already asked for the location of the altar; the time was sufficient!

Franca asked about other things:

"How many Bliss Society members are left in the Old Pigeon Cage?"

"Not many." The eyes on Lentas's blurry face flickered with a gloomy green, "But I only know a few. I, Eif, and Hu De all take orders from Maip Maier. He is the theater manager and also the person who represents Susanna in participating in the core affairs of the Bliss Society after she became an evil spirit."

"Why pick a man? Don't women only love women? Finding a woman would be more convenient for communicating with other core members of the Bliss Society, right?" Franca raised an objection.

Are you sure the communication you're talking about doesn't have hidden meanings? Lu Mian felt that Miss "Sleeve Sword" was quite excited about this matter.

Lentas answered with a drifting voice:

"Maip Maier used to be Susanna's lover."

Franca sighed with emotion:

"The high priest takes the lead in violating the organization's principles, loving both men and women."

As she spoke, she looked at Charlie, who was both dazed and terrified.

Lentas did not hide it for Maip Maier:

"Before Susanna joined the Bliss Society, they were lovers, and he was the only lover who could make Susanna feel at ease and relaxed. After she received divine revelation, believed in my Lord, and reformed the Bliss Society, she also developed Maip Maier into the society, just not sleeping with him anymore. By the time she became an evil spirit, she no longer only loved women and resumed that kind of relationship with Maip Maier. At the same time, she was also searching for other targets, entering their dreams, absorbing their energy, falling in love with them, and then killing them."

The more Charlie heard, the paler his face became, as if he had fallen into a nightmare, never able to escape until death.

"This is somewhat perverted." Franca, who had seriously considered letting her lover Gardner have a child for her, commented.

She then laughed:

"Does Maip Maier like to wear a green hat?"

"No, he only wears a black top hat now and also waxes the tips of his mustache." Lentas denied Franca's guess.

Lu Mian then remembered the case of female deaths in Onet Town that someone mentioned at Mr. K's gathering:

"If Maip Maier receives a gift and becomes a male 'Corrupted Tree Spirit,' could he enter women's dreams, create erotic dreams, absorb their energy, and let them gradually weaken until death?

"The Bliss Society has women as core members and emphasizes that women only love women; it's unlikely they would let male members obtain such high-level power... That's not a person from the Bliss Society, but also believes in the 'Mother Tree of Desire'? Or, women 'love' women?"

Franca continued to ask:

"Why don't you even know how many Bliss Society members are in the Old Pigeon Cage? Among the Bliss Society members you know, besides Susanna, there isn't a single woman?"

Lentas's pale, blurry face seemed to have some distortion:

"Only Maip Maier can contact those female members.

"Although I don't know if there are still female members in the Old Pigeon Cage now, I can guess who they were before."

"How did you guess?" Franca asked curiously.

Lentas answered:

"Those who joined our Old Pigeon Cage, starting from female supporting roles, with acting skills getting better and better, and finally leaving as female leads, should all be core members of the Bliss Society.

"The establishment of the Old Pigeon Cage itself is to give them a safe and reliable performance venue, helping them satisfy their inner desires until they can initially control them."

"Why must they perform?" Lu Mian remembered Lentas's various performances.

Lentas struggled for a moment and said:

"The gift we obtained, equivalent to Sequence 7, is called 'Actor.'

"It grants us the ability to make targets crave attention and want to perform, and it also stimulates our hidden desire to express and perform. This cannot be restrained before truly mastering the power of the gift. We must have a formal performance stage to satisfy our own desires without attracting suspicion.

"Every round of applause from the audience is an affirmation of us."

A strange sequence... Just now, I didn't attack Lentas immediately, choosing instead to confront him, and didn't use the ritual silver dagger in time to suppress the erupting desire, because I was unknowingly stimulated by the desire to perform... Lu Mian suddenly realized.

Franca clapped her hands and said:

"So that's how it is.

"I was wondering why I was so fond of acting today!"

She asked with a smile:

"Your ability to disguise yourself as Eif and Xia Er also comes from 'Actor'?"

Lentas's face nodded with a very small amplitude:

"We can change the state of muscles, skin, and bones to a certain extent, possessing all the abilities needed for disguise, including makeup techniques, prop making, etc. At the same time, 'Actor' also has the ability of 'Imitation'; whatever one acts, one can be like it. Acting as an ordinary person, even the astral projection will become ordinary; acting as a soldier, one will be good at fighting and shooting."

"Acting as a woman?"

"Acting as a Beyonder?"

Franca and Lu Mian each raised their own questions.

The two finally understood why the fake Eif could deceive official Beyonders, and understood why the acting skills of those drama performers in the Old Pigeon Cage theater could be so good.

Acting with real "Actors" every day, could their acting skills be bad?

Lentas's spirit said slightly muddled:

"Acting as a woman requires making props in advance, fake breasts, fake long hair, etc., etc.

"When acting as other Beyonders, under the condition that I have already observed, I can perform their corresponding abilities, but there won't be any substantial effect, more like an illusion. If that Beyonder lets me observe and learn seriously for a month, then I can perform some abilities that are very similar but much weaker."

Sounds a bit powerful... Lu Mian sighed and asked in a deep voice:

"Who were you acting as when you showed a powerful aura earlier?"

"Susanna, when connected to the altar's aura and presiding over the gift ritual." Lentas vaguely revealed a bit of piety and awe.

Franca and Lu Mian looked at each other again, rejoicing that they had already given up the idea of going to the altar to clear out future troubles.

From Lentas's answer, Susanna and the altar would show a demigod rank when combined!

"Does 'Actor' have other abilities?" Franca asked.

Lentas shook his head:

"No.

"But Maip Maier once warned me, 'Do not be addicted to the role you are playing.'"

Lu Mian finally had the opportunity to ask:

"What are the other sequences corresponding to 'Actor' called?"

Lentas's voice carried a clear sense of gloom:

"Sequence 9 'Miser,' Sequence 8 'Sex Addict,' Sequence 6 'Awardee,' Sequence 5 'Little Cupid.' Further up, I don't know."

Very fitting... Lu Mian, who knew the abilities of "Miser" and "Sex Addict" quite well, asked:

"What does 'Awardee' mean?"

"Craving success, craving recognition by high society or the public." Lentas explained.

Franca asked quite curiously:

"You all seem unable to control the corresponding desires in every sequence. By Sequence 5, wouldn't your desires explode when you see anything?"

"Actually, every sequence can control the corresponding desire at the end. 'Actor' is mainly about the desire to perform; the craving for wealth and the opposite sex is just stronger than normal, not becoming pathological or completely uncontrollable." Lentas answered Franca's question using himself as an example.

Lu Mian was immediately puzzled:

"Then why were you so stingy when you were acting as Mr. Eif?"

Choosing to pick up gold coins of unknown origin.

Lentas answered very naturally:

"Because the real Eif is like that; one must be like whatever one acts."

(End of chapter)