Chapter 308: Contradictory Feeling

Lu Mian was quite frank, roughly telling the story of how he was covered in an aura that made people disgusted and disliked, hid in the underground Trier, and met Jenna.

Franca smiled somewhat awkwardly and changed the topic:

"Why would you be disgusting and disliked? You didn't lose control."

She had encountered Beyonders of the "Hunter" pathway losing control several times, most of whom showed the trait of attracting hatred from people around them, which was also the main reason they were quickly cleared away.

Lu Mian explained briefly:

"I got a sealed item. The negative effect is that for an hour after taking it off, I will become disgusting and disliked."

"What if you don't take it off?" Jenna asked curiously.

Lu Mian curled his lips and said:

"Then it will soon become an alarm, constantly attracting official Beyonders around to come and arrest me."

"It quite likes to attract attention," Franca joked.

"After all, it's a guy who loves 'Decent'," Lu Mian said pointedly, then added casually, "Its ability is mainly 'bribery,' accompanied by a little 'distortion'."

Because he would likely cooperate with Franca later to deal with the assistant priest Guillaume Bénet, he took the initiative to reveal the situation of the "Decent" brooch, but didn't say it too specifically, especially the intensity and range of the abilities, which were not mentioned. After all, a magical artifact is a Beyonder's trump card. If the trump card is clearly understood by others, it will be very insecure, just like in the previous action, Franca mainly informed about the "Ring of Discipline" and didn't talk about the brass-colored revolver and other items.

There is communication, and there is concealment; there is trust, and there is the most basic defense. This requires grasping a very good degree.

Franca didn't ask further and recalled:

"Corresponding to Sequence 7 'Briber' and Sequence 6 'Corrupt Baron' of the 'Black Emperor' pathway, it looks like a 'Corrupt Baron' died, the Beyonder characteristic precipitated, and naturally combined with the things on the body, without well presenting the ability itself."

"'Black Emperor'?" Lu Mian hadn't heard this sequence name, and Jenna was the same.

"The god name of the 'Lawyer' pathway." Speaking of this, Franca couldn't help but lower her voice and said excitedly, "Rumor has it that before Emperor Roselle fell, he had already become the 'Black Emperor,' becoming a true god!"

Lu Mian and Jenna couldn't speak for a while, looking at each other, somewhat shocked.

As orthodox Intis people, the status of Emperor Roselle in their hearts is difficult for Franca to accurately estimate.

He, no, He actually became a god?

"Rumor, rumor, just rumor," Franca hurriedly added, so as not to let her image, which could be completely trusted in Jenna's heart, be damaged.

After chatting for a few words, Jenna opened the wooden box she held in her right hand and took out the boxes inside.

They contained a dark-colored honeycomb-like small heart, a sac-like object secreting some dark green liquid, and a small section of something like a blackened trachea.

Franca examined it for a few seconds and nodded slightly:

"The heart of the Demon Throat Honey, the poison sac of the 'Dark Lurker.' The main materials are all ready. Hmm, 'Dark Lurker' is a unique two-headed snake.

"The vocal tube of the Demon Throat Honey is also there, only missing blue mandrake juice, water fern powder, walnut, and pure water... I have blue mandrake juice here, and the remaining three auxiliary materials are very easy to obtain."

Water fern powder... Lu Mian remembered that the auxiliary materials for the "Provoker" potion also had this thing, representing "easily influenced by other people's words."

From this perspective, "Instigator" and "Provoker" have a certain degree of similarity. "Hunter" and "Witch" are indeed adjacent pathways that can be swapped.

Seeing that Jenna was somewhat eager, as if she wanted to go to the corresponding shop to buy water fern and walnut now, and prepare pure water overnight, Franca specifically warned:

"Don't be too anxious. Adjust your state first. Although you have already digested the 'Assassin' potion, judging from the situation in recent years, the probability of losing control if you drink the 'Instigator' now is very low, but why not do better if you can do better? Isn't it better to reduce the probability of losing control to a negligible level?"

"I'm thinking, what kind of monster will an 'Instigator' turn into if they lose control," Lu Mian touched his chin and cooperated.

Jenna glared at him and sat on the sofa, closing her eyes and adjusting her breathing rhythm.

Lu Mian leaned back into the single sofa next to him, placed his arms on the armrests on both sides, looked at Franca and said:

"Have you collected real mummy ashes?"

"No," Franca shook her head helplessly. "I even offered 500 Felkin for 10 grams, and the ones those guys brought were still fake. It's really useless, they don't even have the ability to distinguish!"

"Only offered 500 Felkin?" Lu Mian mocked. "Aren't you very rich?"

"Normally it's only a little over 100 Felkin for 10 grams. 500 is already a lot, okay?" Franca responded unhappily. "Moreover, I don't have much money now either."

Lu Mian nodded, roughly understanding why Franca was suddenly poor.

She didn't complete the mission of infiltrating the "Iron and Blood Cross Order" in the true sense, only helping Lu Mian achieve the goal, so the reward she got was not one of the main materials for "Pleasure Witch," but the qualification to buy "Pleasure Witch" main materials and enjoy a discount.

"How much more is needed?" Jenna opened her eyes suddenly, trying to provide help.

Franca shook her head:

"500 Felkin can't get real ones, and 1000 is the same. It will only make others treat me as a fool, waiting for me to offer a higher price."

She then looked at Lu Mian:

"Do you have any arrangements recently?"

If it's not in a hurry, she will wait a bit longer. Waiting for half a month or a month will definitely get real mummy ashes. But since Lu Mian needs help next week, she feels it is indeed necessary to consider going to the Star Highlands in the Southern Continent to find real mummies.

Lu Mian understood the meaning hidden in Franca's words and said as if thinking:

"Looking for an opportunity to 'set fire' and initially digest the potion."

In that way, he could obtain the "Contracted Person" gift, capable of signing contracts with different creatures to obtain different abilities.

Judging from the situation mastered so far, a newly promoted "Contracted Person" can only sign three contracts. Lu Mian intends to choose three from "abilities targeting spirits or spirits," "preliminary teleportation ability," "certain disguise ability," and "abilities like 'invisibility' and 'shadow hiding'."

However, this still has to be decided specifically according to the materials of spirit world creatures. Maybe those creatures willing and suitable to sign contracts with Lu Mian don't have similar abilities.

The only thing Lu Mian can be sure of is that spirit world creatures all have the ability to "travel through the spirit world," which is a preliminary teleportation ability. The difference is only fast and slow. If he signs a "White Paper," maybe he can only teleport ten or twenty meters each time. Wanting to rely on it to go to the Southern Continent, he would be exhausted to the point of losing control and still wouldn't be able to do it.

"'Setting fire'... Do you have any ideas?" Franca sat cross-legged on the armchair.

Lu Mian told her the first "Pyro" acting rule he summarized.

"Positive acting is agitation, and reverse acting is incitement. Both can help you digest the potion," Franca gave advice based on her experience. "This is not simple. You go to the dock tomorrow and incite the dock workers to strike. The slogan is to fight for better rewards."

Lu Mian shook his head slowly:

"If organizing them to strike has a good probability of helping them fight for benefits or achieve the desired goal, then I will try. But if it only brings disaster to them, I don't like doing that.

"I hate the behavior of using others without giving them benefits and bringing harm. Unless there is really no other way, in that case, anyone can be sacrificed.

"There was a guy before who always said that only by uniting together could we rob others and get enough food. Who knew, when we united for food and fought with others, he took the food and ran away in the chaos."

"Your experience is quite rich," Franca looked at Lu Mian again, feeling that he was not just the younger brother of "Muggle."

Jenna had a similar feeling.

Franca sighed:

"You are indeed more inclined to positive agitation. If it were me, it should be the same. Although I will say it relatively fiercely, actually, haha, I can't bear to be that cruel."

Lu Mian looked at her and said thoughtfully:

"I feel that you are very contradictory. Sometimes you are experienced, see a lot, know a lot, and have a strong ability to analyze things, while sometimes, you are silly, simple, and naive."

Similar contradictory temperament, Lu Mian had only seen it in one other person, and that was his sister Aurore.

Franca, stimulated by Lu Mian's three words in a row, blurted out:

"Are you trying to provoke me? Where am I silly and where am I naive?"

After speaking, she saw Jenna's disapproving eyes.

"Cough, cough," Franca cleared her throat and said, "This is because I hold the most basic kindness and expectation for the world, and still love life after recognizing the cruelty of life. Hey, most of the people in our batch are like this. Only a few, with strong minds, firm will, outstanding brains, and flexible wrists, seem to never be troubled by the difficulty of things and the dilemma of morality."

That batch of people in the Curly-Haired Baboon Research Society? Why is there such similarity? Lu Mian nodded and didn't ask more.

Because Jenna planned to collect the remaining auxiliary materials tomorrow and be promoted to "Instigator," he left White Coat Street soon and returned to the Golden Rooster Hotel.

While walking up the stairs, Lu Mian saw the information peddler Anthony Reid carrying a suitcase down.

"Planning to move?" Lu Mian asked.

"Yes," Anthony Reid, still in military green camouflage clothing, nodded slightly.

Lu Mian laughed:

"Didn't you say there were things left undone in the Market District?"

"The clue is broken," Anthony Reid sighed lightly.

The clue is broken? Lu Mian suddenly thought of the election poster of the member of parliament he had seen in the other party's room, so he tested:

"Because Hugo Artois died?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 309 =====