Chapter 381

"Alone" bar? Lu Mian was stunned upon hearing the answer.

The founder of the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society" "April Fools" group, "Loki," was actually in Trier as well, and had a connection to that "Alone" bar?

Wouldn't that be a bit too coincidental?

Lu Mian's impression of the "Alone" bar was that it was located diagonally across from the "Different" cabaret, had a theater for puppet shows in the basement, and was dimly lit with a dark color scheme, appearing slightly eerie.

He originally didn't think there was any major problem with this, but after learning that those wearing monocles at the "Different" cabaret were all in a superposition of "is Amon" and "is not Amon," he concluded that the "Alone" bar, which could compete with this cabaret and survive, was definitely not simple either.

Coupled with the fact that he had once seen Lia from the Investigation Department enter that bar, he suspected it was a secret stronghold of the Investigation Department, with the purpose of monitoring the Amons inside the "Different" cabaret.

Could "Loki" also be a member of the Investigation Department, a Beyonder of the official authorities in the true sense?

Or, did he just live in the Observatory District and know that the "Alone" bar was sufficiently special, so he took advantage of the opportunity to drink there to use the mechanical typewriter to make copies of documents, to prevent being traced?

"What's wrong?" Franca watched as Lu Mian frowned slightly, lost in thought, and hadn't spoken for a long time, so she reached out her right hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

Lu Mian pondered and said:

"This bar has major issues."

"You know this bar?" Franca looked astonished.

This guy seemed to possess many secrets she didn't know about!

Lu Mian laughed:

"This has to start from when Lady 'Hela' and I were searching for the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring'."

"..." Franca paused for a moment. "For such an event, how many times do you have to split it up to finish telling all the details? Are you made of toothpaste? You only squeeze out a bit at a time!"

"The previous focus was on the situation inside the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring,' and this happened along the way," Lu Mian explained, feeling absolutely no shame.

Starting from when he met the archipelago swindler Monit and was scared by him a few times, he linked together Charlie being swindled, the special nature of the "Different" cabaret, and Lady "Magician's" introduction to the Amons, finally mentioning that the "Alone" bar was located diagonally across from the "Different" cabaret and that official members of the Investigation Department had once entered and exited it.

Franca had the feeling of listening to a ghost story and subconsciously wanted to grab a pillow to hold, but realized there wasn't one on the armchair.

She quickly came to her senses, straightened her back, and put on an expression of how a "hard-blooded man" could be scared by a horror event.

This was all to bully Jenna!

After Lu Mian finished speaking, she hissed and said:

"Your experiences are truly rich, encountering such old monsters that only exist in horror stories.

"Why didn't you warn me before? That archipelago swindler comes to the Market District from time to time; what should I do if I encounter him one day?"

"That was for your own good. If you didn't know he was problematic, you wouldn't show any abnormalities when you met him, and thus wouldn't be noticed by him. But now, if your eyes change when you look at him, you might be suspected by him and become a product of 'parasitism'," Lu Mian said to Franca, half-threatening and half-reminding.

"That's true," Franca gritted her teeth and said. "Whenever I encounter him, after I get home, I'll pray to Mr. 'Fool' for an angel's protection!"

She shook her head, putting the fear of the Amons aside, and brought the topic back on track:

"This involves the 'Alone' bar; it's really hard to investigate further..."

Speaking of this, Franca suddenly had an imaginative guess:

"Do you think 'Loki' might have already been 'parasitized' by an Amon?"

"Huh?" Lu Mian couldn't quite keep up with Franca's train of thought.

Franca said with a solemn expression:

"Think about it, the classics and legends of the 'Ancient Sun God' have been lost for two or three thousand years. Since the scriptures of the Seven Churches are all copied from Him, they would definitely erase relevant information. Where did 'Loki' get these materials?

"Although there are many possibilities, if he is Amon, it's very easy to explain. No one knows His father's situation better than He does.

"As the child of a transmigrator, not to mention that He can obtain 'Loki's' memories through 'parasitism,' even if He couldn't, He could perfectly play the role of our companion. You also said that He loves fraud and scared you several times, which is very similar to 'Loki's' usual behavior.

"Hmm, when the Amon at the 'Different' cabaret made copies of the materials, He specifically ran to the 'Alone' bar diagonally across the street to use the mechanical typewriter to mislead any potential tracing; this is also a manifestation of this style."

Lu Mian was shocked by Franca's unconstrained imagination, and it took a long while before he pondered and said:

"In this way, it really can explain why this information pointed so coincidentally to the 'Alone' bar.

"And under the guidance of such an evil angel, the members of the 'April Fools' group gradually became desperate for the future, increasingly pursued self-gratification, and began to attack other members of the 'Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society,' which is also a reasonable development.

"However, Amon wouldn't deliberately let the information point to the 'Alone' bar; that would make investigators naturally suspect Him, who lives diagonally across the street..."

"Maybe He anticipated that the investigator would think that way," Franca habitually retorted.

Lu Mian shook his head slowly:

"If it were Amon, your divination just now would definitely have been misled or yielded no answer.

"Hmm, regardless, this is indeed a possibility. I plan to go to the 'Alone' bar to have a drink in the next two days to survey the site again, but I won't conduct an in-depth investigation."

Franca said "Hmm" and sighed:

"Actually, I also know the possibility of 'Loki' being 'parasitized' by an Amon is very small. The essence of us entering the gathering place is to shift into a special state. In this state, the sealed artifact Lady 'Hela' borrowed should be able to distinguish whether there is any abnormality in each member's body, and it doesn't transform corresponding things, leaving it in place.

"Sigh, I'm just finding reasons and excuses for myself. In the absence of substantive evidence and strong suspicion, tracing 'Loki's' tracks and trying to find him is a, a very bad thing.

"This makes me feel like I've betrayed the Research Society and betrayed my companions, so I hope 'Loki' has been 'parasitized' by Amon. That way, I wouldn't have similar guilt, and I'd be clearing hidden dangers for the Research Society."

Shifting into a special state to go to the gathering place can filter out abnormalities in the body? But Termiboros didn't have any problems either... Lu Mian didn't know if it was the special nature of Mr. "Fool's" seal, or if the sealed artifact Lady "Hela" borrowed actually didn't have the ability to filter abnormalities and couldn't guard against angels like Amon who could "parasitize."

He didn't raise any objections for the time being and said with a smile:

"In my opinion, 'Loki' definitely has problems; it's just a matter of degree.

"When he sold you the materials, did he incite you to go underground to explore and search for more remains of the 'Ancient Sun God'?"

"Yes," Franca nodded. "He also said that in similar places, the higher the sequence, the more dangerous it is and the easier it is to lose control; only we, the low-to-mid sequence Beyonders, can approach."

"That's only relative. Do you think my previous exploration of the 'Samaritan Woman's Spring' was dangerous?" Lu Mian asked back.

"Very dangerous," Franca already had sufficient understanding of that matter.

That's still without you knowing that the remnant shadow of the "Blood Emperor" almost grabbed me... Lu Mian muttered:

"Searching for the remains of the 'Ancient Sun God' will only be more dangerous than that.

"If 'Loki' hasn't tried it and incites you to go underground to search, he's using you as cannon fodder. And if he has tried it, he must have suffered contamination and gradually appeared alienated. He doesn't have a great existence like Mr. 'Fool' to provide purification.

"Therefore, finding 'Loki' as soon as possible is good for you and good for him."

After Franca finished listening, she bit her lip and said:

"That's true.

"In this matter, 'Loki' is truly malicious. The other members of the 'April Fools' seem curious and try to participate, but I feel they are cooperating with him."

After persuading Franca, Lu Mian asked curiously:

"You said the prerequisite for entering the gathering place is to shift into a special state. What kind of state is it?"

Franca put away her previous hesitation and shared quite excitedly:

"I once asked my Major Arcana card. Although I couldn't say the incantation and it was difficult to describe the gathering place in detail, she still speculated based on my words and performance that it was the power of 'Secrecy'."

"The power of 'Secrecy'..." Lu Mian nodded lightly.

It is quite secret; even the incantation was hidden, making it impossible to tell others.

Franca continued:

"The power of 'Secrecy' is in the 'Night' pathway, which is the divine pathway mastered by the Church of the 'Evernight Goddess'."

Speaking of this, Franca unconsciously lowered her voice:

"I suspect Lady 'Hela' is a member of the Evernight Church."

"Similar to '007'?" Lu Mian hadn't encountered that "007" today because there were simply too many people participating in the gathering, and he didn't know the other party's usual attire or the group they frequented.

Franca said "Hmm" again:

"Similar, but perhaps more valued, in a higher position, and possessing more secret knowledge."

Recalling Lady "Hela's" various performances in the matter of taking the spring water from the "Samaritan Woman's Spring," Lu Mian felt that Franca's description was correct.

That lady indeed possessed a lot of secret knowledge and had a black diamond ring that clearly surpassed ordinary magical artifacts and was suspected of possessing divine power.

In addition, the sealed artifact she borrowed to convene the gathering was powerful beyond Lu Mian's imagination.

Lu Mian asked casually:

"What are the main manifestations of the power of the 'Night' pathway?"

According to Aurore's witchcraft notes, the first three sequences of this pathway were "Sleepless," "Midnight Poet," and "Nightmare," mainly involving the enhancement of spirituality, the improvement of energy, the reduction of sleep, the occult application of poetry, and the special ability to forcibly make people fall asleep.

Franca recalled and said:

"The power of 'Secrecy,' the driving of spirits, real dreams..."

Real dreams... Hearing this answer, Lu Mian suddenly froze.

He remembered the real dream he had in the ruins of Cordu Village.

(End of chapter)