Chapter 434

Albus saw Lu Mian sitting on the sofa and paused, saying:

"Fast."

"You're not slow either," Lu Mian returned a "kind" smile.

In his view, Albus being able to break free from the illusory roar that seemed to come from the underground and not become a wax figure was definitely not as simple as just being a member of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order," unless the dangerous pollution in the building at 13 Market Avenue could help him resist the terrifying roar.

By comparison, Miss Ailuo Si Einhorn, who possessed the bloodline of the Solomon family and showed special features, was more likely to retreat unscathed and return safely.

Albus smiled, pulled over a chair to sit down, ate snacks as if nothing had happened, and ordered the servant nearby to change a cup of black tea.

After about four or five minutes, Lu Mian and Albus cast their gazes toward the entrance of the large living room simultaneously.

Miss Ailuo Si, wearing a light dress, walked in.

Seeing Lu Mian and Albus, she was obviously stunned, but not surprised, and immediately put on a well-behaved and quiet smile.

She sat quietly in her original position, becoming that restrained girl living at her grandfather's house again.

The poet Eilert didn't seem to notice the strange atmosphere, drinking absinthe and chatting with Lu Mian about poetry creation.

A quarter of an hour later, Count Pu Yifu, wearing a red velvet coat, led the novelist Anoli and the painter Ma Lun back to the large living room.

At the first sight of Lu Mian, the pupils of this owner of Red Tianebao dilated sharply, and his expression almost lost control.

He didn't seem to expect to meet Charles Dubois again, or rather, Charles Dubois in this state!

Following closely, Pu Yifu's gaze swept over Albus, Miss Ailuo Si, and Eilert, his expression surprised and suspicious, as if he had fallen into a real dream.

"Oh, Pu Yifu, you're finally back. We gave up adventuring long ago and didn't want to go deeper into the dark labyrinth," Albus put down the mille-feuille cake in his hand and greeted him enthusiastically, "How about it, did you find that Count's crown?"

Pu Yifu instinctively turned sideways, not letting Albus, whose hands were stained with a little pastry, hug him.

He forced a smile and said:

"We didn't find it either. When did you come back?"

"Less than two quarters of an hour," Albus then remembered to clap his palms, shaking off the pastry.

Lu Mian also stood up and asked deliberately:

"Where is Mr. An Yong?"

The novelist Anoli shook his head:

"He got separated from us. I hope he remembers to pull the bell rope and let the servants go find him."

"Yes, the servants in this castle know the situation of the underground palace better than I do," Pu Yifu's expression returned to normal, and he sat on the single sofa.

Lu Mian was anxious to go back to confirm the harvest, looked at the classical wall clock hanging on the wall, and said to Pu Yifu with a smile:

"I still have some things to do, so I won't attend today's dinner."

Pu Yifu's mind was obviously no longer here, and he didn't try to keep him at all, just stood up again and sent Lu Mian to the entrance of the large living room.

Lu Mian looked at this owner of Red Tianebao, smiled, held his hand, and shook it gently and sincerely:

"Count, thank you for giving me a wonderful experience this afternoon. I like this game too much, and I hope there will be another chance to play."

He was sincerely thanking Pu Yifu Solomon, not only for giving him the "opportunity" to digest the potion, but also for "opening" the family hunting ground, allowing him to find the suspected "Conspirer"-related supernatural creature easily without searching everywhere.

*How could I not thank him properly? *

Of course, Lu Mian also sincerely wanted to kill Pu Yifu Solomon. If he hadn't possessed something special, he would have already become a wax figure.

The only reason Lu Mian didn't act directly was not because he was worried about the Solomon family's retaliation, nor was he afraid of ruining the "Iron and Blood Cross Order's" plot, but because he intuitively believed that, don't look at Pu Yifu Solomon as if he were an ordinary person, or that kind of relatively weak and inexperienced Beyonder, if he wanted to deal with him, it was very likely that he himself would be the one to die.

Amidst the sincere and earnest thanks, Count Pu Yifu's face became quite ugly.

Lu Mian acted as if he didn't notice, emphasized again his wish to play the underground palace adventure game once more, then turned and walked out of the large living room, leaving Pu Yifu Solomon frowning, looking at his back suspiciously and vigilantly.

After leaving Red Tianebao and getting into the four-wheeled, four-seater carriage borrowed by Gardner Martin, the smile on Lu Mian's face disappeared instantly, and his expression became very solemn.

At the end of this underground palace adventure, he clearly realized the gap between himself and higher-level power. Just because of an illusory roar, he completely lost consciousness, lost himself, and had no power to resist.

That is, he had the seal of Mr. "Fool" on his body, Termiboros existed, and the aura of the "Blood Emperor" Alista Tudor remained; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to come out alive.

*"My sequence is still too low..."* Lu Mian sighed silently, half-closed his eyes, and recalled the various details of this adventure.

…………

Memorial Hall District, 11 Spring Street.

Gardner Martin walked among the suits of armor and pieces of weapons in the hall, touching the texture brought by the metal while listening to Lu Mian recount the wax figure room, "Wax Artist," mutated black spider, tin soldiers, bronze coffin, white candles, and illusory roar he encountered in the depths of the underground palace.

Of course, Lu Mian didn't talk about the process of sending the poet Eilert back to the underground palace entrance, nor did he talk about burning that pile of wax figures and killing the "Wax Artist."

In the end, Lu Mian did not hide his anger, dissatisfaction, and confusion:

"'Officer,' didn't you say you would watch in secret and guard against accidents? If I hadn't woken up inexplicably, I would be a wax figure by now!

"Did you let Albus watch for you?"

Gardner Martin was not angry because of Lu Mian's questioning, turned his body, and looked at him with a smile:

"I was indeed watching in secret."

Speaking of this, the smile on his face was more obvious, but his tone was very calm:

"I saw you send that poet back to the underground palace entrance, saw you burn the wax figures in that room, and detonate the 'Wax Artist's' head."

*This... * Lu Mian's eyes narrowed, his hair stood on end, and his back felt cold.

He blurted out:

"Albus is already back?"

*How could the boss know what I did? *

*He wouldn't really be following in secret, or monitoring every move of the underground labyrinth in some way, would he? *

*How did he do it? I didn't notice at all! *

Gardner Martin chuckled:

"Albus hasn't come back yet."

*It wasn't Albus who told him? Also, Albus doesn't know at all that my way of killing the 'Wax Artist' was to blow up his head... There was no one else at the scene... How on earth did the boss see it? * When Lu Mian looked at Gardner Martin again, he no longer had the usual well-concealed contempt, feeling that this boss of the Savare Party, the "Officer" of the "Iron and Blood Cross Order," was more mysterious and powerful than he had originally thought.

Before this, it might be that Ms. "Magician" of the "Tarot Club" and Mr. K of the "Aurora Order" had both shown abilities that Lu Mian couldn't imagine or were full of fear, so that when facing Gardner Martin, who looked the weakest among the three "superiors," he always felt that he was just like that, and even thought that if both sides were within five meters, he would have a chance to kill this "Officer."

From the current situation, Lu Mian had no confidence.

Considering that Gardner Martin saying it so directly was likely to deter him, Lu Mian did not hide his expression changes and body language.

Gardner Martin looked at his expression, which was full of suspicion and a bit of fear, and added with a smile:

"Do you really think you woke up inexplicably?"

*Ho, could it be that you helped? If I hadn't heard the magnificent, overlapping sounds, Aurore's humming, and the exchanges of everyone in Cordu Village, and felt the burning pain in my right palm, I would have really believed you... The essence is that the pollution at 13 Market Avenue can help me break free from that state, but the boss deliberately didn't make it clear, wanting me to think it was the help he provided? This 'Hunter' also doesn't tell lies, and doesn't tell the whole truth. How much of what he just said did he see with his own eyes, and how much did he collect through other channels? * Lu Mian's thoughts raced, and he lowered his head:

"Thank you, 'Officer'."

Gardner Martin smiled and nodded, saying kindly:

"This operation can be considered to have had a certain harvest. At least we know that some terrifying things are sealed in the depths of the underground palace of Red Tianebao. Do you want to exchange it directly for a reward, or accumulate it and exchange it for something valuable at once later, for example, a higher-sequence potion?"

In the past month or so, Lu Mian had relied on the funds given by Gardner Martin, the "salary" of the Breeze Dance Hall, and the income from acting, and had saved another 20,000 Vergold, so he was not short of money for the time being.

He thought for a while and said:

"Let's accumulate it first."

While speaking, he took out the Beyonder characteristic of the "Wax Artist" and other items, and asked Gardner Martin:

"Boss, can these be used to prepare the 'Conspirer' potion?"

Gardner Martin took the shrunken blood-colored brain and the shriveled, blackened heart, examined them carefully for a while, and said:

"Combined, they can prepare the 'Conspirer' potion, but it will have one more 'Hunter' characteristic, one 'Provoker' characteristic, and one 'Pyromaniac' characteristic than normal materials. You must have great confidence before considering using them.

"Well, this heart also has the residual bloodline of the Solomon family, which may have a certain impact on your promotion. If you are not sure, I can give you a 'Conspirer' potion in exchange for these materials, and make up the difference, just as part of the reward."

*That is to say, normal hunting of black spiders and humanoid lions only has the 'Conspirer' Beyonder characteristic, not including the previous parts, while the 'Wax Artist' and mutated black spider are like a 'Conspirer' split in two, combined into a complete Sequence 9 to Sequence 6... * Lu Mian roughly understood the situation and said with a smile:

"This sounds like it will make me a bit more powerful. I want to try to see if I can withstand the corresponding risks."

Gardner Martin did not persuade him further and let Lu Mian leave.

…………

After returning to the Golden Rooster Hotel, Lu Mian sat at the desk and began to write a letter to Ms. "Magician."

(End of chapter)