Chapter 653

Inside that off-white four-story building of the Patrol Force.

Camus, who had already shaken off the influence of that playing card, saw Sow fall into a pool of blood, torn into two halves by two undead creatures that looked like living corpses.

In other rooms, there was another Patrol Force member controlled by Tavanaco stubbornly resisting; his other companions had already been cleared out.

Camus breathed a sigh of relief, not expecting to encounter an assassination inside the Patrol Force and nearly die.

He looked at the deputy captain who had arrived at the scene, Reyasa—the middle-aged man wearing a thin black formal suit and manipulating undead creatures—and asked in confusion:

"How did Sow become a member of the 'Rose School of Thought'?

"How could there be so many team members controlled by the 'Rose School of Thought'?"

Although Camus had tried his best to resist that playing card just now, he had also heard Jenna's shouting, leaving a certain impression in his mind.

Reyasa stared at Sow in the pool of blood and the undead creatures in the room, pondered for a few seconds, and said:

"It should have been caused by Tavanaco."

Tavanaco... Camus suddenly remembered the questions Louis Berry had once mentioned.

Could it be that the serial killing case four years ago was really done by Tavanaco?

Is he actually a Demon?

Camus couldn't help but frown and complained aloud:

"Keeping a 'Living Corpse' in the team is a huge hidden danger in itself. We shouldn't stop suspecting him of being a member of the 'Rose School of Thought' just because he is usually very restrained. He could fully indulge at specific times."

Reyasa had a cold temperament and said in a deep voice:

"But we have confirmed that he is actually a member of the 'Temperance Faction' who defected from the 'Rose School of Thought,' and he believes in the 'Fool'."

"Believes in the 'Fool,' 'Temperance Faction'?" Camus asked back in astonishment.

He didn't expect to get such an answer.

…………

In the Land of Night, inside that ancient, dilapidated palace, in the interrogation room in the dream.

Hearing Lu Mian's question, "Siso" laughed:

"If you had sought help from the 'Tarot Club,' I could have killed you!"

As the laughter echoed, "Siso's" black shadow seemed to come alive, projecting onto the wall and growing curved goat horns and huge bat wings.

Lu Mian smelled the scent of a conspiracy and asked with a bit of confusion and curiosity:

"Why would you think that?"

"Siso" stood up, the murderous desire in his eyes seeming to condense into substance:

"If you had sought help from the 'Tarot Club,' they would definitely have let me provide help and assist you in the investigation."

Speaking of this, the corners of "Siso's" mouth curled up, laughing exceptionally arrogantly.

Being in a dream and no longer keeping conscious, he displayed the deepest part of his inner self.

Lu Mian raised an eyebrow:

"You wouldn't happen to be some Minor Arcana card, would you?"

"Siso" shook his head and answered with a brilliant smile:

"I am a member of the 'Temperance Faction,' a believer of Mr. 'Fool'."

As he spoke, this Demon laughed out loud, pressed his hand to his chest, and bowed in a salute:

"Praise the Fool!"

Seeing this scene, Lu Mian felt it was both absurd and funny, while instinctively beginning to analyze:

"Siso" is actually a member of the "Temperance Faction" of the "Rose School of Thought"? A Demon who flaunts malice is actually a member of the "Temperance Faction"?

From a common sense perspective, this is obviously impossible!

But this is a dream created by "Madame Hela." Unless "Siso" possesses special abilities, it's unlikely he could lie.

Since that's the case, there is only one explanation left:

He mixed into the "Temperance Faction" through means like deception and fraud!

On the surface, he is indeed a Beyonder of the "Prisoner" pathway and behaves quite restrained. If he were just a non-core member, the "Temperance Faction" might not have audited him particularly strictly and might not necessarily have discovered his problems.

Hmm, is this the reason why the Matani Patrol Force allowed a "Prisoner" pathway Beyonder to join?

This was all over four years ago. At that time, "Siso" was only a Sequence 8 "Lunatic" of the "Prisoner" pathway on the surface and hadn't reached the middle sequence yet. He could indeed only be considered a peripheral member of the "Temperance Faction" and likely wasn't valued.

Moreover, he should have joined the "Temperance Faction" before this, when he was weaker and less conspicuous.

Did he subsequently pretend that he obtained resources from the "Temperance Faction's" giving and the "Rose School of Thought's" attacks to advance, while actually relying on the "Mother Tree of Desire's" Gift? Where did those resources go? Sold secretly, or made into magical artifacts? That playing card?

Why did he mix into the "Temperance Faction" and also believe in Mr. "Fool"?

The main purpose is obviously not for resources...

Believed in Mr. "Fool"...

Thinking of this, Lu Mian suddenly had a guess:

Mixing into the "Fool" Church through some means and believing in Mr. "Fool" is "Siso's" true purpose!

This comes from the revelation of that Celestial Worthy!

"'Siso' truly believes in the 'Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings,' but that Celestial Worthy is opposing Mr. 'Fool' and can obviously also influence the 'Seer,' 'Apprentice,' and 'Marauder' pathways...

"'Siso' used some technique when praying. On the surface, he was praying to Mr. 'Fool,' but what he actually received was that Celestial Worthy? This way, he doesn't have the risks brought by false belief...

"This is very likely... Ms. 'Magician' once said that if you don't pray to Mr. 'Fool' according to the process, the response might not be him, but could be the Celestial Worthy...

"What is the Celestial Worthy's purpose in letting 'Siso' do this?

"'Marauder'... theft... He wouldn't want to steal Mr. 'Fool's' identity and belief bit by bit through this method, would he?

"When many believers believe in Mr. 'Fool' from the bottom of their hearts, but equate him with the Celestial Worthy, the Celestial Worthy also becomes the 'Fool'?

"Hiss, it's truly more terrifying the more I think about it...

"Just relying on 'Siso' alone definitely won't work; there should be quite a few similar believers...

"Amazing, if the Celestial Worthy developed believers normally, showing even a little trace would lead to being wiped out by the 'Tarot Club,' but if his believers all believe in Mr. 'Fool' on the surface, not only will they not be cleared out, but they can also obtain protection...

"Truly insidious..."

Lu Mian quickly had a series of deductions and felt the terrifying pressure of that Celestial Worthy in the darkness.

If targeted by him, it's very likely that one would fail and be finished inexplicably and unknowingly!

With these speculations, when Lu Mian recalled the matters in Port Pilos, he clearly understood "Siso's" confidence and understood why he wanted to stay and wait for an opportunity:

Having just arrived in the Southern Continent and Port Pilos, he had no resources, no companions, and didn't even understand the Tuthan language, so he would likely request a certain amount of help from the "Tarot Club" behind him.

In a situation where the target wasn't clear and it was unknown how long it would take to find them, the Major Arcana cards of the "Tarot Club" couldn't come personally and should have assigned a Minor Arcana card familiar with the Southern Continent or some member under their own forces to help.

Under this premise, who could be more suitable and satisfy the requirements better than Tavanaco Tewanaco Tupian, who belonged to the "Temperance Faction" of the Fool Church, was born in Matani State, was familiar with local conditions, had a corresponding official identity, and whose own strength had reached Sequence 6?

In that case, Lu Mian would investigate "Siso" together with "Siso," and the other party would gradually grasp the situation, figure out if there were traps, when the traps would fail, and then seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, impact the spirit, and detonate desire!

Lu Mian thought about this development and felt that if he hadn't been able to detect "Siso's" malice during the investigation, the probability of dying at his hands would be one hundred percent, and he could only watch this Demon fight Termiboros in the form of soul fragments.

And "Siso," having been informed by "Loki," should have prepared in advance to deal with the dangerous creature within the seal, for example, by relying on that devil in the North family, or by relying on his status as a believer of the "Mother Tree of Desire."

"It's a good thing Ms. 'Magician' has always told me that a 'Hunter' cannot rely on high-ranking figures or organizations behind them for everything and must temper themselves, be familiar with conspiracies and battles. Otherwise, I might have really requested a guide from the 'Tarot Club' as soon as I arrived in Port Pilos...

"That would have been dangerous...

"Sister and Emperor Roselle both said that the most dangerous place is often the safest place. Now I want to add one more sentence: what one considers the safest and most trustworthy might hide the greatest risk...

"This doesn't mean it's no longer trustworthy, but that the enemy will use this kind of trust and sense of security.

"Hmm, Ms. 'Magician' has also been saying that if her orders and suggestions have anything strange, don't pay attention to them first, and quickly contact other Major Arcana cards to confirm the situation."

Lu Mian looked at the emotionally arrogant "Siso" and smiled:

"If it weren't for a special trace expert helping me, if it weren't for 'Sleeve Sword' being relatively familiar with the role you were playing, and if it weren't for a 'Psychiatrist' completing the profile on you, and if I had never found clues or direction, I would indeed have sought help from the 'Tarot Club' and sought a guide familiar with local conditions."

"Siso" fell silent abruptly, and it was only after a few seconds that he said:

"I can understand everything else, but why did you happen to have a special trace expert?"

Lu Mian laughed:

"Because this is a gift from a True God."

The longer he stayed with Ludwig, the more Lu Mian felt that letting such a dangerous guy escape Church control wasn't a decision any high-ranking figure in the Church of Knowledge could make; it must have been a revelation from that "God of Knowledge and Wisdom."

Of course, Lu Mian didn't dare to be sure, because as far as he knew, the Knowledge pathway, which is the "Reader" pathway, seemed very good at prophecy when reaching high sequences.

"Siso" was silent at first, then suddenly shouted, like a wild wolf howling at the moon.

Lu Mian reviewed the whole thing again and deeply realized that this revenge was a confrontation of conspiracies, but unfortunately, "Siso" didn't know his personality and style well enough, nor did he know his companions well enough, and could only use the Prayer to the Sea ritual and "Loki's" first death as a reference, thus leading to deviations, causing his expectations to fail despite having a high probability of coming true.

Hu... Lu Mian exhaled and asked instead:

"Who were the people destroying things on the Patrol Force side?"

PS: Updates for the next two days might be unstable because my wife had a minor surgery on Friday, and I'm accompanying her. The normal updates before were supported by saved drafts, and now the saved drafts are almost gone. Sad.

It's also because of this matter that I originally planned to participate in Klein's birthday event today, but I can only regretfully give it up. Now my wife's post-surgery recovery is okay, and she can be discharged on Monday or Tuesday. If the updates are unstable, it should be single updates for these two days. I hope everyone can understand. Of course, I will try my best not to ask for leave and hope to update normally.

(End of Chapter)