Chapter 718

Ye Busi, who had been preparing to explain what "Dark Box" meant, was stunned for a moment and said:

"We are working hard to control the Carbonari, and we have already made great progress."

As he spoke, this member of the "School of Truth" laughed:

"They are trying to overthrow the government and establish their own order; this is something we are happy to see and also want."

"But isn't your goal to gradually control the government through people from high society like Moran Avigny?" Jenna felt that Ye Busi's current statement contradicted his previous account.

Ye Busi smiled in a didactic tone:

"A mature merchant will not put all their eggs in one basket, and an excellent ambitionist is the same."

Hearing this, Lu Mian suddenly changed the question:

"According to your description just now, 'Ambitionist' mainly enhances the body, perception, and spirituality; it doesn't seem to involve the brain?"

Franca preempted Ye Busi's answer, cooperating with a smile in tacit understanding:

"No one stipulates that an ambitionist needs a brain.

And it's cooking that involves supernatural power!

"In history, we can often see stupid ambitionists."

The two's back-and-forth left Ye Busi not knowing how to respond.

Fortunately, Lu Mian didn't continue this topic and pulled the focus back to the Carbonari:

"Is Albert Gonguer already one of yours?"

"Should be." Ye Busi answered not too certainly. "I am not responsible for the Carbonari's affairs."

"Was the 'Dream Seeker' charity organization able to establish a connection with the Carbonari because of you 'Brokers'?" Lu Mian remembered the matter of General Philip.

Ye Busi smiled again:

"Philip was a very ambitious person. From very early on, he wanted to unite various secret organizations. As 'Brokers,' as 'Shadow Merchants,' as 'Ambitionists,' we certainly had to help him. Unfortunately, his plan succeeded, but it was utilized by others, and he himself disappeared in that ancient city sealed underground. Um, I don't know if you know, but that was actually the Trier of the Fourth Epoch."

"You guys..." Franca didn't know what she was thinking, but she didn't say it, just sighed.

Only then did Lu Mian ask about the "Dark Box" matter:

"At Sequence 5, what other abilities have you gained?"

Ye Busi's gaze still moved back and forth between the two witches:

"Only this one ability, 'Dark Box,' but it has two ways of implementation:

"One is in combat, in an emergency, to directly create an invisible, peaceful dark box environment. By giving the enemy valuable items, one forces the fulfillment of one's own demands, but it cannot harm the other party, cannot affect the other party's other states, and one must also appear normal enough, otherwise it is very easy for the enemy who 'agreed' to the dark box transaction to notice the problem and wake up.

"Um, this kind of dark box transaction is not guaranteed to succeed. The more the target has a tendency and experience of being involved in the gray area, the higher the success rate. This can be judged by the 'Broker' sequence's 'Perceive Gray' ability. If facing a 'Unshadowed' of the Sun pathway, even without the suppression of divinity, it is almost impossible to succeed."

"Unshadowed" is the name of Sequence 4 of the Sun pathway.

"Was it through this 'Dark Box transaction' that you asked me to let you go earlier?" Lu Mian realized suddenly.

"Yes." Ye Busi said frankly, "You have a great deal of experience involved in the gray area, and you also have a strong tendency in this regard."

"You really have a good eye for people!" Franca helped Lu Mian "praise" Ye Busi.

"'Perceive Gray,' although an ability obtained at Sequence 9 'Broker,' is really very useful." Ye Busi said, appearing objective but actually showing off.

Jenna then pressed:

"What about the other kind of 'Dark Box transaction'?"

Ye Busi smiled and answered:

"That requires spending a certain amount of time and cannot be used in combat or emergency states.

"Simply put, it is to use a barely enclosed space as the object of operation to create a real dark box. In this dark box, one is one party to the transaction, and the mysterious creatures and dangerous existences hidden in shadows and darkness are the other party. But we won't know who the transaction object is in advance, and we won't be able to perceive who is on the other side during the transaction. That might be an existence we have dealt with before, or it might come from the unknown.

"In short, in this dark box state where one doesn't know who the transaction object is and doesn't know how the demand will be satisfied through the transaction, one proposes the demand and gives the items the other party requests, and it is possible to obtain the desired result. As for how this is achieved, it is not important."

"Can there only be two parties to the transaction?" Jenna asked with a spirit of inquiry.

"No, it can also be a three-party transaction, a four-party transaction, or even more, as long as it complies with the rules of dark box operation." Ye Busi did not stint on his occult knowledge. "This kind of dark box operation is also not guaranteed to succeed. It depends on the difficulty of the goal and is limited by the provided transaction items. In addition, you shouldn't think that those mysterious creatures and dangerous existences will necessarily keep their promises; among them are many scammers who have ways to escape the constraints of the dark box."

"After completing a quite difficult task with the help of this dark box operation, will there be additional risks?" Jenna thought of her own "Dark Box of the Power-Holder."

Ye Busi nodded solemnly:

"Yes, it depends on who the mysterious creature or dangerous existence that provided you with the dark box help is, and whether they have malice. Once, I was unlucky for a whole week and was almost discovered by the 'Punishers' to have abnormalities."

Jenna nodded thoughtfully and muttered in her heart:

Looking at it this way, the "Dark Box of the Power-Holder" is a corrupted, mutated version of a normal "Dark Box." It is no longer the transaction object proposing demands, but we directly provide valuable items, but it can only make complex things simple and difficult things easy; it cannot be completed directly, and there are considerable limitations...

The cost of use is fixed as encountering a transaction from a devil or other evil creature afterward...

"What do you know about the 'Overseer'?" Lu Mian, seeing that the "Dark Box" talk was about enough, raised a new question.

Ye Busi's face showed difficulty, and he did not answer.

Lu Mian, seeing this, changed the subject:

"What items do you have on you?"

Ye Busi glanced at Franca and took out a few odds and ends from the hidden pockets of his clothes:

"This is a healing potion traded from a follower of the 'Great Mother,' and these are 'coma gas,' 'awakening gas,' and 'confession potion' traded from followers of the 'Mother Tree of Desire'..."

Healing potions, sleeping drugs, occult smelling salts, and "truth serum," these are all good things... Lu Mian looked at the four small metal bottles with different labels and nodded slightly.

His gaze then moved to Ye Busi's other palm, where there were six bullets:

The material of those six bullets was all brass, but the surface patterns and colors were different. One looked ordinary, one had a bright tip, one seemed to have been corroded by strong acid, one flickered with a faint ghostly green light, one seemed to carry a bit of brilliant starlight, and one had a dull luster, as if it had been matte-treated many times.

Ye Busi introduced them enthusiastically:

"This is a pregnancy bullet, this is a poison bullet, this is a rot bullet, this is a weakness bullet, this is an implosion bullet, and this is a deprivation bullet. They were all traded from followers of different gods."

Franca pointed at the ordinary-looking bullet from a certain distance, curious:

"Is this the pregnancy bullet?"

"Yes, people and animals hit by it will inevitably become pregnant, and they will soon have corresponding manifestations." Ye Busi said, also a bit afraid himself.

"Regardless of gender?" Franca pressed.

"Regardless." Ye Busi was very certain.

"Ew..." Franca made a sound that was both disgusted and eager to try.

Jenna asked very concernedly:

"It looks the same as an ordinary bullet; what if you get it wrong?"

Ye Busi shook his head and said:

"It won't be wrong; its weight is very light, as if it were made of wood or mud."

Phew... Lu Mian and Anthony both breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Lu Mian turned to point at the matte bullet and said:

"Is this the deprivation bullet? What is its effect?"

The effects of the other bullets sounded quite clear; only the deprivation bullet was unknown as to what it deprived.

"People hit or grazed by it will lose a supernatural ability within a quarter of an hour. Specifically which one, it cannot be predicted in advance." Ye Busi answered truthfully.

This can be combined with the "Fate Hunter" ability, designated deprivation... Lu Mian looked Ye Busi up and down and said, "No other items? As a 'Shadow Merchant,' you don't even have a magical artifact?"

Ye Busi explained a bit embarrassedly:

"I only recently obtained the 'Dark Box' gift. Previously, in order to complete the corresponding ritual and please the Truth, I traded away all the items I had obtained, leaving only these.

"The merchant's principle is that everything can be bought and sold!"

Poor guy... Franca mocked him with disappointment.

She then said to Ye Busi:

"Give all these items to us. It is because of them that you have been involved in danger again and again, entangled in the struggles at the god level. Hand them over, and you will be relaxed, safe, and can have a new life."

This was similar to Anthony's hypnotic words just now. Ye Busi chose to believe it and handed the things in his hand to Franca.

After Franca put away those items, Lu Mian looked around and said:

"Where is the headquarters of your 'School of Truth'?

"Who is the 'Overseer' you report to directly?"

Hearing these two questions, Jenna, Franca, and Anthony quietly moved to Lu Mian's side.

Ye Busi hesitated for several seconds, and just as he was about to answer, his expression suddenly twisted.

Lu Mian, seeing this, immediately said to Franca:

"Throw the statue over!"

Franca chose to do so, taking the bone statue of the "Primordial Demoness" from the "Traveler's Bag" and throwing it toward Ye Busi.

At the same time, she, Anthony, and Jenna all grabbed Lu Mian's shoulders, arms, and other positions.

The next second, the four figures disappeared from the spot.

Boom!

Ye Busi exploded from the inside out, the shattered flesh and blood combining with pale mist to turn into strange blood mist.

The blood mist slowly settled, bypassed the bone statue of the "Primordial Demoness," and seeped into the soil.

After a few more seconds, Lu Mian and the others "teleported" back.

PS: Thanks to friend livy37 for the Silver Alliance donation again~

(End of chapter)