Chapter 851: Intercontinental Travel (End of Month—Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Ludwig had finished eating the red fish and beef pancake, crouched before the sidewalk bench, and taken out a pen and a notebook from his red hard-shell bag, writing his post-meal reflections with focused seriousness.

In the shadows, Lumian watched and curled his lips.

"Say you're afraid, but your body still instinctively repeats the habits formed in the Church of Knowledge…"

"If there weren't so many exams and studies, you might have become a proper believer of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom…"

As he mocked Ludwig, Lumian scanned the surrounding citizens.

His gaze passed the young man quietly reading a book in the coffee shop across the diagonal, then the middle-aged and elderly scholar standing at the crossroads but never crossing, merely observing passersby and carriages, finally settling on the painter who had set up his easel beneath the Indus sycamore, his expression vacant as he smeared the street scene onto the canvas.

Lumian stepped out of the shadow, walked a few paces, and came behind the painter, leaning forward like previous passersby to peer at the artwork.

The painting was ordinary; he detected no trace of supernatural power.

Lumian continued walking, silently reflecting:

"So far, he seems genuinely an ordinary painter—just mentally a bit off…"

"Is this what a Trier painter is like? Sometimes they look more like cultists of a dark god than actual cultists…"

"Sigh, in Trier, it's too hard to identify cultists of dark gods by abnormal behavior—according to Flanka, many citizens' mental states are remarkably serene... Half the blame lies with the existence of the Seal from the Fourth Era, and half with the citizens themselves..."

As he thought, Lumian saw a naked man walking toward him; the only fabric on his body was a black top hat, positioned just above his abdomen.

The man walked with head high and chest out, proud and unashamed, as if he had done something profoundly worthy of admiration.

Seven or eight meters past Lumian, his palm suddenly burned.

He instinctively pulled his hand back and saw his black top hat engulfed in crimson flames, slowly drifting toward the ground.

He lost his last covering.

Lumian, still walking away with his back turned, silently moved his lips:

"No need to thank me—let you show off even more thoroughly."

"You dare parade around like this? Next time I'll send you to New Silver City for free."

Lumian slipped his hands into his pockets, stepped into the shadow, and turned his attention back to Ludwig.

He had followed him for a long time and still hadn't spotted anyone resembling a follower of the "Devouring Vortex."

But remembering that since he'd met Ludwig, the boy had never once gathered with any other cultists of the same path, Lumian suspected the Seal on him must impose some restriction—otherwise, such a dark god's angel roaming freely would have triggered countless occult disasters long ago.

"There might be another reason: many cultists of dark gods, even after gaining divinity, can still disguise themselves as normal humans unless they lose control or go half-mad—but perhaps the 'Devouring Vortex''s followers can't. Even before regaining his 'Depriver' state, Ludwig eats this much; a corresponding Level 4 Semigod, even if restraining himself, would still have an appetite so enormous it would alarm members of the 'Purifiers' and 'Mechanical Heart'…"

"Forget it. The main goal is to 'tame' Ludwig; catching other 'Devouring Vortex' followers is just a side thought—no need to find them anyway…" Lumian had watched for so long and hadn't seen any citizen eating in a suspicious way.

…………

Receiving Franca's second letter, Lumian went to Apartment 702, No. 9 Arolsai Street after dinner.

Jianna had arrived two or three minutes earlier, still wearing vampire makeup and a conservative black dress.

Lumian glanced at Jianna, opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Seeing this, Jianna immediately lifted her chin slightly:

"Are you about to mock how I look now?"

Lumian chuckled:

"I just remembered a joke: once there was a duke who, to whiten his skin, believed a quack's advice and took arsenic pills for years. He did succeed in improving his complexion—but also gained one side effect: he died."

"Where did you hear that joke?" Jianna asked curiously.

"From the magazine 'Grimace.' Shortly before I read that joke, a guest at the Golden Rooster Inn told me slapping your face makes your complexion look ruddy and healthy, helping you find work." Lumian laughed. "You coarse-haired women should read more books and magazines—don't be illiterate, or the Church of Knowledge's clergy will look down on you."

I just told you to act normally and wait for your chance to speak—not to keep mocking… Jianna suddenly felt her teeth itch:

"You think I'm like you, who didn't even finish compulsory education before…"

Here Jianna fell silent.

At that moment, Franca, who had been hiding behind the coffee table and writing something, stood up and said:

"You two, don't waste time on trivialities."

Lumian, who had learned from the second letter that Harrison from the Resurrection Island had reappeared and that Franca wanted to take Amandina quickly to the edge of the "Woman of Samaria's Spring," nodded lightly:

"My condition is mostly restored."

"So fast…" Franca was surprised.

Jianna's gaze briefly shifted away, then returned to Lumian, and she nodded gently:

"Yes, faster than I expected."

Lumian clicked his tongue:

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"We can ask Amandina her thoughts right now."

"Mm-hmm." Franca excitedly reached for the "Ice Talisman."

Before arriving, Lumian had burned the independent space containing the "Black Tear" for over half an hour; he now pulled out the "1"-rank sealed item:

"Use this—it won't consume uses."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the full-length mirror, the window revealing the night, and the metal-decorated objects in the living room.

Using the mirror magic of the "Black Tear," he detected no anomalies in these reflective surfaces; he felt no eyes watching him or the others from within.

He then tossed the "Black Tear" to Franca and gave a slight nod—meaning the "Black Witch" was likely not observing them now.

"I've written down everything I need to tell Amandina, so no one can eavesdrop…" Franca put on the "Black Tear," held the letter in her hand, covered it with black flame, and pressed it against the glass surface of the full-length mirror.

She had to finish quickly—before the "Black Tear"'s negative effects took hold!

…………

Southern Continent, Matanibang, Pailos Port.

Amandina lit the gas wall lamp and sat at her desk, once again reading the occult materials provided by Madame Franca.

Each time she read these teachings, she felt genuine astonishment, reverence, longing, and fear.

Over the past two or three weeks, she had met several acquaintances from the patrol team and attended two occult gatherings, discovering that the knowledge recorded in these materials was unknown to the vast majority of the extraordinary—even among official members.

"This is truly a gift…" Amandina had just thought this when she noticed the vanity mirror Franca had given her, placed deliberately beside her, darkening and shimmering with water-like light.

Within the shimmer, Indus script formed:

"I am Franca. Lumian has returned."

"He asked me to ask you: when will you come to Trier? He will take you to the area where that shadowy figure might appear…"

Louis Berry has returned to Trier… Amandina thought for a few seconds, then spoke to the mirror:

"Tonight."

She had already planned to spend tonight alone, studying the remaining occult knowledge.

—She had already instructed her maid to lock her bedroom door from the inside.

No sooner had Amandina answered than a hurried voice came from the mirror:

"Put your hand on the mirror."

Amandina, nervous yet eager and curious, extended her palm toward the mirror's surface.

She felt the hard, cold glass lose its solidity, becoming like a temperatureless stream of water.

Amandina's right palm passed completely through the glass surface—then a terrifying suction erupted within.

She was yanked in, falling into a dark, void-like tunnel, plummeting toward the vortex's end.

Before she could react, she was overcome by dizziness.

When she regained her thoughts, she found herself standing in a small living room, facing Madame Franca, whom she had met before.

The woman was as beautiful as before, and now, without the mirror's barrier and with closer proximity, her allure was even stronger—so much so that Amandina, a woman herself, felt slightly embarrassed to stare but couldn't help looking again.

As Amandina's gaze shifted, she saw a beautiful woman with pale skin, bright red lips, and a youthful air; she saw Lumian Li, sitting on a single sofa, wearing a shirt and jacket, one foot propped up on his opposite knee.

Do all the women around this guy look this beautiful? He seems even more handsome now… Amandina suddenly felt a pang of insecurity about her own appearance.

She quickly glanced around, assessing this unfamiliar place.

Franca swiftly removed the "Black Tear" and tossed it back to Lumian.

"So amazing…" Amandina finally came to her senses, her eyes sparkling. "Did I come here through the mirror? Is this Trier?"

Lumian slipped the "Black Tear" back into the independent space within his "Traveler's Satchel" and corrected with a smile:

"Through the Mirror World."

"Mirror World…" Amandina repeated the term. "Then… can I learn to travel through the Mirror World like you do?"

Lumian scoffed:

"Don't you know non-adjacent paths can't exchange? Don't you know about magical artifacts?"

As he spoke, Lumian stood and walked toward the door:

"Let's go."

"Aren't they coming?" Amandina pointed at Franca and Jianna.

She hadn't even had time to greet them!

"No." Lumian opened the front door.

ps: End of the month—please vote for monthly tickets~

(End of Chapter)