Chapter 975: Unexpected Visitor

When Lu Mi arrived at the Administration Department, several professionals were already collecting physical evidence and data to take back for identification, including but not limited to leftover milk tea, liquid in the automatic water dispenser, discarded takeout, vomit, and swabs wiped from computers, desks, and air conditioning vents...

After they finished, other professional personnel in protective clothing began the full disinfection process.

During this process, Luo Shan and the other Administration Department employees who were still insisting on working could only wait in the corridor.

Lu Mi took a glance and discovered that besides Boss Ai and Luo Shan, only two other people were unaffected by the occult pathogen; regardless of their complexion or movements, they were quite normal.

One was male, relatively tall by the general standard of Yangdu, over 1.8 meters, and one was female, in her thirties, with a round face, a bit chubby; her appearance couldn't be called beautiful, but it couldn't be called ugly either.

Neither of them are people aiming for Boss Huang... or rather, not aiming for Boss Huang's body... What are Beyonders doing working diligently in the Administration Department of the Intis Group? Lu Mi speculated about others' intentions with his own heart.

Of course, he couldn't be sure that there were no Beyonders among those who went to the Red Moon Hospital. Maybe that was a "Witch" waiting for a time to taste Boss Huang, but she sensed the existence and erosion of the occult pathogen, so she pretended to have serious symptoms and followed them to the hospital to avoid being discovered that she had a problem?

Luo Shan also saw the security guard who was said to be very handsome and felt that he hadn't lived up to her expectations.

After a while, Boss Ai received a call.

"The problems aren't serious, and the situation has stabilized?" Boss Ai asked back happily.

Then, he heard Zhang Qing on the other end of the phone say:

"The test result is a mild viral infection. The doctor said they can go home after finishing the IV drip, then take medicine for two days, rest, and it will be fine.

"More than a dozen people have already asked me for leave, intending to lie at home for two days to recover. They also asked if this counts as a work-related injury and if there is compensation."

Boss Ai's temple jumped, and he suppressed his inner emotions and said:

"It is indeed right to rest at home; you can't force yourself to work and end up with big problems. As for whether it counts as a work-related injury, go to the Legal Department and ask when you return."

"Okay," Zhang Qing said. "But there are also more than a dozen people who expressed they want to come back to work, but..."

"But what?" Boss Ai asked.

Zhang Qing answered vaguely:

"They are all the ones who love to dress up. Only Luo Fu is not."

A sick beauty is also a beauty. If Boss Huang sees her, he might feel pity.

Boss Ai was speechless for a moment.

Is it only the newcomers who work actively and seriously?

On the other side, Lu Mi used the excuse that something happened in the Administration Department and had been watching nearby, occasionally providing help.

This was also to guard against Luo Shan being cleaned up by the Celestial Worthy's subordinates during the chaos—she had the ability to protect herself as a "Painter," but she clearly lacked experience and was easily caught off guard in crowded occasions. Now, because Franca had gone to the hospital, she couldn't rely on the "Mirror Substitute" to escape the first strike.

After Franca returned from the Red Moon Hospital and helped Luo Shan and others handle the backlog of matters, Lu Mi and Old Xia returned to the Security Department on the 13th floor.

He continued to think about how to treat An Xiaotian.

He believed that An Xiaotian becoming a vegetable was a symbol, representing the decline and dissipation of Antigonus's spiritual imprint within the "Fool" uniqueness. This was something that couldn't be reversed by normal methods and could only be sought from the essence:

"Find a way to strengthen Antigonus's spiritual imprint within the 'Fool' uniqueness? But Antigonus cannot enter Mr. 'Fool's' dream now. Even if He is willing to provide corresponding items, we still have to pollute Zhou Mingrui, the symbol of the 'Fool' uniqueness, to achieve the goal. This would destroy our image in Zhou Mingrui's heart, making all previous efforts go to waste, and the danger is very high.

"Franca and Jenna's train of thought is correct; relying on the power of the 'Mother Tree of Desire' might be able to awaken An Xiaotian, but it's not treatment, nor is it letting An Xiaotian give birth to a child, but 'rebirth.' The symbolic meaning is to let Antigonus's spiritual imprint within the 'Fool' uniqueness gain a new life. As for whether the reborn An Xiaotian is an enemy or a friend, it's hard to say, but he will inevitably interfere with Mr. 'Fool's' awakening...

"The Sequence 7 'Warlock' of the 'Villain' pathway can hold a rebirth ritual. Theoretically, these gift-bearers of the 'Mother Tree of Desire' like Green can all let An Xiaotian wake up, but that involves the reversal of symbols. It is estimated that only a rebirth ritual held by someone with divinity can produce effects. And in the dream city, Green and the others all think only I, this fake god-child, have it, and others don't possess it. Hmm, there is a place that should have it, the basement level of the Eye of the Dawn Hospital, but sending An Xiaotian there is purely creating an enemy for oneself..."

Lu Mi pondered for a long time and felt that the two trains of thought currently had no small problems; the hidden dangers and negative effects were far greater than the gains, and they were not something he and the others would choose.

He began to ponder this matter from the direction of finding loopholes.

Soon, he thought of a person:

Li Keji!

"Mr. 'Fool's' subconscious cognition of Li Keji's mushrooms should come from the interaction between Gehrman Sparrow and Frank Lee.

"Currently, he seems to feel that Li Keji's mushrooms are relatively dangerous, possess various possibilities, and will produce some incredible effects.

"The essence of this city is a dream, and dreams are idealistic. As long as Mr. 'Fool' really thinks Li Keji's mushrooms can do incredible things, then Li Keji can create a kind of mushroom to treat An Xiaotian and let him wake up!

"This is not the mushroom treating An Xiaotian, but Mr. 'Fool's' subconscious being guided to reverse the symbol.

"Of course, that kind of waking up will inevitably be distorted, evil, and horrifying, but if An Xiaotian can use this to say all the words he wants to warn me about, it is acceptable..." The more Lu Mi thought about it, the more he felt that using Li Keji's train of thought might be useful.

He planned to find an opportunity to chat with Li Keji across the door of the hospital room.

The prototype of this biology teacher is really a "Physician"!

…………

Jenna, who was observing the images corresponding to other incarnations of Mr. "Fool," received a call from the Hall Cinema Company, asking her to go to the Artist Department tomorrow to sign an agent contract.

"Phew... I have a job too." Jenna breathed a sigh of relief.

She was even looking forward to filming movies and TV shows, but felt that the matter of awakening Mr. "Fool" wouldn't drag on that long, wouldn't drag on until she joined the crew.

At the same time, she felt that the Hall Cinema Company was managed quite well. She thought there would be some interviewer calling in advance, hinting that she had to do something to have a chance at a good contract.

She was even prepared to use "Charm" to make the corresponding personnel lose their self-control. Who knew that nothing happened.

This was quite different from some things she had seen and heard at the Old Pigeon Cage Theater.

"Worthy of being a film company opened by Lady 'Justice'..." Jenna felt relieved.

…………

After dark.

Lu Mi, who grasped the target's itinerary, took advantage of Zarathul not having returned to the hotel, went through the mirror world, and took away the surveillance content stored in the pinhole camera and bug.

After midnight, he returned to that rental apartment in Xinhong Residential District and used his phone to play the situation of Zarathul's activities in the hotel room.

This was not to spy on what Zarathul was plotting and how he was preparing to realize it—if there was, that would of course be better. Lu Mi's main purpose was to observe, observe Zarathul's actions when no one was around, so as to find out how many marionettes he could currently maintain, how long he summoned a historical void image, how long the historical void image would dissipate on its own, and other information.

This was in preparation for a surprise attack and encirclement of Zarathul in the near future.

Although Zarathul was also suppressed to the Sequence 7 level, he still had Angel-level status after all. The effects and range of many abilities were somewhat different from a real Sequence 7.

Just like the number of marionettes, when a normal "Marionettist" is just promoted to Sequence 5, he can only control one marionette. If restricted to the Sequence 7 level, theoretically, he would be unable to control marionettes and could only rely on marionette-killing. But this ability might undergo a qualitative change at Sequence 4 and Sequence 2, thereby bringing about a reduction in spiritual consumption and a decrease in control difficulty. After that, even if the ability is suppressed to Sequence 7, the essence still exists, just the effect won't be so significant.

In other words, Zarathul could still control marionettes, just the number was very limited, maybe two, maybe only one. What Lu Mi wanted to confirm now were the details in this regard.

If he didn't grasp the corresponding information and directly launched a surprise attack and encirclement of Zarathul, with their large number of people, there was a certain hope of defeating or forcing the other party back, but wanting to achieve the predetermined goal was almost impossible. "Seer" pathway is a pathway famous for its strong survival ability!

Lu Mi stared intently at the phone screen, not letting go of any detail.

He was skipping through it for the time being, choosing only scenes where people were active.

When the surveillance footage reached 11 o'clock last night, Lu Mi saw Zarathul, who had changed into a black bathrobe, walk to the door and open it.

Someone came in from outside.

That person wore sunglasses even at night, dressed in a black t-shirt and dark jeans that wouldn't attract others' attention, and was about 1.8 meters tall.

Who could it be? Lu Mi's spirit became more and more focused.

After that person entered the room, he looked left and right, took off the sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose, revealing a face Lu Mi was quite familiar with.

He had seen videos of this person accepting interviews and participating in certain activities on the internet.

That was Jia Yu, the actor playing Gehrman Sparrow!

He and Zhou Mingrui don't look too much alike, so there shouldn't be any problem. Why would he visit Zarathul in the middle of the night? What did we miss? Lu Mi's pupils dilated, and he watched even more intently.

He was very grateful that technology had provided him with help, but also worried that Zarathul had already discovered the existence of the pinhole camera and bug and had deliberately performed such a scene.

Jia Yu sat down in the sofa area, chatted with Zarathul for nearly a quarter of an hour, and then got up and left.

Lu Mi hurriedly stopped the playback of the surveillance footage and decided to first listen to whether the bug had recorded any dialogue during the corresponding period.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 976 =====