Chapter 4104: Respective Identities

After the young Miss finished speaking, she gestured for the nine people to tour the place at their leisure, so everyone dispersed. Although neither Xia De nor Vige had any desire to tour, they also left.

Vige, held by the hand by Xia De, wandered through the vast exhibition hall. Before long, they saw a man in a corner, arms crossed over his chest, staring coldly at an introduction to a skin-suit.

"Artificer Master" Gerald Dragon turned his head to look at the two approaching. Although the combination of a man and a woman felt familiar, he still could not confirm his guess.

So Xia De said:

"We exchanged information at the abandoned farm last time, and I even gave you an amulet."

Mr. Dragon breathed a sigh of relief:

"I didn't expect to meet you here."

"I am not here for the skin-suits. I accepted a commission to come here and find a... treasure that was kept in custody by the Guild many years ago."

As Xia De spoke, this Thirteen-Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi introduced himself:

"I am not here for the skin-suits either. Many years ago, a senior from the Church made a wager with this Guild. When I led people away from the Holy See, I took that agreement with me. We won the wager, and I am here to collect the stake."

He did not tell Xia De what the stake was, and Xia De likewise would not say what he wanted.

"Do you know the other six people?"

Xia De asked again. Mr. Dragon nodded, glanced around to confirm only the three of them were nearby:

"I know the identities of two of them. Apart from your female companion, the only other female sorcerer seems to be a professor from the 【Council of Truth】, but that is just a guess.

However, I am quite certain the old Mr. who just asked about the price is from the 【Evil Eye Club】. I heard rumors that the 【Evil Eye Club】 seems to be cooperating with illegal Ring Sorcerers; I don't know what they are here to do this time."

Excluding that Imposter, only three strangers remained at the moment. However, for safety's sake, Xia De did not directly state the Imposter's identity here; he simply said:

"I also know one of them; he barely counts as my partner. But are there really so many people in the Arcadia region connected to the 【Skin-Suit Guild】? I hadn't heard of it before, yet skin-suits appeared in large quantities locally."

Xia De voiced his doubts at the appropriate moment. Mr. Dragon hesitated for a moment before saying:

"Actually, before leaving the Holy See, I heard a theory. The appearance of the 【Skin-Suit Guild】 in the Arcadia region was probably inevitable. Skin, flesh, blood, and bone; broadly speaking, these four parts constitute the entirety of a living body.

If one wishes to create life, although the form of existence is uncertain, one can use these four parts as a framework to perform the most basic construction of life. It is now basically confirmed that the requirement for the Chosen One is to create new life. And the 'skin' part of the living being might be optimized through this Guild."

He lowered his voice slightly:

"I suspect that among those strangers we do not recognize, there may be members of the 【Holy Son Alliance】. They came to Arcadia to create terrifying existences rather than to pursue the identity of the Chosen One, and they would probably need a certain technology within the 【Skin-Suit Guild】 even more."

Xia De nodded in understanding:

"I have some companions wandering outside this building. If things become urgent, they can provide support."

Mr. Dragon also said:

"I have some companions outside the building as well. Although the number is not large, they are absolutely reliable. I think at least until we leave here, we can consider ourselves temporary allies."

Xia De did not refuse; he extended his hand and shook his:

"No problem."

Xia De then took Vige's hand and left. Vige did not oppose Xia De's cooperation with this Thirteen-Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi.

Afterwards, Xia De and Vige found the Imposter in another corner of the exhibition hall. The opponent was a High-Rank Imposter; just by looking at the appearance, even Vige could not tell the difference between it and a real human.

However, in Xia De's eyes, aside from the "Imposter" label floating above its head, he could see that the opponent's left eye had four pupils, and this anomaly only appeared when the opponent suddenly shifted its gaze.

Communicating with the Imposter was not so troublesome. The two sides did not even get completely close; after passing each other at a distance of two platforms, Xia De used the Imposters' mental network to learn the opponent's plan.

"A beacon is buried in the flesh and blood of this High-Rank Imposter. Once its body is detonated, a part of the 【Imposter's Home】 can forcibly squeeze into the interior of the 【Skin-Suit Guild】."

Xia De's voice appeared in Vige's mind. Since the skin of the two was in direct contact, "telepathy" could easily be achieved in the complex elemental environment:

"Doing this carries a high risk, because the 【Skin-Suit Guild】 might also use this to devour the 【Imposter's Home】. The Imposters hope I can cause as much destruction here as possible. The more I can tie down the forces of the 【Skin-Suit Guild】, the more advantage the 【Imposter's Home】 can gain in the confrontation.

And the more advantage the 【Imposter's Home】 gains, the more we can achieve here."

Vige frowned slightly, which looked like she was disgusted by the exhibits around her:

"That High-Rank Imposter was able to enter here and remain undetected; that is already somewhat beyond my expectations. Does the 【Skin-Suit Guild】 really know nothing? This seems too smooth."

"That is why they need me."

Xia De replied, but regardless, as long as the Imposters could exert force, it was beneficial to his plan:

"Additionally, the Imposter informed me of the identity of one of the remaining three people. Guess who the other party is."

Vige answered in Xia De's mind:

"Is it... Mother?"

"No, no, certainly not. That twelve-ring sorcerer with brown hair and a hawk nose is from the Zhengshen Sect. The Imposter does not know which church the opponent belongs to, but it can be confirmed that the opponent is definitely a Ring Ringed Ringed Shushi of the Church."

Vige was somewhat surprised, but after thinking carefully, it felt very reasonable:

"It seems the Church is not entirely ignorant either. Did they find clues from the Opera House, or from other aspects?"

"Hard to say, but the evacuation plan will probably have to change in a moment. I suspect the Church has been monitoring this area for a long time; I hope this will not affect our plan."

When the two returned to the location of the young Miss who had guided them, no one else had returned except them. Xia De and Vige had no intention of communicating with this young Miss, but the other party took the initiative to speak to Vige:

"Are you interested in selling your skin to me? Not the Guild, but me. I can offer a very high price."

She looked at Vige with considerable appreciation:

"I have to admit, your skin is maintained very well. Don't worry; if you are willing to sell it to me, besides the compensation for you, I can also freely gift you a skin-suit of another pretty girl, and it will definitely look younger than your appearance. I just don't know if you prefer red hair or blonde hair."

Vige looked at her with disgust, then stepped aside to stand behind Xia De. That young Miss did not mind and spoke to Xia De again:

"Then you..."

"I have no interest in peddling my own skin."

"No, no, I didn't want to ask that."

She smiled and squinted her eyes:

"After the tour ends in a moment, are you interested in sleeping with me? Although I have permanently stayed in the Guild, I have also retained some of what I was when I was human... Was I human before, or an elf?

No, that is not important. I haven't encountered a man like you who can stir up my primal y. u desire in a long time. This makes me recall the distant past, when I was still an innocent and cheerful Miss. Perhaps you can awaken more memories of the past within me."

She sighed:

"Wearing someone else's skin is indeed beautiful, but it is also influenced by others. I haven't recalled my original identity in a long time. Come on, want to try? I guarantee my skills..."

"I have no such interest. I came here for the leather goods, for the agreement you once made with someone — not for this."

Xia De refused outright. The young Miss nodded regretfully, said nothing more, and continued waiting for the others to return.

Once the group had reassembled, they set off again. Leaving the exhibition hall, they continued down the first-floor corridor, then visited the oil painting exhibit and the tools exhibit.

The former recorded the leather goods that were no longer in the guild hall, while the latter displayed the various tools used by the leatherworkers. The oil painting exhibit was fine, but in the tools exhibit, in order to demonstrate the function of those tools, the young Miss leading the way did something to herself... Xia De really did not want to describe such a scene.

After the first-floor visit ended, the group saw an old-fashioned elevator at the end of the corridor. Once everyone had entered the elevator, the young Miss stepped on the central pedal to start the mechanism.

Amid rumbling vibrations, she said to the outsiders:

"The first floor is laid out as an exhibition area, while the second floor is the workshop and operating area. Please continue to follow me for the tour. However, the guild hall's craft cannot be transmitted to outsiders, so please forgive us — we cannot directly let the guests see the leatherworkers' technique of making leather goods with their own hands. But we have prepared some interesting performances; I hope you'll enjoy them."

The second-floor corridor looked much like the first, but the air was thick with a stronger smell of preservative and the reek of blood and flesh. The people wearing leather goods all felt theirs tightening, while Wigo, who wore none, felt the faint itching on her skin grow more pronounced. They were clearly drawing closer to the guild hall's core area.