Chapter 37: The Traitor Talent
Inside the eye chamber, Su Xiao felt a vague sense of discomfort. The air here was filled with a nearly twisted energy, extremely impure, lacking strong erosiveness, yet difficult to devour and annihilate.
If the Cyan Steel Shadow energy was a pure sapphire blue, then the energy in the eye chamber was a clump of gray-black sludge, mixed with all sorts of suspicious impurities, or rather, various thoughts—mad and chaotic thoughts.
It was as if various memories had been shattered, then kneaded back together into a single mass. At least, Su Xiao couldn't understand what these thoughts represented.
Su Xiao didn't want to figure out the source of this energy; it didn't have a direct connection to him. What he wanted to know more was why three eye chambers had overlapped to form one that was nearly indestructible.
Judging from the situation of the asylum patients, this might not be a coincidence, but an inevitability brought about by some factor.
Were the mentally ill patients broad-minded? Had their twisted thoughts attracted the eye chamber? That possibility couldn't be ruled out.
What baffled Su Xiao even more was that those patients had actually repelled the Nether Ghosts of the Ghost Ring organization, successfully defending their home. This was even more astonishing, or perhaps those Nether Ghosts had only come to probe?
After a preliminary observation of the triple-combined eye chamber, Su Xiao decided to inform Harold of the situation here and let that red-haired man handle it. He was the professional.
Su Xiao pushed open the iron door of the eye chamber. Just as he was about to step out, he heard a faint sound from behind.
Clang.
Dragon-Slaying Flash was drawn, and faint blue electric arcs flickered across Su Xiao's body. He was certain he had heard some kind of sound.
Although the eye chamber was filled with eyeballs, these rotating eyeballs were close to energy entities and wouldn't produce physical friction sounds.
Su Xiao's eyes scanned the eye chamber, but he found nothing unusual. The faint sound from before seemed like an illusion.
He activated the Devouring Core ability. Blue smoke enveloped Su Xiao, and his vision changed. The world became black and white. In this state, he could clearly see various types of energy, and his perception of life energy was particularly sharp. Previously, in a certain world, even the Goddess of Fortune hiding in an alternate space couldn't escape detection in this state.
In the black-and-white world, Su Xiao spotted an eyeball among the many that faintly emitted a black light, as if black flames were burning on it.
It wasn't a life form, nor an energy entity, but an object existing in the real plane.
Su Xiao walked forward slowly. Through his instinct, he judged that this thing wasn't dangerous.
He deactivated the Devouring Core, and his vision gradually brightened as the world returned to its original colors.
Crack, crack, crack…
A crystal layer climbed up Su Xiao's right hand. This wasn't cowardice, but caution. Nearly 10% of contractors died from exploring unknown things.
Su Xiao's three fingers probed between the energy eyeballs. Enduring a slight psychological discomfort, he touched a spherical object. It felt fairly hard. Su Xiao wasn't as calm as he appeared; he also felt disgust and other discomforts, but he didn't show it too obviously.
With a tearing sound, Su Xiao seemed to break something. He pulled out a pitch-black eyeball. This eyeball was about two sizes larger than a normal one, and on its front were three golden pupils forming a perfect triangle.
[Hunter has obtained 'Unknown Eyeball'.]
[Unknown Eyeball]
Origin: ???
Type: ???
Usage Effect: ???
Description: ???
…
Seeing this pile of question marks, Su Xiao looked puzzled. If it were just the origin and other things being unknown, that would be fine, but this unknown eyeball didn't even have a quality, rating, or selling price. This was a very rare situation.
If it were an ordinary item, Reincarnation Paradise would at least give a simple introduction. That pile of ??? indicated that even if this thing wasn't very useful, its rank wasn't low. Yet, despite that, Reincarnation Paradise didn't mark its quality or provide a selling function.
Although he was very puzzled, Su Xiao planned to study this thing when he had free time. Just as he was about to store it in his storage space, he was surprised to find that it couldn't be stored.
With a head full of questions, Su Xiao left the eye chamber and had Gus run an errand to the Parliament Hall.
Forty minutes later, the red-haired man arrived. Su Xiao hadn't used the Apostle's Eye to detect the other party's information. Using the Apostle's Eye to detect others rashly, once discovered, had a high chance of causing conflict. The red-haired man's aura was very special, seeming both like an Awakener and having some Nether Ghost aura.
[Hunter has informed Monarch Harold of the location of the eye chambers (3, 12, 15). You have gained 9% World Source.]
[Promotion Quest: Sixteen Eye Chambers, completed (4/16). After finding at least five eye chambers, this quest can be completed.]
Only one more eye chamber, and Su Xiao could complete the second ring quest. Of course, if he could find the 'Core,' he could directly complete the promotion quest.
Meanwhile, on the west side of Zuer City, the Tranquil Cemetery.
Tall tombstones and statues stood here. The deceased buried here were officials or heroes who had made great contributions to the empire. Some were famous, while others couldn't even leave their names on the tombstones.
Beneath the largest mausoleum, it had been converted into a secret base. Sin was hiding here. For some reason, this mausoleum was actually the resting place of Harold's ancestors. In other words, Sin had dug up Harold's ancestral grave.
In the dim burial chamber, firelight flickered. The space wasn't narrow. The walls were all stone, and a solidified mucus solved problems like water seepage and ventilation.
Sin lay on a stone coffin, crossing his legs, lost in thought.
"The fourth one."
A female voice came from the darkness, tinged with dissatisfaction.
"Endure. Waiting is the best choice now."
A voice that couldn't be distinguished as male or female appeared.
"Still endure? If that guy finds more than five eye chambers, I might not be able to hold out. Mr. J, you're just making sarcastic remarks."
The female voice didn't continue. After all, Sin was present, and some things couldn't be said too directly.
"Trust me. Waiting is the best choice now."
That Mr. J still had his usual tone. Every word he said seemed like a joke, full of playfulness.
"I think eliminating him physically is a better choice. He's now the Legion Commander of the Execution Agency. How could anyone obtain such a high position in such a short time?"
The female voice was clearly dissatisfied, but due to Mr. J's mystery and power, she didn't flare up.
"The main reason for waiting is… we can't beat him. I tried a long time ago."
"Huh?"
The girl in the darkness was a bit stunned. She thought he would continue to act mysterious, but Mr. J's answer was so sincere, directly admitting they couldn't win.
"Still, it's better than waiting to die."
The woman in the darkness stood up, turned, and walked into an underground passage.
"Fate is always so wonderful. Which side will you ultimately choose to stand on?"
Rustle, rustle. Cards shuffled. Mr. J in the darkness grinned, revealing a mouth smeared with lipstick. He looked at the retreating figure of his temporary teammate, like seeing his former self. Although he could keep her here forever, there was no need. She was a very important part of the plan.
…
Inside the underground passage, a slightly slender figure stopped. She looked back, then a smile appeared on her face.
"I'm not going to die. That's the monster that killed Stan."
The woman was young, could be classified as a cute girl, especially her delicate skin, which was impressive. This person was the healer he had met on the stone bridge, Elegy. Her appearance was holy, but her inner self was thick darkness. As for her three temporary teammates, Earring, Butcher, and Mandala, they had long since cooled off.
"Hmm~, what to do? Return to the embrace of the empire again? But the empire is already a 'stepmother.'"
Elegy's aura was not only unique, but her talent ability made people want to beat her up. That talent destined her to be a super traitor. Who knew which faction she would end up with?
Talent Ability: Smiling Angel
Category: Rare Talent (Awakened Once)
Level: S
Talent Effect (Active): Within each world, can freely switch factions 4 times. After each faction switch, obtain a corresponding disguised identity (the previous disguised identity disappears). This disguised identity is ineffective against contractors.
Note: Each faction switch will cause the accepted quests to change simultaneously. Each faction switch reduces quest rewards by 10% (1 switch has been made).