Chapter 556: Chu Mo Island (22)
Chapter 556: Chu Mo Island (22)
"What exactly are you and Lute scheming about?"
This, surprisingly, was the statue's question.
Before the words fully faded, Feng Bu Jue's four teammates all stiffened with alarm.
Feng Bu Jue, however, hesitated for only a second. Then, with his free hand, he calmly pressed his palm against his shoulder and replied, "Nothing at all."
As he spoke, a faint glow erupted from the talismanic sigil on his shoulder, immediately dissipating afterward.
Silence fell over the Stone Chamber. For a moment, only the breathing of the players could be heard.
Five seconds later, the statue silently released its bite. Feng Bu Jue smoothly retracted his arm and retrieved the item from the statue's mouth.
"Phew... Glad that was convincing enough", Feng Bu Jue muttered, rubbing his arm with a relieved expression.
At this point, the item's description menu unlocked (previously inaccessible while clutched in his hand):
[Name: Unused Old Poké Ball]
[Type: Miscellaneous]
[Quality: Fine]
[Special Effect: Can capture and store one Crystal Labyrinth spirit beast]
[Usage Condition: Select Ifer as faith]
[Can be Taken Out of Scenario]
[Background: I Hate Pikachu! From the bottom of my heart!]
"Haha! Another artifact that'll reduce the difficulty of completing the game", Feng Bu Jue said, raising his gaze after reading the description. "See? I said exploring would be nothing but beneficial."
But... no one responded.
At this moment, the other four players, including Brother Horse, were all staring at Feng Bu Jue with naked suspicion.
"What's wrong?" Feng Bu Jue feigned indifference, asking, "Is anything off?"
"You and Lute... exactly... what are you plotting?" Hong Hu locked eyes with Feng Bu Jue, enunciating each word.
"I already said nothing, didn't I?" Feng Bu Jue replied, his expression innocent.
"Of course... right while you used up that talisman Lie Sen De gave you", Ji Bu interjected.
"Which precisely proves", Fei Chai Shu followed up, "that you and Lute are definitely scheming something."
"Though I don't know what's going on, everyone else is glaring at you, so I'll just join the fun. Continue, please..." Tian Ma Xing Kong chimed in.
"Fine... fine..." Feng Bu Jue relented, spreading his hands as if it were nothing. "Lute and I did discuss some things. But the specifics... I'm afraid I can't disclose them."
"You're quite the character..." Hong Hu adjusted his glasses. "We thought you'd perished alongside Lute back then." He sneered, "Didn't expect... you both survived and even became partners?"
"So what?" Feng Bu Jue countered. "There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests." Shrugging with a smile, he added, "Strange to make deals with a boss?"
Consciously using the term "boss" with casual detachment, Feng Bu Jue projected an air of nonchalance. After all, to the other players, this was still just a game. Regardless of what transpired in the Peak Conquest Tournament, they'd assume their experiences involved merely rare high-IQ Npcs and unique scenario settings.
"Hm... when you put it that way, I guess I understand", Fei Chai Shu responded after a few seconds. As someone who'd captured boss-class monsters to turn into companions back in Login Space, he naturally found most situations unremarkable.
"Ah... I'm just a spectator watching matches at the mall anyway. No deep grudges with that boss, so I don't mind", Ji Bu said, spreading his hands with a faintly melancholic tone.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Hong Hu snapped. "Am I the only one treating this seriously? This guy's buddy-buddy with the final boss of the 'Big Event'! A little shock is perfectly normal!"
"Seems like nothing too serious. Not understanding the situation, I'm relieved anyway", Tian Ma Xing Kong piped in with another pointless 'cute act' line, shamelessly boosting his presence.
"If nothing's wrong, let's keep moving", Feng Bu Jue said, storing the Elf Ball in his satchel and reclaiming his Catapult (previously set down when his outer hand released it during the statue's bite). "Someone, go push that door already."
After a few more murmurs, the group proceeded toward the teleportation gateway leading downstairs.
Unbeknownst to his teammates at this moment, Feng Bu Jue—who outwardly maintained calm and fluent replies—was internally drowning in suspicions.
Truthfully, when the statue asked that question, Feng Bu Jue had been the most shocked among the five. Though he concealed it, his mind had been obsessively circling one question since then—why would the Mouth of Truth ask about him and Lute?
"This truly is the Terrifying Paradise main universe, but how could a shrine statue buried deep in Chu Mo Island's basement levels—a being possibly lacking self-awareness—ask such a question?" Feng Bu Jue pondered. "My relationship with Lute has nothing to do with this scenario, so this couldn't be a system-planned dialogue. Could this statue's setting be to 'detect unspoken secrets in others' minds and question them?'"
He quickly dismissed this hypothesis. "No, such a setting would cause widespread issues. Possible in solo dungeons, but in team scenarios, the questions themselves risk exposing player privacy."
After discarding several possibilities, Feng Bu Jue zeroed in on a plausible answer. "Hmph... Someone with 'Ten Points of Mastery' must be interfering... Who could it be?" He mused, "Who has both the capability to manipulate this statue's original data beyond the scenario and the motive to ask that question?" A suspect list quickly formed: "Wooly's out—he wouldn't bother. Zero's a strong candidate... Maybe they caught wind of something. The other two Origin Organization leaders also have motives. Plus, Lute herself might be testing me. Lastly, though unlikely, maybe the Nine Sciences Division has targeted me. With their tech, they could pull this off."
As Feng Bu Jue speculated, Hong Hu had already passed through the current floor's doorway and completed initial reconnaissance of the lower level.
"Come down, it's safe."
At Hong Hu's shout, the group entered the third floor (counting from the top) of this Faith Shrine...
(End of Chapter)
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