Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Shuye couldn't see Lin's expression at the moment.

But this young man must be very shocked, he thought.

Lin was indeed somewhat shocked, but not in the way Shuye imagined. His shock was more like horror.

Imagine feeling a constant call, finally meeting the source of that call, and then someone tells you it's just a fingernail from a corpse. How would you feel?

A fingernail that talks—no, Lin suddenly slapped his forehead.

The action was a bit silly, but fortunately, Yan Tang looked even sillier.

Suddenly hearing such blasphemy and witnessing the desecration of a corpse—if that fragment really was a corpse—the devout follower of Bell Crow wished she could blast the old fox with a shotgun enchanted with an instant-death curse.

But as an Inquisitor, her mission was to capture Shuye, and only kill if absolutely necessary. This situation, where two Inquisitors faced one traitor, didn't seem to warrant calling for higher authority.

However, the only superior officer nearby, Deputy Inquisitor Han Xuelie, would probably melt Shuye on the spot if he heard what Shuye had just said.

So Yan Tang raised her gun, then lowered it, then raised it again.

In theory, she should have no problem pointing her gun at Shuye now, but she was genuinely afraid she might not be able to resist shooting the old fox.

Finally, she turned to Lin. Though they had just met and Lin was much younger, their journey together had made her trust him as a reliable person.

Lin quickly recovered from the unsettling feeling, knowing that nothing could be more shocking than last night when the Inquisitor told him about a case where a wife killed her cultist husband.

He examined the fragment Shuye had taken out, and the sound of the sea echoed clearly in his ears. It felt as though he were still standing on that beach, waves crashing, the sea shimmering under the moonlight through the clouds.

Fortunately, Lin did not enter that coastline again.

"I thought," he said, "the Silver Moon Maiden was the mistress of dreams."

"Hmph," Shuye laughed hoarsely. "Because the school always taught Inquisitors to be wary of strange dreams? Saying it might be the Silver Moon Maiden interfering? That's not wrong; the Silver Moon Maiden possesses part of the Shell Blower's remains, which She uses to invade the realm of dreams. Unfortunately, the rest of the remains are under the control of the Inquisition, moving between cities, strictly sealed to prevent the Silver Moon Maiden from finding them."

The old fox gazed at the ceiling, recalling the silver moonlight flickering through the leaves.

Today was the first time he had witnessed the complete ritual of the Silver Moon Maiden's followers.

The followers rejoiced in Her manifestation and were thrilled by Her gifts, but Shuye saw Her desire and impatience.

"I suspect," he said coldly, "that the Shell Blower was killed by the Silver Moon Maiden."

Images flashed through Lin's mind: the beach, the sea, the moonlight trying to illuminate the coast but blocked by clouds, the translucent creature growing stronger with the moonlight, and the blue-haired mermaid saying:

"Those touched by the moonlight will be influenced by that harlot."

If so, when the moonlight pierced through layers of seawater and shone upon a seashell or shell, the Silver Moon Maiden might indeed interfere with the dreams within.

But who was the blue-haired mermaid?

She couldn't possibly be the spirit of the Shell Blower, right? Her attitude didn't match.

As for whether the Shell Blower was killed by the Silver Moon Maiden... Lin wondered if killing a god to absorb its domain was common among gods.

Considering all known gods held multiple domains, the weak Mirror Eye suddenly felt a chill.

Lin couldn't help but ask, "Director, do you want to become a dream god?"

Shuye remained silent, but his attitude was clear, and Yan Tang clicked her tongue under her cloak.

How could a human become a god? For the people of this world, gods were gods, humans were humans, and one could never become the other.

"Putting aside the feasibility of your plan," Lin said, "if you become a dream god, is it so the Silver Moon Maiden can kill you again? You don't seem capable of fighting Her."

After he finished speaking, the other two in the tunnel fell into an awkward silence.

Shuye was clearly taken aback, and Lin continued, "Maybe the moment you become a god, you'll see the Silver Moon Maiden setting up a platter next to you."

He spoke from personal experience. Recalling the beach, he felt the moonlight was delicious, and the Silver Moon Maiden likely saw him as a meal.

Lin sincerely advised, but anger flashed across Shuye's face.

"It seems I can't convince you," the old fox said, "but you'll understand when you're my age."

I've probably walked further down the path to godhood than you, Lin thought. I really can't understand this.

"Communication that words cannot achieve must be left to guns," he said calmly. "This is the doctrine of dual contradiction, but I hope it doesn't come to that. Director, release your grip on the cloak and the fragment."

Shuye sighed.

"I've been studying the 'seashell' for a long time..."

Before he finished, the old fox, surprisingly agile for his age, made the first move.

Without any ritual array, materials, or prayers, the "seashell" fragment in Shuye's hand suddenly vibrated, emitting a low hum echoing through the tunnel.

A sudden dizziness hit Lin's brain, and the fatigue from lack of sleep surged unexpectedly. But prepared, Lin steadied himself against the wall and threw three metal spheres.

"Turn off the sound sensors!" he reminded Lingfei Ge, who wasn't there.

Lingfei Ge was still in the hall, helping Han Xuelie and Shanta corner the fleeing cultists, but remote and multi-tasking operations were a mechanic's forte. As long as the magic link was established, his presence in the hall didn't hinder his involvement here.

And machines were immune to sleep effects.

Lin carried Lingfei Ge's metal spheres as a precaution, never expecting to use them now. The three spheres unfolded mid-air; one with four spinning rotors rose, its gun barrel glowing red, and a scorching laser beam fired within a second. The other two spheres landed and transformed into mechanical dogs, opening their mouths to reveal gun barrels and firing a series of restraining bullets.

Unfortunately, Shuye was also prepared, and his figure dissipated like a dream, vanishing from sight.

The illusion that interfered with the senses should have been useless against the mechanical dogs and flying drones, but after the old fox man disappeared, they seemed to lose their target, paused, and then aimlessly circled.

Lin pondered for a second, pretending to lift his flashlight to shine further, his fingers gripping the mirror that slid out of his sleeve as he glanced down.

In the mirror, he saw himself with almost no skin exposed, and in that instant, he woke up.

Awake, he still stood in the same spot, but the flying drone and two mechanical dogs had vanished. Yan Tang leaned against the cave wall nearby, and Lin could hear her steady breathing as she slept.

Everything that had just happened felt like a dream.

No, it was a dream.

On the other side, unaware that Lin had woken up, Shuye crept away into the distance.

Can't the spellcaster sense when someone affected by the spell wakes up? Indeed, Shuye must be relying on that fragment rather than his own magic, which is different from a true extraordinary professional.

Lin glanced at the "seashell" fragment still held aloft by Shuye and threw the three metal balls in reality.

The sound of the rotors unfolding and the mechanical dogs landing startled Shuye.

He turned around, surprised.

"Why can you—"

Before he could finish, the old fox man was bound by the restraining projectiles.

Restraining projectiles were bullets that exploded to spray sticky adhesive. From the materials and effects, the alchemists who made these bullets must have borrowed something from the profession of glue makers.

If Shuye could still use the ritual pointing to the Pillar God, several of the Golden Hammer's rituals could help him escape. However, precisely because Lin guessed that he could no longer use the Pillar God's rituals, Lingfei Ge equipped the mechanical dogs with restraining projectiles designed to capture cultists.

The old fox man, covered in adhesive except for his head, was stuck tightly to the opposite cave wall.

He shouted at Lin, but Lin ignored him.

The blindfolded black-haired ritualist cautiously pulled out a handkerchief given by the Chief Judge and approached the "seashell" fragment tightly gripped in Shuye's hand.

Please don't drag me into that sandy beach right now, Lin prayed. The closer he got, the more he felt the pull, instinctively slowing his steps. He wore gloves and covered his fingertips with the handkerchief, trying to pry out the fragment.

Just as he squatted beside the fragment, contemplating how to proceed, a loud shout echoed through the tunnel.

"Get out of the way!"

From far away, Han Xuelie yelled.

It was too late; a vine had already burst from the ground, right between Lin and Shuye.

As Lin retreated, he was struck by the vine. In his right palm, a tiny ritual array instantly activated a low-level force field shield, but the shield shattered under the impact.

The black-haired ritualist was thrown back, rolling twice on the ground, with blood seeping through his glove and wetting the handkerchief.

If the vine pursued him now, Lin would truly become a "fragile ritualist." However, after knocking Lin away, the vine continued growing, quickly forming the shape of a woman.

Sulu Bengu!

When did she find her way here? Was this her plant duplicate or her actual body?

High-level Flower Shepherds have a very blurry boundary with plants. Only they themselves and perhaps the professionals of the Source Blood Mother could discern the subtle differences between her and them.

Lin couldn't tell. As he painfully pushed himself up, Sulu Bengu had already retrieved the "seashell" fragment and dispersed back into vines, preparing to burrow underground.

In the distance, Han Xuelie was almost a streak of bloody light, rushing over.

But Lin realized that the Deputy Chief Judge wouldn't make it in time.

Sulu Bengu was smiling, seemingly abandoning Shuye.

For the Mutant Cult, finding an excellent ritualist was indeed difficult, especially since they needed to perform a large-scale ritual never attempted before.

Unfortunately, compared to the "seashell" fragment, Suye Azari wasn't important.

Where should they lure another ritualist next? There seems to be one right there on the ground?

Before burrowing underground to escape, Sulu Bengu glanced at the black-haired ritualist struggling to sit up.

This black-haired ritualist wore a gas mask and had bandages covering both eyes. But now, he lifted the bandage over his left eye with one hand.

Under the bandage, his dark eye stared at Sulu Bengu. Despite the distance, she could clearly see the smooth surface of the black eye covered in intricate bright yellow lines, drawn in some unknown manner.

It was a ritual array shrunk to its limit.

With his other hand, Lin raised the yellow diamond he usually used and pressed it against his left eyeball.