Chapter 24: Negotiation

Having dealt with the two heretics, “Shadow Walker” first bent down and looked at the child with the wound on his forehead, amidst the anxious, joyful, and confused gazes of the other sacrifices. Then he reached out and touched the child’s forehead. The yellowish pus didn’t change, but the dazed child slowly opened his eyes. “Shadow Walker” nodded at the other child who was protecting him, and said in a cold voice,

“He’s not going to die today.”

Having said that, he shifted his gaze and saw the old man sitting up, supported by the two women, not needing any assistance. Only then did he turn to the Lost One wearing the mask.

“I’m not here to save you.”

“Fine. I don’t want to wait here a second longer in this creepy place.” The Lost One rubbed his arm. “How many of us are there? These idiots, their brains aren’t very strong. They’re conduits. They’re not easy to handle…”

“First, I’m not one of you. Second, there aren’t any companions waiting outside. Only one superhuman from the police department.”

“Shadow Walker” explained the current situation, then watched as the Lost One jumped up in surprise. Then, a bit irritably, he smoothed down his dirty hair, his tone no longer joyful, but low and serious.

“So, you’re here with someone from the station, then you were discovered during the surveillance, and you were forced to sign a Binding Contract to work for them. And that guy from the station is a little strange. Seeing more than a hundred conduits, he doesn’t run, and he’s planning on doing something?”

“That’s about it…” “Shadow Walker” pondered for a moment. “Maybe he wants to kill all the heretics…”

He had been subdued so easily, and the other person had seemed to have everything under control. He had estimated Selene to be incredibly strong. And, subconsciously, he hoped that Selene was stronger.

The Lost One thought for a moment and sighed.

“Is that big shot outside the Overseer? The one with the six diagonal lines on his coat?”

“Probably not. It’s a little guy.”

“What the hell are you thinking?!” The Lost One suddenly raised his voice. “Two people, two superhumans, fighting over a hundred conduits? Are you crazy?! What, he’s a chosen one of the gods? He can walk right after he’s born? He’s as strong as a superhuman even at the apprentice stage? He can just kill a Evil god because he’s got a profession? Even if he is, don’t you know how the last chosen one died? She was killed by the God of Vapor! Her bones weren’t even left! The Divine Glory Church went to gather her remains, but all they found was mush! Do you think the Scholar of Sin is weaker than the God of Vapor?”

The sudden outburst frightened the other sacrifices, who instinctively moved away from him.

“Shadow Walker” was startled for a moment. He felt that this guy’s logic was completely off, his sentences not matching up, jumping from fighting heretics to facing a Evil god in a few short words, and also getting his target wrong.

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He pondered for a moment, grasping the key point and asked back,

“You’re not a superhuman?”

“Use your brain for a second. If I was a superhuman, would I have been captured by them?” The Lost One said impatiently. “I know these maniacs can’t be trusted, but the people above always have their own plans. Damn it, they aren’t the ones dying!”

He muttered a few curses about the so-called “decision-making class,” then said,

“There’s nothing to negotiate. Let’s just wait for that madman to do what he wants to do.” The Lost One’s voice was low. “Think positive. Maybe he’ll be beat to death by the cultists, and the contract will be automatically broken. Then you can go back and get the others in the meeting to save me…”

“Shadow Walker” frowned. He wanted to yell at him for being so negative, but he realized that the time limit Selene had mentioned was almost up, and his body was already moving on its own, heading back.

Just as he was turning around, the Lost One suddenly lunged forward, pretending to punch him. He whispered in his ear,

“Smear the other person’s blood on your own wounds. It can temporarily mask the contract’s effects.”

“Shadow Walker” paused for a moment, said nothing, and walked out of the cave.

...

With dozens of small and large wounds on her body, Selene returned to the circular hall. The smell of blood from the four corpses and the stench of their bodily functions masked her own scent, preventing her from being detected.

The effect of the Shadow Blend was almost over, but it was still working. Selene looked up towards the platform, watching the masked figure holding the sword. She noticed that his feet were moving, towards the cave that “Shadow Walker” had gone to.

The masked figure was now sitting cross-legged at the edge of the platform, two heretics standing before him, talking. The other heretics were gathered around the platform in small groups, not going through the opening.

“Priest, why are there so many sacrifices? The Lord hasn’t granted any power, not even a single divine message.” A tall conduit, representing “Pride,” with two lumps on his head, asked.

The priest stroked the blade in his hand and replied calmly,

“Mortals cannot fathom the Lord’s will. I think the Lord believes that we are not devout enough, that the offerings we provide aren’t sufficient.”

“But the sect’s recent actions have attracted the attention of the police department.” The heretic hesitated for a moment. His expression was troubled. “Our last operation near Nymph Fu almost attracted the madwoman. Though we found this ancient ruin and hid here, I heard that the station manager here, Duquesne, was transferred from a big city. I’m afraid he’s not going to be easily dealt with…”

“What we seek is the Lord’s return.” The priest’s tone remained unchanged. “I sent you to post the assignment, to search for the 《Transmutation Tantra》, to attract the attention of adventurers. And to cooperate with those bloodsucking monsters to search for the 《Sunlight Tantra》. This is to lead the situation here towards chaos. Then gathering sacrifices won’t be as difficult as it is now… The Lord has given us a hint. The clues to the original sanctuary are hidden in this small town. We are not far from our goal.”

The “Pride” conduit, hearing this, said devoutly,

“We only pray that the ‘Scholar of Sin’ will be reborn from the mists of history!”

The priest nodded slightly at him, then suddenly frowned, stopping his hand that was stroking the sword. He looked towards the opening in the wall, saying,

“They’ve been gone too long… Send a few more people to check on the sacrifices. The sacrifice can’t be delayed!”

Several heretics who were sitting around the platform immediately stood up and walked towards the opening. This left the path to the platform clear… Seeing this, Selene paused slightly. Then she saw “Shadow Walker” emerge from the cave, and before he could hide in the shadows, he was spotted by one of the heretics who was heading towards the opening.

Everyone was stunned.