A strange expression simultaneously appeared on the faces of the two Seventh Agency investigators.
They had no idea who that madman took them for.
But that no longer mattered.
What mattered were those two voices echoing in the depths of their minds!
And whether the spiritual curse they spoke of had already infected them!
Those two voices sounded filled with unbridled arrogance, and they even spoke with absolute certainty about the spiritual traces at the scene.
It didn't seem like they were intentionally trying to deceive them.
If that was the case, then this situation was simply too bizarre!
They were official investigators of the Seventh Agency!
How could a private mental message between two Moon Lord believers... be intercepted and heard by them for no reason?
Furthermore.
These two lawless individuals were openly discussing spiritual traces upstairs in their heads.
They mentioned clues leading all the way into the city.
They even mentioned that an unknown high-scale killer had taken the legendary “One Piece” from the crime scene!
One Piece?!
What the hell was a One Piece?!
The two investigators looked at each other, a flicker of fear of the unknown and fanaticism flashing in the depths of their eyes.
Could this be some ancient holy relic secretly circulating among Moon Lord believers or high-scale transcendents?!
If so, this was a massive deal!
This was definitely a shocking case sufficient to rattle the entirety of Hope County's officialdom!
They had to remember every word!
The more they eavesdropped, the less the two investigators wanted to interrupt this sudden mental conversation.
They simply gave up on chasing Brian, that irrelevant ordinary person.
Instead, they focused all their attention on secretly back-tracing these two arrogant guys who had accidentally broadcasted their team chat into their heads.
“Found them?” one asked.
The other shook his head, indicating they had come up empty.
No matter how hard they tried to mobilize the spirituality within their spiritual bodies, they couldn't find a single trace of the source or the caster's location.
But they weren't discouraged by this.
On the contrary!
This inability to trace the source made them feel that the intercepted conversation was even more authentic and credible.
The two were just Scale One rookies who had just come to cover a shift today.
The two seniors originally responsible for this post had been temporarily reassigned by Ms. Cecil this afternoon to clean up the aftermath of the explosion.
As a result, as soon as they started their shift, they stumbled upon two high-scale transcendents whose origins couldn't even be traced, discussing world-shaking secrets!
And it just so happened that they were able to “eavesdrop” on it!
If this wasn't an arrangement of destiny, what was?
If this wasn't incredible luck, what was?!
Besides, in a one-in-a-ten-thousand accidental event like this...
Would two senior transcendents, who had no idea they were being overheard, have any reason to make up stories for the empty air?
That was obviously impossible!
Therefore.
As the voices of the two mysterious seniors in their minds gradually faded and finally vanished into nothingness...
The two young investigators shuddered, their spirits instantly revitalized.
The massive temptation of earning a major achievement completely occupied their brains.
They exchanged a quick look and made a decision in an instant.
This matter was of grave importance, involving the legendary holy relic “One Piece,” and needed to be reported to Ms. Cecil immediately!
And so.
One remained behind, drawing his weapon with a face full of vigilance to seal off the scene in Room 517.
The other went without hesitation to report to Ms. Cecil.
...
Meanwhile.
On the third floor of the Golden Rose Hotel.
Elias, who had successfully moved from upstairs.
He was peering through the gap in the curtains at the two investigators below.
Seeing the carriage speed away, his lips curled into a satisfied smile.
“Kid...”
Deep in his mind, Old Ed's tone was thick with speechlessness.
“What kind of hellish deception was that?!”
The old man couldn't help but criticize wildly.
“You're just lucky you ran into two Scale One greenhorns who were bluffed by your posturing.”
“If it had been investigators with even slightly higher scales...”
“Your little act wouldn't have worked at all!”
“Pfft.”
Elias let out a dismissive laugh.
He walked to the center of the room and set down his leather case.
“Old man, you just don't get it.”
Elias's tone was full of cunning.
“The point is to bully these greenhorns who haven't seen the world.”
“This isn't called lying; it's called winning by wit, old man!”
Old Ed's spiritual body rolled its eyes massively within the spirit world.
However, he was clearly more interested in another question.
“So...”
“That ‘One Piece’ you mentioned just now.”
“What kind of treasure is it?”
Elias's hand, which was rummaging through his materials, paused slightly.
The expression on his face became incredibly vivid.
“Are you serious?”
“Huh?”
Old Ed was stunned by the question.
“I made it up.”
Elias spread his hands righteously.
“Then why did you say it like it was real?!”
“Your voice even had that sense of historical gravitas, as if you were witnessing history!”
“Even I almost believed you!”
Elias shrugged nonchalantly.
No kidding. When it came to memes, he could fool these bumpkins until they were limping.
After successfully handing off this troublesome case to the Seventh Agency...
He felt completely at ease.
He began to set up a simple Sanctuary in this slightly cramped third-floor room.
Compared to the fifth floor, this room was a bit smaller.
However, the good thing was...
This cramped space was actually more suitable for Elias right now.
A smaller room could be completely covered by the range of the simple Sanctuary.
Because there was a fundamental difference between a simple Sanctuary and a pure Sanctuary.
When casting, one had to use the solid physical walls of reality as a medium for spiritual conduction.
If necessary...
The transcendent even needed to use objects to roughly surround the area, forcibly defining the boundaries of the spell.
To cast a pure Sanctuary, either your faith path allowed you to cast a Sanctuary dedicated to a deity...
Or you could afford the materials required to cast one.
As the white spirituality sealed off the entire room, isolating it from the outside world...
Elias took a deep breath.
He knew.
It was time to perform that hellish Dream Prayer Ritual again.
Standing by the bed and looking at the Scale Two spirit vision potion he had acquired for no apparent reason, Elias still felt somewhat apprehensive.
The last time he performed the Dream Prayer Ritual to identify an item...
The scene in his dream had deviated severely from Old Ed's description.
It was completely different from what was advertised!
To this day, he still couldn't be certain if this mutated dream meant he had been targeted by some inexplicable high-level existence.
Although Old Ed had later given him a logical explanation for it...
Elias was still a bit fearful.
When you know that if you have this dream, there's a high probability you'll be hit by a heavy horse hoof for no reason...
Would you still want to have that masochistic dream?!
Isn't that just seeking out abuse!
However, Elias had no choice now.
He needed to increase his strength immediately.
Only by stepping into Scale Two could he have more of a say in surviving the various encounters to come.
Elias gritted his teeth and quickly arranged the materials needed for the spell.
Familiar materials, a familiar recipe.
A familiar way to enter the dream.
Once again, Elias woke up in the dream wasteland hung with stars and a cycle of moons.
Beneath his feet was still that grassland swaying in the wind.
One time makes a stranger, two times makes an acquaintance.
He began to follow the process skillfully.
First, he lowered his head to look at his reflection in a puddle.
After a long absence, he saw the face of “Jiang Huan” again.
Looking at this face, he silently reminded himself: This is a dream.
Then, he stood up straight.
Raising his finger, he drew the three moon phase symbols on the ground.
Unsurprisingly.
What lit up were still those three blue moons.
Everything was as bizarre as the last time.
Finally, he offered a prayer and a question to the Moon Lord:
“I wish to know: Is the Scale Two potion I currently hold genuine?”
After seven breaths.
Elias snapped his eyes open, his body tensed, waiting for the answer the dream would provide.
Accompanied by a series of chaotic hoofbeats.
The horse from the previous dream came trotting over, snorting and huffing.
Trotting over?!
Isn't this way too un-mystical?!
As the massive horse head approached...
The horse gave a loud snort, stopped steadily in front of Elias, and spoke:
“It's real.”
The answer was as direct as last time.
“However, this recipe is relatively new.”
“There are risks to consuming it directly, so you'd better perform a promotion ritual as an aid.”
“Are you finished with your questions?”
Elias swallowed hard.
“I...”
“I also want to know why the dream messenger representing the Moon Lord's will is a horse?”
The horse seemed stumped by the question.
“Because this year is the Year of the Horse!”
“Huh?!”
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