Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Chaotic Situation

When Mo Tan rose from the game pod, his mood could only be described as unbearably foul.

This situation was extremely rare, at least it had almost never occurred under his current [Chaotic Neutral] personality, since no matter how troublesome something was, he would always regard it as a form of 'fun'.

But...

At this moment, it was difficult for him to feel cheerful. The premise of 'fun' was that although there might be twists and turns or vexing troubles, there were still ways to solve and deal with them. For Mo Tan, there were few things he couldn't handle, so naturally he could regard them as a kind of joy that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

But this time, there was hardly any immediate solution.

"Again..." Mo Tan didn't even bother to look at his phone. He had already calculated both the online time and the duration spent in Dave's wardrobe with perfect clarity, so the result was obvious: "Another two hours missing, even longer than before!"

He climbed out of the game pod, walked into the bathroom, splashed some water on his face to calm himself down a bit, then returned to sit on the sofa, letting the signature faint smile of his current personality return to his face.

"In fact, it's not completely without clues, is it?" Mo Tan murmured softly, "Whether it's the forums or anywhere else, this kind of situation has never appeared. So it's almost certain that I'm the only one experiencing time loss during the game."

He unconsciously propped his cheek with one hand, lightly tapping his temple with his index finger, squinting slightly: "Although the abnormal phenomenon of being able to possess multiple characters has already appeared, none of the three characters—Tan Mo, Hei Fan, or Mo—have experienced game time loss..."

His train of thought was gradually becoming clearer. In fact, from the very beginning, there had been a clear direction of suspicion, only that Mo Tan hadn't been certain enough before.

But even so, it was time to pay attention, or the consequences would be unimaginable...

[The problem should still lie in my 'illness'...]

[That is to say, the influence isn't limited to just having multiple characters...]

[No, this direction isn't clear! Let's think from the opposite perspective—what if it's still an effect related to 'characters'?]

By now, Mo Tan had completely calmed down and began to enter a special mode of thinking.

[Different characters represent different personalities...]

He temporarily made himself an absolutely transcendent independent individual in his consciousness, then looked down from God's Perspective at the 'self' that was thinking.

[Although in reality, I am always myself, only with intermittent drastic changes in personality, emotions, and thought patterns, in the game, it has been completely separated.]

This illusion of creating a 'dimensional elevation' of oneself did not mean that Mo Tan had truly reached the same height as an 'author' or 'reader', but it was very helpful for thinking about things that subjective perspectives might easily overlook.

[According to the game's classification, the personality I am currently embodying undoubtedly represents 'Chaotic Neutral,' corresponding to the character 'Tan Mo' in the game.]

Mo Tan's forehead was already beaded with sweat. After all, he was always himself, but now he had to split apart that subjective, singular self. This was not an interesting or easy task, because for anyone, the perception of 'self' is deeply ingrained, and breaking it is no simple matter.

[So when my personality shifts to 'True Neutral,' I naturally become Hei Fan in the game.]

[Finally, when it's 'Lawful Good,' I am Mo...]

Mo Tan frowned slightly.

[Wait! Finally?]

"No!" He suddenly widened his eyes and whispered, "It's not the final one. There aren't just three. Although I intended to forget from the start, my 'illness' doesn't consist of only three personalities..."

Mo Tan stood up, took a deep breath, walked to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room, looked at himself before him, and said softly, "Or rather, at first, I did have only three personalities, but after the 'True Neutral' me appeared, it became four... Of course, after 'that incident,' only the three personalities and characters representing me in the game have remained over the years..."

"But what if that 'me' never truly disappeared?" Mo Tan stared intently at the mirror, murmuring softly.

At this moment, the Mo Tan in the mirror exuded a pure 'Chaotic' aura—unrestrained, doing whatever he pleased, devoid of good or evil, treating everything as a 'game' and 'fun,' acting solely on whim, without any purpose...

"Maybe the current me is already a pretty terrifying guy." Mo Tan's playful smile was tinged with a hint of bitterness as he whispered, "But once, there was an even more horrifying 'me' that existed—a madness and... that even this current me cannot imagine."

He didn't continue, but turned and walked to the table, booted up the computer, and swept through the [Innocent Realm]'s official forum and numerous data sites with highly efficient speed, hoping to find some clues.

"If that's really the case..." Mo Tan scanned through countless web pages that opened and closed in an instant, his gaze focused and serious: "Then everything makes sense!"

...

January 3, 2049, 7:00 PM

[Your mental connection has been detected, synchronizing personal information...]

[Connection complete, loading character information]

[Welcome back, Chaotic Neutral Tan Mo. About to load into Innocent Realm. Good evening.]

Mo Tan reappeared in Dave's wardrobe, but the two people who had stirred... secretly talked here last night were long gone.

"Just as I thought." Mo Tan pushed open the wardrobe and strolled out slowly, chuckling lightly, "Lord Lang En should have left long ago, and it seems Brother Dave has already been granted that so-called Temporary Paladin title by the blind 'Holy Alliance' by now, ready to make his move..."

As he spoke, he walked to the door, put on that drab gray ritual robe, unlocked the door from the inside, and walked out as if no one else was there.

Mo Tan didn't bother locking the door for Dave, because he had no intention of replaying that somewhat awkward closet routine. Moreover, his intelligence gathering had gone more smoothly than expected. Although he had missed a piece of information due to that unpleasant disconnection the night before, it didn't hinder his plan at all.

Finding a random alley, he changed back into the white robe he had worn earlier, and Mo Tan headed straight for the Forest Abode tavern in Pato City.

"Hello~" Mo Tan smiled at the flower elf proprietress, who seemed perpetually busy tidying things up. "I'm looking for two young friends."

Indeed, although Mo Tan's age was roughly the same as those two, his race was an elf—a species completely impossible to judge by appearance alone. The term "young friends" didn't sound odd to the proprietress's ears, but...

"There's no one like that here," she replied without looking up. "Want a drink?"

The implication was clear: if you don't spend money, get lost.

"Don't say that~" Mo Tan said leisurely. "Since we're both collaborators of those two kids, why be so distant? You know, even though you've been in seclusion for years since the Night Owl Mercenary Corps disbanded, you can't just leave Cole—your old flame's nephew—and his companion in danger, can you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the proprietress shook her head. "And... this place is safe."

"Don't joke around~" Mo Tan shook his head. "What can an Intermediate Nature Mage protect? Or maybe with that Grand Swordsman who runs a similarly offbeat tavern? Time is running out, Ms. Leiduo. Not looking for trouble doesn't mean trouble won't find you, understand?"

The proprietress of Forest Abode, once the main combat mage of the Night Owl Mercenary Corps, the flower elf named Lanye Leiduo, spun around abruptly, staring at Mo Tan, and demanded in a low voice, "Who exactly are you, and what do you know!"

"I have no interest or obligation to satisfy your curiosity." Mo Tan walked slowly up to her, giving a faint, charming (strike that) smile. "You can see me as a Redeemer... or an Overturner."

Leiduo was silent for a moment, then finally dropped her shoulders, put down the plate in her hand, and said to Mo Tan, "I have to watch you."

"If you can come along, that would be even better." Mo Tan smiled happily.

...

Fifteen minutes later

"That's roughly the situation." Mo Tan sat at the table in the room, spreading his hands to the other three. "I have two plans, but both require your cooperation. As for which one to execute, I'll come back later tonight to tell you. Any questions?"

Ms. Leiduo immediately asked, "Why should we trust you?"

"Simple~" Mo Tan pointed at Cole and Little Ai, smiling. "First, I saved the life of your old flame's nephew, rescued another victim, and did my best to protect an innocent soul."

Cole shot a particularly horrified look at Ms. Leiduo. "Old... old flame!? That slacker uncle of mine!?"

"Secondly." Mo Tan ignored him, simply spreading his hands and saying, "Aside from trusting me, you have no other choice. Not to mention the cult's foundations and personal strength, even their overt forces are beyond what you can contend with. So the question 'Why should we trust you?' is quite foolish."

At that moment, Little Ai suddenly bowed slightly to Mo Tan and said loudly, "I trust you, Sir! Is there anything I can do? As long as I can avenge Rada and the others, I'll do anything..."

"Tsk, tsk." Mo Tan wagged his finger at the girl. "A young lady should never casually say things like 'I'll do anything.' As for what you need to do, we'll discuss it after I meet with that guy and come back."

With that, without waiting for any reaction from the three, he pushed open the door and left...

After a moment of silence, Leiduo, the proprietress of Forest Abode Tavern, covered her beautiful face with a long sigh. "Completely led around by the nose by both sides... A cult... Knight Academy students... The Internal Affairs Chief of Pato City... What is all this about..."

"I also think that gentleman is trustworthy." Cole shrugged. "Regardless, he saved me and Little Ai, and Rona's soul too... So I want to trust him and repay him. Also, um... Madam Leiduo..."

"Hmm?" The proprietress, whose demeanor was completely different from usual, snorted softly through her nose and shot Cole a glare. "What do you want to ask?"

Cole gave an awkward laugh. "You and my uncle... are you really... that..."

"No!" Leiduo turned her head away and said coldly, "It's just my unrequited love, just like Rada's feelings for Little Ai, Little Ai's for you, and yours for that girl Rona."

"What!?" The young priest, who had been standing quietly on the sidelines minding his own business, was stunned. "Hey hey hey hey! Sister Leiduo! I-I-I..."

Leiduo shrugged. "You what you? Enough, this isn't the time for that. I'm more curious about how that unfathomable man knows all this. Cole, did you tell him anything?"

"I don't even know anything myself, so what could I say?" Cole scratched his head. "But earlier, that gentleman did ask me some questions about my uncle, and then about the location of the Thieves' Guild's information point. Oh, right, and after I said I was familiar with Forest Abode, he asked a bit about you..."

Leiduo rolled her eyes, then walked out with a troubled expression, sighing. "Forget it, forget it. You two wait here. I need to go out and gather some information, and also find that bastard Bayes..."

With that, she descended the stairs, leaving a trail of fragrance behind.

Then... only the two young people remained in the room, silent.

The atmosphere became extremely awkward.

"Get out..."

"Huh?"

"Get out!"

"But it's not safe downstairs!"

"There's more than one room here! I said get out, you idiot!!"

For some reason, the suddenly violent young priest, her face flushed red, kicked Cole out the door.

...

Outside Pato City, in the forest where Rada and Rona had died.

Dave, clad in bright silver knight armor, stood among the trees, faint traces of red-gold light swirling around him. He wielded a massive two-handed sword forged with a high proportion of holy silver, looking every bit like a premium player.

And not just any premium player—he was like a high-tier VIP who not only had holy light effects but also flashy dark-style skills...

Because at that moment, he was muttering softly under his breath, his eyes filled with a turbid, evil fog. His free hand curled as if gripping something, and from his palm, wisps of pale white mist continuously seeped out.

A few minutes later, accompanied by two low growls, the earth before him burst open. Two massive, entirely crimson, lizard-like creatures emerged—sharp-toothed, clawed, with bony spurs along their backs. In short, they were Red Ridge Beasts, now standing before Dave.

Clearly, these were the same two that had recently gone on a killing spree.

But unlike the brutality and frenzy of that night, these two monsters were now as docile as geckos...

On their foreheads, two seals engraved with strange ripples had appeared, flashing in sync with the pale white glow in Dave's hand.

Shining in harmony...

Chapter 34: End