Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Pato City Settles into Dust

The evening sun was gathering its last rays, and faint stars had begun to emerge in the dim sky. Everything seemed so peaceful, as serene as if the farce that had unfolded not long ago had never occurred.

Of course, this was not true. It was merely that Mo Tan, standing not far from Pato City at this moment, could not hear the noise and clamor within the city. The impact of this heretic incident on the small town was no less than an earthquake, and there was simply no possibility of it calming down in the short term. In fact, as time passed, a large number of interested parties might come here in the days ahead to gather information or fish in troubled waters.

So there was no longer any reason to stay here...

"Besides, I should have been noticed by those priests by now," Mo Tan said with a light laugh. "Although they might not focus too much attention on some insignificant figure for long, or perhaps they didn't care from the very beginning, I should still keep a low profile for a while..."

To be honest, even he didn't believe that.

Although having the Thieves' Guild send the greatly exaggerated news that 'the Evil God's Descent is coming to Pato City' to the Holy Domain would certainly land Mo Tan in plenty of trouble, he had just obtained quite a bit of interesting information and had no intention of taking it easy. At least not while he was in this current personality.

Mo Tan stretched comfortably and continued walking south through the forest, far from the main road. The scent of fresh earth always invigorated him, the dry air was pleasant, and since there seemed to be no legendary-grade monsters like 'mosquitoes' on the Innocent Continent, strolling through the woods like this was quite enjoyable.

A few minutes later...

Four figures suddenly emerged from behind a tree not far ahead of Mo Tan. Two of them smiled warmly at him, while the other two, slightly older, had complex expressions but were still friendly enough.

Cole, Little Ai, Bayes, and Leiduo had been waiting here for a long time...

"Sorry, I'm late~" Mo Tan showed no surprise at all, merely raising an eyebrow and offering an insincere apology. Then he glanced at Bayes and Leiduo and said with a smile, "I thought you two would be in a hurry to go back and have a passionate reunion after sending these people here."

Bayes blushed slightly and turned his face away, while Leiduo, a woman who had maintained her elegant demeanor for years, completely abandoned it and rolled her eyes. "That's not urgent. We're just worried about these two children."

"Two?" Mo Tan looked at Little Ai and noticed the determined, resolute expression on the young priest's face. He immediately gave her a knowing smile. "I hope you've thought this over carefully, little girl."

The young priest, who had once been as pure as a blank slate, shook her head. "I've thought it through very clearly, Sir. This place is not suitable for me, and there is nothing here worth lingering over."

Mo Tan then turned to Cole, narrowing his eyes slightly. "I believe I only agreed to take you away alone."

"I tried my best." Cole said with a bitter smile. "But the effect... was almost nonexistent."

"You saved my life." Ai FanYe showed the most serious expression she had ever worn in her life, speaking softly to Mo Tan. "And you avenged my companions. In the name of the Sun God Tisu, I am willing to follow your steps forever and serve by your side."

She uttered this almost oath-like declaration without a second thought. In this world, a statement made in the name of a god was extremely solemn and sacred, especially coming from a clergy member. The consequences of breaking such an oath would be no better than what Dave suffered.

Mo Tan shrugged. "I thought believers of the gods wouldn't have much fondness for me."

Little Ai smiled. "Does that mean you agree?"

"No." Mo Tan shook his head unexpectedly, then raised his index finger and wagged it. "I'm not particularly fond of what you just said, unless..."

He paused briefly. "Unless you swear to follow me in your own name."

"Alright!" Little Ai was overjoyed. "I—"

"Wait!" Bayes suddenly interrupted her, crossing his arms and looking sternly at Mo Tan. "Before that, I want to know who you really are... Otherwise, I don't intend to let Cole and that girl leave with you."

Cole was immediately shocked. "Uncle!"

Little Ai also looked at him in confusion. "Uncle Bayes?"

"You're too dangerous..." Bayes ignored the two of them, walked up to Mo Tan, and stared into his eyes, speaking in a low voice. "Honestly, I've never met anyone like you. You're like a wise man, a gambler, a madman, a demon, and even a bit like a hero."

Mo Tan tilted his head. "And then?"

"I don't know which one is the real you." This middle-aged man, who clearly had a story to tell, sighed. "So I can't rest easy letting my only nephew and another naive little girl leave with you. I want you to tell me yourself—who exactly are you?"

"Haven't you already figured it out?" Mo Tan smiled at the bewildered Bayes. "Wise man, gambler, madman, demon, hero... I can be all of them, or none of them. It depends on the circumstances and my mood."

Bayes was stunned for a long moment after hearing this, but finally let out a bitter smile and looked at Cole. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Cole nodded. "I've never been more serious."

Little Ai immediately chimed in. "Me too!"

Meanwhile, Mo Tan spread his hands toward Bayes. "If you want to forcibly take them back, I have no objection. Though even if I did, it wouldn't matter much—I'm really weak, you know~"

"Yeah, you are weak, I can see that." Bayes rolled his eyes. "But that doesn't stop you from casually getting two people I couldn't beat combined—Lang En and a bunch of creepy heretics—killed. Sigh..."

He gave Cole a deep look, then turned toward Pato City. "If you won't regret it, then go ahead."

After saying this, he walked away without looking back, while Leiduo smiled at the three of them before quickly catching up with him.

"If you don't want trouble," Mo Tan said with a laugh behind the two of them, "if anyone asks, just tell them everything about me honestly. Trust me, it won't do any harm."

Bayes paused in his steps but still didn't turn around. "We'll weigh that ourselves."

"He's just showing off~" Leiduo turned back with a charming smile. "This time, thank you. Don't worry about us."

Then the two quickly disappeared into the night that had quietly fallen.

Perhaps there were too many words left unsaid between them...

"This night," Mo Tan said softly, looking in the direction they had gone, "might be very, very long for many people..."

Cole and Little Ai couldn't help but share a knowing smile, one that carried more relief than anything else.

The difference was that Cole's relief held a thread of anticipation for the future, while Little Ai's smile carried a hint of loneliness.

But Mo Tan had no intention of giving them too much time to reminisce...

"Take these." Mo Tan tossed them two money pouches. "Head straight to Karan City now. No need to rush—you can stop at any villages, towns, or small groves along the way to rest. I'll meet you there within three days, and we'll figure out the rest then."

Little Ai was slightly stunned. "But you..."

"I have other things to do." Mo Tan smiled. "Stop asking stupid questions."

...

Soon, Mo Tan was alone again. He casually found a place to sit and began sorting through his spoils.

There was a reason he had casually given Cole and the others two pouches of money—the loot he had plundered from the Whisper Sect's stronghold in Pato City was incredibly generous.

First, there was a large amount of material wealth, totaling around two thousand gold coins. Thanks to the game system's convenience, these heavy metals had been converted into a string of numbers once they entered his pack, allowing him to withdraw them in small pouches whenever needed.

This was no small fortune—Mo Tan still remembered that the compensation for Yaya tearing down half a house had been less than a hundred gold coins.

Next came various potions, too numerous to list individually. Most were common recovery and enhancement potions, along with a small quantity of high-quality slow-acting poisons.

There were also some gains in equipment. He had found quite a few weapons and armor pieces, but not many he could use. Only a few could be equipped immediately—we'll discuss those when he logs in next time...

And the most important part...

Information about the Whisper Sect!

The contents delighted Mo Tan, because this was no weak, city-level cult organization. In fact, someone like Lang En was merely a mid-to-low-level manager within the Whisper Sect, and the Pato City branch he had just wiped out was only the tip of the iceberg...

Given his current personality, if some unlucky iceberg happened to show even a single tip before him, it would almost certainly be completely dug up and dismantled—he wouldn't stop until he'd had his full fun. Years ago, a certain black car gang was destroyed in exactly this way, to the point where they eventually surrendered themselves to the traffic police brigade and the urban management compound to seek refuge...

Ahem, I've digressed.

In short, he was extremely, extremely interested in this cult organization whose branches spread across the entire Innocent Continent.

And he was also interested in the God of Whispers they worshipped!

However, at this stage, the intelligence he had gathered was still far too limited, and the power the other side wielded was far beyond imagination. So Mo Tan had no immediate plans to launch a full-scale assault. This game world, brimming with an exotic charm, seemed to hide a vast number of intriguing things, and the so-called 'fun' could only be savored to its fullest when enjoyed slowly.

After briefly organizing the information, a sudden thought struck Mo Tan, and he immediately chose to log out of the game...

Emerging from the game pod, he casually glanced at the time, nodded with satisfaction, and wandered into the kitchen to cook himself a bowl of noodles with nearly zero nutritional value. Then, in a flash, he wolfed them down on the spot.

And then...

He didn't choose to log back into the game, nor did he actively switch personalities. Instead, he sat down at his desk, turned on the computer, and began rapidly browsing the forum.

After a while...

"No relevant information," Mo Tan rubbed his temples and muttered softly. "But it's within expectations, after all, [Innocent Realm] hasn't become a craze yet. The player base isn't that large, and everyone is generally at a low level, so the information they can grasp is very limited... Huh... Am I just being overly paranoid..."

He stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head. "No, if it really is what I suspect, then no amount of caution is excessive. I won't log into the game today. Let's see if the time loss still occurs..."

Having made up his mind, Mo Tan shut down the computer, walked into the bedroom that hadn't been visited in days, threw himself onto the bed, and prepared to get a proper night's sleep.

As it turned out, he predictably suffered from insomnia...

"So boring!!" He grabbed at his hair, pouting with some frustration. "I really want to play. This game is addictive..."

...

"Sigh, let's just reflect on how I've been spending my time..."

Mo Tan closed his eyes.

[When I was probing that idiot Dave, I was a bit too hasty. Back then, I didn't have a clear concept of what a MAX-level Hide skill meant. If something unexpected had happened, I could have died on the spot. I need to be more careful next time...]

[The Unbeliever talent doesn't seem to have much of an impact on Little Ai. I need to verify the specific reasons again. I actually had plenty of time to learn more about the various deities through her before. Looks like I was a bit careless in that regard...]

[That square-faced Paladin arrived much later than I anticipated. I need to further understand the operational procedures of the major organizations and factions in the game...]

[Silencing that guy in civilian clothes was a bit too hasty...]

[I put too much salt in today's noodles...]

[I haven't spoken to Futaba during these last few logins. If that girl loses interest in the 'game,' it would be bad. Next time I log in, I need to have a little chat with her...]

[Hmm...]

[I'm getting a bit sleepy...]

[Will that side of me... really appear in the game...]

[I can't muster any sense of anticipation...]

...

Amafuri Akatsuki

As soon as seven o'clock arrived, Ji Xiaodao immediately sat up straight from the Game Pod, her gaze a bit vacant, and once again ignored her sister who was greeting her good morning...

"You don't look well." Ji Xiaoge wasn't playing a prank this time; instead, she looked at her twin sister with some concern. "What's wrong?"

Realizing her expression was off, the girl quickly shook her head and forced a smile at her. "It's nothing..."

"Nothing, my foot!" Ji Xiaoge snorted lightly. "I've never seen you so distracted!"

"I'll go help Mom prepare breakfast." As if fleeing, the younger sister left the room, and the moment she closed the door behind her, she murmured softly, "He... didn't show up..."

...

"Me, who couldn't bear to leave him alone, ended up feeling lonely first..."

...

Chapter 43: The End