Swish! Swish!
Li Fan and Dilu leaped from the rooftop.
"Armor that sparks with electricity on the surface, not simple... Do you two need something from me?"
The Guild Master asked in a low sigh.
"Hello, Guild Master. There's something we'd like your cooperation in investigating."
Li Fan replied.
"Alright, the situation can't possibly get any worse anyway."
The Guild Master shook off the loose tiles, placed his cowboy hat back on his head, and pulled down the brim.
"Is Mantis related to the Hunter's Guild?"
Li Fan began his inquiry.
"That's right."
The Guild Master said frankly.
Both Li Fan and Dilu were somewhat surprised.
Li Fan was surprised that he admitted it so easily.
Dilu was surprised that it was actually related to the Guild Master.
The Guild Master leaned against a cargo dolly and lit a cigarette.
"Alas... what's the progress on the Guild's investigation?"
The Guild?
Li Fan realized that the other party seemed to have misunderstood something.
But to uncover the truth, he tentatively shared the information he had just deduced.
"The Guild has confirmed that Mantis was brought to the ancient ruins by a legendary hunter of the Guild."
"It couldn't be hidden forever..."
The Guild Master lowered his head and sighed.
"Are you admitting it then?"
"Yes, but can you... not erase her."
The Guild Master tried to ask.
"Her? Erase?"
Li Fan was momentarily confused.
"This matter is very complicated..."
Boom! Clang! Boom!...
As the Guild Master was speaking, the outer shell of the giant serpent's ruined city at the end of the street shattered and collapsed, falling into the city.
A ring of impact, carrying a large amount of dust, spread outwards.
"Quick! Get behind the truck."
The Guild Master guided them, and the three of them, along with the cat, took cover behind the truck, their backs pressed against the carriage.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In the street, engulfed by dust, a large number of flying debris struck the wooden cargo boxes, making crackling sounds.
Soon, some wooden boxes were penetrated by the debris, and a crisp cracking sound emerged.
"My decorative vases..."
The Guild Master, looking up from behind the carriage, showed an expression of extreme heartache.
As the dust settled, the Guild Master quickly climbed onto the roof and threw the damaged cargo boxes from the top to the ground.
From some of the larger cracked boxes, fragments of vases scattered out.
"Guild Master... it seems he's just salvaging his goods, meow."
Dilu speculated in a low voice.
"But he admitted that Mantis is related to the Hunter's Guild, and said the matter is complicated..."
"Ah meow! What's wrong with you, Li Fan! You can deduce the past of a missing legendary hunter, so why do you automatically ignore it when you think of her!"
Dilu clenched her cat paws and shouted with her eyes closed.
"Her? Who?"
"A fellow member of the Hunter's Guild..."
"Watch out, Dilu!"
Li Fan, seeing a cargo box falling towards Dilu, lunged forward.
"Ugh... I'm saved, meow, ah... it hurts!"
Dilu, who had been knocked to the ground, suddenly felt orange-yellow electric sparks appearing on her fur.
After observing for a moment, she noticed electric light flowing and flashing on the surface of Li Fan's armor.
"I'm so sorry! I accidentally kicked you when I turned around."
The Guild Master quickly jumped off the truck to check the situation.
"Are you alright, Dilu?"
Li Fan asked with concern.
"I'm fine, meow..."
Dilu said thoughtfully.
"Then let's continue the investigation... Since the Guild Master has admitted it, then next..."
Li Fan began to ponder.
Something is wrong! It's very wrong, meow!
Dilu deeply felt an unknown force pulling Li Fan, making him ignore Sophia's existence.
But what she couldn't understand was, if this force was so powerful, why did they meet the Guild Master?
Seeing the electric light flowing on the surface of the Narukami armor, Dilu suddenly remembered a possibility.
"Tell me, Guild Master, what is the complicated truth?"
"The legendary hunter brought Mantis here back then with the intention of having it guard Dongduroma."
"Hmm..."
Li Fan was somewhat shocked.
"Later, apart from a bunch of legendary stories, he disappeared completely, and the person who could control Mantis no longer existed. Only Sophia, who did not acknowledge his disappearance, seemed to still be in contact... It's strange, your Guild noticed the anomaly long ago, but couldn't investigate anything."
"No..."
"Where is it wrong?"
"Mantis doesn't need to be controlled by anyone; it can protect Dongduroma on its own. It only needs a trigger condition."
Li Fan explained.
"This..."
The Guild Master was surprised by how clearly Li Fan knew this.
"If it were me, I would use ground tremors as the trigger condition. When a certain intensity is reached, Mantis would attack on its own."
"Why?"
"Because for Dongduroma, Lao Shan Long is the eternal threat. As long as Mantis can withstand Lao Shan Long, even if other threats arrive simultaneously, the Guild can deal with them by concentrating its forces."
"So Mantis wasn't attacking the city; it sensed the corresponding tremor intensity..."
"No, it was the tremor intensity that was artificially induced."
Li Fan replied.
"Li Fan! Well done, meow! Keep reasoning!"
Seeing Li Fan's reasoning ability restored, Dilu praised him heartily.
"The only one capable of doing this, with sufficient motive, is..."
"It's Sophia, meow!"
Dilu, hiding in a damaged cargo box, answered quickly.
"Huh?"
Li Fan looked at Dilu, bewildered.
The Guild Master sighed and said, "I only suspected her, but I didn't expect you to deduce the entire method of implementation."
"Uh... no..."
"It's Sophia, meow! It's Sophia, meow!..."
Dilu looked around, found no threat, and began to repeat herself rapidly inside the cargo box.
Li Fan's repeatedly reinforced impression vaguely recalled something.
"Uh... even if it is, there's still one thing I can't figure out. Since she could induce Mantis to attack, what about the Dragon Worship cult's prophecy?"
Li Fan asked doubtfully.
"Yes, although Mantis is a beetle species, if it were truly protecting Dongduroma, the Dragon Worship cult would definitely promote it... But they not only didn't reveal it, but they also explicitly mentioned in the prophecy that Mantis is the queen who trampled Dongduroma, creating a preconceived hostile image."
The Guild Master deduced.
"This prophecy is also an induction, but the target is the Guild. This means that someone not only induced Mantis but also transmitted false information to the Guild..."
"It's Sophia, meow! It's Sophia, meow!..."
Dilu, hiding in the box, continued to shout repeatedly.
"It seems... it really is only her. But why wouldn't I want to acknowledge it?"
Li Fan covered his head with his hands.
Sophia in his mind was like a blocked option.
"Could it be related to the charm?"
The Guild Master asked.
"What do you mean?"
Li Fan asked, confused.
The Guild Master looked around, found a cracked cargo box, kicked out one side of the panel, squatted down, and hid inside.
"Ouch... I got my foot stuck by a shard."
The Guild Master said in pain.
"Then come out quickly."
"Never mind, the pain will make me clearer. I'll say it here. Before the legendary hunter disappeared inexplicably, he left Sophia a charm. That charm was refined with Celestial Luck Alchemy. Besides the legendary hunter himself, even the refiner, the Great Monk, didn't know what abilities it could activate."
The Guild Master recalled.
"Dius also mentioned this, saying it was a reward for defeating the Safi'jiiva... Does that charm have any characteristics?"
Li Fan asked.
"I remember that charm was purple, with the character '祸' (disaster) written on one side and '福' (fortune) on the other."
"It's 'Turning Disaster into Fortune'..."
Li Fan immediately took out his PSP and checked his status.
An icon named [Turning Disaster into Fortune] 50↓ was flashing rapidly.
"It's Sophia, meow! It's Sophia, meow!..."
Dilu, from the adjacent box, seeing Li Fan hesitate again, immediately reminded him.
"No need to repeat yourself, Dilu. I understand what's going on."
"Really, meow!"
Dilu leaped out of the box and came to Li Fan.
"Who is the mastermind, meow?"
"Without a doubt, it's Sophia."
"That's great, meow. I was afraid you'd never come back."
Dilu, seeing Li Fan return to normal, was about to hug his leg, but she retreated upon seeing the flowing electric light.
It happened to me. Would Pukei feel the same way when he thought of his lost master?
No, although I would ignore Sophia, as long as I could face her existence with a mandatory reminder, I couldn't ignore her.
As for Pukei's master, who was completely erased, it might lead to a more thorough forgetting.
Strange, I've only just touched this distorted feeling for the first time, why does it feel so familiar...
"Thank you, Dilu. If you hadn't kept guiding and reminding me, I might not have gotten out."
Li Fan thanked her.
"Such direct praise, meow... But it's not entirely my credit. The Narukami armor also worked hard to help you."
Dilu informed him.
"You mean... right."
Li Fan realized.
[Thunder Pattern Unity] activating [Great Luck] also produced tangible effects by disturbing causality.
If [Turning Disaster into Fortune]↓ affected himself, [Great Luck] would definitely have some corrective effect.
《First Clan》
But Li Fan soon thought of something that wasn't quite right.
Based on his own performance, [Turning Disaster into Fortune]↓ should have been applied during his first meeting with Sophia.
Yet, to this day, apart from ignoring Sophia, he hadn't suffered any negative effects from causal disturbances.
If [Great Luck] had been offsetting it all along.
Then who was protecting him when he wore the bear pajamas? Did the bear pajamas also have an ability?
Clearly impossible.
Moreover, when [Great Luck] was fully activated, the surface of the Narukami armor would glow with electric light, which hadn't happened when he wore it before.
Since both luck-based abilities were passively activated, it meant that the trigger conditions were met simultaneously.
If I went to investigate Sophia, and [Great Luck] had some boosting effect, then she might bring me some benefits.
In this way, the trigger condition for [Great Luck] was established.
But at the same time, I was affected by [Turning Disaster into Fortune]↓ and ignored her existence.
Then the trigger condition for [Turning Disaster into Fortune]↓... impending disaster!
This means that Sophia is good luck for me, but I am a disaster for her.
Therefore, the two luck abilities would intertwine.
The moment he understood, the electric light on the surface of the Narukami armor dissipated.
Li Fan checked his PSP again, and the negative status of [Turning Disaster into Fortune]↓ was also gone.
The entanglement of the two luck abilities had stopped.
What happened? Do luck abilities lose their effect when someone can touch the truth?
Bang! Bang! Bang!....
As the cannon fire stopped, the giant serpent's remains, which had fallen to the ground, fell into silence.
The heavy footsteps of Lao Shan Long once again became clear.
Chirp! Swish! Swish!....
In the narrow space created by the debris, Mantis, covered in dust, slowly rose from the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!....
Feeling the tremors from the ground, two purple lights lit up at the bottom of the pitch-black debris.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh....
Some of the golden insect threads scattered on the ground were rapidly retracting, while others were untangling the debris.
The halted artillery fire roared again, but the ruined city, reshaped in the black smoke, chose to be built inside the giant serpent's remains.
And because it was within the city, many components were sourced locally. A large amount of urban debris left from battles was dragged into the giant serpent's body.
"What is it trying to do? Can we increase the firepower?"
In the Great Elder's Hall, Zudda said anxiously, seeing Mantis rebuilding the ruined city.
"All firepower has been deployed. The biggest problem is that Mantis is close to the supply reserve warehouse, so artillery fire will be somewhat restricted."
The combat command in the city responded.
"Supply reserve warehouse..."
Zudda's face showed fear.
Beneath the debris, Mantis, with its sickle-like claws entangled with insect threads, observed the patterns on the steel beams with the purple light emitted from its compound eyes.
From time to time, it would tilt its head in thought, as if planning the installation.
Vaguely, many dusty memories surfaced in its consciousness.
Once, a hunter came to find it, carrying a stick.
The initial communication was through drawing on the ground, then various blueprints.
It would also feed it a lot of delicious food. Later, when it saw a living specimen, it realized that it was a male of its own species.
But it didn't matter to it, as long as it was delicious and nutritious.
After that, the hunter began to teach it how to build nests, saying that with its construction talent, it had the chance to become the strongest monster in the world.
Later, it took it to various areas to observe monster shapes, or used drawings or bone models to observe.
It warned it not to be detected by humans close to it unless absolutely necessary, because humans here were very sensitive.
Later, it was taken to a desolate yellow desert, where there were many assembly parts.
Through constant disassembly and construction, its building ability gradually matured, but it couldn't move over a large area, so its control wasn't yet proficient.
Every time it saw it grow, the hunter would be overjoyed.
It once asked him, what was the strongest form of a ruined city?
His answer was a humanoid mecha.
It asked in confusion, humans were not the strongest creatures in this world.
He didn't respond, just looked at the distant city.
Until one day, the hunter said he was leaving.
It drew a question mark on the sand with its sickle-like claws.