Chapter 973 An Unexpected Visitor
When Lumian arrived at the administrative department, several professionals were already there collecting physical evidence for analysis, including but not limited to leftover milk tea, liquid from the water dispenser, discarded takeout containers, vomit, and swabs from computers, desks, and air conditioning vents...
After they finished, another group of specialists began a full disinfection process.
During this time, Luo Shan and the other administrative staff who were still working could only wait in the hallway.
At a glance, Lumian noticed that besides Mr. Ed and Luo Shan, only two people seemed unaffected by the mystical pathogen. Their complexion and movements appeared quite normal.
One was a male, relatively tall by Yangdu standards, standing over six feet. The other was a woman in her thirties, with a round face, slightly overweight, not particularly attractive but not ugly either.
They dont seem to be after Mr. Huang... or rather, not after Mr. Huangs body... Why would Beyonders work diligently in the Intis Groups administrative department? Lumian tried to fathom their intentions based on his own thinking.
Of course, he couldnt be certain that there werent any Beyonders among those who went to Crimson Moon Hospital. Perhaps there was a Demoness waiting for a chance to have a taste of Mr. Huang, but upon sensing the presence and erosion of the mystical pathogen, she feigned severe symptoms and went to the hospital to avoid being discovered?
Luo Shan also noticed the reportedly handsome security guard and felt he lived up to her expectations.
After a while, Mr. Ed received a phone call.
The problems arent serious, and the situation has stabilized? Mr. Ed asked happily.
Then he heard Zhang Qing on the other end say: The test results show a mild viral infection. The doctor said they can go home after finishing their IV drips, take medication for two more days, rest a bit, and theyll be fine.
More than a dozen people have already applied for sick leave, planning to stay home for a couple of days to recover. Theyre also asking if this counts as a work-related injury and if theres any compensation.
Mr. Eds temple twitched as he suppressed his emotions and said, They should rest at home. We cant have them forcing themselves to work and risking more serious problems. As for whether it counts as a work-related injury, ask the legal department when you get back.
Alright, Zhang Qing said, But there are also more than a dozen people who say they want to come back to work, however...
However what? Mr. Ed asked.
Zhang Qing replied ambiguously, Theyre all the ones who like to dress up, except for Luo Fu.
Even sick beauties were beautiesMr. Huang might feel sympathetic when he saw them.
Mr. Ed was momentarily speechless.
Is it only the new employees who are eager to work and take their jobs seriously?
Meanwhile, Lumian used the incident in the administrative department as an excuse to keep watch nearby, occasionally offering help.
This was also to guard against Luo Shan being eliminated by the Celestial Worthys subordinates in the chaosas a Painter, she had some ability to protect herself, but she clearly lacked experience and could easily let her guard down in crowded situations. Now, with Franca in the hospital, she couldnt rely on Mirror Substitution to escape a first strike.
After Franca returned from Crimson Moon Hospital to help Luo Shan and others deal with the backlog of work, Lumian and Old Xia went back to the security department on the thirteenth floor.
He continued to ponder how to treat An Xiaotian.
He believed that An Xiaotian becoming a vegetable was symbolic, representing the decline and disappearance of Antigonuss spiritual imprint within The Fools Uniqueness. This couldnt be reversed through normal methods, so he had to seek a solution from the essence.
Find a way to strengthen Antigonuss spiritual imprint within The Fools Uniqueness? But Antigonus cant enter Mr. Fools dream now. Even if Hes willing to provide the corresponding items, wed have to corrupt Zhou Mingrui, the symbol of The Fools Uniqueness, to achieve our goal. This would damage our image in Zhou Mingruis mind, wasting all our previous efforts, and its extremely dangerous.
Franca and Jennas approach isnt wrong. Using the power of the Great Mother might awaken An Xiaotian, but its not treatment or having An Xiaotian have a child. Its new birth, symbolically meaning that Antigonuss spiritual imprint within The Fools Uniqueness is reborn. Whether the reborn An Xiaotian is a friend or foe is hard to say, but he would inevitably interfere with Mr. Fools awakening...
Sequence 7 Heretic Spellmaster of the Villain pathway can perform rebirth rituals. Theoretically, Great Mother bestowed like Grimm can wake An Xiaotian, but it involves reversing symbolism. I estimate only a rebirth ritual performed by someone with godhood would be effective. In the dream city, Grimm and others believe only I, the fake Child of God, have this, while others dont. Well, there should be another place that has it, the basement of Mushu Hospital, but sending An Xiaotian there would be purely creating an enemy for ourselves...
After pondering for a long time, Lumian felt that both current approaches had significant problems. The hidden dangers and negative impacts far outweighed the gains, and it wasnt something he and his companions would choose.
He began to consider this matter from the perspective of finding loopholes.
Soon, he thought of someone: Li Keji!
Mr. Fools subconscious understanding of Li Kejis mushrooms should come from Gehrman Sparrows interactions with Frank Lee.
From what weve seen, he seems to think Li Kejis mushrooms are quite dangerous, with various possibilities, producing some incredible effects.
The essence of this city is a dream, and dreams are idealistic. As long as Mr. Fool truly believes Li Kejis mushrooms can achieve incredible things, Li Keji could create a mushroom to treat An Xiaotian and wake him up!
Its not the mushroom treating An Xiaotian, but Mr. Fools subconscious being guided to reverse the symbolism.
Of course, that awakening would inevitably be distorted, abnormal, and horrifying, but if An Xiaotian could use this to say everything he wants to warn me, it would be acceptable... The more Lumian thought about it, the more he felt that using Li Keji might be useful.
He planned to find an opportunity to talk with Li Keji through the door of the hospital room.
The original of this biology teacher was really a Doctor!
Jenna, who was observing other incarnations corresponding to Mr. Fool, received a call from Hall Film Company, asking her to head over to the talent department tomorrow to sign a manager contract.
Phew... I have a job now too. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief.
She even looked forward to filming movies and TV dramas but felt that the matter of awakening Mr. Fool wouldnt drag on that long, not until she joined a production.
At the same time, she felt that Hall Film Company was managed quite well. She had thought some interviewer would call in advance, hinting that she needed to do something to have a chance at a good contract.
She was prepared to use Charm to make the relevant personnel lose themselves, but nothing happened.
This was different from some things she had seen and heard at the Theatre de lAncienne Cage a Pigeons.
As expected of a film company founded by Madam Justice... Jenna felt relieved.
After dark.
Lumian, who knew the targets schedule, took advantage of Zaratulstras absence from the hotel to cross over from the mirror world and retrieve the surveillance content stored in the pinhole cameras and listening devices.
After midnight, he returned to the rented apartment in Xinhong District and used his phone to play back Zaratulstras activities in the hotel room.
This wasnt to spy on what Zaratulstra was plotting or planning to accomplishthough that would be a bonus. Lumians main purpose was to observe Zaratulstras behavior when alone, to find out how many marionettes he could currently maintain, how often he summoned Historical Void images, how long these images would dissipate on their own, and other such information.
This was preparation for an upcoming surprise attack and encirclement to kill Zaratulstra.
Although Zaratulstra was also suppressed to Sequence 7, he still had an Angels rank. Many of his abilities effects and ranges were somewhat different from a true Sequence 7.
Take the number of marionettes, for example. A normal Marionettist who had just advanced to Sequence 5 could only control one marionette. If restricted to Sequence 7 level, theoretically, they wouldnt be able to control marionettes at all, only using marionettization for killing. But this ability might qualitatively change at Sequence 4 and Sequence 2, reducing spirituality consumption and lowering control difficulty. After that, even if the ability was suppressed to Sequence 7, it would still essentially exist, just with less pronounced effects.
In other words, Zaratulstra could still control marionettes, but the number was very limitedperhaps two, perhaps only one. Lumian now needed to confirm these details.
Without grasping the relevant intelligence, if they directly launched a surprise attack and tried to encircle and kill Zaratulstra, given their superior numbers, they might have some hope of defeating or forcing him to retreat. But achieving their predetermined goal would be almost impossible. The Seer pathway was known for its strong survival abilities!
Lumian stared intently at the phone screen, not missing any detail.
For now, he was skipping through, selecting only scenes with human activity.
When the surveillance video reached 11 pm last night, Lumian saw Zaratulstra, dressed in a black robe, walk to the door and open it.
Someone entered from outside.
The person wore sunglasses even at night, dressed in a black T-shirt and dark jeans that wouldnt attract attention, about six feet tall.
Who could it be? Lumians focus intensified.
After entering the room, the person looked left and right, then removed the sunglasses perched on their nose, revealing a face quite familiar to Lumian.
He had seen videos of this person being interviewed and participating in certain activities online.
It was Jia Yu, the actor who played Gehrman Sparrow!
He doesnt look too much like Zhou Mingrui, which shouldnt be a problem, so why is he visiting Zaratulstra late at night? What have we missed? Lumians pupils dilated as he watched more intently.
He was grateful for the technology that provided him with assistance, but also worried that Zaratulstra might have already discovered the presence of the pinhole cameras and listening devices, deliberately staging this scene.
Jia Yu sat down in the sofa area and talked with Zaratulstra for nearly fifteen minutes, then stood up and left.
Lumian quickly stopped playing the surveillance video, deciding to first listen to whether the listening device had recorded any dialog during that time period.