Lumian wasnât surprised that Gusain indirectly referred to himself as the second most dangerous person in Morora. Instead, he smiled and asked, âWhat have you done? I mean, what have you done in Morora?â
Gusainâs smile faded as he spoke seriously.
âOrganized uprisings.
âWeâre already in the City of Exiles. Why should we still accept the rule of the Church of Knowledge? We should unite and drive them out of Morora. Then, weâll make our own rules and govern ourselves!â
Ignoring other factors, your words do make some sense. But the issue is, if we overthrow the Churchâs rule, why stay in Morora? Is this the influence of 0-01? The residents of Morora never consider leaving the city⌠Fortunately, I have a false Angel rank and all sorts of random items, so Iâm only somewhat reluctant to leave, not entirely devoid of such thoughts⌠Lumian first confirmed the abnormalities of Morora from Gusainâs response, then understood why people considered Gusain the second most dangerous person in Morora.
Uprisings were something the Church of Knowledge wouldnât allow, and given the information on 0-01, Gusain must have organized multiple uprisings and still hadnât been caught and added to the experimental subjects!
This was enough to show that this gentleman-like mature man was not simple.
Seeing that Louis wasnât scared by his words and didnât show obvious resistance, Gusain extended an invitation, âWould you like to join our group?â
âIâll think about it,â Lumian replied with a smile.
He really intended to consider it. This might be a way to approach 0-01 without becoming an experimental subject.
He believed that this ragtag group, unable to resist the influence of 0-01, couldnât truly overthrow the Churchâs rule in Morora, but he needed chaos and opportunity.
These exiles could die, and the Church of Knowledge personnel here seemed to be puppets.
Gusain smiled in satisfaction.
âBeing a prisoner in this open-air prison or becoming its ruler, being perpetually oppressed or pursuing freedom, it indeed requires careful consideration.â
With that, Gusain glanced at the other side of the small square and said, âI must take my leave now. If you decide, hang a red cloth, the kind used to taunt bulls, at the door of the Carnivore bar.â
With that, Gusain removed his hat, placed a hand on his chest, and bowed.
Watching him walk into a nearby alley at a leisurely pace, Lumian saw a group of black-robed enforcers hurrying from the opposite side of the small square.
âDid you see Gusain just now? He looks like a gentleman with a hat,â the leader asked Lumian.
Lumianâs smile widened, and he casually pointed to the alley Gusain had entered.
âYes, he went that way.â
The enforcers stared at Lumian for a couple of seconds before continuing to pursue Gusain.
Lumian raised his right hand, rubbed his chin, and murmured to himself, Gusain sensed the enforcersâ arrival in advance, but I didnâtâŚ
Is that why heâs managed to organize multiple uprisings without being caught?
Is it his ability, an item, or the special corruption from 0-01?
Lumian didnât linger in the small square, bidding farewell to Vijepanâs corpse, and continued towards the possible location of the Abscessed Handâs head.
After turning into another street, he suddenly had a premonition and looked towards the edge of the city of Morora.
The ground shook violently, earth and stones surged up, swallowing several buildings and forming a mountain about ten meters high.
At the mountainâs peak, thick dust mixed with smoke erupted, red lava flowed, emitting heat that Lumian could clearly feel even in the city center.
At the same time, the screams of humans from that direction echoed far and wide.
A volcanic eruption? Lumian was stunned.
He had thought the volcanic eruptions described in the 0-01 information came from the surrounding mountains, not from within the city on flat ground!
After a few seconds, the dust obscured the sky, plunging Morora back into darkness.
Passersby showed no extra reaction, merely covering their noses to block the dust, treating it as just another heavy rain.
Lumian shook his head as he watched.
In such living conditions, Gusain and his people hadnât thought of escaping, only planning to overthrow the Churchâs rule and replace it. No wonder this is a Grade 0 Sealed ArtifactâŚ
Lumian, who restored himself at six every morning, remained unafraid of the dust and resumed his steps.
He crossed the street and arrived at a square with multiple obelisks. In the dusty environment, he moved along the buildings around the square towards his destination.
Suddenly, he felt a resonance, a connection from his special powers.
Lumian quickly turned and looked at the classical building made of gray-white stones beside him.
At the top hung a large sign with words written in Lenburg: Dades Agricultural Company Below the sign, two glass windows suddenly opened, revealing a figure.
The figure, wearing a thin white shirt with the top two buttons undone despite the cold winter, had hair like it was stained with fresh blood, iron-black eyes, and sharp facial features, exuding a fierce aura.
No introduction was needed; Lumian identified the figure from the sign and the resonating aura.
The most dangerous criminal in Morora, former experimental subject Wanak!
Did the resonance just now come from the direct corruption of 0-01?
Did the law of convergence lead to this encounter?
Did Wanak escape the status of an experimental subject because he completely submitted to 0-01?
Is he now 0-01âs proxy in Morora?
This Sealed Artifact, despite lacking wisdom, instinctively seeks opportunities to break free from its seal?
As Lumianâs thoughts raced, the suspected Wanak suddenly transformed into a blazing-white flame spear, filled with destructive energy, and flew at him.
Lumianâs figure instantly disappeared without reappearing.
He directly teleported closer to the Abscessed Handâs head. In his ears echoed the taunting voice of the suspected Wanak, âCoward! Chicken!â
Lumian snorted, not turning back to fight the man.
IâIll first gather the Abscessed Handâs body!
He feared the intense battle might lead to unforeseen events, making contact with 0-01 before he collected all the body parts, resulting in uncontrollable consequences.
Moreover, the aura and the flame spear the suspected Wanak displayed suggested he might have a trace of godhood. Even if not truly Sequence 4, he had fundamentally differed from a Sequence 5 Beyonder.
Demigods couldnât approach 0-01, but maybe pseudo-demigod proxies created by 0-01 werenât subject to this rule!
Lumian looked ahead, finding himself in the boundless cemetery behind the Church of Knowledge, surrounded by gravestones and trees.
Uh⌠Lumian was momentarily stunned, then felt it made sense.
The bar owner-cum-chef having half of the Abscessed Handâs body and using it was an anomaly. Normally, anyone, even a felon, encountering a rotting corpse split into multiple parts would first call the enforcers to clean up the scene. The enforcers would then bury the body in this cemetery as part of the seal.
Of course, this was a normal assumption, excluding those with a penchant for corpses.
Lumian moved forward, approaching the source of the subtle connection.
During this, he remembered something.
Madam Magician said dangerous things might happen once the Abscessed Handâs body is gathered. Itâs best to complete this step within the City of Exiles to offset the corresponding risks with the presence of 0-01âŚ
If I get the Hand Broâs head later, does that count as gathering the body?
Will that cause dangerous events?
Maybe I should wait a bit longer? Wait for dangerous and difficult-to-handle situations before teleporting back to gather Hand Broâs body to create unknown risks and muddy the waters?
I canât face the dangers of the Hand Bro alone; sharing is caringâŚ
Also, Madam Magician implied that the Hand Bro might break the seal and enter Morora once its body is gathered?
Otherwise, how could it be considered completeâŚ
Normally, not even a messenger can be summoned, nor a contract creatureâŚ
This might help me escape MororaâŚ
As Lumian pondered, he stopped at a recently filled pit without a tombstone.
His contract mark told him a part of the Abscessed Handâs body was in this pit.
Seeing the unusually fresh marks on the pitâs surface, Lumian felt a tightness in his chest. He crouched down, extended his hands, and performed a directional blast.
With the rumbling sound of explosions, he blew away a large amount of soil and unearthed a black wooden box from the bottom of the pit.
Opening the box, Lumian saw a highly decomposed, blue-black, swollen ear and a folded white paper.
Lumian unfolded the paper, seeing words written in Intisian:
âAs expected, you want this rotten head.
âBut unfortunately, I got it before you went to the Carnivore bar and hid it.