In other words... fundamentally, the character my clone became was still my clone. Even if that character had her own original consciousness, wasn't I essentially getting intimate with myself?
Bang!
Dan Heng looked at Liuge in confusion as he punched the wall, his expression twisted.
"Wh... what's wrong?"
"No, nothing!"
Still grimacing, Liuge silently withdrew his trembling right hand.
Damn it, if a Stat-Stick this entertaining hadn't been Aha's doing, he really wouldn't believe it.
"Where are we going?"
Dan Heng spoke up at that moment.
"Let's head back to Rivet Town first."
After giving it some thought, Liuge decided to return to Rivet Town and make preparations.
"Alright, you go back first! I'll head to Rivet Town and check on March and the others."
Dan Heng nodded and turned toward the entrance to Rivet Town.
Watching Dan Heng's retreating figure from behind, Liuge's lips curled slightly.
That guy said he was going to check on March 7th, but he had actually noticed that I had something else to do, hadn't he?
Shaking his head, Liuge shook out his numb hand and headed toward Rivet Town.
Half an hour later, upon returning to Rivet Town, Liuge caught sight of a blue figure flashing past ahead.
His expression immediately tightened.
That guy...
He swiftly gave chase, but Liuge discovered that no matter how fast he moved, he could only ever keep the figure barely within sight.
Seeing that, Liuge stopped outright. After thinking for a moment, he turned around and left.
This left a certain Cold-Legged Uncle, who had been leading the way ahead, completely dumbfounded.
That wasn't right. Things weren't supposed to develop like this.
Watching Liuge get farther and farther away, he could only let out a sigh.
"Hey, young man over there, did you need something from me?"
"..."
After he spoke, the certain Cold-Legged Uncle discovered that the figure merely paused slightly before leaving even faster.
Damn it, kid, you have no manners!
With no other choice, the certain Cold-Legged Uncle directly chased after him and blocked Liuge's path.
"Hm? Isn't this the bad-luck-bringing Sampo? What a coincidence!"
Pah, coincidence my ass. When I called out to you just now, you ran even faster.
However, being the smooth operator he was, Sampo wore a fawning smile, rubbing his hands together as he bent forward in response.
"Hehe, as a grateful Sampo, how could I not come bother you after seeing you?"
"No need. I find you unlucky."
Liuge curled his lip.
That made the smile on Sampo's face stiffen for a moment.
"Forget it. What do you want?"
Liuge sighed and looked at Sampo.
"Well, isn't this a rather bad place to talk?"
Sampo looked around the not-so-secluded alley entrance as he spoke.
"...Are you some top courtesan from a red-light district? Are you afraid of being seen?"
"In a sense, I actually am..."
"!!!"
Hearing that, Liuge immediately took several tactical steps back.
Sampo's lips twitched, and he put away that fake smile.
"Alright, enough small talk. What exactly do you want?"
"Well, how should I put this? I want to make a deal with you?"
"Am I Dormammu?"
"Then I'm the Sorcerer Supreme!"
Sampo scratched his head. This guy was really throwing him for a loop.
It was as though everything about him had been seen through in front of this person.
"So, Sorcerer Supreme, what do you have to trade with me?"
"Ti... cough, cough." Interrupted like that, Sampo nearly failed to react.
"How should I put it? I don't think you need to get involved in the Lower District's affairs."
"Why do you say that?"
Liuge replied with great interest.
"You... already know everything, don't you?"
Sampo smiled as he directly pointed out the role Liuge had played in all this.
"That's boring. Playing it like that is boring."
Liuge shrugged as he looked at Sampo.
"You came to talk to me over something so trivial? You really have too much free time. Is this all there is to you as a [Fool]?"
"How did you..."
Sampo's eyes widened. Just as he had suspected.
This guy knew everything about him!
"Nothing. I've just seen a lot."
Yeah, I've seen a lot. I've watched plenty of game storylines.
But in Sampo's ears, those words took on an entirely different meaning.
Seen a lot? Could it be that he had seen many Fools, so there was practically no hiding anything from him?
In that instant, Sampo developed the slightest doubt about his own concealment skills.
Yet Sampo seemed not to notice that, at the very moment he wavered, Liuge's eyes appeared to light up.
Because Liuge suddenly saw a golden Stat-Stick Light Orb drop from Sampo.
The instant Liuge casually caught and collected it, information about the Stat-Stick appeared in his vision.
[Fool]
Quality: Gold
Effect: After equipping this Stat-Stick, your command of language will improve. When you are in a position to fool an opponent, there is a small chance of throwing their thoughts into disarray.
Looking at that effect, Liuge grinned.
Wasn't this the perfect Stat-Stick for making enemies enter a delusion-filled state?
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Liuge smiled at the currently confused Sampo.
Honestly, compared with the Lower District's affairs, Liuge now wanted to head straight to Everwinter Hill.
The Stellaron was there. If he got there early, perhaps he could obtain a fresh Stellaron Stat-Stick.
Wait, a Stellaron Stat-Stick?
In an instant, Liuge's eyes shone like incandescent lamps.
That thing was dangerous, contained limitless power, and threatened humanity.
Wasn't it basically the same as a Herrscher Core?
If Stellarons could drop Stat-Sticks, did that mean he could obtain related Stat-Sticks from one?
If he could really do that, wouldn't he have a chance to assemble a key item like a Herrscher Core, something that was at least UR-tier in the game?
Then, if he paired it with a few Character Stat-Sticks, could he fuse a Herrscher?
Hehe, just thinking about it was exciting!
"Alright, enough talking. I'm leaving first, I have something urgent to do!!!"
Liuge patted the confused Sampo and impatiently went to verify his theory...
Summon: Asta
Liuge ignored Sampo, whose thoughts remained in turmoil.
He returned directly to Natasha's clinic. After looking around inside, he did not see Natasha anywhere.
"Hm? She isn't here?"
Liuge was somewhat puzzled.
However, he could not be bothered with that right now and directly entered the changing room where he kept his Silvermane Guard armor.
Three minutes later...
"Who the hell are you?"
Amid a burst of machine-gun fire, Liuge was kicked out of the changing room.
After rolling several times, Liuge looked toward the changing room.
There, a petite girl wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, with twin silver double-drill ponytails, walked out with an angry expression.
Two small rabbit-like machines floated beside her.
It was none other than Haxxor Bunny Bronya.
"Who are you? Why am I here?"
Bronya looked at Liuge and raised the Micro SMG in her hand.
Her stance clearly said that if he did not tell the truth, she would gun him down.
At that moment, Liuge wore a bitter expression.
Although he had expected that the original consciousness created after his clone transformed into Bronya would hold prejudice against him, he had not expected her to start by trying to gun him down.
Were you trying to kill me, the original body, and become the original body yourself?
"How should I put this... You should be a clone I summoned."
The moment those words left his mouth, Liuge felt the thrilling sensation of bullets tracing his outline.
Bronya blew the white smoke from her Micro SMG, her face clearly saying, Are you kidding me?
"Setting aside whether I was summoned by you, I can state with certainty that the very notion of me being your clone is impossible."
Bronya's face was full of contempt.
"First, you're a man, and you look to be at least 1.75 meters tall. Second, I'm a woman, and I'm only 1.55 meters tall. Third, and most impossibly, how could a man like you summon a female clone, much less one like me who can think for herself?"
Bronya's words left Liuge utterly stunned.
For a moment, he even felt that this really was something impossible.
But the problem was, he had really done it.
Before you continue