Pato City

The nights in Pato City always arrive a little later than in the surrounding areas, because it's full of excellent and energetic young people. This group is generally very energetic, and no one can convince them to obediently return home or to their dorms immediately after sunset, saving that excess energy to squander the next day after sunrise. After all, that would be too cruel, and even the strictest parents and instructors wouldn't be so unreasonable.

Moreover, after a day's work, people are happy to see those young men and women strolling noisily and cheerfully in groups on the road, discussing the knowledge they've learned, the beautiful women they've encountered, the handsome guys they've bumped into, and the strict teachers. They might also go to the Holy Light Union's chapel to pray for their families and crushes, or sneak into those taverns that always turn a blind eye to them, surreptitiously ordering a mug of ale.

All of this is thanks to Pading Knight Academy, which Valentine Crow, a high-ranking Holy Knight who once hailed from this area, persuaded the Holy Light Union to build seventy years ago. The academy has always been the common pride of all the locals.

It's also the fundamental reason why Pato City, a small town originally in the countryside and beyond jurisdiction, is so vibrant. Countless families from within a hundred miles or even further want their children to come here to study, so that they can reach the peak of their lives... uh, I mean, so that their originally predetermined fate can be turned around.

By the way, children who are local residents of Pato City can directly enter the Knight Academy to study as long as they are 16 years old, so at any time, having a school district property is quite...

Okay, I'll restrain myself.

In short, Pato City is a peaceful and lively small town, at least under normal circumstances.

But behind this tranquility, there are also faint undercurrents surging. At least some sensitive people have already smelled a slightly different scent.

The Warm Sun Squad of the second grade of Pading Knight Academy was attacked on their way back after completing their final exam, and almost the entire team was wiped out. Only Dave, the light knight who was the captain, survived. And when he returned to the city, he was almost dead, with no intact place on his body. It was almost a miracle that he was rescued before he breathed his last.

This matter has already spread...

They were attacked by two Crimson Ridge Beasts that shouldn't have appeared around Pato City in the first place. Although monsters of this level can't pose a threat to Pato City, which is guarded by Pading Academy, it still makes people a little worried.

How did they get here? Why did they appear here? Why did they attack a few innocent students? Will they attack us later?

The source of fear is always the unknown. Some tough guys can be fearless of most poisonous insects and beasts, and can even freaking chop off their heads and eat the rest, extracting a lot of rich protein. But when faced with things like zombies, vampires, and the Kayako mother-daughter duo, whose lethality may not even be as good as the former, their tiger bodies also have to shake a bit, and then they run away with a photographer who is also a tough guy...

In fact, we all like to scare ourselves, and in most cases, reality isn't that ridiculous (it's just very cruel).

But this time, things are really not that simple...

And a certain uninvited guest who has come to this small city will make the not-so-simple things even more complicated, turning big trouble into bigger trouble.

"Sigh~ What a place that doesn't inspire any energy at all." Mo Tan was currently in a rarely visited alley, looking at the slightly noisy street not far away, and sighed leisurely. However, he then curled up the corners of his mouth and showed a smile, murmuring, "But I will try my best to make it lively here, don't thank me too much..."

At this moment, he had taken off that somewhat gloomy ceremonial robe and changed back into his original linen suit, making himself as low-key and ordinary as possible. Then he left the alley, grabbed a simple-looking uncle nearby and, as a traveler, asked for directions, then wandered to a tailor shop two streets away.

Although there wouldn't be too many customers at this time, it wasn't yet time to close the shop, so Mo Tan successfully bought (the money was scavenged from Medi) a white waist-tied robe and a pair of long leather boots. Although the quality was average, it could at least make him look decent and not so out of place.

Afterward, he asked the boss about the cheapest place to live in Pato City, and after confirming it again and again (he couldn't find north), he quickly left.

A moment later, Mo Tan had already appeared in front of the 'Black Rye Inn' on the southernmost side of the city, and strode in, pushing the door open.

"What's your business?" A middle-aged man with a chicken coop head, sitting in a rocking chair next to the door, glanced at him, straightened up, and asked impatiently, "Eating or lodging? There's no other fun to be found here."

Before Mo Tan could answer, a man completely covered in a cloak rushed down from the second floor, raised his hand to greet the person who seemed to be the boss, and said quickly, "This is my friend, the one I told you about before."

"Got it, go ahead." The boss shrugged and then lay back down: "Don't stand at the door if you have nothing to do, it's hindering my business."

"Do you even have any business?" Cole, a novice thief who slightly lifted his hood, curled his lips at him, then smiled apologetically at Mo Tan: "Let's go in and talk."

The latter nodded noncommittally, and followed Cole to the second floor of this dilapidated inn, entering the innermost small room.

"Let me confirm first, besides the boss just now." After entering the room, Mo Tan leaned against the wall casually and asked Cole, who looked respectful and apprehensive, in a low voice: "Does anyone else know that Cole. Shulen has returned to Pato City?"

The young thief apprentice lowered his head slightly in fear: "No one else, sir, I'm really very sorry, I should have followed your instructions and not let anyone know, but..."

"But the 'cheapest inn' I asked you to stay at is owned by someone you know." Mo Tan smiled and shook his head: "You were probably worried that I wouldn't be able to find you, so you didn't change places, it's okay, I didn't consider it carefully, I won't blame you for this kind of thing."

"Thank you, sir." Cole nodded, raised his head, and asked with concern: "I don't know about Rona..."

"That elf girl's soul is still intact." Mo Tan raised his hand to interrupt him: "I'm not unreasonable, but what you need now is calmness, only calmness will make you less prone to making mistakes, do you understand what I mean?"

Cole also realized that his emotions were a bit too agitated. He didn't answer immediately, but clenched his fists tightly. After a long while, he looked directly into Mo Tan's eyes and nodded: "I'm fine, sir."

This action added a lot of goodwill to Mo Tan, after all, it is extremely difficult for a person to 'truly' calm down in this situation, let alone in such a short period of time.

And from Cole's current gaze, Mo Tan could no longer see the anxiety, longing, torment, and traces of fear that he had seen before, or rather, they were hidden in a deeper place, a corner that could not affect rationality and judgment...

"You are excellent." Mo Tan nodded slightly: "Next, I will tell you two things. During this process, I hope you can remain calm and have enough reason. Can you do it?"

Cole replied without hesitation: "Yes, sir."

"Call me Mister, don't be too serious~ I don't like overly serious people." Mo Tan smiled. He knew that he wasn't the kind of person who could shake his tiger body and have countless knowledgeable people crying and shouting to kneel down and worship him as their big brother. It was only because he held the soul that the young thief in front of him cared about the most, and used a little bit of misleading to temporarily make the other party blindly believe in him. Because of this, he didn't want Cole to treat him too rigidly, which would undoubtedly create a subtle gap between the two of them. Although it would be very easy to use in the short term, over time, this gap would gradually widen...

Mo Tan, who was now putting himself in the position of a chess player, could not accept the hidden danger of possibly not understanding his 'chess pieces' more and more in the future.

Cole didn't show much emotion, just responded in a low voice: "Okay, Mister."

"First of all, you should have heard, only Dave came back alive from your team." Mo Tan said to Cole: "Do you know what this means?"

Cole nodded heavily. The result was obvious. Except for himself and Dave, the other two, like Rona, had lost their lives.

"But in fact, only one male student using a greatsword died. If I remember correctly, his name should be Lada. Duona." Mo Tan narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice: "The person who killed him was named Dave. Sager."

What!?

Even though he had been prepared to accept bad news, Cole never thought that his companion hadn't died from the fangs and claws of the Crimson Ridge Beast, but was killed by another companion.

"This is not..." Cole shook his head with scattered eyes, wanting to say something, but was coldly interrupted by the person in front of him.

"It's true." Mo Tan shrugged and spread his hands: "When I arrived, Dave had already left. Your classmate named Lada was directly pierced through the chest by a lance and died on the spot. And another priestess girl was seriously injured. I saved her and asked about the whole process of Dave's sudden attack. She is now hiding somewhere in Pato City like you. If you don't believe me, you can secretly go to her to confirm later."

Cole stood there blankly with a pale face for a long time, and finally shook his head dejectedly: "No, I believe you, please continue..."

"Okay." Mo Tan walked to Cole's side and whispered in his ear: "Everything you experienced before was designed by Dave, whether it was the two abnormal Crimson Ridge Beasts, or the Warm Sun Squad with only one survivor, it was all part of his plan. Obviously, you and your companions became the victims of this plan... So now, if you don't mind, can you tell me your current thoughts?"

Cole was silent, but the teeth he was clenching tightly were already oozing blood...

"Your answer, Cole." Mo Tan smiled calmly.

"Kill him!" Cole said, trembling, his face contorting with rage, "If all this is true, I want to tear him to pieces myself, bit by bit!"

Mo Tan clapped his hands. "Excellent~ especially with the prerequisite 'if all this is true'. Don't look at me like that, Cole. Vigilance and suspicion are good qualities. After all, compared to Dave, who you've known for longer, a stranger like me is harder to trust..."

Cole seemed about to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head and remained silent. What this 'gentleman' had said was correct. Perhaps, deep down, he suspected him even more. After all, compared to Dave, this mysterious man gave him more of the impression of a schemer.

He didn't want to believe that Dave had betrayed him and the other three companions he had spent more than a year with, because that would make the deaths of the deceased too tragic.

But Cole also didn't want to believe that Mo Tan was lying to him, because that would completely erase Rona's slim hope of being resurrected!

So...

"Go verify the truth." Mo Tan smiled at Cole, who was about to speak. "That little priestess named Ai. Fanye should be at a place called 'Rotten Rose'. I'm not entirely sure where it is, but you can go look for her later."

Cole was stunned for a moment, then gave Mo Tan a bitter, forced smile. "Thank you for saving her."

"It was nothing." Mo Tan shrugged indifferently, then patted him on the shoulder. "But now you need to tell me something..."

7:00 AM

In a spacious, warm-colored bedroom, two game pods lined up side-by-side opened almost simultaneously.

"Good morning~ Xiaodao!" Ji Xiaodao, wearing cute, goose-yellow pajamas, greeted her twin sister, who had just sat up, and playfully reached out to ruffle her hair. "I've never seen you so dedicated to a game before."

Ji Xiaodao, however, seemed a little dazed, and didn't react to her sister's prank. She just responded casually, "Yeah... good morning, sister."

Finding that her sister didn't swat her away as usual, Ji Xiaoge was also stunned for a moment, then pursed her lips, and suddenly pounced on her sister, knocking her down onto the soft carpet, vigorously rubbing Ji Xiaodao's soft cheeks. "So cute, so cute! You're so adorable, sister! Let me kiss you... uh..."

"How boring!" Ji Xiaodao said, her face flushed, pressing down on her sister's face, ignoring the latter's flailing hands as she tried to hug her again. She bit her lip lightly and whispered to Ji Xiaoge, who was still not settling down, "Um... sister... I might not be able to come find you for a while."

"Huh?! Aren't we together?"

"I'm talking about the game, you idiot!"

"Oh, why?"

"Because... there's someone I'm a little worried about..."

"A boy?"

"Yeah."

"... ..."

"Sister, where are you going?"

"To find Dad. When we were little, he said that if anyone tried to steal his daughter, he'd chop them up."

"Hey!!!!!!"

Chapter 22: End

/47/4ml The fastest updated novel site!