The Dust Settled in Pato City

The evening sun withdrew its last ray of light, and stars began to appear in the darkening sky. Everything seemed so peaceful, as though the farce that had unfolded not long ago had never happened.

Of course, that was not true. Mo Tan simply could not hear the clamor of Pato City from where he stood outside its walls. The cultist incident had shaken the little city like an earthquake. It would not recover anytime soon, and as time passed, all manner of people might come to gather information—or take advantage of the chaos.

So there was no reason to stay...

"Besides, those holy men have probably noticed me by now." Mo Tan chuckled. "They might not pay much attention to a nobody for long, or perhaps they never cared in the first place. Still, I should keep a low profile for a while..."

Honestly, even he did not believe that.

Having the Thieves' Guild send the Sanctuary a wildly exaggerated report about an "evil god descending upon Pato City" was bound to cause him trouble. But he had just obtained plenty of interesting information, and he had no intention of sitting idle. At least, not while he was in his current personality.

Mo Tan stretched with satisfaction and continued south through the woods, far from the main road. The smell of fresh earth always lifted his spirits, and the dry air felt pleasant. The Continent of Innocence also seemed free of that legendary monster known as the mosquito, making his woodland stroll all the more enjoyable.

A few minutes later...

Four figures emerged from behind the trees ahead. Two greeted him with warm smiles. The other two, both older, wore more complicated expressions, though they still seemed friendly.

Cole, Little Ai, Bayes, and Ledo had been waiting there for a long time...

"Sorry I'm late." Mo Tan showed no surprise. He merely raised an eyebrow and offered an apology without a trace of sincerity. Then he glanced at Bayes and Ledo with a grin. "I thought you two would rush back for some private time after dropping them off."

Bayes blushed and turned away. Ledo, meanwhile, abandoned the composed elegance she had maintained for years and rolled her eyes. "That can wait. We were just worried about these two kids."

"Two?" Mo Tan looked at Little Ai. Seeing the young cleric's resolute expression, he gave her a faint, knowing smile. "I hope you've thought this through, young lady."

The young cleric, once innocent enough to be a blank slate, shook her head. "I have, sir. This place isn't right for me, and there's nothing here I want to hold on to."

Mo Tan turned to Cole and narrowed his eyes. "I only agreed to take you."

"I tried to talk her out of it," Cole said with a wry smile. "It... didn't do much good."

"You saved my life." Ai Fanye looked at Mo Tan with more solemnity than she ever had before. "And you avenged my companions. In the name of Tisu, the Sun God, I will follow you forever and serve at your side."

She spoke those near-vows without hesitation. In this world, a declaration made in a god's name was solemn and sacred, especially from a member of the clergy. Breaking such an oath would leave her little better off than Dave.

Mo Tan shrugged. "I thought followers of the gods wouldn't like me much."

Little Ai smiled. "Does that mean you agree?"

"No." To her surprise, Mo Tan shook his head and wagged a finger. "What you just said doesn't do much for me. Unless..."

He paused. "Unless you swear to follow me in your own name."

"Yes!" Little Ai brightened at once. "I—"

"Wait!" Bayes cut her off. Folding his arms, he fixed Mo Tan with a grave look. "Before that, I want to know who you really are. Otherwise, I'm not letting Cole or that girl leave with you."

Cole went pale. "Uncle!"

Little Ai looked at him in confusion. "Uncle Bayes?"

"You're too dangerous..." Bayes ignored them both. He stepped up to Mo Tan and looked him in the eye. "Honestly, I've never met anyone like you. You're like a sage, a gambler, a madman, a demon... even a bit of a hero."

Mo Tan tilted his head. "And?"

"I don't know which one is the real you." Bayes sighed. "I can't feel at ease letting my only nephew and an inexperienced young girl leave with you. So tell me yourself: who are you?"

"Haven't you already answered that?" Mo Tan smiled at the bewildered Bayes. "A sage, a gambler, a madman, a demon, a hero... I can be any of them. Or none of them. It depends on my surroundings and my mood."

Bayes stood stunned for a long moment. At last, he gave a bitter smile and turned to Cole. "Are you serious about this?"

"Yes." Cole nodded. "I've never been more serious."

"Me too!" Little Ai added at once.

Mo Tan spread his hands toward Bayes. "I won't object if you take them back by force. Not that objecting would do me much good. I'm quite weak, after all."

"Yes, terribly weak. I can see that." Bayes rolled his eyes. "That didn't stop you from casually bringing down Lange, whom two of me couldn't beat, along with a whole mob of raving cultists. Ah..."

He gave Cole a long look, then turned toward Pato City. "If you won't regret it, do as you please."

With that, he walked away without looking back. Ledo smiled at the three of them before hurrying after him.

"If you don't want trouble," Mo Tan called after them with a smile, "tell anyone who asks everything you know about me. Trust me, it won't hurt anything."

Bayes paused but did not turn around. "We'll decide that for ourselves."

"He's trying to look cool." Ledo glanced back with a radiant smile. "Thank you for this. Don't worry about us."

Soon, the two of them disappeared into the gathering night.

Perhaps they had a great deal to say to each other...

"This night," Mo Tan said softly, watching them go, "might be a very long one for a lot of people..."

Cole and Little Ai exchanged knowing smiles, both feeling a measure of relief.

For Cole, that relief held a hint of anticipation. Little Ai's smile, however, was tinged with loneliness.

Mo Tan had no intention of giving them much time to dwell on it.

"Take these." He tossed them each a pouch of money. "Head straight for Kalan City. There's no need to hurry; stop at villages, towns, or little groves along the way if you like. I'll meet you within three days. We'll talk about what comes next then."

Little Ai blinked. "And you...?"

"I have other things to do." Mo Tan smiled. "Don't ask stupid questions."

Before long, Mo Tan was alone again. He found a place to sit and began taking stock of his spoils.

He had not handed Cole and Little Ai two pouches of money without reason. What he had looted from the Whisper Sect's base in Pato City was an astonishing haul.

First came the valuables, worth roughly two thousand gold coins in total. Thanks to the game system's convenient rules, those heavy coins became a string of numbers once they entered his inventory, and he could withdraw them in small pouches whenever he wished.

It was a fortune. Mo Tan still remembered that the compensation for Yaya demolishing half of someone's house had come to less than a hundred gold coins.

There were also assorted potions, too many to list. Most were common healing or enhancement potions, though a few were high-quality slow-acting poisons.

He had gained some equipment as well, including quite a few weapons and pieces of armor. Not much of it suited him, though, and only a handful of items could replace what he currently wore. That could wait until the next time he logged in...

Most important of all was...

Information about the Whisper Sect!

What he found delighted Mo Tan. This was no feeble cult confined to a single city. In fact, someone like Lange was no more than a low-level manager in the Whisper Sect, and the Pato City branch Mo Tan had destroyed was merely the tip of the iceberg...

Given his current personality, if an unfortunate iceberg showed him its tip, he was liable to dig out the whole thing. He would not stop until he had his fill of fun. Years ago, a gang of illegal cab drivers had met just such a fate. In the end, they had even turned themselves in to the traffic police and city inspectors in hopes of finding refuge...

Ahem. That was getting off track.

In short, he was very, very interested in this cult, whose branches spread across the entire Continent of Innocence.

He was interested in the Whispering God they worshipped, too!

For now, however, he knew too little, and the power the cult commanded was far beyond what he had imagined. Mo Tan had no intention of making a major move yet. This strangely captivating game world seemed to conceal countless interesting things, and the best way to experience such "fun" was to savor it slowly.

After sorting through the information for a while, a thought struck Mo Tan, and he immediately logged out of the game...

He climbed out of the game pod and glanced at the time. Satisfied, he nodded, wandered into the kitchen, and cooked himself a bowl of noodles with next to no nutritional value. He wolfed them down on the spot.

Then...

He did not log back into the game or deliberately switch personalities. Instead, he sat at his desk, turned on his computer, and quickly browsed the forums.

After a while...

"No relevant information." Mo Tan rubbed his forehead. "But that's to be expected. Innocent World hasn't really taken off yet, so there aren't that many players. Most are still low-level, too, and what they know is limited... Hm... Am I overthinking this?"

He stared into space for a moment, then shook his head. "No. If my guess is right, there's no such thing as being too careful. I won't log in today. Let's see whether I still lose time..."

His mind made up, Mo Tan shut down the computer and entered the bedroom he had not used in days. He threw himself onto the bed, intending to get a proper night's sleep.

Naturally, he could not fall asleep...

"I'm bored!" He raked a hand through his hair and pursed his lips in frustration. "I really want to play. Is this game addictive or what...?"

"Ah, I might as well review how I spent my time..."

Mo Tan closed his eyes.

I pushed too hard when testing that idiot Dave. I didn't understand what max-level concealment meant back then. If something unexpected had happened, I might have died on the spot. I'll have to be more careful next time...

The Unbeliever talent didn't seem to affect Little Ai much. I need to test why. I could have used the time to learn more about the gods from her, too. I was careless about that...

That square-faced Holy Knight arrived much later than I expected. I need to learn more about how the major organizations in the game operate...

I was too hasty when I silenced that fellow dressed like a civilian...

I put too much salt in today's noodles...

I haven't spoken to Shuangye during my last few sessions. It would be a shame if she lost interest in the "game." I should talk to her a little next time...

Mm...

Getting sleepy...

Will that side of me... really appear in the game?

I can't bring myself to look forward to it at all...

Dawn broke.

The moment it turned seven, Ji Xiaodao sat up in her game pod. Her eyes were unfocused, and once again, she ignored her sister's good morning.

"You don't look well." This time, Ji Xiaoge was not playing a prank. She looked at her twin sister with concern. "Did something happen?"

Realizing something was wrong with her expression, Ji Xiaodao quickly shook her head and forced a smile. "It's nothing..."

"It's obviously something!" Ji Xiaoge huffed. "I've never seen you this distracted!"

"I'll help Mom make breakfast." Ji Xiaodao fled the room. As she pulled the door shut behind her, she murmured, "He... didn't appear..."

I couldn't bear to leave him alone, yet I was the one who felt lonely first...

The dust had settled.