The Guide from the Future

Miss Moon was tempted. She pursed her lips tightly, looking at the hand in front of her with a conflicted and hesitant expression. But a few seconds later, she closed her eyes and handed over her hand.

But she grasped at nothing, for there were no more homeless people in front of her, nor any mysterious figures who knew the secrets of Dolgo D; there was only air and the astonished gazes of those around her.

Miss Moon was startled, but then she became even more excited.

Doesn't the fact that someone can disappear right before your eyes prove that he truly comes from the mysterious?

She peered around but still couldn't see the figure. However, she thought the other person might be joking with her, so she was willing to wait, at least until the moon rose. Then she could let this mysterious person give their opinion on whether she or the real moon was more beautiful.

Miss Moon was disappointed to find that she stood there all night without seeing the mysterious homeless man return. Little did she know that the homeless man might never come back.

Because... Scorpio had already taken him away.

Just as Afros, in high spirits, was preparing to reap tonight's prey, Scorpio grabbed his hand and dragged him into a dark alley.

Afros seemed terrified; he sat down on the ground, trembling.

Scorpio chuckled and cut to the chase, asking him if he knew about an old incident from over a decade ago involving a life that shouldn't have been born.

The homeless man trembled and remained silent, but Scorpio clearly saw that he knew. So he offered the homeless man a huge sum of money and a real citizenship if he could find any clues related to the matter.

The homeless man was tempted, just like Miss Moon before, his face full of conflict.

But he quickly agreed; perhaps the lure of money was simply irresistible to him.

What he didn't know was that Scorpio's promises were all lies. He didn't have these things, nor would he bother to collect them for an NPC. This was the only trick he had learned from Cheng Shi: making things up on the spot.

And so, this Afros from ten years in the future was brought to the present by Scorpio using the power of [Time] to overwrite the present.

Cheng Shi listened with a frown from beginning to end, and after listening, he had only one question in his mind, which was...

"Is Miss Moon really that beautiful?"

"?"

"..."

Looking at the two speechless people in front of him, Cheng Shi chuckled twice:

"Just trying to lighten the mood, don't take it seriously."

I thought the Assassin brothers' plan was excellent, better than I expected, and I believed the whole process went smoothly. So where did the problem lie?

Cheng Shi touched his chin, frowned, and realized something was wrong.

"I think I know, so... where did this Afros you found go?"

Cheng Shi asked the crucial question, which was exactly what was giving the two of them the biggest headache!

When Scorpio brought Afros back, he happened to encounter the Divine Nurturing Church welcoming the "Divine Descent". Under the oppressive aura of the giant tentacles, Scorpio was stunned for a moment. But in that moment of stunned silence, Afros, who had come back with him, disappeared!

He ran away! He slipped away from Scorpio without a sound!

He didn't seem to be lying; he might indeed have been a former church staff member, because in the blink of an eye, he effortlessly navigated from the outer courtyard to the inner hall, then disappeared into the crowd. The oppressive aura of Divine Descent, the cult leader's shouts, the chaotic footsteps, and the clamor—all of this hindered Scorpio's senses, preventing him from immediately following the other man's movements. And so...

The person is gone.

Cheng Shi frowned more and more as he listened. After thinking for a moment, he asked again:

"You, a player with 2100 points, are still intimidated by that giant tentacle, yet he, an ordinary NPC, managed to escape during that brief moment?"

Are you sure you didn't see that wrong?

"I'm sure he has no abilities whatsoever!"

After much thought, I can only come up with one possibility: he had experienced this scene before and happened to be a church staff member, which is why he had some immunity to the inexplicable awe of Divine Descent. After all, I was only startled by the tentacles; it didn't spread any negative effects.

He mentioned that he used to work at the Evil Infant Tribunal, so I'm wondering if he could possibly be a Wuma Sinners?

Hearing this Cheng Shi chuckled:

"That's interesting; that's the most problematic part."

You might not know, but the fire at the Evil Infant Tribunal burned the entire institution to the grounds. If he truly experienced that, he certainly couldn't be a surviving member of the Inquisition, because, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Mimi... Old Zhang had already wiped out the last remaining Wuma Sinners of Dolgo D."

"... Huh? The Gravekeeper set the fire?" Scorpio was dumbfounded. "Why would he set the fire? Was this part of our plan?"

Gao Ya had clearly guessed everything. She frowned, seemingly trying to connect the clues in front of her. Just as she vaguely guessed something, the alarm bells rang out again from the church's backyard.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

The church members around looked at the backyard in astonishment, their faces filled with shock. They couldn't believe that someone would dare to cause trouble within the church at the moment of Divine Descent.

Several older men peered out and shouted indignantly, "The library! A traitor has broken into the library!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shi was startled. "Oh no, Tullatin is back!"

With that, he snapped his fingers and disappeared from the spot, reappearing in the backyard corridor. Scorpio, who was not far away, followed him through the shadows.

Gao Ya glanced at the tentacles waving atop the tower with a flicker in his eyes, then looked in the direction of the library. After a moment of contemplation, he quickly followed.

But at that moment, the terrifying tentacles that were swinging on the tower suddenly changed direction and smashed down on the library in the church's backyard!

"Boom--"

Before Cheng Shi could even reach the library entrance, he saw a vast shadow, obscuring the moonlight, sweep over him and fall upon the ancient and magnificent building. Then, dust rose and the earth shook.

This tremor nearly flattened the entire backyard of the church, and everyone inside was even slightly lifted off the ground for a moment by the violent shaking.

Cheng Shi abruptly stopped, his face grim as he watched the ancient building before him, which held countless books and archives and sealed countless secret techniques and heretical scriptures, being directly destroyed before his eyes. His heart sank.

Is Tullatin still alive?

This so-called father is so heartless. Did he know that the person who stole things here was his son?

Or is it that whoever it is, in this chaotic night, he intends to use this terrifying attack to establish his inviolable and inviolable authority?

Cheng Shi suddenly turned around and looked at the tall tower, only to see that the figure on the tower looked even more "sacred" under the moonlight.

Standing before the tower, the patriarch Berios stared Indifference toward the library, and once again addressed his followers:

"The heretics attempt to Muddling Through the chaos in the church to unleash the sealed heresies, but my Lord has guided me to destroy these heresies and not give them any chance to succeed."

All believers returned to the hall to assemble. The church would later organize a force to systematically purge the remaining heretics from the city. The glory of [Birth] must not be desecrated by any evil!

With just this one sentence, the chaos in the church visibly subsided, and everyone gathered in the front hall. Cheng Shi, seeing that his chance to Muddling Through in the church had disappeared, frowned and hid in the resting area where the players had arrived.

He couldn't go against the flow of people now, so he had to avoid everyone's gaze before quietly searching for Tullatin's whereabouts. He didn't believe that this intelligent man would die from his own father's attack. He should know his father; he wouldn't do anything foolish at a time like this.

Even if his Faith in "Filth and Decay" was fanatical, at least he didn't lose his mind.

So Cheng Shi followed the church crowd toward the front hall, where he met up with Scorpio and Gao Ya again. As soon as he entered the front hall, he took advantage of the chaos in the crowd to run toward the lounge.

Just as the three were about to push open the door, they heard a hoarse voice calling to them from the end of the corridor.

Cheng Shi froze, turned around abruptly, and saw that the person peeking out from the end of the corridor looked somewhat familiar!

Look at that figure...

"My brother, over here, I'm over here!"

"Tullatin!?"

Cheng Shi stared in shock, his eyes widening. He immediately led his men over, but when he turned the corner and saw Tullatin's current appearance, his pupils contracted slightly.

Not only him, but Scorpio and Gao Ya were also stunned, one staring blankly, the other seemingly lost in thought.

"No, how could you...?"

"What, my brother, don't you recognize me?"