Act 4: The Grand Design

[Part 1: The Bet with the Devil]

After making her harsh remarks, Marquis Gloria Sebastian instructed her steward, Mr. Sirius, to treat the guests well.

Bu Liuxing was quite certain that without using other powerful psionic items and finding an unconventional way to break the deadlock, he simply couldn't protect the crew of the Nostalgia with the soul power of [Mr. Wei Meng Rap].

He was already deeply involved in this gamble; he had signed the contract of servitude, taken the vial of blood, and the contract was officially established.

To put it more humorously, at least Meteor is a contract worker. Although it's only a verbal agreement, judging from Lady Goelia's style, before the official outcome of the bet, this arrogant and passionate devil will still sit elegantly in the main seat of the church. Apart from the human chips for each bet, she won't harm anyone else.

This is what Ming Ge said—the easiest enemy to deal with, yet also the most difficult to deal with.

These types of leaders possess a way of thinking that is difficult for ordinary people to understand, have extraordinary demeanor and personal charisma, have many loyal henchmen, and have a strong team cohesion and fighting spirit—it is absolutely wishful thinking to try to use sweet words or cunning schemes to drive away enemies.

Unlike the interest groups led by other Wings of Light, Meteor, in the short half hour he had been in contact with Gloria, had already convinced himself that the demons and monsters under this woman's command would never harbor any ill intentions towards their master. This duchess's aura was simply too dazzling. Even disregarding the bizarre ability of [Sing for me], and without using dice to win people's hearts, this enchantress, with her mouth, martial arts skills, and a body blessed by holy blood, was enough to make her an omnipotent god in the eyes of the blood-granting units.

Demons and monsters might persecute the Demon King and attempt to ascend his throne, but upon seeing the dazzling light of the gods, they would only kneel and beg for mercy, trying to emulate this evil deity. Moreover, with the help of [Sing for me], these demons' minions could also possess the ability to foresee good fortune and misfortune. In this way, Gloria could indeed call herself the Goddess of Wine, an incarnation of the Goddess of Fertility, and the afterimage left by the sun of Shambhala as it walked among humans.

She was nothing like mob boss Lawrence Madison —she didn't talk about family matters but was all about business behind the scenes. She didn't use family ties to consolidate her gang's rule.

Unlike Johnny the God of Love, she doesn't employ the high-pressure management style of Puritans, nor does she create a sense of unease within the Religious order like a company, nor does she try to establish herself as a merciful religious leader.

She was exactly like that, both inside and out. Her arrogance was similar to that of other members of the Immortals Alliance, but she was less servile and greasy George Joshua, and her soul power far surpassed that of Pellegrini.

Why is it said to be the easiest to deal with?

Because Lady Goelia had already delivered the challenge to Bu Liuxing--

--Apart from that, there is nothing to hold back. As long as we can defeat the special psychic power of [Sing for me] and control the dice of fate, everything will become clear.

Why is it considered the most difficult to deal with?

Because there are no shortcuts on this path, the enemy's soul power is extremely strong, and any unexpected situation will result in a near-death experience. It requires exhausting all efforts to fight a tough and arduous battle.

How do I do it? How do I overcome the dice rules of [Sing for Me]? How do I kill this Immortals?

Meteor was not particularly cunning; he followed Butler Parker back to his guest room and privately discussed the matter with his two friends from the Fairy Tale Kingdom.

The guest room had a large collection of books on its bookshelves. Duran rummaged through the room, checking for hidden cameras, electrical circuits, and other eavesdropping and surveillance devices one by one—in enemy territory, her heart was constantly in her throat.

Back when Duran was helping Lawrence with his drug business in the Little Brotherhood, she was just as shrewd. Neither psionic abilities nor modern electronic listening devices could escape her notice. This counter-surveillance awareness allowed her to survive until the day the Nameless One arrived.

After thoroughly checking everything, she was finally certain that the guest room was clean and that no one else was spying or eavesdropping.

"[Timeline]! -- Bite him!"

The spirit of the White Snake darted out from Duran's shoulder, and a python as thick as a wrist arched up.

This was the first time Meteor had ever seen it. Without saying a word, it lunged at General of Tears's neck!

"What are you doing!" Caught off guard, the armored warrior, eager to protect his master, grabbed the weak White Snake's vital spot with both hands.

Immediately, finger marks appeared on Duran's neck. Her face turned ashen, and she slammed her fist into Bu Liuxing, letting out a hissing cry, "I need to talk to you!"

"Oh," A Xing said as if waking from a dream, only then remembering the wonderful uses of a spirit.

Sometimes, psychics don't need to speak or write letters to transmit messages.

As long as spirits open their hearts to each other and intertwine in contact, they can understand each other's thoughts.

This sentiment exists in moments of life-or-death struggle, and also in moments of flesh and blood colliding.

The White Snake previously shared the psychic power of [Timeline] with FE204863 using this technique. As long as the spirit bites FE204863's neck, it can hear the other's thoughts and share the power of [Timeline].

The sharp fangs pierced A Xing's carotid artery, almost reaching the spinal cord.

At this moment, Flavia's expression turned strange. This was the first time her assistant Duran, had acted so intimately with another man in front of her—she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was clear she was a little angry.

A cold and foul-smelling Inspiration Pressure slowly seeped into Meteor's throat and neck, and the landscape of the room became distorted and hazy, as if the psionic tides of [Timeline] were affecting his bioelectric system, causing his brain to make incorrect judgments.

He felt dizzy, and Duran's thoughts echoed in his mind.

"Why did you agree to this bet? General of Tears, I don't understand."

Bu Liuxing didn't speak, but his soul had already answered, "I can't run away. Lady Goelia's target has always been me—and perhaps you and Flavia as well. The three of us are all psionicists."

"You know what? For someone like me, the biggest weakness isn't dying on the battlefield, and the saddest thing isn't losing to the enemy."

"My deepest fear and most formidable inner demon is seeing innocent, helpless victims die before my eyes, and being powerless to stop it, fearing it, hating it, and being trapped in it."

"To use a wonderful metaphor—a man is like a lion, his whole body is a weapon, but his manhood is out of his hands; even the king of beasts can only flee in terror."

"Unlike Ming Ge, he might temporarily retreat to regroup and prepare to return safely for revenge."

"If I escape and cannot overcome this obstacle, then the inner demon that I defeated when I faced the Apostle Hound and the Flash Butterfly in Eureka Volcano City will return to me."

"This is my personality, an essential quality I cannot eliminate, and a crucial factor that constitutes who I am."

"Captain Quack is a very nice person, and the crew is also very nice."

"Both you and Flavia are very good."

"I think you went through so much trouble to find a new home."

"But that Gloria has turned you into human pawns. In the face of dice, Flavia is almost powerless to resist, and perhaps you are the same, Duran, you are the same too—you will never be able to leave East Horse Port, or even leave this church."

"Gloria Sebastian is the rule-maker; she possesses a set of dice laws. If I don't take this cup of blood and refuse this appointment, my fate will probably be no better than that of Old Bones —we can't violently defy the law; we don't have the power to change our destiny."

"Perhaps in just a few words, I will be persuaded by this devil, deceived by her, and intimidated by her—and thus obediently become a puppet on a string."

"You should be able to sense that [Timeline] has excellent reconnaissance capabilities. In your eyes, that extraordinary being, that inconceivable soul power, should be able to evolve into many different tragic endings—I'm afraid I've already lost many times?"

Duran's expression turned extremely ugly, because Meteor was right.

[Timeline]' ability is to speculate and infer various changes in the future based on existing information. Although her soul power calculation ability is limited and many changes may occur, she has already seen twelve different endings during the confrontation between Meteor and Gloria.

No matter how the meteor struggles or resists, whether it uses force to confront the enemy directly or uses its will to fight against the Soul Power Dice of [Sing For Me].

The results that Duran saw all led to failure, either death or complete transformation into Blood-giving Monster by Gloria. The General of Tears was as vulnerable as an infant in front of this duchess.

But to her surprise, Bu Liuxing took the Holy Blood and walked out of that terrifying restaurant.

This is a future that [Timeline] cannot comprehend. Duran's soul is not resilient enough. Even with her brain operating at overclocked speed, before she becomes a [Modern Siren], she still cannot fathom the true thoughts of these important figures.

If the optimal solution is followed, Duran would remind Meteor to drink the Holy Blood, escape the church, find the Universal Elixir to heal the Holy Blood within him, and then call upon the Nameless One's companions to carry out the assault mission.

But if she did that, she and Flavia might not live to see the next day, or they might have to compromise and return to the embrace of the Madness Butterfly Sect.

She dared not speak, dared not make a choice, dared not speak out. This was Bu Liuxing's "optimal solution," but also the moment when Duran and Flavia were facing imminent disaster.

The moment the Old Bones appeared, the story told by [Timeline] underwent a new change.

This powerful spacetime disturbance gave Duran a splitting headache. The domineering and tyrannical psionic tide compressed several minutes into a mere instant, like turning a wet towel back into a high-pressure state and stuffing it all into her hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Before Bu Liuxing's round ended, she dared not use the [Timeline] ability again.

"I understand. I will fully support you. Although my soul power is not good at combat, it can more or less help you point out several possibilities for the future."

[Part ②: Tailors and Singers]

After listening to Meteor's thoughts, Duran still had a complicated expression. She first stated her position and then asked about Meteor's plans.

"What are you planning to do? Are you going to keep the appointment properly tomorrow morning?"

Meteor shook her head, sat cross-legged on the bed, and wore an innocent smile on her face.

"--What do you think? If you were me, what would you do?"

Duran put himself in the general's shoes and wondered what he would do if he were General of Tears.

Since Gloria Sebastian's abilities were limited to communication and interaction, and she had not been beaten by the Duchess, she knew very little about this enemy's combat capabilities. Therefore, [Timeline] could not predict the outcome of the fight between Bu Liuxing and Gloria.

Leaving aside these complex factors, let's just talk about Bu Liuxing's personality.

Duran's expression immediately changed, and he even seemed to find it both funny and exasperating.

"You need to go to the dressing room."

Bu Liuxing: "That's right."

Duran: "Tonight, now?"

Bu Liuxing: "Yes."

Duran: "Find Berloberg, and preferably find the gun."

Bu Liuxing: "That's right."

Duran: "Talk to the butler, Parker, and find out which room Gloria sleeps in, what her sleeping habits are, and how well she sleeps."

Bu Liuxing: "Don't you understand me very well?"

"Then kick down her door and try to fight her?" Duran finished speaking and then inexplicably started laughing.

Bu Liuxing corrected him, "It wasn't a desperate attempt; it was a sneak attack. If the plan succeeds, there won't be any of those inexplicable thirteen bets. I only need to drink a cup of blood wine, have a one-on-one dice game with her, and then use Berloberg to perform brain surgery on her."

"But..." Duran's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "You know you only have a 27% chance of success."

"So we have to launch a sneak attack," A Xing explained his "night raid, first strike, big success" plan with a straight face. Just like all his previous "charge ahead and kick down the door first" plans, his eyes were still full of innocence, a foolishness untouched by wisdom. "She definitely wouldn't expect me to stay up all night. I know this kind of person best! They value agreements and promises more than life itself! All they dream about is tomorrow's gamble!"

Duran started scratching his head, feeling like a new brain was growing in his head.

She thought of many ways, and Hunwei kept silently offering suggestions, such as setting the house on fire, poisoning it with Universal Elixir, or using explosives to cheat. If all else failed, she could consult with Old Bones to see if they could persuade the arbitrator.

But what the General of Tears said seems to have some merit—because any conspiracy or trickery seems so ridiculous in the face of an absolute power disparity.

Even after all thirteen rounds, when Bu Liuxing finally stands before Gloria, won't he still have to go through a dice battle, gambling his life against the devil?

Now things are simple. Meteor took off the pajamas sent from the church cloakroom, changed back into her travel clothes, and was about to rush out the door. The communication between the White Snake and the General of Tears's spirit was also severed.

Duran stood there stunned, unable to recover for a long time. She was overwhelmed by the powerful spiritual force and shocked by the so-called "sneak attack plan."

She didn't follow, because the meteor had emphasized this to her before it left.

"Protect yourself, protect Flavia."

"I am a hero! A hero does not desert his post! Duran!"

This kid seems to have never grown up. Whether it's the lines he speaks or his smug and self-satisfied demeanor, he's no different from ten years ago.

On the other side--

--A new guest has arrived at the cloakroom.

Just after 11 a. m., a tailor from the East Horse Port Industrial Park brought her daughter to see Lady Goelia.

Parker, the butler, checked the schedule and found the Duchess had added this new visit request.

"Hello! Mr. Derek!"

The old tailor looked robust, with thick, black hair and beard, and a pair of bright blue eyes. He was among the first immigrants to arrive in Great Xia from the Western Continent with Lady Goelia. He made clothes at Hujiawan in East Horse Port, and most of the clothes used to entertain guests in the Church of Dionysus's cloakroom were his creations.

His full name is Derrick Jokic, and the red-haired girl behind him Christina Don—according to the tailor himself, the daughter takes her mother's surname.

"Gloria has entered a meditative state; she does not receive visitors at this time." Sirius Parker looked embarrassed. "The visit was originally scheduled for tomorrow morning; what brings you here at night?"

When Mr. Derek spoke of Chabang Chinese, his voice was low and deep, with a hint of secret delight.

"I brought my full set of tools, all my best and most valuable equipment. As soon as I received the Duchess's call, I dropped everything and rushed over."

Parker looked puzzled. "Isn't it supposed to be tomorrow morning?"

"It is indeed set for tomorrow morning," Derek replied. "But the bet didn't say I couldn't come early, did it?"

"That's true," Parker murmured.

Derek brandished his fabric cutter and scissors, opened his coat, revealing rows of sharp fabric shuttles hanging in the inner pocket. Tailoring was his specialty; gambling and fighting were merely hobbies. However, what he truly loved was his life, and this was the first opponent that Gloria had prepared for the General of Tears.

The old tailor continued.

"My [The Grand Design] can come in handy again. It has always been my honor to serve the Duchess. I will certainly live up to her summons."

At this point, the tailor lowered his voice and whispered among himself.

"And the bet didn't say I couldn't slit someone's throat while they were asleep, did it, Mr. Parker?"

Parker finally realized. "Oh! You're going to launch a sneak attack? You're going to cheat?"

"Shh," Derek explained, "It's a surprise; telling you about it will make it not work."

People came and went in the dressing room, and the maids listened to the conversation between the butler and the guests, but they just let it go in one ear and out the other, pretending not to hear it at all.

Bu Liuxing was sitting next to him, clutching Berloberg's sword holster. He hadn't had time to take out his gun and check the ammunition yet. Hearing these words, he didn't have time to take out the shotgun shells, nor was he embarrassed to take out a firearm in front of others. He just stared at the metal objects in the coat and glanced at the girl behind Derek.

The girl's face was bloodless, deathly pale, her eyes sunken as if they had lost all moisture, and her pupils dilated. Combined with her bright red and green singing girl costume and the leather collar around her neck, everything looked so eerie.

The old tailor, Derek, sensed strange gazes and, following the direction of the look, saw Bu Liuxing standing behind Butler Parker.

—This delicate atmosphere was about to continue, he glanced at Parker's butler.

Meteor also glanced at Parker's butler. Parker was caught in a dilemma, unsure of what to say, so he smiled at the two of them one after another.

The three exchanged glances, then remained motionless.

Until the Old Bones crawled out of the closet, passed through the wall, floated to Parker's side, and leaned against the butler's shoulder, its empty eyes blazing with blue flames. Even without an expression, one could tell the skeleton's face was etched with emotion.

--It was a micro-expression full of playful mockery.

"Am I supposed to keep waiting, Parker? Your turn isn't over yet?"