"Dear Collector, if you are truly the Collector himself, please accept my sincerest apology...
The hooded man gave Li Fan a long look, then finally pulled back his hood, revealing a face covered in scars.
He looked like a mixed-race man.
His skin was smooth as a baby's, but enormous scars crisscrossed his entire face, making it look as if it had been pieced together from different faces.
The hooded man's gaze was utterly sincere. Smiling, he said:
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Huo Lei of the Unity Society."
His smile was full of confidence. Clearly, he had faith in his own reputation.
He waited for the other side to react with surprise.
Instead, when the Cleaning Association members heard his name, they exchanged bewildered glances.
Old Sun leaned over and asked Auntie Zhang in a low voice:
"Who's Huo Lei? Is there someone by that name in the Unity Society?"
Auntie Zhang replied:
"Maybe he's some minor member. The Unity Society is a small organization to begin with. I only know that its leader is called Eisen and its chef is Tiago. I haven't heard much about anyone else."
Mother turned to Father and asked earnestly:
"Old Li, have you heard of him?"
Father immediately shook his head, looking completely baffled.
Seeing that the people opposite him had never even heard of him, Huo Lei's brow twitched. He tried to maintain his composure and said:
"I humbly serve as the Unity Society's Third Chef."
Only then did the Cleaning Association members narrow their eyes and take Huo Lei seriously.
Li Fan raised an eyebrow, growing wary as well.
According to the Unity Society's beliefs, all of humanity—and even every living creature on Blue Star—was actually food for the Lord of Unity.
And the entire world was the Lord of Unity's kitchen.
All members of the Unity Society were chefs, preparing delicacies to offer to the Lord of Unity.
The Unity Society's combat hierarchy was arranged accordingly.
Apart from the leader, its ten strongest members were ranked in order: Head Chef, Second Chef, Third Chef, and all the way down to Tenth Chef.
At first, the titles sounded bizarre and amusing. But after seeing the evil these "chefs" committed, it was hard to laugh.
Anyone who fell into the Unity Society's hands usually ended up as a heap of mush.
Rumor had it they did everything to offer sacrifices to the Lord of Unity, please the divine, and gain power—as well as bring about the god's descent.
In a hoarse voice, Li Fan said:
"To me, you're no different from a restaurant chef... Answer my question."
Huo Lei didn't seem offended. Smiling, he continued:
"I knew you were dead because I had an agent in the Advent Society. A month ago, you nearly destroyed its headquarters. Later, I went there and retrieved my subordinate's eyeball."
"Then I used a secret art of the Unity Society to obtain the images he'd seen before he died. Tsk, what a brutal slaughter. I finally understood how you earned the top spot on the Collector's wanted list."
"But I also saw something interesting. Before they died, all thirty-five Spirit Descenders of the Advent Society injected the 'Life Curse' inside them into your body. Even you, Collector, would have had trouble resisting so many powerful curses."
"When you left, I saw your pupils beginning to dilate. You were holding on only through the strength of your remaining mental power. Your consciousness had been utterly destroyed. Or rather, the one who left that place was a corpse..."
At that, Huo Lei looked at Li Fan and asked:
"So, who exactly is standing here? The mighty Collector, or a cursed object from the Advent Society?"
His gaze swept over the Cleaning Association members beside him as well.
He was trying to drive a wedge between them.
Auntie Zhang gave a cold snort.
"The Collector's power is beyond the comprehension of a tiny organization like yours. Some cursed object from the Advent Society? It couldn't hurt him in the slightest!"
"Sir, let me kill him!"
"Even the dead wouldn't dare insult the Collector!"
Thoughts raced through Li Fan's mind as he quickly considered the possibilities.
Since the Unity Society now possessed footage of the battle at the Advent Society, killing Huo Lei wouldn't help.
The Cleaning Association members had reacted so strongly because seeds of doubt had already been planted in their minds.
He had to root them out. He had only one chance!
Li Fan spoke slowly in a low voice:
"That's right. The Collector really is dead."
His tone was open and sincere. Huo Lei's sinister eyes widened at once.
Auntie Zhang and the others beside him stared at Li Fan in shock as well.
Li Fan continued:
"After I slaughtered the trash from the Advent Society and their Life Curses backfired, my mental power plummeted. That was when I heard the call of the Lord of the Abyss!"
The Cleaning Association members lit up with joy.
As devout followers of the Lord of the Abyss, they understood what this meant.
It was a summons from the Lord of the Abyss. Many devout believers had reportedly sensed it in dreams or on a spiritual level.
"Thanks to the Lord of the Abyss's grace, my mental power has broken through once more. The Collector I once was is dead. Now, I have been reborn."
"Everything for the descent of the Lord of the Abyss."
Li Fan's voice was deep and resonant. The Cleaning Association members were swept up in it and cried out together:
"Everything for the descent of the Lord of the Abyss!"
Seeing Li Fan brush aside his verbal trap in just a few words, Huo Lei grew wary. His expression shifted, but he smiled and said:
"As expected of you, Collector. So you had already broken the Advent Society's Life Curse. Since you're the genuine article, we can discuss working together."
Li Fan said without expression:
"In ancient times, a general named Zhuang Qiao led an army to conquer this region. With his route home blocked by an enemy kingdom, he stayed here and founded the Tuo Kingdom. The ancient Tuo Kingdom practiced slavery and made human sacrifices, both living and dead..."
As Li Fan spoke, surprise flickered in Huo Lei's eyes. He clearly hadn't expected the Cleaning Association's Collector to know so much about the history of the ancient Tuo Kingdom.
"I suspect that the ancient Tuo people's fear of the Dian King caused powerful anomalies to form from their collective thoughts. What you've done is exploit the fear among modern-day residents of Gu City, rekindling their terror of the ancient Tuo Kingdom and awakening those dormant anomalies."
"The cooperation you're proposing is for us to help awaken anomalies from antiquity, turn Gu City into a hell of Amalgams, and summon the Lord of Unity. And what would we get in return? A chance to summon the Lord of the Abyss? Or perhaps the sacrifice of a million people from some part of Gu City?"
Li Fan calmly laid it all out. He had reached these conclusions based on the information he'd gathered over the past few days.
Judging by Huo Lei's stunned expression, his deductions were almost certainly right.
They matched the facts.
Huo Lei looked astonished. Clearly, he hadn't expected the Collector to figure out his plan. He gave a dry laugh. "As expected..."
"Kill him," Li Fan said.
Before you continue