Sudden Upheaval

Flames shot into the sky. The air shimmered in the heat, while rolling smoke carried the smell of charred wood and the strange aroma of roasting flesh through the streets.

The streets were still in chaos. Battle cries, chanting, and screams rang out without end.

Inner-Seer, Inner Eye, Inner-Seeing Network, Red Reishi.

In the space of a few sentences, Lord Bai had spilled a whole heap of interconnected new concepts.

Although Xia Lun considered his Intelligence reasonably good, hearing so many unfamiliar concepts at once left him briefly at a loss. It was like asking someone who had never studied functions to suddenly teach himself complex analysis.

He blinked, then decided not to puzzle out what the concepts meant. His instincts told him they had nothing to do with clearing the Scenario.

His current goal was to get information about the "Ritual" out of Lord Bai. Everything else was optional.

"You may not understand, and you may not care to listen," Lord Bai said through a Fungus Zombie. "Frankly, we can't be bothered to explain, either. It's far too complicated to put into words. If you're willing to trust us, you can insert this into your eyeball. Then you, too, will open your Inner Eye."

As it spoke, the Fungus Zombie pulled a red mushroom from its eye socket. It looked like a snail's feeler. Then it held the mushroom out to Xia Lun.

"I don't need it." Xia Lun shook his head, deliberately adopting an aggressive tone. "I'm not interested. Tell me about the Man in the Flesh's Ritual instead."

The six fungus-infested Cultists sighed in unison, as though deeply disappointed. Then they spoke as one.

"We have a proposal. Accept it, and we'll tell you everything about the Ritual."

Xia Lun's mouth twitched. The scene felt oddly familiar.