Upon hearing Mr. " The Hanged Man's" question, " The Sun " Derrick responded somewhat sheepishly:
"No, I've been constantly assigned patrol duties lately, and I haven't had a single moment to investigate."
Alger wasn't surprised by this, but he was puzzled by something else:
Why don't you ask a friend you have a certain level of acquaintance for help?
"We can keep our true purpose hidden from them, break the whole thing down into small, inconspicuous tasks, and have them gather intelligence from different sources. This way, we won't expose anything or put them in danger."
" The Sun " Derrick paused for a few seconds before saying:
I have no friends.
Before his parents died, he actually had a number of friends in his general education classes and in the fighting training arena. After all, there were only so many people of similar age in City of Silver, and they often ran into each other and even became teammates. But after that incident, Derrick became withdrawn for a long time and was burdened with the secret of the Tarot Club. Unconsciously, he gradually drifted away from his friends, became estranged, and stopped having any contact with them. The last time someone visited his house was Dark Ray Megus, who had been corrupted by the " True Creator ".
Alger, the " The Hanged Man," was taken aback by the " The Sun's" reply and took a breath before reorganizing his thoughts:
This is not a good thing for you.
"You can't save City of Silver by yourself; you need to unite a group of people, some friends who will help you in crucial moments."
"But this will make them suspicious... The Sun," he said hesitantly.
Alger immediately said seriously:
"Being suspected is always better than being murdered."
" City of Silver is at a dangerous crossroads. You must think carefully about what to do."
"It's impossible for something like this to be without sacrifice; there will likely be a lot of sacrifice. Do you hope their sacrifices are pointless or valuable?"
He didn't try to persuade him further, leaving " The Sun " Derrick to struggle internally with painful reflection on his earlier words.
Mr. The Hanged Man always manages to find a convincing reason... Klein sighed, causing "World" Gehrman Sparrow to turn his head to look at " Justice " Audrey:
Are you capable of treating more severe mental illnesses?
His understanding of the " Psychiatrist " was limited to " Frenzy " and " Dragon Might," and he was not clear about other aspects. He had only heard Miss " Justice " mention " Placate " and " Psychological Suggestion " occasionally, so he could not determine the extent of the other party's ability to treat mental illnesses.
" Justice " Audrey perked up and eagerly replied:
"Yes, no problem."
"Mr. World, do you have any friends who need treatment?"
"I'm short of cases!" she thought with a hint of excitement.
At that moment, " The Moon " Emlyn raised his right hand and covered his mouth and nose, as if he already knew the answer.
Klein sighed silently, prompting "The World" to chuckle softly:
"No, it's me who needs treatment."
The entire magnificent palace suddenly fell into extreme silence.
Alger the Hanged Man, the Hermit the Cattleya, and Fors the Magician all knew that Mr. World was a crazy adventurer, but they never imagined that he had developed a serious mental illness and was on the verge of going completely insane!
Is this the price of power? Fors shuddered, growing even more fearful of Gehrman Sparrow.
Crazy adventurers can be communicated with and reasoned with, but there's really no way to deal with Lunatic!
Even the Nightmare Candle couldn't completely cure his mental illness? It had gotten that bad? Emlyn, the " The Moon," who had anticipated this, felt that the "world" might go mad at any moment.
" The Sun " Derrick didn't think too much about it; he was simply concerned about "World." He wanted to say that there were " Psychoanalyst " in City of Silver who could provide treatment, but then he realized that this would expose too many problems, so he forced himself to shut his mouth and looked expectantly at " Justice."
" Justice," Audrey said, surprised, bewildered, and confused, carefully considering her words.
"Mr. World, based on my observation, you do not seem to have any serious mental illness."
"If it's just some anxiety or stress, at this stage you can alleviate and recover through self-regulation and proper relaxation techniques; direct treatment isn't necessary."
"The World," Gehrman Sparrow chuckled again.
You didn't notice because your previous mental illness has been cured.
"I'm just making an appointment now. If similar symptoms reappear in the future, I hope I can receive timely treatment."
"I see..." Audrey nodded in Justice.
She suddenly felt a pang of pity for Mr. "World." On the surface, he was a ruthless Reaper could kill several Sequence 5 a week, a deep and gloomy Blessed Mr. " The Fool," and a powerful and fearsome Beyonder. But deep down, he was closer to a normal person, enduring immense pressure and being eroded by various negative emotions, gradually heading towards the Abyss of pain.
After considering for a few seconds, Audrey said sincerely:
"If you're within my reach, then there's no problem."
After her coming-of-age ceremony, she gained a certain degree of autonomy. Her parents could vacation at the family castle while she stayed in City of Stoen, the capital of East Chester County. However, this freedom was still limited. She couldn't go wherever she wanted. Even in City of Stoen, there were many areas she couldn't go to unless she joined a charitable organization of the Church of the Evernight Goddess in the future.
"Alright." Klein, Grazing the " Traveler," breathed a sigh of relief, letting "the world" respond. "You'll determine the location then, and prepare a way to avoid revealing your identity."
" Justice," Audrey hummed in response, a scene naturally appearing in her mind:
She and Mr. "World" were in separate boxes in certain venues, talking and receiving treatment separated by a wall or wooden board.
In this situation, Mr. "World" can't confirm if I'm actually on the other side of the wall. For him, as long as I get effective treatment, that's enough... In other words, if I can't get away, I can have Susie squatting there! Mr. "World" would definitely find it hard to believe that the person treating him might be a dog! Hmm, Susie doesn't know about the Tarot Club. Unless there's absolutely no other way, I shouldn't let her help deal with Mr. "World"... As Audrey thought about it, she suddenly felt a mischievous pleasure and barely managed to control the slight upturn of her lips.
Having settled this matter, Klein thought of another problem and turned to "The World" to look at " The Hermit " Cattleya, saying:
"Can you provide a box of explosives?"
He believed that as a pirate general, the other party certainly had no shortage of resources in this regard!
"Yes, when do you need it?" Cattleya didn't ask why.
"World" Gehrman Sparrow has killed so many Sequence 5, a box of explosives is just a small matter.
"Give it to me along with the ' Severed Finger '," Klein said Manipulation the dummy "World." "How much?"
Cattleya replied nonchalantly:
Consider it a free gift with the purchase of the ' Severed Finger '.
A box of explosives is not expensive at sea, and is even relatively cheap.
"I like this approach..." The Fool Klein to himself, and "The World" nodded in agreement before offering a reminder:
"Try not to think about that mural in real life, let alone paint it."
" Justice " Audrey and the other members glanced instinctively at the head of the bronze table and, finding that Mr. " The Fool " had not denied the claim, all became solemn and dared not be careless.
This also temporarily put aside the idea of " The Hermit " Cattleya writing to " The Mystery Queen " Bernadette for advice on the matter, and she planned to meet her first to consider whether there was a suitable way to avoid the impact.
Next, the free exchange session gradually came to an end, and silence returned to the Gray Fog.
Back on the " Future ", " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya stood behind the captain's cabin window, clearly hesitating for a moment.
Finally, she took a long breath, then slowly exhaled, and left the captain's cabin, heading towards Frank Lee's room as she adjusted her glasses.
The first mate has recently been voted out by all the crew members and relegated to the lower decks to prevent his experimental products from suddenly spreading.
Frank Lee was quite satisfied with the new residence, as it was significantly more spacious and met the requirement of being in a dark environment.
Knock, knock, knock, Cattleya arrived at the ground floor and knocked on the door with her finger.
"Wait a minute!" Frank Lee called out, seemingly busy with something in the room.
Nearly a minute later, he opened the wooden door, his sleeves rolled up, and asked in confusion:
"Captain, is there anything I can help you with?"
Cattleya didn't answer directly. Using her "night vision" ability, she glanced into the pitch-black interior and saw a large, blue-green fish lying on the table with its eyes wide open, staring upwards. Clumps of green shoots were growing from the gaps in its scales, some of which were already mature and bearing ears of wheat.
"Did you succeed?" Cattleya asked, suppressing the urge to step back.
Frank nodded happily, then shook his head:
Not yet, but we've made significant progress!
"I hybridized wheat, mushrooms, and a little bit of ' Rose Bishop ' cells together to get the first stage product. I put them in the belly of a fish, and even without any light, they could absorb blood and flesh to grow and mature."
"The problem now is, the target is Monster corpses, and after absorbing their flesh and blood, how do we prevent toxins and madness from accumulating in the final food..."
"Furthermore, reproduction is a problem. It's impossible to have so many ' Rose Bishop ' willingly serving as materials, so they must be given the ability to absorb flesh and blood and to divide themselves..."
After listening to Frank Lee's description, " Admiral of Stars " Cattleya silently adjusted her glasses and said:
"If such food were eaten by humans, would it absorb flesh and blood and reproduce itself?"
Frank Lee fell into deep thought, and after a few seconds said:
Theoretically, no, because no one would eat them raw.
"Hmm, I need to verify their activity under high temperatures. No, they don't yet have the ability to divide themselves, so whether they're active or not isn't important..."
Seeing Frank Lee in a state of confusion, Cattleya was once again caught in a dilemma.
After a long while, she slowly spoke:
"I have access to the Beyonder Characteristic of the ' Druid,' do you need them?"
"Ah? Of course!" Frank exclaimed excitedly. "Many times, my abilities have severely limited my ideas!"
This... I'm starting to regret it... This thought suddenly popped into Cattleya's mind.
P. S.: I recommend a novel by a friend, *Faith in Twilight *. He said he felt relieved after I recommended it, and that if anything went wrong later, he could blame it on me—no, I mean, my jinxing. The synopsis is: A noble young man who just wanted to hunt and fish awakens a dream system at the age of seventeen, gaining experience in another world. At the same time, a rich mine is discovered in his family's territory, plunging them into a power struggle among high-ranking nobles. Is all of this a coincidence or Fate?