A few seconds of silence followed, then Li Jiehao raised his hand. "Is it like that kind of thing, where someone secretly puts an image of an evil god in a temple of a righteous god, and then unsuspecting people go to worship, and as they worship, they gradually divert the incense offerings from the righteous god?"
"Pretty much. But currently, neither version of Morzul can be considered a true god. Whether Morzul itself split apart or there are truly two different individuals, it's all just a battle between evil gods."
Isaac asked, "Shouldn't the Church of the Golden Bough handle this? After all, if it really escalates to the level of deities, it's beyond the scope of the Joint Investigation Bureau."
"In principle, of course we should intervene. Vista, after all, the headquarters of the Church of the Golden Bough, and Lake Pote is just outside the city. The Church can't pretend it doesn't see us." Carlo paused, "But how exactly we intervene depends on the Church's own decision."
"The relevant report has already been submitted by the Joint Investigation Bureau. It remains to be seen whether the church will immediately seal off the lake area and send Golden Bough there to calm their nerves, or choose to sit and wait and see. It's more likely to be the latter."
Li Jiehao asked in bewilderment, "With an evil god causing trouble in their own backyard, how can the Church of the Righteous God remain indifferent?"
Carlo took a sip of tea. "There are reasons why she can sit still. First, it's due to her strength. No matter what, Vicania is indeed the big sister in the Western Territory. She can hold her own against anyone in a head-on confrontation, so she has the confidence."
"Secondly, let's see what big moves they're up to, and how they can draw out more parties involved."
Again, they were observing, waiting to draw out more involved parties, just like Vilka's attitude in the previous " Shepherd " Mary incident... Isaac pondered, "It seems the Church of the Golden Bough is leaning towards..."
"Living in hiding?" Li Jiehao replied.
"If the Church of the Golden Bough, the champion of the Western Territory Region of the War of the Churches, can only be described as merely surviving, then the other contestants in the region are probably just waiting to have their coffins closed," Carlo said. "However, the Church of the Golden Bough has indeed chosen to observe rather than directly suppress things with swift and decisive measures. Since you've said that, I'm sure the clever Asa has figured something out."
Isaac voiced his thoughts. "I'm wondering, if the side with overwhelming strength is always observing, could it be that they're also preparing some big move, and therefore don't intend to take the initiative and reveal their trump card?"
Li Jiehao thought about it for a moment and it seemed to make sense. Just like when you discard a winning hand in mahjong, you're definitely trying to get a bigger hand.
Carlo nodded. "That's a good guess. If the Church of the Golden Bough is really preparing for something big, then their attitude towards many things will be more inclined to observe rather than directly intervene."
Isaac, seeing that Carlo said it was good but his expression remained completely unchanged, said, "This was within your expectations, boss, wasn't it?"
"Of course, I know a little bit of the inside story."
Li Jiehao protested, "Boss, why aren't you sharing any news with everyone? What if we miss some crucial information and end up getting caught?"
Carlo glanced at him. "Knowing some information beforehand makes the problem immediately apparent."
"Yes, so--"
"Some information, once known, will be treated as a problem by others."
"Oh, this..."
"Just because they can't deal with me doesn't mean they can't deal with you. If they really could, all I'd do is protest and demand compensation." Carlo shrugged. "So it's better if you don't know."
Li Jiehao shrank back. Carlo put down his teacup, took out the ring, and tossed it to Isaac: "Find some time to go undercover. Let me know before you go."
Isaac reached out and caught it. "That's too casual."
"This is called trusting the initiative of subordinates."
"... Then I should thank you for your trust."
"Hehe, you're welcome."
Isaac had no choice but to turn to a more concrete plan. "Go find their schedule..."
"Wouldn't it be better to postpone the meeting for a few days?" Li Jiehao suggested. "If we rush to hand over the ring, wouldn't it make them think we're being too cooperative? There should be some hesitation involved, right?"
"Good idea, but being too straightforward would seem fake." Carlo nodded. "But there's a problem."
"Uh-huh?"
"If this drags on too long, the Joint Investigation Bureau won't keep the ring waiting for someone to decide to steal it. There are procedures for evidence management. Although I've kept the ring, according to standard procedures, such Wonder suspected of being directly related to the divine would be transferred to a higher-level storage facility. By then, it won't be so easy for an ordinary agent to steal it back."
"Besides, dragging it out too long is also troublesome," Carlo shifted his posture and said to Isaac, "So a more suitable scenario would be this: you receive a threat and invitation from the Cult, hesitate for a long time, unsure whether to accept. Then, you hear that the evidence is about to be handed over, and you'll probably never have access to the ring again."
Isaac continued along this line of thought, "This news was the last straw. I had to make a decision immediately: either give up and continue being an agent obediently, or take the risk, steal the ring, and exchange it for the Cult's protection."
"That's right. Someone forced to make a choice is more likely to gain the trust of another than someone who actively chooses when to side with someone," Carlo said. "So I'll have the ring go through the normal process of being transferred to the evidence vault and sealed, leaving a record for future verification."
Isaac put the ring in his pocket and continued to simulate the mindset of a "traitor": "After stealing the ring, I would go straight to Deer Lane. The theft of evidence would be discovered sooner or later, and I didn't know when it would lead back to me, so I would be in a hurry to find someone from the Cult to seek asylum... That's roughly it."
Li Jiehao raised his hand. "Um, even if we make this whole process look convincing, will the other side really believe it? What if they still think it's all a setup by the Joint Investigation Bureau?"
Isaac also felt this was a problem; a Joint Investigation Bureau agent who had been questioning them one day and then went to meet them the next day wearing a ring—it was impossible for them not to be suspicious.
The other side isn't stupid either. If they adopt a "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free" attitude, then no matter how convincing their act is, it won't work.
"Getting the other side to genuinely believe you isn't easy, of course." Carlo pulled out two dark gold dice and flipped them between his fingers. "But I have a cheat code."
"Using a test to dispel the other party's suspicions?" Isaac realized that this process wasn't about gaining the other party's trust, but rather about "reasonably" reducing the difficulty of the test to convince them.
If you simply hand over the ring without doing anything, it might be difficult to convince the other person immediately. However, if you lay the groundwork and have a complete betrayal process, the difficulty of the test will likely be much lower.
Once the verification is passed, the other party will have no choice but to believe it, whether they want to or not.