799 Provocation

Lumian wasn't surprised that Gusain indirectly referred to himself as the second most dangerous person in Morora. Instead, he smiled and asked, "What have you done? I mean, what have you done in Morora?"

Gusain's smile faded as he spoke seriously.

"Organized uprisings.

"We're already in the City of Exiles. Why should we still accept the rule of the Church of Knowledge? We should unite and drive them out of Morora. Then, we'll make our own rules and govern ourselves!"

Ignoring other factors, your words do make some sense. But the issue is, if we overthrow the Church's rule, why stay in Morora? Is this the influence of 0-01? The residents of Morora never consider leaving the city... Fortunately, I have a false Angel rank and all sorts of random items, so I'm only somewhat reluctant to leave, not entirely devoid of such thoughts... Lumian first confirmed the abnormalities of Morora from Gusain's response, then understood why people considered Gusain the second most dangerous person in Morora.

Uprisings were something the Church of Knowledge wouldn't allow, and given the information on 0-01, Gusain must have organized multiple uprisings and still hadn't been caught and added to the experimental subjects!

This was enough to show that this gentleman-like mature man was not simple.

Seeing that Louis wasn't scared by his words and didn't show obvious resistance, Gusain extended an invitation, "Would you like to join our group?"

"I'll think about it," Lumian replied with a smile.

He really intended to consider it. This might be a way to approach 0-01 without becoming an experimental subject.

He believed that this ragtag group, unable to resist the influence of 0-01, couldn't truly overthrow the Church's rule in Morora, but he needed chaos and opportunity.

These exiles could die, and the Church of Knowledge personnel here seemed to be puppets.

Gusain smiled in satisfaction.

"Being a prisoner in this open-air prison or becoming its ruler, being perpetually oppressed or pursuing freedom, it indeed requires careful consideration."

With that, Gusain glanced at the other side of the small square and said, "I must take my leave now. If you decide, hang a red cloth, the kind used to taunt bulls, at the door of the Carnivore bar."

With that, Gusain removed his hat, placed a hand on his chest, and bowed.

Watching him walk into a nearby alley at a leisurely pace, Lumian saw a group of black-robed enforcers hurrying from the opposite side of the small square.

"Did you see Gusain just now? He looks like a gentleman with a hat," the leader asked Lumian.

Lumian's smile widened, and he casually pointed to the alley Gusain had entered.

"Yes, he went that way."

The enforcers stared at Lumian for a couple of seconds before continuing to pursue Gusain.

Lumian raised his right hand, rubbed his chin, and murmured to himself, Gusain sensed the enforcers' arrival in advance, but I didn't...

Is that why he's managed to organize multiple uprisings without being caught?

Is it his ability, an item, or the special corruption from 0-01?

Lumian didn't linger in the small square, bidding farewell to Vijepan's corpse, and continued towards the possible location of the Abscessed Hand's head.

After turning into another street, he suddenly had a premonition and looked towards the edge of the city of Morora.

The ground shook violently, earth and stones surged up, swallowing several buildings and forming a mountain about ten meters high.

At the mountain's peak, thick dust mixed with smoke erupted, red lava flowed, emitting heat that Lumian could clearly feel even in the city center.

At the same time, the screams of humans from that direction echoed far and wide.

A volcanic eruption? Lumian was stunned.

He had thought the volcanic eruptions described in the 0-01 information came from the surrounding mountains, not from within the city on flat ground!

After a few seconds, the dust obscured the sky, plunging Morora back into darkness.

Passersby showed no extra reaction, merely covering their noses to block the dust, treating it as just another heavy rain.

Lumian shook his head as he watched.

In such living conditions, Gusain and his people hadn't thought of escaping, only planning to overthrow the Church's rule and replace it. No wonder this is a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact...

Lumian, who restored himself at six every morning, remained unafraid of the dust and resumed his steps.

He crossed the street and arrived at a square with multiple obelisks. In the dusty environment, he moved along the buildings around the square towards his destination.

Suddenly, he felt a resonance, a connection from his special powers.

Lumian quickly turned and looked at the classical building made of gray-white stones beside him.

At the top hung a large sign with words written in Lenburg: Dades Agricultural Company Below the sign, two glass windows suddenly opened, revealing a figure.

The figure, wearing a thin white shirt with the top two buttons undone despite the cold winter, had hair like it was stained with fresh blood, iron-black eyes, and sharp facial features, exuding a fierce aura.

No introduction was needed; Lumian identified the figure from the sign and the resonating aura.

The most dangerous criminal in Morora, former experimental subject Wanak!

Did the resonance just now come from the direct corruption of 0-01?

Did the law of convergence lead to this encounter?

Did Wanak escape the status of an experimental subject because he completely submitted to 0-01?

Is he now 0-01's proxy in Morora?

This Sealed Artifact, despite lacking wisdom, instinctively seeks opportunities to break free from its seal?

As Lumian's thoughts raced, the suspected Wanak suddenly transformed into a blazing-white flame spear, filled with destructive energy, and flew at him.

Lumian's figure instantly disappeared without reappearing.

He directly teleported closer to the Abscessed Hand's head. In his ears echoed the taunting voice of the suspected Wanak, "Coward! Chicken!"

Lumian snorted, not turning back to fight the man.

I'Ill first gather the Abscessed Hand's body!

He feared the intense battle might lead to unforeseen events, making contact with 0-01 before he collected all the body parts, resulting in uncontrollable consequences.

Moreover, the aura and the flame spear the suspected Wanak displayed suggested he might have a trace of godhood. Even if not truly Sequence 4, he had fundamentally differed from a Sequence 5 Beyonder.

Demigods couldn't approach 0-01, but maybe pseudo-demigod proxies created by 0-01 weren't subject to this rule!

Lumian looked ahead, finding himself in the boundless cemetery behind the Church of Knowledge, surrounded by gravestones and trees.

Uh... Lumian was momentarily stunned, then felt it made sense.

The bar owner-cum-chef having half of the Abscessed Hand's body and using it was an anomaly. Normally, anyone, even a felon, encountering a rotting corpse split into multiple parts would first call the enforcers to clean up the scene. The enforcers would then bury the body in this cemetery as part of the seal.

Of course, this was a normal assumption, excluding those with a penchant for corpses.

Lumian moved forward, approaching the source of the subtle connection.

During this, he remembered something.

Madam Magician said dangerous things might happen once the Abscessed Hand's body is gathered. It's best to complete this step within the City of Exiles to offset the corresponding risks with the presence of 0-01...

If I get the Hand Bro's head later, does that count as gathering the body?

Will that cause dangerous events?

Maybe I should wait a bit longer? Wait for dangerous and difficult-to-handle situations before teleporting back to gather Hand Bro's body to create unknown risks and muddy the waters?

I can't face the dangers of the Hand Bro alone; sharing is caring...

Also, Madam Magician implied that the Hand Bro might break the seal and enter Morora once its body is gathered?

Otherwise, how could it be considered complete...

Normally, not even a messenger can be summoned, nor a contract creature...

This might help me escape Morora...

As Lumian pondered, he stopped at a recently filled pit without a tombstone.

His contract mark told him a part of the Abscessed Hand's body was in this pit.

Seeing the unusually fresh marks on the pit's surface, Lumian felt a tightness in his chest. He crouched down, extended his hands, and performed a directional blast.

With the rumbling sound of explosions, he blew away a large amount of soil and unearthed a black wooden box from the bottom of the pit.

Opening the box, Lumian saw a highly decomposed, blue-black, swollen ear and a folded white paper.

Lumian unfolded the paper, seeing words written in Intisian:

"As expected, you want this rotten head.

"But unfortunately, I got it before you went to the Carnivore bar and hid it.

"Maybe you can ask me for it.

"Albus Medici."