The evening sun was gathering its last ray of light, and faint starlight had gradually appeared in the dim sky; everything seemed so peaceful, as if the farce from not long ago had never happened.
This was, of course, not true; it was just that Mo Tan, who was standing not far outside Patto City at this moment, could not hear the noise and clamor within the city.
The Evil Cultists incident had brought an impact to this small city no less than an earthquake, and there was no possibility of it calming down in a short time.
In fact, as time went on, it was even possible that a large number of relevant individuals would come here in the future to gather intelligence or fish in troubled waters.
Therefore, there was no longer any reason to stay here...
"Besides, I should have been noticed by Theocrats by now," Mo Tan chuckled, "Although they might not focus too much attention on a small person for too long, or perhaps didn't care from the beginning, I should still keep a low profile for a while..."
To be honest, even he himself didn't believe that.
Although entrusting the Thieves' Guild to send exaggerated news like 'Evil God Descent in Patto City' to the Holy Domain would certainly cause Mo Tan a lot of trouble, he had just gained a lot of interesting information and had no intention of resting now, at least not when he was in his current personality.
Mo Tan stretched comfortably and continued walking south through the forest, far from the main road.
The fresh smell of earth always invigorated him, and the dry air made him feel comfortable.
Moreover, there seemed to be no Legend-level monsters like 'mosquitoes' in the Innocent Continent, so he felt very pleasant walking through the forest like this.
A few minutes later...
Four figures suddenly emerged from behind trees not far in front of Mo Tan; two of them gave him a friendly smile, while the other two, who were older, had rather complex but still friendly expressions.
Cole, Xiao Ai, Bayes, and Lei Duo had been waiting here for a long time...
"Sorry, I'm late~" Mo Tan showed no surprise, just raised an eyebrow and apologized insincerely, then glanced at Bayes and Lei Duo, chuckling, "I thought you would be eager to go back and have a passionate time after sending them here."
Bayes' face flushed slightly as he turned his head away, while Lei Duo, being a woman, completely abandoned her elegant image she had maintained for many years, rolling her eyes and saying, "That's not urgent; we're just a bit worried about these two children."
"Two?" Mo Tan glanced at Xiao Ai, saw that the little priestess's expression was firm and persistent, and then curled his lips into a half-smile: "I hope you consider this carefully, little girl."
The little priestess, who was once as innocent as a blank sheet of paper, shook her head: "I have thought it through very clearly, sir; this place is not suitable for me, and there is nothing worth lingering for."
Mo Tan looked at Cole again, narrowing his eyes slightly: "I should have only agreed to take you alone."
"I tried," Cole said with a wry smile, "but the effect... was almost nonexistent."
"You saved my life," Ai Fan Ye showed the most serious expression of her life, and said softly to Mo Tan, "and avenged my companions.
In the name of the sun god Tisu, I am willing to follow your footsteps forever and serve by your side."
She spoke these words, which were almost a vow, without hesitation.
One must know that in this world, declarations made in the name of a god are incredibly solemn and sacred, especially when spoken by a holy person.
The consequences of breaking such an oath would certainly be no better than Dave's.
Mo Tan shrugged: "I thought followers of the gods wouldn't have any good feelings towards me."
Xiao Ai smiled: "So you agreed?"
"No," Mo Tan immediately shook his head, then raised a finger and waved it, "I'm not particularly interested in what you just said, unless..."
He paused slightly: "Unless you swear to follow me in your own name."
"Good!" Xiao Ai was immediately overjoyed: "I..."
"Wait a moment!" Bayes suddenly interrupted her at this point, crossing his arms and looking at Mo Tan, saying in a deep voice, "Before that, I want to know, who exactly are you... otherwise, I don't intend to let Cole and that girl leave with you."
Cole immediately turned pale: "Uncle!"
Xiao Ai also looked at him with some confusion: "Uncle Bayes?"
"You are too dangerous..." Bayes ignored the two of them, just walked in front of Mo Tan, looking directly into his eyes and whispering, "Honestly, I have never seen anyone like you.
You are like a wise man, a gambler, a madman, a demon, and even a bit like a hero."
Mo Tan tilted his head: "And then?"
"I don't know which one is the real you." The old man, who had quite a story, sighed, "So I really can't rest assured letting my only nephew and another naive little girl leave with you, so I want you to tell me yourself, who exactly are you!"
"Don't you already have the answer yourself?" Mo Tan smiled at the somewhat bewildered Bayes: "A wise man, a gambler, a madman, a demon, a hero... I can be all of them, and of course, none of them, it depends on the surrounding environment and my mood."
Bayes was stunned for a long time after hearing this, and finally, he showed a wry smile, looking at Cole: "Are you serious?"
"Yes," Cole nodded, "I have never been so serious."
Xiao Ai on the side immediately said, "Me too!"
At this moment, Mo Tan spread his hands towards Bayes: "If you want to force them back, I have no objection, of course, even if I did, it wouldn't be of much use, my strength is very weak~"
"Yes, it's quite weak, I can tell." Bayes rolled his eyes: "But that doesn't stop you from casually tricking two Lang Ens, whom I couldn't even defeat combined, and a bunch of Theocrats.
Alas..."
He looked deeply at Cole, then turned towards Patto City: "If you don't regret it, then go ahead."
With that, he walked away without looking back, and Lei Duo, after giving the three a slight smile, quickly followed him.
"If you don't want to get into trouble," Mo Tan said with a laugh behind them, "if anyone asks, just tell them everything about me honestly.
Believe me, it's harmless."
Bayes' footsteps paused, but he still didn't turn back: "We'll weigh these things ourselves."
"He's showing off~" Lei Duo turned back and smiled charmingly: "Thank you for this time, don't worry about us."
Then the two quickly vanished into the quietly approaching night.
Perhaps they had too much to say to each other...
"This night~" Mo Tan looked in the direction they left, and chuckled, "Perhaps for many people, it will be very, very long..."
Cole and Xiao Ai couldn't help but exchange a knowing smile, and more than that, a sense of relief.
The difference was that Cole's relief carried a hint of anticipation for the future, while Xiao Ai's smile seemed somewhat melancholic.
However, Mo Tan had no intention of giving them too much time for reminiscence...
"Take these." Mo Tan tossed them two money bags: "You two go directly to Calan City now, don't rush too much, you can stop at any villages, towns, or small forests along the way.
I'll meet up with you within three days, and we'll discuss the rest then."
Xiao Ai was slightly stunned: "Then you..."
"I have other things to do," Mo Tan said with a smile, "Don't ask stupid questions."
...
Soon, Mo Tan was alone again.
He casually found a place to sit down and began to count his spoils.
There was a reason he casually gave Cole and the others two bags of money; the spoils he had plundered from the Whisper Sect's stronghold in Patto City were incredibly rich.
First, there was a large amount of external wealth, totaling about two thousand gold coins.
Thanks to the non-standard game system, these heavy metals, once in his bag, directly turned into a string of numbers and could be taken out as small money bags for use at any time.
It was definitely a huge sum of money; Mo Tan still remembered that Ya Ya's compensation for tearing down half of someone's house was less than a hundred gold coins.
Then there were various potions, which will not be listed one by one here; they were mostly common recovery and enhancement potions, with a small amount of high-quality slow-acting poisons among them.
In terms of equipment, there were also some gains.
Mo Tan found many weapons and armors inside, but he couldn't use many of them.
There were only a few he could equip immediately; let's talk about them when he goes online next time...
And then, the most important thing was...
Information about the Whisper Sect!
The contents made Mo Tan very happy, because this was not a weak cult organization that was only city-based; in fact, a character like Lang En was at most a middle-to-lower-level manager in the Whisper Sect, and the Patto City branch that Mo Tan had eradicated was just the tip of the iceberg...
And given his current personality, if any unlucky iceberg showed a corner in front of him, it was highly likely to be completely dug out, and he wouldn't stop until he had his fill of fun.
A certain illegal taxi syndicate years ago was overthrown in this way, eventually even surrendering themselves to the traffic police and urban management departments for refuge...
Ahem, I've strayed.
In short, he was very, very interested in this cult group whose branches spread throughout the entire Innocent Continent.
And he was also interested in the God of Whisper they worshipped!
However, at this stage, he still had too little information, and the power controlled by the other party was far beyond imagination, so Mo Tan had no immediate plans to make a big move.
This game world, full of peculiar charm, seemed to hide a large number of interesting things, and the so-called 'fun' could only be experienced to the fullest by slowly enjoying it.
After a brief sorting of information, Mo Tan suddenly had an idea and immediately chose to log out of the game...
After getting out of the game pod, he casually glanced at the time, then nodded contentedly, ambled into the kitchen, cooked himself a bowl of noodles with almost zero nutritional value, and then swiftly devoured it on the spot.
Then...
He didn't choose to log into the game, nor did he actively switch personalities, but instead sat down at the table, opened his computer, and began to quickly browse the forums.
After a while...
"No relevant information," Mo Tan rubbed his forehead and whispered, "But it's also expected, after all, Wu Zui Zhi Jie hasn't become popular yet, the player base isn't too large, and everyone's level is generally low right now, so the information they can grasp is very limited... Phew... Am I overthinking it..."
He zoned out for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, if it's really as I think, then no amount of vigilance is too much.
I won't log into the game today; let's see if the time loss still occurs this way..."
Having made up his mind, Mo Tan closed his computer, walked into the bedroom that hadn't been visited for days, threw himself onto the bed, and prepared to have a proper sleep.
As a result, he predictably suffered from insomnia...
"Boring!!" He scratched his hair, pouting somewhat glumly: "I really want to play, this game is toxic..."
...
"Alas, I'll just reflect on how I've been spending my time..."
Mo Tan closed his eyes.
【I was a bit too hasty when testing Dave, that idiot.
At that time, I had no concept of Stealth Level MAX.
If something unexpected happened, I might have even died on the spot; I need to be careful next time...】
【The Incredulous's talent doesn't seem to affect Xiao Ai much.
The specific reason needs further verification.
I actually had enough time before to learn more about various deities through her; it seems I was a bit careless in that regard...】
【The square-faced paladin arrived much later than expected.
It's necessary to further understand the operational procedures of various organizations and forces in the game...】
【I was a bit too hasty when silencing that civilian-dressed guy...】
【I put too much salt in today's noodles...】
【I haven't talked to Shuang Ye these past few times I've been online.
It wouldn't be good if that girl lost interest in the 'game'; I need to communicate with her a bit next time I'm online...】
【Hmm...】
【I'm a bit sleepy...】
【Will that side of me... really appear in the game...?】
【I can't feel any anticipation at all...】
...
Dawn broke.
At seven o'clock sharp, Ji Xiaodao immediately sat up from the game pod, her eyes a bit unfocused, and once again ignored her sister who was saying good morning to her...
"You don't look so good," Ji Xiaoge, this time not playing a prank, looked at her twin sister with some concern: "What happened?"
The girl, realizing her unusual expression, immediately shook her head and forced a smile at the former: "Nothing..."
"Nothing my foot!" Ji Xiaoge snorted lightly: "I've never seen you so absent-minded!"
"I'm going to help Mom prepare breakfast." The sister left the room as if fleeing, and as she closed the door behind her, she whispered, "He... didn't appear..."
...
"I didn't want him to be lonely, but I'm the one who feels lonely first..."
...
Chapter 43: End