"Remember, these formulas are your biggest trump card for the foreseeable future." Nairn's voice sounded once again, carrying the tone of an investor scrutinizing their own project. "How to utilize them to maximize the resources you need—whether it's gold pounds, merits, or Connections—is a lesson you need to learn. I cannot teach you everything hand-in-hand."
Klein nodded heavily, feeling the burden on his shoulders suddenly become much heavier.
"Senior," he took a deep breath, finally asking the question that had been stifled in his heart for a long time, "Tingen City—what exactly is going to happen next? The'Son of God' you mentioned earlier, and that missing corpse—what exactly is behind all of this?"
He knew he perhaps shouldn't ask, but he simply couldn't suppress his inner curiosity and unease.
Senior Nairn's layout was too vast, so vast that he felt like a leaf in the ocean, able only to drift with the waves, yet completely unable to see the full picture of the storm.
Hearing Klein's question, Nairn was silent for a moment.
He seemed to be weighing something.
He certainly couldn't tell Klein the truth about Adam, but saying nothing at all would dampen the enthusiasm of this "lead actor."
He had to give him just the right amount of "spoilers," allowing him to feel the tension without being crushed by the truth.
"You don't need to know all the details." Nairn finally spoke, his voice ethereal and distant. "You only need to know that a drama long destined to happen has deviated from its track due to some 'accidents.' But now, a 'Spectator' is trying to forcibly pull it back onto the right track."
"However," Nairn's tone carried a hint of indescribable mockery and anticipation, "the script that has been pulled back is no longer the original one."
He didn't look at Klein, his gaze seeming to pierce through the endless Above the Gray Fog, casting itself toward a corner of the real world.
In his mind, the remains of Amon, which he had "cooked" and which presented a bizarre state of pregnancy, emerged.
The birth of the Son of God seemed to have become a destined outcome.
Fine then.
Nairn sneered in his heart.
I've been set up by you, Adam; I admit it this time. As expected of an old schemer who has lived for who knows how many years, your methods of manipulating human hearts are truly brilliant.
To be able to forcibly round out a script full of loopholes and make it even more exciting.
But—
That "perfect vessel" you chose has already been devoured and corrupted from the root by the "Chaos Theater," hasn't it?
Can something tainted by "Chaos" really still be that "pure"?
Will it really only act according to your script?
A cold arc curled up on the corner of Nairn's mouth.
Very well, I've set my sights on the birth of this "Son of God" too.
Since you want to set the stage, I'll play along with your scheme.
I want to see, between you, the strongest "Spectator," and me, the only "player," who will be the one to have the last laugh.
"Senior?" Klein looked at Nairn, who had suddenly fallen into silence and whose aura had become increasingly unfathomable, feeling even more anxious in his heart.
"It's nothing." Nairn retracted his thoughts, refocusing his attention on Klein. "Klein, play your role well—Mr. 'Fool.' The stage has been set for you, and the spotlight is about to shine on you."
"Go, digest the information I've given you, and execute the plan I've given you. You need to grow as quickly as possible, because the curtain—is about to rise very soon."
After speaking, without the slightest warning, Nairn's figure began to become illusory and transparent Above the Gray Fog.
"If you have anything, contact me again."
Before the words had finished falling, his figure disappeared completely into the ancient palace, as if he had never appeared at all.
Leaving only Klein Moretti alone, sitting blankly by the long table, clutching that invisible, heavy list of formulas, with Nairn's last sentence echoing repeatedly in his mind.
The curtain—is about to rise?
He looked up at the boundless gray fog above the dome, for the first time feeling so vividly that a huge storm was whistling toward the small Tingen City.
Nairn opened his eyes and slowly sat up from the lounge chair.
The sunlight outside the window filtered through the sheer curtains, casting mottled light and shadows on the expensive carpet, and the air was filled with the fragrance of black tea and lemon.
He rubbed his temples, completely stripping away the emotions from Above the Gray Fog.
The remote confrontation with Adam, although it was only his unilateral speculation and imagination, still left him feeling a bit displeased with the feeling of being overlooked and arranged by a higher-level Existence.
It's like you're playing an open-world game, thinking you have a high degree of freedom, only to find halfway through that every step you take and every "random quest" you trigger is actually a path already set by the game designer.
This feeling is terrible.
However, displeased or not, life goes on, and fun must still be found.
Adam wants to watch a play?
Fine, then I'll put on a big one for you to watch.
He picked up the bone china teacup on the small table beside him, took a sip of the black tea that had already gone a bit cold, and his thoughts began to turn to problems in reality.
Things on Klein's side have already been arranged.
With that kid's personality, although he will struggle and hesitate, in the end, in order to become stronger and save his life, he will obediently follow his own plan to "fleece the Goddess."
The low-Sequence formula reserves of the Church of the Evernight, as well as the contribution points of the Tingen City branch, will soon become resources in his own hands.
Taking advantage of the fact that Klein hasn't "died" yet, grabbing whatever he can is the way to go; this deal is definitely not a loss.
As for the big show of the "Coming of the Son of God" about to be staged in Tingen City, he was in no hurry to intervene for now.
Let the bullets fly for a while longer.
He really wanted to see what kind of interesting—Monster—the "perfect vessel" corrupted by the "Chaos Theater" would mutate into under the infusion of the True Creator's divine power.
Perhaps he could even reap some unexpected benefits from it.
Just then, the door was gently knocked three times, the rhythm neither hurried nor slow, the agreed-upon signal.
"Come in." Nairn said indifferently.
The door pushed open, and Triss, dressed in a proper maid outfit, walked in, her expression as respectful as always.
"Lord thousand faces, there are two things to report to you."
"Speak." Nairn leaned on the sofa and replied casually.
Triss's reports were always concise and to the point, which was what Nairn appreciated most about her.
"The first thing, regarding our collaborator in Tingen City." Triss's wording was very cautious.
"Sir Derville has reached out to us for help."
"Help?" Nairn raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Yes." Triss pulled a document from the folder she was carrying and handed it over. "This is the case briefing he had someone pass on."
Nairn took the document and quickly browsed through it.
Starting a month ago, Sir Derville had been continuously subjected to various strange disturbances.
For example, hearing a woman's crying in the middle of the night, things in his house moving for no reason, and mysterious bloodstains seeping from the walls.
The bodyguards and security personnel he hired, and even the police who came after he reported it, were helpless against these supernatural phenomena and couldn't find any trace of the perpetrator at all.
After hitting walls repeatedly, he highly suspected that this matter was related to Beyonder powers.
And Nairn, or rather, Nairn's public identity as a "consultant" in Tingen City, had shown far-surpassing Insight and mystical knowledge when handling the Lanevus case, leaving him with a very deep impression.
More importantly, the "Anti-Fraud Mutual Aid Foundation," an organization pushed by Nairn himself, now had a small reputation in Tingen City and had a good cooperative relationship with the police.
Under these circumstances, when he discovered it might involve the supernatural, the first thing he thought of was not to seek help from the Church, but to seek help through the Foundation's channel from himself, this "collaborator" who was suspected of having Connections to the Beyonder circle.
All of this looked very—[Reasonable].
Nairn put down the document and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.
The harassment incident of Sir Derville—
Isn't this the first official mission Klein took on in the original development?
The matter itself wasn't big; it was just a vengeful spirit causing trouble.
But this timing—
He had just guessed about the "birth of the Son of God," had just finished assigning tasks to Klein Above the Gray Fog, and this "side quest" that should have been taken by Klein was just delivered to him, so "reasonably," through the Foundation's channel.
This was like new props and new lines being handed over by the stage manager from behind the scenes.
This—
It's very coincidental.
However, it was a chance to take the relationship between both parties a step further.
It could also be considered a good thing.
"I see." Nairn placed the document casually on the table and asked calmly, "What about the second thing?"
Triss's expression became slightly excited, and from another pocket, she carefully took out a small box wrapped in black cloth.
"Master, this is something I bought from an unofficial channel."
She carefully took out a box wrapped in black cloth from her bosom and opened it.
Inside the box, a lifelike mask lay quietly. The material of the mask was neither metal nor wood, presenting a strange flesh-like texture, with a Clown's smiling face outlined on it, looking both funny and eerie.
"A Mystical Item made from a sequence 8 'Trickmaster' Beyonder characteristic." Triss explained, "The seller is from the Aurora Order. According to the information I gathered, they seem to be raising a large sum of funds for an extremely important plan, so they have started selling off some less important Mystical Items and Beyonder characteristic within the organization."
Nairn's gaze was instantly attracted by that mask.
Trickmaster—
sequence 8, "Trickmaster"!
It was exactly what he needed for the next step of his Path of Chaos!
The Aurora Order was selling off assets to raise money for the "Coming of the Son of God."
At the same time, they had a large pile of Mystical Items brought in by traitors of the "Door" Pathway within their ranks.
So this Mystical Item appeared.
This logic was also very [Reasonable].
And for Triss, as a piece he had planted in the Demoness Sect while also secretly monitoring the various forces in Tingen City, being able to access such underground transactions and buy this item was completely within reason.
A sequence 8 "Trickmaster" Mystical Item.
This was exactly what he needed most at the moment.
As long as he refined it, he could immediately formally advance to sequence 8 [Trickster].
Nairn fell silent.
He looked at the case briefing in front of him, and then looked at the "Trickmaster" mask in the box.
One thing made his interpersonal relationships in Tingen City more solid.
The other thing was exactly a piece of the puzzle he needed to advance to sequence 8.
Two good things.
Two portions of happiness.
At the same time, delivered to him by the same person.
Why—
did it turn out like this?
In Nairn's mind, that classic line emerged uncontrollably.
What was obtained should have been a time as happy as a dream—
But, why, did it turn out like this—
Nairn's mouth twitched.
He felt as if he had been "arranged" by something.
This feeling was very subtle; there was no evidence, it was purely an intuition.
It's like when you're playing a game, you just received a "find X material" quest, the first mob around the corner drops the quest item, and then just as you want to turn in the quest, the NPC spawns right in your face, and even hands you a graduation weapon that you can only use in the next stage.
It's too coincidental.
It's really too coincidental!
These two "good things" were like carefully wrapped gifts, precisely delivered to him.
If there wasn't a GM (Game Master) operating behind this, no one would believe it!
So—
who would be so kind?
Nairn could almost be certain that behind these two things, there was definitely the shadow of that King of "Spectators."
What is he doing?
Showing goodwill?
Trying to win him over?
Or—a deeper level of "arrangement"?
Nairn picked up the Clown mask, rubbed it in his hands, and fell into deep thought.
Adam's purpose in doing this was not hard to guess.
First, the strength and status he had displayed had already far exceeded the level that an ordinary transmigrator should have.
Especially since he was able to go head-to-head with an Amon avatar and possessed "Chaos" and "Narrative" that even Amon couldn't understand, this was enough to attract the attention of any True God.
As the Existence most skilled at layout and observation, Adam couldn't possibly have failed to notice him.
Secondly, his actions in Tingen City, although they disrupted Ince Zangwill's original plan, had ultimately, by a twist of fate, led to a "new script" that was more favorable to Adam.
From this perspective, he and Adam temporarily had "common interests" regarding the "birth of the Son of God."
Therefore, Adam sending these two "gifts" now was very likely a silent form of communication.
He was telling him: "I see you. I know your abilities, and I know your needs. There is no fundamental conflict between us, and we can even cooperate. This is a token of my sincerity; I hope we can enjoy watching the upcoming drama together."
This was an Open Scheme.
Adam did not appear directly, nor did he pass on any information; he just "arranged" some reasonable "coincidences" to let you get what you wanted.
If you accepted this "gift," it was equivalent to tacitly agreeing to this "cooperative" relationship.
If you didn't accept it—hehe.
Not wanting benefits delivered to your door, that's going against your own development.
Nairn laughed in a low voice.
This Spectator god, even his way of showing goodwill was so unique, full of "arrangements and coincidences."
"Master—is there something wrong with these things?" She asked cautiously.
"No, there's no problem." Nairn let out a long breath, the expression on his face returning to calm, leaving only a hint of playfulness that had seen through everything.
"The items are very good, and the timing is also very good. Everything is—as good as it can get."
"Fine." The corners of Nairn's mouth finally couldn't help but curl upward, revealing a smile full of interest.
"Adam, you win."