Chapter 793 - 658: Speculation and Research

The kerosene lamps lit up once more in the eerie space where the Black-robed People used to gather.

But unlike before, there were only two lamps this time.

The yellow flame flickered within the glass cover, casting a much smaller circle of light than usual, leaving most of the area submerged in thick darkness.

Two Black-robed People stood under the lamplight, one tall and one short, facing each other.

Since both were quite familiar with each other, they didn't wear hoods, their faces shifting between shadow and light in the firelight.

"Confirmed." The tall figure spoke, his voice lower than usual, tinged with a barely detectable restrained anger, "On the sea's surface, it was the Shadow Thief and the Fissure Man."

The short figure's eyelid twitched.

He had mentally prepared himself upon sensing that terrifying power earlier, but hearing the confirmation still made his breath falter for a moment.

"The power generated after those two eerie merged far exceeded expectations." The tall one continued, his speech slow, but each word seemed to be released only after being bitten by his teeth, "Initially thought to be ordinary Disaster Level, but turned out to be Catastrophe Level... truly Catastrophe Level."

"We have no deployments at that Level." The short one said.

"We have nothing at that Level." The tall one corrected him, "Those were the most core and eerie entities in our possession. Now they're gone. No, they've been 'taken' by someone else!"

Both fell silent.

After all, those were Catastrophe Level entities, previously under their control.

In most common conventional forces, Spiritualists at the Disaster Level were absolutely top-tier, and Disaster Level Spiritualists rarely acted.

Not only because each move came with severe consequences, but also because their destructiveness was too high once they acted.

Undoubtedly, Disaster Level Spiritualists were the cornerstone of a city's existence.

And if their organization truly had control over a Catastrophe Level entity, even the Spirit Communicator Association would recognize their legitimacy, possibly willing to assist them in establishing a nation!

And now, such an opportunity slipped right out of their hands!

The kerosene lamp's flames flickered, casting their shadows which danced on the wall.

"This incident revealed two issues."

The tall figure calmed himself, held up two fingers, the flames dancing at his fingertips.

"First, the eruption point of the Fusion was at sea, not on land, and not any of the predicted locations. This indicates the other side anticipated it and began preparations once the Shadow Thief was stolen, maybe even setting up the battlefield in advance, waiting for the Fissure Man to deliver himself."

The short one's brows furrowed even tighter.

"Second, after the Catastrophe Level power erupted, the Fusion entity vanished without causing any destruction. To date, the Spirit Communicator Association hasn't found any secondary spread of the eerie... What does this imply?"

"It implies it was sealed." The short one's voice was very low, exceedingly certain, "Or it was subdued. To achieve this after such a power eruption, couldn't have been a spur-of-the-moment decision."

"So this entire matter, starting from the capture of the Shadow Thief, wasn't coincidental—it's premeditated!" The tall one's fingers clenched into a fist.

The two exchanged a glance.

They both saw the same thought in each other's eyes: traitor.

Someone leaked their most core secrets to a third party.

The position of the Shadow Thief, the characteristics of the Fissure Man, even the dual-born relationship of the two eerie entities had been divulged by that person.

Otherwise, no one could have completed the whole operation from capture to Fusion to sealing in such a short time.

"That's why it's just the two of us meeting this time." The short one surveyed the surrounding emptiness, "From today onwards, all offline communication is suspended. Besides between you and me, no one's information can be trusted."

The tall one nodded without further comment.

His expression appeared even gloomier in the firelight.

"How long will the Life Energy reserves last?" The short one asked.

The tall one's face became even darker.

He didn't immediately answer but pulled out a palm-sized slate from the inner side of his robe.

The slate was engraved with dense Runes, with a thumb-sized dark red crystal embedded in the center.

Inside the crystal, liquid-like light slowly flowed, but the surface had already fallen to a third of its original level.

"Less than a month." He said, "At the current rate of consumption, it'll last a maximum of three weeks."

The short one's lips pressed into a line.

"We have to activate the backup plan." The tall one's voice was as calm as discussing what to eat for dinner, but his sunken eyes were devoid of warmth.

Upon hearing this, the short one's body slightly tensed.

He lifted his head, his gaze fixed on the tall one's face, as if verifying whether he was joking.

"Are you sure?" His voice was very low, "The tech side hasn't finished yet, right? I read last month's report; the stability is still lacking. The gap between human individual will and eerie entities is too vast, even with more layers of protection, the final host will ultimately lose control. What's the latest progress on your side?"

The tall one didn't shy away from his gaze.

He pulled out a black leather notebook from the inner side of his robe, its cover devoid of any text but its corners worn white.

He opened a page, the firelight illuminating the dense handwritten script clearly visible.

Formulas, data, experiment records, analysis of failure reasons... Every page filled with relevant information, with some places even stuck with supplemental notes.