Chapter 963: Chapter 961: Prism (34) Chapter 963: Chapter 961: Prism (34) “Hahaha…”
As Fu Qian postulated his subjective surmises, Masked Man’s expression could truly be described as a cornucopia of brilliance, followed by a hearty, skyward laugh after a generous series of facial muscle movements.
“Indeed…it’s only you, you’re the one fit to collaborate with me.”
“What a pity, you’re too late.”
“Being early is of no use either. Even if I showed signs of agreeing to a secret cooperation, would you really dare to trust me?”
Although Masked Man was full of sentimental musings, Fu Qian didn’t hesitate to douse him with a bucket of cold water.
“Indeed, intelligence and reliability are often antonyms.”
Masked Man finally halted his laughter and nodded slightly in agreement with Fu Qian’s perspective.
“Where did you detect that I have a special arrangement with the Death Row inmate?”
“Too contrived–of course, primarily on the part of Death Row. All along, you two undoubtedly played two distinctly different roles within the team.”
Fu Qian shook his head.
“In essence, it’s a good idea–two completely different postures, decision-maker and problem character, it almost could guide the team’s actions to the greatest extent.”
“At the same time, you also had the guise of being conciliatory, passing some important items to him, thus maximizing the team’s gains.”
“Unfortunately, Death Row’s acting was just too poor, on one hand, there were instances where he didn’t need to speak, yet he said too much. On the other hand, with careful thought, it’s clear that although he seemed to be singing a song of dissension, his actions essentially promoted developments in your favor.”
“Maybe even realizing his own inappropriate behavior, this individual even performed an act of being touched by team spirit and gradually integrating… After all, we’re all adults here, we need to appreciate the exaggeration inherent in some dramatic scenes.”
“Even in my view, after he did all that, not just me, but Qing too should have become suspicious. That might even be why you got injured.”
“Qing probably realized that abandoning the team was always in your contemplation, so she became more cautious.”
“She’s indeed quite a formidable character.”
After Fu Qian spoke his piece, Masked Man fell silent for a slightly longer time, eventually agreeing with his assessment of Qing.
“Pity she also arrived a bit late, and also harbors some inexplicably odd moral views.”
“You’re right, I’ve indeed been in tacit cooperation with Death Row all along. He was the second to show up, and we quickly agreed to cooperate to the fullest extent, ensuring control of the situation and risk avoidance.”
“Even the idea of using card codenames was my suggestion for best effect.”
“Of course, as you said, the fool is reliable but truly too stupid.”
“Fortunately, there was Star, just as foolish.”
The organization committee member got scorned, didn’t they!
Masked Man’s critique elicited a profound sympathy from Fu Qian towards Stella, who was confusedly afflicted.
“Ultimately, the situation developed quite smoothly–apart from you.”
“You’re indubitably a dangerous figure, repeatedly causing uncontrollable events. Thankfully, it seems our goals are at least aligned, otherwise I should have taken measures long ago–but those are now pointless hypotheses. You’ve won, I surrender.”
Masked Man’s face showed a relieved expression, even managing a smile.
“There’s just the two of us left in the team. Are you planning to execute justice, avenge our fallen comrades, or will you be magnanimous and complete the mission with me?”
“That’s really hard to say, but your posture of surrender seems a bit less than sincere.”
As he spoke, Fu Qian kept his eyes on the well in the middle of the lab. He wondered if the item he had thrown in earlier had taken effect–it seemed calmer by now.
His critique caught Masked Man slightly off guard, and he couldn’t help asking in a deep voice.
“Like the item you promised to Death Row?”
Fu Qian wasn’t at all surprised by this hopeful attitude.
“In the end, that guy cooperated with you purely for the sake of survival and mission completion. The latter can be negotiated but to let him cooperate with you in your madness, lead him to team up with Red Dragon on their own initiative, and find an opportunity to ambush and eliminate him–a convincing reason was necessary, right? Like a method to stay lucid despite the contamination?”
“If I’m not mistaken, when you worked as a subordinate to Michelle here, alongside memorizing the structure below, you must have found a way to acquire some drug that allowed you to remain lucid even in severe contamination.”
“After you presented that to Death Row, he became determined to follow you through thick and thin. That would make more sense.”
His gaze flickering, Masked Man finally bowed his head to rummage through his pocket, retrieved a cylindrical little bottle, and with a shake, the golden liquid inside rippled–indeed it seemed more on point than the three bottles Death Row had put away.
“And… why did you go mad earlier?”
With that question, Masked Man’s expression turned completely cold.
“You’re so smart, why not hazard another guess?”
Clearly, he wasn’t too keen on answering this question.
But without a doubt, this matter was quite peculiar.
Teamwork was just that, and dissolving it was nothing unusual. It didn’t necessitate such drastic measures.
Casually blasting away several hindered antler thickets, Fu Qian strode to the middle of the lab, perching himself aloft to survey.
Most of the pile of limbs had sunk down by then.
“I’m guessing that at that moment, a certain piece of information confirmed that you’re different from others, that you’re the protagonist of this story, and they are all obstacles.”
“The information must have been highly reliable, perhaps a special mission?”
Fu Qian continued to look down at Masked Man from his elevated position, slowly speaking.
Masked Man’s face underwent another dramatic change, yet the first to react wasn’t him but the Henry in Fu Qian’s hand.
Facing the “Abyss” below, with a piercing cry, Henry began to struggle violently, seemingly desperate to escape.
Of course, even so, it was just an even madder cat, but through Fu Qian’s “perspective,” it was far from simple.
In that instant, the omnipresent red seemed to be violently perturbed, crazily converging in this direction.
Only the convergence appeared to have gone awry, eventually not locking onto Henry, but rather rushing towards Masked Man nearby.
For just a brief moment, it seemed as if something had been released.
“The protagonist of the story… You’re right, I still utterly believe this to be true,”
Masked Man’s words were now devoid of any hesitation, replaced solely with cold serenity.
“The point is, while I’m waiting for the reward to be fulfilled, what are you waiting for?”
Witnessing Masked Man, with Extraordinary Power undoubtedly coursing through him, Fu Qian shook his head once more.
“Of course, I’m waiting for what you’re waiting for.”