Chapter 1037 - 430: Hunter_3

Chapter 1037: Chapter 430: Hunter_3

"But when I was clearing that instance, I found that the maker of that Pillar of the Present World came from the Bright Society, so I’m very curious what exactly their relationship with the Management Bureau is."

Back when he cleared the Pillar of the Present World, he discovered the Underground Shelter had fallen into a time loop because of Mercury, and that made him curious about this question.

It was just that at the time he couldn’t really talk to the Four Major Organizations, and afterward he was busy with all sorts of things; by the time he’d gotten familiar with the Management Bureau, he’d already forgotten about it.

The appearance of the Death Temple Research Institute once again stirred up his doubts.

Not only was the Underground Shelter Plane turned into a Pillar of the Present World with the Bright Society pulling the strings from behind the scenes, but for a long time afterward Mercury was still cultivating Imaginary Divinity on the Plane that was about to become the Lord of Reality’s domain.

So how exactly did that Underground Shelter end up in the hands of the Management Bureau?

Hearing the question, the Hunter couldn’t help letting out a bitter laugh; he hadn’t expected Wu Chang’s first question to hit such a sensitive spot.

Wu Chang said from the side, "If it’s inconvenient, you don’t have to say."

The Hunter sighed and said, "Given how much you’ve already learned about the Pillars of the Present World, if I tried to hide things it would only make you suspicious. Forget it, it’s not something that can’t be talked about anyway."

"The reason is very simple. Some of the Pillars of the Present World held by the Four Major Organizations were made by their own hands. As for the method of making them, I’m sure you already have some idea. The other part came from transfers by other powers."

Wu Chang understood what the Hunter meant: regardless of whether it was voluntary or forced, a Pillar of the Present World could be transferred.

The Hunter went on:

"Pillars of the Present World have two modes of existence. One is forming wild and naturally; the other is already occupied by other Players."

"Pillars of the Present World exist in the Middle Layer. They do connect the Desolate Realm and the Realm of Reason, but by their nature of formation they are actually Planes that attempted Plane Ascension into the Realm of Reason and failed. So the roots of a Pillar-of-the-Present-World Plane can only be in the Desolate Realm, and its owner can only be a Player of the Desolate Realm."

"Just like you said—you own that Pillar of the Present World. Even though the one who made it was the Bright Society, the Bright Society can’t truly claim it as their own. They can only treat it as a wild Pillar of the Present World and use it in secret."

"Back then the Painter called out the Bright Society’s behavior, letting the Four Major Organizations know what the Bright Society was up to in the Middle Layer. In order to cut off the Bright Society’s operation at the root, they launched an operation to bring all Pillars of the Present World under the control of the Four Major Organizations."

"After that evolution, you get the situation where Pillars of the Present World made by the Bright Society are instead owned by the Management Bureau. It’s just that the Guardians of those Pillars of the Present World don’t have your knack—they never discovered the traces the Bright Society left behind in them, or we would have dealt with them long ago."

Wu Chang picked up the hot milk and took a sip, thinking to himself that it was a good thing they hadn’t discovered anything.

Leaving aside the Desire Mother Goddess and the time loop, even if an organizational raid team finished the clear, pushed all the way to the surface, and ran into Hel, they’d get completely wiped.

The Hunter’s words finally let Wu Chang link everything together.

The Bright Society can only make Pillars of the Present World and cannot truly own them; after the Painter stole the Stone Slab used to make Imaginary Divinity, the secret research institute couldn’t keep operating, and with Hel’s rampage on top of that, the Bright Society couldn’t respond in the short term.

Add to that the fact that the Four Major Organizations’ power in the Desolate Realm is overwhelming, so they forcibly reclaimed all Pillars of the Present World, and Mercury was holding He Yun’s contract—the moment he wished, he could take back the Pillar of the Present World.

All these factors stacked together, letting the Bright Society simply let go of the Underground Shelter and temporarily hand it over to the Four Major Organizations.

Once Wu Chang had straightened out all these relationships, he could temporarily set his worries about the Underground Shelter Plane aside and went on, "I have one more question."

The Hunter’s voice was a bit dry as he asked, "What else?"

Wu Chang said, "Don’t worry, this one isn’t sensitive—it’s about you."

"If nothing unexpected happens, they should still be asking you to take action in this operation. As the protagonist, why aren’t you at the meeting and instead came to find me to drink—drink soft drinks."

The Hunter let out a breath of relief; this question really wasn’t sensitive.

"The reason is very simple. No matter what conclusion they reach in their discussion, it won’t change what I’m going to do."

Wu Chang had already heard the implication in the Hunter’s words, but still asked, "And what is it you intend to do?"

"Stop the Bright Society." The Hunter said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Xu Dejun probably never told you this: although I’m helping them out, I’m not Order Sect. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not Evolution Sect either. Before, I was just like Xu Dejun—no affiliation. I only do what I believe is right."

"Whatever I want to do, I do. No one gets to point fingers at me."

Wu Chang sized the Hunter up and said, "You’re not worried that if the Bright Society fails, Abyssal Erosion will pile up too much in the Realm of Reason, causing the Crimson Courtyard of the Realm of Reason to face destruction?"

The Hunter turned his head to look at Wu Chang, tossing the question back at him.

"You’re about to ascend to the Realm of Reason yourself. Aren’t you worried?"

Wu Chang shrugged and said, "I’m not."

The Hunter answered in the same tone, "I’m the same as you—I’m not worried either."

The two paused for a moment, then laughed at the same time.

The Hunter asked, "Is that thing on you?"

Wu Chang nodded. Perhaps thinking of the worst-case scenario, before the meeting Xu Dejun hadn’t taken away the box containing the Faith Virus; instead, he’d handed it back to Wu Chang.

The Hunter said, "What I appreciate about you is that you can act without scruples, only doing what you want to do, not being swayed by any faction."

"I may not be like you—punching the Four Major Organizations and kicking the Bright Society—but when it comes to decisions of this level, I can still make them myself."

As they spoke, the Hunter and Wu Chang received messages at the same time. Wu Chang opened the message from Xu Dejun; inside it said that after an internal Order Sect vote, more than half had agreed to use the Faith Virus, and the operation was about to begin.

Obviously, the message the Hunter had received contained the same content.

The Hunter raised his glass of orange juice and asked, "Want to come along?"

Wu Chang clinked his glass against the Hunter’s and said, "Of course. The Bright Society has strengthened their defenses this time. Without my help you might not make it through all their wards and bans."

The two clinked glasses, drained them in one go, and turned away from the bar.

The bartender’s lips twitched slightly as he came over to clear away the two glasses on the bar.

Orange juice and milk, and they even had to do a toast. Bad luck—ran into idiots.