Chapter 917: The Most Suitable Third-Party Candidate

After Rengu thoroughly persuaded Bi Fang, negotiations between the two sides finally began.

The natural leaders were Lacan and Bi Fang - as the two publicly acknowledged strongest figures and the two Fourth Tiers present, the pair began discussing the ownership rights to the "inheritance."

Although the Psychological Society insisted that the entire "inheritance" belonged to them, under Bi Fang's emphasis that "you know very well, we - especially Order - could never allow something like that to happen," Lacan eventually conceded.

Neither side could possibly propose anything like "splitting the inheritance evenly," but after some back-and-forth, a plan that everyone could accept was finally put forward.

The one who proposed this plan...

Was Fu Luo.

"In that case, we can find a third party to secure the inheritance first, force the other side to reveal all of its contents, and then you can both move in to seize it while simultaneously breaking the statues. That way, the items snatched up would instantly be carried away by us low-tier players who came in with airship tickets - this not only relies on everyone's own abilities, but it also doesn't look too ugly."

"And... if anyone tries to make a move before any of these steps, we'd also have plenty of time to counter them, wouldn't we?"

This plan was readily accepted by both sides.

However...

"Who exactly is this third party? Is there really a trustworthy third party here?"

As Nineteen spoke, Fu Luo pointed at the tangled tree vines coiled in the underground space: "Isn't this thing right here? A native Misty Islands monster - it can't possibly have a stake in this, right?"

Hearing Fu Luo's words, Nineteen frowned: "But, this thing just attacked me earlier..."

"Well, isn't there another monster here?" Chlorpromazine said. "The one that was disguised as that Old Yao over there earlier..."

Nineteen was still unsatisfied: "That monster might have already reached an agreement with someone from Order beforehand."

The Tycoon, hearing Old Yao mentioned again, let out a cold snort: "Not satisfied with this, not satisfied with that - then how about we just go all out and fight!"

The Tycoon's aggressive stance provoked both Nineteen and Dolantine, and the two were about to snap back when they suddenly heard another strange noise coming from one of the glass rooms.

"Thump!"

In the room adjacent to the cursed statues, those massive, exposed human organs that were still maintaining their "operation" suddenly began convulsing violently.

Blood vessels connected to a heart the size of a baby elephant burst forth, and the invisible vessels in the air revealed faint shapes - those blood vessels actually seemed to connect to another space entirely.

One of those vessels faintly took on a human silhouette, and with the beating of the heart, the figure tumbled into the glass room.

Then, a tall woman dressed in leather clothing and boots stood up, holding in her hands a crow statue emanating mist and a radar device.

"Finally - we're out!"

"That pitch-black underground chamber actually had a bizarre flesh-and-blood teleportation array... let me see... sure enough, this kind of psychic fluctuation - the first-generation Freud's inheritance is less than five meters away from us... it should be right next to this room... What did I tell you, A-Fern? You need to have confidence, your judgment is definitely right - your sense of direction was correct. Though the journey was a bit roundabout, we've still reached our destination."

Algae muttered to herself, then suddenly realized something was off.

This room... had a wall made of transparent glass.

Through that transparent glass, Algae saw the two groups confronting each other outside, and then froze.

"Damn, where did all these people come from."

Lacan, Nineteen, Tycoon, and Bi Fang all looked at her at once, then the four of them began sizing each other up again.

"She came in with us using an airship ticket," Fu Luo spoke up to remind everyone. "Her background is unknown."

Nineteen frowned: "Some of you seem to have greeted her before..."

"This one isn't on their side," Lacan spoke up. "And - she's someone the highest god of the Misty Islands has... well, you could call her an invested party."

Bi Fang let out a breath: "If you choose her, I have no objections."

The Tycoon also nodded: "At this point, this is the only choice we can make."

"Compared to monsters, humans may carry more uncertainties, but in a way, they're actually more reliable."

Lacan also expressed his stance.

"Hey, what do you mean 'choose me'?" Algae warily raised the crow statue in her hand, her other hand reaching behind her back as a greatsword materialized in her grip. "I haven't agreed to anything yet!"

"We intend to let you be the first to access Freud's inheritance and then reveal it," Lacan explained patiently. "After all... both sides want to keep the conflict contained within certain limits, so we need a third party to make first contact - of course, after that, we'll try to seize those items from your hands."

As Lacan spoke, Bi Fang nodded and was about to try persuading this suddenly appeared unknown Second Tier player as well.

However...

To Bi Fang's surprise, Algae agreed immediately.

"Oh my, there's actually such a good deal."

Although Algae wasn't the one among the three responsible for strategic thinking, the moment she heard the plan, she immediately understood why both sides were doing this.

Directly touching the inheritance carried too many variables, and there were too many steps between that and the final outcome of obtaining the inheritance items and escaping. If both sides fought over this point, the conflict would inevitably keep escalating, and neither side would be able to approach the inheritance for a long time - in the current situation, whichever side approached those statues, the other would absolutely go all out.

So... if she, as the third party, handled the inheritance and resolved the preliminary steps, compressing and simplifying the entire process down to the final moment of "the snatch," then the conflict naturally wouldn't escalate.

This was something both sides could accept.

So...

She was essentially playing the role of a "buffer."

And the reason Algae agreed so readily wasn't because she was helpful or warm-hearted.

It was purely because...

"Let me make this clear in advance - I won't do as you wish. If I get the inheritance and manage to slip away successfully, that's on you for choosing me."

Even knowing two formidable Fourth Tiers stood outside, Algae still spoke with full confidence.

And Bi Fang and Lacan naturally wouldn't abandon their plans just because of her declaration.

"The inheritance is in the hands of the statue next door," Lacan said, even going so far as to give Algae a reminder. "That statue is the key to your escape from this dungeon... in other words, you could try breaking that statue the moment you obtain the inheritance, before we even have time to react. If you succeed, at the very least, you should be able to successfully leave this dungeon."

As Lacan spoke, Algae narrowed her eyes.

"Alright - got it."

She walked up to the glass room, raised her hand, and knocked on the glass before her.

Bi Fang raised her hand, plucked a piece of chalk from thin air, and flicked it out.

"Whoosh -!"

"Crack!"

The entire pane of glass shattered on impact.