Chapter 2988: Excessive Divinity

Things were certainly lively.

Worthy of the Night Watchers' lair, all sorts of bizarre entities were popping up one after another.

Wood naturally had grain, but it was rare to see it grow like this, to say nothing of that signature scent.

More importantly, Fu Qian had already seen a similar scene back at the Academy.

Back then, it was the Sword Pavilion Fourth Floor Three-Sword Style, and he had snapped off a piece of a windowsill that time too.

Then he had encountered the Mycelium Sword Saint, and even the Male and Female Dual Sword Saints, which ultimately culminated in a massive combined attack as they made eyes at each other...

In short, this was undeniably the Fungal Emperor.

So, wasn't the divinity in this Night Watchers' lair a bit too excessive?

He had barely taken a short stroll, yet two old-timers had already come out to say hello—from Father's Amnion to the Fungal Emperor.

The key was that neither of them seemed very smart.

Earlier, over by Excellency Aike, he had raised a question that still remained unanswered—

Why did they possess raw power but seemingly none of their original brains? First, Excellency Father's Amnion hadn't fled upon seeing the King of the Abandoned Prison; now, the Fungal Emperor was trying to siphon nutrients from a mechanical creation.

Even when the Stars shone, it amounted to nothing more than this.

Pure higher entities untainted by "consciousness"?

They weren't even restricted by whether they had fallen. After all, Excellency Father's Amnion technically hadn't even passed his first seven days of mourning...

Just what kind of place was this Birthday Party?

...

Of course, he couldn't just shift all the blame onto others.

No matter how overwhelmingly powerful the Night Watchers were, they wouldn't be arrogant enough to set up their offices in such a lively place. So, had it only gotten this rowdy after the King of the Abandoned Prison arrived?

Forces were always mutual.

In Fu Qian's view, certain seemingly complex situations could easily be explained by applying simple laws of physics.

While the Mechanical King of the Abandoned Prison was being torn at by the Birthday Party, he was simultaneously tearing right back at it.

This offered a relatively reasonable explanation for why these old-timers were showing up in droves, and why they were all familiar faces. But along with it came an even more staggering conclusion: could higher entities actually be torn right out of the Birthday Party?

Even if they appeared brainless, it was still a bit too absurd.

So was the reason behind the name truly because a group of higher entities celebrated their birthdays here?

It seriously challenged the imagination, but regardless, the Old Lady's actions were now clear—

The core of this entire incident had always been just one thing: the Fungal Emperor.

As a "Traveler," the Old Demigod had briefly obtained resurrection from the dead, and her fear of dying again was overwhelming.

So much so that her sole motive was exactly like the former Blasphemy Monarch's: trying to leave an Imprint on someone else.

Since her assigned role naturally knew of the Fungal Emperor's existence, she figured that if she helped the entity corrupt a few actual living people, she might also secure a chance at survival for herself.

For example, by becoming part of the corruption and parasitizing the victims alongside it.

Although Fu Qian couldn't say for sure whether this idea would actually work, the Old Lady seemed determined to drag others down with her like a malicious water ghost.

Her luck wasn't bad, of course. The most troublesome part of this plan was actually that immovable "gas chamber."

As long as someone left this spot, the Fungal Emperor's influence would vanish. But unless she went out to actively seek targets, the local factions clearly had no interest in wandering around this place.

Yet the world worked in mysterious ways. On this fine afternoon, two prime pieces of material had actually wandered right in.

Though good medicine tasted bitter and prime material chipped teeth, making her progress far from smooth...

"It looks like I have nothing left to say. Are you planning to help free me from this torment?"

The Old Lady seemed to have completely given up. Unmoved by Professor Fu's empathy, she merely offered a miserable smile.

Logically, her assumption was sound. Firmly believing one's opponent harbored ulterior motives and was living in agony, helping them find release in any storyline would be considered a natural human reaction.

"That's no way to ask for help, especially since we aren't actually that close... You don't even know my last name, do you?"

Unfortunately, Professor Fu could never be measured by common sense. He was entirely uninterested in doing the logical thing.

As for the reason—'Why the fuck don't you tell me your last name then?!'

Even with her apparent disregard for life and death, the Old Lady still looked as if she couldn't suppress the urge to roar that out loud.

"So, you two are planning to just leave like this? Should I praise your magnanimity?"

Unfortunately, unable to swallow her pride to ask for his esteemed name, the Old Lady merely sneered and continued to ask.

"Why leave? Theoretically, this place counts as an asset of the Apocalypse, right?"

But she quickly realized the limits of her own perspective.

Although he had no intention of exacting revenge, Professor Fu's perspective was always a cut above the rest. He had actually elevated the topic to the ownership of fixed assets.

Glancing around, his posture looked as though he had caught her committing academic fraud and was debating whether to kick the culprit out—

"I'm afraid that long before the Apocalypse was ever established, these Towers already existed."

The topic had veered to the absolute extreme of absurdity, and Professor Fu's behavior was so abstract it barely seemed human. Yet, seizing what looked like a chance to retort, the Old Lady coldly reminded him that the Apocalypse might not necessarily have the authority to kick her out.

...

There it was. This was the benefit of endless back-and-forth banter.

Faced with this small new nugget of knowledge, Fu Qian turned back around and generously displayed a hint of surprise.

Even during his dealings with the Night Watchers, this strategy had managed to secure an opportunity for a treacherous trap. In a situation where the strong bullied the weak, the target stood absolutely no chance of parrying.

When it came to these peculiar Towers, Fu Qian really was interested in hearing the Old Lady share some stories of the past.

However, from the very moment he stepped through the door, the underlying stakes and conflicting interests had been incredibly deep. As a result, the reliability of any information would be notoriously low, which was why he hadn't been in a rush to ask.

That wasn't to say the stakes had lessened now. Fu Qian completely bought into the narrative of the Old Lady's fear of death, never once believing she would give up so easily.

The biggest difference between then and now didn't actually lie in the Old Lady's selfish motives, but rather in her judgment of Professor Fu.

Lying was meant to mislead. But if a situation became so abstract that you completely lost control of it, how could you possibly know which direction a given sentence would steer things?

Fu Qian believed that under these circumstances, the probability of hearing the truth was much higher.

"I did say this didn't look much like a Laboratory. What were they originally used for?"

Although all this back-and-forth banter had far greater purposes than just gleaning this bit of info, Fu Qian still cooperatively feigned a moment of shock.

"This decor... don't you think it suits them perfectly?"

Seemingly devoid of any desire to figure out whether his shock was genuine or fake, the Old Lady remained expressionless and simply gestured toward the Black Banners.

"Though faith waned after the Long Night, that doesn't mean it was completely severed—especially in the region where the Academy stands today."