Chapter 785: First Anchor

"As far as I know, hoarding ten thousand points isn't an impossible task." Black Robe's voice held a trace of hesitation, as if unsure whether he should be telling me this. "Out of all the streamers, one person actually did it. He is the known First Anchor."

I listened closely. Back in the Deep Dream Layer, a had also mentioned this legendary First Anchor.

"Since the Live Show was established, no one knows exactly how many people have become live show streamers. I've only seen ten pass the assessment, yourself included." Black Robe wasn't lying; a had said something similar in the Deep Dream Layer.

"The First Anchor is universally recognized as the strongest among us all. Even the Butcher would go out of his way to avoid him." Black Robe fell into his memories, his words slowing down. "During his era, the Live Show was at its absolute peak. You could say we dominated the night."

"Was he really that strong?" I asked, slightly skeptical.

"His terrifying strength was beyond our imagination. Even when he suddenly disappeared, our first thought wasn't that he'd been killed, but that he had gathered his ten thousand points and completed that impossible task!" Black Robe sighed deeply.

"Could you go into detail about his past? And back at Jianghu Cancer Research Hospital, you mentioned that the First Anchor and I share some similarities. Why is that?" I had a lot of questions, and this was finally my chance to ask them.

Hearing this, Black Robe stared straight at me. A long time passed before he spoke. "You really do resemble him. The first time I saw you, I even had the fleeting illusion that you were him."

"Are you talking about our appearance?" I asked, confused as to how I could be connected to a complete stranger.

"No one has ever seen the First Anchor's true face. Every time he appeared, he wore the Good and Evil Asura Mask—the exact same mask you're wearing right now." Black Robe paused. "When I say you're similar, I mean you give off the exact same feeling. Your auras both exude a natural contradiction, a blend of reason and madness."

"What other traits did he have?" A person's character was notoriously hard to change, shaped entirely by their life experiences and environment. A similarity in personality was sometimes much harder to achieve than a physical resemblance.

"He was entirely unique, shrouded in mystery." Black Robe hesitated for a second. "Every live show streamer has one field they excel in. Since our points are limited, everyone maximizes their gains by dumping all their points into a single category when redeeming items. Take me, for example. My specialty is weaving dreams and everything else related to the Dream Realm."

"Your specialty is the Dream Realm?" This was an unexpected revelation. I hadn't noticed it at all, which explained why he had hesitated to bring it up. "If you specialize in dreams, then what are those streamers hiding in the Deep Dream Layer good at? I thought a was the one who specialized in dreams."

"a?" Black Robe froze for a second before realization dawned on him. "The a you're talking about specializes in taming and manipulation. She's a woman with an extreme desire for control."

Since a had been brought up, I casually asked, "I ran into her in the Deep Dream Layer. She was wearing a Paper Doll Mask, but I get the feeling she probably has a stunningly beautiful face under it. By the way, do you know her real name?"

"Of course." Black Robe sneered coldly. "But why would I tell you? That isn't part of our deal. Also, you'd be wise not to go around asking for the names of the Traitors. Knowing too much will only dig you a deeper grave. Your strength doesn't match your ambition yet."

I felt like Black Robe had misunderstood something, but I didn't bother defending myself.

"Most live show streamers have their own field of expertise. The First Anchor is the only exception; no one knows his true depths. Anyone who ever saw him in action either went missing or had their soul utterly shattered. So even to this day, the only thing I know for sure is that he once wielded a complete Reincarnation Mirror." Black Robe pondered for another ten seconds. "He's a total enigma. By the time I became a live show streamer, he had already been around for a long time. He might be the only person in this world who truly understands the secrets of the Live Show."

"But didn't someone like him ultimately go missing as well?" I slightly lowered my head, my mask hiding all my expressions.

"That's exactly why you shouldn't make an enemy of the Live Show unless you have absolutely no other choice." Black Robe pointed at the Reincarnation Mirror Fragment in my hand. "You and the First Anchor are very much alike. I hope you keep that mirror fragment safe. It might come in handy later."

"Don't worry about that." Other than the Live Show itself, I understood the importance of the Reincarnation Mirror Fragment better than anyone else. If I kept gathering the pieces one by one, there was a very real chance I could completely reassemble this shattered mirror with my own hands.

"I've told you what I know about the Live Show and the First Anchor. Now, back to business." Black Robe casually waved his hand behind him. The entire alley suddenly fell dead silent, completely isolated from the police sirens and shouting outside. "I expect you to keep everything I'm about to say strictly between us."

Seeing how solemn the black-robed man was, I nodded in agreement.

"Anyone capable of passing the assessment to become an official live show streamer is terrifying, and out of all of them, the Butcher is widely recognized as the most dangerous and ruthless. He possesses absolutely no moral compass; his humanity was extinguished a long time ago. His methods are even more extreme than those of a Fate Usurper. If we want to kill him, we first have to prepare ourselves to be hunted." Black Robe observed my reaction for a moment. When he saw that I remained unusually calm and completely unpanicked, he continued. "I mentioned earlier that every live show streamer has their own specialty. The Butcher excels at manipulating human emotions and desires. He can draw power directly from anger, resentment, and hatred."

"How... how do you know all this?" I asked, slightly puzzled.

"Half a year ago, I actually crossed paths with the Butcher. More accurately, he was testing the waters to see if he could turn me into his prey."

That immediately piqued my interest. A clash between two live show streamers wasn't something you heard about every day. "Can you be more specific?"

"The Butcher's methods are incredibly bizarre. He never actually showed his face; he just used ordinary people as chess pieces, manipulating their emotions to set up an elaborate trap. It was a killing method akin to the butterfly effect." The black-robed man was speaking in abstractions, and realizing I probably wasn't following, he elaborated. "The Butcher kills without leaving a trace. It was only recently that I finally figured out his methods."

"I'm all ears."

"For the past six months, I've been investigating and tracking the Butcher. I discovered that he's actually hiding right here in Jinghai. In a metropolis of over ten million people, I found numerous traces of his presence. The Red Building was one of them. To unravel his secrets, I used Kong Ying as a pawn, leveraging his desire to avenge his sister. I sent him into the Red Building to act as my eyes and secretly record everything that happened inside. That kid didn't disappoint. Thanks to his investigations, I uncovered a crucial fact—the Butcher isn't just one person."

"Not just one person?" I was confused.

"Exactly." The black-robed man sounded completely certain. "The Butcher split his will into multiple fragments and planted them inside other people's bodies. The vast majority of the Red Building Tenants are controlled by the obsession from the Pig Cage Apartments, but there is one exception! Not only did he avoid being controlled by the obsession, he even bypassed its perception entirely. He's been cannibalizing that obsession through far more sinister means, trying to claim its power for himself!"

"You're talking about Zhu Li, aren't you?" All the other obsessions had crossed over to the other side of reincarnation; he was the only one who had chosen to flee. I had sensed something was wrong with him back then.

"Spot on. In a way, Zhu Li is the Butcher." After dropping that bombshell, Black Robe stayed quiet, seemingly giving me time to digest the information.

Having swallowed an obsession myself, I was intimately aware of how dangerous and difficult it was. If I hadn't had the help of the Blood Fox Killing Intent, I never would've been able to pull it off. Yet the Butcher's will had done exactly that. "If you knew he was the Butcher, why didn't you just capture him?"

"The will residing inside Zhu Li is only a tiny fraction of the whole. To completely kill the Butcher, we have to destroy every single piece of his will before destroying his physical body."

"You're asking for the impossible. Jinghai is massive. Who knows whose bodies the rest of the Butcher's will is hiding in?" I was being perfectly honest. As far as I was concerned, killing the Butcher would be far too difficult.

"Just because we don't know doesn't mean Zhu Li doesn't." The black-robed man let out a raspy, unpleasant laugh. "I excel at weaving dreams, and you also have quite a deep understanding of the Dream Dao. The first step of our plan begins in a dream..."