Chapter 3045 Visualizing Destiny

Gan Zuoxun.

Appearing out of thin air in broad daylight—who else could this be but the Shangjing municipal officer?

The pressure of his position was evident; in just a few short months, the old man had grown visibly haggard.

So much so that even while standing in the Hall of Knowledge, he showed absolutely no drive to forge ahead.

Paying no mind to the gazes fixed upon him, he merely raised his head toward the streaming sunlight, seemingly enjoying a fleeting moment of afternoon peace.

"His condition is actually a bit better than I imagined."

Yet this scene—one that could practically be featured on a "Touching Shangjing" broadcast—was met the next moment with Excellency Corvos's sharp critique.

Looking Gan Zuoxun up and down, Corvos noted that the Shangjing municipal officer didn't seem as exhausted as one would expect.

Clearly, in his view, an ordinary person caught in the middle of a "hunt" should be far more mentally and physically drained.

Sure enough, this wasn't as simple as merely finding a place with books.

Although the scene was somewhat bizarre, Corvos's casual demeanor left no doubt that the changes before them were his doing.

"I will host you personally." In that moment, Fu Qian finally grasped the true weight of those words from one of the Night Watchers' titans. It went far beyond making Guests Feel at Home—it was practically bringing their actual homes to them.

With a mere gesture, it looked as if he intended to move all of Shangjing here.

The Bookstore was undeniably where Fu Qian spent most of his time in Shangjing, and Old Man Gan was exactly one of the topics they had just discussed.

And in the blink of an eye, they were already converging.

"It is mainly Chief Yuan's doing."

Faced with such a masterful display, Fu Qian marveled, yet he didn't forget to sing the praises of a certain Shangjing director.

"Using the opportunities presented by the recent incidents, she thoroughly cleaned up Shangjing's ecosystem. The municipal officer should have quite a bit more room to operate now."

...

Yuan Shan really was worth every bit of her value as an advisor.

The air grew quiet. On one hand, the analysis sounded quite reasonable; on the other, it was shocking that Professor Fu was actually analyzing this.

Excellency Corvos had merely voiced a passing remark, yet it had directly triggered a sweeping discourse on the political climate of Shangjing.

Who said profiteers didn't care about current affairs and only focused on making money? At that moment, speaking with such assurance, Professor Fu practically carried the air of the architect behind Shangjing's political landscape.

Of course, what was even more shocking was his magnanimity in never forgetting to credit others.

"I have heard... she handled a few matters quite well."

Regardless, given the circumstances, even Corvos could no longer ignore Chief Yuan's achievements. He gave an expressionless nod of acknowledgment.

"Old Man Gan looks a bit withdrawn?"

Since going too far is as bad as falling short, Fu Qian didn't continue drawing unwanted attention to the chief. Snapping back a second later, he finally focused on the true issue at hand.

He wasn't just talking nonsense. The man was someone used to maneuvering with sweeping control, after all; even an afternoon of relaxation shouldn't leave him this devoid of vigilance.

Basking in the sun, Gan Zuoxun seemed enveloped in an extremely peculiar sense of relaxation, truly giving off a feeling of being untroubled by external gains or personal losses.

Aside from feeling the sunlight, everything around him seemed like worldly attachments that he had no desire to acknowledge.

"That is because his consciousness is not actually here. This is merely a manifestation of a brief connection established through destiny."

Clearly having entered his field of expertise, Corvos easily provided the answer.

...Fair enough, this was very Serpent of Destiny.

Excellency Corvos's phrasing was unconstrained enough that Fu Qian, while easily grasping Old Man Gan's state, also recalled his own earlier speculation.

Was he truly a master of destiny?

Was the reason Gan Zuoxun seemed so sluggish that he wasn't even a projection?

It was different even from entering a dream; at this moment, his will remained in Shangjing, hence the lack of reaction to his surroundings.

And at the same time, the true nature of this scene was actually the materialization of "destiny"?

Someone far, far away had their destiny forced into a unique connection simply because they were casually brought up in conversation.

Such methods were truly breathtaking.

And these methods came directly from Corvos's hands.

One could only say that the bond between him and the Serpent of Destiny was so obvious that even a blind man could see it.

So what exactly was this bond?

An avatar? A Divine Child? A fragment? There seemed to be many concepts to guess from, but considering Excellency Serpent of Destiny's state of capital punishment, all of them felt somewhat unfitting.

Of course, there was also the most important point: the Serpent of Destiny had left behind a Death Rattle to lure him here, undoubtedly wanting to use this to escape His predicament. How exactly did He plan to use it?

Numerous questions instantly surged up, and in that moment, Fu Qian felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Regardless of whether it would be difficult to deal with, it seemed there was an opportunity this time to catch a slight glimpse into the mysterious Nightmare Corridor.

"I see. So does this mean Gan Zuoxun was supposed to enjoy peaceful years for the foreseeable future?"

Looking forward to a wonderful future in scientific research, Fu Qian followed the line of thought Corvos provided and deduced further.

He was a practicing charlatan, after all; if he truly treated the scene before him as materialized destiny, there would be far too much to interpret.

"It certainly seems that way, which is why I said his condition is quite good—provided you don't ruin it, of course."

His interpretation skills actually earned the approval of a top-tier charlatan. Corvos indicated that the figure's current state could indeed be treated as a kind of prophecy.

"Interesting. Then what if I go over and say hello right now, and have him approve a special permit for my store?"

Not only was it genuinely like some sort of holographic divination hexagram, but it could even be disrupted to influence destiny itself. Fu Qian was momentarily even more amazed.

"You might get a permit, or you might get much more... Destiny contains too many symbols and concepts; its interpretation is far from stable."

Just as he couldn't imagine the absolute depths of a capitalist's depravity earlier, Corvos, who had long held a high position, seemingly couldn't imagine how difficult certain permits were to obtain.

Seeing that Professor Fu was actually still thinking about commercial planning at a time like this, he was momentarily unsure if the man was being genuine, but he helped provide an answer anyway.

Specifically, it would indeed have an effect, but it was best not to act recklessly, as the method and force required were too difficult to control.

Tap, tap...

Yet even as he said this, another soft sound came from Corvos's hand as he tapped against First Birthday once again.

'There's more?'

Following this action, the gazes of the Crowd grew somewhat unfocused, crossing to look toward two new directions and successfully summoning two younger figures.

Indeed, it was Northern Jiang En and South Taylor, the very prodigies they had just mentioned.

And Corvos's earlier statement seemed to be further verified.

Even though they were two young men, the moment they appeared, they were both incredibly withdrawn. Neither showed any radiant vitality, nor did they care about the gazes surrounding them—oh?

The facts soon proved that the situation was rapidly changing.

Right as Fu Qian was observing them, the two young men—and even Old Man Gan—all slowly turned their heads in near-perfect unison, the three portions of "destiny" looking right at him.