Chapter 403 - 341: Frenzy Spawned by Greed (Part 3)

Chapter 403: Chapter 341: Frenzy Spawned by Greed (Part 3)

He staggered over to his last companion and struggled to help him up before continuing:

"Don’t worry. Once I get that kid’s money and take his wife, I’ll send a pension to your parents."

"Huh?"

His companion froze. Before he could react, he was shoved off the cliff.

’Money, a Holy Artifact, another man’s wife... it’s always best to enjoy these things alone...’

’Plenty of people have died already. No one will care about one more...’

After pushing his last companion off the cliff, the investigator walked over to Lloyd, who had fainted from fright, ready to plunder the spoils of this trip.

But just then, he suddenly heard someone ask in a low voice from behind him:

"You won’t even spare your own men?"

The investigator froze. He suddenly remembered his team had six members. ’How is there still one alive?’

But he didn’t hesitate for long. Keeping his back to the person, he discreetly reloaded his Matchlock Gun, infused it with Spiritual Power, and said:

"No, you’ve misunderstood. I’ve had a grudge against that guy for a long time. He was always going behind my back, colluding with other investigation teams. That’s why our missions always failed and we ended up in a debt crisis. Killing him was just getting revenge for everyone..."

As he spoke, he spun around and fired at the figure behind him.

But the next second, his eyes flew wide open.

He saw the bullet, infused with Spiritual Power, get caught in the other person’s hand with a casual flick of the wrist.

"You... How did you suddenly get so strong?"

"No... that’s not right. Who... who are you?"

As the investigator spoke, the world started spinning. The "companion" standing before him gradually split into two, then revealed that Fat Sheep’s face.

"You... how is this possible?"

The investigator suddenly realized something. A crazed expression washed over his face as he let out a strange cry and lunged at Lloyd.

But then, he saw the other man flick a matchstick with his finger.

In an instant, he felt a cold sensation at his waist, lost his balance, and fell to the ground.

A second later, he realized his lower body was no longer attached to him. It was as if a sharp blade had sliced him in two, leaving a perfectly clean, smooth cross-section.

"AHHHHHH! AHHH!"

He let out a frenzied scream that echoed through the mountains. His upper body writhed and crawled, desperately searching for a final straw to clutch at.

But clearly, no such straw could grow on this narrow, blood-soaked, and squalid mountain path...

"Let’s go."

Lloyd said coldly, turning away.

"Sigh..."

Little Olga shook his head, turned to follow, and asked in a low voice:

"Did you do something to them?"

Lloyd spread his hands innocently.

"I’ve been with you the whole time. You saw my every move, didn’t you?"

"But... then why did they act like they’d lost their minds, putting on this whole farce and killing each other?"

"I don’t know. Maybe the greed in their hearts drove them mad. Or maybe there’s something special about this place? See? They made such a ruckus, but it didn’t even cause an avalanche or anything."

Little Olga pressed his lips together and didn’t press the matter. Instead, he reached out to catch a stray snowflake and followed Lloyd’s change of subject.

"Perhaps. The snow here certainly isn’t normal."

As he spoke, he infused a bit of Spiritual Power into his palm. The snowflake instantly seemed to vaporize, turning into a wisp of white smoke.

This was clearly an unnatural phenomenon, indicating that the snowflakes and the blizzard here were also part of the anomaly.

’That might explain why those men suddenly went insane.’

’Even though that’s a possible explanation, I’m more inclined to believe Lloyd did something.’

’Because that scene just now was simply too bizarre...’

Ever since he’d followed Lloyd’s advice and used a Holy Artifact to break free from the inspiration lock of others at a distance, Lloyd himself had been immediately and firmly locked onto by four strands of inspiration.

For an Extraordinary Being, this was a blatant act of hostility.

Little Olga couldn’t help but worry, but Lloyd acted as if nothing had happened. He continued forward nonchalantly, not caring in the slightest. He even deliberately slowed his pace, waiting for them to catch up.

The inspiration locking onto him kept alternating, clearly a tactic to maintain their condition in preparation for an attack.

But Lloyd just smiled and told Little Olga not to worry, that he should just wait and watch the show.

And so, the two of them arrived at the narrow mountain path. From a short distance away, they watched the two groups fight it out and witnessed the man from the investigation team push his last living companion off the cliff.

’Although their bodies haven’t started to mutate, I have no doubt they’ve all gone mad.’

He even began to suspect that Lloyd had also dabbled in the "Story" path, as this kind of scenario was very much like the plots one found within "Story."

But he couldn’t find the slightest sign of "Story" being activated, nor did he sense Lloyd mobilizing his inspiration or Spiritual Power.

Although Little Olga himself was on the "Projection" path, his own father was a Tier Seven master of the "Story" path. He was obviously very knowledgeable about "Story" and was confident that no one could silently activate "Story" right next to him.

’So how on earth did Lloyd do it?’

’Could it be the legendary "Twist"?’

Unfortunately, no sooner had Little Olga guessed the correct answer than he dismissed it himself.

’No, that’s even more impossible. "Twist"... That is absolutely not a domain humans can set foot in.’

’That’s supposed to be the safest of the Taboo Systems, one that poses no harm to society...’

’In that case, it must be the effect of a Holy Artifact he carries? He is indeed carrying three Holy Artifacts. One of them might have an effect that interferes with the minds of others.’

Little Olga had heard of such Holy Artifacts before.

’Although such a Holy Artifact is extremely precious, not something a young man should possess, Lloyd has indeed shown talent worthy of a major investment. Giving him a powerful Holy Artifact for protection is a plausible explanation.’

’Maybe it’s from the great and powerful Radiant Sect, or perhaps the even more mysterious Mizkatoke?’

And just like that, Little Olga successfully convinced himself...

He didn’t mind that Lloyd was hiding something. After all, even the closest of friends were entitled to their privacy.

Besides, they had only just met, and he himself was also carrying a Holy Artifact he hadn’t told Lloyd about.

Nevertheless, a Holy Artifact that could silently interfere with a person’s thoughts and consciousness filled Little Olga with a deep sense of awe.

He was also secretly glad that they were kindred spirits and could be friends instead of enemies...