Chapter 68: Unshakable 11

The morning light penetrated the glass, and tiny particles of dust flashed in the air like stars.

The hooded girl was surprised by the delicious food on the plate, with a smile on her lips; the man with long black hair had a complicated expression, muttering about his debts; the young man with brown hair and golden eyes was eating leisurely, the red at the corners of his eyes looked like the morning glow.

The picture is leisurely and warm, like a fairy tale.

It was as if it was not them who captured Assassin alive last night, but another participant.

Matou Ruanyan was silent for a moment, then continued to walk forward at a slow pace. His wooden cane poked the carpet, and the sound was absorbed by the soft fur.

Weber was the first to notice his arrival.

Ten years have passed, and the appearance of Jiantong Ranyan has not changed at all, but his temperament has become more gloomy and sinister, like a bug lurking in the dark, ready to pull people into the insect tide and eat them at any time.

Weber couldn't help but frown.

"Mr. Zhongli," he whispered, "is here."

Zhong Li responded in a low voice.

After the reminder, Weber remained silent, weighing Zhongli's attitude. However, until Jiantong Dirty Inkstone walked to the dining table, Zhongli did not give any response, concentrating on enjoying the first cup of tea in the morning.

The atmosphere gradually became heavy.

Grey glanced at her master cautiously, and when she saw Weber shook his head, she said nothing and buried her head in "eating" breakfast - she had no appetite, and just poked the food on the plate lightly with her knife and fork, but did not put it into her mouth.

Because the dirty inkstone of Matou exudes a "corrupt" breath, he doesn't look like a human, but more like a ghost. Gray can't help but recall the days when she lived in the cemetery and faced the dead.

Weber didn't know what Gray was thinking and was concentrating on trying to figure out what Zhong Li meant.

Mr. Zhongli is... preparing to give him a warning?

Magicians are always arrogant, and Matou Ruoyan has a special status: as the head of a family, he has participated in at least two Holy Grail Wars, is familiar with the terrain, has rich experience, and is highly skilled in magic... These are all reasons for his arrogance. Even if Assassin is detained by them, he may not feel that he is at a disadvantage. He may think that they need his help, so they dare not destroy Assassin, and then go further.

Weber observed the expression of Jiantong Ranyan with his peripheral vision. The old magician had a sullen face now, and he might really have such thoughts.

So... Mr. Zhongli wants to suppress his arrogance and make him give up this idea as soon as possible?

The more Weber thought about it, the more certain he became. This thought was confirmed when Zhongli put down his teacup and asked in a friendly manner why Jiantong Ranyan stayed here.

However, the next moment, even Weber, who had been mentally prepared, was still shocked by Zhongli's ability to lie with his eyes open.

Zhong Li: "Child, have you been separated from your family?"

Jian Tong Dirty Inkstone: “?”

Weber: “???”

Gray: “???”

Jian Tong Ran Yan was so angry that he started coughing so hard that he could hardly stand. Weber couldn't help coughing twice and hinted, "Mr. Zhong Li, be moderate."

Jian Tong Ran Yan is at least a hundred years old. How can Mr. Zhong Li, who is so young, give himself a super seniority right away? ? ?

Even if you want to intimidate someone, you can't use such a simple and crude method, right? !

Hoshino Nozomi, who had not slept all night to keep an eye on Assassin, was finally awakened by the cough: "..."

No more sleepiness.

He then realized that the silhouette beside him was short because the old man was hunched over, not because he was young; and that the "coming" that Weber had just mentioned was referring to Assassin's suzerain, not the leftovers.

Hoshino Nozomi realized that he had said something wrong, and mentally called the system: [ooc?]

System: [No... this, this, this... it doesn't seem to be wrong...]

Xingye Wang thought about it and it made sense. The Rock God was over 6,000 years old. According to his age, he was old enough to be the ancestor of everyone present. What was wrong with calling him a "child"?

Moreover, magicians attach great importance to the power of blood inheritance. If Matou Ranyan knew the identity of Yan Shen, he would probably wish that Yan Shen was really his ancestor.

Thinking of this, Xingye Wang instantly gained confidence. He pretended that nothing had happened just now and said to the extra empty seat, "Please take a seat."

Matou Dirty Inkstone: “…”

He was angry and refused coldly: "No need, no need for unnecessary politeness."

Zhong Li did not force it, smiled slightly and said "OK".

Matou Ruoyan knew that they could not take the initiative, so he said bluntly: "I need to meet Assassin."

The connection with the Servant has not been cut off, but knowing that the Servant is alive is not enough. Matou Kuran needs to confirm Assassin's condition. If Assassin's Noble Phantasm has been abolished, then there is no need for him to get involved with this group of people.

If not, you can merge with Assassin and then act accordingly to counterattack or escape.

Hoshino Motoko nodded in agreement, and when he stood up, he looked at him deeply, thinking that this old man in poor health was really hardworking. People of the same age would probably have retired, but he was still fighting the Holy Grail War diligently.

And I haven't won after so many fights.

Jiantong Ranyan tightened his hand on the crutch, because Zhongli's eyes were deliberately lingering on him.

From detaining the Assassin without killing him, to the show of authority he showed upon entering the door, to the other two people's implicit respect for him...all of these show that Zhong Li is in a special position and has other plans.

Zhongli agreed to his request so easily. Was it because he really didn't know what he was thinking, or did he think...it was useless for him to think more?

Matou Ranyan took a deep breath.

As the three of them moved forward, Jian Tong Ruo Yan thought of countless scenarios, the most likely one being that this group of people wanted to use this as a threat in exchange for extremely valuable items from the Jian Tong family.

Or is it...the book of false ministers?

By casting a command seal, the Lord can create a magic contract that transfers the Lord's authority, allowing the person holding the Book of Treason to use the Servant. Initially, he wanted his granddaughter Matou Sakura to do this, but unfortunately the summoning failed and he had to change his plan temporarily.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he became. Whether Rider could be summoned was an unknown. If they wanted to increase their chances of winning, using Heroic Spirits in this way was the fastest way. If they were lucky enough to win in the end, they could try one more time and make Assassin commit suicide before he could backstab them. At least that would be enough to meet the conditions for the wish.

Along the way, Jiantong Ranyan's mind was in a whirlwind, so when he heard that Zhongli just wanted to know some information, Jiantong Ranyan's expression almost froze.

He looked at Assassin, who had his treasure sealed but not tortured, and asked woodenly, "For example?"

"Existing heroes, alliances, and Russian youth who are also outsiders."

"…Archer, Assassin, and Berserker, there are only these three Heroic Spirits left now," said Matou Ruoyan, "Archer and Berserker's protectors are the current heads of the Tosaka and Einzbern families, respectively."

"If you guys hadn't joined, Fuyuki would have been a three-way battle."

Zhong Li asked subtly: "He didn't interfere?"

"That Russian?" Jian Tong Ran Yan smiled sinisterly, probably because he found it funny. "He rarely shows up."

"Assassin not only patrols at night, but he is also rarely seen during the day. He acts in a very low profile."

Zhong Li: “…”

Low profile?

If the previous Ray movie did not resolve Lovecraft, the real-life version of the sinking of Japan has now been staged.

He reasonably suspected that this time Fyodor was doing something big in silence again.

"However, he definitely wants to obtain the Holy Grail," Matou Ruoyan continued. "He rarely showed up before. He probably felt that it was not the right time to take action yet and wanted to sit back and watch the fight."

Zhong Li had a bad feeling and said calmly, "I believe Assassin's ability is more than that."

Upon hearing this, Matou Ruoyan snorted coldly: "He has a special person to protect him. Assassin almost died at the hands of that person."

The "special person" must be referring to Chi Wang.

With the protection of the demon god, Jian Tong Ruo Yan knew very little. When Zhong Li asked him about other anomalies in the Holy Grail War, Jian Tong Ruo Yan just shook his head.

Weber suddenly put his hand on Zhong Li's shoulder: "You'd better think about your answer."

Jian Tong Ran Yan said calmly: "Oh?"

He was disdainful in his heart. A magician who had just arrived needed to ask him about the distribution of heroic spirits. What inside information could he know? He was just deceiving him.

Weber: "In recent days, there have been several large-scale power outages in Fuyuki City, as well as a large number of people falling unconscious. The plants in these places have withered and decayed to varying degrees."

"Even if it were a heroic spirit, it would be difficult to achieve this kind of effect. Assassin, don't you know anything?"

Matou Dirty Inkstone: “…”

Zhong Li asked curiously: "How did you know?"

Weber said seriously, "Go online."

After returning to his room last night, he spent some time going through the latest Fuyuki news with Gray.

He had seen many old bones like Jian Tong Ran Yan, who were conservative in their thinking and knew nothing about the rapidly developing technology in contemporary society.

Zhongli nodded and said with emotion, "The power of human technology." Jiantong Ranyan felt that the two of them were teaming up to annoy him.

He uttered an unclear word: "It's a shadow."

Zhong Li thought of the black mist in the magic workshop that could arouse people's evil thoughts.

...is it a thing?

Matou Ruoyan said that the black shadow had appeared several times at night, and the large-scale power outages and people's coma were also the result of the black shadow absorbing magic power. The black shadow can devour the servants, which is likely related to the Holy Grail.

Weber thought to himself that it was no wonder that the Holy Grail War started early. If there was such an additional way to obtain magic power, it would be much faster to accumulate magic power.

He wanted to continue asking, but Jiantong Ruoyan suddenly smiled sinisterly.

Weber's breathing stagnated, and a black shadow flashed before his eyes, followed by Gray's strong pull -

"Bang!"

The cracked glass shattered, and Assassin quickly disappeared into the sky, carrying the dirty Matou inkstone.

"Master, are you okay?!" Gray asked anxiously, "Mr. Zhongli, they..."

"It's okay, let them be." Zhong Li looked calm.

Weber stood firm and said, "Mr. Zhongli, have you noticed something was wrong a long time ago?"

Zhong Li nodded.

During the conversation, Jian Tong Ran Yan released a few bugs while they were not paying attention.

In a room filled with furniture, a few bugs naturally "disappeared" from everyone's sight, but to Zhong Li, these moving bright spots were very conspicuous, making it difficult for him not to notice them.

The bugs, probably the magic of Matou Ruoyan, slowly crawled towards Assassin and untied Weber's magic circle.

Zhong Li did not stop him.

His main goal was to get rid of the Red King, and smashing the Holy Grail was only his last resort. He had no need to speed up the Holy Grail's appearance, and he didn't want to please Fyodor.

If he killed Assassin, Fyodor would naturally be happy to see it happen.

"Jiantong Ranyan is not telling the truth," Zhongli said, "If the 'black shadow' is really completely uncontrollable, he would not have tried to hide it in the first place."

"Perhaps he wants us to be more helpless when facing the shadow?" Gray asked in a low voice.

Zhong Li said in a gentle voice: "How does he know that we will definitely encounter it? Maybe we haven't encountered this low-probability event until the Holy Grail changes hands and we leave Fuyuki."

He suspected that the dirty inkstone of Matou could interfere with the actions of "Black Shadow" to a certain extent, and releasing the dirty inkstone of Matou was also to allow him to reveal more information.

"——Change of ownership?" Gilgamesh's voice suddenly sounded.

The Hero King stood on the balcony without a smile in his eyes: "The Holy Grail is in my treasure house."

Zhong Li turned away calmly: "I'm just talking about a possibility."

Gilgamesh: "That is impossible!"

"Yes, that's impossible," Zhong Li said, "Come in?"

Gilgamesh then snorted, stepped over the broken glass, and said to Weber in dissatisfaction, "What's with that expression on your face, bastard?"

Weber embellished the phrase "Why are you here again?" with "Hero King, why are you visiting?"

"I don't need a reason to visit you," Gilgamesh raised his eyebrows and turned to Zhong Li and said, "I suddenly remembered something interesting, so I'll take you to see it."

Isn't this still a reason? ! Weber complained.

Gilgamesh ignored Weber and Gray's thoughts, walked up to Zhongli and motioned for him to follow.

*

"Is this what you wanted to show me?"

Zhong Li looked towards the dark corner of the alley.

Under the royal treasure thrown by Gilgamesh, Assassin took Matou Ruan and hid from place to place, and finally forced Matou Ruan to split into countless insects before he was able to escape - or in other words, he was spared by Gilgamesh.

The alley soon returned to silence, with only a dozen or so insect carcasses left.

"This is what the old bastard is now, a bunch of bugs," Gilgamesh said. "If the bug is damaged, he will eat humans to repair himself in order to survive."

He looked into Zhong Li's eyes and said briskly, "Humans will go to such lengths to survive. What about you?"

Gilgamesh found this very funny.

Although he hated the various ways that Matou dirty inkstones, he could understand the logic behind his actions.

The fact that gods possess eternal life is fundamentally contrary to humans, who have a short lifespan and fear of death, let alone understanding their obsession with "life".

The difference between gods and humans is not only reflected in power and lifespan, but also in thinking.

If Zhongli wants to give up his status as a god and become a human being, he must first change his own thinking.

Gilgamesh was very curious about how Zhongli would answer.

He was even more curious about why Zhongli wanted to become a human being.