Chapter 97: Ocean of Traps
When Geto Suguru entered the villa, he saw Miya Chiri half lying on the sofa with cut fruits on the table beside her. She was playing games on a tablet in her arms. Satoru was sitting at her feet, also looking at something on his phone.
"You guys...are more relaxed than I thought." Before coming in, he thought the atmosphere in the villa was very solemn...or something like that.
Gojo Satoru looked up from his phone and said, "With me here, is there anything I can't solve?"
Gong Zhili smiled softly, and when Gojo Satoru looked over, he coughed lightly and said, "Yes, that's it."
Xia Yujie sat across from him on the sofa and said, "What's going on with that semi-formed special grade on the sea? It's not even solved yet. It's as bright as a lightbulb in the night."
Gong Zhili blinked. "Can it be used as bait? Will it be useful for a noose?"
Geto Suguru looked at Gojo Satoru. Their information about the noose initially came from Satoru. Even though they investigated a lot of things later, when it came to understanding the creature of the noose, they still had to look to Satoru.
Wu Tiao's fingers paused on the phone, and he subconsciously frowned: "Now?"
It’s not that the timing is bad, on the contrary, the timing is quite good, provided that Tuogen is now Zhili’s cursed spirit, and he really doesn’t like the feeling of Zhili being involved.
He looked at Gong Zhili: "Do you also agree to take action now?"
Gong Zhili said calmly, "When risks and opportunities coexist, we must choose the worst-case scenario. We have no plan, and neither does the other party. What do you think is being tested in times like this?"
Hearing this, Geto Suguru paused for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping the armrest of the sofa. "It tests your ability to respond and your grasp of information." He glanced at Gojo Satoru. "We don't know Nozomi's current condition, whether he's nearby, or even if he's interested in this bait."
Gojo Satoru tossed his phone aside and leaned back, his long legs casually extended. "That guy's like a gutter rat, perfect at hiding. He must know we're all here, and there's a nearly special-grade cursed spirit nearby... The temptation is great, but the risk is even greater. If he were smart, he wouldn't show up now." His tone was filled with his usual disdain, but his eyes held no trace of relentlessness.
"So, you mean, he probably won't come?" Gong Zhili put down the tablet and sat up straight. The fruit bowl in her arms shook slightly because of her sudden movement.
"It's not that he won't come, it's that he won't come now," Gojo Satoru corrected. "He's waiting for a more chaotic moment, a better opportunity for him to take advantage. Perhaps when Tagore truly becomes a special-grade character, when the cursed energy explosion is at its most chaotic, or," he paused, his gaze sweeping over Miya Chiri, "when we become vulnerable due to waiting and become anxious."
Geto Suguru continued, "In other words, if we are on high alert and adopt a defensive posture, it will make him even more vigilant and continue to lurk." He frowned slightly, obviously thinking that this was a tricky situation.
Gong Zhili looked down at her fingers, which still lingered with the sweet scent of fruit. She twisted them gently and said, "What if... we do the opposite?"
Both of their eyes were focused on her.
"We acted... like this wasn't a big deal at all." Gong Zhili raised his head, his eyes calm. "Like Wu said just now, with him around, nothing is unsolvable. We maintained this contemptuous attitude towards the outside world, even to the point of making others think we were being a little arrogant and underestimating this near-special-grade cursed spirit. As for internal affairs, we knew we had to keep our nerves on edge."
Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest playing on his lips. "Oh? Loose on the outside, tight on the inside? Deliberately showing off?"
"Yeah." Gong Zhili nodded. "If Nosuo is watching from the side and sees us lax, he might think there's an opportunity. At least it's better than us setting up an iron bucket formation and forcing him to retreat. If he doesn't move, we won't have any chance."
"The most convincing part of this plan is how Satoru looks in the eyes of curse masters and curse spirits." She thought of when she first arrived in the village, she used her mobile phone to access the dark web and saw what other residents of the curse world said about "Gojo Satoru".
What kind of person is Gojo Satoru in the eyes of today's people?
Geto Suguru and Miya Chiri were thinking about the same question at the same time.
Geto Suguru pondered the feasibility of this proposal. "If we use the image that Satoru has always displayed, this plan might be more attractive than we thought. The risk is that if he really comes and we're too relaxed, we might be caught off guard."
"Hey, Jie, are you doubting my abilities?" Gojo Satoru snorted in dissatisfaction. "And what do you two mean? Do you think my outward personality traits can easily put the enemy off guard?"
Geto Summer Oil: "About the same."
Gong Zhili was more tactful: "Wu, you are very trustworthy when it comes to serious matters."
Gojo Satoru: "..." Had he really been looked down upon like this in his previous life, when he was in his early twenties? When he was twenty-eight, he was almost single-handedly fighting against those special-grade cursed spirits. It seemed as if he had been withstanding the pressure for a long time.
Perhaps it was because when he was tenth generation old, he had tragically...
He suddenly smiled: Am I now considered a "young man full of vigor and vitality" in the eyes of others?
If it was the young Gojo Satoru, he might really think that this kind of thing is no big deal, because he was already the "strongest" at that time.
Noose, then I'll wait for you here.
Gojo Satoru turned off the screen and took Miyajiri's hand in his own. His fingertips caressed the back of her hand, and a subtle frown crossed his face. He'd experienced worse futures and knew the patience and ruthlessness of Nose. "The timing's perfect," he said. "Tagon is your cursed spirit now. Drag him in, and you'll be a prime target. Nose's methods... are filthy."
"So what's your judgment?" Gong Zhili asked with a calm expression, but he gently hooked his fingers in his palm, as if to comfort him, or as if to agree with his concerns.
"When risks and opportunities coexist, we must first secure a way out and calculate the worst-case scenario." Gojo Goku didn't directly answer yes or no, revealing a cautious approach. "If we don't make arrangements, he won't be more fully prepared. In times like these, it all comes down to who makes the first mistake, who loses patience the most."
Xia Yujie continued, unconsciously rubbing his fingers together. "We know nothing about his current state, location, or even his intentions. If we proactively reveal a flaw, the trap will be too obvious and we might be exploited."
The plan gradually took shape as the three people carefully deduced.
Geto Suguru contacted a very small number of people he could trust.
Inside the villa, everything seems normal, but undercurrents are surging.
Gojo Satoru was still as casual as ever, eating desserts, playing games, and acting out his scenes. It was as if he was having a party with friends at a beachfront villa, and he had no interest in the cursed baby in the sea.
Miya Chiri herself was in a rather dangerous situation. She had to control the fluctuations of the cursed energy on the sea surface, which were sometimes stable, and sometimes would suddenly surge out of control due to Tagore's instinctive restlessness, and then barely calm down after she "concentrated her mind". She would occasionally lean on Gojo Satoru, as if seeking support, her face slightly pale, as if her mental energy had been greatly depleted.
Geto Suguru was completely impressed by Miya Chiri's acting skills and her increasing control. He never thought she could act like this. At the same time, he also realized that Miya Chiri was really injured a while ago. This dangerous situation made him feel scared.
The days passed in a highly alert "natural show".
The cursed power of Tagore is growing day by day, the breath of the ocean is becoming heavy and violent, the barrier around the villa is always activated, and Gojo Satoru's six eyes silently cover a huge area. Miya Chiri asked him, wouldn't it be tiring to maintain six eyes of such strength?
Gojo Satoru said, "I've stopped caring about this kind of thing a long time ago."
They are waiting, waiting patiently.
On the sixth day, it was the darkest moment before dawn.
In the living room, Gong Zhili suddenly opened his eyes, raised his head from Gojo Satoru's shoulder, and whispered, "It's almost done."
Deep beneath the sea, the long-accumulated power exploded. The dark and sticky cursed energy distorted the sea water, forming a huge whirlpool. The sea surface was stirred up by raging waves, and a pure and violent special aura unscrupulously announced its birth.
The special-grade cursed spirit Togen completes its evolution at this moment!
Almost at the same time, in Gojo Satoru's six-eye vision, the cursed power of all things flowed freely, and the space beside Geto Suguru moved slightly, and the cursed spirit was ready to be unleashed.
However--
Apart from the terrifying new special-grade cursed power, there was no strange movement around.
There were no lurkers, no traps triggered, no space distortions, and no familiar, cold atmosphere of conspiracy.
Only the waves roared under the power of the newborn curse spirit.
They were on guard from dawn until bright day, but there was no response to the cursed spirit warning line set up by Geto Suguru. The remaining cursed power of Tagore on the sea surface was cleaned up by Gojo Satoru using the virtual style "茈".
Gojo Satoru's six eyes slowly returned to normal. He made a deadpan sound, put his arm around Gong Zhili's waist, and pulled her closer to him: "She didn't come." It was disappointment as expected, but not unexpected. He knew Nozomi's caution and cunning better than anyone else.
The plan failed and the fish didn't bite.
"Forget it." Gojo Satoru's tone couldn't be described as disappointment or anything else. He lowered his head and rubbed Gong Zhili's hair with his chin. "It seems that this little bait is not enough to make the thousand-year-old rotten orange take the risk." He looked at Gong Zhili, "How do you feel now? Is the Torgen still under your control? Do you need my help to deal with it?"
Gong Zhili didn't answer immediately. She closed her eyes slightly, feeling the power coursing through her body. The moment Tagore completed his evolution, the same, yet incredibly powerful, oceanic mantra surged back, like a flood bursting through a dam, washing through her meridians and eventually merging into a deep pool, becoming gentle yet majestic. The power that had always required her to control with distraction was now at her fingertips. Her perception of the ocean reached a whole new level, a feeling of control that bordered on power.
She opened her eyes, and there seemed to be a tide surging in the depths of her eyes. She looked up and smiled at Gojo Satoru: "Now... it truly belongs to me." She raised her hand and casually waved out the window - the sea surface that was originally born from Indagon and then destroyed by Gojo, suddenly calmed down its restless waves at a speed visible to the naked eye, and became as gentle as an inner lake.
"There's no need to deal with it," she said softly, feeling the power of being one with the world, her tone light and cheerful, "The ocean is much more obedient now." She leaned in Gojo Satoru's arms, her eyebrows curved with a smile.
Geto Xia Yu stood up and felt it: "The special aura is gradually disappearing, Zhili, is this your doing?"
Gong Zhili clenched her palms, and a miniature Tagore appeared in her palms. "Yes, look, the real 'Sperm ○ Ball'."
Gojo Satoru was speechless: "What a boring joke."
Gong Zhili pondered, "If Nosuo came here at this time, he would be completely buried in the sea."
The seaside is now her other home.
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The author has something to say: I've been going to bed after midnight and getting up after six for three days in a row. After finishing writing today, I have to work overtime again. I feel like my soul is flying behind me. If I don't ask for leave and don't update the article in the next two days, I can only say that I fell asleep while working overtime...
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