Qin Zhongquan explained a few more things, and the three of them fell into a brief silence. He noticed something hidden in the other two's eyes, and immediately realized what was happening. He asked, "It's so late, what else do you want to say?"
This time it was the first mate who spoke first. He said, "Captain, I think after we depart, you'd better follow that man's prediction."
Qin Zhongquan blinked twice, confused by the meaning of these two flippant individuals. "But you just told me to be more independent-minded, so why are you asking me to give up thinking now? This isn't like you guys before! Let me guess—are you feeling threatened?"
The priest replied cunningly, "He said that people always lose faith because of contradictions, hesitation, and the tendency to focus on one thing while neglecting another. I don't believe he's divine, so his words don't move me. I believe that person will do whatever it takes to maintain his position in people's minds—you know, there are countless ways to make a prophecy come true." He paused and exhaled, as if he had found some inexplicable confidence. "For example, if I predicted someone's death in public, why wouldn't I send an assassin to kill them? If I predicted someone had no interest in power, why wouldn't I seize upon their lethal evidence and use it to coerce them? It's all very simple. After all, I'm a top-notch charlatan."
"Uh..." Qin Zhongquan said with a twitch of his lips, "Then tell me, what should I do?"
"Follow his lead, but feel free to add your own judgment on the details," the first mate replied.
The priest also smiled and nodded.
"This way we can find his weaknesses at the lowest cost."
"Oh, have you made any contingency plans?" Qin Zhongquan realized that they might have discussed it privately in the past few days, and his palms became sticky due to nervousness.
"It's hard to say," the first mate replied, shaking his head. "Until we've tested it, we won't know what the cost will be. If we're irreplaceable, it'll only embarrass us. If we're merely part of his prophecy, then death won't be a big deal."
"In other words, if you try to resist, you must be ready to face death at any time," the priest continued.
"Of course." Qin Zhongquan regained his dignity as a captain. "If not, I wouldn't be able to become the leader of the mercenary group. I plan to..."
"You don't need to explain this to us." The priest waved his hand, his eyes firm. "We've already made preparations. When the time comes, all you need to do is give the order, and we'll know your choice, and the answer will come to us."
"Okay, let's go and rest first!"
"No, I'm going to the cafeteria to get something to eat..."
After bidding the two farewell, Qin Zhongquan's posture returned to its original state. Outwardly, he appeared relaxed, but this time, his mood was even more pessimistic. Now, he had only two choices: treat all this as a dream, or worship the man who called himself Lin Ke as a god.
In reality, he had been communicating with the mysterious man the entire time, though he hadn't shown it. The man had predicted everything they were saying three seconds in advance, even the pauses and punctuation were impeccable. Every word they spoke filled him with a feeling of powerlessness, fear, and despair, as if his life and memories were but a small program in a computer, subject to deletion or modification at any moment.
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