The person before him was the woman who had appeared alongside Scar during their brief encounter in Qichi Village.

Her deep, abyss-like pupil—the one not concealed by bandages—stared at him with utter indifference.

“Surprised to see me?”

Lucian narrowed his eyes. He was rather surprised.

To be transported to this unknown place without anyone noticing—could it be another teleportation ability like Scar’s?

Lucian had no way of knowing.

Beep beep beep—

His terminal rang, but he didn’t reach for it. Instead, he kept his guard up, watching the woman closely.

She glanced at the terminal hanging behind him.

“Strange… your terminal still works here.”

Still works here?

Meaning this place was isolated from the outside world?

At the very least, ordinary terminals shouldn’t function here.

But his terminal had been modified by the system, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected that it could still operate.

Though if that was the case…

No wonder I could see Jinhsi’s reply on the forum yesterday—was it because of this terminal?

That explained some of his confusion.

After all, terminals couldn’t be used within the temporal currents of Mt. Firmament.

Neither Sanhua nor Changli had been able to contact Jinhsi.

“I suppose it’s Rover calling. She really does care about you.”

Lucian also figured it must be Rover.

If nothing had gone wrong, she should have already arrived at Mt. Firmament by now.

But he didn’t confirm the woman’s guess. Being taken away from Rover’s side was a dereliction of duty for a Black Shores consultant!

“Why did you bring me here?”

Before she could answer, a figure emerged from the water, gradually taking shape.

The newcomer wore a crimson robe, his face concealed by a red mask adorned with a golden cross at its center.

Notably, both of his arms were made of metal.

Lucian doubted this could even be called a human anymore.

Fractsidus had used technology to transform its followers into inhuman beings.

The man bowed slightly, exuding deference.

“Lady Phrolova, Counselor Changli of Jinzhou and Rover have entered the temporal barrier of Mt. Firmament.”

Phrolova?

Was that her name?

Or was it her codename within Fractsidus?

At least Changli and Rover were safe—that eased Lucian’s mind somewhat.

The woman called Phrolova gave a slight nod.

“Everything is proceeding as planned.”

“You may withdraw. Continue monitoring them.”

The red-robed man bowed again. “Understood.”

Then, he vanished into the water as if he had never been there.

Lucian and Phrolova stood in silence, neither speaking for a long while.

Finally, Phrolova broke the quiet.

“You’re strong.”

Lucian: “…”

She took two steps toward him. Lucian tightened his grip on the Yamato, ready to strike at any moment.

He didn’t know Phrolova’s true strength, so he hadn’t acted rashly.

But anyone capable of bringing him here unnoticed was undoubtedly formidable.

Phrolova’s expression remained blank. Lucian sensed a kind of world-weariness in her—an indifference to everything.

Still, he wouldn’t be surprised by any eccentricities in Fractsidus.

After all, Scar was the prime example of a madman.

“There’s no need to be so tense.”

Her gaze shifted to the eerie crimson moon as she spoke slowly.

“Among those I know, only Rover is stronger than you.”

Rover is stronger than me?

Lucian couldn’t deny it—after all, Rover always managed to land precise strikes on the back of his head.

That said, he felt they were currently evenly matched!

This wasn’t overconfidence. If they were to fight seriously, he believed the outcome would be a draw.

Her combat experience far surpassed his—that was undeniable.

But with the system on his side, his methods were far more versatile. It was hard to say who would win.

Though, as the system had described Rover as a “growth-type character,” she had gained the Havoc attribute after defeating the Dreamless.

If she continued recovering her other attributes, it was hard to imagine just how powerful she would become.

But he wasn’t lacking either. With the system backing him, and Rover’s strength being his strength as well—

In short, if the two of them joined forces, they would be invincible!

Phrolova watched Lucian’s contemplative expression and spoke softly.

“So, what do you say? Will you join Fractsidus?”

Lucian: “…”

It seemed that ever since Rover woke up, she had been under the scrutiny of various factions.

But as someone equally powerful, he was also a target of interest.

Still, joining Fractsidus?

No thanks.

He had no desire to become some grotesque monstrosity.

Though with his strength, he could probably secure a high-ranking position…

After all, even Scar couldn’t defeat him.

Lucian shook his head slightly.

Phrolova nodded. “As expected.”

Lucian: “…”

He had no idea how to respond to Phrolova’s deadpan expression.

And her demeanor suggested everything was going exactly as she planned.

“Did Fractsidus really imprison the Sentinel?”

Lucian voiced the question that had been on his mind.

Given Fractsidus’s capabilities, he doubted they could imprison a “deity” as ancient as the heavens themselves.

Phrolova didn’t evade the question—perhaps confident that Lucian couldn’t escape.

“Fractsidus alone doesn’t have the power to accomplish such a feat.”

“But we utilized external forces… along with certain circumstances regarding the Sentinel itself.”

“We conducted a small experiment. Fortunately, it succeeded.”

“However, there are still some hypotheses we need to verify.”

“And Rover is the most critical piece of that puzzle.”

Lucian pondered her words. It seemed the Sentinel had indeed undergone some change, allowing Fractsidus to exploit the situation.

As for Fractsidus’s true goal…

Lucian doubted Phrolova would reveal it.

But he suspected imprisoning the Sentinel wasn’t their ultimate objective.

Scar had once said they sought to destroy the world and usher in a new era.

Perhaps this was related.

Imprisoning the Sentinel was likely just one step in Fractsidus’s grand scheme.

“Then… why bring me here? I have nothing to do with this.”

Changli had also called him an “unstable element”—someone outside the game board.

Perhaps Fractsidus simply didn’t want him interfering unexpectedly.

Well… he was already beyond the Three Realms, transcending the Five Elements.

Lucian smirked inwardly.

At that moment, Phrolova rubbed her fingers together, and a strange red flower bloomed between them.

“If you’re not one of us, then you’re our enemy.”

“Someone like you… is an existence Fractsidus cannot tolerate.”

“If you refuse to join us…”

Her voice turned cold.

“…we have no choice but to eliminate you.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep