Affected by the reduced intelligence, everyone else present showed a certain degree of sluggishness, as if thinking had become a difficult task.
Vermeer was completely unaffected.
She looked at Zollman who was holding his head not far away, forcing him to talk to her.
"That makes sense, then what?"
"Then..." Zolman shook his head, "Don't think you can deceive me!"
"...?"
Could it be that he was not so severely affected?
Zollman said dissatisfied: "You must want to imitate us after listening to this, right? It's useless. How can our feats be copied so easily? How much effort we have spent since we started this plan twenty years ago."
All right……
Vermeer let the staff rest in her hand, relaxed a little and said, "Since we can't imitate it, it doesn't matter if we say it. This will also let us know where we lost."
Zolman showed a "right?" expression.
But he quickly put away his expression, "Huh, listen, stupid guy, I'm going to tell you an amazing secret."
"Ah, yes, yes..."
Vermeer nodded repeatedly, but groaned in her heart.
If you fall into your own trap, you are not that smart!
"I want it too, I want it too!"
Lu Yi suddenly came over at this time.
She waved to the two of them excitedly, dangling her feet off the ground and said, "I also have a lot of secrets to share! Lu Yi knows a lot!"
"Oh?" Zolman's attention was drawn away, "What secrets can you have?"
"Hahahaha! Don't you know it? I stole the things you were hiding!"
"I know," Zolman responded. "I saw you break it into pieces."
"Uh..." Lu Yi suddenly shrank, "Lu Yi didn't do it on purpose, it's none of Lu Yi's business!"
Then he jumped through space and disappeared to nowhere.
call……
Vermeer breathed a sigh of relief and secretly wiped her head.
I was originally worried about the impact of Lu Yi's sudden appearance, so I winked at her several times but didn't notice it at all.
Fortunately it's okay.
Zolman looked at the figure of the Crooked Demon disappearing for unknown reasons, but lowered his head and pondered, "But... I clearly put it in the magic control box in my arm, and it is supposed to be protected by the immaterial shield and the curvature force field. , it can’t be taken away..."
Bump, quack, bang.
While he was meditating, the screws and springs suddenly popped out of the metal on his arm, and various parts crackled all over the floor.
"...?"
Zolman showed doubts, but Luyi unexpectedly reappeared where he originally disappeared.
"Haha~ Who said I only got one!" She stuck out her tongue playfully, as if leaving just now was just a pretense, "Elise told me to seize the opportunity and try my best to take away all the key props on your body. ~"
"What?!"
"Slightly~~"
Lu Yi made a face, turned her back and patted her butt, looking proud of her successful prank.
Zollman was shocked for a moment, but soon the expression on his face turned into a sneer, and he ignored the sparking instrument in his hand.
"Your secrets are nothing compared to mine."
He said confidently and confidently.
Vermeer: "..."
They seem completely unaware of their declining intelligence...
However, this also let Wei Mier know that the other party would fall into her trap because Ilusi and Lu Yi had taken precautions in advance. I am afraid that when she and Luo Wei were attacking from both sides, she created an opportunity for Lu Yi to steal. File it.
Hmm... So Luo Wei is also aware of it?
Then why doesn't he move...
"Who, who said that?" Lu Yi said with a quibble, "The one just now was just an appetizer. The real secret will scare you!"
"Oh? Then tell me?"
"Hehe, I took the note from Ayi Ning's door. She must still be resentful of Uncle Luo Wei for breaking the date!"
Ayi Ning: "..."
Vermeer scratched her head.
What's the note on the door?
It just so happened that Zolman was also thinking about the same question, and who was Lovie Brook's uncle? Why do people resent his uncle's betrayal?
With countless questions popping up in his mind, Zollman stood there stunned.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Lu Yi was dull for a moment, and then decided to pursue the victory: "Also, Shaye's butt is big and round, and Uncle Luo Wei touched it all over!"
Shaye: "...!"
Well……
I always feel that a lot has happened in these three days...
Now is not the time to think about that.
"Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense..."
Shaye, with dazed eyes, hesitated, but Zollman raised his head, without even looking at her, and smiled contemptuously at Lu Yi: "I thought what you were going to say was not useless. .”
"Varied……!"
The angel couldn't bear it, and anger filled his godless eyes. Shaye pulled out a spear and was about to stab someone. Ayi Ning, who was covering her head, held her down, and the two fell together.
Zollman snorted coldly: "It's just boring things."
He showed an expression that said, "Since you want to know so much, I will tell you with mercy" and said slowly:
"What we are doing is a great undertaking."
"The history of the past keeps repeating itself. The cities built on this land were destroyed again and again, so frequently that even the major books are no longer willing to record it. Today's Crownless City is nothing more than the next wreckage to be succeeded at any time."
"The adjacency of great countries, conflicts between alien races, monsters emerging from chaotic earth lines, alien passages in the forest, the old battlefields of divine wars... Due to its location and special and rich resources, there will definitely be people gathering in this area, but there will never be any. A city that lasts cannot be erected.”
"Over the past fifty years, we have discovered this desperate truth."
"So we decided to save it."
save.
I remember hearing Luo Wei mention that when he met people from the Craftsmen's Guild underground, they also said that what they did was to save Wuguan City, and even invited them to join.
Being reduced in intelligence, such words seem to represent the other party's true thoughts.
It's just that when it comes from the other person's mouth, it always gives people a sense of madness.
"How to save?" Vermeer asked.
"Oh, why should I tell you."
Is it too straightforward?
Vermeer noticed that if the question raised was too sensitive, the other party would remain tight-lipped based on a certain sense of crisis.
But it's easy to convince the other party with just a little subtlety.
Uh...is this what it feels like to deal with a fool? How come it seems like...I've also experienced it...
"But there are some things we already know," Vermeer looked back, "such as the mutants outside."
Zolman sneered.
"Mutants? Is that what you call them? What an expression of ignorance."
"Then what are they?"
"They are nothing," Zolman responded to her, pressing his head. "They are the new residents of Crownless City."
"What's the meaning?"
"Can't you understand this? Of course they will live in this brand new city when Crownless City is free from the influence of its surroundings."
Mutants are... the new residents of Crownless City?
"What about the original residents?" Wei Mier asked.
"Haha..." Zolman sneered again, "Black Flame's technology has matured. From the old people to the new people, it is just a matter of ceremony, but not everyone has the opportunity. Only those who pass our strict screening are qualified. Become a new people.”
"But they..."
Vermeer thought about the process of transformation. On the surface, these people looked no different from humans, but as long as they were driven by a thought, they would turn into monsters with horns on their heads and lose their sanity as humans.
"But this transformation is simply irreversible!" she said. "Can I become a human again after becoming like that?"
"Of course not," Zollman said lightly.
Immediately afterwards, his eyes became fanatical, and he stretched out his hands outwards, as if he had been looking forward to the day when he could publicly announce it to everyone.
"What's the problem with this? Human beings are weak and can only be restrained by mandatory conditions. If you don't want to lose your identity as a human, then try to realize your own value in the city! Wuguan City has experienced so many hardships, and the new city Naturally, there is no need for people who do nothing. At a critical period, everyone has the responsibility to defend the city, and dedicating their lives is their qualification to board the city!"
Vermeer frowned after hearing this.
"You mean that all the new residents you have transformed now are all 'voluntary'?"
Zollman slowly lowered his hand. "They will understand."
Vermeer's face darkened.
"Let me ask again, you said you have to pass the screening to become a new resident. What about those who fail?"
"To change the current situation of Crownless City, these sacrifices are necessary. Those who stand out from the old people will have outstanding bodies, perfect obedience, loyalty that will never leak information, and excellent coping abilities. As long as they are in Guided by their thoughts, they continue to build, and Wuguan City will soon become an existence superior to the Second Continent and enter a new era!"
"Answer me directly, what will happen to those who fail!" Wei Mier asked sternly.
Zollman was silent for a long time this time, his narrow eyes slightly narrowed.
He finally said only four words:
"To fend for itself."
Vermeer choked up and gritted her teeth after hearing this answer.
It’s not “expelled from the city.”
Rather, it “lives and dies on its own.”
Luo Wei's worries are not wrong. If this city will eventually be destroyed, it will be neither the suppressing army nor the sanctions of gods that will ruin it all.
But it was destroyed in the hands of these lunatics.
She secretly clenched her fists and personally decided to follow her own path. She didn't want to pretend to be righteous, and she understood the necessity of the conspiracy by following Luo Wei all the way.
but--
She never thought that the craftsmen would act like this to save Wu Guan City.
"Rescue? Stop talking nonsense." Vermeer gritted her teeth and said.
"What?"
"I only see you putting shackles on people's thoughts, blocking other people's freedom, deciding life and death with just a thought in your heart, and ruthlessly destroying their lives in the face of attacks. Even if I become your new citizen, I They all feel that it would be better to let the Hoof Fire Empire rule. Although they are deprived of the power to forge independently, at least they will not have their dreams and lives taken away by Cao Cao because of worries about their inner thoughts!"
Vermeer glared at the other party and said word by word:
"As for those people you don't intend to accept, you are even worse than not caring about their life and death. You only want them to make sacrifices to establish your so-called new era. Please clarify one thing first. Crownless City is a city of craftsmen, not The city of craftsmen’s guild!!”
"Like you... you abandon half of the people and the other half live as slaves of thought for your so-called order. This cannot be called a city at all, it is at best a prison!"
"The profession of craftsman cannot be achieved by those without dreams!"
Vermeer finished her roar and panted violently.
She has seen how much Ke Ruoxi loves forging, and she also knows how dazzling new inventions can be found every time she walks through the streets of Crownless City. Those people may eventually become prisoners used by the great powers to make weapons, but their ideas are absolutely perfect. I won’t be willing to be restrained!
The spirit of the craftsman, the brave pioneering power, and the eclectic creativity.
This city may not necessarily be getting stronger every day, but it must be becoming more vibrant every day.
To deprive her of all this, uproot the entire city, and destroy the dreams of two hundred thousand craftsmen, this despair was even more extreme than massacre. She simply could not imagine what it would be like when that day came.
Zolman stared at her blankly.
He didn't realize why the girl who looked timid just now suddenly yelled at him, completely overwhelming him.
"..."
Vermeer lowered her head and took a few deep breaths.
There were still some things she hadn't asked, so she had to force herself to calm down.
"What's your next plan?"
"Next?" Zolman swallowed, still recovering from being yelled at by Vermeer.
"I just want to know how great your next career will be."
She was imitating Luo Wei when she said this. When dealing with people like this, you should use insidious tactics. Don't blame me for bullying your brain!
"Next, we are going to..." Zollman's eyes lit up, but then slowly dimmed, "Next..."
There was a bit of confusion in his eyes, and he stared blankly at nothing.
"I forgot."
"...?"
Vermeer held the staff and made eye contact. The other person gave her the feeling at this moment, as if she had really lost her memory. It seemed that she could not remember something important.
It gave her a sense of déjà vu.
I remember hearing that Luo Wei mentioned that Felica, the Western Marshal of the Hoof Fire Empire, took out part of the key memories on her own to avoid leaking the information.
The third seat of the Craftsmen Association in front of me also performed such an operation?
Zollman looked down at his hands, opened his palms in confusion, and looked at the fingers on the left and right sides.
"I can't remember."
he said.
"But I remember a name."
In the empty circular hall, the surrounding instruments were still running, and Zollman was immersed in his sight.
"What is it?" Vermeer asked.
The man with narrow eyes closed his eyes, and then slowly raised his head.
"That name is-"
Zollman opened his eyes, and there was a bit more cunning in his eyes.
"Icarus."
The figure quickly jumped closer as the magic guide advanced. Vermeer, who was already on guard, lowered her gaze. She stretched her staff forward to activate the protective barrier, and at the same time, she was also preparing to trigger the magic explosion bomb that had quietly penetrated into the periphery.
In terms of insidiousness, you are far behind him!
Vermeer was ready for battle.
Not just myself, I will never let you hurt anyone else!
And it was at that moment.
Dark purple short staff, dark brown sword shadow, aqua blue sword light——
Three figures passed her at the same time.
(End of chapter)
