Chapter 786: Chapter 653: Gathering

Evening, in some unknown place.

In the darkness, a kerosene lamp lit up on its own.

The dim flame flickered a bit inside the glass cover, then stabilized, casting a small area of blurred space around.

The stone floor, the rough brick walls, and the staircase that seemed to stretch on forever.

This place appears like a basement, but deeper and colder than an ordinary one, with air even more stagnant.

One kerosene lamp after another lit up, sketching an oval-shaped space in the darkness.

The space isn’t large, able to accommodate about twenty or thirty people.

There are no windows on the walls, only a low iron door from which no light escapes.

Gradually, shadows emerged from the darkness.

These figures seemed to "condense" directly from the air.

First, faint outlines, like someone quickly sketching with charcoal on dark paper.

Then the outlines became clear, the lines solid, the colors from transparent to opaque.

In a matter of seconds, a dozen Black-robed People appeared out of thin air in the glow of the kerosene lamps.

They stood in a circle, facing the center.

Hoods covered most of their faces, revealing only their chins and mouths.

After meeting, none of the Black-robed People spoke; only the subtle sizzling of the burning lamp wicks was heard.

The one standing in the center was taller than the others, with a robe of a different texture, appearing like slightly glossy satin.

The edges of the hood were embroidered with dark silver patterns, faintly glowing in the firelight.

"Half a month has passed, the Shadow Thief still hasn’t returned, and the collection of Life Energy has been interrupted for half a month." The central figure spoke, voice deep and measured, as if stating a confirmed fact, "It can be confirmed that it has been captured."

No one spoke around, but the lips under the hoods tightened a bit.

"In the past half month, the Spirit Communicator Association has significantly strengthened control. Most of our supply channels have been cut off, and personnel movements are restricted. Until the situation clears up, everyone’s contact frequency should be reduced to the minimum." The central figure paused, "Unless you receive my direct orders, do not initiate contact."

The Black-robed People in the circle nodded slightly.

"Dismiss."

Without a wave of the hand, the other Black-robed People dispersed one after another.

Some shadows faded away, some turned to the low iron door, some stood in place for a while before slowly vanishing.

Finally, only two remained.

Tall and short, the tall one being the speaker who stood in the center.

The short one stood to his right, hood pressed low, almost covering the entire face.

"The Shadow Thief wasn’t captured by the Spirit Communicator Association." The tall one spoke, voice much lower than when he addressed the group, as if discussing matters not meant for a third party to hear.

"Are you sure?" The short one’s voice was light, indistinguishable between genders.

"At least I haven’t received any information regarding it, if the Spirit Communicator Association really caught the Shadow Thief, I would certainly know."

The tall Black-robed Person spoke easily, hinting at a high status within the Spirit Communicator Association.

The short one remained silent for a few seconds. "So, a third party."

"Yes, a third party." The tall one’s tone carried a rare heaviness, "Looks like there are others in Wudu, not from the association, nor from our own, who snatched the Shadow Thief away before us."

"This means that person also knows internal intelligence of the association and has the capability to capture without alerting the association."

"It’s not just knowing the association’s intelligence." The tall one turned, facing the short one.

The gaze under the hood fell on the other’s face, although the expression couldn’t be seen, the weight of that gaze felt tangible: "Being able to silently capture the Shadow Thief, that person’s understanding of the mystic may not be lesser than the association’s top researchers. Maybe even deeper."

Another silence ensued.

The flames of the kerosene lamp flickered in the weak air, their shadows swaying on the walls.

"What about the previous plan... what do we do?" The short one asked.

"I’ll find a substitute for the Shadow Thief." The tall one answered without hesitation, "Since the Shadow Thief was captured by a third party, release the Fissure Man."

The short one’s body slightly moved, as if suppressing a certain instinctive response. "Fissure Man... releasing it now, wouldn’t the risk be too great."

"Even if the risk is great, it needs to be done." The tall one’s voice was firm, with no room for negotiation, "The Shadow Thief and Fissure Man are twin enigmatic entities, they are our core assets. Shadow Thief is responsible for stealing Life Energy, while Fissure Man ensures the Shadow Thief won’t escape. Now the Shadow Thief is lost, keeping Fissure Man is pointless. But it still has its use... it can find the Shadow Thief."

"You’re saying..."

"The sensing between Fissure Man and Shadow Thief is two-way. Wherever the Shadow Thief is, Fissure Man can sense it. Even if the Shadow Thief is sealed in a closed container, even with layers of sealing runes, that sensing won’t completely disappear. This is determined by their nature, not any sealing technology can sever."

The tall one raised a hand, palm facing upward.

The palm was empty, yet when the short one looked at that hand, the pupils slightly contracted.

"Release the Fissure Man." The tall one’s voice was coldly calm, "Let it find. Once it locates the Shadow Thief, it will inevitably trigger a large-scale mystic wave."

"Then, that region will show apparent mystic crisis. We just need to watch the association’s movements, see where they send people, we can roughly determine who captured the Shadow Thief."

"Then what?"

"Then." The tall one withdrew his hand, "We can know who that third party is. Alone, or an organization. Whether they just want to study the mystic, or have other motives. Once we figure these out, we can decide how to handle him."

The short one stayed silent for a long time, ultimately nodding.

"I’ll go arrange it."

The tall one did not speak again.

His figure began to fade, starting from the feet, like some force "erased" him upwards from the ground.

A few seconds later, he completely vanished from the space.

The short one stood in place, facing the empty basement, while the flames of the kerosene lamps burned around him in circles.

He lowered his head, glancing at his own palm.

In the palm was an almost invisible black line, stretching from the base of the fingers to the wrist.

In the firelight, that line slightly writhed.

That is the Fissure Man.

The short one clenched his fist, turned and walked towards the low iron door.

The iron door closed behind him with a muffled thud.

One by one, the kerosene lamps went out, darkness once again filled the entire space.

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