"No matter how you put it, this is a bit..." Ghostface Fox clicked his tongue in disbelief.
Willow Blade also thought Jiang Lu was being a little too sensitive, "History tends to repeat itself, that's pretty normal."
Heavy Cannon grimaced, not saying a word.
Because up to this point, he was the first one to feel the malicious effects of the good feelings meter.
As the person who had the honor of experiencing this, he was under immense pressure.
Thinking carefully, the slight drop in good feelings towards Jiang Lu that he couldn't help but scoff at yesterday now seemed like foreshadowing.
Heavy Cannon looked resentfully towards Jiang Lu, the jinx, but ultimately held back.
"Talking about whether it's similar or not is pointless, the urgent task at hand is to think about what we should do."
Maybe sensing that everyone's enthusiasm had been hit, Ghostface Fox squeezed out a smile, consoling, "Actually, this is also good news. As long as we choose targets similar to yesterday's for comparison, we can confirm a lot of uncertain hypotheses and gather information.
At present, every piece of information we get comes with great difficulty. Regardless of whether the results are good or bad, it's better than groping in the dark."
Willow Blade and Heavy Cannon showed serious expressions. Even though they each harboured various insecurities, they managed to adjust their mood on the surface.
At this moment, Jiang Lu suddenly said, "I won't be joining you guys today."
Seeing the puzzled looks of the others, he spread his hands with an air of resignation, "I got kicked out in just fifteen minutes yesterday, so no matter what I do today, it won't be very informative. So instead of putting all our eggs in one basket, it might be better to try a different approach."
"You mean..." Ghostface Fox said earnestly.
"If your speculation is correct, then good feelings could also be a sort of countdown."
Jiang Lu became unusually serious:
"So while I still have an abundance of good feelings and a margin for error, I plan to interact with the messengers and see if there's another way to increase good feelings. I'll try to find a way to buy us all more time.
You go in early for another attempt. After we meet at noon to exchange information, I'll decide what I'm going to do in the jail during the afternoon.
I reckon we probably have three chances to uncover the secrets of the Black Tower. The first is during our redemption process, where we might find some clues as we move from prisoners to heaven. The second is if we fail and our good feelings meter hits zero, triggering a bad ending. The third is through the messengers, learning some hidden information."
Ghostface Fox nodded slowly, "We haven't found anything in the Watchers' Hall and the lower dungeons where we can go, so it boils down to these three possibilities..."
He understood that Jiang Lu was sacrificing his own margin for error to help them, so he sighed, "Then I'll leave it to you."
Willow Blade looked at Jiang Lu and, even with an expressionless face, couldn't completely hide the hope in his eyes.
Heavy Cannon, for the first time, looked Jiang Lu directly in the eye and said earnestly, "It's all on you."
Jiang Lu didn't waste time and directly contacted the messengers through the Watcher's robe.
After confirming the messenger's current location, Jiang Lu suddenly asked, "Oh, by the way, I never asked, do you guys have life-saving items?"
Heavy Cannon and Willow Blade both nodded.
"Though you might lose some attribute points and randomly lose a piece of equipment, it shouldn't be a big problem to survive."
It seemed that both were using the same type of life-saving item.
After hesitating for a while, Ghostface Fox decided to be a bit more honest, "I have an On-the-spot Full Health Revival Coin."
"A revival coin?" Willow Blade's gaze sharpened.
Heavy Cannon inhaled sharply, "Someone actually bought a revival coin, huh? Ten thousand universal points, even at a passing grade you'd have to grind a few hundred B-rank dungeons, right?"
"Not the one from the shop," Ghostface Fox waved his hand, "That's the On-the-spot Full Health Revival Coin. Mine is...well, let's just say it's an inferior revival coin I got as a fluke for achieving an excellent rating. It only causes you to randomly drop one piece of equipment, with no change to attribute points."
Hearing this, both showed envy.
Attribute points were the key to an Exorcist's strength and were hard to come by.
Even if you tried to compensate with equipment, you couldn't use the good stuff if your attributes weren't up to snuff.
Most importantly, the Spirit Realm could produce equipment, but attribute points could only be gained through leveling up. Compared to that, Ghostface Fox's cost of failing had been lowered to the minimum.
If lucky, he might be able to make up for it on the next Spirit Realm expedition, but Heavy Cannon and Willow Blade might have to grind dozens of B-rank dungeons to recover from one failure.
"However, I have one excellent piece of equipment. It'd be a huge loss if it's the one randomly chosen," Ghostface Fox said with a wry smile, "So it would be better to clear the challenge smoothly."
"Excellent..."
Heavy Cannon's pride as a stoic, proud man vanished in that moment, replaced by envy across his face.
Willow Blade was even more straightforward, "Rich, indeed."
While the three of them were exchanging words, they didn't notice the change in Jiang Lu's expression.
Good lord, so this is considered wealthy among Exorcists? Then how should I reveal my On-the-spot Full Health Revival Coin and my excellent-quality sleeping robe?
At that moment, Ghostface Fox turned to Jiang Lu, "But why did you suddenly ask about this?"
"Ah... I was just, after listening to your analysis, I got spooked and was feeling uncertain, so I wanted to ask," Jiang Lu chuckled awkwardly.
I can't possibly say I'm worried about inadvertently dooming you all, can I?
Noticing his awkwardness, Ghostface Fox guessed something and asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you don't have any life-saving items?"
"Ah?" Jiang Lu was about to shake his head when he remembered the principle of not flaunting wealth: "Hmm, the strong thrive even when placed in mortal danger, so I didn't make any preparations at all!"
Upon this declaration, all three were shocked.
"Are you crazy? This is an S-rank! You came in here without any preparations at all?" Heavy Cannon exclaimed.
"It doesn't matter, I'll burn the boats!"
Jiang Lu laughed breezily, "Then I'll go find the Messenger first."
As they watched him leave the Supervisor's Hall, the three of them took a long time to recover.
"That was too..." Ghostface Fox smiled helplessly.
Heavy Cannon sighed, feeling that Jiang Lu's smile just now was somewhat piercing.
Thinking it over, he opened his inventory, but after a glance, he shook his head in disappointment, "I only have one left."
Understanding his meaning, Liudao also checked his inventory, then shook his head as well.
"Don't worry, I still have some spare life-saving items. If it really comes to that, I'll share with him," Ghostface Fox didn't bother checking his bag, as he was a perfectionist. No matter how cluttered his inventory was, he had everything at his fingertips.
Feeling somewhat emotional, he continued, "The pressure on Brother Jiang isn't that great, but he still chose to sacrifice his margin for error to help the team. And when you learned he had no life-saving items, you were willing to share right away. It's been a long time since I've found companions as trustworthy as you."
Heavy Cannon shook his head, "I'm just afraid he'll be dead by the time we challenge the Spirit Realm, and then we won't get the full reward."
Liudao drooped his eyelids, asking emotionlessly, "You better be."
"That's exactly it!"
"However," Ghostface Fox, now largely relieved of his caution, clapped his hands. "It's better if such things don't happen. Life-saving items are quite valuable, so we'd better hurry up and take care of the real business."
...
Upon learning he was sitting on a fortune, Jiang Lu's mood surged, and he seemed to float as he walked.
This wasn't just a head start, but more like already being at the finish line from the start.
And since everyone had life-saving items, there was no need to worry about any guilt issues; it was time to give it everything!
Soon, Jiang Lu found the Messenger in a hidden office on the border between the middle and upper layers, sitting behind a desk.
That exquisitely beautiful yet eerily smiling face stared straight at Jiang Lu.
"Supervisor... do you need something from me?"
Jiang Lu slowly approached the Messenger, resting his hands on the desk and looking down into her eyes.
"I want to say, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, your eyes shine like stars."
The Messenger's face turned cold, "If you're here for something other than your duties, please leave immediately."
Jiang Lu, unfazed by the rebuff, casually glanced at his bracelet.
90.
He scoffed silently in his heart.
In their eyes, your favorability is a death warrant, but in my hands, it's the perfect weapon to counteract you...
"My only wish is to touch those cute, soft little wings of yours..." Jiang Lu's eyes filled with sincerity, "Messenger, if I am granted such an honor, I believe I can be more devoted to my work."
"Can you satisfy me?"
The Messenger laughed derisively, "That's all it takes for you to willingly work? Supervisor... you're so cheap, it's disappointing."
91...
Jiang Lu pressed harder.
"No, it's not about being cheap; it's admiration. My admiration for you makes me willing to give up everything. Believe me, I'll offer you my loyalty."
92...
"Ha... if that's so." The Messenger stood up, arrogantly saying, "Then I grant you the chance to earn such an honor. You need to repay my kindness with even more earnest and practical work!"
Jiang Lu smiled tenderly, reaching out to pinch the Messenger's back wings that appeared intimidating but were actually smooth and soft.
Gently gathering and slowly teasing, at first for soft wings, then for a soft waist.
"What are you doing?!" The Messenger scolded angrily, yet remained motionless.
93...
...
94...
...
95...
...
...
99...
"Messenger, actually, there's another thing I'd like to ask your help with."
"Speak."
"Yesterday when I was sleeping, the bedboard was a bit uncomfortable for my back. Could you accompany me to see what's the problem?"
"Hmm..." The Messenger frowned, "Assisting subordinates with their daily troubles is also part of my duty, so I have no choice."
100...