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The spirituality of a Beyonder from the Lawyer Pathway isn't particularly adept at performing rituals like spirit channeling, so Hobert had to pray for divine assistance.
If the ritual is done correctly, with the right materials burned and the incantation spoken accurately, any Beyonder's spirituality can establish a connection to the divine kingdom. As long as the petitioner harbors no ill intent, the deity's "auto-reply system" will typically provide a response.
Although the Evernight Goddess seemed somewhat unreliable in the last experiment, spirit channeling is a crucial ability of the Corpse Collector Pathway and one of the Goddess's main domains, so this time Hobert decided to ask her for strength again.
Who else could he turn to? The Artificial Death seemed to have some rudimentary consciousness, but Hobert didn't know its honorific name, and it wasn't guaranteed to respond to his prayers.
Should he call upon the Lord of Storms, Leodero? That guy specializes in lightning; he'd be more suited to helping destroy evidence than assisting with spirit channeling.
The God of Steam and Machinery wouldn't be appropriate either—imagine if Hobert asked for help with spirit channeling and ended up with a bicycle on the altar: "A bicycle? What bicycle? Why a bicycle?"
The True Creator and the Hidden Sage could also assist with spirit channeling, but who would dare ask for their help?
After drawing the symbol representing the Evernight Goddess, Hobert constructed the Wall of Spirituality using Holy Night Powder.
Next, he took out the Amantha Pure Essence, carefully dripping it onto the candles. He then burned the petals of moonflower and night-scented jasmine.
In Hermes, he solemnly intoned:
"I pray for the power of the Night;
I pray for the power of the Crimson;
I pray for the favor of the Evernight Goddess;
Your faithful believer seeks the Goddess's power, allowing me to communicate spiritually with the person before me, who is under the influence of an evil god."
Once Hobert finished the incantation, Xio, who had been watching, immediately felt the entire room grow quiet. Her previously surprised and excited heart calmed down.
Hobert let out a breath of relief. This time, the Goddess was more reliable.
Then his eyes turned completely black, as if his sclera had disappeared. He saw Zachary's spiritual form gradually dissipating.
Without needing any instruction, Hobert, as if he had performed spirit channeling countless times, skillfully manipulated his own spirituality to intertwine with Zachary's.
Hobert silently repeated in his mind:
"The scam involving Heyman Insurance."
"The scam involving Heyman Insurance."
…
Hobert's vision suddenly became gray and misty, as though he were falling into a fog so thick that he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. After reciting the phrase seven times, the scene before him changed.
The first thing he saw was a middle-aged man with an earnest smile. This was the same worker who had approached Hobert and Xio during their pursuit earlier that afternoon.
So it was Heyman!
The spirit channeling scene wasn't distorted either, which meant that Zachary's spirituality wasn't too badly contaminated, allowing Hobert to proceed with the channeling confidently.
Heyman, with that same sincere smile, said: "Only by creating corruption and resentment can we please the Master!
"How about we try bankrupting a few happy families? The Master surely enjoys the taste of lives slowly crumbling under the pressure of reality..."
"...Look at our 'Land of Hope'; some people are madly chasing profit, while others struggle just to keep their families intact. I imagine you wouldn't want to be one of those manipulated by others, would you?"
"...We target middle-class families. They have savings and dream of living like the wealthy, making them easy prey.
"How about we set the scam amount at 6,000 pounds? Anything higher would attract the attention of official Beyonders, and that would cause us a lot of trouble...
"...First, you need to become a respectable insurance manager. That's not too hard. All you need to do is walk with your head held high, act arrogantly, and when speaking with others, respond with the most shameless lies and the most insincere flattery. Do that, and you're halfway there...
The scene shifted, showing Zachary looking presentable and conducting himself gracefully while meeting with different clients, including Mr. Robin, Hobert's employer.
After these scenes ended, Hobert's vision once again turned to the misty fog.
As suspected, Heyman was the planner, and Zachary was the executor.
Hobert silently repeated in his mind:
"The whereabouts of the scammed money."
"The whereabouts of the scammed money."
...
After seven recitations, the fog before Hobert swirled, and once again, Heyman's smiling face appeared.
With the same sincere expression, Heyman said, "Why did I set the amount at 1,600 pounds each time? To make it easier to split the loot, of course! Yes, split the loot—no need to be coy about it.
"What? You want 600 pounds? No, no, no, you only get 100 pounds. I also only get 100 pounds. The rest goes to the Lord's emissary.
"That's right, it's Mr. Hillman, the man you met that day. He's the Lord's priest."
Hobert saw Zachary reluctantly hand over the bulk of the money to Heyman.
The mist reappeared, and Hobert fell into a brief contemplation. Based on Zachary's behavior before his death, it was clear that the "Lord" Heyman referred to was indeed the True Creator.
If this Hillman was the bishop of the True Creator's followers, then Heyman and Zachary were likely connected to the Aurora Order.
In his mind, Hobert drew a "line"—he would investigate no further than Heyman. Even if there were more obvious clues, he would stop. Involving the Aurora Order meant that he and Xio, both Sequence 9s, wouldn't survive even ten attempts to confront them.
Hobert continued the spirit channeling:
"Heyman's hiding places."
"Heyman's hiding places."
...
After seven recitations, the mist churned, revealing a townhouse with the number: 109 Vask Avenue.
The scene shifted again, showing a dilapidated building with the number: 56 Gaspin Street.
The vision moved forward, reaching the third floor and stopping in front of room 303.
The continuous spirit channeling had drained Hobert's spirituality, and he was already very tired. Nevertheless, he persevered and silently recited:
"The potion formula."
"The potion formula."
...
In the fog, Heyman's smiling face reappeared:
"This is a gift from the Lord, and we must also thank Mr. Hillman for his generosity."
Heyman handed over a note, which read: Secrets Supplicant potion.
Main ingredients: 70 grams of black crystal, half a brain of a red-beaked crow.
Auxiliary ingredients: 80 milliliters of purified water, 10 milliliters of Firodo fish blood, 5 drops of hemlock juice, 9 grams of black sparrow flower powder.
As Hobert quickly glanced at the potion formula, the text on the paper suddenly twisted, and the black ink formed the shape of a cross. On the cross seemed to be an inverted figure bound in chains. The cross expanded rapidly.
Before Hobert could make out the figure on the cross, he abruptly ended the spirit channeling.
Huff~ Huff~
Hobert was drenched in cold sweat, narrowly avoiding the gaze of the True Creator. Just being glanced at by that entity would have been enough to drive him to madness, even if it didn't lead to complete loss of control.
He summarized in his heart: At the low-sequence level, it's best not to involve any Beyonder information when spirit channeling; otherwise, it's easy to attract malicious attention, which is extremely dangerous.
Xio crouched beside Hobert and asked with concern, "How are you feeling?"
What had been a perfectly normal spirit channeling session had suddenly turned into Hobert waking up as though from a nightmare, panting heavily and drenched in sweat.
Hobert waved her off, leaned against the wall, and took a few deep breaths before struggling to his feet. He made the sign of the Crimson Moon and Stars on his chest, "Praise the Lady!"
After closing the ritual, he pulled out Zachary's forged stock contract from his pocket:
"Zachary, the defendant, I now represent Mr. Robin in filing charges against you!"