Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 2197: Chapter 2192: Causeless Craving

Could it really be fruitful? It was worth the effort.

A new item appeared on the fourth coin toss, which Fu Qian found to be quite a friendly outcome.

Although there’s not much aesthetic to the new item.

Even from a gourmand’s perspective, the shell is empty with sharp bristles, not exactly top-quality.

As for whether it might be related to the anomaly they were searching for, that would require some thorough investigation.

"Very unstable."

Even before he could react, the Witch had already taken action.

The shell drifted toward her hand before it even touched the ground.

Yet even under such favorable treatment, the shell still vanished completely the moment before landing in the Witch’s hand, like a pebble disappearing into the sea.

"But it doesn’t carry any particularly special Transcendent properties."

Unperturbed, the Witch offhandedly concluded.

"It seems your guess was right, this place does have an unusual sensitivity, reflecting certain changes."

Fu Qian also chimed in with his view.

Not being able to catch it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing. According to the Witch, the previous rewards had existed for many years, and when they fell to the ground, they truly stayed there.

This distinction alone was enough to prove the inherent difference of the shell.

This kind of discovery was far more rewarding than just holding it in hand to examine its appearance.

Was it really because of his earlier actions that the world experienced some strange changes?

But the time span really wasn’t that long; was this thing too sensitive?

The intent was to hear the Witch’s opinions, but the result was so effective that it truly turned out to be an exhilarating scientific investigation.

"Continue."

In the wake of such a victory, how could one easily be content with existing achievements? Fu Qian signaled immediately.

Ding—

Not only did a nail pop out again, but the Witch multitasked and snagged something else from the void.

Boom—

Fu Qian wasted not a second, unleashing a Calamity to crush the latter.

...

Is this going native? It felt like they were on a production line.

After helping the Witch acquire two more nails, Fu Qian waited in anticipation for the next prize to reveal itself, finding amusement in this smooth combination move.

Recalling those years back, this kind of work was evidently done by the Pontiff alone, uninterrupted throughout.

"Old, but missing one in the middle."

Amidst this reflection, the Witch announced the next result.

The box had been opened a fifth time, and the item inside was even more striking than the previous one.

A mask with black and red interwoven, exceedingly grotesque.

Although it seemed to be something the Witch had seen before, and it behaved quite normally, falling directly from the box.

"So among the eight gifts, one was replaced?"

As for the claim of one missing in the middle, the Witch’s meaning was simple.

After the metal bear and before the mask, there should have been another toy in the normal sequence.

So that shell didn’t just insert itself but directly replaced something else.

This seemed more severe than just a different property.

"Yes, but we can try more to see if the order has been scrambled."

Though without an Academy degree, the Witch’s thought process was clearly rigorous, indicating there was no rush to jump to conclusions.

Ding—

And she continued to produce another nail.

...

"It was indeed replaced. What do you think the reason might be?"

The new conclusion was reached quite efficiently, and moments later, the Witch turned to Fu Qian to confirm the further test results.

There were indeed eight types, and they had started to repeat, even in order.

"Based on the previous hypothesis about the local origins, it seems to indicate a foundational force of the world really changed? Yet, you don’t seem to notice it clearly?"

Observing the still-hungry Deer Car, Fu Qian mused.

"Not clearly, and you felt nothing unusual handling those items just now?"

The Witch replied with certainty, then turned to verify Fu Qian’s sensations.

"No, the abilities didn’t receive a discount nor a distortion."

Fu Qian gave a confident answer as well.

The Witch asking for his help was clearly not to save some energy.

Not to mention, the Knight was still in pieces.

For Fu Qian, it was all too clear the Witch was using this to have him test his abilities.

As an outsider, he himself was already an excellent test subject, exploring the world’s oddities.

Fu Qian agreed deeply, which was why he was so proactive later on.

Yet, facts proved everything seemed normal, the Abandonment King’s authority was unbelievably smooth and unswerving.

"Then it seems we need to dig into more specific causes, like how these things came to be in the first place."

Fu Qian said, moving a bit closer.

With that, the Witch already handed him a nail.

"This place looks like a toy workshop. We can consider this as its original attribute, then the loss of something turned it to its current state, even the indigenous people inside started to become doll-like in a special way."

Taking it naturally, Fu Qian examined the somewhat eerie styled item.

Not just a nail sharp as a knife, the back end vaguely had flesh and blood torn off, as if directly ripped from a greedy hand.

So what were they greedy for?

Clearly the items had been taken away.

...

"In that world, I’ve seen some similar cases before, previously mentioned during the Long Night, where a town’s entire nature changed, even falling into a special dimension."

Fu Qian was naturally referring to Akons.

To some extent, the two were indeed somewhat similar.

The mental state of Akons’ indigenous people was somewhat normal, while this place seemed closer to reality.

And the reason the former sank into the depths of dreams was tied to the faith associated with the Insight and Wisdom God.

In the absence of faith, what should have crumbled was preserved in that strange manner. Thinking back, it was wondrous.

Strictly speaking, the faith had collapsed, and none of the remaining Akons were genuine believers, forming a starkly humorous contrast—wait a moment.

As he spoke, Fu Qian seemed to have captured a fleeting thought.

"Because something was taken away, and the order based on it should collapse. Yet, the world instinctively maintained its original state, so something was drawn by inertia to fill the void?"

He blinked, suggesting a thought.

If understood this way, not only Akons’ black humor, it might, to a degree, resemble the fruit and sugar theory.

But in this case, the power level was too low to be accurately likened to "sugar."

Perhaps it was more like a bag wrapped around a fruit, inscribed with "very sweet."