A New Plan

At noon, after adjusting the new battle plan, Ansu called everyone into his tent.

Confusion was written all over the faces of Danielle, Elder Matthew, and the others. They had only just finalized the list of companions this morning and were in the middle of preparing. Why was the operation suddenly being suspended by noon?

“We can no longer search for the Filthy Heart according to our original plan.”

Ansu got straight to the point, his tone calm yet unquestionable.

“The Crimson Plague's mental pollution far exceeds our previous estimates. Everyone present, no matter how deep your mental strength is, will eventually be deceived by hallucinations, have your sanity eroded, and turn into highly aggressive madmen.”

His gaze slowly swept across every face in the tent.

“If we continue deeper, our team will definitely end up killing each other, resulting in a total party wipe.”

The tent fell silent for a moment.

Ansu's gaze subconsciously drifted toward the pair of emerald green eyes in the corner before he announced the new arrangement. “Therefore, this time, Altina will be the only one accompanying me deep into the core zone.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Vera asked timidly, “Brother... are you really not taking me with you?”

Ansu looked at her. In the simulation, this girl had raised a shortsword to shield him, refusing to take even half a step back despite trembling with fear. Vera truly possessed great courage, and she had grown a lot.

But courage alone could not stave off death. He would not let her take this risk again.

Thus, he shook his head with a resolute expression.

Vera's small face fell in disappointment. “Okay...”

Danielle and Sean exchanged a glance, both of them frowning.

“Killing each other... Will even we turn into something like that?”

Ansu looked at the couple. “That is the terrifying thing about the Crimson Plague. Even you two, who share a deep bond, will turn on each other as enemies after being corrupted. Every single companion in the team is a potential threat.”

Elder Matthew's eyes, meanwhile, were filled with scrutiny.

Ansu's astonishing intelligence-gathering ability had always been a mystery within the cult. He always seemed to obtain information that others couldn't right before making critical decisions, to the point where people suspected... he had planted moles within the major factions.

But this time was different.

He had clearly spent the entire morning in his tent, going nowhere. How had he reached this conclusion?

“Hermit,” Matthew spoke in a deep voice, “is this intelligence of yours reliable? And even if we split the team... can the mission really be completed with just you and the elf?”

Altina had been standing near the edge of the tent, remaining silent since the meeting began.

Now, as everyone's eyes fell on her, she paused slightly.

In truth... she wasn't afraid of going deep into the core zone. With her amulet, the Crimson Plague couldn't erode her mind.

But why did Ansu happen to choose her? Was it a coincidence...?

However, the one with the most subtle reaction in the room was Celia.

The moment she heard that Ansu was going to travel alone with Altina, a flash of dangerous coldness instantly swept through the depths of her eyes.

But immediately after, she recalled their conversation from this morning, as well as... Ansu's evasive gaze.

Celia suppressed her strangely complex thoughts and walked over to Ansu's side, asking in a low voice, “Just you and Altina? Is that really okay... I'm not quite at ease.”

“What if the two of you encounter danger? You must know that we have plenty of enemies right now!”

“Who said I'm splitting the team?” Ansu shook his head and laughed. “I'm not asking you all to go back. You will still stay in the blood mist zone to provide us with support and supplies. It's just that the mission to find the Filthy Heart won't require your direct involvement.”

“You mean...” Doubt flickered in Celia's eyes.

Ansu spread out the map, his gaze scanning the dense red marks on it. Those were the key nodes he had marked throughout the morning.

“We can use teleportation circles to advance section by section. Once we establish a teleportation matrix network that covers the core zone, we can perform detailed searches while keeping our stays brief.”

He looked at everyone and said seriously, “As long as we control the duration of our stay in the blood mist zone, we can completely avoid being corrupted.”

According to this simulation, the people in the team only started having hallucinations on the second day, and it wasn't until the third day that they began killing each other.

Therefore, single-day stays were safe, as long as they could teleport and evacuate in time.

The only ones who could consistently maintain their sanity were himself and Altina, so the task of setting up the teleportation coordinates had to be left to the two of them.

The conditions for a teleportation circle were demanding: not only did it consume a massive amount of mana, but the coordinates also had to be laid out point-to-point in advance. Otherwise, deviations could easily occur, potentially dropping them randomly into an unknown region.

“I can handle laying out the coordinates,” Celia suddenly spoke up. “I'm very good at teleportation magic.”

“No,” Ansu refused. “We haven't figured out the true nature of the Filthy Heart yet. No one knows what dangers lie in the depths. The team needs you to preserve your full combat strength. You can't waste a massive amount of mana on this kind of thing.”

Seeing a faint trace of resentment rise in Celia's eyes, Ansu placed his hand over the back of hers and comforted her softly, “Don't overthink it. Get some good rest. There will be plenty of things I'll need you for later.”

“...Okay.”

Ansu then laid out his full concept: “Altina and I will head in first, setting up a teleportation coordinate every kilometer we advance. It should take about a week to complete. Once the coordinates cover the entire area, entering and leaving the core zone will be as smooth and convenient as traveling on a highway.”

“Highway?” Danielle looked at him in confusion.

“Ah, you can think of it as... an official road,” Ansu said with a wry smile. “When the time comes, our coming and going will be as convenient as traveling along the wide official roads of the Royal Capital.”

“Ah...”

“But this teleportation matrix network of yours...” Elder Matthew frowned, pointing out the most critical issue. “It will consume quite a lot of mana. It's practically an astronomical amount.”

“Mana is the one thing we do not lack,” Ansu said. “I will have Elder Barnes transport a large batch of industrial-grade magic crystals from the rear. They are all the high-purity versions improved by Professor Duncan.”

Artificial magic crystal technology was the invention that had made Duncan famous in the academic world. This cheap, rechargeable "magic battery" was more than enough to support the operation of the entire teleportation matrix network.

“I almost forgot that fellow Duncan had such an invention.” Elder Matthew was taken aback. He usually didn't think much of that dwarven scholar, who always hogged a massive amount of the cult's resources.

With Ansu pointing it out like this, he realized for the first time just how much of a difference it could make.

While everyone was astonished by his grand scale of operations, Ansu pressed his fingertip against the deepest scarlet area marked at the center of the map.

“This time, we are going to light up the entire blood mist zone!”

As the meeting drew to a close, Ansu did not dismiss them immediately.

His expression grew a bit more solemn than before.

“Even if we follow this plan, I cannot guarantee absolute safety. All current intelligence indicates that the mental pollution of the Crimson Plague is completely irreversible.”

“You might turn into madmen, or you might die.”

“Even so,” Ansu paused, his gaze calm. “Are you still willing to follow me on this dangerous mission?”

Danielle and Sean exchanged a look, without a single shred of hesitation in their eyes.

Danielle replied with a smile, “Ansu, you are the benefactor of us both. We've said this before, and I will say it again today—”

At the same time, Sean raised his right fist, pressing it firmly against his chest.

“The two of us are willing to die for you.”

...