At some point, the members of Tarot Villa had shifted their self-perception from 'academic researchers' to 'battlefield combatants.'
Even their criteria for evaluating people had undergone a subtle transformation.
Of course, research remained the fundamental requirement.
If someone lacked even that basic quality, they wouldn't be able to enter Tarot Villa regardless of their strength; they wouldn't even be eligible for a recommendation.
Well... with the exception of a certain pure fighter.
After all, he was recommended by the Witch. In certain specific situations, he was indeed useful, so they chose to selectively ignore that detail.
In fact, this pure fighter often provided a lot of professional combat advice during experiments, so no one actually looked down on him.
“I... water... give me water...”
The soot-blackened bald head couldn't even worry about the pain in the back of his hand anymore; his entire body was in agony.
Right now, all he wanted was a cup of water to soothe his parched throat.
To this moment, he still couldn't understand where exactly he had lost.
Based on his combat ability and the performance of his long sword, he should have been able to defeat the opponent.
Wasn't that thing that looked like a Doomsday Chariot taken down just like that?
So why did he find himself at a loss when facing a pile of stones?
Even his A-grade long sword couldn't withstand the explosion caused by a single swing of the opponent's stone stick. It wasn't scientific at all.
“Water my ass! Answer the question! Or you'll have hell to pay!”
The bald man wanted water, but Riesling, who was already impatient, didn't give him the time. He delivered a kick, perfectly channeling the vibe of an old-school mobster.
If he hadn't been talking about arithmetic earlier, the people around him might have actually believed it.
“Ugh... cough... My name is Xia Siqing... I'm from... 505...”
“That's not important. I'm asking where the headquarters of Formation 505 is.”
“If I... tell you... can I have... some water?”
Xia Siqing, unable to even move a finger, slightly lifted his eyelids to look at Riesling's polished leather shoes.
“Hmph, you're in no position to negotiate,” Riesling snorted coldly.
“Fine... it's at...”
“You'd better not lie to us. Otherwise, you can probably guess what kind of inhumane treatment awaits you, Saran Siqing.”
Just as the man was about to answer Riesling, Lan Qingyou stepped forward and threatened him by revealing his real name.
The Analytic Magic Eye was truly useful.
The man couldn't even hide his name.
“Oho! Xia Siqing, Saran Siqing, huh? Interesting.”
A predatory smile appeared on Riesling's face. Good grief, he hadn't even started talking and he was already trying to pull a fast one?
Clearly, Riesling was very displeased about being lied to.
“Empress, if you don't mind, could you lend me a room?”
With that, Riesling turned to Jiang Lan.
“Of course. Use that place over there, where I stack my fertilizer.”
Jiang Lan gave Riesling a friendly smile as she pointed toward a certain spot.
Don't let Jiang Lan's kindly appearance fool you; how could someone who established a foothold in a place like this be a simple saint?
No, it should be said that even if she was kind, her kindness was reserved for her own people and had its limits.
Not just anyone could walk away unscathed, especially an enemy who had openly expressed a threat toward her.
However, just as Riesling was about to drag this Saran Siqing—who claimed to be Xia Siqing—into the fertilizer room, The Chariot, Olf, reached out to stop him.
“What is it?”
“I didn't get a chance to show my strength just now, so let me handle this interrogation.”
“I don't mind, but are you sure you know how to interrogate?”
“I don't, but the torture devices I made do.”
“Heh, you've got some tricks up your sleeve, you Nordic barbarian.”
Seeing Olf volunteer, Riesling handed Saran Siqing over to him.
As the Chariot dragged the screaming Saran Siqing into the fertilizer room, Esmeralda began her divination amidst everyone's expectations.
Although Esmeralda's divinations were a hundred percent accurate, Riesling still chose to proceed with the interrogation to ensure there were no mistakes.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Esmeralda, but rather that he didn't trust other people's talents.
After all, talents and magic skills were diverse and strange; there might be something that could block divination.
When it came to the matter of ancient blood, it never hurt to be cautious.
While the two were busy with their respective tasks, Chu Yuan approached Frenna.
“By the way, there's something I'm quite curious about. I wonder if the Lovers could enlighten me?”
“Hmm?”
Chu Yuan's words caused the remaining people to look at him and Frenna.
“What is it?” Frenna asked, confused.
“It's like this: I'm curious why you ran straight into the Empress the moment you arrived at the Cursed Corridor. To be honest, the probability of that seems quite small to me.”
Although they had invited her to join the villa, as the initiator and maintainer of order, Chu Yuan still needed to confirm certain suspicions in his heart.
“I was wondering what it was. I didn't actually encounter Jiang Lan right away. When I first escaped here, I met a person named Agerod.”
“After he learned I was being hunted, he took me to see a leader named Naheye. In the end, that leader told me to come here, saying only the people here had the ability to protect me.”
Frenna briefly explained how she came to find Jiang Lan.
“Heh, interesting.”
“Borrowing a knife to kill, huh? They played that trick quite smoothly.”
Almost instantly, these shrewd individuals guessed what that leader named Naheye was thinking.
It was nothing more than wanting the people from Formation 505 to cause trouble for Jiang Lan.
And looking at his actions toward Frenna, the ultimate intended result was likely to have Jiang Lan killed.
“Empress, who is this leader named Naheye? Does he have a grudge against you?” the Chariot asked curiously.
“Naheye is someone I used to do business with...”
“Oh! Is it that one? The partner the High Priestess mentioned, who traded vegetables, rice, and other ingredients across regions?”
Gu Xiaobei suddenly realized.
“Yes, Naheye is the person whose talent allows for cross-regional trading.”
Jiang Lan nodded.
“Then why did you become enemies?”
Ruan Qingyi's gossipy heart was burning with curiosity.
“It's nothing major. It's just that after The Fool found me and I joined the villa, almost all the ingredients from me and the other growers were contracted to you all. There were no surplus ingredients left for him to sell.”
“I see. Cutting off someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents.”
Shang Chuan, standing to the side, gave an imperceptible nod.
As a merchant, he understood perfectly well that it wasn't strange for someone named Naheye to do such a thing; in fact, it was the most normal thing in the world.
One had to realize that Jiang Lan's food supplies were always in high demand.
They were even one of the few sources in the market that could stably provide ingredients.
Rate on N.U.
