Hiss!!
Alina's heart tightened a little.
It wasn't that she didn't want to give the bracelet to Talu, but she was worried that Lucas Reeve inside it would be discovered. According to what Lucas Reeve had said when they first met, if he was seen by a stranger, his entire body would gradually dissipate. Lucas Reeve had helped her so much, how could she let him dissipate!!
In reality.
The naive Alina had taken him at his word.
She didn't know that this was just an excuse Lucas Reeve had made up to fool her.
Alina was incredibly anxious right now. She was even starting to wonder if her own acting had been so poor that it had aroused suspicion about Mr. Reeve's existence.
Lucas Reeve himself knew very well that this had nothing to do with Alina's acting.
In a village full of powerful individuals.
If he wanted to remain hidden, he would have to stay cooped up in the bracelet at all times. Otherwise, as long as he came out, he would leave traces in the world, and as long as traces existed, there was a possibility of being exposed.
Talulah had originally just said it casually.
To be honest.
She didn't suspect that there was a problem with the bracelet.
This bracelet had been with her since she was very young. Although she had never worn it, it had always been by her side. She had never noticed anything strange about it from childhood to adulthood. How could it become abnormal in the short time she had given it to Alina?
However...
Alina's reaction made Talulah's heart skip a beat.
Alina was hesitating!
Even though she disguised it very well.
But the people present were no ordinary people. No matter how good the disguise, it couldn't deceive their perception.
Patriot frowned slightly.
He had felt from the very beginning that there was something wrong with this bracelet, but after learning it was Talulah's, he had put the thought out of his mind. He didn't expect...
Looking at Alina's beautiful face, Talulah reached out and gently stroked Alina's hair.
As Talulah's fingers touched the bracelet.
Alina's heart pounded once.
She had no idea what to do now.
Refusing too much would easily arouse suspicion, but now.....
"Mr. Reeve!! I'm sorry!!"
"Sigh~"
Just as Talulah's hand was about to touch the bracelet.
A sigh echoed in the small wooden cabin, as if it touched their very souls, reverberating clearly in everyone's mind.
The sudden voice made Talulah's eyes widen.
With a swift movement, she snatched the bracelet that had once been hers from Alina's wrist. As if it were a venomous snake, she immediately threw it on the ground and stood in front of Alina. Patriot, having already noticed something was amiss, had already moved to shield everyone behind him.
"Mr. Reeve!!"
Alina didn't expect Talulah to snatch the bracelet and throw it on the ground before she could even react. She wanted to struggle out of bed to pick it up, but she was held tightly in Talulah's arms.
"Lucas Reeve?"
A new name surfaced in the minds of the three.
Lucas Reeve knew he couldn't hide any longer and didn't want to make things difficult for Alina. He emerged from the bracelet with a sense of resignation.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone.
A handsome, soul-like figure with deep eyes, black hair, and black pupils, consisting of only an upper body, floated out of the bracelet.
Inside the bracelet...
There's a ghost!!
Patriot was relatively calm. He had fought all over the world and had seen all sorts of strange and monstrous things. Whatever he had seen, it had basically ended up dead on his spear. The one whose skin was crawling the most was Talulah.
This bracelet had been with her since childhood.
And only now did she find out...
There was a ghost inside the bracelet!!
Doesn't that mean...
For twenty years, whether she was living her life or sleeping, there had always been a pair of unknown eyes secretly watching her!!
Goosebumps were already rising~
Upon seeing Lucas Reeve's form.
Talulah held Alina even more protectively.
She was filled with immense regret.
She had placed such a danger right next to Alina. If anything had truly happened to Alina because of her mistake, she would probably have been so regretful as to kill herself!
"What are you?"
Talulah stared warily at Lucas Reeve floating out of the bracelet, a sharp light flashing in her gray eyes, like a sword ready to pierce through Lucas Reeve's body at any moment.
The heat radiating from Talulah's body instantly caused the temperature inside the wooden cabin to rise by several degrees.
Her whole body was tense.
If she judged this soul to be even slightly threatening, then...
Talulah would mercilessly release her flames and burn this soul to a crisp.
"Talu, FrostNova, Senior Patriot! Mr. Reeve is not a bad person. He has helped me with many, many things these past few days."
Alina was extremely anxious.
She was genuinely worried that her best friend would incinerate Lucas Reeve without another word.
"Don't worry, Alina. We know what we're doing."
The three of them looked at Lucas Reeve cautiously, as if waiting for his explanation.
"Who are you?"
Lucas Reeve shook his head helplessly. "Lucas Reeve, twenty-two years old, formerly a student, a remnant soul, currently single."
"???"
"???"
Countless question marks flashed over the heads of Patriot and the others. The atmosphere, which had been tense and confrontational, suddenly turned strange with Lucas Reeve's self-introduction.
"You... have... divinity on you..."
Patriot said slowly.
"Divinity?"
Talulah was stunned.
Not just Talulah, Lucas Reeve himself was also taken aback.
There's divinity in my soul?
Could it be related to the statue where my main body is?
"Let me clarify first, I have no malicious intent, so... you don't need to be so tense."
Lucas Reeve began to explain.
He had actually considered it. If he wanted to obtain more Prayer Power, revealing his identity was inevitable. Only by letting more people know about him and fulfilling their wishes could he gain more Prayer Power. Relying on the Prayer Power provided by a single person, Lucas Reeve estimated that he might not be able to save up 1.8 million Prayer Points even in a million years.
It was equivalent to...
The prayer effect, or perhaps the worship effect.
The more people who knew about him, and if he helped them achieve a common wish, the amount of Prayer Power he would receive would likely be substantial.
Actually.
Lucas Reeve had been pondering this issue ever since Alina's Oripathy attack earlier. Since they had discovered him ahead of schedule, he might as well take the opportunity to come clean.
Of course.
Whether they could accept it was their problem.
"Are you... one of those... ancient beings?"
As a Sarkaz, Patriot had lived for a very long time. His past campaigns fighting for Ursus had also exposed him to far too many creatures and truths of the world that ordinary people could not comprehend.
"Ancient?"
Lucas Reeve shook his head. "I don't remember if I'm ancient or not. I only know that I woke up just recently."
"Woke up?"
Talulah frowned.
"About two weeks ago, I think. When I woke up, this young lady Alina was outside trading for food."
Alina quickly picked up where Lucas Reeve left off, vouching for his innocence.
"I can prove it. Two weeks ago, I secretly went to trade for supplies with other villages without telling Talu. On my way back, I ran into the Infected Pickets. It was Mr. Reeve who saved me. Otherwise, I might not have made it back."
"Infected Pickets!"
Alina wasn't lying.
Talulah could clearly sense it.
How could she not have known about something so significant!
"Afterward, Mr. Reeve said he could grant wishes, so I wished for everyone to have food to eat. Then, Mr. Reeve gave me the ability to catalyze plants. Even later... the fact that those Ursus soldiers suddenly went crazy and left, that was all Mr. Reeve's help! So, Mr. Reeve is not a bad person!"
However, Alina's words did not make the three people present let down their guard.
In their eyes.
This so-called help was likely motivated by some other purpose.
They had been through too much.
They couldn't be as pure and kind as Alina.
"Your... purpose..."
Patriot's words put a great deal of pressure on Lucas Reeve.
Only by truly facing this humanoid beast could one know how powerful he was. That unwavering spiritual power, as mighty as a mountain, was unstoppable. Even if he used Mirror Flower, Water Moon, it would probably be difficult to affect him.
Such a powerful body...
Hiss!!
How awesome would it be if I could possess it!!
Lucas Reeve's thoughts took a strange turn; he was even a little covetous.
Such a powerful body could probably maximize the power of the Holy Lance projection. Not just the projection, it could probably handle even a more powerful version of the Holy Lance.
He hoped that when he condensed a physical body in the future, it could be as strong as Patriot's.
What man doesn't like a three-meter-tall, mountain-like, muscular giant?
"..."
For a moment.
A strange and eerie atmosphere descended upon the wooden cabin.
Talulah and FrostNova were a little confused.
Why was this soul named Lucas Reeve staring at Senior Patriot? And... it's one thing to stare, but why... did his gaze seem a little odd?
Strong...
Power armor...
What man wouldn't be moved?
Who doesn't want to become a Kamen Rider and pilot a Gundam?
"What purpose could I have."
"I just want to recover my strength and condense a physical body to escape this soul state."
Lucas Reeve said frankly, as these were not exactly secrets that couldn't be told.
"?"
"My ability is very special."
Lucas Reeve explained.
"I can absorb the gratitude and wishes of others and turn them into my own power. You can think of it as, I need the power of prayer. The more people I help, their gratitude towards me will transform into my own power. Understand?"
"???"
"???"
Talulah and FrostNova were once again confused.
Talulah whispered to Patriot.
"Senior Patriot, does such an ability exist in the world?"
"I... don't know..."
"In any case, I have no malicious intent. If you think I'm dangerous, you can just throw this bracelet away. My soul can't leave the bracelet anyway."
Lucas Reeve tried his best to tell the truth.
Although Lucas Reeve would be heartbroken if the remnant soul was gone, it would only be heartbreak.
He tried his best to be credible, which would make cooperation more convenient. If the other party really didn't want to cooperate, then there was nothing he could do. A lost remnant soul was just a lost remnant soul.
Lucas Reeve didn't seem to be lying.
Even Patriot couldn't detect the slightest trace of deception.
Which meant.
What this soul said was the absolute truth.
But no matter how he thought about it, it was outrageous...
A person who gives selflessly without asking for anything in return...
It just didn't seem realistic.
"Talu, FrostNova, Senior Patriot, what Mr. Reeve said is all true. He's a really good person. He even helped me alleviate my Oripathy symptoms from before. Look, I can get out of bed and run now!"
Alina wanted to get out of bed to show that she was fine now.
However.
One particular phrase made the three people present widen their eyes.
Alleviate Oripathy symptoms!!!
What did that even mean!!!
The Reunion Movement was entirely composed of the Infected. Every week, a considerable number of Infected died from Oripathy outbreaks. Even if they were lucky enough to survive, the after-effects of an outbreak would continuously worsen until they could no longer bear it and died from the disease.
And what did alleviating Oripathy mean?
Although it was a world away from a cure, it could at least give all Oripathy patients a glimmer of hope, allowing them to survive for a longer time.
"Impossible!!!"
Patriot denied it flat out, and FrostNova and Talulah didn't believe it either.
Alleviating Oripathy, this was simply too shocking to be heard.
Actually...
Back in Columbia, Lucas Reeve had heard from Jessica that Rhine Lab had technology that could slightly alleviate Oripathy, but the price was incredibly expensive. A single course of treatment could cost tens of millions, something ordinary people could never afford.
Ceobe had nothing to worry about, because... Jessica was rich. Tens of millions for one course of treatment? A drop in the bucket. Let's start with a hundred courses.
An organization like the Reunion Movement, which was almost completely isolated from the world, probably wouldn't know about such advanced technology. That's why they considered alleviating Oripathy to be a fantasy. But... even if they did know, it would be useless. Given the Reunion Movement's current poverty, they couldn't even afford half a course.
Alina quickly explained for Lucas Reeve: "What Mr. Reeve said is true!!"
With that.
Alina broke free from Talulah's embrace, got out of bed, her face rosy. She could even walk and jump around like a normal person, looking nothing like the weak state of someone who had just had an Oripathy outbreak.
Could it be... it's true....
Hiss...
They still found it hard to believe.
"How about we cooperate?"
Seeing their hesitation, Lucas Reeve smiled faintly and began to extend an olive branch.
"Cooperate?"
"I know the predicament your Reunion Movement is in now. You have no food, you're afraid of being discovered by Ursus soldiers, and you're constantly facing the risk of Oripathy outbreaks. I can help you with these things. But in return, I need the gratitude of all Reunion Movement members, I need the power of their wishes. What do you say?"
"...."
"...."
No one spoke.
Even Patriot was silent at this moment.
Lucas Reeve knew that hesitation was normal. In this situation, it would be abnormal to agree at once. Hesitation meant there was room for discussion.
"Don't doubt my professionalism. Miss Alina's ability to catalyze plants was bestowed by me, and I was the one who confused the Ursus soldiers with my spiritual power. The very things you worry about are what I excel at. If we cooperate, it can be a win-win situation."