Quadruple split.

Chapter 2798: Lies
"Perhaps you have a point, Captain Foster."

Mo Tan subconsciously placed his hand on the [Dawn Seven Star Fan] at his waist and nodded, saying, "I have actually encountered some similar problems, so even if your view is indeed a bit unbelievable from an objective point of view, I personally can completely understand it."

Foster nodded slightly, his expression still calm and peaceful, and said, "That would be perfect. So, in your opinion, Brother Mo, is it possible that Tianzhu Mountain could be of any help to my problem?"

“That ‘question’ is too broad, Captain Foster.”

After a moment of contemplation, Mo Tan said slowly, "However, in my personal opinion, if even Tianzhu Mountain can't solve this, then there are probably very few people or forces in this world who can come up with a sufficiently good solution. So if you really want to pin your hopes on Tianzhu Mountain, I can try to find someone to inquire about it, but I might need some more concrete information."

"You can think of it as Histas, who is currently in a state of 'coexistence' with me, gradually regaining its power. Although it has not remembered anything, its presence is becoming stronger and stronger."

Foster took a sip of tea and said calmly, “As time goes by, its presence will soon reach a critical point, and unfortunately, this process is uncontrollable. In other words, even if it doesn’t want to, it cannot stop or reverse this process.”

Mo Tan, who was well aware of how bizarre and terrifying the beings in the Cthulhu Mythos were, narrowed his eyes slightly and asked succinctly, "What are the consequences?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, Histas will reach a crucial 'node' in six months at most. After that, it will uncontrollably begin to invade 'reality' from my mental world, and its personality will change during this process."

Foster stroked the folding fan beside him and said calmly, "It is foreseeable that in about three months, it will no longer be as 'gentle' as it is now. At the same time, it will give up the idea of ​​'suppressing its own growth' and gradually begin to take the initiative and accelerate its 'manifestation'. This is an instinct rooted deep in its mind... an instinct that is enough to completely overturn it."

Recalling the increasingly restless and distorted starry sky in Foster's eyes, Mo Tan asked seriously, "So what is 'it' thinking now? It should have thoughts, right?"

"Of course, Histas is very clever. Although there are many obstacles in communicating with us, it keeps emphasizing to me that it hopes I can find a way to stop this process."

Foster breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, "It's my friend and has helped me a lot, so if I could, I wouldn't want to do nothing and watch things get worse."

Mo Tan looked at Foster and nodded silently, then asked directly, "What's the worst possible outcome?"

"Histatas has completely broken free of my control and is trying to devour my mental world from the inside out, using the existence of 'Foster Ward' as a basis to completely solidify itself in the material plane."

Foster gave a precise answer without hesitation, then changed the subject: "I don't know what happened next."

Mo Tan paused for a moment, then asked in a deep voice, "Is it because you were already dead back then?"

"No, it was already dead at that time."

Foster shook his head and said casually, "You should remember that I am a summoner. Although it is impossible for a normal person to form any contract with a being like Histas under normal circumstances, I was lucky enough to encounter Histas when it was at its weakest and had been nurtured by 'humanity' for five years. So, there is a contract between us."

Mo Tan, who also knew quite a bit about this, breathed a sigh of relief and confirmed, "Master-servant contract?"

"Although Histas did mention this contract at the time, I thought it would create a big rift between us, so what we signed was the broadest, most flexible, and most suitable for customizing the content of the 'Equal Contract'."

Foster smiled and then, before Mo Tan could ask any more questions, explained: "The contract is roughly this: I cannot abandon Histas unless Histas has any subjective or objective hostility towards me or the world. At the same time, as long as it does not want to leave, I must open my spiritual world to let it stay. And in return... if it becomes hostile or a threat to me or the material plane at some point, I can kill it at any time through the contract."

"..."

Mo Tan was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, "I understand. So, Captain Foster, what you want to confirm is whether Tianzhu Mountain has the ability to control or suppress Histas, right?"

Foster casually opened a folding fan inscribed with "World Cup Cup," looked down at the distorted starry sky reflected in the cup again, and said calmly, "That's about it. Although I'm just a student now, if Tianzhu Mountain can really help solve this problem... I'll find a way to get enough leverage."

"I'll try to find out."

Mo Tan finished his tea in one gulp, then stood up and said to Foster, "I might be quite busy during this time. If there are any further developments, please let JOKER contact you. I hope you don't mind."

Foster also stood up and smiled at Mo Tan, saying, "Brother Mo, I'm already grateful enough that you agreed to help. How could I possibly mind those trivial details?"

"Well, I'll take my leave now."

"Alright, you don't need to worry about the [Special Class]. As long as you ensure the [Absolutely Safe Cargo Ship] is of high quality and quantity, neither the management of Academy City nor the top leaders of [Isaac Comprehensive Academy] will interfere with this plan."

"Thank you very much."

"I won't send you far."

……

A moment later
"..."

"Yes, of course he could tell I was lying, but it doesn't matter, he was the one who could tell anyway."

"..."

"Think about it carefully, and you'll realize that someone like you could never be bound by the 'contract' of our world. So my lie about having the ability to kill you was just a key point to highlight that the entire 'contract' is a lie."

"..."

"You're saying the contract isn't a lie? No, no, no, the agreement between us isn't actually legally binding. You and I both know that, don't we?"

"..."

“I know your determination, but the problem is, I won’t let you destroy yourself before things get to the point of no return, and you will absolutely not choose to destroy yourself once things are completely beyond repair.”

"..."

"You prefer Mo to JOKER, haha. That being said, in any case, Tan Mo is still my ideal partner, while Mo... unfortunately, he is not on the same path as Foster Ward, who chose you."

"..."

"No need for an apology. After all, although I lied about the 'contract,' I am still confident that I can kill you once you have completely regained your lost 'self.'"

"..."

"Yes, I'll be careful. After all, unlike you who constantly suppresses your instincts and desires, I'm always ready to kill you if you ever completely lose control in the future."

"..."

"Heh, who knows? If I hadn't met you and that girl, perhaps Foster Ward would have truly become a person of high moral character, upright conduct, and capable of making outstanding contributions to the world." "..."

"That's true. After all, who can predict the future?"

"..."

"If you're tired, take a rest."

"..."

"It's alright, there's no rush for that. After all, having you investigate something that might have been hiding 'behind the scenes' is just a way to greatly deplete your strength, so there's no need to worry about it too much."

"..."

"Okay, but don't overwork yourself."

……

A moment later
Game time AM00:37
Above Academy City, at an altitude of 3,000 meters
"Thanks for your hard work."

On Fimiguer's back, Jadka, who was sitting cross-legged on the cushion, turned to Mo Tan and chuckled: "You've been quite busy lately."

"You didn't get much rest either."

As Mo Tan stretched his hand out of the surrounding azure barrier, feeling Fimigel's lightning speed, he laughed and said, "What, are you still upset about not joining us in causing trouble for [Viper]?"

The old monk shook his head, stroked his beard, and said, "It's not that bad. After all, if I hadn't played the hero back then, I'm afraid none of us would have been able to cause trouble for that snake. But... well, I have mixed feelings."

Mo Tan glanced at the old man with a half-smile and teased, "You only know how to cherish something when you've lost it?"

"You're overthinking it. I've said it before: the knightly talent has always been a heavy burden for me. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to get rid of it, and to get rid of it in such a meaningful way."

Jadka chuckled, then said with a hint of helplessness, “However… I do worry that I won’t be able to keep up with you. After all, you, Night Song, Ya Ya, Little Deer, Anthony Dabus, and of course Little Le, are all hardworking, talented, and young people with unlimited potential. I, on the other hand, am an old man who is on his deathbed. I’m worried that I will become a burden to you.”

Mo Tan turned to Jadka and asked with a cheerful smile, "But you really want to go on an adventure with us?"

"Yes, I really want to, I really want to."

The old man sighed, stroking the self-destructing cane in his hand, which, although it still occasionally exploded a little, was much more stable than before: "But the problem is, I think I've seen my limit... This feeling is really not good."

"It seems that our status in your heart is almost higher than your wish to become a legitimate mage."

"Haha, who says it isn't?"

"But everyone has their own journey, Lao Jia. Even if you stop first, it's just an insignificant mark on the scale of time. And we will stop in places further away too."

"Your way of comforting people is quite novel."

"I'm just telling the truth."

"Haha, that's quite well said."

The two chatted back and forth, while a few meters away, on Fimigel's neck, squatted a slender silver-haired girl. It was Ya Ya, who had been jumping back and forth at the edge of the barrier because she wanted to feel the wind. The specific process was to stick half of her body out, then pull back before being blown away by the strong wind, rest for a while, then stick it out again, and pull it back again, over and over again.

As for Ji Xiaoge, she stayed 'below' with two engineering experts from Isaac Comprehensive College and the law enforcement team—that is, held in Fimigel's paws, looking like a round cage, but actually a 'temporary container' used to carry people.

The reason they were being carried was simple: although Fimigel didn't mind having Mo Tan and his 'friends' on his back, he couldn't accept being 'ridden' by strangers. So, he had taken a mission cage from the workshop in the Seventh Outer Mountain when he set off, so that it could be used immediately if there was a need to carry people on the return trip.

As for Ji Xiaoge, in order to avoid embarrassing her two companions (which actually wasn't), she went to the temporary container below to accompany them and explain in detail how safe the "Absolutely Safe Cargo Ship" was, trying her best to leave a good impression on the two investigators.

"At this speed, we should be back at Tianzhu Mountain in about half an hour."

Despite lacking a sense of direction, Mo Tan, with his extensive experience as a 'passenger,' stretched and said in a light tone, 'If everything goes smoothly, the two experts will be able to complete the inspection before dawn tomorrow. At that time, as long as we send a message to Dabus and Teacher Tian, ​​the beacon that Ye Ge left at Isaac Comprehensive Academy will be deployed immediately, and we can begin our first trial run.'

Jadka clicked his tongue, then sighed deeply and said with a subtle expression, "Just don't blow anything up again."

"Not really."

Mo Tan's lips twitched slightly, and he said in a dry voice, "I have already discussed it with Captain Foster. If we successfully enter the trial operation phase, Academy City will send at least three Epic-rank personnel to keep an eye on things during the first three docking processes. Even if something goes wrong, we can ensure the safety of our personnel immediately."

"I can rest assured that."

Knowing that the [Absolutely Safe Cargo Ship] couldn't currently defeat an epic-level powerhouse head-on (Gu Xiaole was tricked by Samurai Shodown), Jadka nodded, then turned his gaze to Ya Ya, who was sitting blankly not far away—

"anyway--"

"what?"

"Mo, don't you think Ya Ya has been a bit too quiet lately?"

"Ah."

"I'm a little worried about that girl..."

"Is there something you're hiding from us?"

"..."

Chapter 2798: The End

(End of this chapter)