Persona: Devil Summoner

Moreover, under the influence of the beauty effect, whatever Cleopatra did would only attract the favor of men, who would treat her coldly. This is called an iceberg beauty. Not washing or dressing up is called the most natural. Even deliberately making herself look ugly, or even destroying her image by picking her toes and nose, she would be called not having the airs of a goddess, not pretending, and being approachable... What would you do to Cleopatra?

The more she was pursued by males, the more she was regarded as an enemy by the women of Babylon... As a result, she had to run to this deserted little desert and hide. In the end, she was discovered...

However, as the saying goes, "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise", she now has a very deep understanding of this Chinese proverb: thanks to her hiding here, she was able to obtain Jiang Tianwei's protection.

(Next time I see that woman, I will definitely teach her a lesson!)

Cleopatra thought so in her heart.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 392 Lord Shadow asked me to give you a message

Speaking of treasure, everyone must have a picture in their mind, right?

Whether it is a classic TV series or anime game, adventure-themed works always have the element of treasure. Moreover, I believe everyone will have a similar scene in their mind: a dim cave with an unpleasant smell of moss and mold, the slight sound of water dripping on the ground, a swaying torch, and... a small mountain of gold coins piled up in the entire cave, shining brightly (even if normal lighting conditions would not make them shine so brightly). There are often gems, necklaces, golden swords, and exquisitely decorated boxes...

However, when Jiang Tianwei was ready to try this in reality, he found that it was not that simple. They emptied the Sleeping Beauty Castle of everything that could be exchanged for money, but in the end, the gold coins that even the demons had to carry several times were only piled shallowly on the ground. Not to mention a small mountain, it was not even a pile of sand!

Back in the day, in Disney's animation, Donald Duck's uncle Scrooge had a vault where he could jump into and take a bath in gold coins. Someone calculated that this thing was worth more than 300 billion US dollars...

Let's not talk about why a duck is so rich. This indirectly shows how huge wealth is needed if you want to create a treasure mountain full of jewels. It would be too difficult for Jiang Tianwei to raise such a large sum of money.

"Tsk, this is totally different from what I thought."

Jiang Tianwei muttered this and kicked the pile of gold coins. The gold coins were kicked out like bullets, and after a few snaps, they all sank into the inner wall of the pyramid.

"Um, you, you are not in a good mood?"

Shinjima asked cautiously, fearing to irritate him. Jiang Tianwei uttered an "ah", turned his head, and put his face close to Shinjima: "President, there is no need to repeat something that is so obvious, right?!"

Shinjima was already mentally exhausted, and was frightened by Jiang Tianwei's shout, and dared not speak. Jiang Tianwei turned back to the pile of gold coins with a gloomy face, thinking of a solution. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shinjima secretly asked Naoto and Yoshizawa Kasumi: "He is really different, isn't he?"

When she discovered something unusual, Shinjima's first reaction was to quickly ask other people for confirmation. This was actually a very correct behavior. However, she asked the wrong person...

Fang Zexia thought about it for a moment. I don't know what she thought of, but her face suddenly flushed. She whispered, "This kind of Jiang Jiang is so fresh. I like it!"

Shinjima immediately felt that he had asked the wrong person, and then secretly made up his mind that if he and Jiang Tianwei really could develop into a romantic relationship one day, he would definitely tell other girls not to think about it all the time - and, what's so good about that person? I really don't understand why Fangze-san is so concerned about him.

The other person being questioned, Bai Zhong Zhidou, was seriously reasoning about something without saying anything. After thinking for a while, she silently reached inside her coat and pressed her fingers on the cold and stiff grip of the pistol...

"I'm reminding you, even though we are familiar with each other, if you dare to stab me in the back, I won't let you go."

Jiang Tianwei clearly didn't turn around, but it was as if he had eyes behind his head and he reacted to Bai Zhongzhidou's action of pulling out the gun.

"So, what are you? Are you some kind of demon possessing your assistant, or something else? Like a doppelganger or something?"

"Aren't you very good at thinking and reasoning, great detective? Come and guess, what am I?"

As soon as these words came out, Shinjima Makoto and Yoshizawa Kasumi were both shocked. They quickly took a big step back and took a battle stance. Before, Mei Tianwei looked no different except for her angry tone. But was it something else? Was it mimicry? Or...

However, Bai Zhongzhidou, who was the first to discover the clue, did not show any special reaction. She just stood there calmly and confidently: "I guess you are Jiang Tianwei's [Shadow], right?"

"...Tsk, that's why I don't like dealing with smart people."

Because the shadow is the repressed self, the most authentic existence, so it will not lie. Judging from the emotions in Jiang Tianwei's bright yellow eyes, he doesn't care much about being seen through.

Bai Zhongzhidou was able to recognize Jiang Tianwei's true identity, but it was not entirely due to his reasoning ability. Many times, once you have had similar experiences, you will quickly match relevant experience when encountering similar situations.

In that small town in the countryside, the conditions for awakening personas for the members who call themselves the Special Investigation Team are different from those of the current Phantom Thieves. The members of the Phantom Thieves are often rebellious and want to rise up against this fucked up world.

However, the conditions for awakening persona for Baekjong Naoto and others were different. In their era, the dark shadow in their hearts represented "desires that they were unwilling to admit."

No one is perfect, and everyone has some dark thoughts in their hearts. However, everyone knows that these are dark and bad things, so no one is willing to admit them. Even if their own shadow is exposed in public, they will try their best to evade the truth. This feeling is like asking your leader: "Hello, do you embezzle?" The answer you get is always "No." But the truth is...

However, if you want to awaken your persona, you don’t need to save face or try to please others. Instead, you need to face your own heart and fit your true soul back into your increasingly numb spiritual world.

Whether it is the Phantom Thieves, who face their repressed emotions and fight against injustice, or the likes of Baekjong Naoto, who understand and acknowledge that these shameful thoughts are also part of themselves, they will grow spiritually and awaken their persona.

This is also the main reason why persona messengers will not appear in the palace, because their shadows have already evolved into personas long ago.

But this brings up another crucial question...

(Why does Jiang Tianwei have both shadow and persona?).

Bai Zhongzhidou's attention was involuntarily drawn to this puzzle.

Even the answer to the question is easy to guess...

In the world of detectives, similar situations are often encountered. When investigating a crime scene, one thing that must be learned is to distinguish which are real "physical evidence", which are "false evidence", and which are "meaningless evidence".

After a little thought, she got the answer: (Shadow is definitely the most real one. Jiang Tianwei must have his own shadow. So, there are two possibilities here. The first is that his persona is fake, unreal, and problematic. The second is that his original shadow has evolved into a persona, but as he grew up, a new persona was born in his heart. Moreover, it seems that Sister Tong Tiao mentioned that Jiang Jiang's father is a psychological researcher, and he seems to be studying the plan of an artificial persona. Considering that his father is a poor scientist, he might not be able to find suitable subjects... Could it be that he did something to his own child in the beginning?).

Just as she was lost in thought, Shadow Jiang Tianwei sneered: "Don't bother, Miss Detective. I'm not your enemy, there's no need to be so vigilant. He and I are one and the same, I won't harm that guy."

He originally said this to reassure Bai Zhongzhidou, but it made Zhidou even more alert. Jiang Tianwei would never know that before Zhidou and the others awakened their personas, they would always be accompanied by the shadows of the original hosts who did not recognize them, and then the shadows gained power and wanted to kill the hosts.

(But he was right. No matter how dangerous it was, the shadow never tried to harm the main body before the main body denied the shadow. I'm afraid that being denied was the main reason for triggering the crisis. There is no better way now...)

Just when she was thinking about how to deal with this shadow Jiang Tianwei, she suddenly saw Jiang Tianwei's whole body become weak and fall limply. He stepped on the ground with one foot, trying hard to keep his body from falling.

"Tsk, he's really determined. Looks like I have to go back first. Tell him a message: 'Let's meet somewhere next time' ~ Everyone in the Phantom Thieves, goodbye~"

Unexpectedly, Shadow Jiang Tianwei acted cute at the end, then rolled his eyes upwards, and when he opened his eyes again, his pair of golden eyes had turned back to pitch black.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 393 Dreaming, sweet dreams, daydreaming

From Jiang Tianwei's perspective, he seemed to have had a very long dream.

Being stunned by Cleopatra's beauty, bewitched by her illusions, and finally having control of his body taken away by his own shadow, it was just like a dream.

Anyone who has read the story of Nan Ke Yi Meng should know that the main content of Nan Ke Yi Meng is to achieve success and fame and marry a beautiful wife. Jiang Tianwei has at least achieved more than half of it.

He did marry a beauty, but it's easy to imagine that when a peerless beauty uses a skill called "Ultimate Temptation" on a man with little experience with women, the content would definitely not be harmonious, at least not to the extent that people under 18 years of age can watch it.

Considering the identity of Cleopatra, she was a pharaoh! In China, she was the emperor! If you have a relationship with a particularly beautiful queen, then you are more or less a regent. Even if you are not a regent, at least you are a father of the country. You can spend the money in the treasury as you like.

So in this dream, Jiang Tianwei had fame, wealth, and beauty. Why not say 100%, but more than half? It was the man's self-esteem that was at work. He always felt that living off a gigolo was not a good thing, and that getting something for nothing always made him feel ashamed. This kind of thing of achieving financial freedom by relying on one's looks was always a bit...

But, when I really had this dream, I had to admit... No wonder so many people are pretty boys...

However, dreams always end, and when Jiang Tianwei woke up, his first reaction was...

"Huh? Why am I here? Shouldn't I be in the pyramid?"

As soon as Jiang Tianwei said this, Fang Zexia immediately complained: "Cut! Wrong! Try again!"

If it were someone else, they would definitely be confused and not understand what Fang Zexia was saying. Jiang Tianwei felt sad that he could get what this little ghost wanted to say in an instant.

So he immediately closed his eyes, then pretended to open them again: "Ah... a strange ceiling..."

"Yes, this time it's just right."

Shin Niijima looked at the two people interacting inexplicably with complete confusion. For people who don't understand memes, watching two people playing with memes and communicating using memes is probably Shin Niijima's mental state.

"So, what did you dream about?"

Fang Zexia asked.

"If I tell you that I dreamed of doing naughty things with Cleopatra, and then took the opportunity to control the Egyptian government and became a decagonal warrior with well-rounded moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, labor, official power, money and a house, will it affect my image in your heart?"

"meeting!".

"In my dream, I will strive all my life to realize the great rejuvenation of mankind, to achieve the four modernizations and to develop science and technology faster, better and more economically, to realize mankind's long-cherished wish of exploring the universe as soon as possible!"

"As expected, it's Jiang Jiang!"

Fang Zexia gave him a brilliant smile, showing her teeth in an exaggerated manner, just like in TV commercials (especially toothpaste commercials).

He was possessed by his own shadow, Fang Zexia was of course nervous, but there are many kinds of nervousness. Of course, crying out of anxiety is one kind, but such an approach would definitely make Jiang Tianwei fall into self-criticism and self-reflection, right?

Fang Zexia would not adopt such an approach that would make the other party nervous and anxious. That was why she kept acting stupid, on the one hand to test Jiang Tianwei's reaction speed, on the other hand to ease the confusion of his memory loss, and of course, the most important aspect was to make sure that he was in good condition.

He is still the same Jiang Tianwei.

That's enough.

Seeing Fang Zexia's stupid look, Jiang Tianwei knew that something might have happened during his dream. He secretly thanked her for saving his face, and at the same time, he became more curious about what happened during his sleep.

"Well, let's not talk about anything else for now. At least we, the Forty Thieves, have found the treasure hiding place. So, this story can officially start. The next step is to find this Alibaba."

Bai Zhongzhidou clapped his hands, attracted everyone's attention, and made a summary. Although she was the last person to join the Phantom Thieves, she is now the leader of the team.

When Jiang Tianwei heard this, he quickly turned the page and asked, "Do you have any good ideas?"

"A brilliant plan? Yes, I do. Not only that, but it's a brilliant plan that's 100% successful."

Bai Zhongzhidou said this, imitating the image of a military strategist in a TV drama, waving a non-existent fictional feather fan in his hand.

"What's the brilliant idea?"

"A carpet search, of course!"

Bai Zhongzhidou casually said a word that was not so casual. Jiang Tianwei curled his lips and said, "So this is such a simple and crude trick?!"

"Strategies don't necessarily have to be sophisticated or profound, as long as they are useful. Anyway, you have a flying and extremely fast demon, so just use it."

Yes, instead of thinking of some clever way to find someone, it would be faster to just let the Yatagarasu patrol the city.

Furthermore, since it has been confirmed that the companion trapped here is either Yusuke or Sumire Yoshizawa, their appearance has also been confirmed...

Jiang Tianwei thought about it and felt that it made sense. Although this approach did not meet everyone's expectations of a "strategy", it was indeed very effective, right? With the speed and eyesight of the Yatagarasu, it would only take a quarter of an hour to go around the city. Isn't this better than thinking of a complicated strategy?

I believe that many people's understanding of detectives comes from novels and animations, which always emphasize the detective's clever mind, precise reasoning, and meticulous observation. But in reality, real detective work is not so glamorous. After all, the most common job of a detective is to investigate infidelity...

Anyway, the core is to solve the problem, not to solve the puzzle. What's wrong with drawing a simple conclusion?

Jiang Tianwei summoned the Yatagarasu and had it patrol the city. As expected, it soon found something...

……

…………

In this Middle Eastern-style town, there lived a pair of poor brothers.

Later, the elder brother married the daughter of a wealthy businessman in the city and lived a wealthy life, but he did not care about his younger brother Alibaba's life or death.

As for his younger brother Alibaba, he now lives a hard life alone every day, barely making a living by doing odd jobs - then buying painting materials, going home, and immersing himself in his own art world...

"It's Yusuke!"

Jiang Tianwei nodded thoughtfully after hearing the answer given by Yatagarasu. It must be said that although Alibaba is not an artist and is far from Yusuke, Yusuke is the same as Alibaba - poor.

However, Jiang Tianwei suddenly understood why Cleopatra was sleeping in the "treasure house" he found before. Perhaps, from Yusuke's point of view, a pyramid full of gold coins is far less valuable than a beautiful model who is worthy of being recorded in history.

Now, we have all the basic elements of a fairy tale. But… it’s not the same as Sleeping Beauty, where the prince kisses the princess and that’s the end of the story.

But, what is the ending of Alibaba? Does it end when Alibaba obtains the treasure? Or does it have to wait until the forty thieves kill the greedy brother? There is no way to know...

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 394 Who doesn’t have an artistic dream?

Yusuke Ari has a dream, which is to become a painting superstar.

By then, he will become an artist as famous as Leonardo da Vinci, with great fame and wealth. Then, Ali Yusuke can use the money to build his own art palace. When he achieves financial freedom, he can put aside all worldly affairs and immerse himself in the world of art from morning to night every day.

However, this dream did not receive the support of his brother.

Obviously, not every artist is as lucky as Van Gogh to have a brother who is willing to support his artistic path.

Therefore, today, he can only pursue his artistic dream while going out to find odd jobs.

"I don't have any drawing paper anymore, but I can look for some old clothes or discarded sheets... But I can't use paint... I have to earn enough money to buy paint today."

Ali Yusuke, wearing a white robe, was walking down the street, talking to himself. His blue hair did not fit in with the other pedestrians who were all wearing headscarves.

His stomach was rumbling. He was obviously hungry one moment and full the next, but he had no idea of ​​making money to buy food in his mind. To him, this body was just a tool to support him in fulfilling his artistic dream and he didn't need to care too much about it.

"Have you heard? I heard that a group of thieves came to the city recently!"

On both sides of the path he was walking on, he could hear two girls chatting.

One was wearing a white robe like the others, and the other was wearing a strange leather jacket with sharp spike-like decorations on his shoulders and other places.

(What a strange woman.)

Ali Yusuke thought so and walked past the two people quickly. He didn't care who these two people were, nor did he care about the thieves they were talking about. After all, he was so poor that no thief would be so blind as to come and rob him.

Just as he was thinking about how to mix some painting materials today, suddenly, a conversation between the two women struck his ears like thunder and lightning!