CHAPTER 2078: CHAPTER 299: MAMMON

During the finals, what exactly happened in the Silent Forest, no one present knows the specific truth. The suspicions of the young wizards towards those ’Ravens’ were still vague, like a two or three months’ old fetus, not yet formed.

Even so, having a clear ’grudge-bearing’ target still improved everyone’s mood a lot, and they started to give opinions and discuss how to catch those ’Ravens’.

"Of course, this is not something that can be achieved overnight."

At the end of the meeting, the captain of the Absolution Hunting Team summarized: "I don’t expect to wake up tomorrow morning to find someone has discovered the true identities of those Ravens... Once they take off their masks, they could be anyone, hiding anywhere—a secret camp in the Silent Forest, a shop on the Pedestrian Street, the cellar in Alpha Fortress, the school’s lab, hospital, Hundred Herb Gardens, library, or even living next door to us."

"I just hope that during the investigation process, everyone must be careful and cautious, and never act recklessly... Don’t forget how we fell asleep yesterday!"

This sentence was addressed to others, as well as to himself.

In the evening, Zheng Qing did not go to the library, but instead took out a vial of Transformation Potion, sniffed the scent on the bottle, and turned into a Black Cat again.

Today is Saturday.

There is another event tonight.

However, compared to the previous few times, tonight the Black Cat was looking forward to seeing the Sin Bearer wearing a mask as white as a duck egg for the first time.

The night was deep.

Moonlight occasionally broke through the few not-too-large clouds above, descending onto the road leading to Lin Zhong Lake. The sycamores on both sides had shed most of their leaves, leaving a mottled carpet of leaves on the ground. The silver-gray sky, contrasting with the black branches, appeared like unknown scripts from the starry sky.

Leaving the main road, the low lawn was as smooth as cat fur. A pair of young male and female wizards were hiding behind the bushes, whispering sweet nothings, with slightly unhealthy sounds under the moonlight.

The Black Cat coughed loudly a couple of times.

The bushes shook chaotically, and the two silhouettes quickly disappeared from its sight.

Satisfied, it nodded and carefully circumvented a small cluster of oleanders.

Although the branches and leaves of such shrubs were often used by wizards to make Heart-Strengthening Medicine, it was also a highly toxic plant. If you inadvertently brushed against its sap, your skin would first feel numb, then your heart would spasm until death from pain—even when the plant dried, the smoke from burning it was toxic. Professor Li in Magic Potion Class had warned everyone about this more than once.

When the Black Cat arrived at the Cat Fruit Tree, it unexpectedly found that the Sin Bearer was already squatting in the tree.

He was squatting on his ’throne’, hugging a Persian Cat and petting it wantonly. Even from afar, the Black Cat could hear that Persian Cat’s comfortable purrs.

Without a word, it opened its mouth and squeezed out a cat orb the size of a rice grain, aiming it at the Sin Bearer—bad moods always needed an outlet, and since the ’duck egg mask’ had delivered itself to its door, it wouldn’t miss this chance to attack.

The cat orb the size of a rice grain shot out, seemingly slow but actually fast, with an erratic trajectory, suddenly appearing in front of the Sin Bearer.

The Sin Bearer squawked in alarm, tossing the Persian Cat aside, and leaped from the Cat Fruit Tree like a rabbit, changing three times within a step, leaving eight or nine real images in midair in an instant.

The cat orb, regardless of real or illusionary images, followed the trajectory left by the Sin Bearer, obliterating each one sequentially.

"Just because I petted your cat?! Do you have to go so crazy about it?!" came the Sin Bearer’s exasperated voice from the night sky. In the far distance, a patrol squad’s shouting could be faintly heard.

The Black Cat looked up at the sky, seeing faint white threads against the moonlight, which was the School Guardian Array hesitating.

’Not coming when needed.’

It complained inwardly. With a thought, the rice-grain-sized cat orb silently shattered in the night sky, turning into a gentle night breeze that swept in all directions.

The School Guardian Array concealed itself again, and the night patrol came and went.

Seeing the people in the world seem to be busying themselves with useless endeavors, the Black Cat unexpectedly felt a lot better and, swinging its tail, lazily laid down on its throne, surveying the many fruits around.

After a while, the Sin Bearer stealthily returned under the tree.

Along with him came another guy wearing a fox mask. The Black Cat guessed that this was probably one of the Seven Sins testing themselves tonight.

"Don’t leave later."

The Black Cat twitched its ears and unceremoniously spoke first, saying to the Sin Bearer with a tone quite like ’don’t leave after school’.

The Sin Bearer leaned his head back.

"Don’t push me too far!"

He pointed at the Black Cat, swearing: "I’ve endured you long enough... It’s just petting your cat, right? Do you need to blast me with such a terrifying magic orb? It’s simply too much!"

Listening to his scolding, the Black Cat’s mood became even more pleasant.

Not until the Sin Bearer shut up did it speak amiably: "You can pet any of the cats on the tree you want, but you shouldn’t do so in my place... By the way, I have something to discuss with you later... Don’t worry, it won’t be hitting you."

The last sentence again sparked the Sin Bearer’s anger.

But admitting that he couldn’t beat a cat seemed somewhat embarrassing. For a moment, he could only stand there indignantly, unable to argue or not argue.

Then the Black Cat turned to look at the wizard wearing the fox mask.

Compared to the other ’Seven Sins’ it had seen before, the wizard wearing the fox mask exuded a ’peaceful’ aura from head to toe.

The Black Cat pondered for a while before realizing that it was probably due to the fox mask.

The fox mask was an inverted triangle, entirely white, with eyebrows and eyes bending downwards and lips curving upwards, giving an appearance that fostered wealth and harmony at a glance.

"Mammon."

While the Black Cat was scrutinizing the fox mask, the wizard wearing it placed a hand on his chest and slightly bowed, introducing himself politely and warmly: "Recipient of the Seven Deadly Sins ’Greed’ title, very pleased to be involved in tonight’s assessment... Do you have any requirements for the assessment tonight?"

"Can I choose myself?" The Black Cat leaned forward with interest, gazing down at the fox below.

"Of course!"

Mammon delightedly pulled out a ledger, turning its pages with a rustling sound, with a dozen feather pens floating around him, showing a stance eager to start: "For the assessment tasks of new members, our Mammon lineage has extremely clear and comprehensive product plans, such as equal principal and interest payments, equal principal payments, interest-first, one-time repayments, flexible borrowing and repayment..."

"Hold on!"

The Black Cat felt unable to keep up with Mammon’s pace, feeling a bit overwhelmed, and for the first time, doubted whether it truly was just a cat: "What do you mean flexible borrowing and repayment... equal principal... Are you offering usurious loans?"