After lunch, back at the hotel, Long Yuehong sighed:
"It seems that the Bodhi statue really might have fallen into Gitis's hands.
"If we submit this clue to the Hunters Guild, I wonder how much bounty we can get..."
"Wait a minute." Honest Genava interrupted Long Yuehong's words, "We are trying to earn a bounty to repay Gitis, and to buy the answers from Iman and Franz from her, but now, the way to earn the bounty is to sell Gitis's secret to the Hunters Guild. Isn't the logical relationship between the two a bit wrong?"
"Indeed." Shang Jianyao deeply agreed, "We can't betray Gitis to pay her back."
Bai Chen helped Long Yuehong say:
"In the old world entertainment materials, there are many similar things, but the purpose is to renege on debts."
"That's not our style!" Shang Jianyao said righteously.
Jiang Baimian nodded along:
"The main thing is that Gitis is quite friendly to us, and she keeps her promises when trading..."
"She even allows us to run up a tab!" Shang Jianyao added.
"In short, I still feel bad about betraying Gitis's secret." Jiang Baimian rolled her eyes at Shang Jianyao, "Besides, we can't completely confirm it yet."
Long Yuehong thought the same way and suggested again:
"Why don't we go directly to Gitis and communicate with her about this?
"If the Bodhi statue really falls into her hands, then we can promise on the spot not to leak this secret, on the condition that the debt is waived and two pieces of information are given as a gift."
This is a win-win situation.
"Wait a minute." Shang Jianyao imitated Genava, "Your method, in simple terms, is to go to Gitis, tell her that we know her secret, and if she doesn't waive our debt and give us some intelligence, we will give that secret to the Hunters Guild?"
The more Long Yuehong listened, the more speechless he became.
Shang Jianyao just slightly changed the wording and adjusted the order, directly tearing open the superficial tenderness of his words, revealing the essence:
Blackmail!
"I, I don't mean that..." Long Yuehong wanted to express that he really had no intention of extorting Gitis, but couldn't find suitable words to defend himself.
He couldn't say it was to promote a win-win situation, could he?
Although that's what he really thought.
Jiang Baimian pondered for a few seconds and said:
"Gitis is on duty tonight, we'll go find her then, on the pretext of buying intelligence.
"Then, we'll directly 'make friends' with her and confirm whether the Bodhi statue is in her hands.
"If we judge wrongly, then we'll look for other clues, if we guess right, we'll understand the cause and effect, and then make a decision based on that. Hmm, if Gitis doesn't mention it herself, we must never say that we will use keeping the secret to exchange for money."
"Okay." Shang Jianyao agreed without hesitation.
In the evening, Gitis, her honey-colored hair casually tied up, entered the "Fire and Iron" hotel and completed the handover with her colleague.
The "Old Task Force" didn't look for her immediately, slowly went out to fill their stomachs, and waited until the night was deeper and there were few people coming and going in the hall before heading to the front desk.
Gitis restrained her dazed expression:
"Is there anything I can do for you?"
Jiang Baimian smiled:
"We want to inquire about some more information from you."
"You still owe me two Grand Knight Gold Coins." Gitis reminded.
At this time, she wasn't distracted at all.
Shang Jianyao immediately responded:
"Didn't we agree on three days? Only one day has passed.
"Moreover, we have cooperated twice, and we have both shown a trustworthy side to each other. In a sense, we are all friends..."
As long as Shang Jianyao had the opportunity to speak, as long as there was indeed something to communicate about, he could complete "thought implantation" seamlessly, making it impossible to defend against.
Gitis didn't seem to expect the "Old Task Force" to suddenly attack her. Her eyes glazed over for a moment and she said:
"Indeed.
"What news do you want to inquire about this time?"
Jiang Baimian tried her best to make her smile friendly and gentle:
"We want to know if that Bodhi statue is in your possession."
Gitis's pupils dilated suddenly, and her whole body seemed to have been doused with a bucket of ice water, and she was about to break free from the influence of "thought implantation."
Just at this moment, Shang Jianyao, who was prepared, shouted:
"We have no malice!"
Combined with the previous "thought implantation" effect, Gitis's body relaxed.
She blurted out:
"How did you know?"
Jiang Baimian didn't answer immediately, using a smile to soothe the other party:
"Don't be nervous. If we really wanted to hurt you with this matter, it would be those relic hunters looking for you now."
Without giving Gitis a chance to speak, Jiang Baimian said to herself:
"Our team has a wealth of experience and has seen the abilities of 'Clairvoyance', 'Retrocognition', and 'Telepathy' in the 'Bodhi' domain, and we are aware of what that Bodhi statue might involve.
"When you show your abilities to us without reservation and give us information, you should know that we will suspect you sooner or later.
"And now, our suspicions have been confirmed."
A look of sudden realization gradually appeared on Gitis's face.
Jiang Baimian asked curiously:
"Do you think it's impossible for us to understand the abilities brought by the Bodhi statue and make corresponding associations, or is there some reason forcing you to do this?"
This was her biggest confusion.
Gitis behaved as if she didn't know much about Awakened-related matters.
This time, Gitis was no longer distracted and was silent for a few seconds before saying:
"On the one hand, I did underestimate you a bit, and on the other hand, I have to make money quickly."
"Why so urgent?" Shang Jianyao asked curiously.
Gitis's eyes lost focus for a few seconds before she replied:
"In the past six months, I have begun to feel that the power of the statue is weakening. Maybe in another year or two, or even less, it will lose all its magic."
"Normal." Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao said in unison.
It would be abnormal to be able to use it frequently for nearly three years!
Gitis continued:
"I have to save enough money for my parents' treatment before the statue loses all its power, save enough money to buy the latest gene drugs, and deal with the aftermath of some things..."
So that's why she's a little anxious to use her abilities to exchange for money... Jiang Baimian nodded slightly and said:
"You often get distracted and like to be in a daze. Is that a negative effect brought about by the statue?"
"No, it's because I'm also simultaneously controlling several people. I have to make sure they don't show any abnormalities in their daily lives, and I also occasionally use 'Clairvoyance' to collect real-time intelligence from different places in Gestaltburg." Gitis "felt" that the "Old Task Force" really had no malice and answered in a relatively detailed manner.
"Simultaneously controlling..." The experienced Shang Jianyao asked excitedly, "'Divine Mirror' plus 'Retrocognition'?"
"Divine Mirror" allows one's consciousness to be divided into multiple parts without causing the independence of a single consciousness, and "Retrocognition" can see the past of all beings and can use one's own consciousness to forcibly occupy a human body, similar to usurpation or parasitism.
The combination of the two means that one can control multiple humans at the same time.
That's how Di Marco was back then.
Gitis was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly:
"You really know a lot about these abilities."
Jiang Baimian temporarily didn't continue this topic, but turned to ask:
"How did you get that Bodhi statue?"
Gitis's eyes glazed over for a few seconds and said:
"After that monk came to Gestaltburg, his health was not very good.
"One time, he came to my house to ask for alms. I felt sorry for him and gave him some leftover food. I also asked him where he usually stayed, and occasionally went to give him some food and clothes, but my family's situation was not very good, so I didn't do it very often.
"What I didn't expect was that one night, he actually came to my house to find me and said that he was grateful for my care and wanted to give me the statue. At that time, I didn't know that the statue was so magical and didn't think much of it, so I accepted it.
"As soon as I took the statue, I immediately fell into a strange state and knew what kind of power it contained, but the monk disappeared. The next day, he was found dead in the factory area..."
As she spoke, Gitis bent down and picked up the canvas backpack she had placed at her feet.
This was the one she carried every day.
Then, Gitis took out a wooden statue from the backpack.
It was brownish-red, about fifty centimeters high, with kind eyes and a bitter expression on its face at the same time, exactly as described in the Hunters Guild's mission.
Jiang Baimian asked in slight surprise:
"You can use its power without directly touching the statue?"
The statue was actually in the backpack!
Jiang Baimian thought it was hidden in the cabinet at the front desk, convenient for Gitis to use—when needed, she would slightly open the cabinet and touch the surface.
"Yes, after touching it with my hand for the first time, as long as it's within a certain range, I can borrow its power and be influenced by it." Gitis didn't specify how large that range was.
Shang Jianyao sincerely praised:
"Amazing!"