Guan Tong sat down. "Moon... How should I address you?"
"My nickname is fine. My real name is irrelevant; it died along with the past era. In this new age, a nickname is a better reflection of a person’s true self," Moon Key said.
Guan Tong raised an eyebrow slightly. "You say the past era died?"
"The world after the Fire Thief’s descent is a new world. Our nicknames on the Terminal Panel are our names in this new world. Just like your nickname, ’Shadow’—it’s not just because of your ability, is it?"
"Then you’re mistaken," Guan Tong said. "My name really is just my ability. There’s no other meaning."
Moon Key smiled but said nothing.
"Let’s get straight to the point," Guan Tong said seriously. "I want to commission you to help me find someone."
He had come to see Moon Key immediately after returning from space, without even stopping to rest. It was, of course, to investigate the matter concerning Suzuki.
He had previously told Shangyuan Zi that with the trail gone cold, he would have to find some unconventional channels. A Divination Master like Moon Key was one such channel.
Moon Key lightly tapped the Crystal Ball with her fingers. "My ability is Prophecy. It has little to do with finding people."
"That’s not necessarily true." Guan Tong took a tablet from his Storage Ring, pulled up the map function, and placed it on the table. "The North Star Country has a total of 36 administrative districts. I’ll start by searching the first one. You can use your Prophecy to see if I’ll find them there. If not, I’ll move on to the next."
Moon Key was taken aback. "A brute-force search?"
"Exactly." Guan Tong’s gaze was firm.
He didn’t like leaving things half-finished. Once he decided to do something, he saw it through to the end. He wouldn’t rest until his investigation yielded results.
"...Do you have any information on the person you’re looking for?"
Guan Tong pulled up a surveillance photo of the woman on his tablet, along with the name she used to register: "Wei Huo."
Moon Key studied it carefully, then said after a moment of contemplation, "I can help, but on one condition."
"That’s reasonable. What do you want?" Guan Tong asked.
"I don’t want Sublimation Coins or items. I just want you to save someone."
"Who?"
"Adam."
"Save Adam?" Guan Tong furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"
Moon Key looked up, a faint trace of sorrow in her expression.
"In a Prophecy, I saw his death."
"..."
Guan Tong was slightly alarmed.
He held Adam’s strength in high regard. Adam possessed the powerful ability of Manipulation Force Field, and before leaving Liluo’an City, Guan Tong had sensed a change in his aura. Adam had likely entered the second stage of Sublimation.
Across the entire world, Ascenders who had reached the second stage were exceedingly rare; each one was a top-tier powerhouse. ’How could such a person die so easily?’
"How exactly does he die? And where?" Guan Tong pressed.
Moon Key shook her head gently. "I can’t prophesize every detail. I only saw his body floating in the ocean. If you agree, then how to find and save him will be up to you."
"I agree." Guan Tong didn’t hesitate. Even without Moon Key’s request, he wouldn’t have thought twice about lending a hand if he saw Adam in trouble.
He didn’t see the powerful Adam as a rival. They had been in contact for some time, Adam was a comrade-in-arms with Bai Xuewu, and most importantly...
Guan Tong remembered how, during the Foggy Nightmare Beast Rule Stage, Adam had privately messaged him, and they had discussed the "Qimo Star Fragments" at length. From that moment, he realized that Adam, like himself, had a strong desire to explore the truth about Alien Civilizations and the Fire Thief.
He had even once considered inviting Adam to join his "Origin-Tracing Expedition" to explore these secrets together. But considering Adam was an Ascender officially affiliated with Soloma, the invitation was never extended.
"Alright, it’s a deal then."
With that, Moon Key placed her hands on the Crystal Ball.
She closed her eyes tightly. A misty purple light slowly emerged from her palms, shining onto the Crystal Ball. As the purple light filled the sphere, it began to spin, and strange images flickered across its smooth surface.
Guan Tong watched in silence.
It was his first time witnessing a prophecy-type ability, and he felt a certain degree of curiosity.
He didn’t believe in determinism, so he found the idea of foretelling the future somewhat unreliable. But since he was the one who had sought her out, his personal opinion didn’t matter. All that mattered was whether it worked.
About five minutes later, Moon Key opened her eyes.
Her gaze was directed at Guan Tong, but her pupils were focused on a distant point, as if staring into the void somewhere behind him.
"I saw you travel all over North Star, using your Shadow ability to search everywhere... but you found nothing... Finally, in... a certain city, you seemed to discover something..."
CRACK!
With a sharp snap, her left index finger suddenly broke and bent backward. Guan Tong immediately shot to his feet.
Moon Key came back to her senses, glanced at her finger, and nonchalantly lowered her left hand beneath the table. She said to a bewildered Guan Tong, "Complex Prophecies have their price. It seems to be a finger this time. Don’t worry about it."
"...I’m sorry," Guan Tong said, feeling somewhat apologetic.
"Don’t be. This is a commission I accepted myself." Moon Key took out a pen and paper and quickly sketched a simple drawing with her right hand, pushing it toward Guan Tong. "The city I saw was blurry, but this is a rough drawing of it."
Guan Tong picked up the drawing. He found it vaguely familiar as he studied it. When his eyes locked onto a tall, cylindrical shape, it was like a flash of inspiration. He recognized it. "This is Yunhua!"