Chapter 59: Playing with Open Cards
Rocky was shocked by the sudden voice.
The last time a man whispered behind him like this was when he had just entered Rhein and encountered an old Priest. Since then, it was always him behind others.
It's back, all back.
Of course, what was more important is that Rocky was completely unaware of the other's presence. If the person had malicious intent, he would have already been violated by now.
"Ring Finger..." Rocky gritted his teeth and said, "Don't you think this way of greeting is somewhat rude?"
"No choice," the man replied, "The only way to meet you without being noticed is through such means. If I've offended... well, there's nothing I can do."
"Leave out the second part," Rocky said, "You say you're Ring Finger?"
"Yes, and if you're wondering why I'm not a woman..." The man chuckled, "I could use a woman's body to meet you, but I've heard that Rhein priests prefer men over women..."
"Enough, let's not talk about meaningless things." Rocky interrupted abruptly, muttering "yet another Yin Yang Man" in his heart before continuing, "Don't you think speaking like this is inappropriate? Isn't it time for you to reveal yourself?"
"It's just my personal habit, and for now, I'm not intending to play open cards," the man said with a smile, "so I hope you'll pardon me."
Even though he sounded like a solid baritone, his way of speaking resembled that of a silly woman, truly like Ring Finger.
While Rocky wanted to turn around and see the real face of Miss Ring Finger, he was currently being restrained—he could feel something hard pressed against his back, which made him dare not act rashly.
"So what do you want from me?" Rocky asked irritably.
Diana, using Carter's body, laughed and said, "You should be able to guess my intention, right?"
"...You want to know why Isaiah is looking for me?" Rocky said coldly, "But why should I tell you?"
"If this is a private deal between you and Right Eye, then you indeed have no reason to tell me," Diana said nonchalantly, "But your earlier behavior didn't seem like you were discussing a deal at all."
Rocky took a deep breath.
He felt very frustrated; why did everyone in Taoyuan Village seem to have mind-reading skills, while he knew nothing, like a monkey being led around?
"That guy told me Tongue and Hand Eye have always been the same person."
Despite his frustration, Rocky narrated everything Isaiah told him to Diana, knowing that under the current circumstances, Diana was the only one in Taoyuan Village who could be considered an ally. They stood on the same ground.
After listening to Rocky's account, Diana was silent for a long time. If not for the hard object pressing against his lower back, Rocky would have thought Diana had already left.
After a while, Diana slowly spoke, "It's truly a shocking claim."
"Do you think he's telling the truth?"
"I can't be sure because there's no concrete evidence," Diana said, "But if his claim is true, Hand Eye is the real mastermind, even more terrifying in some ways than Right Eye. After all, Right Eye has been pushed to his limits. If possible, I really don't want to face such an opponent."
Diana's words made Rocky resonate.
If Isaiah's words are true, then that Ulu guy is indeed terrifying.
It's even uncertain whether he really is Ulu.
"What do you think?" Rocky asked.
"Both sides have points worthy of skepticism," Diana said, "Regarding Hand Eye, he claims Isaiah hasn't held a Taoyuan Village meeting because it's no longer necessary. But as it stands, Isaiah's desire to communicate with us is apparent, there's no reason not to hold a Taoyuan Village, opting for such troublesome means to contact us instead."
"Contact us?" Rocky was puzzled, "When did he contact you?"
Diana: "Is it possible that he made contact with you publicly because he guessed that I was watching from nearby, hoping to find me through you?"
After a brief moment of realization, Rocky understood, "So that's how it is!"
Seeing Rocky's reaction, Diana couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Having a teammate like this is quite taxing.
But at least with this guy in the middle, Diana didn't need to directly meet Isaiah to establish contact, which also avoids considerable risk, so she didn't say much and continued the topic, "In the end, Isaiah's reason for not entering Taoyuan Village is just Hand Eye's one-sided story anyway."
"But if he had really taken those three Corpse Blocks, wouldn't entering Taoyuan Village expose his identity?" Rocky's thoughts became unexpectedly clear, "Inside Taoyuan Village, we can see how many Corpse Blocks he has, making whatever he says pointless."
"You're not wrong," Diana nodded slightly, "As long as Isaiah doesn't enter Taoyuan Village, both narratives are possible. But this point can indeed be questioned; we shouldn't trust Isaiah or Hand Eye."
"Then who should we believe?"