F-class thief? Sorry, I can steal anything.

Chapter 371 Candidate Containers?

"Candidate container".

The four words were like four nails, driven one by one into Chen Yifan's skull.

The shuttle's engine emitted a low hum, the cabin was dimly lit, and Mao Tu sat in the front row, not uttering another word.

Chen Yifan maintained the posture of a star official, straightening his back, placing his hands on his knees, and facing forward.

My mind was in turmoil.

The term "candidate container" can be broken down into its most complex parts, each of which is potentially fatal.

Just over ten minutes ago, Pioneer 7's last words were still echoing in his ears: "The Outer Gods outside the Stargate intend to find a nest, to find the most perfect vessel."

Going back further, what did that perverted Holy Lord do? He inserted a green crystal needle into his soul to "force-mature" his physical body.

If you think about the two things together, the answer is already obvious.

"Container" is not a metaphor, nor is it a concept.

It means exactly what it says.

A physical vessel capable of bearing the descent of an outer god.

And Chenlong, the leader of the Lamp Bearers, the most powerful man in the Dragon Kingdom on the surface, is actually doing this too?

Is he cultivating a container?

Or is he choosing a container for something?

Chen Yifan thought of an even more disgusting possibility.

The core mission of the lamplighter is to study heretical doctrines and confront external gods.

But what if Chenlong's path has already gone astray?

What if he intends to offer up a vessel as a sacrifice to make some kind of deal with the Outer God behind the Stargate?

Or even more outrageous, is Chenlong himself an agent of the Outer Gods?

uncertain.

There is too little information.

The only certainty is that he is currently sitting on a shuttle heading towards a den of wolves and tigers, and the other party is waiting for him on the other side.

Chen Yifan thoroughly searched through the Star Official's memories.

There is no "candidate container".

Blank.

Even the star official himself didn't know.

In other words, the reason why Chenlong suddenly wants to meet the star official as a "candidate container" is not because the star official was originally on the list.

Why is that?

Because of Qingquan Road.

When the little girl with the S-level talent unleashed her mental attack, he withstood it without a scratch.

Although they managed to fool Rabbit with a "fragment of the mental barrier".

But did Mao Tu really believe it?

He glanced at the women in the front row out of the corner of his eye.

Wearing a black cheongsam, she stood upright with her back ramrod straight.

During the lie detector test just now, Crystal gave a green light the whole time, so she did relax a bit.

But that last phrase, "candidate container"...

Chen Yifan suddenly understood.

She didn't completely believe it.

Or rather, she believed that "the star deity did not lie," but she did not believe that "the star deity is still the same star deity."

A lie detector measures mental fluctuations, not identity.

The waveform may be correct, but that doesn't mean the person is correct.

So she changed her approach.

They pushed the "Star Official" directly in front of Chenlong.

Let that monster with the SSS-level [Causal Tracing] skill personally inspect the goods.

Good yin.

A thin layer of sweat seeped out from Chen Yifan's back.

"Lord Rabbit," he said, his tone brief and official, like that of a star deity.

"Um?"

"How many 'candidate vessels' does Lord Chenlong wish to see...?"

Rabbit did not answer immediately.

The shuttle passed through a thick layer of clouds, the light dimmed for a moment, and then brightened again.

"You are the ninth."

The ninth one.

The number itself speaks volumes—the top eight were either eliminated in the screening process, or… they're no longer available.

"clear."

Chen Yifan didn't ask any further questions.

Asking too many questions doesn't make you seem like a star official.

That guy's personality meant he would unconditionally obey Chenlong's orders without questioning them.

But he remembered the number "nine".

The shuttle began to decelerate, and through the porthole, one could see the core tower of the Sky Dome headquarters—a tall, entirely black tower without any decoration, rising from the center of the fortress, its top disappearing into the clouds higher above.

During the descent, Chen Yifan noticed something.

From the outer helipad to the core area, they passed through three separate checkpoints. Each one involved a mental scan.

It's not the kind of broad, generalized scanning, but rather a highly targeted, layer-by-layer fluoroscopy, like a CT scan.

When the first wave swept over him, his con artist mask became slightly warm.

The second one was even stronger. The Purple Gold Pagoda automatically rotated half a circle in the sea of ​​consciousness, directing the scanning wave towards the disguise layer generated by the mask.

The third way.

Chen Yifan's pupils contracted slightly.

This scan is more intense than the previous two combined.

The Purple Gold Pagoda trembled twice, and the runes that emerged from its body shone three times brighter than usual, barely managing to obscure the probe wave.

险。

That was fucking close.

If he hadn't broken the gene lock in the mine and his mental strength hadn't surged after consuming the remnants of the pioneers' essence, the third scan might have detected the anomaly.

This level of defense is not designed to defend against external enemies.

It's used to prevent internal spies.

Easy to get in, easy to get out...

Chen Yifan suppressed his surging thoughts and followed Mao Tu out of the shuttle.

The interior of the core tower is completely different from the darkness outside. The walls of the passageway are made of a translucent crystalline material, with a faint light flowing inside, illuminating the entire corridor as bright as day.

nobody.

The entire corridor was deserted.

But the walls on both sides are embedded with one crystal coffin after another.

As Chen Yifan walked past the first one, he glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

There was a person lying in the coffin.

The face was obscured because it was completely distorted; all the features were misplaced, the nose was on the forehead, the mouth was split to the earlobe, and one eyeball bulged out while the other sank in, all frozen in an expression of extreme pain.

The person is still alive.

His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath accompanied by irregular muscle spasms.

Chen Yifan did not stop and continued walking forward.

The second, the third, the fourth...

Each crystal coffin contained a similar scene. Some had limbs mutated into some inhuman form, some had skulls cracked open with brain tissue exposed but not bleeding, and some had bodies swollen to three times their original size, their skin stretched to almost transparent.

He counted them.

Eight.

There are exactly eight.

The first eight "candidate containers".

It's not that it's been eliminated, it's not that it's dead.

It's worse than death.

Mao Tu didn't stop walking, nor did she look back. The way she walked this path was as if she had walked it countless times before.

"These people..." Chen Yifan began, his voice carrying a hint of suppressed power, like that of a "star official," "are they failed experiments?"

"Experimental subject." Mao Tu corrected his wording, "Lord Chenlong prefers to use this term."

Chen Yifan remained silent.

In his mind, he added the name "Chenlong" to his blacklist one more spot.

There was no door at the end of the corridor.

There is only one crystal wall that looks no different from an ordinary wall.

The rabbit stood still and extended its right hand.

The moment her palm touched the crystal wall, the entire wall began to melt—not shatter, not open, but flowed out to both sides like liquid, revealing the space behind.

Chen Yifan stepped inside.

There was no floor beneath my feet.

There is no ceiling above.

There are no walls on all sides.

He stood in the void.

My feet were on an unseen passage, with endless darkness on either side. And in that darkness, countless golden threads floated, intertwined, and stretched into the unknown distance.

At the end of each thread was a blurry human figure.

Some figures are clearly visible, while others are almost transparent.

Some of the silk threads are as thick as an arm, while others are as thin as a spider's thread.

The threads vibrated gently, emitting a very low-frequency sound, like the overtones of some musical instrument, or like a heartbeat.

And the point where all the threads converge—

In the very center of the void, a man sat cross-legged.

A long robe with dragon patterns.

Scattered black hair.

With eyes closed.

There were so many dense golden threads surrounding him that from a distance, he looked as if he were trapped in a cocoon woven from cause and effect.

Chenlong.

Chen Yifan's hair stood on end for a moment.

It wasn't because of the opponent's strength, although the sense of oppression was indeed terrifying.

Rather, it was because he noticed that an extremely fine golden thread was extending from the web of cause and effect surrounding Chenlong.

The other end of that thread...

Heading in his direction.

No, it's not aimed at "star officials".

It was directed at him—Chen Yifan—this person.

Does this thread connect the cause and effect of the "star official," or is it connected to his own cause and effect?

If the fraudster's mask can fool causal tracing... then this thread connects to the "Star Official," no problem.

If you can't fool them...

There's no time to think about it.

Chenlong opened his eyes.

The feeling at that moment wasn't like being seen, but rather like being exposed by something.

From the outside to the inside, from the skin to the bone, from the bone to the marrow.

Even the soul was turned inside out.

The Purple Gold Pagoda spun wildly in the sea of ​​consciousness, its runes glowing brightly as it released maximum power of shielding.

The fraudster's mask clung tightly to his face, burning hot.

The two lines of defense overlapped, barely managing to withstand the suffocating feeling of being peeled away.

Chenlong looked at him for three seconds.

The causal threads in the space quieted down.

Then the strongest man in the Dragon Kingdom spoke.

The sound was not loud, and could even be described as bland.

But the entire void trembled.

"Star Official".

Chen Yifan knelt on one knee and performed a standard lamplighter's salute.

"Lord Chenlong."

Chenlong did not let him get up.

There was a few seconds of silence.

Countless flowing golden threads were reflected in those dark, deep eyes.

"No……"

Chenlong's tone suddenly changed.

The mundane was gone. In its place was a suppressed, excited curiosity, the kind that comes with a hunter discovering rare prey.

"What should I call you?"

Chen Yifan's heart clenched suddenly.

Chenlong's gaze pierced through all pretense and fell straight down.

"The causal threads on your body..."

"Why is it broken?"