They all call me an Outer God.

To be honest, the boss was surprised, and the other Hephaestus were also surprised, but this surprise was not enough to be an excuse for Lia to persuade them. After all, even if Lia admitted that he was one of their kind, it would only bring the two sides to a level where it was easier to communicate.

Without coercion or inducement, without any roundabout tactics, their perspectives at this moment are remarkably equal.

But they believed that Ria also knew that even among their own kind, this group never showed mercy.

Right now, all the Hephaestus are watching with amusement, eager to hear what excuses Ria will use to fool them next.

"In the recent life-or-death moment, I came into contact with the will of the original being. It gave me some very interesting information. How should I put it? It called everything we have experienced..."

"what?"

“Call it—” Lia paused deliberately when he said the last word. The shop owner looked at him with a hopeful look in his eyes, and then waited for a full minute without hearing anything more.

"Ah, my memory has been bad lately. How could I forget? We can discuss the follow-up details after you agree. Maybe I can remember them by then. Of course, I respect my partners, and you have the right to refuse."

Lia put her index finger to her lips and shushed them, abruptly interrupting the curiosity of the group of people having fun.

"Well, see you again sometime. I'll be going now."

With a perfectly timed pause, Ria abruptly cut them off at the height of their interest in themselves and what they were saying, and then turned and left without a second thought.

"I've been on edge lately and haven't had a chance to relax. I'm thinking about where I should go to have some fun next."

Lia said casually.

He knew, of course, how those people would react. For them, the news of Fuxing Hun Dun's recent activities was extremely tempting. Since they wanted to be enemies with the main body, they must have the desire to know themselves and their enemy.

The advantage that Ria had in the deal with Hephaestus was that he possessed this information that no one else knew about; the advantage lay with him.

Just like in a transaction, you should appropriately show that "I don't necessarily have to buy/sell," so that you always keep the initiative in your own hands. Things that are too easy to get will only make people not cherish them.

What we cannot obtain will always be perfected and beautified by human desire, eventually transforming into something we are determined to have.

A qualified black marketeer knows how to make use of everything around him. In order to achieve his goal, he is even willing to use external gods. Isn't this a kind of psychological tactic?
"Squeak."

Ria pushed open the door and walked out of the lottery shop: "Little Swarth, where do you want to go play?"

"Goo."

Hephaestus watched in disbelief as his figure disappeared, and then a jumble of noises filled his mind.

Why did he leave?

[What happened next? What happened next! How is this any different from those old movies where someone on the verge of death suddenly says, "Actually, the murderer is..." and dies before they can finish speaking?]

[You didn't even figure out what his new prayer was, you bunch of idiots! I'm reporting you to the Order Association!]

【…】

【No, who reported me? Now my doorstep is swarming with their people! Hahahaha, great! Since I'm having a hard time, don't blame me for being heartless. I'm going to open accounts for all of your addresses and send them to the Order Association and the Keepers of the Secrets.】

[Really? Bro, send it to me. I'm an investigator at the association and I'm short on sales targets.]

[I've already reported you as an undercover agent] [(Endlers swear words)]

The Hephaestus were in complete chaos again.

In contrast, Ria appears very relaxed, showing no concern whatsoever that Hephaestus won't come looking for him.

With the support of trade authority, I should be able to see them again in less than three days.

Right now, Ria is using her exceptional eyesight to search for the moon worms on the streets.

Ever since he obtained the authority of the Red Moon, these little guys have been particularly fond of following him around, but they don't want him to find out about it.

After all, Little Swarth would indiscriminately kill any Moon Worms that randomly swarmed around.

Ria patted its head, then extended a tentacle from the shadows, grabbed the plump moon worm, and casually wiped the dirt off its skin before starting to gnaw on it.

This stuff doesn't have much flavor; it's like a firm, cold jelly. It probably tastes the same no matter what seasoning you add. In contrast, Liya prefers the original flavor.

Because he had used a smokescreen beforehand, his actions appeared perfectly normal to the passersby, who genuinely thought he was just an ordinary-looking person eating bread on the street.

Compared to before, people's emotions remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened. But Ria knew very well that this was all the result of the Order Association's intervention. Without their intervention, these people would probably be capable of anything.

Of course, what they called normal was only superficial. Many people started muttering to themselves, and when Ria passed by them, she heard them saying, "The sun is false, the sun is false... We should change our faith."

When a steam-powered car passed by and honked its horn, making a "beep beep" sound, these people began repeating, "Beep beep, beep beep..."

"Is this the side effect of the containment devices used by those people in the Order Association?"

Ria raised an eyebrow slightly, then leaned close to one of them and whispered with a mischievous grin, "Praise the trade."

Then the other person would just repeat that one sentence, and soon everyone was repeating that one sentence.

"Praise be to trade, praise be to trade."

"Newspapers for sale! Today's special report! Praising trade! Sir, would you like a copy of today's newspaper?"

A little boy wearing a brown newsboy cap approached Lia and asked if he wanted to see today's newspaper.

"of course."

Ria bought all the newspapers and gave the boy a three-paper tip. The boy immediately and happily shoved all the newspapers into his hands, then shouted a compliment to the trade before leaving.

Lia, who remained where she was, sat down on a roadside bench and began to read the newspaper. There was nothing special in the newspaper, only articles about a certain celebrity endorsing a new perfume, a certain shopping mall having a grand opening promotion, and a certain celebrity having a secret affair with a certain nobleman.

The only thing that seems special is that it mentions in a very insignificant corner that "a once-in-a-century celestial phenomenon occurred today, but without exception, all the photographers' cameras malfunctioned, and no photos were taken."

"Is this the truth that should never have been known?"

The three elements of news are timeliness, importance, and novelty. However, at this point, the content presented in the newspaper is merely what the extraordinary person wants the masses to see.

(End of this chapter)