MM Racing Chapter 255 If it's not betrayal, then what is it?
Chapter 255 If it's not betrayal, then what is it?
Chapter 255 If it's not betrayal, then what is it?
There is no extraordinary means to determine whether I am lying.
Lorne frowned slightly, and the "machine's" abilities began to operate at high speed.
His fingers curled slightly inside his sleeve, taking out the ring that had been hidden there, and then silently slipping it onto his finger. He needed the passive effect of "forced calm."
Lorne wasn't sure if the other person had noticed her little action, but since she hadn't stopped her, it probably spoke volumes.
"Madam," Lorne broke the suffocating silence, "Is Emperor Roselle truly dead?"
As soon as he spoke, he felt the imposing aura emanating from the other side.
"Why do you think he's not dead? What do you know?"
Bernadette's tone showed a noticeable shift for the first time. Clearly, even this mysterious and powerful queen could not remain entirely detached when her father was involved.
"No," Lorne said frankly, meeting the other's suddenly sharp gaze, "I simply believe that a figure as powerful as Emperor Roselle wouldn't fall so easily. That's my honest opinion."
Meeting Lorne's open gaze, Bernadette lowered her head and remained silent.
If Roselle had simply disappeared, Lorne would have assumed that his senior had perhaps discovered the secret to time travel and successfully returned, and that his so-called "death" was merely a trick to escape.
But judging from the chaos and power shift in Intis after his death, this possibility is unlikely. Given Roselle's character, if he could really go back, he would definitely not leave things undone. "Madam, what exactly do you want from me?" Lorne threw the question back at him again.
"Everything about Emperor Rosell," Bernadette's tone returned to calm. "Also, I'd like you to share with me the method for deciphering the script that Emperor Rosell created. Name your price."
Is she really that confident? The "Mysterious Queen" is a pirate queen with a bounty of hundreds of thousands of pounds; money is probably just a number to her. But—
Just as Lorne was pondering how to deal with it, an invisible force suddenly descended. The ancient coin pendant around his neck flew out of his collar as if dragged by an unseen hand, landing in Bernadette's fair, jade-like palm.
Is this—is this a display of power?
"An extraordinary item for the 'winner'." Bernadette glanced at the pendant in her hand casually and accurately stated its origin.
She looked up at Lorne and threw out her chip:
"I can tell you about the follow-up to the 'destiny' path."
"All of them?" Lorne asked tentatively, his jump unconsciously quickening.
"Everything. Just tell me everything you know."
"—" Lorne fell into deep thought. The entire recipe! From Sequence 4 to Sequence 0! That was truly priceless—
"You've heard of the 'Blasphemy Card,' right?" Seeing Lorne remain silent, Bernadette dropped another bombshell.
"You have a blasphemous card from the 'Destiny' pathway?" Lorne's voice was somewhat dry.
"Yes." Bernadette nodded gently.
"Hoo—" Lorne took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"Madam, I admit I do have access to decipher Russell's diary. But that's related to a huge secret I hold."
"This secret is complicated. Believe me, there are some things I really can't say. Otherwise, we're all doomed."
Meeting Bernadette's probing gaze, he said, word by word, "Even if you torture me, interrogate me, what cannot be said will remain unsaid. Because once it is revealed, we will only perish together, and perhaps even drag the entire Backlund down with us."
Lorne was bluffing, but what he said wasn't entirely a lie. The secret he held was indeed terrifying.
The "mysterious queen" before him was indeed powerful, but Lorne believed that she was definitely not as powerful as the giant hand he had encountered at sea, much less as powerful as the terrifying lightning that had instantly driven that giant hand away—and he could summon that terrifying lightning by roaring to the sky.
Although the probability is very low, he does possess, to some extent, the ability to fight to the death.
"—." Bernadette's eyes narrowed slightly. She could sense that the man before her wasn't simply lying. Moreover, she had been trying to glean information about his fate and secrets, but until now, her extraordinary abilities had yielded no useful information from him.
As the leader of a mysterious organization, she knew very well that much knowledge in this world could bring immense danger simply by being considered or mentioned. The other party probably truly had some unspeakable reason.
"What are your demands?" Bernadette asked in a deep voice, her tone less coercive and more scrutinizing and negotiating.
Lorne secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had intimidated the other party, at least temporarily bringing the situation back to a level where he could negotiate.
"I don't know the meaning of Russell's words," he began, offering his solution, "but I can use my connections to help you translate Russell's Book—"
The other person cared so much about Russell, yet didn't understand the meaning of Chinese. Therefore, the reason she knew her fabricated diaries were fake was simply because those compiled diaries had never appeared in history, not because she could read Chinese.
It seems that only time travelers can truly understand Russell's diary.
Therefore, Russell's Diary is a seller's market for Lorne. Selling all the information at once would only rapidly diminish his value. A gradual, long-term approach is the wisest choice.
"As for the payment," Lorne offered a concession, demonstrating his sincerity, "how about we set it based on your assessment of the diary's value?"
If the "Mysterious Queen" could provide some of Roselle's diaries containing valuable information, he could also obtain the relevant secret knowledge for free. There was no need to make an exorbitant demand from the start and provoke the other party's resentment.
=====
"Can."
After a long silence, Bernadette nodded in agreement.
Having searched for her father's secret for so many years, she finally had a clear lead, and she didn't want to cause this lead to end because of her excessive pressure.
It would be better for both sides to compromise.
"You should know that this item corresponds to Sequence 5 of the 'Fate' pathway, 'The Winner,' right?" Bernadette asked, picking up the pendant.
"Mm." Lorne nodded.
"Do you have a way to restore it to its extraordinary nature?"
"Yes," Bernadette said calmly, "and as a token of our cooperation, I can help you once for free."
"Now?" "No, I'm taking it with me."
To directly restore a magical item to its extraordinary properties is something only angels can do. Although she is powerful, she hasn't reached that level yet and can only do it by relying on the power of a level 0 sealed artifact.
"Oh well--"
"You seem to trust me a lot?" Bernadette looked at his straightforward manner with some surprise.
"Of course, I trust your character," Lorne forced a smile.
If you want to just snatch it, there's nothing I can do to stop you. He thought to himself, "I guess I'm just unlucky today and lost it."
"I think I just heard you complaining about how unlucky you've been lately?" Bernadette suddenly asked.
"Yes," Lorne didn't deny it. If he hadn't been unlucky, he wouldn't have run into you here.
In Lorne's view, contacting the "Mysterious Queen" was far more risky than rewarding. He already had the "Tyrant" card, and he could find a way to obtain the necessary formula with his own effort; there was no need to take such a huge risk.
Now, however, he has been targeted by an even more powerful force, which is completely contrary to his long-standing desire to develop in a low-key manner.
Since his transmigration, he has been trying to avoid all kinds of risks, but risks always seem to find them on their own.
"Have you finished digesting your sequence 6?"
"Um--""
"This might be—an opportunity," Bernadette muttered to herself. She knew the entire process of the "Destiny" path advancement ritual, and Lorne's current state of continuous "bad luck" might actually be a rare opportunity for him—
However, was his misfortune due to women?
Bernadette thought of Fors, who had been browsing the exhibits with Lorne at the museum earlier.
She put the pendant away and stared at Lorne thoughtfully.
"—" Lorne felt a chill run down his spine from her probing gaze.
"It doesn't seem like it," Bernadette thought to herself.
"I'll come back to you after I've dealt with the pendant. I'll also give you some of Roselle's diary entries—"
"Can."
As she finished speaking, a phantom-like, seemingly alive pea vine suddenly descended from the sky and landed at Bernadette's feet. She stepped onto the vine, preparing to leave.
"Oh, right," she seemed to remember something and turned back to explain, "Cattleya didn't betray you. The answer to your previous question was in that letter."
"——"
"You don't believe me?" Bernadette asked, puzzled, when she saw his silence.
Do you want to hear the truth?
"Um."
Huff—Lorne took a deep breath and said in an unprecedentedly calm tone, "If Cattleya thinks this deal is in my favor, she should first write to me asking if she'd like to meet with you. If I agreed, then we could arrange a meeting. Instead of telling you my location directly and having you wait for me on the street, as is the case now."
"To expose my location without my consent and put me in this passive position—what else is that but betrayal?"
"You're pirates; you should know better than I what the consequences of revealing your location might be."
"—" Bernadette fell into a long period of contemplation.
The other party's logic is sound. Ultimately, it was because I was too impatient and wanted to see this person related to my father as soon as possible, which caused this misunderstanding.
From the other party's perspective, being betrayed, having one's identity and location exposed, and having one's secrets revealed to one's face makes one undoubtedly a complete victim.
Thinking of Cattleya's unrequited love, Bernadette suddenly felt as if she had done something wrong.
Her actions seemed to have drastically reduced the other person's positive feelings towards her.