Chapter 1763: 481 Ancient and Wanderer!
Chapter 1763: 481 Ancient and Wanderer!
...
The number of people attending the Treasure Assembly tonight was still quite significant.
Matthew initially estimated there to be at least two to three thousand people, with around two hundred participating directly in the Treasure Assembly and the various dignitaries from the star realm seated in the private boxes.
The Mantis-built Starlight Theater was a semi-open-air venue.
The central stage was located under the open starry sky, romantic in itself with the addition of lighting systems set up by Storluk Industries.
Its overall performance in terms of the staging was in no way inferior to the world Matthew had known before his journey across time.
"There are too many people..."
Matthew quietly controlled the range of his Insight.
In this environment, even though his mental power far surpassed that of ordinary people, it was difficult to quickly identify any abnormality in the crowd; he could only remain as alert as possible.
While Matthew was observing the theater's environment,
the wealthiest Mantis on stage had already successfully completed the opening.
Amidst the heartfelt applause from the audience, he effortlessly captured everyone's attention and even occasionally drew hearty laughter with a few jokes.
Looking at Christopher, who strolled confidently on stage and was the life of the party, Matthew's eyes reflected a hint of confusion:
"This Mr. Mantis..."
"He really doesn't seem like a traditional rich merchant."
Melinda chuckled lightly:
"Your Insight is sharp."
"In my eyes, that guy seems more like an actor."
Saying this,
under Matthew's inquiring gaze,
Melinda went on to explain in detail,
"Christopher is just the visible owner of the tremendous wealth of the Hume Tri-star."
"His Mantis wife, Serena, is the second-in-command of the psionic management department at the headquarters of Storluk Industries."
"Christopher is very aware of the position he's in."
"If he doesn't do well, not only could the immense wealth slip through his fingers, but he might literally be eaten by his proud mantis mother—"
"And I do mean literally, actually eaten!"
Melinda sneered twice:
"In the past decade or so, that bitch Serena has already changed husbands three times, and the wealthiest Mantis of the Hume Tri-star has also changed thrice..."
Matthew nodded:
"So, the second-in-command of the psionic department is the true owner of all the wealth of Hume Tri-star."
But to Matthew's surprise, Melinda shook her head:
"The average person only digs as far as Serena."
"But from what I know, Serena became the 'general's' mistress when she was very young..."
"After the great rift, her life has been harder than mine, probably due to the general's departure."
"So essentially, the vast wealth of Hume Tri-star still belongs to the general."
A flash of realization crossed Matthew's eyes.
This so-called general
was the powerful being who was once in charge of the Space Undead Army and oversaw everything on Storluk Planet.
Matthew had heard about him.
"Do Space Undead also take lovers?"
he suddenly asked.
Melinda answered as if it were obvious:
"Of course."
"The undead have their needs too, though they can't engage directly in sexual relations, they can do so with the aid of tools."
"Ha ha..."
"You might not believe it, but these undead, unable to vent their desires like the living, can be even more intense and perverse when they play..."
Noticing a subtle change in Matthew's gaze,
Melinda proudly raised her neck:
"I haven't been played by them."
"It's me who played with them."
Matthew smiled faintly:
"Good for you."
He wasn't interested in the details.
However, Melinda was eager to harp on the topic,
continuing until Matthew showed a slight sign of impatience, at which point she stopped somewhat deflated.
Then,
she craftily asked:
"How are you doing?"
"I mean, you and Sif?"
Matthew briefly replied:
"Business as usual."
The events that unfolded in the Rolling Stone Kingdom
were not completely disclosed by Matthew to Melinda; he merely conveyed the news that Rheager's soul might have fallen into the hands of the Demoness of Desire, Glasia.
As for Sif's whereabouts,
they had not revealed it to anyone, naturally including Melinda, Sif's biological mother.
In Matthew's eyes,
Melinda was haughty and capricious with a fickle stance; it wasn't necessary to tell her everything about Sif,
lest it led to chaos.
Seeing Matthew's cold demeanor, Melinda was somewhat disappointed.
Matthew did not pay attention to her mood and directly got to the point:
"I'm here in pursuit of that giant Butterfly."
"Do you have any clues about it?"
Melinda pondered:
"I haven't seen images of the Butterfly landing on Storluk Planet, but there's a rumor within the company that it flew into the southern part of the planet."
"From the beginning, the company mobilized almost all of its human resources to search for the Butterfly, but so far there has been no news."
"Therefore, I suspect it might have landed in purgatory."
Purgatory?
Matthew expressed his surprise:
"What does Storluk Planet have to do with purgatory?"
Melinda immediately launched into a detailed explanation.
As it turned out,
the Great Rift still had a severe impact on Storluk Planet.
A gaping, slow-to-heal hole had formed in the southern part of the planet, and Storluk Industries had made many efforts to ensure the planet wasn't torn apart.
But it was still difficult to completely seal the gap.
Fortunately, just like the Plane Will of Aindor, the Will of Storluk Planet also made efforts to heal itself—
The result of self-healing was the Fusion of some nearby planes of the star realm.
Ironically,
most of the Star Realm Planes fused by Storluk were related to purgatory!