Zhong Mu shook his head, genuinely not understanding.
For players, the existence of the eerie creatures is the biggest monster in the dungeon. When the eerie creatures are sealing away the monsters, what else is there behind them?
Zhong Mu flipped through his previous notes and came to the section on the deep-sea dungeon, where the teacher explained the connection between the dungeon and the town. The town acted as an outer seal surrounding the dungeon, while the dungeon acted as an inner seal surrounding the more central area.
"Now that monster has been sealed away by you, right?" Zhong Mu looked down at the cat in his arms, sitting upright with a small notebook in his hand, completely unmoved by the cat lying sprawled on his lap that looked very pettable.
"Yes." The white cat gracefully swished its tail. "The Black Cat Faction advocated killing the monsters. They tried, but ultimately failed. Even monsters that were not yet fully formed were beyond their capabilities, so they ultimately chose to seal them away."
"But they have never given up on killing monsters, and they still do now." The white cat raised its gray pupils, reflecting Zhong Mu's upright posture. "Those who are close to monsters will be their targets."
Zhong Mu paused, looked down at the cat in his arms, flipped through his notes and seemed to be deep in thought. The Night Goddess herself appeared at dusk and found Brother Xiu, pulling him into this instance.
Xiu Ge is considered a player targeted by Ye Niangniang, but it's not because of Xiu Ge's excessive strength that they suddenly targeted him. Xiu Ge was also very strong before, and they would have targeted him long ago. However, the dungeons Xiu Ge has played since the Deep Sea dungeon have been targeted, and this one is no exception.
If there's anything different about Brother Xiu compared to six years ago, and why the monsters suddenly target and pay attention to him, it's that there's a special person by his side now.
"The monster... does it refer to the man next to Brother Xiu?" That was the only thing Zhong Mu could think of.
Even Ya Ya, who was standing next to Brother Xiu, was actually bound by the dungeon. But players who had watched Brother Xiu's dungeon livestream could see that the man was like a monster, but he was not bound by the dungeon at all. He was an independent being who roamed freely within the dungeon.
With just a little thought, he could sense the clues: the reason why Brother Xiu was being targeted by Lady Ye was because of Li Mo.
"It seems you know this too." The white cat lay there lazily. "The monsters that had been sealed away could no longer have much impact on the current fixed environment, but one person triggered a change in the monsters, like the beginning of an anomaly. This is an ominous sign, and it may even change everything that exists now, so they are trying their best to eliminate the source of this anomaly."
Zhong Mu's eyes widened. "So they want to kill Brother Xiu?"
The white cat shook its head. "From what I've observed of the Black Cat Faction's previous actions, it seems more like they were trying to send Yin Xiu out of the instance, cutting off all possibilities before his connection with the monsters deepened. But they've clearly failed. This is one of their more lenient methods. If even this fails, their next plans will become dangerous."
Zhong Mu stared at his small notebook, deep in thought.
"Brother Xiu stayed in the town for a long time, and his memories gradually faded... According to the original plan, they should have waited for Brother Xiu to forget everything before sending him out of the instance, but Brother Xiu met Li Mo again, which caused the plan to fail."
"Their subsequent countermeasure was... to try to kill Brother Xiu in the instance, to forcefully sever their connection and make the monster lose the motivation to break free from the seal, but they still failed and could not kill Brother Xiu."
Zhong Mu tilted his head, pondering the dungeon that had the biggest impact on Xiu Ge recently. It was the Deep Sea dungeon. The players in the town had been paying close attention to that dungeon, and they were indeed worried when they saw Xiu Ge almost sinking into the dungeon and forgetting many things.
However, there was an unexpected change in that instance: the presence of Boss Ye.
It was precisely because of Boss Ye's existence that their plan failed for the second time.
"Then this instance...!" Zhong Mu exclaimed in horror, "Are they still planning to kill Brother Xiu using the same method while Boss Ye is away?"
"Perhaps, but the Black Cat Faction should know very well that they can no longer kill Yin Xiu next to that monster using the same method." The white cat turned and lay on Zhong Mu's lap, swishing its tail. "They have changed their plans."
Zhong Mu began to look worried, as if he had thought of something, and then looked down at the cat lying on his lap, "You advocate sealing the monster, but if Li Mo wants to come out of the seal, won't you also target him?"
The white cat lazily raised its head. "No, the White Cat Faction does not advocate sealing the monster, but a peaceful solution. The reason we advocated sealing it back then was because there was no better way. If there was a more advantageous method than sealing it, we would try it even if it was dangerous."
"Now, Yin Xiu is the more dangerous, but more peaceful, solution, and the White Cat Faction will protect him."
Zhong Mu tilted his head in confusion, "What kind of peaceful method is Brother Xiu using?"
The white cat raised its head, its gray pupils staring unblinkingly at Zhong Mu, dull and lifeless. "If you trap a monster in the dark, it will struggle and resist because it has consciousness. But if you trap a monster next to someone it is willing to be with, the monster will be obedient and will not feel uncomfortable."
"Yin Xiu is the rope that tethers the monster; he is the best seal and the best shackle."
"If things go to extremes, one day this rope might disappear, and the monster might disappear along with it."
Zhong Mu stared silently at the cat in his arms. "Judging from the results, you all wanted the monster to disappear, but you took different methods."
"right."
Zhong Mu frowned. "The White Cat Faction's so-called optimal solution is actually just the optimal solution from your perspective. Whether it's sealing the monster or binding the monster to Brother Xiu and waiting for Brother Xiu to die of old age so that the monster can go with him, they never consider the monster's feelings. Your pacifist faction doesn't seem so peaceful either."
The white cat remained unmoved by his gaze, saying, "Because it's a monster that's harmful to us, we don't need to consider its feelings."
Zhong Mu stood up abruptly, shook the white cat off his lap, and said coldly, "A monster that doesn't even know why it exists doesn't appear out of thin air. Without a race or companions, and before it could even form a sense of self, it was imprisoned in darkness for so many years. If I were that monster, I would kill you all too."
He had watched Xiu Ge's live stream and paid attention to the information that came out of Li Mo's mouth.
Xiu was someone who had helped him, so he was always concerned about Xiu, who was a dangerous and mysterious figure, fearing that Xiu might be devoured by a monster one day.
Because she cared so much, she remembered very clearly the past information revealed by Li Mo.
Zhong Mu was 100% certain that Li Mo's birth was inextricably linked to this group of strange creatures.
But the result was that its existence threatened the group; the black cat faction wanted to kill it, and the white cat faction wanted to imprison it.
Neither faction is a good thing for Li Mo.