Chapter 444: The So-Called Aura of a King
After learning from Nian that even if her second brother were to resurrect through those fragments, the authority he had lost would never be fully restored, Steven instantly lost most of his interest in the matter.
How should he put it… for a Minecrafter, something that couldn't be farmed indefinitely was like this: collect just enough for practical use, and that's it.
"I'll take your commission—for now," Steven said, rubbing his chin and raising an eyebrow at Nian. "As for how to judge your second brother's 'good' and 'evil'… you won't mind if I make that call myself, right?"
This commission was clearly more than just words.
From Nian's implication, those scattered fragments were almost certainly nothing like the harmless piece she had handed over. There was a good chance some of them had possessed hosts, or even transformed into dangerous entities of their own.
Even without Yamato's need for these fragments, this was still the kind of commission that easily piqued Steven's interest. And under the current circumstances, it actually seemed rather convenient.
With Nian around, tracking down these fragments would become much easier.
"Of course I don't mind," Nian replied calmly. "I do recognize your strength. If someone like me can't take you down, then my second brother probably won't be able to defeat you head-on either."
She paused, then added with a hint of concern, "Still, your personality is something I worry about. You might be susceptible to being set up."
Nian had absolutely no doubts about Steven's frontal combat ability.
Even ignoring everything else, just the fact that he wielded that Yamato was proof enough that he wasn't someone ordinary could deal with. Not to mention the aura lingering on him—tainted with the blood of both the Northern Collapsals and the Seaborn.
Those were unmistakable marks of raw strength.
But setting aside her own siblings for the moment, among the notable figures of Yan, which one wasn't cunning to the extreme? Every single one of them was sharp as a demon.
Someone like Steven, with that slightly straightforward demeanor, would likely struggle against those old foxes.
Especially when the opponent was her so-called "chessmaster" second brother—Nian couldn't help but feel a little pessimistic about Steven's situation.
"You really don't need to worry about that," Steven replied with a seemingly honest, harmless smile. "I know my own personality. If someone wants to scheme against me, they'd better do a lot of homework first."
"…Let's hope so," Nian said with a slight shake of her head. "Since your first stop is Lungmen, I would introduce you to a friend there. I still have a bit of standing with him."
"If you really run into trouble, go seek his help. I think it'll be quite beneficial for your investigation."
She handed Steven a business card.
The edges were embossed with a black dragon motif, and on it was nothing but a simple name and a phone number.
Wei Yenwu.
Steven glanced at the name on the card, committed it to memory, and then put the business card away.
He is planning to visit Lungmen as a private individual, purely for sightseeing. But as the saying went—having connections up top made everything easier. Judging by the design of the card alone, this "Wei Yenwu" was very likely a big shot. If so, he could probably help him avoid a fair amount of unnecessary trouble.
Steven wasn't afraid of trouble, but pointless, boring trouble? Yeah, he could do without that.
"One more thing," Nian added. "There should only be one or two of my second brother's fragments in Lungmen. The main task for you will still be figuring out a way to go to the place I mentioned earlier. At the very least, it'd be best to pull my unruly little sister into our camp first."
"You mean the one living in seclusion near Kou-wu?" Steven asked.
"Mhm."
Watching the girl nod, Steven suddenly remembered something. He clapped his hands and looked at her with eyes full of expectation.
"By the way—you mentioned before that you possess part of the Authority of Forging, right? Then do you have anything that could, you know… make me look more ordinary?"
"At least something that doesn't make me look like a walking disaster at first glance."
The thing Steven was most dissatisfied with about himself was this: whether it was Kal'tsit, Patriot, or even those Emperor's Blades veterans, all of them had told him the same thing—
There was an indescribable aura about him. Just one look was enough to make people instinctively feel that he was extremely dangerous and absolutely not someone to mess with.
But Steven himself couldn't feel this so-called "aura" at all.
And if you couldn't even perceive it, then hiding it on purpose was completely out of the question.
"I understand what you mean," Nian said after a moment of thought. "I can feel that aura too. Creating something that suppresses or conceals it isn't impossible… but the problem is the medium. Rhodes Island may not actually have what's needed."
She wasn't exaggerating.
Even standing in front of Steven right now, she could clearly feel that strange pressure emanating from him—the kind where he looked utterly ordinary, like someone she could crush with one hand…
Yet her instincts were screaming at her that doing so would result in a horrific death beyond recovery.
That kind of unsettling contradiction was especially pronounced among long-lived beings like her.
Normally, no one would let their blood rush to their head and challenge Steven just to test whether that feeling was merely a delusion.
After all, those who had lived this long and grown this strong all wanted to keep living. None of them were the type to gamble their lives recklessly.
"A medium?" Steven asked, interest lighting up his face. "What kind?"
The fact that she could actually think of a solution intrigued him. Even his massive collection of mods didn't include anything like this. If she had a way, that meant the gods of this world could still surprise him.
"Something like… a formless existence," Nian replied after a brief pause. "It needs extremely strong shapeshifting abilities. It has to be alive—but not entirely biological. It must possess exceptional adaptability, and ideally, some degree of devouring capability as well."
When it came to materials, Nian never compromised. The moment she opened her mouth, she laid out the highest possible standard.
But the instant Steven heard her description, his furrowed brows relaxed.
Without another word, he reached into his inventory and casually tossed out Shoggy.
"So," Steven said with a smile, "how about this thing?"
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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