-"Phew... I'm back. What's going on?" After entering the lobby, Chen Luo saw everyone standing frozen with their mouths agape, all staring straight at him. He could not help finding their reaction a little strange.
-"Pfft... Hahahaha!" Almost everyone pointed at Chen Luo and burst out laughing at the same time. Only then did he realize that, after drinking the potions, he looked rather... stupid. Combined with the fact that he had flown through countless vines on the way back, he was now messier and more disheveled than ever. Chen Luo began pulling off the vines and other things tangled around him; his current appearance really was nothing to be proud of.
Yet only after he had removed all the mess did everyone get a clear look at his complete outfit—and this time, they were even more shocked. Before he had fallen underground, Chen Luo had been wearing something resembling a Black-and-White cloak. With moss and leaves covering him earlier, no one had noticed anything unusual. Now that everything obscuring it had been removed, his clothing stood out unmistakably.
-"Wait, wait, wait... isn't that a Black-and-White Society outfit? Why are you wearing it?" Galahad was utterly stunned by Chen Luo's appearance. Many people around him were confused by the question, since most of them had never even heard of this mysterious organization.
Chen Luo said nothing and simply nodded. At that very moment, he took out something that shocked everyone even more. He held a strangely shaped stone in his hand, but when he tossed it into the air, it automatically expanded and reconfigured itself, eventually transforming into an oddly shaped object. It was a Truth-Seer. It floated silently in midair, with a large blue point of light glowing at its center. Chen Luo also took out the 「Technology Flag - Black and White」. At his command, the blue light from the Truth-Seer shone onto the flag, gradually revealing an emblem—the symbol of the Black-and-White Organization. Chen Luo himself did not know why this symbol had appeared in his mind ever since he entered the organization, but whenever he used it, he felt a strange sense of reassurance.
-"Wait, wait, wait! Don't joke around. Are you really one of them? Don't lie to me, kid." Galahad spoke with an unusually serious expression, then explained what he had been thinking. "Let me explain, too. The Black-and-White Society consists of the various small groups that split off after the Black-and-White Organization collapsed hundreds of years ago. The organization was founded by the Black-and-White Emperor, who established it together with seven companions. It was originally an organization that gathered independent class users. They traveled around the world with Truth-Seers, using the power of living beings and objects to fight. After the organization collapsed, its members gradually split into separate groups, but in essence, those groups became the Black-and-White Societies we see today."
Galahad glanced at Chen Luo's cloak and added, "If my guess is right, that must be a cloak belonging to the Black-and-White Society. The clothes worn by members of the original Black-and-White Organization were different."
-"Then, Mr. Galahad, why are you so sure Chen Luo belongs to the Black-and-White Society?" Zhang Zewei asked. After all, such a vast amount of information could not be understood fully in a moment.
-"If I remember correctly, only members of the original organization knew how to use Truth-Seers. After splitting away from it, they re-encrypted every Truth-Seer, so only insiders would know how to operate them." Galahad spoke thoughtfully, sharing what he knew.
What he did not know was that, the instant Chen Luo had entered the lobby, his cloak had emitted a flash of blue-white light. The Guardian had intervened, using his ability to make the cloak's outward appearance display misleading information. After all, the cloak was the only item that could truly distinguish the Black-and-White Society from the original organization. The backpack, Technology Flag, and face mask were almost inseparable from members of both the Society and the Organization. That left the cloak as the key to telling them apart.
-"Y-yeah..." Chen Luo gave an awkward smile and brushed the matter aside. The misunderstanding was not entirely wrong, but he did not confirm it outright, either. Ultimately, the Black-and-White Societies had done countless things that tarnished the reputation of the original organization, while most of their members had no genuine intention of restoring it. The great figure who had founded it had long since passed away, and the various Societies had their own conflicts, so the original organization was mentioned less and less in historical records.
Chen Luo opened Alvibion on his interface and finally understood the greatest difference between the two branches of Black-and-White. As Galahad had said, the original organization pursued freedom and used that freedom to oppose forces seeking to invade the world. But after its collapse, the organization had fragmented completely.
Chen Luo also learned other information about the organization, though it was obscure knowledge rarely found in the Black-and-White information system. Plenty of information about the Black-and-White Society had leaked, but relatively little directly concerned the original organization. Yet those few pieces of information were extremely important to it, because they involved its core technology.
Everyone nodded, beginning to understand at least part of the story. Unease stirred in their hearts, but Chen Luo quickly spoke up to dispel their growing suspicions.
-"Wait, wait, wait! I'm not really a member of that Black-and-White Society. I just found a corpse wearing these clothes when I disappeared. Who could have guessed they belonged to the Society?" Chen Luo lied with astonishing ease, leaving no room for suspicion. He also concealed the fact that he had scavenged every item connected to the organization and brought it all out with him. Thanks to his legendary talent for lying, he successfully convinced everyone that he had no connection to the organization at all. Even Anthony did not become overly suspicious. Chen Luo's ability to lie was practically innate; even when he was lying, Anthony could not detect a single flaw.
After explaining himself and taking off all the Black-and-White equipment, Chen Luo sat down with everyone. By then, nobody cared much about the Black-and-White Society or the original organization anymore. Instead, the group gathered for a joyful meal, eating and drinking their fill while temporarily forgetting their earlier unease.
After arranging seats for everyone, Chen Luo went up to the rooftop. Chris followed him, still intensely curious about his older brother's true identity. After spending so much time together, the strange details that had accumulated in Chris's mind had made it increasingly difficult for him to suppress his curiosity.
The moon had risen high. Its light was no longer a single shade of blue as before; now three moons hung in the sky, casting golden and red hues. Starlight fell together with the moonlight upon the place where the two stood, creating a strange yet tranquil scene.
-"The stars shine over us tonight, and Chrona glows brilliantly—a sign of questioning. If nothing is amiss, you must have something to ask me, little wolf." Chen Luo broke the silence with a line of astrological lore.
-"If I may, I only want to ask one thing: who are you really? I know there's something strange about you. I don't know your true identity, but I know you're no ordinary person. Do you know what you just did? You dared to wear the Black-and-White Society's clothes and use its equipment without even blinking. If you really don't know them, then explain it to me: who are you? Don't tell me you're Chen Luo or that you're still yourself. Tell me your real identity. Chen Luo... no, should I call you an impostor, or the person who took over Chen Luo's body?"
Chen Luo raised his head toward the sky. His gaze became pensive, distant, and unfocused. He watched Chris in silence for a long time, as if weighing something, before slowly speaking.
-"When... did you find out?"