I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

"Greetings, Your Excellency Cleopatra. I am Lu Ban, a traveler from outside Utopia. I am here on behalf of the Academy to discuss the future of Utopia with you."

Lu Ban's gaze swept across the room, and soon he noticed something amiss in the air.

【Named Mad Poison, from the Foggy City】

Their greatest strengths lie in manipulating people's minds and spreading poison; both are terrifying.

He's in every corner of the air; it's best not to feel hostility towards him.

Fortunately, he couldn't utilize his most effective fighting methods in this city.

It was obvious that the Chosen One of the Fog City was in this room.

Lu Ban once obtained a mask that allowed him to transform into a Fog City person. He knew that Fog City people could dilute themselves and thus hide in the air. Even now, this Fog City person existed in every corner of the room, and even flowed into Lu Ban's lungs and merged into his body with his breath. Such an ability would be extremely convenient for poisoning.

Lu Ban doesn't need to worry about Kuang Du drugging him, since such behavior is clearly not allowed in Utopia. Even if Kuang Du is determined to trade one for one with him, Lu Ban can melt himself and become immune to the toxin.

This is why the fighting methods that Mad Venom excels at cannot be used in Utopia.

"Let me think about your purpose in coming here. Do you want to attach yourself to us, or do you want to secure resources for the academy to explore the ruins in the future?"

Cleopatra looked at Lu Ban and slowly took a sip of the pale red liquid in her glass.

Lu Ban glanced at her cup, thought of the wine brewed by honey worms, and suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

"why are you laughing?"

Cleopatra frowned slightly. Although the man was handsome, his speech and manners were not elegant; on the contrary, they seemed rather crude. Now he was laughing for no reason. Was he mocking or ridiculing her?

"I thought of some happy things."

Lu Ban replied, suppressing his imagination and composed his expression.

"what's up?"

Cleopatra pressed for an answer.

"Please don't mind, sir, this has nothing to do with my purpose."

Lu Ban answered, and then continued.

"I'm just curious, what methods does the Sand Brotherhood intend to use to win the election by collaborating with outsiders?"

"Outsiders? We, the Brotherhood of the Sands, have always looked after traveling merchants. These merchants have brought resources to Utopia, and we have promised to develop commerce in return."

Cleopatra explained.

"No, I'm not referring to those traveling merchants, but to certain beings from outside this world, beings completely different from us."

Lu Ban continued speaking calmly.

Upon hearing Lu Ban's words, Cleopatra raised an eyebrow.

This person speaks very directly, which is extremely rare in business.

What puzzled her even more was that he knew that a being from another realm had visited the Brotherhood of the Sands. Even among Cleopatra's close associates, few knew about this. How did this man find out?

She intended to brush it off, but just as she was about to speak, Cleopatra suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

This feeling was like the sense of crisis she had when she encountered monsters in the wilderness before she became a saint, as if she were being targeted by some monsters that exceeded the limits of humanity.

Suddenly, Cleopatra realized that she had walked into the "trap" that Lu Ban had just set up.

Lu Ban initially told himself, "We'll discuss things related to the future of Utopia."

This was just a simple greeting. In other situations, there would be no need to worry about any consequences. But this is Utopia, a place where everything must be done according to rules.

In Utopia, the act of negotiating represents commercial negotiation and carries a contractual connotation.

In negotiations, deception is not permitted.

If Cleopatra tries to deceive Lu Ban, she will inevitably face the consequences.

I almost fell into a trap.

Cleopatra had encountered similar situations before, but she was able to become a saint in the Brotherhood of the Sands through her own abilities.

Even if you can't lie or deceive the other party during negotiations, there are other ways to achieve the effect of deception besides lying.

In Utopia, using information asymmetry to create inequality and misleading others with partial truths are rhetoric that every merchant in the Brotherhood of the Sands must master.

"Those things do not endanger Utopia now, and as long as I am here, this city will not be in danger."

Cleopatra replied.

She was telling the truth. Even if the agreement between the two sides would pose a threat to the city in the distant future, at least while Cleopatra was still alive, the Fog City people could not harm the city.

"As for our methods, it is naturally to unite people's hearts and minds and gain the support of the majority of the people and the Senate."

"Through the form of poison?"

Lu Ban pressed for more information.

His words silenced Cleopatra.

Chapter 868 Madam, you don't want them to know, do you?

Seeing that the other party had fallen silent, Lu Ban knew that his judgment was correct.

"Poison? Mr. Lu Ban, as the leader of the Yellow Sand Brotherhood, I need to remind you that in Utopia, spreading rumors is also illegal."

Cleopatra did not directly answer Lu Ban's question, but instead made accusations.

"So, to put it another way, the fact that I'm saying these things now without being punished by Utopia means that I'm telling the truth?"

Lu Ban and Lu Ban met head-on.

I don't have time to play word games with you.

As Cleopatra spoke, she suddenly heard some soft whispers echoing in her ears.

"If you wish, you can have someone take him outside the city. I will take care of him cleanly and efficiently in an instant, leaving no trace."

That was the voice of Mad Poison, directly transmitting his thoughts through the part of himself that had seeped into Cleopatra's brain.

In utopia, everything must be done according to the rules, but outside of this city, things may not be so simple.

At least in the wilderness far from Utopia, murder goes unpunished, and even if someone returns after committing murder, Utopia cannot trace it back to them.

Therefore, sometimes if a feud is formed in the city, people will try to lure the other party out of the city and settle the score.

This has led to many people being hesitant to leave Utopia, fearing they might be killed if they ventured out.

"I don't think the people from the academy would waste my time just to spout some baseless nonsense, would they?"

Cleopatra did not respond to the madness; she wanted to get rid of someone from utopia without needing to use this outsider's hand.

"Moreover, if what you say is true, then under the witness of Utopia, who could poison someone else without being discovered?"

"Your subordinates were the ones who poisoned me. The poison was a mixture of two non-toxic substances. If I told you this, you would definitely have something to say in your rebuttal, but unfortunately, it's not such a simple trick."

Lu Ban said in a deep voice.

If I were to publicly execute Cleopatra on these grounds, I might actually be expelled from Utopia for spreading rumors, or even face divine retribution.

This kind of scheme, which any normal person could think of, certainly couldn't be Cleopatra's doing.

Her ability to ascend to the position of a saintly protector of merchants in this city must have relied on extraordinary strategies.

“I heard that the Yellow Sand Brotherhood has started distributing food to ordinary people living in the city over the past few months. I tasted it yesterday, and it tasted a bit like shit.”

Lu Ban answered without changing his expression.

"...If you've come here to deliberately mock me, I suggest you leave immediately, otherwise the sin of insulting a saint will be enough to make you wish you were dead."

Cleopatra thought this man was good for nothing except for his good looks. His words were full of mockery and vulgarity. Even the bandits she met in the wasteland were much more lovable than him. At least those guys knew what to say and what not to say.

"However, this shit is poisonous."

Lu Ban said without any hesitation.

"?"

Cleopatra thought the young man in front of her was really crazy. Did he really know what he was saying?

"Don't rush, sir, I'm telling you, don't rush."

Lu Ban didn't explain directly, but instead raised his hand to stop Cleopatra from calling for the others.

What evidence do you have?

Cleopatra then thought that Lu Ban might actually know something. Since the other party chose to talk to her one-on-one instead of revealing it to the public, it meant that Lu Ban either didn't have any real evidence and was just guessing, trying to trick her, or that Lu Ban had ulterior motives and didn't want to break ties with the Yellow Sand Brotherhood.

“Your next sentence is, ‘If the food being distributed was really poisonous, then I would have been sanctioned by Utopia long ago.’”

"If the food being distributed was really poisonous, I would have been punished by Utopia long ago... Huh?"

Cleopatra paused.

How did this person know I was going to say that?

Did he really foresee everything?

At that moment, Cleopatra heard Mad Venom's whispered words again.

"Let me kill him quickly. I can sense that this person is extraordinary. You may not be able to handle him. Get him out of Utopia, and I can give you everything you want."

The whisper, like a devil's temptation, echoed in her mind. Cleopatra rubbed her eyes to banish it from her thoughts. She looked at Lu Ban, waiting for his explanation.

"In my world... in my city-state, there is a saying: 'To talk about toxicity without considering dosage is to be irresponsible.'"

Lu Ban then said.

"Being a hooligan?"

Cleopatra narrowed her eyes slightly; she didn't know what "playing the rogue" meant, as the phrase's structure was rather perplexing.

But more than that, Lu Ban's words made her wary.

"You should know that nothing in this world is completely non-toxic. Even water, if drunk in enough, can be deadly."

Lu Ban spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The poison you added to the food you distributed, in a single dose, is not enough to cause any harm. However, these toxins cannot be digested or eliminated by humans, so they will gradually accumulate in the body. Over time, when these toxins accumulate to a certain level, they will cause damage to the body."

"In this way, the act of poisoning will not be punished by the laws of Utopia, but it can be accomplished through gradual accumulation day by day."