Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 1231: Chapter 1229: The Length of a Dream

“Evacuate immediately, the art gallery is temporarily closed!”

As Fu Qian appreciated the artworks, a voice had already come from below.

Compared with the bewildered visitors, this voice sounded much calmer, obviously that of a professional.

That was quick, is this place built next to a police station?

Without looking, Fu Qian knew that the people arriving were not with the art gallery security.

Although such a response might be a bit too fast, it only took a few minutes.

Fu Qian still did not move, continuing to enjoy the art all by himself, and quickly concluded—this was undoubtedly his authentic work.

Not to mention, there was also that hint of a familiar feeling serving as proof that helped pinpoint his location.

…

Compared to when he left, the painting had aged slightly.

According to the Witch, the artwork was created around seven years ago.

This kind of change is not too surprising, let alone significant.

Both the Witch and he himself were well aware that decay would eventually come; all they did back then was to let this process unfold naturally.

The issue now is that, despite only being a bit worn, the painting seemed completely devoid of any power.

By this time, as a Newly Advanced Second Order and an Inspiration contestant ranked 99, Fu Qian had already scrutinized the painting several times over.

Besides its fine craftsmanship, he could not discern any other exceptional qualities.

Even the originally mottled corners could be seen to have been painstakingly maintained to delay their deterioration.

With this level of care, the prestige that once brought about the Snowfall Catastrophe has been completely lost.

A new painting, has this one been discarded?

The likelihood is too low.

The Witch indeed once said that if she were to paint another one, everyone within it would perish—it’s hard to imagine such harmony emerging within a span of seven years.

The situation was getting more and more strange.

“Staff must evacuate as well, due to an emergency situation, we need to ensure there is no danger!”

At this point, the voice finally reached behind Fu Qian, interrupting his art-enriched life.

Whoosh!

Fu Qian turned around and sized up the newcomer.

The attire indeed had a familiar style.

A rather slim young man, even with a round top hat on his head, was still shorter than himself.

Indeed, both the clothing and accessories had the style of the security team led by the Baroness, classical and solemn.

The only difference was the thick black coat which, when moved, revealed a glint of metal, conspicuously a strangely shaped firearm.

Progress this fast, huh? So any ordinary public safety officer is now directly equipped with such a weapon?

“Okay.”

In the midst of his musings, Fu Qian cooperated very well with the management.

The circumstances were quite peculiar, and it was necessary to first locate where the Pontiff was.

It wouldn’t hurt to learn a little more to avoid haste making waste.

As for why he was mistaken for a staff member, the reason was quite simple.

What he had casually donned was also a heavy robe.

The design was stringent, the craftsmanship not too meticulous, and given it was found in a place like the underground storage room, the likelihood of it being a uniform was quite high.

The only problem is that the style is a bit too serious—it probably wouldn’t be that approachable to children during explanations.

“Follow the path I came from to regroup, I need to continue to evacuate other personnel.”

“Remember to collaborate with my colleagues to double-check the identities of everyone—”

The young officer’s words were abruptly cut off, his gaze fixing on the hem of Fu Qian’s robe.

Impressive professional quality, it’s said that few are attentive to the footwear of others.

Fu Qian silently praised him.

Since his clothes were in tatters, naturally, his shoes were the same.

The cloak was still very wide, and it almost reached Fu Qian’s ankles when he wore it.

But almost is the key word—his two bare feet were, after all, still exposed.

Just now, engrossed in admiring the art, he hadn’t paid much attention to his attire. It was only at the last moment that he was noticed by the other party.

Fu Qian did not come up with an excuse like removing his shoes as a sign of respect for the master artist, because the other party had already drawn a weapon in the next moment.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The unusually large gun barrel aimed at Fu Qian, the young police officer’s eyes were sharp and fierce as he asked coldly.

“Is the noise below related to you?”

Quick reaction, he’s the talent I need.

Fu Qian snapped his fingers.

“What’s your name?”

“…Raphaide.”

The other party hesitated slightly before revealing his identity.

“Good, Raphaide, now tell me, who am I?”

Um…

The young police officer looked Fu Qian up and down, falling into deep thought.

…

Since he had decided to do a bit of investigation, assuming an identity was the best course of action.

Considering the lack of understanding about the situation, and seeing the young police officer to be astute and competent, he should be able to give a proper suggestion regarding the identity.

So, at the same time that the other party noticed his bare feet, Fu Qian had already attempted to activate the Clear Dream Ring.

As it turned out, this tool could be used here.

In an instant, Raphaide began pondering deeply.

However, considering Fu Qian’s excessively bizarre appearance, this was obviously not an easy task.

As time passed, the face before him visibly contorted.

“Eh… Are you that missing staff member?”

At last, not letting Fu Qian down, Raphaide slapped his thigh in a moment of epiphany, as if a great weight had been lifted from him.

“I didn’t expect you to still be in here. Where have you been hiding these past two days… Let me think, is your name Anke?”

As he spoke, Raphaide reached into his pocket to search, pulling out a stack of photographs and flipping through them quickly.

But the next moment, his hand froze.

Fu Qian followed his gaze, only to see that the black and white photograph also depicted a young man.

Of course, that was one of the few things he had in common with himself, the appearance and various features were far too different, even the hair was slightly curly.

“You’re not…”

His hand seemed to tremble, Raphaide sighed an incredibly weary sigh, looked up at Fu Qian, and was stunned once again.

The face before him was clearly identical to the one in the photograph.

What’s called professionalism!

Fu Qian snorted coldly at this; for him, shaping a face had become as natural as breathing.

Even compared to the reference objects in the photograph, he had slightly adjusted his height.

“All right, tell me what happened to me.”

Without wasting time, Fu Qian gestured for Raphaide to continue.

“…As a newly added staff member, you suddenly vanished without a trace five days ago. Considering the effort made to hold your position here, as well as the rent you’ve just renewed, this is obviously very unusual—”

As he spoke, Raphaide’s voice suddenly stopped, and he frowned as he looked at his empty hands.

There should have been a stack of photographs there.

As for why they were gone… Standing opposite him, Fu Qian blinked in feigned surprise.

Just at that moment, the Clear Dream Ring ended without warning.

And judging by his good internal clock, Fu Qian was quite certain it had only been one minute.