Chapter 351: with translation of chapter title

Inside the storage room.

Here, everything is neat and orderly; a dark red carpet is laid on the marble-tiled floor, forming a stark contrast with the pristine walls and ceiling, and the overall style is simple and clear.

Under the warm lighting, the alluring gleam reflected comes from the divine weapons placed in each display case.

There is a double-edged blood-red spear, like the sister of the Spear of Fear, the Cassius Spear; also hanging on the wall is the Sun Bow originally belonging to the god of light Apollo, and so on, and nearly one-third of the 'collectibles' once belonged to a host of fallen Olympian gods.

As for making Artemis settle her playful mindset and fixing her gaze, the thunderbolt whose main body resembles a 'Z'-shaped crystal is placed in the display case at the center.

She walked slowly with Sui Bian to the side of the display case.

Sensing Artemis's emotions, Sui Bian did not immediately explain anything to her; instead, he completed the biometric unlock, opened the case door, reached out with his right hand to take the thunderbolt, and handed it to her.

He said, 'I think it's time to give this to you, thank you for your contributions to humanity over the years.'

'This…' Artemis felt a bit dazed, but she instinctively took the thunderbolt, feeling its moderate weight and cool touch.

She could hardly believe that Sui Bian would easily bestow upon her the 'supreme', 'limitless power' thunderbolt.

'I know what you're thinking,' Sui Bian said nonchalantly, walking with his hands behind his back to the row of display cases on the right, observing them while explaining to Artemis:

'Whether I have the thunderbolt or not is irrelevant to me; adding one to infinity still equals infinity, but for you it is a qualitative change, and moreover…'

Having said that, Sui Bian paused, turned slightly, looked at Artemis who had come up close behind him, and continued: 'That is your father's relic; it's time to give it to you.'

Sui Bian doing this, just as he had described, expresses gratitude while also allowing Artemis's strength to be 'enhanced' once again.

Within the current thunderbolt lies the pure Spiritual Energy he has infused; if Artemis, at the outset of battle, were to unleash all her Spiritual Energy at full force, then 'one strike exploding a star' would be a basic operation.

Thus, Artemis, wielding the Moonlight Crescent Blade, Full Moon Bow, and thunderbolt, though her power is far inferior to any OriginalBody, can at least easily drive out and destroy high-ranking demons of the otherworld, 'Great Demons', or behead the green-skinned boss.

Regarding the matter of Spiritual Energy being plundered, even if he didn't say so, Artemis had long known; moreover, Artemis proved her own worth and gained his trust and approval.

However, twenty-four years ago, Sui Bian had already returned the Spiritual Energy, so Artemis is no longer the 'blank slate' she was when she first joined Umbrella, unable to use any Spiritual Energy, let alone any 'magic'.

As for how much Spiritual Energy he lost after 'returning' it… this is hard to describe; according to his own feeling, one could liken his Spiritual Energy to the water of the Dead Sea: if you take a 2-liter bucket and fill it with that portion from the Dead Sea, that amount equals Artemis's peak Spiritual Energy.

So, whether it is returned or not makes little difference to Sui Bian at this stage, but humanity can have a hunting goddess who has returned to her peak state and possesses three divine weapons.

After hearing Sui Bian's words, plus the word 'relic', Artemis no longer hesitated, calmly accepting the thunderbolt; at the same time, she was no longer the dazed look from before, but rather raised her left eyebrow teasingly, smiling and saying: 'Since you, Boss, are so generous, I'll accept it; as a thank‑you, how about we…'

'Leon over there needs you to pay more attention.' Sui Bian interrupted her speech, turned fully to face Artemis, and gave the reminder: 'The total population of the Holy Temple Star Sector is under forty billion, sparsely populated; recently the Supervision Department also uploaded many reports of demon incidents, so that sector needs your and the Grey Knights' assistance.'

Hearing this, Artemis could only collect her teasing mindset, straightened her expression, and gave a solemn nod: 'I will.'

'Alright, go.'

'Mm.'

After they finished speaking, Artemis took the thunderbolt and left the storage room, while Sui Bian went to the display case holding the Cassius Spear and asked the ever‑inconspicuous Red and White Empresses: 'How is the investigation into the gods proceeding…'

'I have already conducted a second screening; for now I have detected no abnormality.' The White Empress's prosthetic showed a hint of helplessness: 'Chairman, according to the description of the hunting goddess Artemis, the goddess Hera is one of the chief deities most skilled in using 'spells' and 'illusions'; if she wishes to remain hidden among humans, especially in today's vast territories, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint her precisely unless we detect her large‑scale Spiritual Energy fluctuations.'

'The progress of the Supervision and Intelligence Departments is equally slow.' The Red Empress likewise said.

'Alright, I know.'

Having heard this news, Sui Bian stopped asking further questions.

Hera, in fact, after Sui Bian forcibly awakened Artemis and rescued Hephestus, he began trying to locate this one of the twelve Olympian chief goddesses.

Unfortunately, at that time his Spiritual Energy capacity was far inferior to what it is now; and when he reached the ranks of 'planet‑level' Spiritual Users, humanity had already entered the space age, conducting colonization activities inside and outside the Solar System, and Hera, one would suppose, had long since left Earth.

Although this goddess has never appeared and has remained peaceful with humanity, this does not mean that Hera, like Artemis, can be subtly assimilated by Sui Bian and perfectly integrated into human society.

Moreover, after the interstellar storm of over twenty years ago, Sui Bian put the search for Hera on his agenda, 'as a side note' investigating the gods who entered the interstellar realm together with Zeus and then vanished without a trace, such as the well‑known Greek 'kindly god' and the underworld king Hades.

A moment of silence passed.

Sui Bian stopped thinking while admiring the artifacts, left the storage room, and instructed his two secretaries: 'Notify the heads of all divisions of the Intelligence and Supervision Departments to continue the investigation and search for a period of time.'

'Yes (good).' the Red and White Empresses replied in unison.

Next.

The storage room, bereft of the three 'people' Sui Bian, automatically had its lights extinguished, yet the various artifacts placed in the display cases continued to emit and flicker with their respective glows.

Outdoors,

Outside the building,

All the way to the exterior of the Earth's core world, and amidst the expanses filled with rocky debris and fragments, one can plainly see the Terra Shield orbiting the Sun within the Kuiper Belt.

As a shield world several thousand kilometers in diameter and possessing a mass many times that of Earth, it cannot approach Earth without causing planetary devastation; therefore it can only be moored at the edge of the Solar System in the Kuiper Belt.

At this moment, the surface of the Terra Shield is covered with plains, forests, oceans and other 'natural' geographical features, and furthermore, its surface hosts numerous military bases and starports for stationing troops and docking various warships and vessels.

Fourteen years ago, when Robert pulled this artificial planet back into the Solar System, it attracted widespread social attention and heated debate.

After the war, the official explanation was that Robert, Leon and other OriginalBodies, leading the expeditionary force that subdued the Green‑skinned Empire, also captured a planetary‑class vessel constructed by the 'ancient race'.

For this explanation, which is almost tantamount to 'telling it like it is', the public naturally had no objections, and to a certain extent came to regard it as routine.

After all, the first expedition had humanity 'pulling' back a dwarf‑planet‑sized City of Universal Love; in this second expedition, 'carrying' back the Terra Shield is hardly surprising.

So what about a third time?

People have even begun to look forward to it, after all, this is also the best proof of their absolute confidence in the legions and fleets.

As for the office of Chairman, although there are no explicit legal stipulations, in theory and according to the unspoken 'rules', a politician may serve consecutive terms for no more than two terms.

In contrast, Sui Bian, who has sat in the Chairman's seat for a full 26 years, is far from a mere politician; to the populace he is more like a 'symbol', a …

As long as Sui Bian remains willingly in the public eye, humanity will enjoy lasting protection, and petty factions dare not dare to offend or provoke him.

It can be said that once society learned that Sui Bian is the father of OriginalBodies and his various deeds, people have unconsciously come to regard him as a 'guardian', the 'god' of the human race.

This, too, has brought many 'troubles'.

For instance, regarding him as a 'god' can trigger many chain reactions, such as the churches and followers of 'Lord of Humanity' and 'Light of Humanity'.

In response, Sui Bian no longer acts as before, directly dispatching Ghost agents or having the Intelligence Department's emergency team ruthlessly eradicate them; this time he does the opposite, and with the aid of the Red and White Empresses, he composed the 'Human Truth'.

The content of the Truth mainly emphasizes that there are no demons or monsters in the universe; all things can be interpreted through scientific and Spiritual Energy means; humanity will rely on reason, faith, and steadfast conviction to overcome everything, and nothing ought to be worshipped; in a rational cosmos, the backward notion of 'religion' must be thoroughly eradicated.

When the 'Human Truth' underwent publicity by the White Empress, coupled with Sui Bian personally delivering a lecture, Umbrella needed not deliberately suppress those religions and their followers, as the people spontaneously resisted them.

Moreover, the more firmly people believe in the 'Human Truth' and trust the words of Sui Bian as this 'guardian', the greater his total Spiritual Energy will continue to grow.

Therefore, when Sui Bian participated in the 2120th-term election, he was re-elected with a 96% approval rating, becoming the first 'human' to serve three consecutive terms as chairman.

This result was inevitable; even if Sui Bian did no covert maneuvering, his approval rating remained steady at 95.33%.

Whether in military force or 'political achievements,' Sui Bian is unparalleled among all humanity, with no rival; thus, it was natural for him to continue serving as chairman, holding the Solar System in check to intimidate the galaxy.

…

Inside a warehouse of a certain starport.

"Hey! You few, take the cargo to Zone Three, it's Zone Three, don't get it wrong!"

"Careful, partner, this is all cargo from the Supervision Department."

Umbrella workers seen everywhere were driving engineering-type mechs and exoskeletons, moving black containers of various sizes—sealed boxes or crates—back and forth on the gravity lift labeled '3' installed at the warehouse's westernmost side.

At that moment, a team of workers moved the Engineering Department's cargo onto the square No. 3 lift platform; after waiting about five seconds, a pale cyan light appeared around the platform, and then the platform carried them through the open gate above and out of the warehouse.

Levitated to the outside.

Inside the engineering mech, a worker wearing his baseball cap backwards took a break from work, using the afternoon sunlight to overlook the entire starport.

Only see that their starport also had dozens of Umbrella-affiliated or other-company giant freighters docked, with busy workers likewise taking the lifts to shuttle between the freighters and the ground warehouses.

Looking farther out, the starport's outskirts resembled an African savanna landscape, as well as a metropolitan area under construction; it appeared that this region, even this planet, was a newly developed colony.

Looking up, that was the workers' 'destination': a three-kilometer-long vessel, painted jet black, specially modified Phoenix III-class carrier, the Eudora (Eudora).

The lift platform passed through the air valve gate in the belly of the Eudora's hull, then docked its left end with the ship's cargo deck, facilitating the workers' transport and unloading of cargo.

Not far from the air valve gate, a group of agents appeared to be overseeing work; upon closer look, the two leaders were the blond, side-parted Leon S. Kennedy in a white shirt and black trousers, and Ada Wong in a black cheongsam with a sheer red outer coat.

Moreover, the bodyguard teams of Leon, Ada and other agents were also special, being entirely composed of expressionless Tyrants equipped with trench-coat restraints; their captain was that Stalker who, together with D-1999, fought through Hell, not only surviving but remaining healthy to this day.

The well-funded Supervision Department of Umbrella carried out various degrees of upgrades, stabilization, and modification surgeries on both the Tyrants and the Stalker.

Although their height remained at about 2.5–2.6 meters, their faces and skin were closer to that of ordinary people; however, the Stalker's exposed gum mouth and signature single eye had to be retained for the sake of 'stability'.

Silent and speechless, with glowing eyes and even faint micro-expressions on their faces, this indicated that the Tyrants and the Stalker had acquired a considerable level of intelligence.

"Whoo~" Seeing the workers again boarding the lift platform to leave the cargo hold, Leon couldn't help whistling, then he opened his earpiece comm and reminded: "All hands on the Eudora, the next trip should be the last batch of cargo; prepare to depart the starport and get ready for jump travel."

He said.

Leon caught a glimpse of Ada's expression seeming somewhat solemn out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but ask curiously: "What's wrong?"

"..." Ada stared fixedly at the largest black container, silent for several seconds, then said: "I'm not sure, but the things Kelaofu and her team excavated from unknown civilization ruins always give me a feeling that this mission might encounter an accident."

"An accident?" Leon blinked, then laughed reassuringly: "Miss Wong, you and I have been partners for how many years—how rare are accidents? They're practically everyday fare, hehe~."

Ada: "..."

(End of chapter)