Chapter 708: Deadly Cockcrow

Of course it's to kill you—what else could it be?

Glancing at the emerald forest before the Serpent Spirit, Li Ang guessed Emma had been trapped there, then carefully suppressed the malice in his soul and bowed his head humbly:

"Great Serpent Spirit, a cleaner must have infiltrated the gathering, spending a pile of untraceable currency to buy up everything. I fear his intentions are sinister, so I came to the Dream Realm to report to you."

After delivering the information—partly true, partly false—as agreed with Senior Tang Mu, Li Ang tried opening his system panel and saw the Holy Spirit Badge, its silver glow faded, now glowing a brilliant gold.

{After assisting Virgin Division Level One Cleaner Tang Mu Laine in assassinating the High Priest of the Scale Gold Sect, you leveraged the Scale Gold Chosen status granted by the Serpent Spirit to directly replace one of the Sect's High Priests of the Greed Lineage.

{Having met the advancement criteria, your Silver-level Badge "Practitioner" has successfully advanced to the Gold-level Badge "Vicar".

{Vicar (Gold): The highest-ranking divine official authorized to act on behalf of the deity; must possess profound understanding of doctrine and the martial prowess to expel heretics; holds status equal to most sects' High Priests.

{Wearing Effect: When contacting an anomaly marked "Sacred," the Vicar gains direct authority to use it, greatly enhancing its power and reducing its cost.

{Advancement Path: If your Corruption Level reaches 60 points and you acquire a True God-level Power, this badge will automatically ascend to the Chromatic Badge "Order True God."}

{If you do not gain the Power through enlightenment but instead defeat a True God and forcibly seize their Power, this badge will automatically ascend to the Chromatic Badge "Chaos Demigod."}

{Since you did not obtain the Vicar status through orthodox means, a special advancement path is provided: if you kill a True God before reaching 60 Corruption Points and without mastering any Power, this badge will automatically ascend to the Hidden Chromatic Badge "Godslayer."}

{Hidden Trait (No Wearing Required): As the highest-ranking divine official acting on behalf of the deity, your piety and resolve have purified your soul, naturally earning the favor of Orderly Beings.

…

A cleaner infiltrated?

After hearing his High Priest's report, the Serpent Spirit—massive as a statue—twitched slightly and hurriedly asked:

"That suspected cleaner… male or female? What color is their hair? Is it red?"

"..."

This Serpent Spirit's brain doesn't seem very sharp. If it were a red-haired woman, would she even bother to "infiltrate"? She'd just storm in!

"No, it's a man. His hair isn't red."

Shaking his head slightly, Li Ang answered as honestly as he could:

"That man always looks half-asleep, not very alert. He doesn't seem dangerous."

"Not dangerous? If he's not dangerous, then the entire Cleaning Bureau has almost no dangerous people!"

Hearing his High Priest's absurd judgment, the Serpent Spirit glanced at the small snake and sneered:

"If I'm not mistaken, the man you call 'not dangerous' is the Virgin Division's Bad Luck Dice King—has single-handedly expelled True Gods, employs utterly unpredictable methods, and is impossible to defend against!"

The Virgin Division has so few members yet holds its place among the Twelve Zodiac Divisions—besides that red-haired woman—it's thanks to him and the woman locked in the Emerald Forest.

Both Level One Cleaners are elite among elites, their skill matching the directors of non-Zodiac Cleaning Bureau divisions. If that 'not dangerous' man truly wants to deal with you, you'd be dead before you even knew how."

After mocking Li Ang's stupidity, the giant serpent with black body and white spots pondered, then narrowed its eyes and asked:

"What did the Dice King do? Just buy things around the gathering grounds?"

"He bought a lot of things."

Li Ang's eyes flickered, then he spoke with exaggerated distress:

"Great Serpent Spirit, that man somehow has endless money—he emptied nearly half the street! Don't we need to stop him?"

"Let him be."

The Serpent Spirit winced at the loss but flicked its tail, eyes full of helplessness:

"He's probably here to snatch bargains. Last time, during the Saio Kingdom gathering, he snuck in and bought up a huge pile of goods with money from who-knows-where. This time… hmm… let me think." Looking back at the emerald forest stretching dozens of miles, and the blood bursts within it, the Serpent Spirit hesitated, then mused:

"The Aquarius Director's man said the Virgin Division's red-haired woman won't come bother me. Seems he wasn't lying.

But things are unclear—if the Dice King isn't here for bargains but for the trapped woman, that's trouble… By the way, how's the Secret Shrine?"

"The Secret Shrine is normal."

Li Ang, having already switched to the 【Master of Performance】 Badge, lied without blinking:

"Hearing they might get a chance to worship your true form, the faithful are fighting over the three slots. Before I came to report, the final choice was confirmed—all offerings are piled in the Secret Shrine."

"I see…"

The Serpent Spirit hesitated, then sighed:

"Go back. I still don't know why the Dice King is here. For safety, I can't leave. Return the offerings, tell them the worship is canceled."

"This…"

"What do you mean 'this'?"

With deep regret, the Serpent Spirit glared angrily:

"Do you think I don't want the offerings? But right now, the priority is dealing with this trapped Level One Cleaner!

Once I wear down her immortality, my strength will be nearly spent. If that damned man has ill intentions, I may not be his match!

No more nonsense—go do it now!"

"Yes, I'm going right away!"

Glancing at the Serpent Spirit with reluctant resentment, Li Ang knew further resistance would expose him. Having failed to lure it, he bowed and withdrew, deliberately loosening his tail from the statue and vanishing from the Serpent Spirit's tail.

As his soul "disconnected," the Serpent Spirit's previously pained expression instantly turned grim.

…

It returned the offerings… He's not my High Priest!

If I'm right, no matter whether the cleaner is the Dice King or not, the Secret Shrine is already destroyed. The intruder must have set a trap, luring me back to kill me outright!

For safety, even here is no longer safe.

After a dark, calculating gaze, the Serpent Spirit looked at the emerald forest ahead, flicked its tongue, then extended its black-and-white tail, twisting it through the air twice before the forest.

With a strange cry, the dozens-of-miles-long emerald forest shrank rapidly into a transparent emerald bead. Inside, a woman bound by vine manacles suddenly opened her eyes and glared furiously through the crystal.

"Stop glaring. The 'Emerald Dream' was granted by our deity specifically to contain you—even the Dice King can't pull you out."

After mocking Emma inside the bead, the hundred-meter-long black serpent opened its mouth and swallowed the "Emerald Dream" whole, then found a rift between reality and the Dream Realm, slipping through it to flee before the Dice King could react.

But before it had gone far, a massive apple core—composed entirely of mist, seventy to eighty meters tall—appeared eerily ahead, shimmering between real and illusory.

Then, seventeen or eighteen enormous chicken beaks inexplicably pierced the barrier between dream and reality, pecking down upon its head, accompanied by excited, shrill clucks—delighted by the sudden feast.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck-cluck-cluck!"

(End of Chapter)