Chapter 190: You Just Said Add Money?

Oh no, I didn't hit some innocent spirit realm creature, did I!

Su Lin drove the quantum motorcycle from the spirit realm back to reality, swallowing hard with lingering fear.

He parked the motorcycle to one side and, ignoring the black smoke billowing around the fireplace, rushed inside.

"Hold on! The doctor is here!"

Zhongli and Miss Kelaien watched the white light flickering within the black smoke, the wails of the Red Angel evil spirit and Su Lin's slightly panicked, confused voice reaching their ears.

"Why isn't the healing spell working?!"

"The Embrace of the Holy Spirit doesn't work either? How did the condition get even worse!"

"Wait, bro, don't rush, I know you're anxious, I'm anxious too, let me try again."

Faintly, a flash of red light symbolizing rebellion and unyielding will flickered, but in an instant it was covered by the white light.

"Bro, trust me, I mean no harm! This is weird, how about I just call an ambulance"

Miss Kelaien's mouth twitched at the corner — you keep casting light spells on an evil spirit, at this rate the poor Sauren Einhorn Medici is going to get purified.

"You, stop for a moment." Miss Kelaien said, dispersing the black ash.

Zhongli came over to that quantum motorcycle, observing with great interest this motorcycle that could enter and exit the spirit realm. Earlier, Su Lin had taken out this heavily tech-styled bike beside his main body, then vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.

The slender body had sleek lines, a delicate feel and fine craftsmanship, with meticulous attention to detail; that part of the body seemed to be called the fuel tank. A rich divine power aura, and it could also use energy sources other than traditional fuel for propulsion — how much would one cost?

There were simply too many interesting things across all the worlds.

"Zhongli, pull your shield back a bit." Su Lin shouted, "He's stuck inside the shield."

To prevent causing too much of a commotion, Zhongli had wrapped a layer of shield around this standalone house.

"So this is what gives you your confidence." The Red Angel evil spirit, somewhat weak, braced against the damaged wall and swayed to his feet; even at this point, He still maintained composure:

"Very good, the situation between you, Zaratul, and Amon has reversed."

"The current situation is far messier than imagined, very interesting."

【'What are the Seven Gods thinking? How did these two fellows get in from the starry sky?'

'Two stowaways have entered before the time of the apocalypse.'

'Find a way to escape, draw the attention of the Seven Gods or the Fallen Creator.'

'If you'd believed in the true Creator with me, would it have come to this?'

'Shut up! Medici, have you sacrificed your brain to the Fallen Creator? Even your Lord coming here might not be able to save you.'

'If only there were a way to split you off, Their target seems to be you, that descendant of yours, and that thing beneath Bansy.'

'If I go to hell, I'll drag you two along with me — we've had a friendship of several thousand years.'

'Bah!' 'You idiot!'】

"Sorry, bro, have a good supplement." Su Lin took out a Sequence 5 Hunter characteristic from his previous spoils raiding the Fusak airship fleet: "We're going to ask you some intel, don't worry, we'll leave once we're done asking."

"Hehehe." Sauren Einhorn Medici merely smiled and said no more — at a time like this, the more one speaks, the more mistakes one makes; as a hunter, one must clearly consider one's current situation. The situation now was obvious: he himself was the prey.

"We need to obtain intel related to the City of Calamity that polluted you — how to make contact with it, how to enter it." Zhongli strode forward, each step reinforcing the surrounding seal to cut off contact with the outside.

"Is this a transaction?" Sauren Einhorn Medici asked, not reaching out to take the Beyonder characteristic in Su Lin's hand — He still had one option: self-dispersion.

"You can think of it that way." Su Lin said: "In exchange, we can tell you the relevant whereabouts of a certain Conqueror characteristic."

"And we can guarantee you walk out safe and sound; of course, we'll take some measures to prevent you from leaking information."

The Red Angel evil spirit did not first answer Su Lin and Zhongli, but instead looked at Miss Kelaien and asked with a smile: "So, what deal did you make with them? The Source Castle?"

"Let me think." Miss Kelaien stroked his chin and said frankly: "Two Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts."

"Damn, you really believe that?" The Red Angel evil spirit cursed, saying sarcastically: "If I put in some effort I could go find a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact too — this is practically cheap labor pricing. How about I add some money and you just help me get that Conqueror characteristic back directly?"

Add money

Add money

Add money

Su Lin's eyes lit up, his face beaming with joy as he asked: "How much will you add?"

"." The Red Angel evil spirit was momentarily at a loss for words.

Miss Kelaien felt somewhat weary — dealing with someone who plays tactics like this is truly exhausting; even at a time like this, they still don't forget to indirectly sow discord and create rifts.

Of course, from a normal perspective, His approach was correct — two gods of unknown background must be scheming for something significant. I may not necessarily fall out with these two, but after He so blatantly spelled it out, certain things would, to some extent, no longer be as easy to cooperate on as now.

Unfortunately, the facts were far from what He imagined.

"And there's friendship." Miss Kelaien added with a smile: "So this is the friends-and-family price."

At this moment, Zhongli, standing to one side, said to the Red Angel evil spirit: "The thing behind the Bansy Harbor gate still has an ongoing influence on you. Perhaps you can't feel it now, but as your strength gradually recovers, that pollution will eventually return."

"Better to leave this matter to us to handle — no matter what, your situation won't be worse than it is now."

"That's an interesting way to put it." The Red Angel evil spirit fell silent for a while after speaking, the three personalities within conducting several exchanges; finally, he gave a contemptuous laugh: "Fair point — the situation can't get worse than it is now."

He took the Sequence Reaper Beyonder characteristic from Su Lin's hand and consumed it; his weakened state improved somewhat — from a candle guttering in the wind to an oil lamp behind a screen.

"My worthless descendant has also been affected — His situation is far worse than mine."

Without the slightest hesitation, Medici sold out that descendant of his.

Medici's entire family had been polluted by the City of Calamity — the higher the Sequence, the greater the impact; even though Medici had already perished once, that influence still lurked.

Just like the current Emperor Roselle, pollution from a high position is not so easily resolved.

After obtaining the relevant information, Su Lin didn't bother to consider how much false intel was mixed in — perhaps ninety percent true, ten percent false, but it likely wouldn't cause trouble.

How many schemes this old hunter was hiding didn't matter either — leave it to Miss Kelaien and Zhongli to analyze.

"George III handed a Sequence 1 Conqueror characteristic to the Monujiao Sect — you can start from that angle." Su Lin informed the Red Angel evil spirit, then together with Zhongli placed some restrictions on Him.

"Tch, Chik has already started scheming." The Red Angel evil spirit clicked his tongue in displeasure; those few words had already revealed much information — the Primordial Witch Chik had begun to want to gather high-Sequence characteristics of adjacent Pathways.

"Can I go now?"

He felt the restraints around him had been released; He could now enter the spirit realm.

"Please." Zhongli extended his hand in invitation.

Without lingering, the Red Angel evil spirit vanished within the flame vortex, only casting one last deep glance at Miss Kelaien and the mechanical construct that had just sent Him flying.

The Red Angel evil spirit sped through the spirit world, a familiar rumbling sound coming from behind.

He stopped, the surrounding spirit world creatures having long since taken the initiative to avoid him, leaving a vacuum of empty space.

"Changed your mind?" His eyelid twitched; that incredibly fast mechanical construct stopped less than two meters in front of Him.

"No, leaving you a way to contact me." Su Lin, piloting the gradually familiar quantum motorcycle, turned around and, with his back to the Red Angel evil spirit, said:

"If the price is right, I'll go help you take back the Conqueror characteristic."

"Heh, that characteristic has probably already been sacrificed to Chik. Are you going to go to Chik to take it back?" The Red Angel evil spirit treated this as a joke, figuring the being before him wouldn't lightly start a war with Chik.

"That's not entirely impossible either." Su Lin paused, then said seriously: "You'll have to pay more."

A three-segment honorific name was transmitted to the Red Angel evil spirit, a buzzing sound rising once more as Su Lin rode the motorcycle, leaving a straight white streak of light across the spirit world.

The Red Angel evil spirit frowned slightly, then departed once more in a certain direction.

【'Sauron, Einhorn, do you two still have any family assets you can scrape together?'

'Einhorn's offspring aren't doing too badly, are they? Ask Fusak for some tribute?'

'Heh, fusing with the likes of you two things would simply defile Einhorn's glory; they'd purify me on the spot.'

'Let's first think of a way to remove the mark on us!'】

Within the grand palace above the gray fog.

"All the preparatory work is pretty much done." Miss Kelaien calculated in his mind, then looked at Su Lin and Zhongli: "What comes after, I'll leave it to you two."

The aura of the gray fog enveloped Su Lin and Zhongli as Miss Kelaien attempted to grant the two of them basic permissions.

He took out a Beyonder characteristic from a Sequence 4 Manipulator of the Spectator pathway, simultaneously opening up his mind island.

"What do you think about me implanting a subconscious refusal to eat sweets in you right now?" Su Lin glanced at the Beyonder characteristic and asked on a sudden whim.

"Just kill me." Miss Kelaien answered without the slightest hesitation.

Don't you know sweets can relieve stress? You demon!

————————

In Miss Kelaien's hand, a rather dim, archaically styled feather pen was writing rapidly; he had one and only one minute.

"0—08" Ardesh Hodge's Pen, whatever story it writes will inevitably come to pass.

【George III planned to use this speech to lure out all enemies who wished to sabotage his ritual, but if everything went smoothly and no accidents occurred, he would also take the opportunity to consume the potion, reveal his hidden cards, and strike at the divine rank.】

【After all, there were too many unknowns in the future, and it wouldn't be safe either; moreover, his preparations were already sufficiently complete and proper at present.】

"This is a very reasonable development."

After writing this final sentence as a signature, Miss Kelaien no longer maintained the illusory historical projection. He panted; his spirituality was more abundant than expected—no, it should be that 0-08's consumption wasn't too great; I could even hold on a while longer.

"But doing this is too tiring; the consumption is a bit large but acceptable." After staring for a moment, Miss Kelaien folded the paper, stuffed it into his coat pocket, and said, "Hope it helps."

He could not write the direct fall of George III; that would certainly attract the attention of Amon and His elder brother.

"Still have to go buy ice cream for Will. Ansetin, what a drag, Backlund is way too dangerous right now, how about—" Miss Kelaien immediately shook his head: "A man must keep his word."

……

January 3, Year 130, Backlund on a Saturday.

The sky was gray and foggy, oppressive in both weather and situation, making it hard to breathe.

Smoggy days are a common sight in Backlund's deep winter. Although this year's weather doesn't have the thick smog and pungent smell of last year, the accumulated adverse factors of the past, along with the geographical environment and climate characteristics, determine that Backlund's environmental governance cannot achieve great results overnight.

Similar situations will inevitably exist for a long time.

"A total of 9 pounds, Mr. Mora." The waiter bowed at the front desk.

"Put it on Earl Hoel's tab." Zhongli picked up a fragrant, hot Mao Jin beside him and wiped his hands. "Prices went up again?"

"Mm, vegetables up by one-fifth, meat up by one-sixth, wheat up by one-quarter." The waiter took out a receipt and placed it on the table: "Please sign here."

"Has Miss Lucia not come to work yet?" Zhongli asked.

"Her brother was killed in action; she probably won't be coming to work for a while." The waiter hesitated, then said: "We have another new pastry chef."

Zhongli was silent for a moment, then said: "Next time, then."

Nightingale Bar

Elsa was settling the accounts; business had been poor lately, and the boss wouldn't allow layoffs.

The shop had been in the red for two weeks. The war on the front lines was growing more urgent. Originally, as Mr. Delon's direct subordinate, she should have gone to participate in some special operations.

But ever since Mr. Delon came back that day, his attitude toward that boss had grown increasingly respectful, so much so that it could be described as humble.

"No one's come to spend money for two whole weeks in a row."

A voice, both unfamiliar and familiar, rang out.

"Ah?!" Elsa's nerves tensed, then gradually relaxed. She panted and said: "Yes, no customers during this period."

"You've returned from the Southern Continent."

Clatter, clatter

"What are these?"

Elsa saw this suddenly appearing boss pour out many gold coins and gold jewelry from a bag resembling a mystical item, with some gems inside as well.

"Supplies donated by the kind members of the Rose School of Thought; everyone's a good person."

Su Lin put away the storage bag and instructed: "Keep a portion for daily upkeep, donate the rest to the Dawn. Tarante charity foundation for me."

"Where did those few male employees go?"

He glanced at the financial details on the desk and noticed a few names missing.

"They were drafted and went off to fight." Elsa sighed. She saw Su Lin walking toward the door: "Are you looking for Mr. Delon? He's at Memorial Square today attending the King's conscription speech."

"Nothing of the sort; I came back specifically to listen to His Majesty the King's speech." Su Lin waved his hand and said without looking back.

Arriving on the street, Su Lin walked forward in silence with the flow of people, as more and more people emerged from the alleys, from inside the houses, from the street itself.

Some of them wore formal attire, carrying walking sticks, dressed as gentlemen; others wore dark dresses, or sweaters and jackets paired with trousers.

They gathered like droplets of water into a dark-toned stream, and these streams wove together at the entrance of the plaza into a mighty torrent.

The dark, dense torrent surged forward slowly, swallowing the plaza whole.

Su Lin looked around, his gaze sweeping across the faces of these people.

Numbness, sorrow, pain, anger…

A peculiar feeling arose in his heart — like an onlooker yet also a participant, able to touch and withdraw at will, to slip away at any moment, while the roots of these people were anchored here.

Su Lin calmly threaded through the gaps in the crowd to the center of the plaza. He looked toward the center of the high platform, where the king, dressed in formal attire, walked out from behind the curtain, about to begin his speech.

Zhongli, having received an invitation from Earl Hoel and a line of nobles, had come to a spot not far from the high platform to observe King George III's speech up close. His gaze swept downward and met Su Lin's.

On the grey-white Shi Zhu at the center of the plaza, a horn painted deep blue and connected by cables emitted a buzzing, crackling sound, which after a moment became a deep, resonant voice:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am your Emperor, the ruler of Loen, East Balam, and the Rosed Islands — George Augustus III."

Audrey turned her head back, only to find that the figure of Mr. Pope had vanished at some unknown moment. She looked forward again, where George III was delivering his speech with great emotion.

The undercurrent had already begun to surge; the judgment was about to arrive.

End of this chapter.