Chapter 293: Mu Linyuan

But looking at the Pope, who to him existed almost only in rumors and was lofty and aloof, the Butterfly Speaker felt a sense both familiar and strange.

The Butterfly Speaker was still panicking over being deep in the "enemy camp", cold sweat nearly soaking his shirt, when he heard the Saintess, who had been focused on operating the artillery, speak without turning her head:

"You may go with them for treatment; the Undercurrent's trade terms with the Church include a clause providing basic medical support to the partner."

Butterfly Speaker: "........?!"

He blinked in surprise, lifted his head, and looked at the Saintess's still busy silhouette.

"What are you still standing around for?"

The nun who had come to ask, seeing the Butterfly Speaker frozen, kept her tone polite but added a hint of urging.

The Butterfly Speaker snapped back to attention, meeting the nun's calm gaze, and subconsciously glanced toward the direction where the Saintess and the Pope were standing.

The Pope remained still as a statue; the eyes behind his mask did not seem focused on that, and the Saintess… never turned her head from start to finish.

He swallowed, forced a somewhat stiff yet composed smile onto his face, and nodded at the nun:

"........ Alright, please lead the way."

He said no more, followed the nun toward the treatment corner in the hall's corner, his steps slightly wavering.

Meanwhile, Ying Duo stared unblinking at the Saintess, who was fully focused on operating the artillery, not far away.

At present, Fang Zhiyan is the highest‑ranked person he has ever seen, yet his position on the Dome is merely that of a minister.

And the Saintess? What rank might she hold?

Ying Duo has always been a man of action.

He ignored Shen Zexi's earlier warning and Min Tianyou's conciliatory smile, and while Shen Zexi was momentarily distracted by the Butterfly Speaker's departure, he shifted his foot slightly, seemingly casually stepping a little toward the Saintess.

Yang Yixie prepared to have Ying Duo stage a fake accident with that Saintess.

Ying Duo adjusted his stance, and his foot "unintentionally" slipped; his body lost balance and flew toward the Saintess's control console, sliding a long distance across the smooth floor, crashing toward the Saintess and her group.

Even just snagging a hem would have been fine.

The sudden turn was extremely abrupt and close; Shen Zexi and Min Tianyou hadn't reacted, and Ying Duo was already skimming the ground, flying out.

Several alert Church knights nearby narrowed their eyes, their hands instantly reaching for the weapons at their waists.

However, just as Ying Duo was about to slide past, a fraction of a second before his fingers would touch the Saintess's pristine white robe,

a hand with distinct knuckles, wearing a white glove, thrust in sideways, perfectly blocking his path and catching Ying Duo.

It was the Pope.

He shifted just a little to the side and precisely intercepted Ying Duo's staged accident.

He had been standing beside the Saintess all along, quiet as a statue, but that didn't mean others would ignore his presence.

The Pope was a full head taller than Ying Duo, now slightly lowering his head, the cold silver mask facing Ying Duo's face.

The gaze behind the mask was calm and unruffled; as he helped Ying Duo up, he stared directly at Ying Duo's eyes, which seemed hollow yet faintly traced by a Data Stream.

"Are you a student of Mitra Academy?" The Pope's voice was low, bearing a warmth similar to Shen Zexi's, yet filled with an unblemishable authority.

"A very strong 'time' distortion wave surrounds you… do you feel any discomfort?"

His words were calm, containing no murderous intent or hostility, yet the entire hall fell silent at once.

At that moment, Ying Duo also successfully made contact with the Pope.

【Name: Mu Linyuan (Lv. 60)】

【Title: Time-Scar Silent One】

【Age: 27】

【Race: Human】

【Faction: Church】

【Affection: 0】

【Mutation Value: 0】

【Current Status: Healthy】

【Preference:....... (Locked)】

Lines of information flickered rapidly across the edge of the computer screen, and the Pope seemed to notice, but said nothing, merely squinting.

It felt like being watched.

Ying Duo finally steadied himself with the Pope's assistance; his golden eyes blinked, seeming to have little concept of the 'time distortion' he mentioned, and he answered the question honestly.

"No discomfort."

The Pope gave a slight nod, did not press further, and continued to look calmly at Ying Duo, as if seeing something deeper through the boy's shell.

The Saintess's fingers, still operating the artillery, paused briefly, then swiftly issued the final few commands.

On the crystal wall display, the silhouettes of Fang Zhiyan and the two others had completely vanished deep within the Slum's tangled architecture; continuing to fire could likely cause innocent civilian casualties.

The Saintess slowly withdrew her hand, the floating light particles around her dissipated, her gaze first swept over the Pope, then landed on Ying Duo, who was precisely blocked by the Pope.

Her voice remained cool as she asked the Pope:

"Is this the abnormal 'spacetime distortion point' within Tianmian City that you mentioned before?"

Mu Linyuan finally released his hand that had been supporting Ying Duo, and gave a slight nod, saying.

"Hmm, the wave characteristics basically match; previously, due to duty constraints, I couldn't leave the sanctuary to locate its exact position, didn't expect..."

He paused, his gaze again flicked over Ying Duo, "We will 'meet' today in this manner."

The Saintess glanced at Ying Duo's conspicuously bright Ying Guang Lu hair, slightly frowning.

She seemed to have mentioned this youngster when Min Tianyou gave his report.

"I recall that the reports submitted by the Supervision Bureau and the Heresy Tribunal about him contained many information gaps and contradictions."

She recalled those cold archival texts; due to issues inherent to Ying Duo and real‑world constraints, both factions could not investigate Ying Duo's identity clearly.

"'Directly affected by an unknown high‑concentration Mutation Source, resulting in severe cognitive impairment and memory loss'... while this conclusion explains some abnormal behavior, it also prevents deeper investigation into him."

Cognitive impairment and memory loss are not necessarily entirely caused by Mutation erosion.

Pope Mu Linyuan suddenly spoke, his voice still calm.

The veil of cognition can conceal appearances, fragments of memory can scatter like dust, but the marks of time........ never lie.

The temporal distortion on him is very high, but it has nothing to do with that possibility you imagined.

The Holy Maiden frowned instinctively upon hearing that.

Her ability is limited to space; in the dimension of time, Mu Linyuan is the expert.

His gaze lingered on Ying Duo for a while before finally withdrawing.

She indeed felt no spatial dislocation fluctuation on Ying Duo.

Perhaps Ying Duo had some strange encounter in the temporal realm, but at least it has nothing to do with her plan.