Chapter 674: Yang Yixie: Embarrassed, Furious, Wanting to Die

The heliport of Tianmian City was set up on a relatively peripheral open area; it had previously been used as a battlefield, and after clearing the wreckage a broad expanse emerged, making it an important official logistics hub.

Yang Yixie was already tired of the pixelated Tianmian City; after all, pixel art can sketch a scene simply and directly, but it never delivers the impact of seeing it in reality.

Around them were only a few rows of ruined buildings, yet looking into the distance one could see the spires of Tianmian City flickering in the morning mist, their tips and rooftops gradually revealed by the light, like a CG opening cutscene in a game.

So, high resolution truly has its advantages.

The researchers had just disembarked when they were quickly escorted away by personnel in Special Division uniforms.

Carrying equipment crates and data bags, they turned a corner and vanished among the abandoned houses.

A middle‑aged man with a Special Division badge on his chest walked over from the opposite side of the plaza, stopped a few steps away, and scanned the group with his gaze.

"You must be the official squad sent to carry out the mission," the official told him, saying that a secret‑mission team would be deployed and he was to brief them on Tianmian City's current situation.

"Although the Special Division has a branch in Tianmian City, patrols and communications are still handled by former Supervision Bureau personnel—those who chose to join the Special Division have already been integrated into its system."

"If you need any intelligence, you can contact them directly."

He pulled a folded card from the folder and handed it over; the card listed several contact numbers and their corresponding duty zones. Yang Yixie took it, gave it a quick glance, and recognized several familiar names.

"This is a zone map marking contact points and duty windows for each area; patrol routes and shift schedules are updated regularly. If you plan to move within the city, you should register at a contact point in advance to avoid being treated as unidentified personnel."

He didn't even seem to recognize Shen Zexi and the others? According to the information he gathered, "Version Answer" has been quite famous in the game lately.

Yang Yixie's gaze swept over the plaza and landed on the uneven rooftops in the distance, where morning light filtered through the gaps between spire tips.

"How long does it take to get from here to the upper level?"

Before the middle‑aged man could speak, Shen Zexi turned his head and pointed his chin toward the center of Tianmian City.

"If all goes well, about twenty minutes."

"But that assumes an unobstructed path, and the Church will have several identity‑verification checkpoints along the way."

After all, if you keep following that road, all routes to Tianmian City's center converge at the Pale Throne Cathedral in the city's heart.

"Is your mission to go to the cathedral?" the middle‑aged man asked instinctively, then realized his slip and stopped.

After all, it's a classified mission officially disclosed, and he isn't cleared to know the details.

"You have the highest official clearance, so theoretically you can travel unimpeded, though you should watch out for some radical believers."

Under the puzzled gazes of the group, the middle‑aged man could only explain slowly.

Clearly, these youths may have visited Tianmian City before but are unaware of its recent situation.

"In fact, most of the current chaos in Tianmian City is caused by a few extremist believers."

"Since that Pope abdicated and the Church dissolved in this world without deities, Tianmian City has been in disarray for a long time."

"... the Church dissolved?" Shen Zexi repeated reflexively; the statement was so loaded he couldn't process it immediately.

The middle‑aged man nodded. "Yes. After that Pope fully integrated into this world, he announced his abdication; the Church's name still exists, but its actual organizational structure has collapsed."

Perhaps the Special Division officials struck some deal with the Church's leadership? Yet in a world where no gods exist, theoretically they champion freedom of belief, but the Church still chose to dissolve.

The Church's upper echelons seemed to have foreseen this day, but the lower and middle tiers still sparked considerable unrest.

Chen Mo Zhi furrowed his brow slightly. "Who now oversees the Pale Throne?"

"Nominally it's been taken over by the Special Division, but most day‑to‑day affairs are handled autonomously by local Tianmian City residents."

After all, although the Church dissolved, the Special Division has no intention of claiming the city, leaving its management to the people of Tianmian City.

"You must have heard the name Yue Chengzhang, right? He is now the acting director of the Special Division Tianmian City Branch; when he worked at the Supervision Bureau he was already popular with the people, and his promotion went very smoothly."

"It's just that recently, because things have been too peaceful, the lower‑level believers have banded together, forming new groups that were originally organized by former believers. Most are small, but some have grown to a size that warrants attention."

He pulled another folded sheet from the folder; although he wasn't sure whether its contents related to their mission, this information was within their clearance to know.

"Among them, a group called the Entropy Light Cult is expanding the fastest right now; although it hasn't had any overt clashes with the authorities, it's certainly not a harmless entity."

Ah......

Yang Yixie froze, his gaze drifting unintentionally to one side, and Luo Jinyou instinctively looked at him.

"They assign duties and rank based on hair color; the 'green' tier is the most prestigious. It's said that within their organization there's a figure codenamed 'Holy Son,' the leader all members revere."

"But we haven't uncovered any information about that 'Holy Son' yet; however, the Entropy Light Cult isn't limited to Tianmian City—its members have been spotted in other towns as well."

The middle‑aged man seemed to finish his briefing on the Entropy Light Cult, only to see the youths before him fall into an oddly shared silence.

Yang Yixie covered his face with both hands and rubbed it, looking half‑asleep, though more likely he was trying to escape reality.

Spare him, this is some Chuunibyou black‑history slapped on his face.

And the middle‑aged man said it all so seriously that Yang Yixie didn't even dare to recall how many Chuunibyou lines he'd uttered while preaching and rambling back then.

Because it's a black history, he's deliberately ignored the existence of that guild ever since; how did it get to this point!!!