Chapter 247

Everyone's gaze turned to Auguste Artois. This MP, who had a scholarly temperament, a large nose, and graying temples, had already recovered his composure and said with a smile:

"This is nothing to worry about."

"If the attacker had the ability to break through two layers of defense and deal with me directly, there would be no need to assassinate Tibert. This is more like an extortion, a threat on paper."

The four campaign team members present nodded at the same time, believing the MP's speculation had no problems.

Auguste Artois then looked at the red-haired lady:

"Cassandra, I have limited understanding of the mystical world. I only heard that some Beyonders can obtain the truth from the souls of corpses through 'spirit mediumship.' Will Tibert's spirit betray us?"

Cassandra, the red-haired lady, shook her head slowly:

"Under normal circumstances, we would need to worry and must take the risk of 'cleaning up,' but in the attack just now, the assassin clearly used a not-so-short period of time to destroy Tibert's spirit in order to cover up their own information, which is equivalent to helping us."

Auguste Artois nodded slightly and looked at the two secretaries who were still a bit uneasy, saying with a smile:

"Don't worry, time is on our side, and the future is in our hands. A little setback won't affect the final result."

"You must always believe that our actions represent justice."

The secretary, Rone, who wore gold-rimmed glasses, and Margaret, who was delicate and scholarly, listened with blank faces, unable to believe that they could still be associated with the word "justice."

Not only them, but Cassandra, the red-haired lady, and Baudouin, who was middle-aged and sturdy, also looked at Auguste Artois with suspicious eyes, feeling that they had misheard.

Auguste Artois looked cautiously outside the door, using this action to ask if there were any eavesdroppers.

After Cassandra, the red-haired lady, nodded, he delivered an impromptu speech:

"Ladies and gentlemen, although I am unable to convert due to the contract and cannot pray for gifts, I have enough understanding of this world."

"You should know better than I do that the starry sky above our heads represents the vast universe. In the universe, there are countless planets, each of which is equivalent to a world, and many have their own civilizations. The world we live in is just one of countless planets, as small as dust."

"The Seven Gods have imprisoned us in this world, not letting us contact those civilizations in the universe, in order to cover our eyes, plug our ears, and make us their slaves generation after generation."

"They view those great existences as evil gods and weave lies to tell us how dangerous it is to believe in evil gods, the purpose of which is not to let us contact higher civilizations."

"If believing in evil gods were really abnormally dangerous, why could so many civilizations develop in the universe, civilizations belonging to different races?"

"They are afraid. If the great existences really descended into this world, the only ones to be destroyed would be them, only the saints, angels, and some fanatics who follow them. For the vast majority of people, it would just be changing a belief, and there would be no danger at all."

"Is believing in one of the Seven Gods a belief, and believing in a great existence not?"

"We cannot be kidnapped by the Seven Gods. We must explore the future of humanity and the direction of civilization. From the fact that you can obtain gifts, it can be seen that the great existences are stronger than the Seven Gods and will also provide protection, willing to give power. Divine grace is like the sea."

"When in the future we can sail in the universe and look back at what happened in these years, you will understand that our cause is just."

"In this process, some deaths are inevitable, but they are all people who should die—either too old, in poor health, too unlucky, or destined by fate. Most of the responsibility does not lie with us."

"Moreover, this is ultimately only a minority of people. We cannot stop the majority from defecting to higher civilizations and a better future just for the sake of a minority."

"Ladies and gentlemen, any cause will have sacrifices. As long as we firmly believe that what we are doing is just and persist, the future will surely belong to us!"

"Ten years from now, humanity will obtain a ticket to enter the cosmic civilization circle and will no longer be barbarians huddled in a corner of ignorance!"

Cassandra, the red-haired lady, Rone, the secretary, and the others were stunned.

Who exactly is the believer of the evil god?

They believed in different evil gods for different reasons and knew deep down that what they were doing was wrong, but they had already embarked on this path and had to continue forward. So they either used faith as a fig leaf to change their cognition bit by bit, or simply fell completely, finding the motivation to drive themselves forward from it.

And Auguste Artois, who clearly wasn't a believer of anyone yet, hadn't received any gifts, hadn't encountered enough assimilation, could say such words that were heartfelt, shocking, and extremely infectious.

The four campaign team members present all felt that Auguste Artois's words made a lot of sense, making them re-examine the meaning of their previous actions.

After a few seconds, Cassandra, the red-haired lady, slowly exhaled, looked at Auguste Artois, and praised sincerely:

"An excellent speech, MP. When you choose a faith in the future, I can recommend one to you."

"Hm?" Auguste Artois asked back with a nasal sound.

Cassandra smiled and explained:

"That one's gift power includes a type called 'Speaker'."

Auguste Artois nodded and smiled at the four team members in a relaxed state:

"Don't be scared by Tibert's death. We will proceed according to the original plan."

Cassandra, Rone, Margaret, and Baudouin answered in unison:

"Yes, MP."

Underground Trier.

Lu Mian took a detour and returned to the quarry cavity from before, quickly taking off his clothes and shoes, and removing the wig and beard.

After he changed into his original homeless attire and put on the dark blue flat cap, one by one, semi-illusory crimson fire crows condensed around him.

The fire crows flew out with a whistle, landing on the surface of the cane, shirt, bowtie, wig, and other items, igniting them with a slight explosion.

Lu Mian had already turned around and walked toward the exit of Underground Trier. Behind him, crimson flames rose, burning away all items related to the previous attack, illuminating the dark underground cavity.

Near midnight, inside the "Eternal Blazing Sun" Religious Court located underground at Saint-Roch Church.

Angoulême de François, who was flipping through the investigation records, heard the knock on the door.

His brown coat with two rows of gold buttons was hanging on the coat rack near the door. He himself was only wearing a pale gold shirt with a sun holy emblem and dark brown trousers.

"Please come in." Angoulême said steadily.

The one who entered was Valentine, whose hair was powdered and face was made up.

He had always been brooding over the Cordu Village matter. After knowing that some survivors had appeared in the Trier region, he took the initiative to submit an application and was transferred here. His wife and children had long yearned for the bustling Trier and didn't need him to persuade them further, moving over with him.

He was responsible for the night shift tonight with several teammates and happened to encounter the case of the MP's assistant secretary being killed.

Valentine, wearing a blue fine-wool jacket and a gold brooch, sat opposite Angoulême and said straightforwardly:

"Deacon, why not investigate Auguste Artois?"

"Although most of the people from the 'Aurora Order' are lunatics, they seem to have an unusual ability to sense evil god believers. The people killed by them cannot be said to be 100% believers of evil gods, but at least 70% are."

"Combined with the intelligence we obtained, it can already be determined that Tibert Jacques, who died tonight, was an evil god believer, possessing the power of 'Decay,' and he was Auguste Artois's assistant secretary."

"We cannot allow a person with great suspicion to continue serving as a Member of Parliament. Investigating him is responsible for all the people in the Market District and also for Auguste Artois. If it turns out he really has no problems, it will just help him clear out the evil god believers around him."

Angoulême hadn't expected that the newly transferred squad leader would be even more pious and fanatical than himself, and couldn't help but raise his hand to pinch his brow.

He smiled bitterly:

"You probably don't know that every Member of Parliament has signed a contract with the two major churches, a contract notarized by God."

"In the contract, they promise their own faith, show the abilities they possess and their corresponding sources, and the two major churches promise that without sufficient, powerful evidence, they will not restrict the personal freedom of any Member of Parliament and his main staff, and will not use Beyonder abilities to influence them."

"This is the protection of parliamentary power."

"From the contract, Auguste Artois believes in the great 'Eternal Blazing Sun' and is not a Beyonder."

"So, you can question him and his main staff, but you can only question them."

Valentine couldn't hide his disappointment:

"Why is there such a contract?"

"This is a byproduct of that coup d'état, and also a change that conforms to the trend of the times." Angoulême explained simply.

Valentine exhaled, stood up, and opened his arms:

"Praise the Sun!"

"Praise the Sun!" Angoulême stood up to return the salute, watching this subordinate walk out of his office.

Quartier des Nobles, Saint-Palais Hospital.

Jianna sat on a very low round stool, lying on the side of her mother Elodie's bed, sleeping very lightly.

After sending Franca away, she had let her brother Julian go home because he still had to go to the factory at dawn, and the Old Pigeon Cage Theater hadn't resumed actor training yet—the Police Headquarters had originally planned to auction off the Old Pigeon Cage and the Golden Rooster Hotel in these two days, but encountered the Goodville Chemical Plant explosion, so it could only be postponed for a period of time.

Suddenly, Elodie had some movement. Jianna woke up with a start and saw her mother slowly open her eyes.

After her eyes reflected her daughter's face, Elodie smiled and said:

"I thought I was going to see your father."

Before Jianna could respond, she asked weakly:

"How are my injuries?"

Jianna, happy that her mother had woken up from her coma, smiled sincerely:

"Not too serious. Look, there's no need for surgery."

Elodie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slowly.

She had just gotten rid of the coma, and her physical and mental state were not very good. After chatting simply for a few sentences, she fell asleep again.

Jianna held her mother's hand, and with the light shining in from outside the window, she looked happily at that face, which already had quite a few wrinkles and a few white hairs, as if she had regained something lost.

After looking for a while, she lifted her head and found that a touch of dawn was gradually brightening on the horizon.

PS: Begging for monthly votes at the beginning of the month~

(End of chapter)