Chapter 221: Each with Their Own Schemes
Zhao Mingyue’s intuition was spot on; she made some valid points. Dealing with an Evil God isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Qian Mu’s strength isn’t enough to squash what’s on the other side, and in the end, it could lead to both sides being severely injured or one being gobbled up.
Qian Mu had just emerged from Eternal Life Village and had no clue how many followers he’d gained since tagging along with Chen Yunshi. Considering Chen Yunshi had only recently joined this task-filled world, it was likely that Qian Mu’s number of believers couldn’t compete with the followers of An Que’s Evil God.
From what the clues showed, An Que’s Evil God had been operating in Pinhai City for quite a while; otherwise, they wouldn’t dare strike directly at a place like the public security bureau.
With this, the gap in innate talent and potential was bridged. Qian Mu might not necessarily be a match for what lay ahead.
After brushing Zhao Mingyue’s hair, Bai Yu was just about to grab a chair and sit down when Zhao Mingyue unexpectedly tugged at her sleeve.
She patted her thigh and grinned, “Just sit here! Your current body isn’t exactly a heavyweight!”
Before Bai Yu could respond, Zhao Mingyue pulled her over, wrapping an arm around her and letting her sit sideways on her lap, all in one smooth motion.
Zhao Mingyue could tell—Bai Yu’s current body didn’t have much power. The strength she felt was merely Bai Yu’s true self manipulating her, fighting with technique and the original potential of her body, creating the illusion that this little loli was much more violent.
In everyday life, Zhao Mingyue was just like an ordinary little girl.
“Mingyue…”
“Hehehe.” With one hand around Bai Yu, Zhao Mingyue’s smile began to morph into something peculiar. “This is the benefit of power, right? Well, sort of.”
She had long been pondering when she could grow strong enough to pin Bai Yu down. Back then, it felt too far-fetched, but now it didn’t seem so hard. As long as Bai Yu remained in her current body, she had a chance.
Resting her head against Bai Yu’s somewhat flat chest, Zhao Mingyue slowly closed her eyes, her gentle smile under the sunlight looking angelic. Even Bai Yu couldn’t help but glance a few more times.
Seeing Bai Yu not struggling, Zhao Mingyue maintained the pose and whispered, “Bai Yu, I can hear your heartbeat.”
She was supposed to have Bai Yu sit in her lap, yet it was Zhao Mingyue who felt like a lazy little kitten.
Bai Yu’s body was no longer cold. This sensation was fantastic!
Continuing to savor this moment, sniffing the light fragrance emanating from Bai Yu, Zhao Mingyue suddenly remembered something and opened her eyes.
“Didn’t Qian Mu mention before that An Que is dead? Now he’s like a ghost, using living bodies to reincarnate, like some sort of soul transfer, and he retains his memories?”
“How does he even pull that off? He can’t be hopping from one person’s body to another, can he? Can this body even handle it?”
Ghosts can possess humans, but if not careful, it may lead to severe aftereffects for the host body. This was also why Bai Yu didn’t want to stay too long possessed. If An Que was doing this, the body would have been long gone after decades.
“I don’t know, but he must have some special method.” Bai Yu’s eyes flickered, indicating she had thought about this issue before.
“If he’s been able to live this way so far, he wouldn’t just jump from one body to another when the previous one wears out, right? That’s way too complicated; wouldn’t he have to switch bodies every few months? Now he’s the Gatekeeper’s Chairman; if other Gatekeepers knew, they wouldn’t let a ghost ride on their backs.”
“If he can do it, you certainly can too. Hmm, another reason to capture him!”
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“Chairman Chen, sorry for being late! I just finished handling my Ghost Gate.” The eighty-fourth Gatekeeper entered the estate gate, having arrived relatively late, with over ten more Gatekeepers still on their way.
This gathering was called for matters related to the Evil God, although nobody knew the specifics. But one look at the numbers made it clear this task was anything but simple. Some even suspected whether they were planning to take action against Eternal Life Village, leading them to refuse for various reasons, with two even fleeing for their lives, disregarding their positions as Gatekeepers.
“Hmm.” Chairman Chen nodded, signaling the newcomers to join the lineup.
“Chairman, we haven’t pinpointed the Evil God’s exact location yet.” An Que stood behind Chairman Chen, speaking quietly.
His intent was simple: wasn’t it a bit too hasty to gather so many Gatekeepers? If the opposing side started dragging their feet, it could take an indefinite amount of time, leading to big problems with so many Ghost Gates without watchful guards. Eventually, a chain reaction could unfold.
“You can’t determine the Evil God’s location, but you can be sure of her next moves, and that isn’t enough?” Chairman Chen replied coolly, not even glancing at An Que.
Hearing this, An Que furrowed his brow, suddenly realizing.
It seemed Chairman Chen already had intel; he just hadn’t shared it with An Que.
“Chairman, could this be a trap set by the Evil God? I just feel that things aren’t as simple as we think. Qian Mu wouldn’t be foolish enough to try and take us down like this.”
“Foolish?” Chairman Chen chuckled harshly, “Pinhai City and Tianchang City have always been your responsibility. If you consider the other five cities, you now control over half the province; you wouldn’t be learning this intel just now, would you?”
“I… Chairman, please be straightforward.”
“After this mission, you can resign and return to your temple. If you still want to be a Gatekeeper, don’t do anything reckless. I don’t want to spell it out too clearly for you; you know what you’ve been up to.”
Chairman Chen entered the interior of the building, and An Que quickly followed with a mixed expression.
“The word going around is that the Evil God appearing in Pinhai City is indeed Qian Mu from Eternal Life Village. This Evil God absorbed the power of two other Evil Gods to break through her confinement, roughly a week ago.”
“She’s clearing out your Ghost Gates, do you really think she just came to take revenge?”
“She’s evolving, do you understand?”
“She’s found some method to fuse with her embryo; it appears she no longer carries the curse, but in reality, it’s just a process of blending.”
“What she aims to do is fully merge with the embryo and become a living being.”
Chairman Chen stood by the grand window, gazing at the gathering of dozens of Gatekeepers outside.
“The concept of an Evil God becoming a living being doesn’t need much explaining from me; all the drawbacks of being alive will surely vanish, but the advantages may not be as clear cut.”
“If she succeeds, her power will multiply, and even worse, all methods we have against Evil Gods will become obsolete.”
“So your talk of traps is irrelevant.”
“Even if it’s truly a trap, would you avoid it?”
“We only have three days left. Truth or falsehood, we must proceed.”
“To be cautious, you’ll lead the team this time, and by the way, make sure your Evil God doesn’t hide away. Let her out for a stroll.”
An Que lowered his head, a storm of thoughts brewing inside. His desires were deeply hidden, known to almost no one. Cultivating followers had been done in secrecy; once they became followers, there would be no obvious changes—they continued to live as usual, and yet here he was, still getting found out.
Moreover, he hadn’t yet informed Chairman Chen of Qian Mu’s situation, yet the Chairman seemed to know already.
Where was he getting his information from?
Chairman Chen appeared to sense something, glanced back at An Que who had his head bowed, and snorted, “Do you think I’m just a figurehead as Chairman? I was largely responsible for establishing the Gatekeepers. I know everything about what happens within.”
“I’ll give you another tidbit: people from Ghost Domain are also moving—they’ll definitely create chaos in three days, so get ready.”
“The primary objective is to stop Qian Mu’s evolution, the secondary task is to weaken the power of the Ghost Domain.”
“This time, we must succeed; there is no room for failure.”
“I’ll also be there to provide support whenever necessary.”
After Chairman Chen finished, he turned and went upstairs, leaving An Que with a distant view of his back. An Que fell silent, sitting on the sofa, eyes vacant, deep in thought.
How could he not know Qian Mu was evolving?
He even knew that Qian Mu’s evolution could be interrupted. In the end, a Godmother stripped of her will, even if she evolved, would merely be a blank slate. If he could control her, it would be akin to stepping onto the peak of life.
With the help of an evolved Godmother, rapidly developing followers would lead him to even greater heights.
No wonder Ghost Domain and that old geezer were so invested—these people weren’t interested in interrupting Qian Mu’s evolution. They were after owning Qian Mu themselves.
As for him…
He had also given up on the notion of killing Qian Mu.
Knowing she harbored hatred towards him, what would happen after the will was erased?
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“Rabbit, the Boss’s mission has been announced. Are you not leaving?”
Atop the building, several masked persons lined up corpses in order, using their bl**d to write something on the rooftop.
The Rabbit-Masked Girl fiddled with a Rubik’s cube, sitting on the edge of the rooftop, swinging her slender legs, entirely ignoring her teammates behind her.
“Rabbit, what are you doing?”
“I’m just thinking about how many people you guys will lose this time.” The Rabbit-Masked Girl leaned back, looking upside down at the one speaking.
“Just kidding! The Boss is so wise; how could you all d*e? I’m not going, that’s way beyond what a delicate girl like me can handle.”
“I heard the Boss is coming too, right?”
“Perfect timing! I heard the Boss likes younger girls.”
“I’m only fifteen, you know. Maybe I’ll go serve the Boss in a few days, hehehe.”
“You have your task; I have mine.”
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Wah wah wah~
