Chapter 87 - 78: Another Attempt

"You wanted to talk?" Zhou Chen perked up and sat on a nearby sofa.

"What is it?"

"Well, that junior of yours probably told you, didn’t she? We’re planning to make a move, taking advantage of the fallout from Fu Qing’s downfall..."

"I know about that."

"And guess what?" Birdman grinned cheerfully.

"What?"

"He actually told me to investigate the Eternal Fire!"

The moment this came up, Birdman started slapping his thigh with glee, laughing so hard he was bent over backward. "I almost couldn’t hold it in! HA... HAHAHAHA... You should’ve seen the look on his face. He was as serious as a middle school dean of discipline... HAHAHAHA..."

"..." Zhou Chen was speechless.

’Fu Qing must have been cursed with the worst luck imaginable. His most capable and trusted subordinate is a mole for the Eternal Fire. The guy secretly wishes he’d drop dead, but on the surface, he puts on a show of loyalty, like ’Don’t worry, boss, you can count on me’...’

’What kind of job is that? A classic case of ’I’ll investigate myself’?’

’But why did he feel like laughing, too?’

’Hmm... It must be because we’re all turncoats.’

’Turncoats are great. Turncoats have promising careers. Turncoats have bright futures.’

After laughing for a good while, Birdman finally stopped, still smiling as he asked, "Did you get into the Special Operations Team?"

"Not that fast. I just submitted the application." Zhou Chen shook his head. "Whether it gets approved is another matter."

"What about that Star Association Operator you took out? The Special Operations Team must be looking for them, right?" Birdman asked again.

"I’m not sure. The Special Operations Team’s movements aren’t something you can just casually inquire about. But I’m guessing they’re definitely searching everywhere for someone," Zhou Chen bluffed casually.

"Don’t worry, we’ve already burned the body to ashes. It was a clean job, you have nothing to worry about," Birdman said.

Zhou Chen nodded. In truth, he hadn’t been worried at all.

’The one who died was an Alchemy-made Person, anyway. That guy, Old Yang, is probably gleefully using the money for his Advancement ritual right now. I bet he’ll be promoted to Tier Two in a few days.’

"You guys wanted me to gather intel on Jiang Che. I did find out some things, but it’s all trivial stuff," he added.

"Oh? Let’s hear it." Birdman looked very interested.

"They say she’s very strict about her work schedule. She works nine-to-five, leaves on the dot, and never works overtime on weekends. If she has to work overtime for an emergency, she insists on triple pay.

"Other than that, she smokes, drinks, likes dogs, and likes to eat cilantro and Houttuynia."

"That’s it?" Birdman raised an eyebrow.

"That’s it."

"This is all just trivial stuff..." Birdman said, taking a puff of his cigar and shrugging nonchalantly. "No matter. Any intel is good intel. At least we can see she’s an extremely self-disciplined person... But she actually likes Houttuynia? She’s hardcore."

’No, she absolutely hates cilantro and Houttuynia, and she’s a total workaholic...’ Zhou Chen complained internally. On the surface, he asked calmly, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Birdman stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray, looking at him with an enigmatic smile. "Do you yearn for Our Lord’s favor?"

"Of course!"

Zhou Chen answered without hesitation, his tone pious, "It would be my greatest honor to receive Our Lord’s favor!"

"Rest assured, the Church rewards based on merit. As long as your contributions are great enough, you will receive Our Lord’s boon. He will grant you Power beyond your imagination, for example..."

Birdman stood up and walked to an open space in the room. A black flame flickered deep in his pupils. Then, a pair of wings made of wicked fire slowly unfurled from his back. Each feather burned with black flames, looking utterly demonic.

He flapped his wings slightly, creating a wave of scorching heat. He levitated three feet off the ground and explained, "This place is equipped with an Essence Shielding Device, so the Essence Fluctuation won’t be detected. And what you’re seeing is the gift Our Lord bestowed upon me.

"A normal Ascender possesses only one Extraordinary Ability. They can only develop more Derivative Abilities through continuous learning and mastery. But we are different. The Power bestowed by Our Lord causes our Extraordinary Abilities to undergo a qualitative transformation, making them more powerful and bringing us closer to Him."

’This is actually a sign of Assimilation by the Abyss. To put it bluntly, it’s contamination by the Power of an Evil God...’ Zhou Chen knew exactly what was happening.

’Corrupted, but not completely.’

’Any believer "baptized" by the Power of the King of Chaos has their Soul tainted by Abyssal Power. The more baptisms they undergo and the higher their tier, the closer their essence becomes to that of an Abyssal Creature. Sooner or later, they will be completely corrupted and fall into the Abyss.’

’Those flames are the Chaos Fire, which brings death and despair. The light and heat they emit carry a psychic contaminant. Once granted this Ability, what’s the difference between them and an Abyssal Creature?’

But, knowing all this was one thing; Zhou Chen wouldn’t falter when it was time to act. He put on a fanatical expression of awe and admiration.

"It’s... so beautiful!"

Birdman landed gracefully and retracted his wings of wicked fire. He smiled, "When you infiltrate the Star Association and perform a great service, you too will receive Our Lord’s grace."

"But that will take a long time." Zhou Chen looked regretful, as if frustrated he couldn’t receive the Gods’ grace immediately.

"No, you might have a chance very soon."

Birdman spread his hands and said helplessly, "Some of our recent actions have been too bold and have attracted the Star Association’s full attention. They’re definitely preparing all sorts of countermeasures. If you can find out what they’re planning, it would count as a great service."

"Okay, leave it to me!"

Zhou Chen declared with stern and righteous conviction:

"I will do whatever it takes to infiltrate the Star Association!"

"I believe you’ll be able to do it soon," Birdman said approvingly. He had firsthand experience with Zhou Chen’s competence.

’It’s just that, for a moment, the scene felt a little familiar...’

·

Back at the Star Association, Zhou Chen tossed the Holy Fire Ring to the research department for a thorough inspection. The result was that the ring was genuinely just a Token, containing not a single shred of Power. It might have even been mass-produced in a factory...

’This is insane. It doesn’t even have an anti-counterfeit serial number. Doesn’t that mean I can use this thing to go around bluffing and swindling members of the Eternal Fire all over the World?’

Zhou Chen’s mind went down a slippery slope.

’This plan seems totally viable...’

Taking the Holy Fire Ring back to his dorm, Zhou Chen took a shower, then lay on his bed and closed his eyes to begin his Meditation. His consciousness arrived in the sea of collective subconscious.

After a week, the cooldown for entering that strange space seemed to be over. When he touched a Wish Bubble, he once again had the sensation of being able to extend his consciousness, but he suppressed it each time.

After a few attempts, by following his instincts, he finally found a way to enter that space of white mist without needing to touch a Wish Bubble.

’All I have to do is relax and imagine my consciousness ascending, with that space as my destination.’

And so, everything became ethereal. In his vision, a thick fog swept in from all directions, churning and surging violently.

Then, as if a curtain on a stage was being drawn, the mist slowly dissipated, revealing the scene behind it.

A beautiful, dry fountain stood silently, its age unknown. There was nothing else, only an endless, hazy mist on all sides, creating a scene of immense emptiness and silence.

Zhou Chen walked over to the fountain and examined it closely, his face full of confusion.

’What on earth is this thing?’