Chapter 175 - 134: Retreating to the Back of the Group

The Lord of Joy.

Its power stems from all worldly desire, making it the Abyssal King with the most profound influence on the human world.

This "joy" wasn’t just about lust. To be precise, it referred to ultimate pleasure and ultimate stimulation. As a result, the Lord of Joy had more followers than any other Abyssal King.

Six years ago, in a city in Eastern South America, forty thousand people were corrupted during a frenzied ritual held by the followers of the Joyful Holy Sect. They degenerated into monsters that knew only how to procreate, plunging into an Abyss called Heaven—which was, in reality, Hell. In the end, the Star Association deployed weapons of mass destruction and completely leveled the city.

Two years ago, an explorer of Mysticism traveling through the Southeast Asian Region accidentally discovered a coastal town where every resident was a Fanatic of the Lord of Joy. Even more incredibly, the local branch of the Star Association had been completely wiped out, its members all converted into followers of Joy.

The explorer secretly contacted the Stars Association Headquarters. The Association ultimately dispatched three of the Uncrowned, along with the Ninth Regiment of the Raven Legion, to handle the situation. They captured and executed nearly three thousand followers of Joy and completely dismantled the local branch—as its corrupted members had been plotting a grand carnival of bliss.

Beyond these, there were the Desire Church, the All Spirits Association, the Paradise of Bliss, the Pleasure Club, the Sanctuary of Pleasure... On record alone, there were nearly three hundred Abyss Churches connected to the Lord of Joy, making them the most numerous type.

This showed that the Lord of Joy’s corruption was omnipresent and impossible to guard against. Even Star Association members with multiple layers of protection were not safe.

The Desire Demon that had now appeared in Jinzhu was one of the Lord of Joy’s top commanders, the very Demon Monarch worshipped by the Desire Church.

The appearance of a Tier Five Monarch immediately raised the Star Association’s alert level to its maximum. A Crowned King was dispatched to take command, and all manner of detection instruments were activated at full power to track the Desire Demon’s whereabouts.

"But why would the Desire Demon rescue Liu Hanyan, though?"

In the office, Zhou Chen lay on the sofa. He set down his phone, which was displaying intelligence on the case, and began to stroke Xiao Ju, who was curled up on his stomach, as he fell deep into thought.

According to the files, Liu Hanyan was a follower of another Abyssal King—the Monarch of Blood. She had a contractual deal with the Blood Demon, not the Lord of Joy... ’What value could she possibly have to be worth a Demon Monarch personally saving her?’

’It couldn’t just be a favor to the Blood Demon, could it?’

After a long moment of contemplation, Zhou Chen closed his eyes and made a wish in his heart. ’I wish to know Liu Hanyan’s current location.’

Within the Wish Bottle, the stars he had accumulated over the past half-month by sharing files all over the internet and helping people fulfill their wishes began to glow brightly. One, two, three...

By the time Zhou Chen snapped out of his astonishment, a full five stars had lit up. They fused together in his Spiritual World, transforming into a map of Jinzhu City with a conspicuous, flashing dot marking a specific location.

’Five stars... Such a high cost must mean there’s interference... Is this considered a divination or prophecy-type Skill in Mysticism?’ Zhou Chen mused. With a mental command, he zoomed in on the map to get a closer look, memorized the marked house, then opened his eyes. He pulled out his phone, opened a map app, and found the detailed location.

’So it’s in a wealthy neighborhood...’

Next, he logged into the Star Association database on his phone and looked up the owner of the house.

When he saw the owner’s information, he froze.

—Qin Xu, male, forty-two years old. His wife died of a terminal illness three years ago, and his daughter passed away from a terminal illness six months ago.

’Qin Xu... Isn’t that Dr. Qin, the popular Mysticism content creator?’

Zhou Chen frowned and quickly scrolled down through the file, looking for the information on Qin Xu’s daughter, Qin Duoduo.

—Qin Duoduo, seventeen years old, died six months ago from an incurable disease. Post-mortem examination confirmed it was a hereditary terminal illness from her mother’s side of the family.

When he scrolled to a photo of Qin Duoduo from when she was alive, Zhou Chen’s finger paused, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

’She looks... a bit like Liu Hanyan?’

Liu Hanyan was more mature than Qin Duoduo, but the contours of their faces were indeed very similar.

Zhou Chen thought for a moment, then patted Xiao Ju, signaling for it to move. He stood up, walked over to Jiang Che’s office chair, sat down, and expertly typed in the password to log into the Star Association database.

—As the head of the Special Operations Team, Jiang Che had left for an emergency meeting long ago.—

’Qin Xu had a sugar baby before, a "goddaughter." She looked familiar, too...’

Zhou Chen’s fingers flew across the keyboard. Within minutes, he had used the Sky Net system to filter out all surveillance footage related to Qin Xu and began watching it on triple speed.

After a while, he suddenly hit the spacebar, pausing the rapidly changing footage on the screen.

’Besides Liu Ying, the woman who sold me my house, he’s also involved with three other women. They’ve been seen going in and out of hotels and his home multiple times... Is he keeping four of them?’

’Damn. One in the morning, one at noon, one in the afternoon, and one at night, on repeat for a week. And at his age, too. He’s really living it up. I wonder if those health supplements for middle-aged men they sell online actually work.’

’Hm... just as I thought. Liu Ying’s eyes resemble Qin Duoduo’s. This woman, Sun Shan, her nose is just like Qin Duoduo’s... and this one here...’

Now that he had a lead, Zhou Chen worked with renewed vigor. He put his superb Photoshop skills to use, taking the facial features from Liu Ying and the other women that resembled Qin Duoduo’s and transplanting them onto a picture of Liu Hanyan, then making a few adjustments.

The resulting composite face was an 80 to 90 percent match for Qin Duoduo.

He sucked in a sharp breath.

Leaning back against the chair, he felt as if he had just unraveled a major piece of the puzzle.

’It’s like something out of a movie with a psychotic Killing Maniac, a mad Alchemist, or an evil Physician. Did Qin Xu go insane from the grief of losing his daughter? Is he planning to use these women’s... parts... for some forbidden experiment to piece his daughter back together?’

’This isn’t a damn Lego set or a Gundam model. You can’t just piece a person together. If he really tried, organ rejection would be the first giant question mark.’

’But with the Desire Demon involved, maybe it could actually work.’

’The question is, what kind of *thing* would be created in the end? Demons aren’t so kind-hearted. They always have their own motives and demands when they make contracts with humans. They might demand money, flesh, pain, or even a Soul...’

’Of course, there is another type of Demon that demands almost nothing. They just want to watch the show.’

’The odds of this being a coincidence are slim. Besides, the wish confirmed that Liu Hanyan is at Qin Xu’s house. I have to report this to Jiang Che and have her send a team to search the place. Given the circumstances, it’s no big deal even if it turns out to be a false alarm...’

’...I’ll just say that on a whim, I suddenly remembered the content creator I met when I bought my house half a month ago. I was bored, so I looked up his personal information and noticed his deceased daughter looked a lot like his mistresses and Liu Hanyan. I did a quick Photoshop job and realized something was wrong...’

With his mind racing, Zhou Chen quickly finalized his excuse and sent an urgent message to Jiang Che, attaching his composite image and a written explanation.

Three minutes later, Jiang Che replied, telling him to go with the White House team to investigate.

The life instantly drained from Zhou Chen’s face.

·

"Brother-in-law—cough, Zhou Chen, you’re coming with us, too?"

Shane approached him in the mission prep area.

"It was my theory, after all, so I don’t have a problem with going on the mission..." Zhou Chen said, looking around as he walked. "But if my theory is right, doesn’t that mean we’ll be facing the Desire Demon head-on?"

That was a Tier Five Abyss Monarch. A single glance would probably be enough to spiritually corrupt all of them, turning them into obedient little puppies yapping as they ran over to beg for pleasure.

"Don’t worry. Our analysis indicates the Desire Demon in Jinzhu is just a projection, and its tier is not high. The director of the Field Operations Department will accompany you to ensure your safety," Jiang Che’s calm voice suddenly came through his earpiece, causing Zhou Chen to breathe a sigh of relief.

The mission was covert, so the team couldn’t be conspicuous. Their only vehicle was an unremarkable black sedan.

"Hello, my name is Morishima Ryoko. It’s a pleasure to work with you."

During the drive, the girl from Yingzhou in the passenger seat turned around and gave Zhou Chen a friendly smile.

"You’ve probably already seen our files, but I’ll introduce myself anyway. I’m Fujiwara Shunsuke," the young man driving said with a smile.

"I’m Heidi, Shane’s big sis," the boisterous girl from Russia beside him said, clapping Shane on the shoulder. "I’ve got this kid’s back."

"A pleasure," Zhou Chen replied with an impeccable, polite smile.

"I heard you received the title of Honorary Knight from the Laine Kingdom. Is that true?" Heidi asked suddenly.

’Hardly anyone knows about that... Ugh, Shane must have told them.’ Zhou Chen nodded. "Duke Elizabeth awarded me an honorary medal."

"In that case, can we have a sparring match sometime?" Heidi’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Zhou Chen knew full well she was a fierce, pure-blooded Russian Berserker, so he politely demurred. "I’m not much of a fighter, personally. Your combat skills are superb, Ms. Heidi. I’d be no match for you."

"Ha! You’ve got a good eye."

Heidi grinned triumphantly. After a moment, she lowered her voice. "Since you’ve got such a good eye, I’ll give you a heads-up: be careful around Baron. He’s going to pick a fight with you sooner or later."

"Why?" Zhou Chen asked, confused. ’I don’t think I’ve ever offended him, have I?’

"It’s because you’re an Honorary Knight of the Laine Kingdom. You’re not from a major family, so you probably don’t know how valuable that title is.

Let me put it this way: if any one of us managed to get that title, our family’s internal resources would be funneled to us. When the older generation passes, we could inherit an even larger fortune than our own parents did."

Heidi threw up her hands. "Baron is incredibly proud and arrogant. Every time he meets a talented Ascender, he insists on fighting them to prove he’s superior. You’re an Honorary Knight, a title everyone dreams of, so of course you’re his next target."

"Sounds like a pain..." Zhou Chen clicked his tongue.

Before long, the team arrived at their destination. They approached Qin Xu’s residence and performed various scans on the villa, but found nothing suspicious.

"Captain, no life signs detected. We can proceed with the investigation," reported Fujiwara Shunsuke, the team’s technician.

"Move out. Stay sharp," Xu Li ordered in a low voice, taking the lead as he walked toward the villa.

At that moment, the map in Zhou Chen’s Spiritual World was still present. The glowing dot on it hadn’t moved at all, indicating that Liu Hanyan was right here.

He thought for a moment, then fell back to the rear of the group.