Miliwen stared at Neo. She truly had not expected his response to be so extreme after she had taken the initiative to pull over.
What had appeared to be a mere "car accident" was actually the kinetic impact of a modified vehicle moving at top speed with its spell arrays activated—an impact not at all inferior to a high-tier spell attack. Even with her physique, had she failed to dodge in time, she likely would have been crippled.
Because this was no longer an ordinary car; it was a mini war engine.
Neo pushed open the door and stepped out. First, he walked over to the front of his car, inspecting the "scratch" with meticulous care.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
His heartache was by no means feigned. Anyone familiar with Neo knew the place this car held in his heart.
Still, for modified vehicles of identical cost, the disparity in results was unmistakable. The former was a covert assembly pieced together through illicit channels, whereas Neo's car embodied all his personal connections and favors—just as the exact same array laid out by different array masters would yield vastly different outcomes.
In this collision, the difference in performance was like night and day. Neo was exceedingly pleased with how his beloved car had held up.
"This is a downhill slope. How could you park here? Don't you know passing cars can easily have their brakes fail and crash right into you?"
Inside the taxi, crumpled into scrap metal, a few squirts of the driver's blood spurted out, almost as if in response to Neo's reprimand.
Neo even deliberately bent down to take a look, confirming that the driver had been reduced to a messy paste of minced flesh.
Immediately after, Neo reached out, attempting to pry open the completely mangled trunk.
Miliwen frowned, watching the scene.
With a snap, Neo wrenched the trunk lid open, revealing a burst-open hiking backpack. Scattered all around were numerous fist-sized blue crystals.
It was an intoxicating, breathtaking shade of blue.
Top-grade space-attribute crystals. Any single one could headline a black-market auction, yet here was a whole bagful of them.
In religious circles, space-attribute items—especially crystals of this caliber—were as sensitive and tightly regulated as bringing gunpowder onto a ship in secular society.
During Order's "First Day War" against Samsara, it was precisely the Church of Pamires's Messenger Space that had been used as a springboard to execute the surprise raid.
Neo reached out again and picked up a scrap of leather from the hiking pack. Monster beast leather, fully insulated against detection. If this bag hadn't been ruined... No, even though it was ruined, gathering up these scraps to patch together would still fetch an exorbitant sum.
Extravagant, utterly extravagant. It was nonsensically lavish.
This was no small fry; this was a prize turbot!
Neo stroked his own face, reining in the ravenous, wolf-like red glow gleaming in his eyes.
"Well now, since you were the ones illegally parked, causing my car to get scratched, let's just consider this my repair compensation, shall we?"
Miliwen remained silent.
Neo turned around, pointed a finger at Miliwen, and said, "Silence means consent, right?"
"I'm curious. When did Order's law enforcement become so tyrannical and brutish?"
"Ah, you must not have stepped outside in a long time, then?" Neo chuckled. "Order's enforcement methods have actually gotten much more subtle and gentle nowadays."
"Have they? I don't feel that way. I originally thought we could have a proper talk."
"Talk?" Neo raised his middle finger again. "The moment you flipped this gesture toward the Church Affairs Building of Order, there was no longer any need to talk. No devout believer would ever permit his Church to suffer such an insult."
"Heheh."
Miliwen covered her mouth with a giggle. Amid her laughter, a dark-red starburst flared beneath her feet.
Flicking away his cigarette butt, Neo's figure flashed directly before her.
*Buzz!*
A barrier manifested, blocking Neo's attempt to close the distance.
*Bang!*
Neo slammed hard against the barrier with a dull thud.
Yet in the very next instant, Neo's rebounding body dispersed into a flock of bats, while the ground beneath Miliwen's feet began to ooze foul blood. A putrid stench laden with curses rapidly diffused into the air.
"A bloodthirsty aberrant demon?"
Miliwen floated upward. The spot where she had been standing caved in, generating a terrifying gravitational pull seeking to drag her back down.
A spark of irritation flickered in the woman's eyes. She was annoyed, but she still didn't intend to strike back. A silver pendant broke off from around her neck and fell into the depression. Upon entering the sinkhole, it instantly radiated holy brilliance. Amid a continuous series of sizzling snaps, a dense cloud of white vapor billowed up.
The pulling force vanished. Miliwen landed a short distance away. From the original spot, a silhouette stepped out of the white mist.
Neo shook his right hand, which was bright red as if scalded.
Yet Neo paid it no heed. It was merely a burned hand; that was nothing. As that brat Karen always teased him: it was as though Neo couldn't fight unless he smashed his own body to pieces.
"Are you a bloodthirsty aberrant demon or an Order priest?"
"If I weren't an Order priest, what would I be doing standing here? Just committing highway robbery?"
"Heh." Miliwen pointed at the totaled car. "If you want those things, you can take them."
"Those are already my repair costs, did you forget?" Neo took a deep breath and continued, "What I want from you now is compensation for emotional distress caused by the car crash."
"Unreasonable."
"If you want people to be reasonable with you, then when you go out, behave yourself. Don't make gestures you shouldn't make, and don't give looks you shouldn't give.
"Do you know that a certain kind of person exists in this world who simply walks down the street looking like they're begging for a beating? Luckily for you, you belong to that rare breed."
Miliwen pulled out a new lollipop, peeled off the wrapper, popped it into her mouth for a lick, and said:
"Not going to lend a hand?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Neo leaped backward, dodging a ferocious blade of gale-force energy.
A tall man clad in a trench coat, scarf, and dark sunglasses appeared where Neo had stood. He spoke up: "I was only ordered by my master to pick you up for tea. I never agreed to do anything else for you."
Miliwen licked her lollipop as she asked, "Now someone is preventing me from keeping your master's appointment. What do you plan to do?"
The tall man seemed to sigh. "You go first. I'll hold him back."
"He rammed and killed my servant."
"There is no way I'm helping you kill an Order man here!" After barking at her, the man looked toward Neo. "My apologies. Please understand, I must hold you up for a moment."
Neo cocked his head and pointed a finger at the tall man. "Did your master forget our agreement?"
The man: "How did you recognize—"
Neo tapped his forehead lightly with a finger. "Would you believe me if I said I smelled the stench of a cockroach?"
"This..."
If Karen merely mocked himself for becoming more and more like a "spymaster," Neo was the textbook model of one.
After all, most of Karen's tradecraft had been learned from Neo, and Neo not only had years of experience in the Whip of Order, but also inherited the memories of Philias.
Back in those days, a leader wandering around preaching with a bunch of Light remnants naturally possessed immense covert expertise; otherwise, the major orthodox Churches would have wiped them out long ago.
As for Philias's ultimate "demise," it wasn't entirely Bernard's fault, but rather because they shared a deep emotional attachment to the Dark Moon Island they had built together.
It was emotion that had shackled them.
Whereas Neo... had no emotions.
"Get lost, or you can look forward to the Whip of Order raiding the Ankara Hotel to arrest your master! You should know full well that our Law Enforcement Head, Karen, is more than capable of doing exactly that."
Hearing this warning, Sai'ensi, manservant to Holy Child Salayina of the Moon God Church, could only step aside. He said apologetically to Miliwen, "I am terribly sorry, but I cannot help you. I believe that even if my master were here in person, she would order me to do the same."
"Karen? I just heard about him—no, I saw him. Very handsome. So handsome it makes you want to bite him to pieces."
*Crunch!*
Miliwen bit through the lollipop in her mouth. "Your Moon God Church even makes side deals with the Whip of Order? How fascinating. Seems the losses from your war against Samsara have stripped you of all bottom lines before Order."
Sai'ensi turned away in silence and took his leave.
Miliwen licked her lips and asked, "Next up, are we going to play a completely fair game of chase?"
Neo nodded. He pulled a black reagent vial from his pocket and shook it a few times. The liquid inside reacted instantly. As the vial shattered, a stream of black fluid shot into the sky, bursting into a dark firework.
This was a signal flare. Combat unit priests from the nearby Whip of Order and the Regional Administrative Office would immediately converge on this location.
Neo kept nodding, smiling as he replied:
"A fair game of chase? Do you fucking think I'm out of my mind too?!"
"Hmph!"
Miliwen instantly transformed into a beam of light, darting diagonally forward. Neo didn't move; he simply stood in place, quietly pulled out another cigarette, and lit it.
A moment later, a mound swelled up from the earth. With a shower of loosened dirt, Miliwen's figure reappeared. The one that had shot away earlier was merely a phantom—and Neo had seen through it from the start.
"Heheheh..."
Neo chuckled as he took a drag:
"Your spellcraft is smooth enough, and your sacred artifacts are pretty good, but why do you act like a kid fresh out of kindergarten? You wouldn't happen to be some idiot Holy Child of some Church, would you? Hahaha!"
Miliwen opened her mouth. She wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. She felt the man across from her was joking, yet he also seemed to be mocking her deliberately.
Neo blew out a smoke ring and pointed at his face. "Hey, you should at least have tried attacking me right from the start to see if you could take me out cleanly. Who knows, maybe my strength is actually quite mediocre?"
Miliwen gritted her teeth.
"Not running anymore?" Neo rolled his neck slightly. "The perimeter is going to close in very soon."
Miliwen sighed, seemingly having reached a decision. "Do you know what my mission here was?"
"Ah, what do you mean by that? Turning yourself in?" Neo patted his pockets. "I don't have Alfred's habit of carrying a notebook everywhere, so I can't take your confession."
"The mission given to me was to come to York City and transfer a six-winged angel."
"Damn it!" Neo instantly cursed. "That bastard really did think I lost my mind and deliberately kept me in the dark!"
This left Miliwen somewhat baffled. "What's wrong?"
Putting this together with the tense, secretive planning atmosphere in the department over the past few days, Neo immediately deduced that this was precisely what Karen was preparing for.
"What on earth is wrong with you?" Miliwen pressed.
"Ah, nothing. Keep going." Neo took a deep drag on his cigarette. The existence of a "six-winged angel" shocked his brain far less than the realization that Karen was treating him like a lunatic.
"That is the mission I was given, but my real objective on this trip is to sabotage the operation. I don't want to bring that angel back. I intend to defy the higher-ups' orders."
"Okay, great," Neo nodded with utter indifference.
"Aren't you curious why I'm doing this?"
"Not interested. Are you mentally unwell too?"
Miliwen took a deep breath and steered back to the point: "I want to cooperate with you, just like the Moon God Church did."
Neo spread his palm before him, sliced his fingertip with a fingernail to serve as "pen and paper," and mimed taking notes:
"That's very expensive."
"Name your terms. Within my abilities, I will satisfy them as best I can."
Neo drew a checkmark in blood across his palm.
He displayed it to the woman:
"Deal."
"You must keep my identity secret. Also, I demand to see Karen."
"Honestly, discussing things directly with me amounts to the same thing."
"I know Salayina. I trust that Moon God Church Holy Child's judgment of character."
"Fine."
Neo shook his head helplessly. Why did all of you insist on trusting that guy who was obviously hypocritical yet loved acting so proper?
As for that Holy Child of the Moon God Church, she probably still had no idea her funds had already been laundered away in a joint scheme between Karen and the Regional Chief.
Neo pointed toward his car. "Get in."
Miliwen hesitated for a moment before getting inside.
Neo slipped into the driver's seat and pressed a button. The arrays engaged, forming a sturdy cage around the back seats and locking Miliwen securely inside.
Miliwen didn't resist, nor did panic cross her face; she had clearly anticipated this turn of events.
Neo pulled out another reagent vial and tossed it outside. A second signal flared, signaling that the crisis was resolved and no reinforcements were needed.
Next, Neo walked over to the wrecked taxi, retrieved all the valuables from the trunk, and returned. Just as he prepared to start the luxury car, he noticed the woman seated in the "cage" leaning down to open the expensive red wine he had bought to serve as a prop from the mini-fridge.
"Ma'am, that's at your own expense."
"Your wife must be pitiable, being married to such a stingy man."
"Yes, you're right. If I had made up my mind sooner back then to get her a bottle of repose liquid, she wouldn't have lost herself."
Miliwen paused, then said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made that joke."
"It's fine. If you want us to head straight to the Church Affairs Building for a public execution, you're welcome to keep joking."
Seemingly trying to appease her "driver," Miliwen remarked, "You know, this matter has grave implications. It involves the return of a God."
Hearing this, Neo glanced sideways at his currently empty passenger seat.
A God's return, huh...? That guy loved sitting in that seat; whenever a driver was available, he'd never bother driving himself.
Miliwen took a sip of red wine and let out a sigh:
"They have no idea what it is they are trying so desperately to drag back..."
...
The Dake Tribunal.
Dake had never imagined that his tribunal would one day become a buffet restaurant.
Scores of Whip of Order personnel were bustling in and out, conducting business here, while his own job was to keep the staple food, dessert, and beverage stations continuously stocked.
His wife, Jurist Lucie, had also received a request to assist with the investigation. However, she could do more than him, being capable of offering actual advice and helping formulate plans.
As for him and his four servant subordinates, they had been relegated to head chef and four kitchen assistants.
Lucie emerged from a room on the second floor, rubbing her aching palms. Earlier, she had been working with several array masters inside to calculate the defensive arrays within the mansion, slightly overtaxing her use of the Key to the Rubik's Cube.
Looking down, she saw her husband restocking the staple food section with freshly baked meat floss buns. Wearing an apron and a chef's hat, he looked completely professional.
Dake looked up at his wife on the floor above and called out in a staged whisper, "Darling, I made them to your taste. Remember to eat an extra piece later!"
A smile appeared on Lucie's face. No matter the circumstances, her husband was always so endearing.
In the adjacent room, Richard stood by the desk, helping Alfred and Vic organize the proposals. Afterward, he was responsible for distributing them in batches to discussion groups in other rooms and seeing to it that their returned feedback was collected.
This was no simple chore; it directly affected operational efficiency across departments, yet Richard handled it smoothly.
Alfred stretched his arms, looked over at Richard, and said with a smile, "I originally thought you wouldn't be able to keep up with the pace."
This task had originally been meant for Leon, but Leon was currently occupied with grocery shopping at the coupon mall.
Richard pointed to his forehead and replied, "Originally, I wouldn't have been able to hold out, but Little Jerry is helping out in my head right now."
Vic looked up, glanced at Richard, and asked, "Aren't you worried it'll chew your brain away?"
Richard answered as if it were self-evident, "Evolving toward higher forms is an organism's instinct. So why would it eat my brain?"
Vic: "..."
Choked by that response, Vic could only rest his hand on the fountain pen and ask Alfred, "Can I look at it now?"
Alfred nodded.
Vic picked up the pen, shooting a sideways glance at Richard beside him. He believed Alfred understood his meaning.
Alfred said, "Go ahead."
Vic nodded, thinking to himself: *Richard's clearance priority is actually higher than mine?*
*Yet this fellow hardly looks like part of the inner circle. Surely he didn't just get in through family connections and backdoors?*
Vic pieced the two scrolls concealed inside the pen together on the desk. Richard leaned in to look as well.
After a long pause, Vic let out a heavy sigh and gave Alfred a bitter smile. "If after planning so meticulously, we still have to pay such a horrific price, it really gives one a sense of defeat."
Alfred remarked, "In fact, among the corpses lying in those divine robes, there might be you, me, and him."
Richard blinked and said:
"Then wouldn't it be fine if none of us wore divine robes on the day of the operation?"
Chapter 681