In the evening.
The sun gradually sets, and the lazy, dim light slants across the exquisite buildings in the central area. The rows of high-rise buildings create shadows that seem symmetrical with the light, giving people a soul-stirring visual impact.
"Jack, you can come and visit more often if you have time. If there is nothing urgent, I will usually be at home."
General Vance sent Chen Lun to the door and said with a smile.
After a day of getting along harmoniously, the relationship between the two became closer.
"No problem, General."
Chen Lun responded with a polite smile.
He held the silver cane in his left hand and shook his right hand gently. A bottle of red wine quietly appeared in his palm. The dark green bottle with withered flowers was very exquisite. There was an ivory horse head on the oak cork at the mouth of the bottle.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to give you a gift when I came to visit you... This is a wonderful wine that I brewed myself. It has the effect of curing diseases and prolonging life. You and your wife can drink more."
Chen Lun handed over the red wine.
General Vance had no resistance to fine wine, and with his straightforward personality, he took the bottle of wine directly.
"I didn't think you had that ability, Jack."
The general was a little surprised, then smiled.
"Well, you drank a bottle of my favorite wine today, so I'll accept it."
Chen Lun smiled, put on his hat, and bowed slightly to the general.
"I'll take my leave, General."
He turned and left.
But before he had walked far, two paper airplanes flew crookedly overhead and landed on the ground in front of him one after another.
Chen Lun looked in the direction from which the paper plane came, and through the iron fence, he saw General Vance's two daughters half-hiding behind the windowsill at the window on the third floor of the apartment, looking at him shyly.
Chen Lun bent down and picked up the two paper airplanes. He opened them and saw words written on each of them in two different colors of ink. The blue ink read:
"Dear sir, can we be friends?"
The content of the other paper airplane was written in black:
"Sir, Guli Lenz has fallen in love with you. She has told me no less than a hundred times that she has been attracted by your handsomeness and gentlemanly temperament... And I'll tell you a little secret. The reason why she suddenly smiled foolishly during lunch was because she fantasized about having sex with you. Oh my God! Why do I have such a slutty sister? Of course, if you are willing, I would also like to be friends with you, okay, sir?"
Chen Lun couldn't help but smile, and looked up again, and found that the two girls were still looking at him with blushing faces and anticipation in their eyes.
He suddenly felt a little emotional. This might be the best time for girls. They always have an inexplicable liking for good-looking members of the opposite sex.
Taking off his hat, Chen Lun nodded slightly towards the window on the third floor of the apartment, then turned and left. Looking at his back, the two girls shouted excitedly.
"Pasha, did he nod just now? You saw it too!"
"Yeah, Mr. Jack even smiled at us."
They looked at each other and smiled foolishly.
Perhaps it was because the noise was too loud and startled that it soon attracted Mrs. Cornet's attention. Suddenly, the mother's angry rebuke could be heard from outside the door:
"Be quiet, you two crazy girls! You don't act like ladies at all. How are you going to get married in the future?!"
The two little girls were startled and quickly closed the window and jumped into bed.
Chen Lun was on his way back.
He recalled the topic he discussed with General Vance, including a series of experimental behaviors of Prince Dazlet in the occupied area. He suddenly had a new guess.
'Before the Western War began, the prince had been trying to make this happen... Even the Duke's assassination had hidden secrets, and it was most likely a drama directed and acted by the prince himself.'
Chen Lun had suspected the prince's motives at the time, but he really couldn't guess.
Now, he seemed to understand something.
'Could it be that... the prince had been planning to implement the Light Seed Project since then? He launched the Western War and seized the land of the United Kingdom of Anlong in order to facilitate experiments there... using the occupied area as a 'petri dish' for the Light Seed Project? But what is the ultimate goal of the Light Seed Project? To enhance military strength and prepare for the expansion of the empire? Or to resist the tide of spiritual pollution...'
Chen Lun's eyes were deep.
He always had a hunch that there was a deeper truth behind this matter that was unknown to the public.
*
*
*
The prince's summons came faster than Chen Lun had expected. The next day, Chief Babaye came to the Kangkai Church area and conveyed the prince's intention to him.
"Mr. Jack, the prince has important secret matters to attend to and is summoning members of the Imperial Court of Justice... Please be sure to go to the meeting room in the palace before 2pm."
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for going there in person, Mr. Butler."
Chen Lun met with Babaye in the conference room of the church area. After a brief exchange of words, Chen Lun personally saw him off.
Looking at the steward's back as he quickly left, Chen Lun stood there and took a deep breath.
"Is the main storyline of the dark world coming..."
He turned back to the conference room and called Connie, asking her to inform Flo Yin that he had something urgent to do in the afternoon and would go to the palace.
Connie agreed and immediately lifted her skirt to salute.
It was soon afternoon.
Chen Lun rode in the carriage still driven by Golov to the palace. After arriving at the destination, a young steward came up to him and whispered to him that the prince had temporarily summoned the heads of the various royal cities of the Church of the Seven Gods. Because Chen Lun's other identity was the head of the royal city of the Kangkai Council, he was notified here.
Although he was a little surprised, he also felt that it was reasonable. After all, he had already investigated the root cause of the turmoil in the spiritual world. The next step according to the prince's response was to gather the strength of all major forces and try to curb the spread of the contaminated insect tide.
Passing through two huge arched doors, he followed the young steward through many twists and turns and arrived at the conference room on the side of the banquet hall.
At this moment, the prince had already taken his seat on the main chair. On both sides of the square conference table were the leaders of the Church of the Seven Gods and the chief judges of the Imperial Inquisition. In the rows of audience seats further away were the ordinary members of the Inquisition.
Logically, Chen Lun should have sat in the audience, but because of his status as a member of the parliament, he was qualified to sit at the conference table and participate in the meeting with all the high-ranking officials.
"You're here, Jack, sit down."
The prince turned around, smiled friendly and gestured with his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chen Lun saluted, and then, in the gaze of a group of important figures, sat down on the seat of the Kangkai Council.
After waiting for a while, when almost everyone had arrived, the general manager Babaye closed the door, and the light around became a little dim.
"To make a long story short, I won't waste time on the opening remarks."
Prince Dazlet slowly stood up, put his hands behind his back, and spoke calmly.
"According to the in-depth investigation of the Imperial Inquisition, the root cause of the turmoil in the spiritual world has been found. It is the ancient god who was born in ancient times... 'Father of Darkness' Desterdak."
The faces of everyone present became much more serious.
The high-ranking people at the conference table knew exactly what this honorable name meant. It was an ancient god, a terrifying being with a long history that could rival the gods at the end of the sequence.
"We don't know her purpose. After all, we cannot guess what the gods are thinking. Maybe she covets the human world? Or maybe she has already lost control and fallen into a chaotic and stupid state of confusion. All her actions are based on instinct... But no matter what the truth is, given the current situation of the empire, there is nothing we can do about this ancient god."
The prince glanced at everyone and sighed softly.
"I have already reported this to my father. She has told me not to provoke the 'Father of Darkness' easily, and not to even alarm her... So what we can do now is to try our best to curb the pollution tide spreading from the dark world... At this stage, from the deep to the shallow layers of the spirit world, we can find traces of pollution sources and various polluting creatures. They have affected the world through the turbulence of the spirit world. If we can't control the situation, it will cause terrible harm to the empire and even the entire continent!"
"Your Highness, forgive me for being blunt... The territory of the spirit world is too vast, and its boundaries have not yet been explored. Even if the Seven Gods Church combines the shelter and the Imperial Inquisition, it is difficult to cover the entire spirit world. How can we defend it?"
A middle-aged man with short brown hair spoke up at the History and Ritual Association's seat.
She is the president of the Royal City branch, Eberhard, a Saint of Sequence Four of the Earth System.
"President Eberhard, what you said makes sense, but the fact is that if we don't take timely measures, the final result will only be a disaster for the continent... a disaster far greater than the Red Disaster!"
The prince knocked on the table.
Dongdong's voice echoed in the conference room, and everyone present could feel the oppressive atmosphere.
"Even if we can't defend against it on all fronts, we must try to contain the pollution as much as possible and delay it as long as possible, so that we can buy more time to come up with other solutions."
"But Your Majesty, I'm afraid we don't have enough manpower... Even if we draw from the personnel stationed in various churches and add elite teams of extraordinary people, we still can't get many people. But according to the information in the files, the pollution from the end of darkness is in the tens of millions, and it is still continuously producing and giving birth to new waves of pollution every minute and every second."
At the Hailing group's seat, a dark-skinned woman in her thirties said in a deep voice.
She had her hair in thick braids, a circular tattoo with a horizontal line on her cheek, and thick dark green lipstick on her lips.
This is also a Sequence Four Saint, High Priest Camacho of the Hailing Group.
Everyone present fell silent.
Camacho was telling the truth, and there was another important reason, which was that most people in the Church of the Seven Gods were unwilling to contribute. After all, this kind of thing was full of uncertainty and it was likely to undermine the extraordinary combat power in the church, thus leading to a decline in overall strength.
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion."
At this moment, everyone suddenly heard a magnetic young voice.
Turning around, the young man in the black hat named Jack was speaking at the seat of the Kangkai Council.
"Go ahead, Jack."
The prince nodded slightly.
Chen Lun glanced at the many elders at the conference table and said in a deep voice:
"Perhaps we can expand the acceptance of 'Undead Strangers' and make them the main force to resist pollution... These undead have the characteristics of being unable to die, and are extremely enthusiastic about adventure and fighting, which makes them perfect for us."
"Main force? Mr. Jackspeight, you may be taking it for granted... The strength of the polluted creatures is extraordinary, especially the Didak insect man called 'Son of the Ancient God'. Even the Mid-Sequence Transcendents have difficulty fighting against them. Let those weak foreigners serve as the main force, and they will not be able to resist at all."
Eberhard said calmly.
"President Eberhard, I don't think so."
Chen Lun chuckled.
"The Undead Strangers are very weak at this stage, but they have great potential. Have you ever seen someone advance from Sequence 9 to Sequence 7 in just one month? I have seen him... He is my student Polaris, and he is also a member of the Undead."
He said, spreading his hands.
"As long as we give them enough pressure and a certain amount of time, this group of undead will be able to become an immortal 'high wall', blocking the spirit world and protecting us from the pollution tide."
"Like during the Red Disaster? Our church also recruited a lot of undead strangers as mercenaries to fight against the Red Disaster Area... The effect was indeed quite good."
The head of the Moon Church's Royal City, an elderly woman shrouded in black nun uniform, spoke.
Her name is Olmedo. She was once a "Moonlight Sister" in the monastery. Later, she was transferred out by the church and became the head of the Royal City branch.
"I have also heard about Mr. Jack's deeds. It is said that in the Western War, you relied on a 2,000-man 'Undead Stranger Corps' to turn the tide and regain a lot of advantages for the Imperial Army."
At the seat of the Star Sect, a silver-haired woman with a holy yet charming appearance spoke. She smiled gently at Chen Lun and spoke in a pleasant voice.
The saint's name is Papa, and he is the chief priest of the stars who came to the royal city in recent years and serves as the person in charge.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty Papa."
Chen Lun responded with a polite smile.
"Mr. Jack, this is indeed a good idea, but I have a question... Most of the Undead Strangers are still at a low sequence. How can they penetrate the cracks in the spirit world and enter it? If they can't even do this, how can they resist the pollution tide?"
High Priest Camacho of the Hailing Group cast a glance over and asked indifferently.
"That's a tricky question."
Eberhard echoed.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Chen Lun thought to himself how shameless they were. These high-ranking people were actually pretending to be ignorant. Which one of them didn't have potions or props that could enhance perception
Otherwise, why would players of the previous version 2.0 be able to participate in the main storyline
Therefore, these guys probably intend to blackmail the royal family and get some benefits before they agree to the plan to resist the pollution tide.
Chen Lun glanced at the prince, who kept smiling and nodded at him, as if to show encouragement or tacit approval.
He then continued:
"I do have some say in this. After all, I am also a member of the Imperial Inquisition. When I enter the spirit world, I have a special potion that can temporarily improve my perception... I have a deep understanding of this potion. Its first edition formula is not very precious and can even be found in many documents. So I believe that in addition to the Inquisition and the Council of Justice, the other major churches can easily prepare this potion... At that time, we only need to let the Undead Strangers pay the cost price. Most of them will be happy to buy it and take the initiative to participate in the action to resist the pollution tide."
Camacho of the Hailing Group raised his eyebrows and looked at Chen Lun meaningfully.
Many of the high-ranking officials at the conference table smiled, as if they found it interesting. As for the hundreds of judges in the audience, they couldn't help but whisper to each other. They clearly saw that this proposal was highly feasible, and they also had some respect for the young man named Jack.
“That’s a good suggestion, I think it’s feasible.”
Prince Dazlet finally spoke.
His words finalized the final direction of the plan. The chief judges at the conference table agreed one after another. Among the Seven Gods Churches, the Sun Church, the Moon Church and the Kangkai Council were of the same opinion. As for the remaining four, they had no choice but to agree.
"In that case, everyone should report the plan and try to start implementing it within a week... At the same time, I will send people to assign this important task to every extraordinary force in the empire. No one can evade responsibility, because this is an unprecedented disaster..."
The prince said in a deep voice.
*
*
*
The meeting lasted the entire afternoon. After finalizing the specific direction, everyone continued to discuss details from all aspects and make improvements.
The meeting did not end until around 5:30 in the evening.
What Chen Lun didn't expect was that after the meeting, the prince actually kindly invited him to ride in a carriage and planned to take him back.
Although Golov was waiting outside the palace, since it was the prince who invited him, Chen Lun did not dare to refuse and agreed.
Only when he sat in the prince's car did he feel what luxury was. The interior was glittering with gold, almost all of it inlaid with gold. There were also various jewels and diamonds decorated on the surfaces of tables, chairs and wooden cabinets by skilled craftsmen.
"Jack, you performed well in the meeting. I was right about you."
Prince Dazlait said with appreciation, and personally took out a bottle of golden wine from the jewelry cabinet-like freezer and poured a glass for Chen Lun.
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. This is just what I should do."
After Chen Lun received it, he pretended to be flattered and thanked him modestly. In fact, he knew very well that even without his proposal, the final result of the meeting would be the same, because this was the main plot of the previous life.
So I just "hinted" at something that was going to happen anyway, and took all the credit on myself.
The prince shook his head.
Then she started chatting with him in a calm tone.
"Jack, what do you think of the Royal City?"
"It is very prosperous, Your Majesty."
Chen Lun took a sip of wine and responded softly.
"It is indeed prosperous. Historians say that Closter is the most prosperous and civilized city on the continent in the past tens of thousands of years..."
There was a faint smile on Dazlet's lips.
The two spent the rest of the trip in a relatively relaxed atmosphere. Although Chen Lun did not know the prince's specific intentions, he cooperated with him and even had a pleasant conversation with him.
After some casual chatting, Chen Lun didn't know why, but he always felt that His Royal Highness the Prince had a lot of things hidden in his heart, and was unwilling to reveal them, but at the same time he gave people a contradictory feeling of wanting to be understood.
Chen Lun also learned about some of Dazlait's lofty ambitions. The prince wanted to share his father's worries, build a good empire and defend the empire. For this, he bore tremendous pressure and burden, but had no way to vent it.
On the other hand, although Dazlet had great power and position due to his status as a prince, he also lost a lot... He had no friends since he was a teenager, or it could be said that he should not have any friends.
From the tone of the prince's voice, it can be seen that Dazlet seems to really want to have a confidant who can listen to him talk. Even if he does not participate in the discussion, just listening is enough.
At this time, Chen Lun tacitly expressed that he was willing to act as such a listener, even though he was not yet the prince's friend.
"Jack, I think you are, do you know why?"
The prince smiled.
Chen Lun shook his head.
"Because you understand me."
The prince pointed at him with the hand holding the wine glass.
"This is a wonderful intuition. I think you understand me better than anyone else."
"… "
Chen Lun found that the prince was looking at him with a determined look, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
At this time, the carriage was slowly driving towards the Fire Pattern Square.
A warning suddenly came from his spiritual intuition, and Chen Lun raised his silver cane the next second.
clang!
A golden light flashed, and a huge force came from the staff.
At the same time, there was a loud bang, and the carriage was instantly torn into pieces.
"Enemy attack!"
"Protect His Royal Highness!"
The guards shouted, and accompanied by the neighing of horses, there were noises and screams all around.
Chen Lun couldn't help but be stunned. How could someone dare to assassinate the prince? !