Chapter 700: Lockdown!

Chapter 700: Lockdown!

"The weather is really wonderful today, meow."

Pu'er sat atop little Conna's head, occasionally looking up at the rare blue sky, then glancing around the morning market.

"Woof!"

Kevin barked in agreement, his leash held tightly in little Conna's hand.

A white-haired little girl, a cat on her head, walking a dog;

This combination walking down the street drew an exceptionally high rate of turning heads.

York City was a modern metropolis, its exterior glittering and bright, yet in various corners, vice still lay hidden, and underground gang activities ran rampant; for a little girl to run around the streets like this was not a very safe thing.

However, with this particular combination, even if they did encounter some dark and evil forces, they would surely make those forces clearly perceive what true darkness and evil meant!

Not only could they ignore the unsafe factors of the secular world, but they could even dismiss certain threats from the church circles as nothing; just a moment ago, they had even visited the black market to buy some necessary ritual materials.

This was... the confidence of keeping a dragon at home!

"Eat that, I want to eat that, meow."

Pu'er directed Conna to go buy things; having eaten exquisite food for too long, there were still times when she missed these street-side delicacies.

With every item purchased, little Conna had to take out her wallet, dig out a reall from inside, and then receive the change, which she found very troublesome; she really wanted to smash the whole wallet of banknotes right into the face of the stall owner before her.

But she could not do so, because the cat on her head had said before they left the house that this was to bring her to experience the life of ordinary people, that this was a form of training.

Fine, training.

Little Conna knew well that training always made one feel miserable.

Moreover, she felt that smashing money into someone's face was an insult to that person's dignity.

Pu'er would take the first bite; if she found it delicious, she would take another, and then to save room in her stomach, she would pass it to Conna. After Conna frowned and took a few bites, the rest would be given to Kevin.

It seemed that shopping with females always required the males to bear a greater burden.

By the time they finished walking down the snack street, Kevin's stomach was already stuffed, bloated and round.

Conna, who originally disliked human food, because she had recently been forced to take "medicine" constantly, suddenly found that human food had become delicious.

She would also observe what Karen usually ate at home, and then have the maid, Xili, make the same for her.

In the past, one batch of wontons wrapped by Xili was enough for the young master to eat for half a month; now, she wished she could wrap a fresh batch every single day. Little Conna was practically a wonton assassin.

This had once caused Xili to worry that the child would eat too much and burst her stomach, but later, seeing that she was fine no matter how much she ate, Xili felt reassured.

After all, though she was just a young dragon, the sheer magnitude of that physical body already surpassed the understanding of ordinary mortals.

"Let's go rest, there's a bench over there, meow."

Little Conna followed Pu'er's directions and sat down on the bench, an ice cream she had just bought still held in her hand.

She held it up, letting Pu'er atop her head take a lick, and then she took a lick herself.

Kevin lay on his side on the ground, exposing his belly, praying that his stomach and intestines could digest quickly.

"This is a human city, different from what you interacted with in the Earth Vault Cult, right?" Pu'er asked.

Little Conna shook her head; she had just seen the elegant and wealthy people sitting in luxury cars, and she had also seen the sallow-faced beggars sitting at the entrances of small alleys. She answered:

"No difference."

"Well, you've already risen to a higher level, let's take it slow."

"Oh." Conna nodded, taking another lick of the ice cream.

"Oh, isn't that Big Butt, meow."

Pu'er spotted Xili, who was carrying a basket of items, and Xili had also seen Pu'er and the others sitting on the bench.

"Miss Pu'er, why did you all come out!"

Xili pushed her bicycle over and asked very anxiously.

As the maid of the Karen household, Xili knew very well the extraordinary nature of this home, and she had seen too many inconceivable things, understanding in her heart the uniqueness of this household. Yet within her self-operating worldview, she still maintained her own system; for instance, cats, dogs, and little girls all needed protection.

"Out for a stroll, meow." Pu'er looked at Xili's basket. "Buying so many things, is Karen hosting guests again?"

"No, it's just that Mr. Mavalio's household won't have domestic help coming to the door for another two days, so I still have to cook for them during these two days."

"But there's no need to buy this much, right? Is their family hosting a banquet?"

"I made quite a few dishes last night... when I went to clear the kitchen this morning, I found not a single bit was left."

"Oh, two gluttons."

Neither Gasper nor Mavalio were locals of Wien, so they had no special attachment to bean paste. Furthermore, Xili's culinary and pastry skills were inherited from Karen and Pu'er respectively, allowing them to enjoy their meals thoroughly.

What Xili did not know was that after the high and mighty Son of God tasted the food she made, he no longer harbored any resistance toward moving into his fiancée's unit dormitory building.

After all, Karen lived in the dormitory building too; getting Karen to cook for him was a bit difficult as he was very busy, but he could go to his maid's place to hitch a meal.

"Miss Pu'er, are you going back? Let me take you back first. I'm worried it's not safe for you to wander outside for too long."

"Big Butt, I think you need to pay attention to safety more than we do."

"What

"Let us go home, meow."

...

"Let us go home?"

Karen looked at the black crow in his hand. The transmissions sent by black crows were divided into distinct clearance levels, and the one he had just received belonged to the highest level within the regional Whiplash of Order, meaning the situation was exceedingly grave.

"I have one here too." Neo, sitting across from Karen, also caught a black crow that had sought him out. "Letting us go home immediately."

"Is it like last time, where we must maintain radio silence while they conduct their experiment?" Karen asked.

"It does not seem quite like it. If it were silence, they would have just specified it directly in the transmission. This looks more like asking us to return to oversee some mission. Sousse has already left office, and Gaspoel has not yet officially taken over. In theory, the highest legal officer in charge of this region's Whiplash of Order right now is you, Karen."

"Then let us head back."

"Mm, let us head back."

Karen and Neo each stood up. They had just finished breakfast in this café, and the window seat where they sat offered a clear view of the entrance to the hotel where Mr. Luther was staying.

As they went out to get into the car, they happened to see Mr. Luther walking out of the hotel, as his surrounding supporters began to gather, preparing for the final speech in York City this morning.

It seemed there was no way to continue following up on this matter.

Neo spoke up: "A black powder shotgun will take his life when the time comes. The guy I was tracking has already made up his mind. He is truly a fool."

"Mm."

Although the government of Wayne had orchestrated this assassination, it was blatantly obvious that once the assassination was complete, the assassin would definitely not survive; they would certainly find a way to make him die swiftly.

"So, what exactly are your plans? We are just not going to stop it?" Neo asked.

"Have you been looking forward to me doing something?"

"Yeah. Have you forgotten about the last time we were hunted down by those armors controlled by the Church of Principle? We are both stronger now than we were back then. Shouldn't we find an opportunity to settle the score and vent some anger?"

"So childish?"

"Those armors are worth quite a lot of vouchers. If we polish off the imprints, they can be sold on the black market. I will take charge of the operation and guarantee the safe disposal of the stolen goods."

"Somewhat mature now."

"Hahaha! But really, you don't plan on doing anything at all? Didn't you say that what they are doing now severely violates the doctrines of Order?"

If one excluded the paradox of the God of Order, then what the doctrines of the Church of Order advocated should be a godless world. Only without the intervention of gods could this world have humanity decide how to develop on its own.

But now, they had begun creating a god.

Karen sighed and said, "I am worried that if we strike rashly, it will lead to an uncontrollable development of the situation."

Since that high-level independent department dared to conduct such an experiment in Wayne, they must have taken comprehensive anti-interference measures, just like the armor pursuit he and Neo had faced last time.

But now, their positions were different, and they possessed far more peculiarities. If they truly set their minds on interfering, the probability of a successful interference was actually quite high.

Karen turned the steering wheel to make the car veer:

"I am afraid our intervention will trigger a natural disaster."

Hearing this, Neo fell silent as well.

For many things, if he found them fun, he would go and play with them. If it were anywhere else, a natural disaster would be quite fun too.

But he was a Wayne native...

Just imagine the terrifying destruction caused after Rielsa rushed out of the Gate of Samsara. If it truly caused the power of a god to leak out, then for York City—no, for this entire island—it would truly be a catastrophe.

Everything involving gods was unpredictable.

"Damn it." Neo cursed as he opened another bottle of "Extra" brand red wine.

Soon, the car drove into the headquarters building.

Alfred took the initiative to come to the parking lot to meet them, reporting, "Young Master, the head of the branch department from the Dingle Region wishes to speak with you directly. An emergency order from a higher authority has been issued."

"I understand."

Karen immediately entered the building and came to the communication room. The communication matrix was activated, and a high-ranking priest appeared inside. After confirming Karen's identity, he read aloud to Karen the order from the upper echelons of the Whiplash of Order.

Upon hearing this order, Karen's entire body shuddered.

After receiving the order, Karen walked out of the communication room door. Neo was smoking at the entrance and asked, "What happened?"

Karen turned his gaze toward Alfred: "Pass down the command to mobilize all Whiplash of Order squads and security teams that can be deployed right now. Divide them into two groups: one led by Minister Neo, and one led by me personally."

Saying this, Karen handed a sheet of coordinate paper to Neo: "A monitoring mission. These are the coordinates you are responsible for."

Neo took it and looked, exclaiming in surprise, "So many? How many personnel will have to be drawn out for this? What about your side?"

"Only one on my side, but it is the most important one."

"What do you mean? Wait, hold on, how come these coordinates..."

"The Regional Management Office should have moved out as well. Hurry up and complete the monitoring deployment at the fastest possible speed."

...

Very soon, the Whiplash of Order headquarters building began to operate rapidly. All Whiplash of Order squads across the entire region also received emergency mobilization orders. The requirements of the orders were extremely strict: drop all ongoing matters at hand, and proceed to the designated coordinate points exactly as required.

It had to be said that although the position of Regional Director was currently vacant, the people below did not dare to slack off in the slightest when facing this command. They all knew clearly who the actual speaker was right now, and they knew even better the "achievements" of that young minister.

If you dare to disobey, you can just wait to be completely broken and ruined!

Karen and Neo acted separately. Neo's side still required the redistribution of personnel, whereas Karen's side needed none at all. After assembling the 20 Whiplash of Order squads on his side, they immediately set off by car.

Leaving York City, they sped northward and arrived at a small town adjacent to York City. However, the convoy did not enter the town, but instead came to the seaside on the outskirts of the town.

There stood a large red rock, and beneath it, over a dozen people who looked like tourists were having a picnic.

As the people from the Whiplash of Order approached, they stood up one after another, drew their weapons, and assumed defensive postures.

"I am Karen, the Minister of the Law Enforcement Department of this region's Whiplash of Order. I now order you to choose surrender, otherwise I will immediately order a forceful assault."

Seeing this, the team of picnicking "tourists" lowered their weapons one after another and yielded their positions.

Karen stepped forward and personally inspected the rock. A barrier matrix was hidden inside. He activated the barrier, and a pitch-black screen appeared ahead.

"Enter!"

Karen took the lead and walked inside, with everyone else following closely behind.

After entering the barrier, the crowd appeared on a slope. What lay before their eyes looked more like a basin, and in the central area of the basin, there was a massive opening leading downward. Around the perimeter of the opening, many unfamiliar squads dressed in Order divine robes were conducting defense.

The people Karen brought immediately formed a standoff with them.

A man whose face was covered in scars walked out from the opposing side: "Which department are you from? Do you know what kind of place this is!"

Karen stepped out and asked, "Can you answer me what kind of place this is?"

"Uh... confidential, I cannot."

With a wave of Karen's hand, his subordinates all scattered, beginning to encircle the opening—or rather, encircling the priests on the outer perimeter. It was just that the difference in numbers between the two sides was not very large, so this encirclement appeared somewhat ridiculous.

Furthermore, the aura radiating from the opposing side felt as though they had come down from a place similar to a battlefield. Karen's side consisted merely of Whiplash of Order squads active in urban areas. If a real fight broke out, excluding the influence of the highest combat powers of both sides, they probably truly would not be the opponents of the other side.

"What on earth do you mean!"

The scarred face continued to shout, though out of respect for the fact that both sides wore a type of divine robe, he did not order a direct attack.

However, very soon, accompanied by a muffled boom, a barrier also appeared on another slope. Immediately afterward, garrison knights galloped out from within, and falcon knights took to the sky.

It was clear that they were reinforcements on Karen's side, and their sudden arrival instantly imposed an overwhelming dominance over the area.

The Order Inquisitors responsible for defending the cave entrance were forced to contract their perimeter, confining themselves to that single pocket of space.

Karen caught sight of his grandfather, Delon, clad in his bishop's robes, appearing behind the garrisoned troops alongside his subordinate formation masters, immediately setting to work without a moment's pause to lay down a sealing array.

A moment later, Bourne's silhouette materialized right beside Karen, a man who, despite having risen to the rank of Chief Bishop, still could not shake his habit of making such cryptic and unpredictable entrances.

"Damn it," Bourne spat, "they waited until this late hour to finally hand down the order to me!"

"Indeed," Karen agreed with a nod.

"They were terrified of disrupting the progress of their own experiment, yet equally terrified of it going sideways, so they end up treating us like pack mules." Bishop Bourne's resentment ran deep.

In the final, closing stages of the experiment, the high echelon of the Church had handed down a directive to the York City Region, demanding they lock down every single experimental site.

This was to forestall any potential... natural disaster, should the experiment end in catastrophe.

Elsewhere, Neo, who was actively directing his subordinates to seal off the remaining locations, could not help but curse furiously in his mind:

"Fuck! You bastards succeeded, and yet you're using the very people who wanted to cause trouble to protect against your own failure!"