Chapter 704: Why is My Name Not on the List?

Chapter 704: Why Isn't My Name on the List?

No matter how detailed and solid the theory, how magnificent the description, or how moving and dazzling the blueprint, and no matter if it was packaged, embellished, or rehearsed in a realistic, romantic, or liberalist fashion...

In truth, it was all merely a bonus.

When the time came to test one's true colors, it always came down to a single question: When the trial arrives, are you willing to step forward, and stand at the very front?

If Karen had not thought too deeply about it back on the frontline, when he learned from his maternal grandfather that someone needed to be sent into the subterranean cavern to retrieve the divine artifact; then, the moment Burn opened the office door to reveal the wild dance of the ravens inside, Karen already knew what he had to do next.

A decision... did not exist, for there was simply no process of making a decision amidst hesitation and inner conflict.

It was just that in Karen's heart, there was no great surge of passionate blood, nor did he feel himself to be particularly grand; if anything, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

The discomfort lay in the fact that he was going to wipe the backsides of that group of fellows; it lay in the fact that he had to take a band of his direct subordinates and other volunteers down a "path of no return" where the survival rate was below ten percent, and the vast majority of them, himself included, might not make it out alive.

Pure, flawless justice was still far too rare and precious; most of the time, you had to look at those disgusting faces while telling yourself to take a deep breath and keep your head down to get the work done.

For a long time in the past, Karen had been studying promotion routes, profit relations, and ways to seek gain and avoid harm alongside Neo and the others, while at the same time continually leaving statements in that notebook that were enough to shock Alfred;

The self of that time was, in truth, sliding toward becoming a refined egoist.

The characteristic of such people was that even though everything they did and thought was for self-interest, they could still concoct a beautiful set of logic to apply a filter over themselves, deceiving others while also deceiving themselves.

At a critical juncture, this group of people could not stand up, and could not be counted on at all; of course, it was also difficult for them to cause any real destruction, crying out in pain at a mere scratch, capable only of hiding in the crowd and "buzzing" like a swarm of refined flies.

On Fire Island, Lord Thyssen had summoned his Dharma body, carrying the Scythe of War as if carrying a giant flyswatter, and his scolding had completely "swatted" Karen awake.

The old gentleman had been Diss's close friend, and had even sat at the round table to participate in the formulation of the Church of Order's policies; a man of such stature and wisdom needed only a single glance to know exactly what was going through the mind of that young fellow surnamed Inmoles.

After that incident, Karen began to correct his behavior; in Neo's words, why did he now like to bring up the "Regulations of Order" no matter what he did.

Faith was a torch, and many people liked to hold it high to ignite others. But in reality, for most people, this torch could only be used to illuminate the path of their own journey forward.

It was not that you became grand because you possessed faith, but rather that the self-restraint and self-correction at the moments you held faith allowed you to gradually become a better version of yourself.

"Whew..."

Karen exhaled slowly; therefore, in this matter, he could not escape.

"Vic, you choose the rest of the names on the list. At eight in the morning, hand the list to the Chief."

"Understood, Minister. Do I need to inform them now? They are still on the frontline, though they should be in the middle of a rotation shift by now."

Those who truly needed to bear the responsibility on the frontline were the formation master team and the security team on the periphery of the barrier; the personnel in other areas could be replaced.

Karen nodded and responded, "Yes, notify them."

It was a notification, not a discussion, let alone a consultation.

This was not Karen being dictatorial and cold-blooded, but rather that this group of people he had chosen had all entered the performing arts hall and seen the "coffin," had all sworn allegiance to him, and were now the true direct team that belonged exclusively to him.

Under the premise that he was to personally lead the team into the cavern, if their choices still required discussion, wouldn't the things he and Alfred had been doing for so long turn into mere child's play?

Besides, even Vic, whose will was the least firm, had already actively shouted out his own name.

"I am going home for a bit. If anything comes up, call me at home to notify me."

"Understood, Minister."

Karen walked out of the Chief's office and took the elevator directly to the ground floor, which brought him to the basement level where the teleportation formation hall was located.

Too lazy to hail a cab, Karen reached out to wave down a parked carriage over there and stated his destination.

Only after sitting inside the carriage did Karen realize in hindsight; this wasn't during a business trip, so why had he suddenly become extravagant.

But thinking about it, it was quite easy to understand, much like how people often became more willing to spend on food and clothing after contracting a terminal illness; frugality was for the sake of the future, but what if there was no future?

Upon arriving at the dormitory building, the coachman very respectfully opened the carriage door for Karen, and Karen pulled out some vouchers and handed them to him.

"My lord, let me give you your change."

"No need, just wait for me here."

"Understood, my lord."

Karen walked up the stairs, and just as he reached his door, the door was opened from the inside.

The big golden retriever at home had heard the footsteps long ago and came ahead of time to open the door.

After Karen went inside and sat down on the living room sofa, Kevin habitually approached to rub against Karen's trouser leg, letting Karen stroke its bald head.

"Clang!"

The bathroom door was pushed open, and little Conna, wearing a shirt that Karen had shortened, walked out while wiping her hair with a towel, and then bent down to start helping Purr, who came out behind her, wipe her fur.

Once they quickly finished up, little Conna walked over and sat down on the carpet, while Purr sat upon her head.

No one was in a hurry to question him, because they knew Karen would speak up on his own.

"Something happened yesterday..."

Karen recounted the course of events.

The little girl, the cat, and the dog were all very calm.

It wasn't that little Conna lacked comprehension, but rather that she did not think the consequences of a pollution outbreak were any big deal; during her days in the Earth Vault Church, she had witnessed far more cruel scenes of racial slaughter.

Purr was calm because of her broad experience; the Allen family back then had also harbored wicked designs on the finger of the God of Light, and she herself had even merged with the finger; experience made the cat steady.

Kevin was calm because, to it, this kind of thing was practically a minor squabble; after all, back then, it had personally suppressed and slain the Sea God with the help of the God of Order, and that was a principal god!

As for its loss of composure on the street yesterday, that was also because the sudden appearance of divine power made it mistakenly believe that the return of the gods had begun; it wasn't that it loathed divine pollution, but rather that it experienced a severe sense of psychological imbalance due to the changing situation and the gap with its current state; those rapid barks were actually expressions of its impotent rage.

"...I have already decided that I will take Alfred and the others as volunteers to enter the cavern and retrieve the divine artifact."

Little Conna tilted her head; having washed up after eating, she had already entered her drowsy time, and Karen's lengthy narration sounded more like a lullaby to her.

Kevin's eyes widened in shock, while Purr's tail stood straight up!

"Woof!"

"Are you crazy!"

"Woof woof!"

"The body that stupid dog helped you modify can allow you to resist pollution below the vast majority of levels, but divine pollution does not belong to this level!"

"Woof woof woof woof!"

"This is completely different from the divine remnants on divine artifacts and the divine retention on divine relics; although their experiment failed, the stupid dog did indeed sense the aura of a new god at that time; perhaps the new god has already died young, or perhaps it collapsed before it could even form a fixed existence, but it at least truly existed during that period of time!

No matter how faint, that is fresh divine pollution, and it is very likely the first appearance of a pure and true aura of a god in this world since this era!

Rileilsa, who once escaped from the Gate of Samsara, was no longer considered a deity at that time!

Do you understand what the stupid dog means?

Karen?"

Karen pondered for a moment, then nodded.

To make an inaccurate analogy, it could be understood as this area having suffered radiation pollution in the past; many years had passed, and there was still residual radiation here, and high radiation could also be detected on the objects here;

Now, a source of radiation perhaps the size of a ring had appeared; its size was very small, small enough to be imperceptible, and it had even fallen to the ground and shattered, but that was a fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven radiation source; as long as you closed in to a certain range, it would bring you fresh, intense radiation.

Karen coming home was originally intended to obtain as much useful information from Raniedal as possible to help increase his survival rate.

Well, now the information was indeed obtained, but his survival rate had, conversely, "decreased" because of it.

It turned out that the worst-case scenario he had envisioned was still far more generous than reality.

Now, the probability of emerging alive and entirely free of corruption had plummeted to a mere one percent.

"Karen, have you forgotten how your parents died? Have you forgotten that even Dis could not cure their corruption, and had to personally end their lives to relieve them of their agonizing torment?"

"Madame Tangli has already told me all this."

"Karen, I admit, you are special, and you are exceptional. In my eyes, you are the very incarnation of Dis as he once was; indeed, I feel that given enough time, you could reach heights that even Dis never achieved.

But do not court death—truly, you absolutely must not court death. This world has never lacked geniuses; what it lacks are those who can successfully survive to stand upon the mountain peak.

So, listen to this kitty's advice, and do not go, alright?"

Karen nodded and said, "Alright, I hear you." Then, he shook his head. "But I am still going."

"Why, meow?"

"Woof!"

Kevin barked, but it was not a sound of agreement; rather, it was something entirely unprecedented—he had actively interrupted the cat.

Purr looked at the foolish dog in some surprise.

Kevin, however, nodded, shifting from a sitting position into a prostrate posture before Karen.

"You foolish dog, what kind of flattery are you trying to pull right now? If Karen is gone, no one will be able to break your seal, and you will be stuck as a dog forever!"

Unbothered, Kevin remained prostrated, his tail wagging gently behind him.

His canine eyes remained fixed on Karen's, and Karen looked back at him.

At this moment, Kevin recalled the images from the past when he had followed the God of Order into the Burial Ground of Gods.

Later theological historians believed that the God of Order flattened the Burial Ground of Gods to manifest the distinction between his era and the Era of Light.

Yet, as an eyewitness to history, Ranyedal knew exactly how perilous a place the Burial Ground of Gods truly was; even with the immense power the God of Order possessed back then, journeying there could only be described as exceedingly dangerous, not to mention that the God of Order was plagued by the "Hunger Addiction" at the time, and flattening that place not only left him severely wounded but also exacerbated the issue that had long troubled him.

As for the reason behind such an action... Ranyedal believed it was likely very simple: the God of Order believed that the existence of the Burial Ground of Gods was fundamentally inconsistent with the rules of Order.

When the God of Order encountered what he believed ought to be done, the God simply went and did it.

At this moment, Karen gave Kevin a remarkably similar feeling.

He had already made up his mind; it was what he should do, so he was going to do it, and no amount of persuasion or obstruction would have any effect at all.

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

Purr did not translate.

But Karen nodded and said, "Continue."

Purr rolled her eyes—well fine, not even putting on an act anymore, meow.

"Woof, woof..."

Kevin was explaining to Karen the methods to prevent and block divine corruption, as well as how to protect oneself in that uniquely complex environment.

Karen knew that the Church of Order would not let them enter completely empty-handed; there would certainly be training and the distribution of relatively precious protective gear, but when it came to actual experience, even an orthodox Church would likely pale in comparison to the dog before him, for once everything is reduced to ink and parchment, a certain degree of distortion inevitably creeps in.

As Kevin continued his narrative and explanation, Karen felt his previously diminished survival rate rapidly surging, doubling on the spot.

It rose from roughly one percent to two percent.

Having finished listening, Karen massaged his eyes with his fingers to soothe his fatigue, while Kevin trotted over to his water bowl to drink and quench his throat.

Purr had already hopped down from little Conna's head, for the little girl herself, though maintaining her sitting posture, had fallen asleep with her forehead pressed against the carpet.

Thanks to the continuous nourishment she had received lately, Karen did not know how much her growth had advanced, but it was clear that her skin had grown a bit plumper, making her resemble a delicate porcelain doll.

Purr walked up to Karen and asked, "No room for negotiation?"

Karen shook his head and said, "Unless you want me, Alfred, that performance hall of yours, and Dis's expectations of me to all become a joke."

"Then let it be a joke; it's not like anyone would mock us."

"But I would mock myself."

"I am angry, I am truly angry, Karen. Of course, my anger is not because I would have to die along with you if something happened to you."

"I know."

"You ought to cherish your life, Karen."

"And then? What should I do with that life?"

"Meow..."

Karen reached out to stroke Purr's fur; when his hand brushed her tail, Purr naturally curled it around his finger.

"I have already asked Loya to request the artifact spirits in the Sealed Space to help me refine the surgical plan. Once I return from completing this mission... oh, wait, after the mission, I still have to report to the investigation team and head to the Desert Church for an intervention.

In short, it shouldn't take too long before I can help you restore a portion of your strength, and perhaps even grant you the ability to briefly turn back into a human."

"Do you think hearing this makes me happy right now? Karen, I am no child; my age is more than ten times yours."

"Then when I return, I will cook fish for you for a whole week straight."

"Really, meow!

!"

"Mm."

"Alright then, you must return safely. I will be waiting at home to eat fish."

"Mm."

Having comforted Purr, Karen intended to close his eyes and rest for a while, but the doorbell rang at that moment.

Kevin, who had just returned from drinking water, immediately trotted over to open the door, revealing Richard standing at the threshold.

"On what grounds? I say, on what grounds!

!"

The moment Richard entered, he strode quickly up to Karen and grabbed the collar of Karen's clerical robe with both hands, his next move clearly intended to lift Karen from his chair.

Yet, upon meeting Karen's gaze, the deep-seated respect he had always held for this "elder brother" ultimately caused him to quietly release his grip.

"Karen, on what grounds did you leave my name off the list? Ventura, Muri, and Philomena have all signed up, so why haven't I?"

"Because..."

"Don't you dare say it's because I'm weak. I've already asked around, and there are roles for cannon fodder among the volunteers this time. One doesn't need to be exceptionally powerful, just capable of offering support. I am certain there are clergymen on the final list who are weaker than me.

Besides, I know my abilities can't match theirs, but I'm well-rounded; I can do a bit of everything. I believe the volunteer group needs a role like mine."

This kid had actually learned to shut down arguments in advance.

Karen stated the real reason: "Your grandparents have taken great care of me. I do not wish for anything to happen to you and cause them grief."

Richard threw his hands up, staring at Karen with a look of utter incomprehension as he shouted:

"This is truly absurd, Karen! Listen to what you just said!"

"Hmm?"

Richard pointing at himself, barked in sheer exasperation, "Does only Richard Guman have grandparents? Are all the other volunteers damn orphans?!"

But the problem is, the Guman family has already lost one grandson. If you are brought along, and both the biological and maternal grandsons disappear in a collective accident, wouldn't Delong and Grandmother go completely insane?

They have already sacrificed an extremely outstanding daughter for the Holy Church; there is no reason to continue sacrificing two grandsons. Even if it is shearing wool, one shouldn't keep shearing the same sheep continuously.

Yet, Karen could not tell Richard these things bluntly.

"Karen, I am a believer of Order. When encountering such an event, I should have stepped up in the first place."

"Then others possess an equal opportunity as you do."

"Putting aside the identity of a believer of Order, just based on the relationship between you and me, do you know why I work so hard, even though my talent isn't high..."

Among ordinary clergymen, your talent is considered quite excellent.

"...The reason I work hard is that I don't want to continue being your dead weight in the future, Karen. I want to help you with something. So even when I get beaten by my dad, I don't feel much pain. As long as Jerry's abilities can be further developed, I will have more opportunities to help you, Karen.

Do you know,

You, Karen, in my eyes, are just like my older brother. I can feel your promotion and care for me all this time, and I quite enjoy this feeling, truly.

But if you don't take me along for something like this, I will feel betrayed.

If you were going to a pastry shop and didn't take me, Karen, that would be one thing. But this time you are going to your death, and you won't even take me to your death—this is truly not treating me as a brother!"

"What on earth are you talking about, Richard?"

"Karen, if you won't take me, fine. I will release Jerry, and you can take Jerry. Jerry can help you."

"Jerry is afraid of me, you should know that."

"Then let Jerry stay on Philomena, Muri, Ventura, or whoever else."

"Do you know what the consequences will be if you cut ties and separate from Jerry right now?"

"I know. Jerry and I will fall into vital decay together. I will age prematurely, turning from a young man into an old man, and Jerry will lose the pathway to continue evolving because of this, or even degenerate, because our mutual binding is simply too tight."

"It's good that you know."

"But I don't care, I insist on doing this."

"Are you threatening me, Richard?"

"I dare not threaten you. I am just telling you that I will do this!"

"Then you can go back right now and ask for your grandparents' opinion."

"I am an adult, I can make my own decisions."

"Your threat is useless against me. Even if you separate Jerry right now, I will immediately lift my foot and stomp Jerry to death on this carpet.

But if you can obtain your grandparents' permission, and have your grandfather call me personally, I will agree to put your name in."

"Fine, you said it. My grandfather is a loyal believer of Order. He will be reluctant to part with me, his grandson, but I believe I can definitely convince him."

Good boy, when you try to convince your grandfather, your grandmother will knock you unconscious with a staff and tie you up at home.

Hiss... Karen suddenly realized one thing, which was that he shouldn't come out again after returning to the Educational Administration Building later. He was worried that Grandmother, because of his previous perfunctory reversal to her, would suddenly pop out from somewhere out of the blue and give him an identical knocking-unconscious treatment.

When Grandmother is driven to desperation... she really could do anything; she could even challenge a District Guardian single-handedly.

"Wait for my news, Karen, it will be very quick!"

Richard rushed out the door.

Just as Karen got some peace and quiet, the door was pushed open again. This time, standing at the doorway was Memphis, who was Uncle Eisen.

"I came back together with Richard. He just took my car keys and left in a hurry."

"Mm."

Mr. Eisen didn't enter the room, but just stood at the doorway looking at Karen sitting inside, saying very calmly, "Add my name."

"Uncle..."

"If you die inside, dying the same way as your mother, my illness will definitely relapse, and it will be much more severe than before. That kind of life is a fate worse than death."

Different from facing Richard earlier, Uncle's words left Karen completely unable to refute.

"Uncle, I will come out safely, please believe me."

"This is the knot in my heart. I feel this time is an opportunity bestowed by the God of Order to completely eradicate the root of my illness;

I promised your mother in my heart that I would protect you at all costs, and it was precisely because I found out you were my nephew that I could climb out of the previous quagmire.

It's the same situation for you this time. If you don't let me follow, I will immediately be swallowed up by the previous quagmire again, do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand."

"So..."

"I will add your name, Uncle."

"Mm."

Mr. Eisen received a satisfactory answer, turned around, and left.

For this matter, there was no need to seek the consent of Grandfather and Grandmother. Although Eisen was their son, Karen knew clearly that they definitely wouldn't want to see their son turn back into his former self, and an even more severe version at that.

Purr teased, "Should we go and notify Dark, your young uncle-in-law, and Lucy, your young aunt, as well, and gift the Guman family a loyalty bundle?"

Karen asked back, "Is it very funny?"

"I am not mocking. To use the tone of the Radio Sprite: whether friends, relatives, colleagues, or subordinates, everyone's destiny depends on the choices they make at critical moments.

I believe you will be fine this time, meow. You still have to come back and make fish for me to eat, so look on the bright side. The Guman family is closely bound to you now, which is truly an immense piece of luck.

Karen, you can rid yourself of everything else, but you alone cannot rid yourself of the fetters of family. Uh-huh, and you didn't want to rid yourself of them either, you quite enjoy it."

"Alright, I'm preparing to head back to the Educational Administration Building. It's very busy there, and besides, dawn is about to break."

Karen stood up, first picking up little Canna, who was fast asleep in a kowtowing posture, and carrying her to his bed. Then he walked to the door himself, with Purr sitting on Kevin's back.

Kevin intended to bid farewell, but Purr clutched Kevin's fur. Kevin was somewhat puzzled, but still complied with the command of the "Evil God Knight," returning to the bedroom without saying goodbye.

Purr took a deep breath, saying in a slightly aggrieved tone:

"We will meet again very soon, what need is there for a farewell."

...

Karen walked out the door and happened to see liquid falling with a "clatter" outside the railing ahead.

Looking up, it wasn't the floor above, but rather on the rooftop, where someone extended a hand, completely pouring out a bottle of red wine.

Although Karen didn't like to drink, he could smell that this wine was very expensive and had to be bought with points, so this was very uncharacteristic of that wine-pourer's style.

Instead of going downstairs, Karen went upstairs and arrived at the rooftop.

Neo tossed the empty wine bottle in front of himself, and the bottle rolled "rumble-rumble" to Karen's feet.

Karen bent down to pick up the wine bottle from the ground, set it properly, and asked, "Are we not living our lives anymore?"

Lying sideways by the railing, Neo extended a hand to point at Karen, asking, "I originally thought you would put my name first, but as it turns out, my name wasn't even on there."

"Your current situation is somewhat complicated, you're already holding tea parties. I'm afraid that if I drag you down together, you'll be able to form a basketball team."

"Should I also thank you for not saying a football team?"

"Don't mention it."

Neo stood up, clapped his hands, and walked over to Karen: "How could such a fun affair be missing me?"

"It is not fun. Do you know that the probability of escaping uncorrupted that I just extracted from Kevin's dog mouth was only two percent?"

"Isn't that far more thrilling than Russian roulette?"

"Heh."

"I must go, Karen. You cannot head inside to play all by yourself and leave me behind. Tsk... that came out wrong.

That place is highly dangerous. You need me to guide your way."

"Will bringing you along make it even more dangerous? We had a survival rate of two percent, but after bringing you, will it plummet straight to zero?"

"I have temporarily resolved my previous issues. Right now, those voices in my head are practically behaving like good little children. You can test it yourself."

As he spoke, Neo placed his palm upon Karen's shoulder, releasing his mental consciousness.

Karen did not block him, instead establishing a mental bridge with Neo to facilitate the upcoming resonance and communication of their minds.

"You all fear corruption, and originally I should have too. But now I can use a different method to turn my disadvantage into an asset. For instance, under the premise that everyone is highly likely to be corrupted, I have more spare tires available to take the hit.

For example..."

The spectral silhouette of a black formal suit manifested over Neo, and his very eyes turned sinister and bewitching as he spoke in a tone never heard from him before:

"Blood is the sole obsession of my life. Save for blood, nothing else in existence shall ever move my heart."

Immediately following that,

The spectral phantom of a noble, majestic robe appeared around Neo. His eyes grew solemn, and his aura instantly dominated his surroundings:

"I do not believe the God of Light exists in this world. The influence of other deities simply holds no sway over me."

Promptly, Neo returned to normal. He smiled and said: "You see, the Gambler's sealing effect is truly excellent. At least within the next few months, not only can I switch personalities, but I can also control and master them. Philias's personality, however, isn't suitable for use when entering that place. I worry he might suddenly become so obsessed with research that he simply won't want to leave, hahaha."

Neo's laughter was hearty, carrying a thick sense of confidence, and he indeed possessed the capital for it.

A man who constantly wandered on the precipice of losing himself, yet time and again retrieved his ego. No matter what kind of blow he faced, he was like a reef in the ocean, standing forever firm.

"Hey, say something. How was the test result? You should have felt it all just now, right?"

"Yes."

"So, add my name to the list. In the event that you die inside, I would truly be disgusted to death. Why is it that I, who am always looking for a suitable way to die, can never seem to perish, while you all pass away one after the other ahead of me?"

Karen opened his palm, and a cluster of black mist emerged within it. Simultaneously, a faint silhouette of Order manifested behind his back.

"Neo, do you know what I worry about most? When speaking with Kevin earlier, Kevin deliberately avoided mentioning that part, but it knew clearly in its heart, just as I knew clearly in mine.

I possess a stronger capability than you all to resist corruption, but compared to the divine corruption that genuinely attempts to affect you from the outside, my greatest threat still stems from the hunger addiction within my own body. I am somewhat afraid that, inside there, I will face the grandest outbreak of hunger addiction yet.

Once I fail to suppress it, I will fall into lostness; my ego will likely fall into a permanent slumber, and I will no longer be myself."

"Heh, what is there to fear? It's no big deal."

A wisp of pure white light suddenly surfaced upon Neo, causing his perimeter to look as though it were enveloped in a layer of milky white:

"Isn't it just accidentally falling asleep? I'll simply wake you up, that's all."