Chapter 32: The Burning Soul of a Turncoat!

Mist City, Brent District.

At the break of dawn, the Brent neighborhood was shrouded in a mist as thin as gossamer.

"Ding-ling—"

The door to a café was pushed open. Two men in suits walked in, ordered a simple meal from the waiter, and then, in unspoken agreement, fixed their gazes upon the two-seater sofa by the window.

A handsome youth with golden hair and golden eyes was devouring a deluxe sandwich. Sensing their gaze, he turned his head and flashed a wide, bright smile at them.

"Evan, I retract my previous grumbling. He doesn't seem to be here to mock us. Our comrade is simply too young, he doesn't even have a class yet. Well, he’s likely a lost descendant of the Celestial lineage; every year, there are a few lucky ones who experience an accidental awakening due to the glory of their ancestors," Ximen said to Evan beside him.

"You should look at it from another angle: a junior who hasn't even attained a class has actually completed the directive ahead of us," Evan replied with an expressionless face. He then walked over to Xia Xiu first and sat on the sofa opposite him.

Ximen sighed and followed suit, taking a seat in front of Xia Xiu as well.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Hugh Abraham," Xia Xiu said, picking up a napkin to wipe his mouth, before offering them another brilliant smile.

Evan Lowell and Ximen Fulica—old acquaintances!

Facing that radiant smile, Ximen thought with a sense of gratification about how cute the younger generation had become, while introducing himself:

"Burial Agency—Ximen Fulica."

"Abraham... a blood relative of the Father of Many Nations, I see. That lineage has indeed spread its blood far and wide," Evan muttered to himself.

Seeing this, Ximen pointed at him and introduced him to Xia Xiu:

"This is my colleague, Evan Lowell."

"Understood," Xia Xiu nodded.

"Do you know the information regarding 4-331?"

Evan asked Xia Xiu directly. Beside him, Ximen shot him a look of silent frustration; could he not be more tactful? Would it kill him to build some rapport with a junior before diving into questions?

Xia Xiu opened a holographic projection, displaying a topographic map of Mist City downloaded from the Deer Institute’s think tank.

Ximen and Evan both frowned in unison.

"The Deer Institute’s think tank, external equipment," Evan said in a low voice.

"Hugh, after the mission is completed, come back to the Sanctuary with us. I will introduce you to the monastery for advanced study. Why is someone of the Celestial lineage hanging around with those bookworms?" Ximen said to Xia Xiu solemnly.

"Ahem, according to the 'Deer Institute Student Handbook', any non-affiliated lineage linked to the Institute must graduate before they can voluntarily leave. This contract is backed by the [Ocean of Aether]," Xia Xiu said, feigning bitterness.

"That’s simple enough. We’ll just point our guns at those stubborn old fools at the Institute and make them graduate you," Ximen declared.

Good grief, no wonder the people at the Deer Institute call the Celestial side barbarians. It’s because of seniors like you leading the way—you’re the ones ruining the reputation!

Oh wait, I’m a barbarian now too. Never mind.

Xia Xiu smiled awkwardly: "Senior, please, calm down. I checked at the Institute; there were people from the Celestial side who studied there in the past."

"That was hundreds of years ago. Which comrade of the Celestial lineage would be wandering outside nowadays?"

"Look at you, still a classless person. You must be having a rough time out there. Come back to the Sanctuary; our benefits are several times better than any other lineage. The Deer Institute isn't even fit to tie our shoes," Ximen continued.

*No, I'm actually doing quite well out here.*

*Besides, don't try to bully me just because I haven't spent time in the Celestial realm; I know the '007' work culture of Eden better than anyone.*

*Just look at the two of you, dusty and worn out—it’s clear what kind of corporate slaves the Celestial lineage produces. Being a student at the Deer Institute is much better than being a corporate slave like you.*

"The two of you, please take a look at this list first." Xia Xiu transferred the list he had obtained from Harry to them via the lineage network.

"What is this?" Ximen asked, scrolling through the list while sipping the coffee the waiter had just brought over.

"A list of personnel from the Flesh-Cult in the Mist City area."

"Pffft—"

Ximen sprayed the coffee in his mouth directly onto Evan’s forehead. Evan, having anticipated this, used the menu to block the spray. He sometimes truly wished he could open Ximen's skull just like he opened a heretic's, just to drain the excess fluid from that water-logged brain.

"Cough, cough, cough—you... what did you just say?" Ximen asked again, uncertain.

"The list above is the personnel of the Flesh-Cult in the Mist City area. Of course, these are only practitioners, not lineage holders," Xia Xiu replied.

"Good stuff." Ximen excitedly saved the list. This was a great way to boost his performance record; completing this job would allow him to trade for quite a few high-quality items back in Eden.

"What do you want?" Evan asked calmly. He felt embarrassed by the money-grubbing look on Ximen’s face—was this all the dignity a senior should have?

"The imprint seals for the three arcane arts: [Sine Wave Interference], [Laser Phase Positioning], and [Eight-Fold Light Wheel]," Xia Xiu said, opening his mouth wide to demand a high price.

"Ah, this..." Ximen was startled by Xia Xiu’s appetite. Good heavens, you really have some nerve asking for that, not even bothering to be polite with us.

"Two of these arcane arts can only be used by the [Light Servant] class, you..." Evan didn't object, he was simply concerned that Xia Xiu couldn't use the latter two without a Celestial class.

"I’ll give you this," Xia Xiu said, pulling out the "Experimental Journal" and handing it to them.

"This is?" Evan opened it curiously, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

"What utter blasphemy..."

"What the hell? Let me see." Ximen took the notebook from Evan and began to read. As he reached the end, his expression turned equally dark.

"Abnormal weaponization? Who gave them the right!" A biting cold light flashed in Ximen’s eyes, and a terrifying aura erupted from him, making the entire café feel suffocatingly heavy.

A moment later, the aura dissipated, leaving the other patrons in the café wondering why they had suddenly felt such a chill.

"09 was likely captured by you, and with this, your reward for this mission will certainly not be small. This prize is enough for you to trade directly for a [Job Acquisition Scroll]," Ximen quickly retracted his intimidating aura and said to Xia Xiu with a smile.

"To get such a generous reward at your age... damn it, it’s so enviable," Ximen gritted his teeth, feigning jealousy.

"You know the Flesh-Cult list, and you caught 09, so you must know where 4-331 is, right?" Evan asked in a low voice.

"I do."

"Very well. We won't ask how you came to know these things. Such questions are unimportant to those of the Celestial side. Our divine duty is simply to purge everything that poses a threat to Terra. So tell us where it is, and you will get everything you asked for." A faint smile finally appeared on Evan’s expressionless face.

Yes, the Celestial side never concerned itself with the trivial details.

As long as a holder of the Celestial lineage maintained absolute loyalty to Terra and to humanity, that was all that mattered. This was the exact reason why Xia Xiu had joined them in his past life—they had plenty of resources, little talk, and never wasted time on nonsense.

"I actually have an even more generous gift for the two of you," Xia Xiu said, his smile becoming even more brilliant. The soul of a double agent within him was burning fiercely.

"Oh?"

Ximen and Evan were instantly intrigued, curious about the "grand gift" Xia Xiu spoke of.