Chapter 56: A Dark and Windy Night

Yet, if things were to develop as he envisioned, this ultimate strike from the God King Tang would become a ticking time bomb hidden in some dark corner, liable to detonate unexpectedly at an important location at any given moment.

Therefore, he still needed to find a way to deplete this final blow left for the Abyss Monarch.

However, that was a matter to consider later; for now, the priority was to intercept Tang Ziran and Lang Yue from the clutches of the Holy Spirit Church.

In the shadows, Xu Zhao pulled the brim of his duck-billed cap down and quietly left the station.

...

Aolai City's residential district.

Somewhere, in a room of about fifty square meters.

This was the home of Tang Wulin's adoptive parents in Aolai City.

Tang Ziran was a mecha repairman of "average skill," specializing in fixing simple soul-guide mechanical components. Consequently, his monthly earnings were meager, forcing them to live in such a modest place.

Deep in the night.

Most households in the residential area had already fallen asleep, but Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were still awake, standing at their doorway as if waiting for someone.

"Ziran, are they really people from the Spirit Pagoda?"

Lang Yue tightly wrapped her arms around her husband's, looking nervous, her tone tinged with fear of the unknown:

"Arranging to meet in the middle of the night doesn't seem like something an organization like the Spirit Pagoda would do."

"Rest assured, the organization contacting me is undoubtedly the Spirit Pagoda," Tang Ziran pulled his wife closer, explaining:

"Yet where there is light, there is darkness. For an entity as colossal as the Spirit Pagoda, however bright and upright they appear on the surface, there are an equal number of unspeakable, filthy dealings hidden beneath."

"The task they want me to perform is unmentionable, so naturally, they would choose this hour to pick us up."

Even as he said this, however, he felt deeply uncertain inside.

Having performed such unspeakable deeds for so massive an organization, would they and his wife be able to return alive once it was done?

As the couple waited with anxious hearts, a chilling, cackling laughter echoed from not far away.

The laughter was not loud, yet it clearly penetrated the ears of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, sending a shiver through their hearts.

Out of the darkness, two figures draped entirely in black robes emerged.

Their faces were concealed beneath black hoods, making their features indistinguishable, and the surrounding air was suffused with a faint scent of blood brought by their presence.

"Tang Ziran, you certainly gave us quite a chase."

"To think that a noble descendant, who grandly immigrated from the Star Luo Empire to the Federation, would actually drag his family into hiding in such a bleak, godforsaken place—you've truly had a hard time of it."

Seeing the two men in black closing in on him, Tang Ziran's instinctive fear made him want to step back, but the thought of his adopted son nerved him to stand his ground.

"Say no more. I have already chosen to join; now, what about the conditions I requested?"

"Hah!" One of the robed figures sneered, casually flipping a card towards Tang Ziran.

"This is a continent-wide universal bank card containing the settlement allowance you asked for—one million federal coins in total."

"For as long as you work for us, your subsequent earnings will also be deposited into this card."

Tang Ziran caught the flying bank card, then retrieved an envelope and an identity card from his bosom, placing these items into the mailbox by his front door.

He had arranged everything; in a short while, these two cards and this letter would find their way into Mang Tian's hands.

"Such a troublesome fellow, you may go..." the robed figure mocked.

Suddenly, a cold flash cut through the dark night.

Thud, thud.

Two heads hit the ground.

"Ah!!!!!!"

Blood splattered across the faces of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, startling Lang Yue into a piercing scream.

Yet strangely, although Lang Yue wore a look of terror as she screamed at the top of her lungs, not a single sound traveled into the surrounding air.

On the lawn, a figure clad entirely in black armor crouched halfway on the ground. After a careful inspection, the figure spoke respectfully toward a patch of empty space in the void:

"Young Master, target confirmed. Deceased."

Tang Ziran hugged his wife tightly, putting on a brave face as he followed the armored figure's gaze, only to see ten figures emerging one after another from the gloom of the night.

At the head was a boy who appeared to be around the same age as his adopted son, followed by nine individuals all clad in identical black armor, though their armor lacked the refined craftsmanship of the one crouching on the ground.

"A two-word battle armor master, and nine one-word battle armor masters? How can this..."

Recognizing the armor they wore, Tang Ziran felt as though the sky were collapsing.

These people's targets should have been the two robed figures, but having witnessed all of this, would they now be silenced to eliminate witnesses?

Trembling all over as he gazed at the scene before him, he watched the boy slowly turn around and fix his gaze upon the couple.

"Tang Ziran!"

Xu Zhao did not speak aloud, but his voice echoed clearly inside the other man's mind:

"I am quite curious. Just what kind of design drawings could possess enough appeal to make both the Spirit Pagoda and the Holy Spirit Church covet them simultaneously?"

"Wh—whose faction do you belong to?" Seeing that he was the target, Tang Ziran instantly found a glimmer of hope for survival and the leverage to bargain.

"That is not for you to ask."

Observing the tightly embracing couple in the dark night, Xu Zhao mentally mobilized the power—granted by his soul spirit feedback to his psychic martial soul after contracting the Void Jellyfish—that allowed him to alter spiritual cognition.

Though this power was somewhat weak, it was more than sufficient to deal with ordinary mortals like Tang Ziran and Lang Yue who were not soul masters.

Invisible and intangible psychic energy surged into the bodies of the couple.

In an instant, the expressions of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue turned vacant, and they stood frozen in place, their eyes devoid of focus.

Altering spiritual cognition was a delicate endeavor.

This was Xu Zhao's first time employing this ability, so it took him somewhat longer.

Roughly an hour later.

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue regained their clarity. Seeing Xu Zhao standing before them, they bowed respectfully and said:

"Young Master."

In their rewritten cognition:

Tang Ziran, having immigrated to the Federation from the Star Luo Empire with his family in his early years, had pledged allegiance to the Xu family of Ming City, and it was during this process that he met his wife, Lang Yue.

Only, due to certain reasons, the couple had never been blessed with a child of their own.

As for his adopted son, Tang Wulin, and adopted daughter, Na'er, they had been completely erased from their memories and cognition.

"You are not getting any younger; make haste to conceive a child of your own," Xu Zhao turned, speaking with his back to them:

"After that, Tang Ziran, devote yourself entirely to your research. In the near future, I expect to see results!"

Only when Tang Ziran and his wife had a child of their own could the bonds of blood truly sever their connection to Tang Wulin.

With this child, it would also be easier to manipulate Qilin Douro Tong Yu, who remained far away in the Star Luo Empire, in the future.

"Understood!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue replied with joyous expressions.

For all these years, they and their spouse would finally have a child of their own!