Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 171: Plan 2 of breaking in at 163

Chapter 171: Plan 2 of breaking in at 163

Whether I harbor any hostility towards Lu Youxun is of great importance to him. As one can imagine, even the slightest hint of animosity in my heart, so minute that even I might fail to notice it, could spell disaster for Lu Youxun without his combat abilities.

Even I had to seriously weigh the matter, repeatedly considering my true feelings.

Finally, I had an answer.

"No."

Lu Youxun asked in surprise, "Why?"

"I don’t want to be bound by something like stance, nor do I care about the stance you take; it’s about who you are as a person. Up to this point, you have done nothing to harm me, even helped me—I couldn’t possibly see you as an enemy," I said candidly. "Of course, if you do anything to those close to me, I will not let you off, but that’s a different matter.

"I also admit that I do have secrets I wouldn’t want you to know, but isn’t that the same for you? The force behind you is coveting Mazao for an unknown purpose unrelated to soul loss. And you are the one closest to the target among them; have they really not given you any instructions? Don’t tell me ’no’, because I won’t believe it."

Now it was Lu Youxun’s turn to be at a loss for words.

"This..."

"If you dare to harm Mazao, I’ll kill you," I said.

Mazao watched me in silence.

Zhu Shi, who seemed to have already heard some information from her grandfather, did not show surprise but asked calmly, "Zhuang Cheng, although I support you, does this truly mean you have no hostility towards Lu Chan?"

"I won’t judge him as a friend or enemy based on something he hasn’t done," I responded. "At least for now, he’s still on our side. Besides, having someone in our ranks who emits a suspicious air seems to be an unspoken rule..."

"The last part is what you truly believe, isn’t it?" Zhu Shi commented.

Lu Youxun sighed and then raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, saying, "Alright, I understand... I will cooperate with your approach."

In other words, he was prepared to trust me with his life.

Of course, this wasn’t solely due to trust in me; the will to avenge the Human Bureau was the more significant factor.

"But didn’t you fail last time you tried to connect with Zhuang Cheng’s spirit?" Zhu Shi questioned.

"That’s because his spiritual form frightened me, causing the interruption. As long as he’s willing to accept my spell, I can connect properly."

Lu Youxun replied and then turned to me, saying, "However, I have another question. As I mentioned earlier, even for me, visualizing the Human Bureau’s secret base using the Divination Technique—assuming good luck is on our side—is likely to fail. It may take several days of continuous attempts, or even dozens of days if I am unfortunate..."

"I understand. The next part is the key."

I did not look at Mazao beside me; instead, I stared directly at Lu Youxun and said, "Suppose, and I just mean suppose... I am in a very powerful and special ’luck’ that attracts bizarre events towards me, a kind of ’luck’ that enables me to effortlessly chase after strange objects, as well as the people and forces related to them... Do you think this would help with what you are about to do?"

"Is this one of your secrets?" Lu Youxun glanced at me thoughtfully. "Assuming such unreasonable Calamity truly exists upon you and you can indeed use my visions as a clue to transport yourself to the Human Bureau’s secret base... then perhaps I can be successful today."

"There’s likely more than one secret base of the Human Bureau within the country; I wonder if my brother is at the base Lu Chan has envisioned," Zhu Shi pondered.

"You can be optimistic about that," Lu Youxun said. "The one I envisioned is very likely the base Ying Lingyun is in charge of within the Human Bureau. And if Chen Long kidnapped Zhu Changan under Ying Lingyun’s instruction, then Zhu Changan could very well be at that place."

Saying this, he stood up, walked towards the exit of the reception room, and added, "I need to prepare for the divination and write a report to my superiors to request support."

"Support?" Zhu Shi inquired.

"Now that we’re probably able to pinpoint the location of the Human Bureau’s secret base, we must be ready for a raid in advance. The enemy’s expected combat power includes at least one of Great Success Rank, so we can’t rely solely on Zhuang Cheng. I’m going to request support from an Impermanence of Great Success Rank," Lu Youxun explained.

Not just Zhu Shi, but even I was taken aback by his boldness.

He was actually proceeding as though tracking the target was guaranteed. An Impermanence of Great Success Rank wasn’t a force that could be summoned on a whim. It seemed he was betting not only his life but also his credibility within Luo Mountain.

"Who are you going to ask?" Zhu Shi asked.

"The Divine Spear."

Having finished speaking, Lu Youxun left the reception room.

Zhu Shi’s expression turned very solemn.

Divine Spear... I had heard this name before. It seems he was a teammate who had once teamed up with Lu Youxun and Chen Long but later left due to ideological differences.

So, he was actually an Impermanence of the Great Success Rank?

Thinking about it, the former Lu Youxun could even summon "the self that had achieved Great Success Rank," as well as other numerous "possibility avatars" with various colorful abilities, with Chen Long’s enhancement. If the other person was just an ordinary achieved level Impermanence, then they would be virtually nonexistent for Lu Youxun and Chen Long.

But looking at Zhu Shi’s expression, that Divine Spear seemed to be more than just simply an Impermanence of the Great Success Rank.

"Zhuang Cheng, you need to be careful of that Divine Spear," Zhu Shi suddenly warned.

"Is there a problem with the Divine Spear?" I asked.

"I’ve only heard rumors," she said. "It’s said that the Divine Spear has a rather nasty character, arrogant and obstinate, a violent fanatic, and at the same time, an extreme Extraordinary Fanatic. The reason why the former Lu Chan and Chen Long parted ways with him was also due to the conflict between Governance Ideology and Extraordinaryism. I didn’t expect that Lu Chan would have contact with the Divine Spear again now... No, it seems reasonable... Now that Lu Chan has become an Extraordinary Fanatic, perhaps he’s able to get along with the Divine Spear..."

"Is Divine Spear the confidant of some Impermanence?" I asked.

"That... Wait a minute, you’re not already thinking of fighting him, are you?" Zhu Shi exclaimed in surprise.

"If the other party insists on fighting me no matter what..." I said gravely.

"It couldn’t be that my grandfather has been speaking to you privately about some strange matters, could it? I’m going to have a good talk with my grandfather later..." She aired her grievances and continued, "Most Impermanences of the Great Success Rank are confidants to some Impermanence. Divine Spear should be one of them. However, there are only rumors that he secretly works for some Impermanence on Luo Mountain, yet no one knows exactly who. It’s likely that the Impermanence behind him must be a deep and scheming strategist."

According to Mr. Zhu’s theory, if I ever conflict with Divine Spear, even if I could win, it would be best not to kill him.

However, considering that Divine Spear might come as a supporter, here I was pondering whether or not to fight or kill, which seemed rather impolite of me.

While I was thinking this, I still couldn’t help but inquire about other information regarding Divine Spear: "How strong is he exactly?"

"The battle power of a Great Success Rank is not something I, a mere Residence Level Impermanence, could accurately assess," Zhu Shi said helplessly. "But according to the rumors I’ve heard in the past, if Chen Long, who you have fought before, possesses invincible defense, then Divine Spear can be said to have invincible attack power.

"You can probably tell from the name ’Divine Spear’ that this person specializes in using a spear. It is said that he possesses a superpower called ’Guaranteed Hit and Penetration,’ which is just as its name suggests: once his spear strikes, it is guaranteed to hit the target, and once it hits, it is guaranteed to penetrate."

"That sounds a bit like Gungnir from Norse mythology," I said.

This superpower’s effect is indeed too pure, too absurd.

"Absolute hit" and "absolute penetration"—just one of these attributes is powerful enough, and combining both is simply overwhelming.

The last time I encountered a similar ability was in a cheat program for a video game.

After a moment, Lu Youxun returned. He had changed into attire resembling that of an ancient Taoist priest, and there was also a hint of moisture on his body.

"You actually took the time to take a bath?" Zhu Shi asked.

It is said that many clergy members would bathe and fast before participating in important rituals; perhaps Lu Youxun had done something similar. Although it was too late to start fasting, bathing could be completed quickly. It seems this office also has a place for bathing.

"Mind-to-mind connection is not just about Zhuang Cheng having no hostility towards me; I must also have no hostility towards Zhuang Cheng. To prevent unnecessary distractions, of course, I had to first complete the steps of purifying my mind through bathing," Lu Youxun answered.

"Wow... so you think you have hostility towards Senior Brother Zhuang, is that it..." Zhu Shi looked at him askance.

Lu Youxun said calmly, "Don’t misunderstand. Hostility among people is common. Even between very close friends, there might be loathing and prejudice hidden in the details that even the parties themselves may not be aware of. I simply want to minimize the chances of the unexpected."

"Should I take a bath as well then?" I asked.

"No, you don’t need to. Purifying the mind through bathing is also a ritual; it’s not just about taking a bath. If you try to do it at the last minute, it might even lead to more random thoughts," Lu Youxun first shook his head, then said, "Everything is ready, shall we begin now?"

"Alright," I stepped forward.

He held a white jade tally stick in his left hand and extended his right hand towards me.

I also reached out with my right hand, and we clasped hands together.

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