Enforcer Manual
Chapter 762 - 760: Seize the Time_1

Chapter 762: Chapter 760: Seize the Time_1

Leaving the plaza theater, Song Lan and Lu Xiang felt incredibly somber.

From the conversation they’d just had, it was clear that the Spirit Troupe had come with a purpose; their goal was to locate "Father God," and Lu Xiang had finally made sense of the coincidences in time.

The incident in The First Region had made the followers realize that their "Father God" was still alive, prompting them to take action. Judging by their results, the telepathic connection they believed to exist with "Father God" was genuinely real.

But what troubled her was the very existence of the Spirit Troupe.

"As the performances are things that truly happened, it means that the Spirit Troupe was established before the third war."

This also explained why Song Lan couldn’t find any information about the Spirit Troupe on the internet.

The Third War did not just turn the world upside down; it also completely destroyed the old net. The network they used today was almost entirely new, established after the formation of the United Government. The data and information that once existed on the old net had inevitably vanished completely.

That the Spirit Troupe had remained in an underground shelter, unknown to the world, made sense.

"I think so too."

Song Lan agreed with Lu Xiang’s assessment, which was why he had asked the other party about "Whisper."

"This means that she is a person from before the third war and is now well over a hundred years old."

Even within the United Government, very few had seen the pre-war world, and the majority of them now spent their days in specialized medical devices, relying on biological pharmaceutical technology to sustain their lives.

Yet, the woman they had seen just now showed no signs of aging; her skin and voice had maintained a youthful state.

"We can’t rule out that possibility."

"Then..."

Lu Xiang looked at Song Lan with a deep gaze, "Exactly how old are you, who she sees as ’Father God’?"

The arrival of the Spirit Troupe indirectly proved that Song Lan, too, had lived in the world before the third war—shortly after getting to know Song Lan, she had discovered that he knew a lot about the pre-war world, and much of it was hard to come by on the internet.

Many of her questions seemed to find their answers.

This included why Song Lan had poor stamina and often complained about back pain.

If these conditions were applied to a centenarian, they would be nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, at the level of a centenarian, Song Lan’s physical strength could still be considered top-tier; most people of his apparent age were basically confined to biological chambers.

"Old Lu, I know what you’re trying to say..."

"Stop calling me ’Old Lu’ from now on."

Lu Xiang frowned, instinctively wanting to add that nickname to the list of things she forbade, "I feel like I’ve aged over a hundred years all of a sudden."

"I do have some memories from before the third war, but like those from the orphanage, they are fragmented," he said.

Until he understood the true principles of "time travel," Song Lan wasn’t planning to deny it, "But most likely, it has to do with my abilities."

In fact, even he didn’t know what happened in the "upper world"; it was only in specific times and settings that he could "see" some of the lost parts.

Most of what he knew about the "upper world" and "Whisper" came from his friends’ accounts.

"So what you’re saying is, your abilities might even allow you to travel through time, taking you back hundreds of years?"

Lu Xiang pondered following Song Lan’s explanation.

Having spent enough time with Song Lan, she had become accustomed to him revealing a new ability every so often.

She would rather believe in the theory Song Lan proposed, and it helped settle her feelings slightly.

Unconsciously, the hovercar descended slowly and landed on the street in front of the apartment building.

The night had deepened.

For many in District Seventeen, this time heralded the start of nightlife, but Lu Xiang unusually began to feel sleepy.

For some reason today, even Yeying fell asleep unusually early; when the two walked in, they found the little girl curled up on the sofa with her eyes shut, her small mouth slightly ajar, drooling all over the place.

Without speaking, the two of them finished washing up and then lay down on the bedroom bed as usual.

The room was quieter than Song Lan could have ever imagined.

After the sudden appearance of so many "children", he had braced himself for the whirlwind he’d face upon returning home in the evening. The feeling was akin to the terror of getting caught at a parent-teacher meeting after failing a test at school and forging a parent’s signature on the exam paper.

"Old Lu, are you alright?"

At these words, Lu Xiang, who had been lying flat on the bed, finally turned his face and then hugged Song Lan tightly.

"Of course I’m alright, I was just thinking about your abilities."

So far, Song Lan had displayed control over various aspects of time:

Stopping, accelerating, even reversing back to the day before.

She suddenly thought of the movies Song Lan had downloaded on the computer – if such abilities were gifted to a rescuer under the banner of Kolo Film Industry, the audience would probably curse them for power inconsistency, yet these powers were truly present in an individual.

"What did you think of?"

"Nothing much, just suddenly felt it was quite wondrous."

The two of them were very close in their line of sight.

Lu Xiang didn’t know if it was a side effect of watching a stage play or not, but she felt anxious in an uncharacteristic way, "This feeling, it’s like having a grip on time."

Song Lan didn’t speak; he wasn’t sure how to respond.

But time was never that easy to control or tame.

Even those who had, or believed they had, seized time, would see it slip through their fingers if they were not careful.

"I suddenly thought, what if one day you suddenly activate your ability and run off to a world a hundred years before, or a hundred years after?"

For Song Lan, this was an entirely possible phenomenon to occur to him.

Because it seemed that not even he knew the limits of his abilities.

"No," Song Lan suddenly said with great certainty in his tone.

"Hmm? Then I’ll just have to take your word for it."

Lu Xiang’s lips curved upward as she leaned on the person in front of her, "It’s getting late, let’s sleep."

...

Deep into the night, in front of the square theater.

The crowd had completely dispersed, and even the theater staff had gone home from work.

A tall woman carrying a heavy suitcase descended the steps; she wore a smiling masquerade mask and looked up at the bright moon overhead.

Then, as if she noticed something, she made her way toward a secluded alley.

Three staggering drunkards, noticing her, followed from a distance.

At the dead end of this dark alley, the woman stopped, waiting quietly for the arrival of the drunkards.

As foretold by prophecy, "Father God" resided somewhere in this city.

That also meant that His enemies still lurked within.