Dark Light Chaser.

Chapter 40 Nature

Upon hearing this name, Ai Liang recalled a poem written by Xu Zhihai himself. The Gaia in the poem did not refer to Xu Zhihai himself, but to the Thousand-Faced Man.

In Xu Zhihai's eyes, the Thousand-Faced Man who helped him complete his revenge was the Earth Mother Goddess who treated all things equally, but his nature was not kind but chaotic.

"Please keep this name a secret for now; I don't want anyone else to know." The man with a thousand faces smiled as he placed the scalpel next to Gao Bin's head.

The message was very clear: if he knew my name, I would have no choice but to kill him.

"I've already told you my name, shouldn't you tell me yours out of courtesy?"

Ai Liang said, "The Hermit."

"There's no need to be so wary."

"The man with a thousand faces said helplessly."

The two remained silent for about a minute before the man with a thousand faces spoke up: "Alright, Officer Gao should have regained his hearing by now. Let's continue our conversation."

"So, your purpose in spreading rumors to force me to show myself was to get me to join you?"

Ai Liang looked at the Thousand-Faced Man with an unfriendly expression.

He's in a bad mood right now. His intention in showing up to collect the entrusted funds held by Mu Si was to say goodbye to the past and start a new, ordinary life.

As a result, he encountered a lunatic who insisted on him joining some rubbish organization, which completely disrupted his plans.

Unfortunately, the person spreading the rumors was Yue Qihua's grandfather, Yue Chongshan, which made it impossible for Ai Liang to ignore them.

“That’s right, the Apostles are the saviors of the world. They are full of Apostles like us who can fight against the supernatural. We are natural allies!”

The man with a thousand faces raised his arms like a cult madman.

"What he's saying is utter nonsense! They don't care about the lives of ordinary people at all!"

Gao Bin, who had been hiding like a turtle, afraid of being noticed, suddenly spoke up and retorted: "Don't be fooled by him! The Apostles are a bunch of monsters in human skin!"

Most people in Asia Union have access to the archives concerning the actions of the Apostles.

Having read the description in the file, any person involved would have the illusion that they are not holding a file, but a necromancer's book with human skin as paper, blood as ink, and bones as bindings.

Gao Bin's conscience prevented him from remaining silent. If he chose to remain silent at this moment, then the Apostles would have one more monster, and the world would have one more group of innocent victims.

Gao Bin didn't know how effective his words would be; he could very well be killed by the Thousand-Faced Man in the next second. But he had to muster his courage, even if it only had a one percent effect.

He was, after all, a member of the Asian Union's Countermeasures Bureau, and he couldn't just stand by and watch others be pulled into the Apostles without doing anything.

After enduring excruciating pain and uttering those two sentences, Gao Bin closed his eyes and silently awaited death. However, the enraged Thousand-Faced Man did not appear as he had imagined.

Gao Bin squinted open one eye and discovered that the Thousand-Faced Man hadn't even glanced at him.

Not only did Qianmianren ignore Ai Liang, but Ai Liang also ignored him, which made things a bit awkward.

"I reject."

Ai Liang's answer was exactly the same as last time.

He knew very well that he was not an apostle, had never used any cursed objects, and had never controlled any so-called supernatural beings; everything was just their wishful thinking and misunderstanding.

"Can you tell me why? Join us and you'll see a whole new world where we're above the food chain and stand at the top. Aren't you even a little bit curious?"

The man with a thousand faces continued to tempt Ai Liang: "Mastering the supernatural is just the beginning; you can become even stronger!"

I'm sorry, but I was already tired of what you call "the pinnacle" when I was five years old.

As early as ten years ago, when Ai Liang first awakened, she had experienced that feeling.

It's exhilarating to be in control of everything, but after being bombarded with the negative emotions of nearly ten million people and having spent five years in a killing spree, Ai Liang had long since grown weary of those so-called epic lives. He just wanted to live an ordinary and mundane daily life.

The beauty in ordinary life is what Ai Liang is pursuing now.

Before that, he had to deal with this so-called apostle in front of him.

Seemingly sensing Ai Liang's murderous intent, the Thousand-Faced Man smiled.

"Do you think of me as one of those scumbags who died at your hands?"

The Thousand-Faced Man stepped forward and met Ai Liang's gaze. "Although there are indeed some people in the Apostles' Council with bad habits, I am very self-respecting. I will never kill someone unless necessary."

The Thousand-Faced Man's words were as ridiculous as a chastity arch erected at the door of a prostitute; the destruction caused by the masks under his command was almost several times that of the entire Apostles Society combined.

The number of apostles is scarce and limited, but the masks that he has granted power to are virtually endless and everywhere.

"So you really have killed innocent people?"

Ai Liang's eyes had turned completely cold.

Currently, Ai Liang has all his superpowers turned off except for telekinesis. It is impossible to read his mind or use mental control to access his brain, but the purpose can be achieved by getting information out of him, so there is no need to go to the trouble of unlocking his abilities.

Instead of answering directly, the Thousand-Faced Man threw the question back at him: "Hermit, do you think you're so noble as a law enforcer of the night?"

“You don’t need to hide your true nature from me. The moment we made eye contact in the mall, I sensed the murderous intent in your eyes. Back then, I was still Xu Zhihai.”

"A desperate young man who has no choice but to take revenge himself should not be on the Hermit's kill list, so why is there murderous intent in your eyes?"
If you're filled with murderous intent, why don't you make a move?
You should have had many opportunities to finish off Xu Zhihai with a single blow, just like you did when you killed those gang members.

Ai Liang, who was about to take action, suddenly froze.

“I saw it from the beginning: your bloodbath against the underworld in Neva City was just a way to vent your negative emotions, not to punish evil and promote good. Otherwise, you could have continued to cooperate with Xia Qiyuan and slowly changed Neva City.”

"Hmm, let me guess, did you find yourself becoming accustomed to killing during your five years of retirement?"

Even when faced with trouble, their first thought is to get rid of the person who caused the trouble?
You find yourself turning into a cold-blooded, callous killer.

"However, none of that matters, as long as you join the Apostles."

The man with a thousand faces continued his psychological maneuvering, his words carrying a special kind of magic.

This force will make you unconsciously identify with him and follow him.

"No one in the Apostles will look at you with the prejudices of ordinary people."

"Here, you don't need to suppress your true nature for the sake of ordinary people."

"The Apostles are an organization that fights against the supernatural. Every member of the Apostles is on the front line as a guardian of humanity. Compared to the harm caused by those monsters, killing two people occasionally is just a trivial matter."

"Just as a shepherd protects his flock from wolves, he may also choose to eat one of them."

“We are not like those scum who died at your hands, unilaterally taking from and killing their own kind.”

"Protecting humanity is our duty, and unleashing our true nature is also the right that we apostles should have."

“We are guardians, not slaves to humans. We are not obligated to protect them while also conforming to their will in every way and living according to their whims.”

“It is they who need the protection of us apostles, not us apostles who beg for protection.”

The Man of a Thousand Faces delivered a passionate speech, taking a step forward with each sentence he uttered.

Now, the Thousand-Faced Man has walked up to Ai Liang.

He extended his palm to Ai Liang: "Join us, the Apostles Society is your home."

(End of this chapter)