Above Destiny

Chapter 591 Secret Infiltration of the Investigator

The way of the great people lies in sacrifice and warfare!

Among them, 'sacrifice' is even ranked before 'war'.

Compared to wild and indiscriminate hacking, the essence of the sacrificial ritual is the highest form of sacrificial practice. However, the essence of the sacrificial ritual is not to make people pray to gods and Buddhas, but rather... to make people shirk responsibility.

The gang of thugs hacked and slashed, killing anyone who paid them, without asking who they killed. They were so violent that they would only bring endless karma and evil consequences upon themselves.

If we take no precautions whatsoever, we might lose our minds and go mad in no time, descending into a frenzy of slaughter.

Wars are endless in the world, and among them, how many are truly righteous wars that set things right, cleanse the court of corrupt officials, and restore order to the dynasty?

They're so rare they're practically nonexistent!
Therefore, the existence of burnt offerings and priests exists to inject a line of rules and guidelines into unrestrained violence through 'sacrifice,' 'offering,' and 'cost.' At the same time, after offering sacrifices and offerings, the priest can also indirectly bear the sins and evil consequences for the successor.

Otherwise, the Big Swarm and the Mad Slaughter would have been more than just being in cahoots; they would probably have already become one.

The true essence of a great group—necessary violence, a struggle for survival, a punitive expedition to restore order, and a vigorous effort to rebuild the nation—how many can truly achieve this easily? It's all just talk.

Therefore, something is needed to pay for the evil and calamities committed by this large group.

In most cases, it is the center point.

Just as the embers always like to get mixed up with the white deer during times of chaos, the primordial spirit, who is naturally able to give necessity and legitimacy to the violence and slaughter of the large group and bear most of the consequences, is actually the best partner of the large group!
At the same time, without Tianyuan's resources, it would be impossible to raise a large army of sufficient size and scale. All the large armies in the world today are highly tied to the political power.

Both are chosen ones who kill indiscriminately, but the difference between a ruthless slaughter and a large-scale massacre, between a brutal and chaotic army and a righteous army, lies in this legitimacy!
Even Old Tang is the same!
It's just that his orthodox version has already been updated.

When one can summon ancestors to possess them, a sacrifice of blood is still required.

Even within the notoriously ruthless and insane community, the legacy of the Heavenly Slaughter Lord is the most vicious, violent, and evil method. Without this sacrificial ritual to sustain it, future successors would likely have dragged their talents into the vortex in no time...

While the Blood Reward appears to be gold coins, its core purpose is to establish the merit-based system of the former Eternal Dynasty!

The emperor, by virtue of the eternal mandate of the dynasty, grants legitimacy to his vast empire and guarantees the sins committed by his people with the sheer size of the empire.

The twenty-first-level merit titles are all won on the battlefield, and their core lies in: [Seizing the title by beheading enemies and being rewarded with gold for killing them]!
As one of the few individuals who rose to the top through military merit in the early days of the dynasty, Tianlu's status in military matters was second only to the emperor.

Its inheritance is naturally highly tied to the imperial dynasty and the military merit system.

Even though they have fallen to their current state, as long as they have the legitimate gold coins of the Eternal Dynasty as payment and use them as offerings, they can naturally use this power without any burden.

What the blood price truly needed was not the gold coins that had become antiques and decorations, but the endorsement and guarantee of the emperor's supreme power when the gold coins were printed.

From the perspective of the highest good and destiny—you are receiving the emperor's gold coins and doing the work of the Eternal Dynasty, so naturally the emperor should bear the responsibility for what you have done with this knife, and the Eternal Dynasty should settle the accounts!

So, this is where the fourth great-uncle's incomprehension lies.

Why is it that this bunch of gold coins, which are clearly freshly stamped, could actually have the destiny of an eternal dynasty?

It's absolutely brand new, but the aura on it that points directly to the destiny of the empire can't be faked... More than four hundred years have passed, all the emperors are clearly dead, and the last emperor has fallen into the vortex. How could there be a new emperor succeeding to the throne, swordsmiths overseeing the making, and the emperor issuing coins?

Could it be that the dynasty has truly been restored?!
Yes, yes, no, no, yes... no...

For a moment, even the brain of the fourth great-uncle, which had long since turned to ashes, was a little overloaded, but he quickly realized: It's a good thing, it's all a good thing!

If the dynasty is restored, wouldn't the Victory Army be able to rebuild? If the Victory Army is rebuilt, wouldn't our family's legacy be able to continue?
Moreover, this young man before us is cunning and treacherous... cough cough, his adaptability surpasses even that of the Emperor's Hand back then. He will surely become a rare and formidable figure in the future, cough cough, a hero.

We've had a long-standing relationship here, so by all accounts, my family could be considered a meritorious member of the Prince's household!

It has to be bound together! It has to be bound together tightly!

But I can't tell A-Qian, that stubborn fool who's always looking before he's done something, too. I don't want to scare him away. I'll just lock him in first.

The ancestor, who had long since turned to ashes, was thinking rapidly and had been worrying himself sick.

At this moment, the gaze directed at Ji Jue became exceptionally satisfied.

Those who pay are the bosses, and those who can grant titles are the bosses among bosses. With the opportunity presented to them, why wouldn't they be fiercely loyal to the dynasty?

“Ah Qian…”

Fourth Uncle's tone instantly became kind: "Do you know what the most important virtue is that our family has passed down for so many years?"

"Uh—" Tang Qian was also stunned, "Ruthless and fast?"

"Bullshit!" Fourth Uncle was furious and slapped him hard: "The most important thing in being a person is to be honest, don't you understand? A real man is a man of his word. If you take the boss's money, then you should naturally take care of the boss's business. What kind of talk is it to hesitate and look back!"

In essence, being a person boils down to two words:

"--loyalty!"

After leaving behind an unfamiliar word that had never appeared in the family dictionary, the fourth great-uncle drifted away.

Tang Qian, who had been slapped for no reason, was left staring wide-eyed at Ji Jue, who had been waiting for a long time.

Ji Jue was still smiling, but seeing that Tang Qian hadn't turned on him and accused him of being inhuman, he immediately understood that the minting machine he had dug up from under the old imperial city had passed the Tang family's verification. He felt even more relieved and asked curiously, "You... finished shaking it?"

"Ah, it's over."

Tang Qian's expression twitched repeatedly. What the hell was going on?!

But since our ancestors didn't say it was impossible, let's just do it.

If I can't trust that bastard Ji Jue, how can I not trust my fourth great-uncle?

"Okay, that's it."

Old Tang gritted his teeth and stamped his foot, finally getting on the wrong boat: "How do you plan to get in? I'll cooperate with you."

"Well?"

Ji Jue was puzzled and asked, "Why should I go in?"

Damn, do you really think you're just a tool?

Tang Qian glared: "I risked my life, and you're out there reaping the benefits, and you're the kind who can be abandoned at any moment if things get tough..."

"Don't worry, just take this with you."

Ji Jue took a lighter out of his pocket and tossed it into his hand: "You can take it in. Don't worry, it's not considered an alchemical item. It will pass through the Empire's security gate. Keep your phone on, and I'll tell you what to do."

lighter?
Tang Qian held it in his hand and examined it carefully. He felt that this thing looked like a hand grenade and wished he could take it apart and study it carefully. But no matter how he looked at it, he felt that it was just an ordinary lighter.

"You've been in the bathroom for too long, and your 'buddies' are starting to complain that you're trying to skip out on the bill."

Ji Jue glanced at the surveillance screen in the corner, flicked his finger, and reopened the roof: "Please, Mr. Tang, take up your post at the Imperial garrison base!"

"I'm going to get screwed over by you sooner or later."

Tang Qian cursed under his breath, leaped up, climbed over the wall again, pretended to fasten his belt a couple of times, and returned to his original position.

Then they once again immersed themselves in their cheap buddies' boasting and drinking.

It's as if nothing had happened.

They were all bound by brotherhood and shared a deep passion. When the conversation got exciting, they almost wanted to become sworn brothers, even though everyone knew that brotherhood was only in their hearts and that they would never be able to get through on the phone if something happened. But when they put on an act, they were all loyal and righteous, like moral exemplars of the world...

With such a strong sense of loyalty, they naturally split the bill equally when it came time to pay.

Don't expect me to pay an extra penny.

If the empire hadn't paid enough for those who risked their lives, they might have had to forgo even the simplest things, like a couple of extra bites of cold food.

Just kidding. We're all just filler characters, temporary cannon fodder who come in to do the dirty work, or nodding acquaintances who happen to end up at the same table for a meal. Why waste any real feelings?

In short, in a friendly atmosphere, the slightly tipsy mercenaries staggered toward the gate of the military base.

Before the imposing and stern guard post, a huge searchlight looked down and two fully armed powered armored vehicles, each over four meters tall, stared at every passerby with their scarlet eyes.

People walked through the safety gate one by one.

Tang Qian was talking nonsense, but his heart was in his throat. He couldn't help but scratch his face and look around. When it was his turn, he swallowed hard and took a step forward...

The security door, which is said to be able to sweep away even an extra coin, remained silent, its green light still flashing.

It's really over!

"What are you standing there for?" The guard at the door looked over instantly, his eyes cold.

Tang Qian immediately smiled obsequiously and tried to ingratiate himself: "Ahem, I was drunk, drunk, I didn't realize what was happening, sorry..."

The police baton was pressed against his chest, preventing him from getting any closer.

"Show your receipt for inspection."

Instantly, several soldiers wearing exoskeletons came over, meticulously scanning their bodies with scanners, producing a series of beeping sounds.

Besides the holster on his calf, the dagger on his thigh, the close-fitting bulletproof vest, and the two bullets in his pocket, even his keys and the remaining small umbrella were forcibly taken out, along with the lighter that Ji Jue threw at him. They were scanned one by one, without exception.

Still, nothing seemed amiss.

"The 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment again?"

The guard conducting the inspection snorted coldly, glanced at Old Tang, who was clearly not an Imperial, and waved his baton indifferently: "Alright, get lost."

"Okay, okay."

Tang Qian nodded and bowed without a care, quickly packed up his things, and even returned a military salute. Only after walking inside and a few dozen meters did he silently breathe a sigh of relief.

They actually got in?
Ji Jue, that guy, does have some skills after all!

Unlike the Federation's image of being 'laid-back' and 'free', the Empire has always been known for its austerity and strictness. These are both stereotypes, but this is where the difference between the two sides becomes apparent.

Although the empire employed a large number of foreign mercenaries as cannon fodder, it never relaxed its control over its own army. On the contrary, it became increasingly strict, even to the point of going against human nature.

The general impression of imperial civil servants has always been that they are cold and inhuman, like machines. As for soldiers, they are completely instrumentalized, and the soldiers themselves are even proud of it.

The Empire still maintains a one-year compulsory military service system for healthy adult men, and even disabled men are trained in arsenals or other related positions.

The soldiers who are able to be sent to the Central Plains are elites who have won against countless others during their one-year service and obtained the qualifications of professional soldiers. They enjoy generous treatment, allowances and benefits, regard this as an important turning point in their lives, and naturally obey orders without any slackness.

They said the entire base was impregnable, impenetrable even to a needle.

Beyond the rigorous scrutiny and inspection on the surface, there are dozens of different overlapping alchemical circuits that completely seal off the military base.

Spirituality verification, threat analysis, hazardous materials monitoring and search... it has it all!
It can be said that no matter what happens within the base, it will not escape the eyes of the watchers.

Even if foreign cannon fodder mercenaries like Tang Qian are allowed to enter the base, they will be monitored even more strictly.

The reason the lighter didn't show any problems is because it's just a lighter!
Aside from the fuel undergoing special treatment, there was absolutely no problem. But even the fuel itself was just ordinary liquefied gas; even if Tianlu himself came to inspect it, he could only make a normal assessment.

Business as usual.

"what's next?"

Old Tang walked as usual, swaying along the road towards his dormitory. He heard the music in his headphones change suddenly; the songs on his phone kept jumping around—girl, old man, low notes, high notes, constantly changing, many completely different songs intermittently jumping: "Fear of loneliness... Searching... Noise... Place..."

Okay, let's find a crowded place, right?
Tang Qian couldn't help but roll his eyes. This method of communication was just weird; movable type printing was definitely one of them.

There was no way around it; Ji Jue liked to project his own experience onto others: "If I were the Empire, I wouldn't let the phone surveillance in the base go unchecked either. I'd definitely record the conversations and monitor everything, and give special attention to key figures. In matters like this, you can't underestimate the Empire's technological capabilities."

As for Wuji Communication's premium leased lines, well, they might as well just self-destruct.

You're just a mercenary cannon fodder, running to the base to pick up this kind of stuff. The army's secret police were knocking on the door less than ten minutes later, okay?

Why doesn't Ji Jue just deploy the music software on a local server and let the machine become divine? As long as it can understand the music, that's fine; don't worry about anything else.

Old Tang readily complied, and with a smooth turn, he was already heading towards the cafeteria.

It was right around the time of shift changes for many positions, and the busiest place in the entire base—although they were sixth-class citizens in terms of rank, they were still chosen ones, and their benefits were still plentiful, with unlimited meals in the sergeant's canteen.

He certainly took advantage of the situation.

If it weren't for the fact that he ate too much of that half-moon-shaped food and got sick, he could have continued to camp out and eat today, and he wouldn't have ended up getting into trouble with that bastard Ji Jue.
As usual, a huge amount of self-service food was piled up, forming a small mountain. Then, Old Tang found the liveliest spot and gave everyone a live demonstration of what it means to have three mouths to eat a pig and five mouths to eat a cow.

The CD was gone in a flash.

Then, with great enthusiasm, he picked up the plate again... and headed straight for the chef, whose face had turned green.

The chef, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, felt his vision go black when he saw the old soup refreshed in front of him. Wasn't he supposed to be not coming today?

Fortunately, Old Tang ate much more elegantly this time, only eating three plates and burping only after he was about 60% full.

Throughout the entire stream, he kept his phone on the table, watching the streamer's antics and laughing so hard he almost fell over.

as always.

"You think you're so tough? I'll make you fly!" The streamer on the screen glared angrily and pointed at Old Tang: "Get your lighter out!"

Old Tang didn't react in time.

The anchor rolled his eyes, repeated himself, and raised his voice.

He took out his cigarette case, ignoring the no-smoking rule in the sergeant's canteen, and, as always, acted rudely, pulled out a lighter and lit the cigarette.

The bright green flames suddenly trembled.

"and then?"

"Then, watch the direction of the flames." The hacked server faithfully transmitted the modified image to Old Tang. "Watch where it drifts."

The lighter is normal, and the liquefied gas inside is also normal, except that it has been infused with extracted spiritual energy from the Plague of the Fly King.

Similarly, it inherits the properties of the Lord of the Flies Plague, but its effect on the surface is completely opposite—it cannot perform any coloring or marking, but when it annihilates itself, it converges in the direction of coloring and marking.

Moreover, after the hue used by Ji Jue at the cannibalistic scene was matched and adjusted, it no longer reacts with other hues.

Simply put, it's a pointer specifically designed for the target wolf.

However, if the distance is too far or there are too many interfering objects, disorder will occur.

Old Tang had to take them into the base to conduct on-site observation and searching.

If you're lucky, you can succeed on your first try.

If I'm unlucky... then I'll have to trouble Old Tang to smoke a few more packs.

"Oh!"

Old Tang's eyes narrowed involuntarily, and sure enough, the flames rose up, as if blown by an unseen wind, almost forming a line and pointing towards Old Tang's back.

But then, very quickly, it recovered and rose vertically upwards.

Suddenly, it jumped and went out.

broken?

Old Tang raised his eyebrows in confusion, shook his head, and after struggling for a while, finally managed to light his cigarette.

"call--"

He exhaled a puff of smoke and, amidst the faint noise, looked behind him at a line of smartly dressed female soldiers walking towards him.

With flowing blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a curvaceous figure.

The pilots, fresh from training, boldly unbuttoned their collars, letting sweat bounce and drip into the valleys and ravines. They chatted and laughed, walking forward oblivious to everyone around them, already accustomed to the stares from both sides, and even occasionally waving in response.

"Beautiful!"

Tang Qian raised an eyebrow, unable to resist the urge to whistle. He lingered for a long time, watching the scene with reluctance, until the person had walked away before finally turning his gaze away.

He fiddled with the lighter in his hand, only to find that he couldn't light it no matter what he did.

"This thing broke so quickly?"

On the other end, Ji Jue remained silent.

It's not broken.

It was the special spiritual residue inside that was completely activated and exhausted in an instant.

However, at this point, whether the lighter is good or bad is no longer important.

I just stared quietly at the screen in front of me.

Silent laughter.

On the screen, the image sent by Lao Tang was frozen at the moment they brushed past each other. The female pilot walking towards them stood tall and proud, her long golden hair flowing in the air, her eyes sparkling like jewels.

All kinds of styles.

You couldn't see the blood on the sharp claws of her hands, nor could you imagine what her cherry-like mouth looked like when it was split open, smeared with blood and bits of flesh.

"Wolf..."

Ji Jue chuckled softly, his eyes sparkling, and leaned closer, gazing intently at the scene on the screen.

"hello."

(End of this chapter)