Life Dungeon Game

In a sense, this is also a kind of Easter egg.

This is the content of art appreciation that Wei An learned while studying painting.

And there is such an 'Easter egg' in the painting in front of He Ao.

In the photo, some of the seams on Endil's clothes have an unusual pattern, not quite following the normal pattern of clothing seams.

However, the painting was so well done that He Ao couldn't be sure whether it was a photograph or a painting.

So he bluntly said that he was just guessing.

Of course, the fact that Veri deliberately asked him this question also indirectly indicates that there is a 'problem' with the painting.

"You can guess that? Is there really anything in this world that can stump you?"

Veri pouted, then looked at the photo and explained softly, "This is a 'scene' that a realist digital artist who happened to be passing by 'recreated' based on my father's description. At that time, United Industries had just been established. My father liked this painting very much, so he had it photocopied and put in this library."

Do all four of them own this painting?

He Ao looked at the four people in the portrait and asked softly.

"no?"

Veri shook her head. "It seems only Father printed out this painting?"

then

She paused for a moment, then continued.

"However, my father told me that all four of them really liked the painting, and that was precisely when their relationship was at its best."

"At that time, my father was the chairman of the board of directors of United Industries, my uncle Endil was the mayor, Vincent was the CEO of the mining business, and my uncle Jack was the CEO of the industrial business. The Novite district was built during that period."

She paused slightly, as if recalling something.

“When my father was still alive, he often recalled these things to me. He told me that Vincent was very capable, but too focused on ‘efficiency’ and often argued with Uncle Jeko about the construction costs of the industrial sector.”

"The mining business segment represents the core interests of United Industries, and most of United Industries' shareholders are former owners of small mining companies in Winter,"

He Ao slowly replied, "The power in this position is probably second only to your father in United Industries. Your father placed him in such a position, which shows that he really trusts him."

From the perspective of a normal power structure, Vincent, in this position, might even be Schorn's designated successor.

So in a sense, Vincent's overthrow of Scone was actually a 'palace coup'.

The crown prince, in alliance with the Senate, overthrew the emperor and ascended the throne.

"Yes,"

Vili nodded. “My father used to tell me that he thought Vincent would understand him. Vincent used to be his most ardent supporter and follower. During the establishment of United Industries, he even risked his life several times to help him pass on information.”

“Vincent may not be unaware of your father,”

He Ao looked at the figure taking notes in the photo frame and said calmly, "But for him, the source of his power is the original mining sector, the performance and dividends he created. He cannot betray the source of his power."

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, Veri nodded slightly, as if she understood.

Then she tilted her head, looked at He Ao's youthful profile, and suddenly laughed, "You look like a little teacher."

"Remove the 'small,' thank you,"

He Ao looked up and glanced at her. "Miss Boss."

Vera's smile froze.

"Old Jeko was in charge of the industrial sector, which means he used to have a lot of exposure in the Novite district."

Seeing the blonde girl with pigtails about to explode, He Ao changed the subject and casually asked, "Does he have a high reputation among the people?"

"Uncle Jeko?"

Veri came back to her senses and pondered, "It seems that the older generation all really respect Uncle Jeko, but after my father died, he completely gave up all his positions, opened a funeral home, and stopped caring about these things."

"Um,"

He Ao nodded slightly, then looked at Veri, "Has the mayor not replied to you yet?"

It had been a long time since they had contacted Endil in the car.

“Yes, Uncle Endil used to reply to my messages very quickly,”

Veri slapped her forehead, realizing what she was doing, and raised her wristband. "Wait a minute, let me call someone from the city government."

As she picked up the phone, He Ao turned around and glanced at the photo frame again.

This photo frame

It's inconspicuous, placed among the bookshelves.

In this photo frame, time is forever frozen at that passionate and inspiring period.

At that time, all four of them were very young.

He Ao's gaze shifted from the picture frame to the most prominent spot in the entire 'library'.

Looking at the frosted glass cabinet displaying the oil painting titled "Baptism".

The painting still exhibits a distorted and unusual quality; Heo's psychic vision can still see through the frosted cabinet the 'image' of an old man kneeling on the ground receiving light.

He Ao lowered his head, turned on his bracelet, and a summary report appeared in his field of vision.

This is a summary of the information he and Lena gathered from the various cathedrals they visited along the way.

Although the Eternal Secret Cult uses a regional system to isolate information between different parishes, as long as enough parishes are breached, Heo can still roughly piece together a complete information framework.

After Eve's calculations, an 'introduction' to the fundamental operation of the Eternal Secret Cult in the Storm Zone was summarized.

I could hear Vera making phone calls behind me.

He Ao opened the report in his hand and carefully read through it.

This report basically outlines the operational structure of the Eternal Tantric sect. Through fragments collected from various sources, He Ao has also roughly reconstructed the entire 'power structure' of the Eternal Tantric sect.

At the very top of the Eternal Tantric sect is a religious leader known as the 'Papal'.

The orders of the Apostolic Nuncio are absolute, and no one can defy him.

Below the Apostolic Palace are the bishops.

The bishop Heo had met in the inner church was from the Storm Zone. Bishops have extremely high authority and can decide anything within their diocese.

In the storm zone, in addition to a bishop, there are two sub-bishops.

One of the archdeacons was killed by Heo in the inner chapel, Rockwell, who had sent men to "push" Ilo off the artificial hill.

The other archdeacon, however, was confronting members of the Eternal Old Church outside when Heo entered the inner chapel the night before last, so he did not encounter Heo.

After Heo killed the bishop and the archdeacon in the church, the remaining archdeacon succeeded him as the bishop of the Storm Zone.

According to information from some churches, this 'new bishop' appears to have suffered a serious injury.

Apostolic Church – Bishop – District Church

This is a normal power structure.

Beyond this framework, Eve also perceived some 'other' frameworks.

In some encrypted documents from churches and the main cathedral, Eve discovered that the encrypted 'signature' at the end of some of the encrypted documents was different from that of the main cathedral in the Storm Zone.

Its source is not the usual source of information from the main church.

However, after these encrypted files were decrypted by the Eternal Cult's decryption system, they were directly recognized as instructions from the 'Church'.

In other words, there may be another power system or another 'position' in the Eternal Tantric Church, which is equivalent to or higher than the 'bishop' and whose orders can be issued directly to the grassroots churches in the name of the bishop, bypassing the bishop.

Through analyzing these documents from sources different from the main church, Eve discovered that the instructions in these documents likely came from the same person.

According to the eternal secret

Based on the logic of prioritizing strength, this 'person' who can issue orders beyond the Storm Zone Bishop is most likely no weaker than the Storm Zone Bishop.

The Storm Zone bishops that He Ao had previously encountered were around level B, so this 'hidden bishop' should also be around level B.

The vice-bishop who succeeds the bishop of the Storm Zone should also be quite strong, and may even be someone who can unleash B-level strength with a cheat code.

Last night, Heo used a diversionary tactic to lure away the 'pursuit' of the Eternal Secret Cult. The one lured away by Heo may be this 'new bishop'.

However, after the new bishop was lured away, there were no new B-rank targets to pursue in Lena's direction.

This does not align with the Eternal Esoteric School's previous principle of eradicating all threats.

After all, luring a tiger away from its mountain only works on one tiger; if there are two tigers, they can split up and chase them.

So at least last night, the Eternal Cult in Winter City probably only had one B-level member who could be freely summoned.

Was that 'hidden bishop' not a B-rank? Or was he involved in other missions and unable to intervene?

He Ao personally prefers the latter.

Therefore, it's highly likely that the Eternal Secret Sect still has two 'B-level' members, one strong and one weak.

The mercenaries that United Industries secretly transported into the city should also include at least one B-rank soldier; otherwise, United Industries wouldn't have thought of relying on them.

So there are at least three suspected Class B cases in this city now.

This is the number of people left after He Ao killed his way through the entire group.

If we include the Sky Beast, Levins, the two bishops who were killed, and the old church leader Bright.

The city's B-level population is almost two hands' worth.

Of those killed by Heo, only Bright and the original Storm Zone Bishop were true B-rank; the others barely achieved B-rank strength through sacrificial power-ups.

But this level is also extremely terrifying.

Besides these B-level beings, there is also an eternal divine kingdom that is suspected to be a creation of the gods, and a 'patriarch' that stands above everyone's heads.

The intricate web of Winter City even surpasses that of Dawn City in some respects.

Of course, this may also be related to the fact that Winter is similar to a 'religious holy site'.

If the headquarters of the Eternal Secret Cult weren't located here, the Eternal Divine Kingdom would most likely not be here either, and the people of the Eternal Old Cult wouldn't have been attracted here.

In fact, the Eternal Cult and the Eternal Old Cult are not two cults limited to Winter City, but rather large, secretive organizations that have spread throughout the Federation.

Meanwhile, the energy mines of Winter City attracted an ancient behemoth like Rockwell Energy Corporation, enabling United Industries, which could leverage Rockwell Energy Corporation's power, to also recruit B-level forces.