I, Lord of Prayer

·

At night, the bustling amusement park is teeming with people. The slowly turning Ferris wheel shimmers with vibrant colors, and the multicolored neon lights illuminate every corner of the park. 🐝👤 ❻❾Şн𝓊χ.匚σ𝓂 🎉🐟

Eileen smiled broadly, humming a tune, carrying several shopping bags in her left hand and a strawberry sundae in her right, occasionally licking it, and walked briskly toward the amusement park exit.

Beside him, Zhou Chen carried large and small shopping bags in both hands, his eyes warily scanning his surroundings.

There's no way around it, his troublesome nature has kicked in, we have to be careful.

Throughout the day, he and Eileen encountered quite a few pollution incidents.

First, I encountered a mannequin coming back to life while shopping in the morning, then I received a cursed text message from a ghostly killer, and after lunch, I went to see a movie, only to encounter a supernatural movie incident...

I arrived at the amusement park near dusk, and as soon as I entered, I received a deadly flyer—the kind of bizarre flyer that you have to pass on to the next person within a specified time, or else your life will be taken away.

Fortunately, his extraordinary abilities were unique. After sensing something was wrong, he immediately burned the flyer and the curse power contained within it.

The corruptor who distributed the leaflets—a teddy bear twisted and deformed from a living person—was beaten black and blue by his military-style boxing and arrested on the spot.

Well, the special task force members who came to handle the follow-up work were still those two unlucky old guys.

Zhou Chen didn't know whether he was lucky or unlucky. Once the curse of the deadly flyers was unleashed, it would definitely become a severe contamination.

The same applies to the previous pollution incidents; they are all pollution curses that spread extremely quickly. If given enough time to develop, dealing with them will inevitably waste a lot of manpower and cause many casualties.

Being able to contain the serious incident in time is undoubtedly a good thing, but for him, being forced to work overtime during his off-duty time is definitely not a pleasant experience... He must get Jiang Che to give him a bonus when he gets back!

"Mr. Zhou Chen, shall we take a picture?"

As he was about to leave the amusement park, Eileen called him back. Her long, flowing golden hair shimmered under the lights, her sapphire-like eyes sparkled, and she wore a genuine, sweet smile, like a child whose wish had been granted.

"This is the happiest day of my life, and I want to commemorate it."

Zhou Chen immediately felt his bad mood vanish like snow meeting the sun, and he returned the smile:

"Okay, let's go film over there."

In front of the carousel at the entrance of the amusement park.

Zhou Chen held up his phone and switched to selfie mode: "How's this angle?"

"Very good, you managed to capture both the carousel and the Ferris wheel in the shot."

"Alright then, three, two, one..."

Eileen winked at the camera and made a peace sign: "wink~"

Click.

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As the phone shutter clicked, a bright smile and the magnificent amusement park were captured in a single moment.

"Where did you learn that?" Zhou Chen turned his head, his tone quite surprised.

"There are posts online saying that photos taken this way look better..." Eileen realized belatedly, and her face couldn't help but feel a little hot.

That's so unladylike... Eileen, how could you be so unladylike... But, but this once shouldn't be a problem, today is an exception...

Eileen pursed her lips, quickly composed herself, and smiled faintly, "Let's go. Father wants me to be back before nine o'clock to have a video call with him. Zhou Chen is coming too."

"..."

Zhou Chen couldn't help but feel nervous.

That's one of their biggest financial backers!

·

The Stars Club, the brightly lit office lobby.

「姜组长，这是今天发生的污染事件——编号JZ-1028-001【假人复活】、编号JZ-1028-002【幽灵杀人狂】、编号JZ-1028-003【灵异电影】、编号JZ-1028-004【索命传单】、编号……」

An administrative staff member was reporting on the case. In just one day, Jinzhu had discovered eight pollution incidents, seven of which had been quickly resolved, leaving only the [Ghost Killer] remaining.

This particular corruptor requires Dreamwalkers to kill it in the dream world in order to truly eliminate it—at this very moment, the Dreamwalkers are fighting the "Ghost Killer".

Jiang Che nodded and said calmly, "Increase the power of the detection device and increase patrols in all areas."

Starting at 22 PM tonight, Jinzhu will enter a state of high alert.

silence.

—The entire office hall fell into a deathly silence in an instant.

Countless people stopped what they were doing at the same time, staring in astonishment at Jiang Che's expressionless face. Her calm yet incredibly informative words echoed in their minds like a thunderclap.

Are you kidding me, sis?

Level 1 combat readiness?

Just because of those corruptors, entering level five combat readiness is enough.

Immediately enter Level 1 combat readiness...

Is the Gate of the Abyss open in Jinzhu, or are a few Tier 5s going to settle things with a fight in Jinzhu?

This is no joke!

Jiang Che calmly surveyed the stunned crowd, his tone as still as a calm lake: "Wasn't my order clear enough?"

"……yes!"

The sounds of pages turning, keyboards clicking, phones ringing, and hurried footsteps shattered the silence. Amidst the clamor, the entire Jinzhu City Star Council sprang into action under a single command.

·

At this moment, Zhou Chen finished taking a shower, put on a tailor-made black suit, tidied himself up, and came to a room decorated with a large screen.

Eileen was already sitting in the room waiting, her shiny blonde hair cascading down her back. She had changed into a brand new light pink dress with lots of lace decorations.

She sat there elegantly and gracefully, her slender arms adorned with pure white lace gloves, her hands folded on her lap. With her red lips, white teeth, and bright, beautiful eyes, she was serene and lovely, like a princess in a palace or the most exquisite and perfect work of art in a museum.

After Zhou Chen sat down, an image appeared on the screen shortly afterward, showing the appearance of a middle-aged nobleman.

The Duke of Elizabeth has striking features, thick eyebrows, and fine crow's feet at the corners of his eyes, clearly showing his handsome appearance in his youth. Now, in middle age, his maturity and experience have given him an even more masculine charm.

At this moment, the Duke of Elizabeth's azure eyes were full of laughter—it was obvious that Eileen's blue eyes were inherited from her father.

"Daddy~" Eileen smiled.

"Eileen, how was your day?" The Duke's eyes were filled with affection.

"I'm so happy!" Eileen said tentatively, "I drank milk tea..."

Seeing that her father didn't react much, she then recounted everything she had done that day.

For example, shopping for clothes, getting manicures, drinking milk tea, eating fried chicken, eating at roadside stalls, watching movies, riding drop towers, riding roller coasters... including encountering pollution incidents.

The Duke of Elizabeth nodded slightly, but frowned slightly when she heard about the several pollution incidents they had encountered. She then looked at Zhou Chen beside her and said, "You must be Mr. Zhou Chen. Eileen is grateful for your care."

"It's my honor." Zhou Chen smiled impeccably, his manners so impeccable that even the Duke of Elizabeth was slightly surprised.

"I heard that you once defeated the 'gentleman' of Paradise Lost in a head-on confrontation," Duke Elizabeth asked, having learned of this from Jiang Che.

"It can't be considered a direct defeat. The gentleman was already injured at the time, and my abilities were more effective against him, so I forced him to use the substitute doll. But to say I defeated him directly, I'm still far from it," Zhou Chen said modestly.

"Every member of Paradise Lost is a force to be reckoned with; it's already quite an achievement that you managed to get him to give up one of his lives."

The Duke of Elizabeth looked at him with admiration and a slightly meaningful gaze: "The cane that the gentleman is carrying was once the weapon of another member of Paradise Lost, the 'Magician'."

Over a year ago, the Magician died at the hands of the Kingdom's Guard, and the Magic Wand became a trophy of the Kingdom. Although the Wand was later taken back by Paradise Lost, we have already researched the Wand's abilities and found a way to counter it. This is classified information that even the Star Council does not know.

—The magic wand will become unusable if an audio recording filled with boos is played.

"..."

Zhou Chen was stunned for a moment, not expecting the Duke of Elizabeth to reveal such confidential information so easily, and even adding with a light laugh:

"I doubt many magicians can perform normally amidst a chorus of boos, right?"

Coming to his senses, Zhou Chen sincerely said, "Thank you for reminding me, I will remember it."

This is crucial information that can render a magic wand useless!

Afterwards, the Duke of Elizabeth chatted with Eileen about everyday matters. When it was almost time, the Duke said, "Eileen, please go out for a moment. I need to speak with Mr. Zhou Chen alone for a few minutes."

"Okay." Eileen obediently got up and left the room.

Once Zhou Chen was alone in the room, the Duke's smile vanished, replaced by a calm demeanor that betrayed no emotion.

"Duke, what would you like to talk about?" Zhou Chen asked.

The Duke of Elizabeth looked at him and said, "I've seen your file. How should I put it... a miracle, a miracle that is hard to replicate."

Not only that, but in just one month you were able to kill a gentleman head-on. If Ms. Jiang Che hadn't blocked the news, you'd probably be the talk of the town in the supernatural world by now... Don't worry, I won't gossip."

"……so?"

You can understand it as—

The Duke paused for a moment: "I want to make a deal with you."

He said, "I will tell you how to restrain the magic wand, I will take care of the advanced ritual for you to advance to the second tier, and I can even take care of the advanced ritual for you to advance to the third tier. I can give you the forbidden items you want, and I can provide you with money, connections and other assistance in all aspects."

And you only need to do one thing for me.

Zhou Chen remained silent, even a fool could tell that this matter was not simple.

But what could a mere first-tier Ascendant like Grand Duchess Elizabeth possibly need to do?

"You must spend the rest of your time with Eileen, make her happy and content. I can see you can do it." The Duke of Elizabeth's tone was extremely serious and earnest.

"..." Zhou Chen frowned, his tone becoming noticeably harsher: "What do you mean by 'the remaining time'?"

The Duke of Elizabeth sighed, looking as if she had aged several years in an instant, her expression filled with weariness.

"You've probably heard the story of Sleeping Beauty, right?"

Zhou Chen grasped the key point almost immediately: "A curse?"

"Yes, a curse." The Duchess Elizabeth nodded. "Before the kingdom was unsealed, there was a notorious evil witch who lived for over three hundred years. She lived at the foot of a volcano and would go out every ten years to abduct and kill young girls in order to brew an elixir of immortality."

Seventeen years ago, when Eileen's mother was pregnant, we went to a ceremony. Suddenly, a dark witch appeared at the ceremony and tried to kidnap several girls.

I, along with several other members of the Royal Guard, severely injured the witch. Before fleeing, the witch cast a curse, condemning my child to a gruesome death before the age of eighteen.

"During the months of Eileen's mother's pregnancy, I checked on her daily to make sure Eileen was fine. But after she was born, she was burdened with a curse that seemed to bind her soul. If it were forcibly removed, Eileen's soul would collapse." The Duke of Elizabeth looked utterly helpless.

"Over the years, I've tried all sorts of methods, but they've all failed. When the restricted area was unsealed, I contacted the Star Council, many other people, and even invited a great sage from the alchemy field, but there was still no way to remove it, because the curse had become one with Eileen's soul and could not be removed at all."

We've been protecting Erin and forbidding her from doing anything, just in case she gets affected by the curse and something bad happens... Like today, do you think the contamination incident is your fault?

No, it's a curse at work, because she'll be eighteen in two months. The curse is making Eileen unlucky, exposing her to all sorts of potentially deadly dangers.

An evil witch who has lived for three hundred years… The time flow in Forbidden Zone 052 is different from the outside world, possessing an eight-hundred-year history, which isn't a problem, but the curse… Even a Great Sage of the Alchemy Realm couldn't break it? Zhou Chen's thoughts were in turmoil as he asked, "What rank is that black witch?"

"At the fourth rank, her curse abilities are extremely powerful; she has even cursed to death a Royal Guard Knight of the same rank."

The Duke of Elizabeth said in a deep voice, "After the forbidden zone was unsealed, we sought the assistance of the Stars and killed the Black Witch. Before she died, she said that the curse could not be lifted, could not be avoided, and that those afflicted by the curse would only meet a certain death, because it was a death that included one's destiny—a fateful death."

He sighed deeply: "We owe Eileen so much. All we can do now is let go of the constraints and let her live the life she longs for. We can't even be by her side... As parents, we are failures, complete failures."

Zhou Chen rubbed his temples: "Does Eileen know?"

"Know."

·

Zhou Chen pushed open the door and saw Eileen standing gracefully in the corridor, waiting.

Eileen tiptoed and glanced into the room. After confirming the video call had ended, she asked curiously, "Mr. Zhou Chen, what did Daddy say to you?"

"It's nothing, just some precautions, telling me to take good care of you." Zhou Chen shrugged and walked down the corridor. "Where do you want to go tomorrow?"

"I want to see the giant pandas at the zoo... and then we'll go eat stinky tofu and snail rice noodles for lunch..." Eileen said, counting on her fingers as she caught up with him.

"...If you eat stinky tofu and snail rice noodles, I won't take you shopping."

"Why?"

"Beautiful girls wouldn't eat that kind of thing."

"But I just want to eat it..."

·

late at night.

Zhou Chen returned to his dormitory and lay down on his bed, exhausted.

"Predestined Death," which includes one's fate... I wonder if it can be lifted by making a wish. The hope is slim. It's a curse below the fourth rank, and even a great sage can't cure it. But I'll still try my best if I get the chance...

Just as he was about to meditate, he suddenly heard a faint, illusory voice of supplication.

"Mr. Genie... please save me..."

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