No strange things are allowed to evolve!

After several attempts, Jiang Shu was still unable to resonate with the [Crown of Love and Desire] characteristic. He couldn't even activate it, let alone know what its function was.

So he had no choice but to give up, suppress his curiosity for the time being, and wait for the right opportunity.

When I opened my eyes again, all my senses returned to reality.

However, when he stood up from the altar, no one noticed his success, and for the time being, no one could congratulate him or share his joy.

Because Qin Lang has already become tainted.

There is an old saying that the dead are the greatest, so when funerals and weddings happen together, people tend to pay more attention to the funerals, as the grief brought by funerals is often more profound than that of weddings.

Therefore, most people have their backs to Jiang Shu when he is around.

They surrounded Qin Lang, the atmosphere heavy.

The bureau chief was also among them, methodically arranging Qin Lang's funeral while expressing his condolences.

It's hard to imagine that he personally saw Qin Lang off.

Shen Mo squatted beside Qin Lang's body, his face calm. Although he did not do anything drastic, his gloomy eyes were like the calm before a storm, making people feel uneasy.

Although Shen Mo often spoke ill of Qin Lang behind his back, it was clear how deep his feelings were for his partner.

Therefore, Jiang Shu could understand why the director wanted to resolve this matter secretly, not only to give Qin Lang, who had gone astray, a dignified end, but also to protect Shen Mo.

If he knew the real cause of Qin Lang's death, he would probably be even more unable to bear it, right?

Jiang Shu pondered that it was probably equivalent to the Snow King discovering his dark side, and his beliefs might even collapse.

It seems I shouldn't annoy Shen Mo any longer; let him process this properly... Jiang Shu thought to himself.

Interestingly, although the minister appeared regretful and seemingly puzzled, he kept talking to the venue manager, who was completely taken aback by the unexpected incident, as if trying to find out the reason for Qin Lang's failure to ascend.

However, Jiang Shu could tell that he was just repeating the same old things over and over, very superficial, and didn't seem to be trying to get to the bottom of things. It seemed that he probably knew the truth all along.

In other words, the minister was also in the know.

Come to think of it, he was the one who arranged for Qin Lang to be his double, how could he not know?

Then it's easy to guess why Shen Mo was also present.

He had absolute trust in Qin Lang, both in character and ability. If he had been told directly afterward that Qin Lang had failed in his ascension, he definitely wouldn't have believed it and might have personally investigated the real cause of Qin Lang's death.

This could lead him to discover something, causing him irreparable harm.

Therefore, it would be better to let him witness it firsthand, so that he would naturally believe that Qin Lang's death was just a simple accident.

In this way, the whole matter was brought to a conclusion, giving Qin Lang face, protecting Shen Mo, and also maintaining the reputation of the Bureau of Different Principles.

After all, it wouldn't sound good if word got out that even a deputy team leader in the executive department had been infiltrated.

That would mean the matter is resolved satisfactorily.

But... is it truly perfect?

The Bureau of Different Principles has been humiliated; will it really just pass like this?

Just as Jiang Shu was pondering, a large hand patted his shoulder.

He turned around instinctively.

The church president appeared beside him without him noticing.

"Congratulations." The guild leader didn't look at him, but simply offered him a cigarette: "I can tell you've acquired a remarkable trait without even looking at you."

Jiang Shu didn't expect that the first person to congratulate him and share his joy would be this old man.

Slightly touched, he casually accepted the cigarette.

Although he hadn't smoked in a long time, he didn't mind having a Victory Nicotine on such a wonderful occasion.

But what he didn't expect was...

"Oh, you smoke too?"

The president said jokingly.

Jiang Shu's hand froze for a moment, then she casually put it in her mouth.

"Want to learn? I'll teach you." Jiang Shu patted his body: "Where's the fire?"

"?"

The president ultimately succumbed to Jiang Shu's overwhelming sense of ease, lighting a cigarette for him with a livid expression.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Shu only took one puff before extinguishing it, then shook his head.

"It's no good, even my mom doesn't smoke this."

"I didn't realize you came from a family of smokers." The chairman asked, unconvinced, "Then tell me, what kind of cigarettes does your mother smoke with such fervor?"

"She hit me hard."

"?"

"She doesn't smoke."

"..."

The president sneered, "Are you kidding me?"

Jiang Shu replied calmly and confidently, "You were the one who joked with me first."

Upon hearing this, the president was taken aback at first, then, as if he had just thought of something, he burst into laughter: "Good, good, good, that's interesting."

His smile caused the people surrounding Qin Lang to turn around.

The minister's expression was strange: "Please, Chairman Zhao, show some respect for the deceased."

"I'm sorry." The president nodded seriously.

Seeing that Jiang Shu had finished and seemed to be in perfect condition, the director said to the two of them, "Go to my office and wait for me. I'll be there in a bit."

As he spoke, he casually tossed a bunch of keys to Jiang Shu: "You know where my office is, you take Chairman Zhao there first."

Jiang Shu took the key without giving it much thought.

But the minister's eyelids twitched.

Even he could only borrow the director's keys occasionally when he was doing things for the director. That seemingly ordinary set of keys was actually made by the director with special materials. Without his approval, unless someone was stronger than him or could break his arrangements, no one could use his keys.

It's practically like Thor's Mjolnir.

"Just because he successfully sublimated, he can be valued so highly...?" the minister pondered to himself.

He couldn't tell whether Jiang Shu's transformation was successful or not, or to what extent it was successful, but he could glean a clue from the director's attitude.

However, Jiang Shu did not leave immediately.

He first went up and patted Shen Mo on the back, but didn't say anything like "cheer up" or "there's no hurdle you can't overcome." He just said softly, "I know. Remember to call me when you go to see him next time."

"Mm." Shen Mo nodded.

Jiang Shu then left with the president.

The chairman clearly knew something. After leaving the underground special security zone, he said mockingly, "You're quite bold to actually go see him."

Jiang Shu was not surprised by this. If he hadn't been prepared, he wouldn't have paid attention to Qin Lang and therefore hadn't noticed that although Qin Lang's skill was only at the Calamity level, it could achieve effects that were inconsistent with its level because it required the sacrifice of spiritual roots.

However, it was absolutely impossible for him not to notice the chairman's unusual behavior.

Then he would naturally notice the truth hidden beneath the surface.

In response, Jiang Shu said, "It's just talk. The main thing is to make Shen Mo feel that someone can accompany him and share his sadness. I definitely can't go there in person."

Hearing this answer, the president felt inexplicably uneasy: "You seem quite skilled at it."

“It’s a necessity for survival.” Jiang Shu sighed. “Someone like me, with neither background nor ability, would find it incredibly difficult to survive if I couldn’t even read between the lines or provide emotional support. That’s why they say children from poor families mature early.”

Upon hearing this, the president subconsciously felt a pang of sympathy, and then couldn't help but feel more favorably toward Jiang Shu.

But in just a moment, he realized something was wrong.

"You call this lack of background and ability?"

"Also, did you just use your charm on me?"

"Tsk..." Jiang Shu said with dissatisfaction, "The gap is still too big..."

The president's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty: "You're really bold."

Under normal circumstances, Jiang Shu would not dare to show the slightest disrespect to someone of this level. Even if he wanted to scheme against him, he would have to pretend to be respectable first, and would not be so blatant.

But there's nothing we can do; what can we do when the other party is such a doting father?

Moreover, the other party also invested in him with a catastrophe-level catalyst.

While grateful to the Snow King, Jiang Shu's thoughts were somewhat different from what the president had anticipated.

He felt that if you would invest in me, it must be because I have something special. You would only invest in me if I were amazing. I earned this through my own abilities, so other factors are just icing on the cake, not a lifeline.

So, I will repay you, Snow Queen, but as for you, I will only view you as an absolutely rational partner.

Unless you're completely selfless, I have no obligation to be overly respectful to you.

Who told me to owe you so much now?

This matter is also recorded in [Insurance Mainland].

Just as Jiang Shu had predicted, the president was not really angry. Whether it was because of the sharp edge Jiang Shu had shown or the complicated relationship between the two, he simply turned the page lightly.

Not long after the two arrived at the director's office, the director, having finished dealing with Qin Lang's matter, rushed over.

As soon as he sat down, the bureau chief got straight to the point.

"Is it a calamity-level characteristic?"

“That’s right.” Jiang Shu nodded.

The director did not inquire about the specific effects of the feature, but was relieved. He then said to Jiang Shu, "Chairman Zhao and I have already discussed it. In a little while, you should pack your things and go to the sanctuary with him."

"Um, okay..." Jiang Shu responded subconsciously at first, then suddenly paused for two seconds: "Huh?"

"What would I be doing at the church?"

Two reasons.

The director explained:

"First, test your improvement after the ascension, and before you reach level seven, try to raise your ability value to the limit of the current level."

Didn't I say I'd train you my way? To become a top-tier fighter, pushing your abilities to the limit at each level is one of the most basic prerequisites.

Jiang Shu was stunned.

He truly hadn't expected that, besides himself, there really were other extraordinary individuals who could max out their ability stats.

A god-like figure in the literal sense.

But Jiang Shu still didn't quite understand: "I can understand that, but why do we have to go to the sanctuary?"

"Because the fastest way to gain ability points is to fight against the hatchery."

The church president picked up the conversation:

"As the name suggests, in this kind of incubation facility, you need to fight against other evolved beings."

Unlike the hatcheries you usually enter, in the Confrontation Hatchery, evolved beings will enter different factions with different missions and conflicting objectives. Therefore, you can only complete your mission objectives and conquer the hatchery by defeating other evolved beings.

The unique aspect of this type of incubator is that the incubator itself does not issue rewards, experience points, items, or skills.

The rewards you receive are essentially plundered from your opponents; for every bit you gain, your opponent loses a corresponding amount.

Before the game starts, both or more players need to match their items as chips. If you win in the end, your opponent will pay you items of corresponding value based on the different difficulties of your tasks in the hatchery.

If you're bold enough, you can bet all your evolution points, or even items and skills, and then you'll have the chance to multiply your progress all at once.

And you don't have to worry about the other party not being able to pay. Take evolution points for example. If you win, any points that the other party hasn't added yet will be directly transferred to you. If they don't have enough, the Hatchery will deduct your opponent's ability value and then convert it into evolution points for you. In short, you can always trust the Hatchery to fight against them.

However, the main task of the Bureau of Different Paths is to maintain the stability of the evolutionary world. This kind of incubation farm with gambling characteristics does not exist in your Bureau of Different Paths, and members are strictly prohibited from participating in it.

So if you want to participate, you can only do so by coming to the sanctuary and participating as a member of the sanctuary.

"There are such incubators?" Jiang Shu was stunned.

No wonder so many people with low base stats and low stat multipliers can level up at a decent pace; apparently, there's a gambling system involved.

But Jiang Shu was a man of principle. After some internal struggle, he still felt it was inappropriate: "This... Director, isn't this a bit much? Since there are regulations in the bureau, even if we're in a hurry right now, we should still stick to our principles, right?"