Chapter 413: Echoes of the Gospel Plan

The situation is worse than we imagined.

After about an hour of interrogation, Chen Jing emerged from the factory building.

With a casual wave, Gecko eagerly came over and handed her a cigarette.

Soon after, Lu Xin, the Drunkard, and the Captain of the support team—who had just arrived with collected intel—joined them. Chen Jing stubbed out her cigarette, rubbed her brow, and said, “From their confessions, I deduced that Technology Church acted on a divine revelation this time. We don’t know their exact objective, but it’s clear that their Cardinal is fully prepared.”

“Their plan, called the ‘Gospel Plan’, is linked to the Queen of Happy Town. Unfortunately, that red-haired Rose Knight has been severely contaminated, her thoughts muddled, and—given her low rank—she’s in the dark.”

“And that white-haired one, I suspect he might no longer be human. He’s been altered beyond recognition and tormented…”

“At this point, there’s nothing more we can extract.”

“…”

With a swift swish, Gecko glanced at Lu Xin’s face.

Lu Xin paused, looking innocently as he shook his head, saying, “I really didn’t do it…”

Gecko replied firmly, “I believe you.”

Lu Xin rubbed his forehead, feeling an urge to call his Sister over.

“That’s not important.”

Chen Jing glared at Gecko and waved her hand as she said:

“From what we gather, Qinggang has paid a heavy price—even Technology Church has suffered significant losses.”

Her tone growing serious, she continued, “I can confirm that Technology Church sent seven people.”

“Among them, one Cardinal, four Knights, and one Tech Priest.”

“The last one—a woman who claims not to know anyone—was brought over from Water Bay City without any real contact.”

“And their objective is to harness the power of this S-rank Forbidden Zone to execute the ‘Gospel Plan.'”

“…”

“Ah, good grief…”

Gecko, chattering in disbelief, said, “Seven people? They dare to set their sights on the Forbidden Zone, not even a shred of fear about clashing head-on with us at Qinggang?”

“In fact…”

Chen Jing sighed, “If it were a powerful Ability User, even one person—or seven—could wipe out an entire city.”

Gecko, lost in thought, let his gaze drift from Lu Xin to the doll quietly seated inside the helicopter in the distance.

“I get it now—it’s nuclear level.”

“…”

Lu Xin, upon hearing this, glanced at the doll and thought that Gecko was right.

Chen Jing quickly shot a glance at Lu Xin then roared at Gecko, “Shut it.”

Gecko shrank his head, mimicking a quail.

“Now, here’s the key point.”

Chen Jing’s tone grew grave as she said, “To execute the ‘Gospel Plan’, they’ve prepared three measures.”

“The first, codenamed ‘Death Flower’, is the plan we just disrupted.”

“The second, codenamed ‘Sin of Greed’, is carried out by the ‘Wish Priest’ among the four Knights. I suspect the armed forces we saw en route to Happy Town are part of this plan.”

“The specifics remain unknown, but the Bear Child and the Godly Woman have already gone to investigate.”

“The third plan, ‘Mental Fortress’, is directly executed by the Bishop.”

“Its details are also unknown, but it’s clearly linked to the Queen of Happy Town.”

“…”

She paused before stating, “That means, up until now, we must at least uncover and prepare to thwart two of their plans—and face their five Ability Users. We’re the only ones capable of executing these tasks.”

Lu Xin looked around, feeling reassured, and nodded.

Gecko glanced at Lu Xin and the doll, a dumbfounded smile spreading across his face.

The Drunkard, standing on a nearby rock, dusted off mud from his rear and laughed, saying, “Little Chen, I think you might have miscalculated at least one thing…”

“…”

Called ‘Little Chen’ by a ponytailed little girl, Chen Jing felt slightly uneasy but kept her composure.

Turning to the Drunkard, she said, “What is it?”

He unscrewed his thermos cup, took a slow sip, and said, “Wasn’t it mentioned in the data that they brought an entire city’s worth of people from Water Bay City?”

“But I just counted the dead here—at best… well, numbers aside, one thing’s for sure: they have a vast number of people in their grasp. Whether they’re dead or alive, we can’t tell.”

Chen Jing nodded, “Indeed.”

Though hidden behind sunglasses, a shadow darkened her face as she murmured, “Sacrificing an entire city for one plan—even Technology Church rarely makes such grand moves. This Gospel Plan must be terrifying. Sigh… The Research Institute has revealed the Abyss’s existence, mobilizing all High-Wall Cities to clean up the S-rank Forbidden Zone.”

“And now Technology Church is making a big move too. Whether these two are connected remains unclear.”

“Perhaps this is nothing more than a power play between Technology Church and the Research Institute, and they’ve chosen to stir things up near Qinggang.”

“…”

The air grew oppressively heavy, as if a storm were brewing.

At that moment, Gecko burst out laughing, “Of all places, they had to choose Qinggang…”

“So, are they really that lucky?”

“…”

Chen Jing glared at him, prompting Gecko to immediately retract his neck.

“Little Tiger does have a point.”

The Drunkard, grinning, chimed in to defend Gecko, “Technology Church choosing Qinggang is certainly fate…”

“Let’s go—let’s discuss this with these youngsters!”

With that, he tightened his grip on the thermos cup, slung his arms behind him, and slowly headed to the side.

The thermos swung lazily from his wrist.

Though the Drunkard wasn’t the leader, his respected status meant everyone instinctively followed him.

Meanwhile, the seventeen support team members who had just arrived had sampled the factory building and fitted the two completely unconscious Technology Church Knights with layers of shackles and ability inhibitors. They also scoured the surrounding area, finding a modified Jeep and an all-black motorcycle.

These appeared to be the transportation the two Knights used for traveling.

Which, conveniently, suited Chen Jing’s team.

After all, their mission was twofold: to traverse quickly and to evade the gathering armed forces at the settlements, which had forced them to use a helicopter. While aerial travel is fast, on the ground, vehicles are far more efficient.

“Alright, these two vehicles have been cleared.”

The support team meticulously inspected the vehicles, dismantling the positioning systems, auto-defense systems, and more—leaving almost only the driving and engine functions intact. They patted the car hood and told Chen Jing and her team,

“Excellent. Once you’re back, inform Headquarters that these tasks need to be completed as soon as possible.”

Chen Jing nodded and said to the support team captain,

“First, restore the signal tower to re-establish communication with Headquarters.”

“Second, monitor the outside activity. Once the armed threat at the settlements is neutralized, dispatch a team to retrieve our fallen comrades for burial in Qinggang. Also, Headquarters must devise a plan to dispose of the massive body count here immediately—before a plague breaks out.”

“…”

“Yes, and take care out there.”

After bidding farewell to the support team, Lu Xin and the others approached the modified car.

As a skilled driver, Gecko naturally took the wheel, while Chen Jing sat in the passenger seat. Ideally, Lu Xin would have ridden the motorcycle, but noticing that the doll had already rushed to the front of the vehicle, the Drunkard volunteered.

Chen Jing glanced at the doll standing by the car and whispered to Lu Xin, “Could you persuade the doll to go back first?”

Lu Xin hesitated, then pointed toward the support team members loading cargo onto the nearby helicopter.

Lowering his tone, he said, “It’s pretty dangerous out there. Why don’t you go with them?”

The doll glanced between the helicopter and Lu Xin before suddenly crouching and darting into the modified car.

Its face pressed against the window, it acted as if it couldn’t hear, refusing to get out no matter who pulled.

“If you don’t come back, then I’ll…”

Lu Xin, somewhat resigned, prepared to get stern with her.

But Chen Jing quickly intervened, “Alright, alright, don’t scare her. If she wants to come along, then she will.”

“Oh?”

Lu Xin suddenly lost his stern resolve and simply opened the car door to get in.

“Tsk, tsk…”

Up front, Gecko shook his head in admiration as he started the car.

Outside, the Drunkard smiled, took a sip from his thermos, then donned his helmet. He secured it carefully, turned the key, and revved the motorcycle—serving as a scout for the modified car—with a series of beeps.

Lu Xin looked on enviously at the Drunkard, while the doll curiously watched him too.

But as soon as Lu Xin turned, he quickly swiveled his gaze back to the car window.

“Phew, let’s get moving!”

Chen Jing reached out and flipped the rearview mirror aside to prevent Gecko from peeking at the doll. She exhaled deeply as she regained her resolve and said in a low voice, “First, we need to meet up with the Bear Child and the Godly Woman to see if they’ve gathered any intel on the armed riots at the settlements. Then, we’ll proceed straight to Happy Town for a face-to-face with Technology Church.”

“Let’s see if their choice of Qinggang this time is sheer luck or a curse!”

“…”

Even Lu Xin found the situation somewhat amusing.

A quick glance at their formation revealed the perfect setup he had envisioned back in Qinggang…

Who would have thought that this lone soldier of his could really pull it off.

The only lingering question remained: In this team, who really is in charge?