Chapter 197: Silver Dragon X Merman X Confessional (1) + (2)

Chapter 197: Silver Dragon X Merman X Confessional (1) + (2)

-1-

Arnous, a gentle and dignified old professor, unleashed the dirtiest words he had ever spoken in his life in front of the police.

He wasn’t just furious—he was absolutely livid.

“&%￥#@*&%##!!%&*#@%&!!”

The police officers could hardly stand to listen. “Sir, please try to stay calm.”

Arnous: “Fuck!!! Fuck!!!! Fuck!!!!”

The old man had remained surprisingly calm when he witnessed Xiao Qin blowing up the hospital. Even if he hadn’t arrived in time, the nearby surveillance would have captured the dangerous actions of this fool, and security personnel would have handled it naturally.

Moreover, Arnous wasn’t the primary shareholder of the hospital. Even if it had been reduced to rubble, he could still sue for a large sum of insurance money and compensation.

But now—now!!

He couldn’t understand it, his rage was overwhelming, his world was spinning out of control!!

His perfectly concealed underground testing facility, his hidden safe containing all his secrets and assets, and all his secrets—

All were exposed in an instant, completely and utterly bare, leaving nothing behind!!

Keding took a sip of his mint milkshake. “Professor, if there’s anything you don’t get, I can explain.”

Arnous: “Fuck your whole family!!”

Armed officers were rapidly coordinating over the radio. Most of the underground signals were blocked, and some had to take hidden elevators behind the gallery, bringing the hostages out while managing the situation.

“Yes, five police cars aren’t enough.”

“That kid was telling the truth.”

“There are still many hostages; we’re still gathering more information from underground…”

“We need more medical support.”

Arnous was swiftly subdued. The handcuffs dug into his wrists, sending dull pain through his joints, but it was the spike in his blood pressure that made his heart and brain feel like they were about to explode.

Fifty years of his life’s work… his reputation and his retirement… all his meticulously planned schemes…

“Actually, I don’t know much about you,” Keding said casually as the hostages were slowly being led out. “You participated in some kind of competition. Someone used backend data to track your home IP address and hijacked all the surveillance and internal management software, causing an avalanche of information to spill out.”

Arnous looked up sharply, unable to believe the perpetrator was this unremarkable student in front of him. “Was it you?!?”

“How could it be me?” Keding said, exasperated. “I mean, sure, I’m great, but you really need to chill.”

Arnous erupted into another frenzied tirade of curses.

When the Xiao family of three were brought out, though they weren’t particularly emaciated, from the oldest to the youngest, their eyes were vacant, their minds hovering somewhere between human and beast.

Three or four police officers were already vomiting on Arnous’ lawn, likely having seen too many grotesque and explicit sights underground.

When Xiao Qin finally emerged into daylight, his body shook, his face still blank and numb.

Someone was talking to him, but he couldn’t make out what the other person was saying. In an instant, he reflexively knelt down, clutching his head and begging for mercy.

Even with police all around and people assuring him he was safe, he continued to cower.

The two old men stared at him like he was a monster, keeping their distance, trembling and speechless.

The system said, "Even though it’s just a set reduction in food, with the setup resembling a breeding facility... I’ll feel sorry for him for half a minute."

"By the way," she added, "He has an offline database in the wine tasting room on the second floor. You should check it out; there might be something valuable there."

Keding got the hint and told the police he wanted to go inside to see if any of his friends were there. The police quickly agreed.

Within half an hour, the place was swarming with police and doctors, while outside the police tape, reporters were snapping photos frantically.

Despite being handcuffed and restrained, Annos was still screaming hysterically, clearly in a state of madness. He was probably feigning insanity in advance to avoid the likely death sentence or a century-long American-style imprisonment.

Keding quietly made his way to the second floor, watching the police take photos for evidence while agents searched for sensitive material.

The system helped him avoid a few inspectors, and he sneaked into the wine tasting room while people were checking the study on the third floor.

Moving a specific bottle of red wine caused a hidden wall to slowly slide open.

"You don’t need to turn it on—it’s already plugged in," the system instructed. "Just put your hand on the machine."

Keding did as instructed, eyeing the huge black machine.

"It looks like one of those big office printers."

"Actually, it’s a top-tier secure hard drive," the system said, then hesitated. "Uh..."

Keding asked with concern, "You didn’t catch a virus, did you?"

"No," the system replied blankly, "There are valuable bitcoins inside, along with... uh, the data that would’ve cost you 100,000 points to get."

"When this data is translated in a specific way, it forms one of the three components of the magic circle."

Keding blinked. "Say that again?"

"You’ve saved 100,000 points."

Keding asked, "Can I let go now?"

"All read, you can let go now."

The young man suddenly leaped up, eyes wide with excitement.

"100,000!!!"

"That’s 100,000!!!"

When Annos saw Keding again, the latter had a dreamy smile on his face, his steps light and carefree.

Annos immediately shouted across the police and the crowd, "Where were you?! What did you see?!"

The young man had already climbed into the police car, humming a tune as he prepared to head back for a statement.

About ten meters away, an old man was desperately screaming, his voice filled with panic.

"Come back!!"

"Tell me!! What else are you going to take from me!!!"

Since the evidence chain and logic were both very clear, the police accepted the explanation about the information leak and didn’t give the ordinary student any trouble.

When he returned to the apartment, it was already night. The sound of a news anchor’s special report echoed in the living room.

Zhang Maomao saw Keding and immediately pounced on him. "Are you okay!!"

"I'm fine," Keding stretched. "I saw the news. I didn’t expect Professor Anuos to go this far."

"That old madman, I bet he was behind all those previous incidents too," Zhang Maomao said, still shaken. "It’s like something out of a movie, so many horror elements..."

"I'll tell you something even scarier."

"Don’t scare me!!"

Keding chuckled, holding back laughter. "Tomorrow’s Monday."

Zhang Maomao hissed. "I’m going to sleep quickly. We’ll talk about it tomorrow!"

As a new-age worker, there’s no time to be scared! Monday means getting back to work with full force!

After washing up, Keding lay back in bed, still feeling somewhat reflective.

"It feels so strange not seeing the mission completion screen."

The system said, "With 100,000 points, your face must hurt from smiling so much."

Keding replied, "I can keep smiling for a while longer!"

After a long time, he called up the mission interface and casually said, "Let me guess, is it a six or seven-star mission?"

"Doctor Jiang is involved, maybe it’s an unprecedented ten-star nightmare level?"

The system sounded a bit embarrassed. "Four-star."

Keding blinked. "...?"

The system continued, "It’s really a four-star. It only requires 200 breaking points. Theoretically, you might finish it by just sleeping tonight."

Keding said, "This feels like a telecom scam."

The system defended, "The company isn’t some shady outfit!! This assignment was just handed to you because you were in the right place at the right time!!"

Checking the mission brief, it did seem quite straightforward.

The setting was a fictional medieval city where asceticism was the norm. People were banned from any form of indulgence and were under the strict control of the church.

Music, paintings, kisses, wine, and dance—all were considered 'toxic' demonic derivatives. Anyone caught would be whipped as punishment.

The protagonist was a human-raised merman. Before she died, his mermaid mother had been searching for the human she once loved and finally entrusted her child to a priest living by the waterfront in the dead of night.

When Father Horbert took in the baby, he immediately noticed something unusual during the first bath.

——Any part of his body that touched water would uncontrollably sprout scales or fins, which would take a long time to return to its original state.

Mermen possessed enchanting songs and captivating appearances. To the humans of this era, they were the embodiment of devils, representing sinful desires.

If he were caught, he would not only be sentenced to be burned at the stake, but also implicate everyone associated with him.

The priest had considered giving the baby away several times, but he couldn’t bear the desperate pleading look in the woman’s eyes before she died. Gritting his teeth, he decided to raise the baby, and gradually came to see him as his own.

He named him Allen, meaning a revelation from God.

Allen should have been surrounded by pearls and corals, sleeping in a gleaming shell, enjoying enchanting songs and endless joy.

Unaware that his life had taken a wrong turn, he lived as a filthy little stable boy, day after day washing horses and cutting grass for the church, sleeping in a fly-infested haystack, accepting all the arrangements his father made for him.

Reading this, Keding tried to guess what would happen next in the story.

“And then he also fell in love with a human by some twist of fate, had a tragic love affair, and died in despair?”

“Actually, no,” the system said. “The priest was a very cautious man. He told him about his origins from the beginning and explained all the consequences if his identity were ever exposed.”

Back then, churches were indistinguishable from courtrooms.

The education Allen received was not filled with fairy tales, dreams, and art.

It was the grim reality of burnings, floggings, and hangings.

Women who exposed their skin, men who smuggled fine wine, underground dance parties that never saw the light of day.

People bought indulgences from the church out of fear, enduring daily trials and punishments.

He learned to be cautious early on, willing to hide in a dirty stable for over a decade.

Only under the cover of night did he venture into the river’s depths, searching for the fallen merman empire.

“But Allen was simply too beautiful,” the system sighed. “Eyes like emeralds, lips like rose petals—no matter how much he tried to hide, he still stood out.”

Keding felt a pang of sympathy. “Is he going to be forcibly taken?”

“Well…”

The first to notice him was the shepherd’s son.

Then a merchant pursued him, and a woman secretly sent him flowers.

Until the baron’s son attended mass and noticed him in the crowd, cloaked in black.

-2-

Keding didn’t read the rest of the story and quickly entered this world.

Experiencing things firsthand feels very different from reading about them.

He wanted to see for himself.

The four-star mission simply required the duke’s son to confess his sins and accumulate 200 breaking points.

As he moved through the light and shadows, the system calculated the positioning.

“If you go through now, it should be when Allen is sixteen.”

“Let me see where Doctor Jiang is... Luckily, I collected more of his soul data stream before.”

Five hundred kilometers isn't too far,” the system said with a forced laugh. “If all else fails, we can always buy a plane ticket.”

Keding: “……”

“Five hundred kilometers!! From Hefei to Shanghai!! From Nanchang to Hangzhou!! And this is still the Middle Ages!!!”

“The system said it was on the way, so I didn’t think much of it,” the system said sincerely. “The church is right next to the riverbank, so why don’t you swim across the ocean?”

Keding paused for a moment. “What’s the swimming speed of a merman?”

“Forty kilometers per hour,” the system replied. “Without eating or sleeping, it would take just over a dozen hours?”

Keding: “I’ll finish the task today, and tomorrow I’ll go to the Olympics.”

When he opened his eyes again, the first sensation was heat.

It was hot and smelly—worse than boot camp.

Allen instinctively looked up, only to quickly lower his head as he realized everyone was listening to the hymn reverently.

He sat among vegetable sellers, fishmongers, and potato merchants. In front of him were local citizens, and further ahead, the nobility.

His foster father was on the other side of the pulpit, preparing for the next round of scripture reading.

The church’s vaulted ceiling looked like the hollow skeleton of a whale, and the stained glass windows depicted the Son of God and angels. The ethereal singing spoke of endless mysteries.

From nobles to servants, everyone bowed their heads, accepting the supreme blessings bestowed by the heavenly gods.

No one noticed him covering his mouth and nose with his collar.

Although every church carried a cold air like a deep tower, it couldn’t mask the suffocating feeling of rough, tight clothing pressing against the skin.

The congregation sat closely together, some praying, others confessing. The fierce summer sun slanted through the windows, raising the temperature even more.

“It really stinks.”

“The Middle Ages are just this smelly,” the system said with a grin. “Back then, people thought bathing was poisonous; twice a year was considered good hygiene.”

“Don’t go on…”

“I thought this뭩 story would have a bit of a romantic touch,” Keding tried to block out the rich smells coming from all directions. “And they cover their hair so tightly, aren’t they hot?”

The result was a vicious cycle: it got smellier as it got hotter, and hotter as it stank.

To follow local religious rules, everyone had to cover all exposed skin.

From winter to summer, everything from the hair to the ankles, even the fingers, had to be completely covered.

After having children, couples were not supposed to have physical contact. For women, wearing a headscarf was proper etiquette, and any form of self-adornment or grooming was considered a crime.

After the service, people rushed forward to thank the priest for today’s sermon. The youth at the very back row took a deep breath of fresh air.

System: “What’s your plan now?”

Keding: “Go to the Olympics.”

System: “……?”

Keding: “Seriously, let’s go to the Ironman 500-Kilometer Swim Marathon, right now.”

I can't stand this place for one more minute!

He dashed back to his residence and left a note for his foster father, saying a merchant he'd met that day was donating a truckload of potatoes to the church and that he'd head to the neighboring city to pick them up.

Once that was done, he sprinted to the banks of a deserted river, clumsily shedding his clothes under the cover of rocks before plunging into the water.

System: "Wow, this is your quickest strip-down yet!"

Keding: "I really wish I could donate an air conditioner to the church."

The moment he hit the deep water, it was as if a drowning fish had returned to nature. A wave of pure joy surged up his spine, making him shiver.

Just as before, the instant he touched the river, vibrant scales bloomed up from his ankles like flowers.

Ice-blue, light-purple, magnificent fish scales, each resembling a gem.

His legs fused into a powerful tail, allowing him to slice through the water effortlessly.

Slender fins sprouted from his legs, his arms, and his ears.

His emerald eyes blinked, regaining their vitality through the nourishment of his soul.

No training needed—he instantly felt the thrill of freedom and mastered riding the waves.

Within minutes, he reached the outer moat, guided by his keen sense of smell toward the deep sea.

"Your boyfriend’s on the other side of the ocean," the system drawled. "At this rate, it’ll take about nine hours."

Keding: "Did you account for the ocean currents?"

System: "Um..."

"For a road trip, we’ve gotta get on the fast lane!"

About half an hour later, the current still hadn’t come, but the fun of swimming had worn off.

System: "Tired? Maybe head back."

Keding: "What swims fastest around here?"

System: "You’re not thinking of... right?"

Keding: "I’m crossing provinces to see my partner; can’t I take a bus?"

System: "Whose bus is a whale!!!"

In the deep sea, a merman was speeding along on the back of a white whale.

"Yep, head four hundred klicks that way for some fat tuna. If you’re not happy, come back and smack me!" the merman said, pointing.

The white whale trumpeted happily, calling its buddies over for a feast.

Nearby whale sharks joined in, zooming through the water at top speed.

"At this pace, we’ll clear the high-speed route in four hours. Should we grab some sea urchins or abalone as gifts?" Keding said peacefully, flipping over.

System: "If it weren’t for the remaining tasks, it would feel great to just run away like this..."

Hearing this, Keding’s heart stirred, thinking it made sense.

Allen had tried multiple times to find his homeland, but with the rise of the witch hunts, magical beings went into hiding, dodging demon hunters and holy knights.

He was forced to give up this hope and struggled to fit in, at one point hoping that one day he could become a compassionate and loving priest like his adoptive father.

Mitronos City, where they lived, was once synonymous with splendor and grandeur but eventually turned into a lifeless cage due to the unchecked expansion of the Church's power.

"To be honest, I've always had a rebellious bone," Keding said, lying on the whale's back, reaching out to touch the bubbles that disappeared instantly on the water's surface.

"The more people tell me not to do something, the more I want to do it."

When he saw that everyone was dressed as if encased in plastic wrap, he found it absurd and ironic, even wanting to ask loudly in the crowd, "Aren't you hot?"

In the short steps leaving the church, he could see many things clearly.

The laboring old woman, the butcher shouting by the roadside, and the blacksmith by the furnace.

The summer sun was blazing hot, turning everyone's skin red, yet nobody dared to remove their heavy robes.

"What happened to the merman later?"

"He was desired by the baron's son, who tried everything to bring him back to the castle."

"Both the priest and the merman refused, and then began to suffer prolonged bullying from the entire city," the system said. "No one dared to offend the Church or the royal court, and the people had become accustomed to being submissive."

"People like this father and son, who keep resisting, even when they're not in the wrong, end up being labeled as heretics."

Keding got a bad feeling thinking about the many tasks he had taken before.

"Allen won't... burn at the stake or something, right?"

Another merman, as beautiful as desire itself, entangled in the vortex of power again...

"No, he passed away peacefully in his old age."

"What?"

"The baron's son eventually bribed a higher-level bishop to create an excuse to send him to his estate."

"To keep Allen, he dampened his clothes, had someone escort him to rest and bathe, but this led to his merman identity being discovered."

"The butler informed the baron, who then offered the merman to the viscount, who in turn offered him to the marquis, all trying to gain greater benefits from this."

Keding froze and said, "According to this development, Allen was completely a sacrificial pawn, with barely any chance of turning things around, right?"

In tragic stories, the fate of mermen usually ends up... particularly miserable.

"But Allen seized the last opportunity," the system said. "He enchanted the marquis, winning his obsessive affection, and then fled at midnight with gold and jewels."

"He went to the countryside, lived a quiet life in a small village, and served as a priest in a corner where no one knew, for his entire life."

"Actually, the most tragic part is the plot from a week later, the start of prolonged torment."

The system retrieved a previous passage and pointed this fate out to him.

"The merman was meant to return to the sea, and should have had freedom, innocence, and love."

"But once the city started pressuring both father and son, he couldn't protect anything anymore, for the sake of his foster father's life."

Keding looked for a long time and said, "I really can't stand those jerks who gang up on people."

The system asked, "So, what’s our plan when we get back?"

"First, let's use our points to get fifty megaphones."

System: "...? Uh, megaphones?"

She navigated to the appropriate、following his instructions、added a bunch of them to the cart.

， \ \ to "megaphones aren't expensive, ten points each, and they have good battery life."

The system asked, "But what0