Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Spire City.

Week 49, Monday, 20:46.

Undoubtedly, another day of overtime.

A large group of inquisitors waited on the platform of the first-floor subway station. Under the bright lights, all one could see were black leather coats and glaring red shoulder badges.

Lin blended in effortlessly, even without any beastly features to distinguish him.

As usual, he was dressed in a free white shirt, free thick trousers, a free belt, free leather boots, and a free uniform coat.

The coat remained unbuttoned, with six gemstone pendants hanging from his shirt's chest. The only difference was a badge.

A beautifully colored, bright red spinel, about the size of a thumbnail, cut into a round brilliant shape, was set in a gold-plated base and pinned to Lin’s right chest.

This was the City Guardian Badge Lin received at the commendation ceremony this morning.

To put it simply, although many gems had passed through his hands as ritual materials, this badge was the first gem that belonged entirely to Lin and could not be sold.

Well, not entirely unsellable. If Lin were to sacrifice himself without revealing his identity as an evil deity, and if Lanlin Hui and the others encountered any problems, they might be able to seek help from the court using this badge...

But it would be best if such a thing never happened.

Compared to the badge, what mattered more was that he had skipped a rank and was now a Level 7 Inquisitor, with his base weekly salary increased to eighty.

If he were at a branch office, a Level 7 combat inquisitor could already serve as deputy team leader or even team leader, with command authority over a squad. Technical inquisitors like ritualists could also be considered key figures in the office.

However, at the headquarters, Lin's rank made him just a slightly larger shrimp.

"What kind of shrimp?" Lingfei Ge complained. "Shrimps are super expensive; we can't compare ourselves to shrimps."

"Ah, for a while, my dad liked taking me to seafood restaurants, and he always ordered shrimp congee, but I actually don't like the taste of shrimps," Shanta inadvertently showed off her wealth. "All seafood has a strange smell."

"..." Yan Tang remained silent.

During the wait, Lin stood with Lingfei Ge's squad again.

It wasn't that Lingfei Ge's squad was the most familiar combat squad to Lin at the headquarters, but Shanta was indeed the most familiar combat inquisitor to him at the headquarters.

This familiarity probably excluded Lüefeng Secretary... and the Chief Inquisitor?

Most of Lin's classmates from the Inquisitor School were still serving their time at the branch offices, but Shanta, after interning for several weeks, was directly transferred to the headquarters. She then interned in many departments before joining Lingfei Ge's squad.

Lingfei Ge was a very skilled team leader, and assigning Shanta to this squad was clearly a decision from higher-ups, aiming for her to continue learning in this area.

Undoubtedly, her path in the court was already well-paved. As a genius who reached intermediate level before graduation, she deserved such elite training.

However, due to Shanta's father-daughter relationship with the Deputy Chief Inquisitor, even the money-earning Lin had heard some whispers.

Shanta must have heard them too, but she didn't seem affected. She asked, "Lin, aren't you planning to visit the Diving Ship Progress Association?"

"Maybe it will have to be postponed," Lin said. "My mentor hopes I can finish the paper on the miniaturization of ritual arrays as soon as possible."

"Writing papers even after graduation, how terrifying." Shanta crossed her arms, shuddering slightly.

"As student council president, your academic performance is pretty good, right?" Lin chatted casually.

"Grades are based on exams, not papers. But why do we need to submit a thesis for graduation? We're in the combat department." Shanta complained. "I was tortured by the thesis for four weeks, almost forgetting to review for the court entry exam..."

"You could pass the court entry exam without reviewing," Lingfei Ge remarked.

"..." Shanta looked silently at her captain.

"It's safer to review," Lin offered a way out.

The clock on the platform read 20:50, and the steel cables in the elevator square began to move, signaling that an elevator was ascending.

Keen-eyed individuals could already see a prominent white figure through the glass walls of the elevator amidst the blackness.

Sure enough, when the metal doors opened, Hui Cui Dover, dressed in his signature white suit, stepped out.

Although they maintained vigilance, the inquisitors, who were standing in a rather scattered formation and chatting, fell silent instantly.

Opportunities to meet the Chief Inquisitor were not rare at the headquarters, but Lin noticed that some faces turned red, especially when Hui Cui smiled at them.

Lin met Hui Cui's gaze, and the warmer light beam confirmed that it wasn't his imagination. However, for a moment, Lin doubted his worthiness of being a friend to the Chief Inquisitor outside of work hours.

The crowd gathered around Hui Cui, and moments later, under the orders of Lüefeng Secretary, became more orderly.

Some of the combat squads headed deeper into the subway tunnel, while others spread out on the platform. As support personnel, Lin joined a few others from the Ceremony Department, forming an inner circle near Hui Cui.

The atmosphere grew tense.

One of Lin's colleagues had already opened a suitcase beside him.

A few minutes later, the minute hand pointed to fifty-nine.

The loudspeaker on the platform announced, "Train approaching—"

The announcement did not include the train number of the incoming subway.

Under normal circumstances, unless there was a system error, the train number would be announced. However, the readiness of Spire City Court today indicated that this was no ordinary situation.

A black subway train, with two high-intensity lights, slowed down as it approached the platform.

In this world, subways were more retro in design compared to the high-tech streamlined models in Lin's memory. The interior decoration resembled a European train from the nineteenth century, with corridors on the sides and each carriage divided into several small compartments.

If it weren’t for the fact that they don’t emit steam and coal ash while moving, Lin would have thought these subways were steam locomotives.

But this subway approaching the platform now is neither the high-tech subway Lin misses nor a retro one.

It more resembles a fierce giant beast charging out of a fantasy story, radiating heat from two hundred meters away.

As it gets closer, Lin strangely feels as if he’s basking in the sun, and this sunlight quickly transitions from just right in the morning to intense at noon.

Not bad, for someone who has stayed in the damp, cold underground city for too long, this feeling is quite comfortable.

So comfortable that Lin even feels a bit drowsy.

It would be better if the intense heat wasn’t accompanied by a heavy scent of blood.

The subway's front is equipped with a massive, serrated steel drill, which passes by Lin. He sees that on this steel drill, there hang two mangled corpses.

Then come the turrets, turrets, and more turrets.

Lin hears Lingfei Ge whistle not far away.

These turrets are also splattered with blood, and there are withered vines that tried to climb onto the car body.

The web-like vines hang on the spikes protruding from the car body, in a sense, no different from the corpses displayed on the steel drill.

Beneath the blood and flesh, scriptures engraved on the car body are glowing faintly.

Even when the subway stops, the scriptures do not fade; instead, more scriptures flicker, and observation ports open, revealing gun barrels extending out.

"Clang—"

The clock hanging on the pillar strikes the hour of nine PM.

The uneven doors open before Hui Cui, and before anyone can see who is inside, they feel the temperature continue to rise.

"How grand," Chief Solomon smiles.

Like a radiant dragon apostle, emitting countless scattered light points, he steps onto the platform. His terrifying face makes the air silent, and everyone except Hui Cui lowers their heads under his piercing yellow eyes.

Lin, of course, bows his head like everyone else; this isn't the time for him to raise his head and display the dignity of an evil god.

"Your subordinates are very spirited," Solomon praises, "well done."

"Was the headquarters of the Inquisition attacked?" Hui Cui asks directly.

"Every day, some believers of the evil gods come to test if I'm getting old," Solomon says, "it's a minor issue."

Yes, this fearsome subway is the headquarters of the Inquisition.

It was originally built by the Six Pillars of God Church specifically for Chief Solomon to provide support everywhere, but as Solomon began handling work and living on this subway, it gradually became the headquarters of the Inquisition.

"The notification I received said that the 'Web' system would be transferred here last week," Lin hears Hui Cui say.

Though her tone is calm, there's a hint of complaint in her words.

Lin has never seen a complaining chief, making him want to look up. But considering that Chief Solomon and Teacher Moses are from the same era, to avoid being told something about seeds and thoughts of seeds by a single glance, Lin ultimately doesn't lift his head.

"That's true," Solomon spreads his hands, "but the will of the Pillar Gods takes precedence."

Hui Cui doesn't say anything more, and Lin can feel his colleagues' ears perking up even without looking up.

The will of the Pillar Gods.

...A divine command?

Lin suddenly remembers the sudden ringing of the Bellringing Frost Crow Church yesterday and inwardly gasps.

Surely not? He hasn't done anything to expose himself to the eyes of the Six Pillar Gods. Even if he is very interested in the new gods, shouldn't the most direct clue for the Inquisition and the Pillar Gods be with Bai Li?

Lin's heart beats faster as he listens to the chief continue: "I'll explain the reason for my tardiness, and you'll understand its importance, Hui Cui.

"This isn't the 'Web' system belonging to the Inquisition, but the third advanced computing system hurriedly crafted last week by the Golden Hammer Church headquarters, Cathedral Zero. A certain Pillar God, you know which one, intends to rename this system later, but for now, it's temporarily called 'Gift.'

"And I am ordered to deliver it to Spire City."