I Am Your Father (6K)

Luo Bo looked nervously at Jie La Er —who should now be Bai Wei— who was walking towards him.

The image of Bai Wei grabbing Da Ke's head and shoving it into the blender had left a deep psychological scar on him. In particular, the fact that Da Ke's mutilated, melon-skin-like skull was not far away, and he could see it with just a glance, made him feel dizzy, as if he was about to faint at any moment.

But he still managed to hold on.

Bai Wei walked up to Luo Bo and looked him over with interest. Having finally taken over Jie La Er's body, Bai Wei didn't want to give it back so quickly.

"Interesting." Bai Wei looked at the iron rod next to Luo Bo, then bent down, picked it up, and played with it in his hand while asking with a smile, "I think this rod isn't meant to be used to attack me, is it?"

"No, of course not." Luo Bo shook his head and said, "I just want to help you kill Da Ke."

"Hmm, I see." Bai Wei nodded and smiled again. "If you were planning to use this to attack me, then I'm going to attack you now."

Luo Bo found Bai Wei's words somewhat strange.

It wasn't that the statement itself was strange, but Luo Bo felt that Jie La Er's current personality was completely different from what he had initially shown.

He no longer looked like he was carrying hundreds or thousands of secrets in his heart, but stood there with a smile, showing no sign of tension even in the midst of the ever-spreading sea of fire.

But for some reason, the current "Jie La Er" made Luo Bo more nervous than before, especially his eyes, which seemed to see through all his disguises.

"So there are other people in this factory who don't get along with him?" Bai Wei spoke again. "It seems you're different from those guys in the security department. Hmm... there are no signs of contamination in your body, you're relatively normal. So tell me what you know."

"I am indeed different from them," Luo Bo whispered. "The people in the security department are the same as Factory Director Da Ke, only not as..."

He instinctively turned his head to look at Da Ke's corpse.

The flames had already climbed up, and Dark 'Da Ke mountain-like body immediately started crackling and popping, just like lard being heated, except the smell was much more unpleasant than lard.

"...It hasn't gotten to that point yet." Luo Bo took a deep breath, then mustered his courage and looked at Bai Wei. "The source oil is problematic."

"My presence here means I already know about this," Bai Wei said. "Why didn't you report it?"

"Report it?" Luo Bo shook his head with a wry smile. "Report it to whom?"

"Who is your immediate supervisor?"

"Bishop Wei Sen of Fifth District and Bishop Holman of District 4," Luo Bo replied, "But they haven't shown their faces for ten years, and Bishop Holman, who finally did,..."

At this point, Luo Bo suddenly stopped.

He originally wanted to say that Bishop Holman had been murdered, but then he suddenly remembered that Bishop Holman seemed to have been killed by the person in front of him, and an arrest warrant had been issued. He suddenly didn't know what to say.

But Bai Wei didn't care. He turned his head to look at Da Ke's body next to him, and then looked further away at the employees who had been burned to death on the workbench.

"Is all that pollution from the source oil?" Bai Wei asked again. "Why are some people corrupted and turned into tools, while others are corrupted and turned into monsters?"

"The employees were contaminated by the source oil," Luo Bo said. "But the Factory Director Da Ke and the security personnel are different. They became like this because... they ate some kind of strange meat."

Bai Wei raised an eyebrow. "Strange meat?"

"Yes." Luo Bo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He didn't know if he was sweating so much from nervousness or from the heat. "I don't know where that meat came from. It must have New Pursuit Society Association. Ah, the New Pursuit Society is..."

"I know what the New Pursuit Society is." Bai Wei calmly interrupted Luo Bo. "I roughly know what that chunk of meat you mentioned is. Is it the kind that can't be finished no matter how much you eat, and that grows back as much as it's bitten off?"

Luo Bo shuddered, seemingly surprised that Bai Wei knew so much.

"That's true." Luo Bo nodded repeatedly, then couldn't help but ask, "Do you know what kind of meat that is?"

Bai Wei glanced at Luo Bo and said indifferently, "You'd better not know."

Hearing this obvious warning, Luo Bo dared not ask any further questions.

Bai Wei seemed to be deep in thought.

Without a doubt, that piece of flesh was the flesh of that newly born Sinful Creature.

Only the flesh and blood of a god cannot be completely destroyed; no matter what kind of injury it suffers, it can recover instantly. That Sinful Creature has not yet become a god, but it has already acquired some of the power of a god.

The reason Bai Wei knows so much is naturally because this part is what is shown in the game. The newly born Sinful Creature accumulate believers and spread their power by sharing their own flesh and blood.

In some ways, he is like the Rhine God and his four Origin Follower.

However, this one is weaker than Rhine and much more insane.

Moreover, judging from the Factory Director Da Ke and the security personnel, Bai Wei had a general idea about what wasn't shown in the game, namely how the Lyra God fell to this state, but he didn't have direct evidence yet.

However, direct evidence cannot be found here.

Bai Wei looked at Luo Bo again and asked, "Why are you unaffected? You didn't turn into those employees or those monsters. In a place full of monsters and demons, it's a bit too special to have an ordinary person like you."

Bai Wei's question plunged Luo Bo into a long silence. He looked into Luo Bo's eyes, which revealed struggle and regret.

"What?" Bai Wei asked calmly, "Is it a secret that can't be told?"

"No, no," Luo Bo said. "I was just afraid you wouldn't believe me."

"Having seen so much, what can you possibly say that I wouldn't believe?"

"If I said it was because Factory Director Da Ke was protecting me, would you believe me?"

Bai Wei raised an eyebrow again, then turned to look at the corpse being consumed by flames. "Him? Protecting you?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... tell me about it."

Luo Bo also shifted his gaze to the burning corpse, seemingly trying to find some familiar figure within it.

"At first, Factory Director Da Ke wasn't like this. He was a friend of my father," Luo Bo said slowly. "After I joined the factory, he took good care of me and specially arranged for me to be his assistant. I didn't go directly to work on the raw oil processing, so I wasn't contaminated by the raw oil."

"Then how did he manage to eat that piece of meat?"

"It was sent by the New Pursuit Society." Luo Bo clenched his fist subconsciously. "At that time, he had already discovered that there was a problem with the source oil and wanted to report it to his superiors. That's when the New Pursuit Society came. But they impersonated Bishop Holman's messengers and sent a large piece of rotten meat, saying that as long as you eat this, you can fight off the pollution."

"He actually believes that?"

"... Some things cannot be avoided simply by disbelieving."

Bai Wei understood; it seemed that the New Pursuit Society had taken strong measures.

After all, he is the director of the Source Oil Processing Plant, and they desperately need his support.

As for what happened later, there's no need to go into too much detail. The factory manager clearly maintained his rationality for a while. While this rationality wasn't enough for him to do more, it was enough to prevent a young man from falling into the abyss.

But that's all. After all, the power of a god is not something that mortals can resist with just their willpower.

The Rhine is the best example of this.

Bai Wei looked at Da Ke's corpse for the third time.

The flames had completely engulfed him, and the limbs that were not his own were burned away in the high temperature, gradually making his body resemble that of a normal person.

No wonder he was able to become Jie La Er's friend before.

Bai Wei thought to himself.

At that moment, Bai Wei heard a muffled thud. He turned around and saw Luo Bo knelt down on his forehead. "What are you doing?"

"Jie La Er, I've told you everything I know, except for a few details." Luo Bo's voice trembled. "I can tell you anything you want to know, but could you wait a little longer? I want to see my father, I want to see him... one last time."

"Your father?" Bai Wei asked, "In which workshop?"

"Third Workshop".

Bai Wei recalled that it seemed to be one of the first workshops to be set on fire.

In other words...

He suddenly caught a glimpse of a fleeting dark figure out of the corner of his eye.

"Clang"!

Bai Wei used the Chainsaw Sword in his hand to block.

Mars burst forth.

The attacker immediately retreated, his Blazing Fire Sword drawing several sharp arcs in the air.

Then she stopped.

Bai Wei looked at the woman who had suddenly attacked him, and after a brief moment of recollection, he remembered her identity. A smile involuntarily appeared on his lips, "Interesting."

Luo Bo was a little confused. He didn't know who this woman who suddenly appeared was. He just saw that she seemed to be wearing the uniform of the Devil Squad and holding the Devil Squad's Blazing Fire Sword. This made him feel deeply uneasy and anxious because there was only one thing he wanted to do right now.

Then he heard Bai Wei's voice. "Go quickly."

Luo Bo was slightly taken aback, and then subconsciously looked at Bai Wei.

Bai Wei's gaze fell on the woman, and then he slowly said, "What in this world is more natural and right than children seeing their parents one last time?"

Luo Bo's throat moved slightly, and then he kowtowed heavily to Bai Wei again. He then quickly got up and ran towards the deeper part of the sea of fire.

The two watched as Luo Bo's figure disappeared from sight.

Then, Ina's gaze fell on Bai Wei again.

Then she slowly asked, "Who... exactly are you?"

Bai Wei smiled, "Can't you tell?"

"I,"

"It's your father."

Ina.

One of Jie La Er's rarely mentioned children.

Bai Wei first heard this name on the machine in Jie La Er's house, the one that was intended to be used for suicide. It was the last name in the list of heirs to the deceased's belongings that the machine announced.

It is also the only one that is effective.

But that doesn't mean she's unimportant. Bai Wei guessed that Ina was probably still very young when that list was drawn up.

Now, she has grown up.

She's grown so big that she's become an adversary of Jie La Er, a rebellious son like her brother.

Logically speaking, given such a scene of filial piety, it would be more interesting for Bai Wei to return his body to Jie La Er and enjoy the show himself.

It remains to be seen whether Jie La Er will have the heart to kill this unfilial daughter.

But Ina's sneak attack on Bai Wei just now made him realize something— Ina had clearly avoided his vital points.

Moreover, she seemed to realize that she wasn't Jie La Er.

This is getting interesting.

Bai Wei suddenly became interested, and then, quite shamelessly, didn't want to go back.

Let's see what's really going on.

Ina had no idea what Bai Wei was planning, because in her eyes, Jie La Er's face was still the only thing on her mind.

That incredibly familiar face held a completely unfamiliar smile—she was certain that Jie La Er would never smile like that.

"You are not him," Ina spoke again, her face grave. "Who exactly are you?"

Seeing Ina's certainty, Bai Wei saw no need to continue pretending. He shrugged and said, "Okay, you figured it out. I'm not him. Do you want to know where he went?"

Ina gripped the Blazing Fire Sword tightly, watching as Bai Wei's smile grew ever wider.

"That guy named Jie La Er," Bai Wei said softly, "I've already killed him."

Ina's eyes widened instantly, her beautiful pupils filled with murderous intent. She could no longer restrain herself, and brandishing her Blazing Fire Sword, she charged towards Bai Wei.

"Lord Yongxin!"

The door to Yong Xin's office was pushed open, and a person hurriedly walked in.

"Something happened at the Source Oil Processing Plant!"

Yong Xin stood by the window, gazing in the direction where the fourth and Fifth District connected, where thick smoke was still billowing.

"I've already seen it." Yong Xin's expression was also very unpleasant.

"The Skeleton Corps have gone!" the subordinate said, wiping his sweat. "But we don't know the situation yet."

"What else could it be?" Yong Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. "At this critical juncture, besides that guy, who else could cause us such trouble?"

The subordinate's eyes widened. "You mean... Jie La Er? But how is that possible? The Source Oil Processing Plant should be our most closely guarded secret! No one has noticed anything amiss all these years... We haven't even hired any new people, just to maintain its stability, but..."

"But something went wrong." Yong Xin tried his best to remain calm. "Shock and regret are useless now. He has done things that we can't understand more than once during this period. Obviously, he has something that we don't know about."

This is what makes Yong Xin most uneasy, far more so than everything Jie La Er is doing all at once.

What power did he obtain?

That's how he was able to, after ten years of confusion, suddenly and precisely strike at every point they made in a very short time, thwarting every one of their plans.

Unfortunately, the people sent to the Rhine have not yet returned.

But it should happen in the next day or two.

Yong Xin took a deep breath.

We cannot simply wait and do nothing until we have solid intelligence.

If everything Jie La Er had done before was still within Yong Xin's acceptable range, then the problem at the Source Oil Processing Plant was something he could not accept.

Because we have now reached the final moment of the battle between the Lord and Lyra, every bit of power brought by the Source Oil Processing Plant is making the Lord stronger.

But now, it's gone.

Yong Xin wouldn't even dare to dream that the Skeleton Corps could salvage anything from the burning processing plant. Since Jie La Er had already made his move, he must be aiming to eliminate them completely.

Seeing that Yong Xin hadn't spoken for a long time, his subordinate became worried. "Lord Yongxin?"

"I'm listening," Yong Xin said calmly. "If it's ruined, so be it."

"Will... that affect the Lord's plans?"

"There will definitely be some impact, but not much," Yong Xin said. "The Lord's power has long surpassed that of the Old God, and His victory is inevitable."

This is not a lie.

But Yong Xin didn't say the second half of his sentence.

If things proceed as they normally would, the New God would easily obliterate the Old God.

But now they are facing obstacles. If the power of the New God is not further strengthened, then the battle with the Old God will not be so easy.

After all, the Old God aren't just waiting to die.

Not to mention they had already moved up their plans by a month.

There are simply too many destabilizing factors right now.

... This cannot continue.

Yong Xin looked up at his subordinates and said, "We need to intensify the sanctions against Jie La Er. Why haven't the Skeleton Corps found him yet?"

Faced with Yong Xin's questioning, the subordinate hesitated before answering. "Because the warrant for his arrest is only level one, there's really not much the Skeleton Corps can do. After all, he was once Evening Star Knight. If he really wanted to hide, all we could do was put up warrants and set up roadblocks. It would be really difficult to find him. We need a warrant of level two or higher."

Yong Xin had already guessed that his subordinate would say that, so he nodded and said, "Bring the application here."

"Yes!"

The subordinate immediately left the office, but returned shortly afterward and placed the application in front of Yong Xin.

Yong Xin then picked up his pen.

Logically speaking, given Jie La Er's actions, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to escalate the warrant to a "kill Level Two Wanted Order or higher.

But the problem is... there's no evidence.

No one saw for sure that he killed Bishop Holman, nor did anyone see for sure that he set fire to the processing plant.

Logically speaking, the lack of evidence is no Yong Xin deal for Yongxin, who now holds the power over Huo Er Man. As long as he signs the application, he can immediately upgrade Jie La Er's arrest warrant to level two, or even the exoneration clause, at which point Jie La Er will have nowhere to escape.

Just sign it.

As long as... sign it.

But just as the pen tip was about to touch the paper, it paused once again.

Just like last time, no matter what, Yong Xin couldn't let it go any further, as if the hand had already slipped out of his control.

After trying for a long time, Yong Xin raised his head, looked at his subordinate, and calmly said, "You may leave now."

The subordinate was taken aback. "Uh, Lord Yongxin, you haven't..."

"I told you to step back," Yong Xin repeated.

The subordinate dared not say anything more, immediately took his leave, and closed the door as he left.

Yong Xin was the only one left in the office.

He quietly looked at his right hand, which was holding the pen.

Then,

With a "bang".

He slammed the pen on the table, and his expression gradually became ferocious and terrifying.

"Ten years have passed, why..."

"Why won't you just die?"

"Ian."

"Puff".

Ina was pinned to the ground, her hands restrained.

Then Bai Wei plopped down on her back, smiling as he announced the end of the battle.

"You know what, it's actually quite interesting," Bai Wei said with a smile. "Using my own body to hit my daughter, even I'm experiencing this for the first time... Actually, you can be more uninhibited. Don't hold back just because you're afraid of hurting this body. You can rest assured, I care about this body more than you do right now, and I will never let you hurt it."

Ina struggled, her eyes blazing with anger. "Who are you? Why are you inside my father's body?"

"Oh? You're calling me father again now?" Bai Wei said slowly. "You two are quite interesting. If you weren't pushed to the limit, Jie La Er would never have mentioned to me that he has children. And you, if you weren't pinned down, you would never have admitted that you have a father. Tsk tsk tsk."

Ina gritted her teeth.

"I originally thought you were just a simple, unfilial daughter who broke with Jie La Er."

He looked down at Ina's uniform and the Blazing Fire Sword that had been knocked to the side, knowing that these were standard equipment of the Devil Squad.

"Most people believe that you joined the Devil Squad to find conclusive evidence to convict Jie La Er, who has never been able to be convicted, send him to his death, and then avenge your brother," Bai Wei said slowly. "But in reality, there has always been another possibility that no one has considered. That is, you can also use this opportunity to find evidence to prove Jie La Er's innocence, right?"

Bai Wei felt the body beneath her buttocks stiffen slightly.

"Looks like I was right." Bai Wei shrugged. "Because no matter which possibility it is, you need to break with Jie La Er in order to join the Devil Squad and achieve this goal... What a cliché story."

Ina turned her head with difficulty and stared intently at Bai Wei: "Who exactly are you?"

"You don't need to know who I am," Bai Wei said calmly. "You just need to know the circumstances under which your father met me."

Bai Wei paused for a moment, and without waiting for Ina to ask a question, he slowly gave his answer.

"Death. Your father met me at the end of death."

Ina's body stiffened again.

"Do you know what your original intention was? Whether you wanted to prove Jie La Er's innocence or you truly considered Jie La Er the enemy who killed your brother, what you did only led to one result: pushing him to the brink of death." Bai Wei reached out and patted Ina's head, then whispered in her ear, "Do you understand? Your father is dead."

"It was you who killed him."

"He was alone and was killed."

"Shut up!!"

Ina roared and immediately broke free from Bai Wei's restraints. She quickly picked up the Blazing Fire Sword beside her and slashed behind her.

But there was no one behind him.

She looked around and saw that incredibly familiar figure gradually disappearing into the depths of the sea of fire.

"I haven't completely taken Jie La Er's life yet."

Bai Wei's voice came through.

"But next time, it will be all of it."

Ina was about to give chase, but more people rushed in.

"The Skeleton Corps!"

"Put down your weapons!"

She could only stop moving and watch helplessly as Jie La Er's figure was engulfed by flames.

It's as if it never existed.