Should We Kill Our God?

Ao Li Wei sat by the window, watching the sun slowly climb into the city sky, gradually awakening the silent Lyra.

The door behind him was pushed open, and Huo Ge Ni walked in, bowing to Ao Li Wei.

"Your Bishop," Huo Ge Ni said respectfully, "Everything is ready, and the staff representatives are beginning to enter."

Ao Li Wei's gaze slowly returned, from the sun on the horizon to the Lyra before him.

He could see countless people surging toward the Tower of Babel.

Attracted by the National Congress, they were like blood flowing into the heart, or like an ant colony returning to the queen, so magnificent, or so orderly.

"How beautiful," Ao Li Wei said with a soft chuckle. "Isn't it, Huo Ge Ni?"

"Of course, Your Bishop," Huo Ge Ni said. "And it will be even more beautiful after today."

Ao Li Wei smiled again, then slowly stood up.

"Yes, it's about time."

Upon seeing this, Huo Ge Ni immediately stepped forward and draped the robe, which he had prepared beforehand and symbolized the noble status of the Tower of Babel Bishop, over Ao Li Wei's shoulders. Ao Li Wei, however, did not make any movement and simply stood there quietly.

After changing, Huo Ge Ni took two steps back and then gave Ao Li Wei a more respectful and humble bow.

"Please, Your Holiness, usher in the Pope of Lyra."

There are two hours left before the start of the National Congress.

"Do you know what? My dad is an outstanding employee; he gets to go to the Tower and have a meeting with Bishop Ao Li Wei today!"

"So what? My dad can do it too!"

"I can do it too! I can do it too!"

On the Gear Train, Ju pulled her hat down low, as if that would block out the children's chatter.

But this was of no use, because everyone on the entire Gear Car was talking about the upcoming National Congress.

The children were comparing whether their parents were qualified to directly participate in the National Congress, while the adults were more concerned with the content of the National Congress.

When was the last National Congress?

"It was over a hundred years ago, I think it was about Gear Train."

"I see. And this time? A new Gear Train?"

"Bishop Ao Li Wei is talking about a new future."

"A new future?"

"Yeah... I hope nothing goes wrong. I heard that Wanted Criminal hasn't been caught yet."

"Tsk."

As Ju listened, she quietly wrapped the clothes tighter around herself.

If anyone were to notice her, they would surely see that the malnourished little girl's clothes were so large that she had to hold onto her collar tightly to prevent anyone from seeing her entire body through her neckline.

If you got closer to her, you would definitely hear a crisp metallic clanging sound, completely different from the noise of the Gear Train.

But no one noticed her.

Compared to a malnourished little girl, people were more concerned about the once-in-a-century National Congress.

Ju raised her head, and the colossal tower that seemed to connect heaven and earth was gradually magnifying in her small pupils.

There is one hour and thirty minutes left until the National Congress.

Standing in front of the Third District's tower, Ina took a deep breath, gradually calming her slightly tense emotions.

"Is everyone in position?"

Ina asked the Devil Knight beside her.

"Yes, Vice Captain, everyone is in position." The Devil Knight saluted Ina, then hesitated and said, "But, is it really necessary to do this, Vice Captain?"

Ina glanced at the Devil Knight: "Have you forgotten what the orders were?"

"No, of course not!" the Devil Knight replied solemnly. "Upon receiving the order, the first thing to do was to take control of each sub-tower and its associated Skeleton Corps, and then follow the next instructions... But isn't that really betrayal?"

"We received orders from Bishop Ao Li Wei, while you received orders from me and You Li," Ina said, trying to keep her tone calm. "If anything goes wrong, it will be a problem for me and Captain You Li. What are you worried about?"

"That's not my problem, it's just... no, I have no problem," the Devil Knight replied. "We will obey your orders completely."

Ina nodded slightly, then turned her gaze back to the Third District tower not far away.

She knew it was an extremely risky gamble.

She and You Li forged the orders from above, forcibly preventing the Devil Squad from leaving the Fifth District from being taken out of the district, in order to control the nodes of each sub-tower as soon as the National Congress started, in order to prevent any accidents from happening.

If they fail, both she and You Li will be branded as traitors and suffer the same fate as Nightingale.

... Just like the evening star back then?

For some reason, the thought of this calmed Ina's previously uneasy mind.

"Brother..." she murmured softly.

"What did you say?" The Devil Knight beside him did not hear clearly.

"What I meant was..." Ina composed herself, then turned around and looked at the dozen or so fully armed Devil Knight behind her, "Pay attention to the time."

"Yes, Vice Captain!" the Devil Knight replied, glancing at his pocket watch. "One hour left."

"Where are Fu Lei De and the others?" Cha Mo Si frowned. "Where are De Xi and Mu Ni? Where have they all gone?"

At the entrance to the Tower of Babel, Cha Mo Si, who was in charge of the Tenth Squad of the Skeleton Corps, looked at the incomplete Tenth Squad and couldn't help but ask a question.

After Ku De's death, he naturally took over the position of captain.

Although he really didn't want to become the captain this way, there was no other way.

Since becoming a squad leader, he has only carried out two missions: one was to hunt down Jie La Er, and the other is what he is doing now.

After being injured by Jie La Er that day, Cha Mo Si took a long time to recover and finally made up his mind to protect the team no matter what.

But what he didn't expect was that after recovering from his injuries, he found that the team was even more depleted, and several more people were missing.

"What exactly happened?" Cha Mo Si asked.

"It seems the three of them have been transferred by higher-ups," the subordinate replied.

"Transferred? When did this happen?" Cha Mo Si frowned even more deeply. "Why didn't I receive any orders?"

"Just two days ago, it seems to have been a direct order from Bishop Ao Li Wei, because the three of them were the least injured, so they were chosen."

"He was transferred away by Bishop Ao Li Wei's direct orders?"

For some reason, this answer made Cha Mo Si feel vaguely uneasy, and he really wanted to go and ask Minister Fen Li for clarification right now.

However, the National Congress was about to begin, and the delegates with authority had already started to enter. The area outside was packed with people waiting for the results. Security personnel were already insufficient, so he couldn't possibly leave at this time. Therefore, he had no choice but to put his mind at ease and plan to ask for clarification after the assembly was over.

Just then, a subordinate came to report, "Captain, someone is looking for you."

"At this time?" Cha Mo Si frowned. "Who?"

"Captain Ku De's father."

Cha Mo Si froze, then slowly turned his head to look at the other person. "Who did you say?"

"Captain Ku De's father, he's over there." The subordinate pointed behind him, then hesitated before saying, "He doesn't seem to know about Captain Ku De's situation yet, you say..."

Cha Mo Si remained silent for a while, then looked at the pocket watch in his hand.

There is still half an hour before the start of the National Congress.

Give me five minutes.

You Li, leading a fully armed Devil Squad, pushed open the door of a warehouse located beneath the Tower of Babel, and immediately saw several people lying in pools of blood. His pupils narrowed slightly.

Because these skeletal Knight all looked exactly like the two "monsters" that were killed last night.

The only person standing in the warehouse was Jie La Er.

Behind Jie La Er was the Purification Source Crystal, which had been lost just last night and was now emitting a faint glow.

Upon seeing Jie La Er, the Devil Knight behind You Li stirred slightly. Although You Li had warned them beforehand, the sight still made them uneasy.

You Li ignored him and quickly stepped forward to stand in front of Jie La Er.

"They really did steal it." You Li asked, looking around. "But how did you find this place?"

Jie La Er didn't say it outright, but simply shook his head. "I have my own way of doing things."

You Li looked closely at Jie La Er's face and said, "You look terrible."

Jie La Er did not answer immediately, but slowly bent down and turned over the nearest corpse, showing You Li the blood-stained Sleeve badge that was pressed under him—"Fu Lei De of the Tenth Squad of Bones".

You Li understood. "Are these all skeleton Knight?"

Jie La Er hummed in agreement. "Looks like those from last night were too."

Why is this happening?

"That New God's methods," Jie La Er said softly, "Are becoming increasingly radical in his intervention in reality."

As Jie La Er spoke, You Li's gaze also fell on Jie La Er's shoulder. He was still wearing the uniform of the Skeleton Corps, with the Sleeve badge reading "Jie La Er, Tenth Squad of Skeletons".

You Li then understood everything. He patted Jie La Er on the shoulder and said, "It will all end today."

Jie La Er didn't say much, only asking, "Did you bring the things?"

You Li nodded and gestured to the Devil Knight behind him, Devil Knight then brought up a machine that resembled a giant loudspeaker.

"This is the latest model of the radiator," You Li said. "Once it is connected to the Purification Source Crystal, it will be able to cover the entire conference hall, and even the entire Tower of Babel. At that time, everything will be over."

"Is that so?" Jie La Er nodded slightly. "Thank you."

"I'm not doing this for you, you know that," You Li replied calmly.

Then he paused, looked at Jie La Er's bloodshot eyes, and knew that the other hadn't rested for a long time, and said in a low voice.

"Or should I go, and you just wait here for me?"

Jie La Er shook his head and said firmly, "No, I must go myself."

You Li didn't refuse, he just nodded. "Okay."

"Time."

You Li glanced at his pocket watch and said, "Ten minutes left."

The conference hall was already full.

Although the people here tried to keep their voices down, the large number of people still made the entire conference hall as noisy as Gear Train.

Those who are able to attend this meeting are undoubtedly either top performers in various industries within Lyra or employees with authority.

If we compare the Lyra to a machine, then these are the important components at each node.

Now, their attention was focused on the empty seat at the very head of the conference room.

Although the person hasn't arrived yet, they all know who that seat belongs to.

Of course, some people are curious as to why only Bishop Ao Li Wei presided over the meeting. Shouldn't a general assembly be held by five bishops together?

It seems like it was the same thing that happened a hundred years ago.

Of course, this question didn't bother everyone for long, because they were more concerned about the content of the meeting.

The installation of Gear Train a century ago can be said to have changed the entire ecosystem of Lyra, allowing Lyra city to expand several times over.

So what about today?

What exactly is this "new future" that Bishop Ao Li Wei speaks of?

Will it bring about new changes?

This has generated a lot of anticipation among people.

"I have inside information that this conference will be using new technologies."

"New technology? What kind of technology? Tell us quickly!"

People kept discussing it.

Then, a deep and resounding bell rang out, instantly silencing the cacophony.

The time is almost up.

With only this one thought in their minds, they all fell silent and then looked in the same direction.

Ao Li Wei has entered the game.

Dressed in the most magnificent robes, he walked across the red carpet like Pope, and amidst the solemn and dignified tolling of bells, he reached the sole seat, then surveyed the hundreds of people in the conference hall.

The moment the bell stopped ringing, the entire conference hall fell completely silent.

Ao Li Wei smiled at everyone, then slowly raised a finger, his lips slightly parted.

"For this National Congress, I will be using a new technology," he began slowly, "Which is..."

The next second, his voice rang out in every corner of Lyra.

"So that everyone can hear my voice."

Inside the conference hall, outside the Tower of Babel, in the various districts, and on the carriages of the Gear Train, everyone heard Ao Li Wei's solemn voice.

After a brief silence, the Lyra erupted in thunderous cheers, as if to set the city ablaze.

As Lyra People have been at the forefront of technological innovation for many years, people are well aware of what this means.

Is this the future that Bishop Ao Li Wei promised?!

Excited people have begun to ponder how this technology was implemented and where it can be applied in the future.

But soon, Ao Li Wei's voice rang out again. "I know you are all excited that a brand new future is just around the corner... but it is not quite here yet. We still face a small obstacle, which is the purpose of this meeting."

Everyone fell silent.

Ju looked towards the Tower of Babel as soon as she got off the train.

Ina roused the equally shocked Devil Knight, urging them to prepare for action.

Cha Mo Si, who had just seen off Ku De's father, looked grave as several figures rushed towards the conference room. He immediately shouted, "Who goes there?!"

You Li lit the Blazing Fire Sword first, and as he moved forward, he said to Jie La Er, "I'll cover you, you go straight in."

Jie La Er quickened his pace.

Bai Wei watched calmly, his eyes passing through the Devil Knight, through the Skeleton Corps, through the door, and landing on Ao Li Wei's gradually opening mouth.

"We will hold a referendum."

Ao Li Wei said.

"The referendum is about whether to execute... the Lyra God is already hindering our development."