Church of Evolution

In the rented apartment, Su Ze, Liu Wenyin, and Aunt Yun sat around the table eating.

Su Ze sighed. "The situation changed too quickly. Before we could even escape, the storm was already upon us."

The news of Feng Buqing slaughtering the Hunter squad had only broken yesterday morning. By the afternoon, public sentiment was already boiling over. Rumors about Feng Buqing's identity and information related to the Tainted Ones spread wildly online, forcing the authorities of Mu Kingdom and Luofan Kingdom to act immediately.

"Something is very wrong with this. Someone is obviously fanning the flames behind the scenes."

Aunt Yun snorted coldly. "Who else could it be? Obviously those people who play at being gods!"

Su Ze froze. "You mean the Church of Evolution?"

The Church of Evolution was currently the only legal religion on Linhua Continent. They worshipped the God of Evolution. Of the six nations on Linhua Continent, aside from Luofan Kingdom, the other five neither promoted nor obstructed the Church of Evolution, allowing them to preach without offering any policy support.

Luofan Kingdom alone was different. Its enormous wealth gap had created a vast impoverished population, turning the country into fertile soil for religion to grow and flourish.

When people were trapped in the mire with no hope in sight, faith became the last ray of light they could embrace in the darkness.

And in order to preserve the stability of its rule, the Luofan Kingdom authorities hit it off with the Church of Evolution, introducing many policies that made preaching more convenient for them.

In present-day Luofan Kingdom, the Church of Evolution was flourishing. Even in filthy, overcrowded slums, grand and solemn Temples of Evolution stood tall.

Liu Wenyin said, "The online discussions yesterday kept stressing that the stench on the Tainted Ones was a curse from the God of Evolution. They said the Tainted Ones were people abandoned by God. That is obviously the Church of Evolution's rhetoric."

"What are they trying to accomplish?" Su Ze did not understand.

"They are merely going with the flow, creating panic and profiting from it." Liu Wenyin picked up her phone and showed Su Ze a news report. It said that from yesterday until today, countless Luofan Kingdom citizens had flooded into the Temples of Evolution to pray to the gods and beg for the God of Evolution's protection.

To show their sincerity, believers often scraped together a portion of their meager incomes and donated it to the temples.

The report was accompanied by photos of countless ragged, gaunt men and women packing the Temples of Evolution so tightly that not even water could pass through.

Su Ze shook his head, unsure what to say.

Aunt Yun said, "How about we leave today? If we keep staying here, I have a bad feeling something will happen."

"Besides, lots of people are fleeing to other places for refuge right now. We would not stand out if we blended in with them."

"But Aunt Yun, your injuries still require rest and recuperation." Liu Wenyin tried to persuade her. "I think Mengka City is quite safe for us. If Luofan Kingdom sends a Saint-level expert here, that may even serve as protection for us."

"The ones hunting us are the Netherworld Organization and Guan Kingdom. If a Saint-level expert is stationed in Mengka City, I believe those two forces will definitely restrain themselves."

Su Ze and Aunt Yun both felt that made quite a bit of sense.

Just as Aunt Yun was hesitating, all three of their phones suddenly chimed at once.

Su Ze picked up his phone and saw the top news alert from his social media app: the Lion Army, led by General Ye Muni, had entered Mengka City in the early hours of today.

"Luofan Kingdom's Saint-level expert has already arrived."

The moment Liu Wenyin finished speaking, she noticed that something was off about Su Ze's expression.

"What's wrong?"

Su Ze took a deep breath and asked, "How many generals named Ye Muni does Luofan Kingdom have?"

"I have only heard of this one. General Ye Muni is a newly advanced Saint-level expert. He completed his fourth evolution a few days ago. He has spent many years building his influence in the military and is a powerful figure there. Every side has a high opinion of him."

Su Ze gave a dry laugh. "As far as I know, Zhao Yuanyi has a friend he has known for many years, also named Ye Muni."

He still remembered Zhao Yuanyi telling him to seek out General Ye Muni once he reached Luofan Kingdom.

Liu Wenyin shot to her feet. "Hurry up and pack. I hope we are not too late."

Mu Kingdom, Qinggu City.

Zhang Fantie stood respectfully before Zhao Yuanyi and reported the clues he had uncovered recently.

"So he went to Luofan Kingdom with a woman called Dr. Liu and a Butterfly Transformation Stage expert?"

Zhang Fantie nodded. "Four Hunters confirmed this account."

Zhao Yuanyi frowned deeply. There was too much information in Zhang Fantie's report. It involved a Fifth-Order Marvel and a Saint-level expert from the Netherworld Organization, making him feel as though events were slipping out of control.

He could not quite understand how a mere Pupal stage brat could get tangled up in events of such a high level.

In the blink of an eye, that kid had not only found himself a backer and gotten an S-rank extract worth hundreds of millions for free, but had also crossed the Black Rock Mountain Range and escaped pursuit by an elder of the Netherworld Organization.

They had clearly come from the same mold, so why did his son Zhao Lingxiao not have that kind of ability?

"There is one more thing." Zhang Fantie said, "By the time I found those four Hunters, people from another force had already interrogated them. They were likely from Guan Kingdom."

Zhao Yuanyi lit a cigar, took a hard drag, and ordered, "Send someone to investigate that Dr. Liu. Also, take some people to Mengka City and look for them there. General Ye Muni is currently stationed in Mengka City. I will put in a word with him and have him arrange personnel to assist you."

After Zhang Fantie left, Zhao Yuanyi picked up his phone and dialed an overseas number.

Zhao Yuanyi said, "Hello, General Ye Muni. I have something I would like to trouble you with."

Ye Muni said, "If you keep talking like that, I'm hanging up."

Zhao Yuanyi said, "Haha, times have changed. You are Saint-level now, and your status has risen accordingly. I would not dare call you Little Muni anymore."

Ye Muni said, "Spit it out!"

Zhao Yuanyi said, "I really do need your help with something. I need to find someone in Luofan Kingdom. He is most likely in Mengka City, though he may have fled to another city..."

Su Ze and the other two hurriedly packed their luggage, hurriedly headed out, then hurriedly came back.

Everything had been fine when they arrived, but now they could not leave!

Every road out of Mengka City was suddenly under martial control. Anyone leaving the city had to verify their identity. The three of them could not even produce a single ID card between them, so they could only turn the car around and return.

They were trapped in Mengka City!

The first order Ye Muni gave after arriving in Mengka City was not directed at Feng Buqing in the Black Rock Mountain Range, but at restricting city residents from leaving. That was clearly unreasonable.

Su Ze could already sense that Ye Muni's actions had something to do with his "former father."

"For now, we can only adapt to the situation and take things one step at a time."

If Aunt Yun recovered her strength, the three of them could still attempt to force their way out. Without Aunt Yun, a Butterfly Transformation Stage Combat Strength fighter, leading the way, they could only remain trapped in the rented apartment.

Aunt Yun said, "Give me another seven or eight days, and I will have mostly recovered. Then I'll lead you two out by killing our way through!"

Su Ze had his doubts. Ye Muni and Zhao Yuanyi would definitely have other methods up their sleeves. Could they hold out until then?