His Holiness the Pope's Highest-Priority Emergency Order!
Salas shuddered all over. The sudden turn of events eased the nausea churning through him from the infrasonic waves.
He snatched the Soul Tool communicator, still flashing wildly, and pressed the answer button with a trembling hand, not even bothering to wipe the filth from the corner of his mouth.
A cold, authoritative female voice, devoid of emotion, sounded directly in his mind.
It wasn't a recording. It was a direct link through spiritual power!
It was Pope Bibi Dong!
"Salas."
Just those two words sent a chill racing down Salas's spine.
"I sensed Nana's life force. She's in that city. But it's extremely faint, and she's surrounded by an energy field I can't analyze."
"At the same time, I sensed a power that... even made my heart skip a beat. Just now, it tore through space."
Bibi Dong's voice paused. That brief silence terrified Salas more than any reprimand could have.
"My order is to go in, find Nana, and bring her back. At any cost."
"As for that unknown entity... until I give you the order, you are forbidden from engaging with it in any form of direct conflict. All you need to do is observe and gather information."
"Is that clear?"
"Y-yes, understood!" Salas broke out in a cold sweat.
A power that even His Holiness the Pope feared?
Could that thing that tore through space just now really have been an illusion?
And direct conflict was forbidden?
That meant he had to swallow this humiliation, no matter how bitter, today!
The connection ended.
Salas stood rooted to the spot, his face turning from pale to ashen as his chest heaved.
Behind him, Xie Yue and Yan stared at the Bishop's expression, as if he'd swallowed a dead fly, and didn't dare make a sound.
"Bishop, should we..." Xie Yue ventured cautiously.
"Shut up!" Salas whipped around, glaring at the cold metal city gate with bloodshot eyes.
A few seconds later, as if all the strength had been drained from him, his entire bearing slumped.
He started walking.
Not toward the city gate, nor away from it.
Instead, he headed for the west side of the gate, toward a little booth made of makeshift metal panels. A sign hung above it: "Temporary Resident Registration."
One step, then another...
Each step felt like walking on the edge of a blade.
Each step trampled on his dignity as a Platinum Bishop.
Xie Yue and Yan were utterly dumbfounded.
The Bishop was really going to apply for a permit?
If word of this got out, would Spirit Hall have any face left?!
Salas reached the little booth.
There was no living attendant inside, only a cold mechanical arm and a scanning screen embedded in the wall.
"Name," the mechanical voice said.
Salas clenched his fists until they cracked and forced the name through his teeth. "Salas."
"Affiliation."
"...Spirit Hall."
"Reason for entering the city."
"...Looking for someone."
"Please place your right hand on the scanning area for biometric registration."
A blue panel of light lit up beneath the screen.
Salas glared at the panel. It didn't feel like a scanner. It felt like a monument to his lifelong disgrace.
In the end, he still held out his hand in humiliation and pressed it down hard.
"Beep—Information registered."
"According to Clause Three of the Nuoding City Foreign Personnel Management Regulations, all temporary visitors without a guarantor must provide an item of value as collateral for identification."
Collateral?
Salas was so furious he nearly vomited blood again.
He took a pouch of Gold Soul Coins out of his Soul Tool and slammed it onto the counter.
"Will this do?"
"Warning: unidentified metal detected. This city has completely abolished its precious-metal currency system. Please provide an item with an identity marker or energy value."
Abolished Gold Soul Coins?
Salas felt as if his brain couldn't keep up anymore.
Aside from his Soul Tool, the only thing on him that could prove his identity was the token symbolizing his authority as a Platinum Bishop.
It had been personally bestowed on him by the Pope!
Gritting his teeth, he all but dug the token out of his chest and slapped it onto the scanning platform. It was made entirely of rare metals and engraved with a relief of a Six-Winged Angel.
"This should work, right?!"
The mechanical arm picked up the token and held it beneath a red scanning beam.
"Beep-beep—Analyzing item composition and energy structure..."
"Analysis complete."
"Item material: Mithril and Star Steel alloy. Energy structure: low-grade Soul Power inscriptions. Estimated value: none."
"Overall assessment: This item is highly polluting industrial waste that cannot biodegrade naturally."
"Classified as: hazardous waste."
What?!
Hazardous waste?!
Salas's eyes instantly reddened. He felt a rush of hot blood shoot to his head!
Before he could react—
"Click."
A red bin beside him, labeled "Hazardous Waste Recycling," automatically flipped open.
Without the slightest hesitation, the mechanical arm tossed the Platinum Bishop's token inside.
"Clang."
The lid shut.
"Collateral accepted. Temporary entry permit generated."
"Plop."
A thin card that looked like a piece of plastic dropped from the dispenser.
It bore the large portrait he'd just registered, with a line of small text beneath it:
[Nuoding City Temporary Entry Permit]
Name: Salas
Number: T-00897
Valid for: 24 hours
Note: Holder of hazardous waste.
Salas picked up the card and stared at the note. His hand was trembling, and so was his body.
He felt like he hadn't come here to get a permit.
He'd come to sign a surrender document!
"Rumble..."
The massive metal city gate slowly rose.
But it stopped before reaching even two meters high, leaving an opening like a dog door.
"Permit holders, please enter the city promptly. The gate will close in thirty seconds."
Salas bent over and lowered his head, like a stray dog that had lost its home. He led Xie Yue and Yan, who also kept their heads down, through the humiliating gap.
Their carriage and their knights were all left outside the city.
The moment they entered, the city gate crashed shut behind them.
The whole world seemed to have changed.
The streets were impossibly clean. There wasn't a hint of a bad smell in the air, only the faint scent of disinfectant.
The rundown shops that had once lined the roads were nowhere to be seen. In their place stood row after row of silver-white buildings, all built in the same style.
Strangest of all, there wasn't a single person on the street.
The silence was terrifying.
Just as Salas was anxiously surveying his surroundings, on high alert—
"Bzzzt—"
The black loudspeakers mounted on the outer walls of every building along the street switched on at the same time.
Qin Feng's voice, tinged with amusement, rang through the empty city like divine Judgment.
"Attention, all citizens. Attention, all citizens."
"We interrupt our broadcast with a public announcement about urban sanitation and safety."
"A high-risk contamination source codenamed 'Platinum Trash' entered the city through the east gate three minutes ago."
"I repeat: the high-risk contamination source codenamed 'Platinum Trash' has entered the city."
"All security units, raise your alert level to Level Two immediately. Sanitation-bots, begin disinfection operations throughout the city."
"Citizens, please remain safely indoors and avoid contact with any suspicious trash."
"This announcement is brought to you by Nuoding City's Municipal Administration and Sanitation Department."
Salas jerked his head up.
On the giant screen of a building ahead, he saw clear footage of himself at the registration booth, bending over to vomit, then tossing his token into the trash bin.
In the lower-right corner of the screen, a headline had been emblazoned in bright red characters:
On the Self-Cultivation of Hazardous Waste.
Before you continue