Being Won Over Is Only a Matter of Time (Laughs)

Cong Yu asked this question, and Dente thought for a moment before replying, "After the poisoning, everyone in the Church knew about it. As for before..."

"You know, Grandpa knows, I know, Tereido knows, the nuns and monks in charge of the guards know, the people performing the surgery know... Is that all?"

"..." It's hard to pinpoint exactly where the information leaked, but if the perpetrator was Vampire...

Did Tereido tell anyone else about this?

No, that's not right. The issue isn't "who knew the Pope was hospitalized," because that's irrelevant. The key point is...

Cong Yu realized the real clue they should be looking for, and said, "Who would know the exact ward after the Pope's Transformation Ritual?"

Dente doesn't know.

The Doctor, relying on his professional expertise, speculated. "Then it could only be the hospital's own medical staff—those involved in the surgery, those responsible for transporting patients, those arranging wards... or witnesses."

There are still quite a few steps involved.

"Then we'll have to stick to the most direct approach... Where is the Fourth Group's headquarters? I'll go and demand they hand over the people."

Just as Cong Yu finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside the monitoring room, and the nun in charge of the arrangements said hesitantly, "Um, someone claiming to be a cadre from the Fourth Group has come looking for us... and wants to come in."

All three of them were stunned for a moment.

Then Cong Yu and Dente stood up and walked out. Dente looked at the Doctor and asked, "Aren't you coming out?"

Doctor:"..."

The Doctor remained silent.

"Let her stay inside. She's just a Doctor... It wouldn't be good if the enemy attacked."

Cong Yu spoke, he stood at the doorway, gazing at a pale-skinned man wearing a hood at the hospital entrance.

Holy crap! You're the murderer, aren't you?!

So you've slipped through the net yourself?

Before Cong Yu could even speak, Dente, who had also discovered the other person's identity, immediately cowered. But after glancing at Cong Yu, she immediately regained her confidence.

"What's your name? Where did you come from and where are you going? Are you the murderer? Tell me! You have the right to remain silent, but..."

Dente's words were met with disapproval from someone who clearly looked like Vampire.

A cadre from the Fourth Group interrupted, "It wasn't me."

Holding his hands up to show his innocence, he said somewhat embarrassedly, "It was an acquaintance who joined the group with me who stole the drugs..."

"We didn't even know what he wanted to do with the stolen drop of 'Soul's Sorrow' yet; we were still investigating when we heard the Pope had been murdered."

"That guy used to be Zealot Faction. He said he was fooled by the Thirteen Clans. I've known him for a long time, but we're not that close."

"I'm a good person, I'm a good person."

The Vampire defended himself and the group, while Cong Yu naturally showed a suspicious expression.

They cut ties when something goes wrong... Cong Yu has seen this kind of thing far too many times.

"'Soul's Sorrow,' right? Did you develop it? Why are you here to apologize...? Where is your leader?"

The Vampire felt a chill run down his spine at Cong Yu's words. "The venom is secreted by our leader."

"The leader doesn't want to come because she had some issues with you in the past... We also have some misunderstandings with the 22nd Group."

Cong Yu knew that the misunderstanding between the 4th and 22nd Group stemmed from Rabbit Man's affair... but that was, after all, a conflict and a battle.

Both sides in the war are undoubtedly aiming to kill each other.

Cong Yu hadn't bothered to settle scores before, so there was no need to bring up old grievances now.

But the problem is...

"You have some kind of entanglement with me? What kind of entanglement?"

Cong Yu was getting anxious. He could already feel the Doctor's gaze as he listened to the sounds outside from the monitoring room... and Dente's inexplicable look.

How dare you slander someone's innocence with baseless accusations!

"Oh, because the leader said her stupid brother kidnapped your girlfriend. Although she was supposedly killed by another girlfriend and yet another one, she's still a little worried you'll cause her trouble."

"..." Where am I supposed to get so many girls?!

Wait, the leader of the Fourth Group secretes venom... so it's either a prototype of a spider, a snake, or a toad.

Her younger brother...

He was killed by my "girlfriend"...

"Holy crap! The Tang San I met back then was actually the younger brother of the leader of the Fourth Group?!"

--

Hooded Vampire: Tang San... who is he?!

Chapter 749 It's only a matter of time before I get captured (laughs)

"Why hasn't your daughter come to see you? It seems like only Brad and Dente are your relatives."

Cong Yu spoke, she peeled an apple with a fruit knife.

As for Cong Yu's words, Pope Old Deng, who was now a young girl, covered his head with the blanket and said, "Because visits are not common in Europe."

In particular, visiting patients in hospital wards is not common practice.

However, in the Vatican City, it is only "not popular" under normal circumstances, and it is not strictly prohibited.

"Furthermore, they all have their own positions and jobs within the Church... only Brad and those belonging to the special operations teams are relatively free."

As the Pope spoke, he gradually began to accept reality, poking his head out of the covers and breathing in the fresh air outside.

"Besides, they're going to be in charge of my funeral soon."

Upon hearing the Pope's words, Cong Yu's face clearly broke into a smile, "Hahaha, hahaha... You have a funeral too, huh? That's hilarious!"

This situation is really difficult to manage.

The Pope couldn't stop Cong Yu's laughter. He could only watch as Cong Yu finished peeling the apple before speaking, "Actually, I used to quite like eating apple peels... but since my teeth got worse, I haven't eaten them much."

"..."

"Oh? Oh... I peeled the apple for myself."

Cong Yu said this, then, under the Pope's lifeless, green gaze, she smiled and handed over the fruit plate with apple slices, "Just kidding."

You'd better have been joking from the start!

"Well..."

With a deep sigh, the Pope rubbed his nose. "So, aren't you going to go after the enemy who harmed me?"

Even if his body becomes younger, the Pope is destined not to be able to accept it as quickly as some other elderly people who maintain a youthful mindset.

Moreover, at first he thought he was just becoming younger, and he never expected that on the very night he became younger, he would have to become a woman.

That's so strange.

"The Fourth Group said they would atone for their crimes by helping us find the murderer, which is essentially like them looking for traitors on their side... It's true."

Cong Yu simply said "It's true," proving that he had verified the other party's statement.

"It's reasonable for Vampire to have a personal grudge against you."

"Just like me, I figured you wouldn't live long anyway, so it didn't matter whether I wanted to harm you or not..."

"I was originally expecting you to just die of old age, but who knew you'd pull some kind of Transformation Ritual that would make you never die of old age again."

"If they hear this news, won't they come after you to kill you?"

As Cong Yu peeled an orange for himself, he added, noticing the Pope's thoughtful expression, "Of course, this is just my guess."

While it's hard to say whether it's correct, the logic is self-consistent.

"You're the one who came to me, asking me to set an example."

The Pope sighed, eating an apple, ignoring the stray strands of hair falling across her face, and shifted her focus to the important matter at hand.

Even after being gender-swapped, he/she still cares about people.

Kind.

"What did the King of Mexico say?"

Although the question was phrased this way, the Pope was able to guess some of the answers because he had anticipated it.

Cong Yu's response was not unexpected.

"Carlos Mario agrees; he's conducting a poll, and preliminary results show that 99% of the public approves."

Cong Yu spoke, without adding anything, but what both of them knew was that... there weren't many Mexico people left to begin with.

"There's still 1%?"

The Pope was slightly surprised, while Cong Yu glanced at her, wondering why the old man had become so slow-witted. "He probably ordered the wrong thing..."

"..."

"..." In the silence, the Pope chose to change the subject. "If I had known I wouldn't be needed to lead it, I wouldn't have performed the Transformation Ritual."

After all, the Pope is not afraid of death.

If he were truly afraid of death, he wouldn't have remained so old without ever considering becoming an ageless eccentric.

Compared to the current situation, it would be better to actually die.

"If you want to die, your body will rot away in a while... then you won't need Doctor to give you a body transplant."

Cong Yu didn't stand on ceremony with this old man at all.

Upon hearing Cong Yu's words, the Pope immediately gave an awkward laugh, "Hahaha, then forget it."

"Right now, I really can't just abandon him... Dente isn't someone I can trust yet."

As he said this, the Pope sighed, indicating that although he intended to let Dente succeed him, he would still continue to intervene in affairs.

Upon hearing this, Cong Yu...

Oh no, Dente was right. She really is the pope but doesn't do anything. It's still the same old thing doing the work.

With this in mind, Cong Yu chatted with the Pope about Angel, Moerae, and humans.

The conversation ranged from Warcraft to Xiao Cui's Extinction Formula, and then from Cong Yu's own [Source Darkness Apophis] to the "Flood" sealed beneath the ocean trench.

Did Noah really choose to be sealed away voluntarily?

"I'm not sure, because it didn't happen during my term, and at least according to the records, the other party was sealed voluntarily."

"Ha... that makes it less believable."

I think so too.

"As the Pope, is it really alright for you to question records that shouldn't even be questioned?"

"I'm just stating the facts."

"..."

"Buzz--"

He only stopped talking and took out his phone to look at it when Cong Yu's phone vibrated in his pocket.

Leaning back in her chair, Cong Yu lay lazily, looking at messages on her phone in the sunlight outside the ward.

Outside the ward, the gentle and bright sunlight filtered through the dappled leaves, like carefully woven golden threads, illuminating Cong Yu.

Her long, black hair shimmered in the light, reflecting the occasional glint in her languid eyes.

Everything around him seemed to become his background.

"The Fourth Group found the killer. I'm going to ask about the situation... Should I have disposed of him immediately afterwards? Or do you need the killer?"

The Pope, having regained his composure, didn't seem to care about Cong Yu's words. "Do as you please, just report back afterwards."

That's decided then.

Thinking this, Cong Yu shrugged, then pushed open the door and went out, gently closing it behind her.

Although the Pope wasn't strictly speaking a patient, Cong Yu still decided to give the old man some respect.