The members of the Silent Alliance were thrilled, completely satisfied.
The people in the Law Enforcement Bureau gained merit, and they were satisfied too.
Even the upper echelons of the Genesis Organization declared the operation a complete success.
So, who actually lost?
That’s a hard one to guess.
For the Genesis Organization’s upper management, although this operation was almost a total wipeout, it showed off their might.
Daring to raise a blade against the Law Enforcement Bureau increased the Genesis Organization’s prestige among the underworld.
Of course… the fact that they were nearly annihilated still looked bad.
The higher-ups questioned Gao Wande about why this happened.
Because Gao Wande was the one who planned the entire operation.
Gao Wande spread his hands, refusing to take the blame, saying it was probably the diviner’s fault—the diviner had told him the luck was extremely good.
Gao Wande tried to pass the buck!
But Kong Huan and Kong Xi said: The luck was good for three days, but we never said the fourth day would be good too!
That made sense.
In the end, Gao Wande had no choice but to take the blame, feeling frustrated.
As a result, Gao Wande was briefly ostracized by the higher-ups, and some even tried to use the situation to undermine his position.
Gao Wande thought about ways to fix this.
The best way was still to pass the buck!
—
In the office.
Gao Wande stood with his back to Ye Kui, hands behind him, gazing outside with a weary expression.
“Professor Ye, everyone involved in this operation died. Even the B-rank Evolver was sadly struck down by the Saintess’ sword… Yet you, an F-rank alchemist, managed to return alive. This puts me in a difficult position.”
“Many people think you’re a traitor within the Genesis Organization……”
Before Gao Wande could continue.
Ye Kui calmly pulled out a thick stack of papers and, with a wave of his hand, scattered them like snowflakes across the room.
One sheet landed in front of Gao Wande.
Perplexed, Gao Wande instinctively looked down, and as soon as he caught a glimpse, his pupils shrank!
He hurriedly crouched down, snatching up the paper so fast his face nearly pressed against it, reading each word carefully.
Seeing the Alchemical Results written on it, his eyes filled with fervor, and his chubby cheeks quivered with excitement.
“Professor Ye, these… these are……”
Ye Kui: “Oh, those are my research results. I only had time to produce these… Sorry, my hand slipped just now.”
“Director Gao, I didn’t catch what you were saying earlier?”
Gao Wande quickly gathered every single sheet, organizing them before tucking them into his own chest.
He cleared his throat.
“But, back to the point.”
Gao Wande’s face lit up with a bright and warm smile, his cheeks jiggling.
“Professor Ye is weak, so of course he stayed at the rear. Because he hid so well, he managed to survive. Professor Ye is no traitor to the Genesis Organization!”
Ye Kui looked troubled.
“But Director Gao, I’m the only one who came back alive…”
Gao Wande waved a broad hand!
“Those guys only know how to run their mouths, biting like mad dogs, without understanding Professor Ye’s hardship at all.”
“Rest assured, Professor Ye, I’ll handle this problem for you!”
Ye Kui blinked.
“Director Gao, will this put you in a difficult spot? If it’s too much trouble…”
“Not at all! Not the slightest trouble!”
Gao Wande coughed, putting on a knowing, kindly smile.
“I only hope Professor Ye can produce more Alchemical Results for me.”
“The future of the organization rests on young people like you.”
Ye Kui nodded solemnly.
“Director Gao, I will.”
“The Genesis Organization is my home!”
“For the Genesis Organization, I will give my all!”
Gao Wande nodded in satisfaction, his glasses flashing white, lips curving into the faintest of smiles.
Young people are so easy to fool—just a few words and they’re fired up, easy to manipulate.
Ye Kui exchanged a few more words, then left.
Out in the corridor, he stretched lazily, squinting with a smile.
The test was over, and their tolerance for him was high.
After all that loyalty, the next step should be arranging for him to contact the so-called [Holy Angel].
Originally, Ye Kui had planned to take his little octopus, puppet, and Beiming Double Fish to create chaos with a fire and slip away.
But after seeing the [Holy Angel] and recalling the later events, realizing this weapon could destroy half of Qingluo City—and himself included—he decided to leave a backdoor in the [Holy Angel] instead.
Since he was here anyway.
—
Genesis Organization, lower levels.
Gao Wande walked down a metallic corridor, passed through a dim room filled with various monitors, and waited for a heavy door to rise.
He entered.
Immediately, his senses tingled, a feeling of vastness overtaking him. Looking up, in the pitch black above, a gigantic, double-winged angel statue hung upside down.
The angel’s hands were crossed before it, face filled with sorrow, yet from the corners of its eyes, thick, unknown black water flowed, radiating ominousness as it pooled overhead before dripping down.
Each drop fell into the Black Water Pool below, sending out faint ripples.
Gao Wande stared at the nearly hundred-meter-tall statue, his eyes burning with fanaticism, his face turning reverent as he carefully approached.
Crossing the perimeter of Black Iron Thorns, Gao Wande walked to the edge of the pool.
Waves surged, revealing massive stones that formed a jagged path.
Gao Wande stepped forward.
Each time his shoe lifted, long threads of black water stretched from the sole.
The supplicant, devout and mad!
Gao Wande walked to the end, facing the giant head of the angel statue. He gulped.
Letting out a long breath, he took out Ye Kui’s Alchemical Results from his chest, bowed deeply, and held them out with both hands.
A vortex formed on the angel’s head, and a pale, slender arm reached out, grabbing the documents and pulling them inside.
Seconds later, the statue began to tremble, the shaking lasting nearly ten minutes.
[More…want more…]
A crack opened on the head, and a giant blood-red eye appeared, staring at the sweating Gao Wande.
Gao Wande forced a smile.
“Of course, [Holy Angel]. But… may your humble servant feel the greatness of God for a moment?”
The blood-red eye locked onto him.
Sweat beaded on Gao Wande’s back, the pressure making him bend under its weight, bones creaking.
[Allowed…]
[I am pleased… you have ten minutes…]
Gao Wande’s face lit up in surprise!
Ten minutes?! More than he expected.
“Thank you, [Holy Angel].”
As he spoke, his right hand radiated alchemical energy, and he carefully placed it against the angel’s head.
In fact, he himself was an alchemist—an exceedingly rare B-rank alchemist!
The angel statue before him was a wondrous creation born from the combined efforts of several alchemists—1% effort, 99% luck!
Fully matured, it could rival a god!
However, to successfully hatch the [Holy Angel], vast amounts of energy were needed!
And… it was extremely picky.
If it wasn’t high-grade, or mysterious… it wouldn’t consume it!
After so many years of effort, the Genesis Organization had only managed to gather about 50%.
They’d even heard rumors of unknown terrifying creatures in the deep sea and tried to catch them as energy sources for the [Holy Angel].
But found nothing.
Of course, Gao Wande never intended to offer his own alchemical energy for the [Holy Angel]’s hatching.
After all, his power was negligible—not even 0.01%.
Gao Wande merely wanted the [Holy Angel] to become familiar with his energy.
When the time came and it finally hatched, countless people would vie for its ultimate control.
At that moment, as the organization’s strongest alchemist and someone familiar with its alchemical power, the [Holy Angel] might be more inclined toward him.
Ultimately granting him control.
Gao Wande never told anyone his little plan.