Chapter 870
Chapter 870 - 856: Shadow
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8 min read
"...Sure enough, another terrorist attack?"
As the era progresses, it brings changes, but not all changes are good...especially for those who already benefit from the status quo, as most alterations can easily shake their foundations and vested interests.
"Is it the Evil Gods again? Don’t they know it’s better to develop together than against each other?"
Xia Qin leaned in, and sure enough, the newspaper reported another attack originating from the Evil God Church.
After the initial period of turmoil, at some unknown time, those silent cultists and churches of the Evil Gods had once again become active.
Some were carrying out large-scale sacrifices, some were stirring up trouble to attract attention and recruit newcomers, and some even began to openly challenge the authority of the officials... In some regions, signs of out-of-control situations had emerged.
Was this a rebound from a period of enforced peace? It wasn’t that simple.
"...Evil God groups? Heh, it’s hard to say."
Lu Ping’an smiled, but did not elaborate further.
However, Xia Qin fell silent. She wasn’t a rookie and found something eerily familiar about the weapons, drugs, and resources some cultists wielded.
Investigations that hit a dead end were the most frustrating, and while things had improved recently, it was clear that the "old adversaries" would not just disappear.
"Is the Proper God Church stirring things up in the dark again? Isn’t this vast world enough for them to cause chaos in?"
"Not only that...."
As a police officer, Xia Qin always acted from her standpoint of maintaining order and protecting ordinary people, even if it meant confronting darkness without being consumed by it.
Meanwhile, Chris, Lu Ping’an’s source of information and a leader of the Evil God Church, was not just associated with darkness but a source of darkness itself.
She really understood all those rotten and broken matters....
"Evil Gods and their cultists are like a swamp, where all sorts of filth are dumped. It’s not that they are not bastards themselves, but rather, more bastards are wearing their skin, especially some bastards from the Proper God Church...."
The investigation into the special (quasi-military) magic drug by Lu Ping’an’s team had led them to a subsidiary medical company of the Proper God Church, hadn’t it? Such incidents were not isolated cases, and not even newsworthy anymore.
In the past, those medium and large churches had their own companies, real estate, estates, and lifelong employees, making them essentially nations within a nation.
In reality, in some remote small towns, when most of the townspeople and citizens are devout followers, all their work is in service of the Church, and their children are indoctrinated from birth, those towns and cities are essentially the private property of the Church.
".....I thought most of the Proper Gods had already cooperated with the officials, as mutual development would be beneficial for them too."
"Ha, gods are gods, and humans are humans. When the plate is big, all kinds of birds are seen. The factions and conflicts within those super churches cannot be clarified in just a sentence or two."
Indeed, officials could use the big opportunity of Foreign Domain Exploration to win over the "Proper Gods" and even those under their command who were eager to advance further. Then what?
Many of the large churches were already "countries within countries." Their branches and subsidiary companies had their own areas of influence, industries, and even their own manpower reserves (schools, breeding bases).
Many factions’ roots were in their own old territories. Asking them to give that up and integrate into the overall development of the Plane is laughable—who would compensate them for their loss of profits?
Now, even if the Proper God wanted to step back, their subordinates in churches, branches, companies, and countless lower families... each had their own interests, needs, and bases. It was impossible for them to completely abandon everything because of one word from the big boss.
"You expect capitalists, landlords, and slave masters to just relinquish their property and privileges, and obediently become compliant citizens based solely on the Emperor’s word? That’s difficult.... even if you are the Deity they worship, they could simply turn to other Deities or Evil Gods."
In fact, during this period, the biggest issue for many Churches of the Proper and Evil Gods was not external expansion, but how to handle the incessant internal strife and conflict they faced while attempting to change direction.
If every person and every power has its own needs, it’s no wonder these organizations are paralyzed by internal chaos.
Some churches were internally cleansing, while others simply split into several new ones, and some even had most of their subordinate organizational structures directly pledge allegiance to another Evil God, causing a momentary focus of public opinion.
In places Lu Ping’an hadn’t noticed, the transition of eras came swiftly and brutally. Many people were crushed by the wheels of history, then vented their emotions and dissatisfaction onto others.
"... This fugitive, he seems to have been a bishop of Lin Nu’s Church before, right?"
Lu Ping’an rubbed his brow, feeling a premonition that these peaceful and stable days were probably numbered.
The initial period was the shock phase of the Great Era, where all parties were still in a waiting period regarding the transformations of the age. Now, whether they’ve suffered losses or desire more, it was natural for them to take action.
Many who were once clean had turned to gray, and many who were black had turned to white, with some running away and some running toward.
Lu Ping’an took out a pen, made a few marks, and then handed it to Xia Qin.
Just on this newspaper alone, there were double-digit numbers of very serious criminal cases, including ethnic conflicts, trouble caused by Evil Gods, supermen committing crimes, proclaiming themselves emperor.... Uh, yes, that’s right, Lu Ping’an also felt a bit stunned when he saw the news that "a group of cultists and landlords declared the establishment of the Great Courtyard Dynasty and had already been annihilated by three police officers, with the sixty-seven-year-old emperor Wang XX arrested."
At first, Lu Ping’an found it amusing, but upon reading it more carefully, it was somewhat harder to laugh.
"Sacrificed twenty-seven villagers, received the blessing of an Evil God as well as nearly a hundred Foreign Devil Monsters, yet they threw down their arms and shed their armor after a charge from the police..."
Xia Qin grew angrier as she read, and eventually punched the bed in frustration.
Any absurd reason or motive, once supported by enough firepower, could become a nightmare for others, and in this world, controlling guns made no sense; if willing to abandon certain lines, countless things more deadly than guns and cannons could be obtained.
Of course, the three police officers who brought them down were no ordinary people... Now, being a police officer is just an identity, and it might just be a passing High Order Strong in disguise.
The focus was not on the "sixty-seven-year-old King Emperor," but on the cultists who provided power and taboo knowledge to him... God knows if that was a former high-level Proper God in disguise.
The "Secret Keeper" system of the past was necessary and effective, which, in a sense, is the "gun control" of the New Era; letting these things spread wantonly, is the destruction of the ordinary people’s daily peaceful life.
Previously, various churches could govern directly, but now that the waiting period is over, demons and monsters have emerged.
Looking at Xia Qin, who was very upset, Lu Ping’an shrugged his shoulders, showing some sympathy.
"It seems, overtime is upon us again."
Most cases were scattered across Changping State, but with so many just in one issue of the newspaper, there must be no shortage of scenes in the shadows.
The security in the urban districts is the best because the Special Service Team is capable, but those remote areas and towns... Uh, some things are just impossible to do, and those "pests" specifically target the weak points.
The number of societal instability factors will only increase, not decrease. While the crime rate in the city is going down, it might mean the relocation of the victims.
And once they start rolling like a snowball in remote areas, they naturally want more.
"What will the official response be next? Will they send more special agents to the countryside? Or relocate the town residents to the city, or perhaps force the various churches to tighten control..."
Lu Ping’an pondered for a moment, then shook his head one after another.
Chaos is boundless, but official power and authority are always limited. Continuously consuming without restraint is a lose-lose situation.
Heavy punishments are used in troubled times, and Lu Ping’an himself didn’t expect some things to come faster than anticipated.
A few days later, a new official regulation made the headlines.
"Compulsory reward system, huh? Uh, is this the beginning of the Bounty Hunting era?"
— End of Chapter 870 —