novelraw Chapter 86 : Shadow’s Decision
Chapter 86 : Shadow’s Decision
Chapter 86: Shadow’s Decision
Chiyoda Ward, Hie Shrine.
The night wind blew past, stirring up fallen leaves on the ground.
After Chen Mo and Tsuchimikado Rin reached a cooperation agreement, the two of them quickly began taking action.
“Right now, what we lack most is intelligence.”
Chen Mo analyzed, “We know there are eight people in the 【Radiance】 faction, but aside from those few who are high-profile, the rest are still hidden in the shadows.”
“And we also don’t know where the other teammates of the 【Shadow】 faction are.”
“Besides you and me, there should be two more……”
Tsuchimikado Rin spoke up to interrupt him, “Perhaps there aren’t two anymore?”
“You should have received last night’s notification as well, right?”
Chen Mo nodded. Of course he knew what Tsuchimikado Rin was referring to.
“You’re saying the dead 【Mad King】 was one of ours?”
“The game has only just begun, and one of our people already died?”
“Why don’t you think it was Radiance?”
At the same time, Chen Mo was also pondering internally, unsure why this round of the game felt different from before.
In this round, when players were eliminated, their faction affiliation was not revealed at all. This made the experience Chen Mo had gained from the previous two games somewhat unusable.
Tsuchimikado Rin’s expression was also ugly. “The killer was 【Gambler】.”
“This codename doesn’t sound like a particularly strong combat profession, yet he was able to solo-kill the 【Mad King】?”
“Either his ability is extremely bizarre, or several players worked together.”
“And if it was multiple players cooperating, then they could only be people from 【Radiance】.”
After hearing this, Chen Mo nodded. “That’s right.”
“It seems the people of the 【Radiance】 faction aren’t as loosely organized as we imagined.”
“They’ve already begun to act.”
“It looks like the situation is unfavorable for us.”
Tsuchimikado Rin took a deep breath. “Then we must speed things up.”
Chen Mo nodded. “We split up.”
“I’ll go find the official side of the Longxi Republic and see if I can get some internal intelligence.”
“You go contact your family’s old retainers. Although the Tsuchimikado family was destroyed, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. There should still be some hidden resources.”
“Alright.”
Tsuchimikado Rin didn’t waste any words. Her figure flashed, and she disappeared into the night.
Chen Mo watched her departing back and sighed inwardly.
This girl, though not very old, was ruthless, decisive in action, and a rare ally.
Then he looked around, always feeling as though a pair of eyes was watching him from the darkness. But after activating 【Eye of Sin】 and sweeping the surroundings, he found nothing.
“An illusion?”
Chen Mo shook his head, turned around, and left the shrine.
……
Outside Hie Shrine.
A figure completely wrapped in black tight-fitting clothes landed lightly on the ground.
His gaze was icy as he swept a glance toward the direction of the shrine.
Then he pulled down the mask covering his face, revealing a young yet stern face.
【Ninja】 Hattori Heizo.
“【Judicator】 and 【Miko】……”
Hattori Heizo muttered to himself in a low voice, “So these are my two teammates.”
Although they were of the same 【Shadow】 faction, as a ninja, endurance and caution had long been engraved into his bones.
“But now is not the time to meet them.”
“Although we’re in the same faction, in the face of利益, such fragile alliances can break at any moment.”
“If I don’t thoroughly figure out all their hidden cards, I won’t easily put myself on the gambling table.”
“After all, in this damned game, only dead people are the most reliable teammates.”
With that, Hattori Heizo’s figure flashed, and like a night owl, he vanished into the darkness.
……
Chen Mo had no idea that he had already been “evaluated” by a teammate.
After Chen Mo returned to the Longxi Republic embassy, he immediately sought help from the Longxi Republic’s official channels.
Very quickly, through personnel arranged within the Neon government, the Longxi Republic provided Chen Mo with detailed information on Ma Yuanzhang and Yamazaki Tetsu.
“Leader of the Church of Myriad Spirits, Ma Yuanzhang.”
“Displaying divine miracles during the Shibuya unrest, driving away demons, healing injuries……”
“This old bastard is really playing fancy tricks.”
Looking at the intelligence on Ma Yuanzhang, Chen Mo couldn’t help but admire the man’s audacity and methods.
“To actually dare to use the officials as a gun, exploiting the state apparatus to preach for himself.”
The next day, Chen Mo and Tsuchimikado Rin met at the shrine.
“At present.”
Tsuchimikado Rin handed a piece of intelligence to Chen Mo. “The most active one is that Ma Yuanzhang.”
“With official support, his momentum is growing larger and larger.”
“He has already begun carrying out so-called ‘healing miracles’ nationwide.”
“In addition, Yamazaki Tetsu has also drawn the attention of the officials.”
“But he rejected the officials’ recruitment and is now regarded by them as an unstable factor.”
Chen Mo took the intelligence.
“Ma Yuanzhang and Yamazaki Tetsu……”
He looked at the photos in the file, his brows tightly furrowed.
“These two are now both exposed within the officials’ field of vision.”
“Attacking them directly would only provoke a strong official backlash.”
“That’s not a wise choice.”
“We cannot confront the officials head-on right now.”
“Then what should we do?”
Tsuchimikado Rin asked. “Wait passively for death?”
“Of course not.”
Chen Mo shook his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
“The more the officials value Ma Yuanzhang, the more valuable he is.”
“But at the same time, he will also become the target of everyone’s arrows.”
“What we need to do now is lie low.”
“Wait for an opportunity.”
“An opportunity that allows us to kill with a single strike.”
“Before that, we’ll start with those 【Radiance】 players hidden in the shadows.”
……
Adachi Ward, Church of Myriad Spirits headquarters.
With strong official support, what was originally a dilapidated slum had been transformed into the headquarters of the Church of Myriad Spirits.
Countless fanatical believers gathered here, praying day and night, singing hymns loudly.
Ma Yuanzhang wore a luxurious long robe edged with gold threads and sat upright upon the divine throne, gazing down at the teeming masses below.
His face bore a compassionate smile for all living beings, yet deep in his eyes, a greedy light flickered.
“Faith…… more faith……”
He could feel it—streams of faith power were converging from all directions, pouring into his body.
His strength was growing at a rapid pace.
“Church Leader, the television station people have arrived.”
Tanaka reported respectfully, “They say they want to conduct an exclusive interview with you and broadcast live your miracle of healing terminally ill patients.”
“Very good.”
Ma Yuanzhang stood up and straightened his robes.
“Then let the whole world come and see what a true miracle is.”
……
Half an hour later, a live broadcast facing the entire Neon Metropolis began.
Before the camera, Ma Yuanzhang walked with a holy expression to the bedside of a cancer patient.
It was a little girl only seven or eight years old. Because of chemotherapy, all her hair had fallen out. She was so thin that she was nothing but skin and bones, barely clinging to life.
“Poor child.”
Ma Yuanzhang reached out his hand and gently stroked the girl’s forehead.
“God will not abandon you.”
“God grants you new life!”