novelraw Chapter 94 : The Erosion of Divine Authority
Chapter 94 : The Erosion of Divine Authority
Chapter 94: The Erosion of Divine Authority
After pacifying Gang Tianmeng, Chen Mo and Tsuchimikado Rin walked out of the room.
Upon reaching the corridor, Tsuchimikado Rin finally could not hold back.
“【Radiance】 faction?”
She looked at Chen Mo, a smile that was not quite a smile on her lips. “You really dared to make that up.”
“What if it gets exposed?”
“Exposed?”
Chen Mo leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.
“As long as that gambler and the onmyoji don’t die, this lie will never be exposed.”
“Gang Tianmeng is a pure battle maniac. There’s nothing in his head except fighting and revenge.”
“As long as you give him a target, he’s the sharpest blade.”
Chen Mo exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
Tsuchimikado Rin looked at the man before her.
Amid the swirling smoke, his face appeared somewhat blurred, yet that cold, sinister aura grew ever clearer.
“You look more like a villain than I do.”
Tsuchimikado Rin commented sincerely.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Chen Mo stubbed out the cigarette.
“Next, it’s time to think about how to deal with that gambler.”
“His luck is indeed a big problem.”
“Luck is conserved.”
Tsuchimikado Rin said coldly, “I don’t believe he can keep winning forever.”
“That’s right.”
Chen Mo nodded.
“As long as it’s a gamble, there will be a day he loses.”
“What we need to do is, at the moment when he bets the biggest stake…”
“Flip his table.”
……
At the same time, Neon Metropolis, Chiyoda Ward.
Nagatachō 1-chōme, the Prime Minister’s Official Residence.
This was the heart of the nation’s power, the central hub from which all decrees were issued.
On ordinary days, this place was under heavy guard, so secure that even a flying bird would find it hard to cross.
But today, the fully armed guards stood with live ammunition, their gun barrels not pointed outward, but faintly aimed at the doors of the conference room.
Inside the conference room, around the massive round table, sat the cabinet ministers.
Their faces were pale, foreheads covered in fine beads of sweat, their eyes darting about as they occasionally glanced toward the elderly man seated at the head position—the Prime Minister.
And opposite the Prime Minister, there sat only one person.
A middle-aged man dressed in a pristine white divine robe, casually playing with a diamond-studded scepter in his hand.
Asahara Shoko.
“Mr. Asahara.”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary broke the dead silence, his voice somewhat dry.
“Regarding the recent activities of the Church of Myriad Spirits, the government side… has some differing views.”
“Oh?”
Asahara Shoko lifted his eyelids indifferently, the corners of his mouth carrying a faint, ambiguous smile.
“What views? Let’s hear them.”
“Ahem.”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary cleared his throat, trying to regain his usual authority.
“First, the expansion speed of your sect is far too fast and has already seriously affected the normal order of society.”
“Second, the ‘miracles’ you have displayed, although… although they have had a certain effect in stabilizing public sentiment, they have also caused unnecessary panic.”
“Lastly, and most importantly.”
The Chief Cabinet Secretary took a deep breath, took out a thick document from his briefcase, and pushed it in front of Asahara Shoko.
“This is the draft of the ‘Special Management Act for Transcendent Ability Users’.”
“For the sake of national security and social stability, we hope you can sign this agreement.”
“Accept comprehensive supervision by the Abnormal Countermeasures Section. All your actions and missionary activities must be approved by the government.”
“Your list of believers must be reported to the Abnormal Countermeasures Section.”
“And also, we need to collect your blood and tissue samples for… necessary medical research.”
After saying all this, the Chief Cabinet Secretary felt that the shirt on his back was already soaked through.
He was gambling.
Gambling that the person before him still retained a sense of awe toward the machinery of the state.
Gambling that the several hundred special forces lying in ambush around them could intimidate this monster.
The conference room was terrifyingly quiet, with only the ticking of the wall clock.
Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at Asahara Shoko.
Asahara Shoko picked up the document.
He casually flipped through a couple of pages, then let out a soft chuckle.
“Supervision? Approval? Research?”
“Pfft—”
He could not help but laugh out loud, the laughter growing louder and louder, sounding especially piercing and absurd in this solemn political center.
“Hahahahahaha!”
“This is the result you discussed all night?”
“You want to put a collar on a god? You want to lock a god in a cage?”
“Bang!”
Asahara Shoko suddenly slammed the document onto the table, papers flying everywhere.
The smile on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by a lofty coldness and arrogance.
“Have you gotten one thing wrong?”
“I am sitting here not because I need your recognition.”
“But because… I am giving you a chance.”
“A chance to live.”
“Outrageous!”
An elderly man in military uniform, stars on his shoulders, slammed the table and stood up.
He was the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defense, a famous hardliner. He had lived a life of iron and blood and despised this kind of charlatan who played at being divine.
“Asahara Shoko! This is the Prime Minister’s Official Residence! Not your cult’s den!”
“You think having a bit of supernatural ability means you can do whatever you want?”
“There is a full regiment stationed outside! There are three armed helicopters in the sky locking onto this place!”
“With a single order from me, you’ll be riddled with bullets!”
The general’s hand was already pressing on the pistol at his waist, killing intent surging.
Asahara Shoko looked at the enraged general, a trace of pity flashing through his eyes.
“Ignorance truly is the greatest sin.”
He ignored the general’s threat and instead turned his head to look at the Prime Minister, who had been sitting silently in the main seat the entire time.
“Prime Minister, you don’t look very well.”
Asahara Shoko’s voice suddenly became gentle, filled with magnetism.
The Prime Minister was startled.
His health was indeed poor.
Years of political struggle and heavy workload had long since overdrawn his body.
Severe rheumatism made him suffer unbearably whenever it rained, and the early-stage lung cancer discovered recently had made it impossible for him to sleep at night.
“Mr. Asahara… what do you mean?” the Prime Minister’s voice was somewhat weak.
“Everyone dies eventually.”
Asahara Shoko stood up and slowly walked toward the Prime Minister.
The surrounding guards had just tried to move, only to discover that their bodies felt as if they had been filled with lead, utterly unable to move.
Asahara Shoko stopped in front of the Prime Minister and extended that hand emitting a soft white glow.
“Power, status, money… in the face of death, they are all fleeting clouds.”
“Don’t you want a healthy body?”
“Don’t you want… to live another fifty years and realize your unfinished political ambitions?”
Every sentence was like the whisper of a devil, precisely stabbing into the most vulnerable parts of the Prime Minister’s heart.
He did not want to die.
He wanted to live.
This was humanity’s most primitive instinct, and also its greatest weakness.
“I…”
The Prime Minister looked at that warm light, longing revealed in his eyes.
“Accept the god’s blessing.”
Asahara Shoko’s hand gently pressed down on the Prime Minister’s head.
Buzz—
A visible white light wave rippled outward, centered on the Prime Minister.
Before everyone’s shocked eyes.
The Prime Minister’s head of white hair began to turn black at a visible speed.
The deep wrinkles on his face smoothed out, and his sagging skin became firm once more.
The hunched old man on his last legs was gone.
In his place stood a vigorous, radiant middle-aged man!
The Prime Minister trembled as he raised his hand, looking at his powerful, strength-filled hands.
He took a deep breath.
That faint pain in his lungs was gone, replaced by a long-lost sense of ease.
His knees no longer hurt, his back straightened.
He felt like he had returned to thirty years old!
“A miracle… this is a miracle!”
The Prime Minister was so excited that tears streamed down his face. He suddenly stood up, even knocking over the chair because of the abrupt movement.
“Thank the god! Thank Venerable Asahara!”
This scene completely shattered the psychological defenses of all the officials present, driving them utterly mad!
Who did not want immortality?
Who did not want health?
At their level, power had already reached its peak. Only lifespan was the chasm they could not cross.
And now, the one who could fill that chasm was right before their eyes!