Lord of Prayer

Chapter 603: Chapter 386: A Bad Premonition (Part 2)

"A skill like that... How could you... possibly..."

Before she could finish, the two halves of her body collapsed to the ground, her Soul incinerated into nothingness by the Cyan Flame.

"Who sent you to kill me?"

Zhou Chen’s gaze was cold as he looked down upon the man slumped on the ground. He mimicked the overbearing, superior aura Li Xiye projected as the "Tyrant," hoping to overwhelm the man’s mind.

The man bit his tongue hard and spat a mouthful of blood at Zhou Chen. The blood evaporated in midair from the terrifying heat radiating from the Body of Steel Melting. Along with it, wisps of a Curse were also burned away.

"Let me guess. Your target was clearly me. You dared to attack in broad daylight, regardless of the consequences, and you even brought a powerful Forbidden Object like the Soul-Catching Camera... It has to be the Saw Murder Association, right?"

The man didn’t answer, his mind racing to find an escape route.

Zhou Chen suddenly sighed. "It seems so."

"Is there something wrong with you guys’..."

He stopped mid-sentence, realizing his mistake. ’Aren’t the members of the Saw Murder Association all crazy to begin with?!’

’They knew they were coming here to die, yet they were still so single-minded about killing me that they even brought a Forbidden Object. If they weren’t so damn annoying, I would’ve died laughing. These guys aren’t enemies; they’re practically family! Who else shows up at your door every day to deliver free Forbidden Objects?’

"It’s just one chainsaw, do you really have to pester me for this long? You’ve already lost two Forbidden Objects over it. Don’t you feel the sting?" Zhou Chen asked with exasperation. He was truly fed up; these guys had interrupted two of his dates, and who knew where they would pop out from next.

"Then give us the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw!" the man shouted urgently. "Just give us the chainsaw, and we promise we’ll never bother you again."

"Why should I? It’s my Weapon."

"Then prepare to face the Association’s endless hunt! To us, the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw is like a flag to a nation—it’s our spiritual symbol!"

"Tch. Can’t you just go and make an identical one?"

"We can’t!" the man answered adamantly.

"Sigh." Zhou Chen was speechless. He couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on the guy. "You asked for this."

SHING! With a flash of incandescent white light, he cut the man down.

After dealing with the enemies, Zhou Chen healed his wounds while in his Body of Steel Melting state. Once he deactivated the Skill, his physical injuries vanished.

"Are you two alright?" he asked, turning to Erin and Sasha.

"We’re fine," Erin said, shaking her head.

"That was so scary..." Sasha trembled as she clung to Erin’s leg, clearly terrified.

"The Saw Murder Association again..." Erin frowned slightly as she looked at the two corpses, her opinion of the group clearly at rock bottom.

"This is what happens when a bunch of lunatics have you in their sights. I’ll find a way to deal with them once and for all." Zhou Chen glanced around. Even though he had intentionally held back his Power, he had still damaged the facilities. He’d probably have to pay a hefty sum in compensation.

·

Operators from the Maple City Star Gathering’s Special Operations Team arrived quickly on the scene. They recovered the bodies of the two Saw Murder Association members and investigated their identities.

"The man’s name was Cao Wang. Twelve years ago, he committed serial murder on the Eastern Continent and fled to Southeast Asia, where he became a local tyrant. Later, for some reason, he fled to America, joined the Saw Murder Association, and became a core member. A Tier Three Ascender, rated T2 Level, with a bounty of two million."

"The woman was Nagai Hideko, a notorious sadist and killer from Yingzhou. She joined the Saw Murder Association a long time ago. In a single month, she once annihilated three entire families and, in a particularly twisted move, stuffed each victim’s head into their own ass. She was a Tier Three Ascender, rated T1 Level, with a bounty of eight million."

The Operator from the Maple City Star Gathering looked at him in disbelief. "These two were core members of the Saw Murder Association. In the Extraordinary Realm, they’d be considered top-tier powerhouses. And they came at you with a Forbidden Object... yet you dealt with them in less than a minute?"

Zhou Chen was also surprised. "Were they that strong?"

"Do you even hear yourself right now?!" the Operator shrieked.

’One was T1 Level and the other T2 Level! In the Extraordinary Realm, they were definitely big-name Ascenders—famous figures! Besides, if they weren’t strong, how could they have survived this long?’

"Whatever. Strong or not, they’re dead now," Zhou Chen said with a wave of his hand. He then grinned cheekily. "So, when do I get the bounty?"

"It’ll be deposited into your account within a month. The previous members of the Saw Murder Association were also wanted criminals with bounties. All the bounties combined should come to about fifteen million in Eastern Continent currency," the Operator said.

’Fifteen million for just a few people?’ Zhou Chen rubbed his chin and gave a slight nod to show he understood.

The Special Operations Team was efficient. They cleaned up the scene in under ten minutes without even disrupting the zoo’s operations. However, since the fight had damaged the facilities, the seal exhibit had to be temporarily closed for repairs, and Zhou Chen paid a sum for compensation.

Once everything was settled, Zhou Chen called Li Xiye through the Bonds Ring and launched into a vivid, tearful complaint.

"Xiye, darling! Sweetheart! I was bullied! You have to stand up for me!"

"Piss off!" was Li Xiye’s blunt reply.

A photo of Zhou Chen and Erin holding hands had been posted online, and of course, she had seen it. ’Even though I was mentally prepared, seeing it for real still pissed me off.’

"Fine... I’ll just find someone else, then..." Zhou Chen shuddered. Not daring to press his luck, he quickly beat a retreat.

"Marvin?" he called out softly to his secret bodyguard.

—Even though the "Ghost" incident had been resolved, Zhou Chen still felt something was off, so he’d had Marvin stay on as a bodyguard. Marvin had happily agreed; after all, Zhou Chen paid well.

The next second, the air seemed to Twist, and Marvin materialized, licking a panda-shaped ice cream bar. "What’s up?"

"Sometime soon, I want to hire you to wipe out the Saw Murder Association. As you can see, they’re really getting on my nerves," Zhou Chen said, getting straight to the point.

"That won’t be a small fee."

"Right. Two thousand Wish Value, same as before."

"Generous as always, Boss!" Marvin beamed. "And the bounties?"

"Seventy-thirty split. You take seventy."

"My kind of boss!" Marvin’s smile widened. He was liking Zhou Chen as a client more and more.

"Oh, right. What’s your take on Ke Feng’s defection?" Zhou Chen asked, seeking Marvin’s perspective. He was a follower of the Life Church, after all.

Marvin’s expression grew a little more serious. He licked his panda ice cream and said in a heavy tone, "In any of the major Churches, the people who become Regional Bishops are absolutely devout believers. Getting them to betray their faith is harder than climbing to heaven. But there are always exceptions, and for it to happen in the Life Church... it’s hard to say."

"What’s so hard to say about it?" Zhou Chen asked curiously.

"You said before there was that Platinum Knight, Li Miao, who was afraid of dying and became a lapdog for the ’Ghost’," Marvin said. "The Knights of the Life Church’s Knight Hall are supposed to be like the Regional Bishops—the most devout of believers. Knights, especially, are supposed to view dignity and honor as more important than life itself. But Li Miao turned traitor so easily. It proves he never had the requisite faith to begin with."

"Li Miao only got into the Knight Hall because his parents pulled some strings. Even his achievements were basically bought," Zhou Chen added.

"And that’s the crux of the issue. For something like this to happen within a Church’s core fighting force—letting an unworthy, faithless person become a Platinum Knight... that’s a clear sign of corruption."

Marvin continued nonchalantly, "The Life Church has grown too rapidly in recent years. The flood of new believers has allowed some filth to seep in. When desire takes hold, corruption is only a matter of time. If there’s one Li Miao, there will be a second. Over all these years, who knows how many Li Miaos have appeared. That Ke Feng might just be one of them."

’True, the corruption within the Life Church is a serious problem. If even the Knight Hall has been infiltrated, there’s no reason to think the Regional Bishops would be immune...’ Zhou Chen then asked, "Do you think he’s working with the ’Ghost’?"

"I wouldn’t know about that. There’s too little intel and too many possibilities," Marvin said, shaking his head.

Zhou Chen sighed inwardly. He had a nagging, bad premonition that he couldn’t shake, like a heavy stone pressing on his chest, leaving him deeply unsettled.

Perhaps it was because he possessed so many High Tier Artifacts, but he always had a faint premonition before something bad happened. And by now, he knew just how accurate his Sensing was.

Something very bad was about to happen.

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