Chapter 61: The Devil’s Sacrifice (11p2)
She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the holy communion had not yet begun. Yu Jiao was getting tired of waiting, especially of this fake, boring social scene.
—It seemed the focus of this holy communion was not on the “communion,” but on the “holy.”
These “devout” followers of the Apocalypse were pouring out their faith to each other, to the cameras, and even when they were alone.
The people with the most buzz were surrounded by reporters. They had become the place with the “highest concentration of faith.”
A few reporters had wanted to interview her, but fortunately, Fu Sheng and the guards had blocked them.
Yu Jiao felt that time was passing too slowly. She looked up and saw that the sun had not yet reached its zenith.
“eleven, what time is it?”
The ornament on her ear flashed a blue light, and a baritone voice that only she could hear said, “Reporting, Madam. It is now 7:45:08 AM.”
Yu Jiao didn’t understand this world’s timekeeping rules. When she could no longer bear the hunger, she stood up and walked towards the dining table.
Amidst the numerous voices “pouring out their faith,” she suddenly caught a familiar name:
“Major General Yuan Cang, as the commander of the 11th Army of the National Defense Force, and the youngest major general in the history of the Divine Kingdom, you have won numerous military honors and have a bright future. It seems you have forgotten your other identity—the Holy Son of the Apocalypse.”
“Do you have any plans to give up the position of bishop of the cult and continue to train and be promoted in the military?”
The reporter was on his tiptoes, holding the microphone up to his chin.
This master did not even lower his head or bend down, or even take the microphone. He just stood there, brazenly.
Yuan Cang had just been called back from outside the protective shield by the exasperated Helan Duo. After coming down from the Tree of Life, he had urgently disinfected himself in the flying vehicle and then put on his long military uniform to come for the interview.
And the first question was so sharp.
Yuan Cang raised an eyebrow.
Yuan Cang was wearing a formal uniform today. Unlike the flashy, impractical combat uniforms of the politicians and businessmen, his combat uniform was a traditional one that had been through the baptism of slaughter. It made him look majestic, valiant, and neat.
His long, coarse hair was loose, with an orange-red glow like an electric wire. The military uniform on his shoulders was like a wide cape, and a row of shining medals was on his chest.
He was a dashing, famous little general.
He heard the little general answer, “I’m a—hiss—what’s that word again? It means very obedient…” The earring on his ear flashed a blue light, as if eleven had reminded him. He slapped his palm. “Right! A mama’s boy.”
Yu Jiao: “?”
“I’m a mama’s boy. Of course I have to listen to my mother!” Yuan Cang said cheerfully.
Reporter: “…Huh?”
Yuan Cang: “If my mother tells me to inherit the family business, I’ll inherit the family business. If my mother tells me to keep fighting, I’ll keep fighting.”
As he spoke, his black-sclera, white-pupil eyes lit up and caught his unlucky mother, who was passing by.
The good son blew her a kiss. “Mom, I’ll listen to you!”
Yu Jiao turned and walked away.
She tried to escape the scene of the ‘inexplicably deep mother-son love’ before she was surrounded by reporters.
She was walking a little too fast, and her foot slipped. She lost her balance—
In a flash of lightning, she only noticed that she had stepped on a pool of transparent slime, with a few scattered, glistening purple dots. It looked extremely bizarre.
Fu Sheng and the guards were too late to come forward. Just as she thought she was about to fall flat on her face in front of the live cameras, a large, warm hand supported her waist and steadily lifted her up.
“Be careful,” the person said, his voice low and laced with a smile. “Little sister-in-law.”
Yu Jiao turned around and met a pair of violet eyes, like a dark, gloomy pond.
She paused, politely thanked him, and took two steps back to create some distance.
Fu Sheng, who had rushed over, her face changed slightly. She quickly made an excuse to block the accompanying guards, leaving the space to him and her.
Nie Hongshen’s hand lingered in the air for two seconds, then he slowly withdrew it. His well-defined fingers tapped the armrest of his wheelchair, his gaze on her, a silent scrutiny and appraisal.
The two of them stood opposite each other, silent for a long moment.
After the camera, along with the bouncing Yuan Cang, had turned to other places, his hand paused, and he said in a casual tone, “You’ve been getting along well with Helan Duo recently?”
It was a rhetorical question, a superior interrogation.
Yu Jiao stood before him, graceful.
She casually brushed her exquisitely styled long hair and answered coolly, “Isn’t that what you meant, Mr. Nie?”
—”At all costs, find experiment [Z0]. ‘At all costs’ means using everything you’ve learned at headquarters. Intelligence gathering, psychological analysis, eavesdropping and surveillance, infiltration and combat… and, seduction.”
—”Those are the sir’s exact words.”
“…”
Nie Hongshen smiled. “Good. Very good.”
***
Yu Jiao didn’t give Nie Hongshen another glance, nor did she try to analyze the deeper meaning of his every pause and smile.
—For a guy like him, who was so arrogant and scheming, complete disregard was a much more effective tactic than trying to please and flirt.
So after her polite thank you, she turned and left without looking back.
She went to the dining table and seriously chose her food, not at all trying to deal with his substantial gaze.
Suddenly, a purposeful shadow came from the opposite table.
Yu Jiao looked up, and her gaze paused.
It was Yu Bingci.
When she arrived, it was as if she had brought a cold, silent air with her.
“…”
Facing her, Yu Jiao always had a strange… sense of guilt? Especially since she had just been planning how to capture her nominal husband.
Perhaps it was because she had felt a faint kindness from her, but because of the capture mission, she had to…
Yu Bingci was picking up a pastry and said without looking up, “You don’t have to apologize to me.”
Her thoughts had been read. Yu Jiao was taken aback for a moment.
After she had finished her pastry, Yu Bingci threw down the food tongs, took out a cigarette, and lit it with an old, paint-chipped lighter. She blew out a cloud of smoke. “That guy and I are a couple of convenience. Now, we’re partners, about to turn against each other. I can’t say more.”
Her gaze swept over.
“I think we both have secrets.”
Her cheeks were thin, her long eyebrows pressed down on her eyes. She was just as serious and classical as Yu Fenghe. When she looked up, there was none of his cold, dark gloom, but a kind of indifference and distance. It made one want to pursue her.
“I know you’re in a difficult situation. If you ever want to kill Nie Hongshen, Yu Fenghe, or anyone else,” Yu Bingci said in the most ordinary tone, the most sensational words, “you can come to me for help. Hmm, that’s it.”
As a closing remark, Yu Bingci put the pastry she had just picked out on a plate and handed it to her. Yu Jiao subconsciously took it. “Why are you…”
“Oh, right,” she cut her off. “The Jiao family is not easy to get along with. Their family is extremely protective and places great importance on the relationship between family members.”
“The fact that that guy remarried is, in their eyes, an insult to his late wife. Hating the house and the crow, they might be hostile to you. They’re not here with good intentions today. You have to be careful.”
With that, Yu Bingci stubbed out her cigarette, turned, and left, and was once again surrounded by the reporters who had been waiting for a long time.
Yu Jiao looked down and only then noticed that the plate was filled with her favorite pastries.
***
Holding the pastries, Yu Jiao sat at an empty table and, while eating, recalled the information she had gathered about the Jiao family on the way:
The Jiao family has been in the arts for generations. They have many family members, distributed in various industries in the music, painting, and entertainment circles.
They have a beauty that has been blessed by the gods. The men and women in the family are all extremely beautiful.
Not only are they beautiful, but they also have a high emotional intelligence and place great importance on cultural and etiquette training. They are the undisputed modern nobles and have marriage alliances with many political and business celebrities. Their connections are extremely wide, and more than half the people present are either related to them by marriage or have some connection.
The Jiao family.
Also jokingly called the Jiao Social Butterflies by many.
This nickname was mostly a joke. In fact, not many people dared to provoke the Jiao family.
As Yu Bingci had said, they had a wide network of connections and were extremely protective. Once you were on their bad side, you would be lucky to get away with just a scratch.
The only person who had openly disgraced the Jiao family in all these years was probably Yu Fenghe.
His ex-wife—Jiao Hongyue.
A famous name. It was said that her beauty and talent were both the best in the Jiao family.
Because she was very similar to the image of the saint in the Holy Bible, she was adored and obsessed over by the people of the Divine Kingdom. Even the many warring religious factions would unite when it came to issues related to her, calling her “another blessing from God, after a thousand years.”
It was just a pity that after her sudden death, all images of her were erased by an unknown force. She became the untouchable white moonlight of the Divine Kingdom.
…
After hearing so much about the Jiao family and Jiao Hongyue, Yu Jiao couldn’t help but brace herself: There should be a tough battle to fight later.
The holy communion was about to begin, and the Jiao family had not yet appeared. It seemed they were trying to give the Yu family and the Apocalypse Cult a show of force.
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly heard a low cry from the crowd. Following their gazes, she saw a bright red flying vehicle, brazenly landing outside the Tree of Life ritual ground.
The cabin door opened, and someone seemed to have gotten out. Unfortunately, there were too many onlookers, and Yu Jiao couldn’t see the newcomer’s appearance clearly.
“Who is Yu Jiao?” a proud, clear voice sounded.
Swoosh! The crowd automatically parted, creating a “Yu Jiao direct line.”
These people’s eyes were shining, and they were eager to see a fight. They were just short of shouting, ‘Fight, fight!’
Her gaze swept over again, and she clearly saw Helan Duo, sitting on a high platform, using a teacup to hide the smile on his lips, looking as if he were uninvolved, watching a fire from across the river.
Yuan Cang, on the other hand, was casually resting his elbow on a small statue and mouthed to her, “Go, mom!”
Nie Hongshen… she didn’t see Nie Hongshen.
But Fu Sheng paused and, hesitating, whispered in her ear, “Mr. Nie just sent a message. He said, this time, he means: don’t lose and embarrass him.”
When she repeated it, though she felt it was strange, she still obediently followed her superior’s orders and deliberately emphasized ‘this time’ and ‘means’.
Yu Jiao: “…”
A petty, vengeful man.
She sighed, patted the pastry crumbs from her clothes, and stood up to face the beautiful girl with her hands on her slender waist and an angry look on her face.
eleven introduced in her ear, “Madam, this is Miss Jiao Baishuang, the second young lady of the Jiao family’s direct line, Jiao Hongyue’s biological sister.”
Jiao Baishuang was like a fighting cock, ready for battle. She lifted her skirt and strode towards her with a fierce aura. “So you’re Yu Jiao? You don’t look like much—”
Her voice trailed off.
When she got closer and saw her red, swollen eyes, she widened her own and stammered, “Y-you’re really crying every day because that fickle man died? Look at your perfectly good eyes, they’re all swollen…”
Yu Jiao: “Huh?”
She seems to have misunderstood something.
Jiao Baishuang’s expression was complicated. She said with a look of disappointment, “You’re so foolish! Is it worth it for a fickle man? He used to be so deeply in love with my sister, so devoted. But after my sister… he only mourned for ten years before marrying you!”
She rattled on, like pouring beans, a barrage of accusations.
—Didn’t they say that the Jiao family had a high emotional intelligence? Why does this one seem a little… not so smart? Is it because she’s the second? She does look a little dense.
But Yu Jiao didn’t dislike it.
“Baishuang,” just then, a graceful, noble, and pleasant voice sounded leisurely. “Mind your manners.”
A beautiful woman was strolling over.
eleven introduced again, “Jiao Hanxiang, Jiao Hongyue and Jiao Baishuang’s mother. Also known as Madam Jiao.”
This Madam Jiao had her hair in a neat bun and was wearing a proper formal dress. Every move was filled with elegance. She said in a theatrical tone:
“Baishuang, how many times have I told you? Don’t speak so deeply with someone you’ve just met. You may be willing to say it, but others may not be willing to listen.”
Though she was reprimanding her own child, there was not much condemnation in her tone. It was more like a pre-emptive strike, to stop others from speaking, and to subtly hint at her.
Yu Jiao understood.
It seems this one is the real deal.
Madam Jiao struck again. “Even if she listens for a while, a leopard can’t change its spots…”
She suddenly met her eyes, and she froze, her sarcastic words cut short.
“You… you…”
Her beautiful eyes widened, and they were shining slightly, as if there were tears in them.
Yu Jiao was completely confused.
She couldn’t figure out why this mother-daughter duo, who had come to cause trouble, were reacting so unexpectedly. But to say more would be to make a mistake. She just lowered her eyes and nodded. “Madam Jiao.”
Not only was Yu Jiao confused, but the onlookers were also bewildered. No, why is this different from what we imagined?
And the even more unexpected was yet to come.
There, Madam Jiao took her hand. “Child, what’s your name?”
Jiao Baishuang interjected, “Mother, this foolish love-struck girl is named Yu Jiao.”
Madam Jiao’s eyebrows shot up. “Shut up. How did I teach you? How can you be so rude in front of such a good child?”
Jiao Baishuang: “???”
…Huh? Weren’t you the one who taught me? Didn’t you also call her a foolish love-struck girl in private??
Jiao Baishuang was confused.
Facing Madam Jiao’s eager gaze, Yu Jiao answered cautiously, “Hello, Madam Jiao. My name is Yu Jiao.”
“Yu Jiao? Oh my! Little girl, we are really fated. There’s a ‘Jiao’ in your name.”
Madam Jiao’s smile was gentle and graceful.
Yu Jiao knew that she had misunderstood. Just as she was about to explain, she suddenly heard a loud bang!
The crowd, which had been drawn by the strange “revenge” drama, only then noticed that a branch of the Tree of Life was teetering and had fallen straight down, smashing a large hole in the protective shield!
Luckily, everyone was gathered here, watching the show, and that area was empty, so no one was hurt.
“That’s not right! The protective shield is made of a special material. How could it be broken by a tree branch?” someone said in shock.
Someone else reacted quickly. “Quick! Everyone, put on your protective suits! Get to the flying vehicles! The protective shield is broken. The pollution will fill this level soon, and then we’ll all be done for!”
Before his words had faded, a harsh alarm sounded at the same time, and eleven’s unique, mechanical voice broadcasted, “Pollution level 21%… 34%… 68%. Warning! Warning! The pollution level has exceeded the normal value! Please evacuate as soon as possible! Repeat! Please evacuate as soon as possible—!”
The people were as if woken from a dream and immediately began to scream and flee. But the passage to the flying vehicles was stuck, not letting a single person leave this dangerous space.
—The top level, which had been a symbol of noble status, was now a death sentence, the first to suffer.
The withered tree branch was lying on the ground, like a long-dead body.
Divine punishment! It’s divine punishment!! The god has abandoned us…” a follower of the Armageddon Faction cried out in despair. “We’re all going to aberrate into fallen creatures!”
However, a worse situation arose.
Countless long-lurking eyes lit up—the fallen creatures were like wolves, smelling blood, and they were coming.
The grey sand churned, and the black sea surged.
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse!
Even though the people of the Apocalypse Cult were arranging an organized defense and escape, not many people were in the mood to listen. And the elite soldiers of the National Defense Force, because of the overwhelming number of attacking fallen creatures, had no time to help everyone who was calling for help.
The field of fame and fortune was now a hell on earth. The rich merchants and nobles were pushing, wailing, and roaring, a full display of human nature.
“Hiss…”
Yu Jiao sucked in a breath. She had been knocked to the ground by someone and had twisted her ankle.
And that wasn’t the worst of it.
There, a fish-like fallen creature’s eyes were red, and it had locked on to her.
It was flapping its fins, its mouth wide open, full of sharp teeth, and it was drooling as it dived towards her!
Yu Jiao propped herself up and picked up a broken piece of metal, sticking it in its wide-open mouth.
The glistening purple saliva dripped onto her clothes, a foul smell.
Her hand was already trembling. The woman and the monster were in a stalemate.
Seeing this from a distance, Madam Jiao was frantic. She pushed Jiao Baishuang. “Hurry up and help her!”
“Huh? Oh!”
Jiao Baishuang, as if by magic, pulled a large knife from her fluffy skirt and, with a leap and a roll, she sent the insect that was pressing down on her flying.
The blood-red juice splashed her in the face without any barrier.
—The hat that had covered her face had been lost somewhere in the chaos.
Jiao Baishuang stabbed the fish to death and turned back angrily. “You’re still standing there—”
Her words were as if cut off by a fire line, and a basin of cold water was poured over her head. Her expression was dazed.
Clang!
The knife in her hand was not held steady and fell to the ground.
She stared at her face without blinking and murmured, “Sister…?”