236: What a good game

Lu Ze only felt his body continuously falling, eventually crashing heavily onto the cold ground. The powerful array surrounding him completely vanished the moment he landed.

"Master, are you alright?"

Guan Zizai spoke. Lu Ze eased the pain in his body, sat up, and shook his head, "I'm fine."

Lu Ze opened his Spirit Eye, surveying everything around him. It was dim, and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, but under the Spirit Eye, everything was clear.

Lu Ze was in a small cage, no more than ten square meters, and around him, other cages were clearly separated.

The things held in the other cages were numerous: various Demons, and even Human-Demons. Lu Ze even saw a familiar figure—Qin Wan!

"Yo, Lu Ze, you're down here too?"

Qin Wan also noticed Lu Ze's presence immediately, sneering with much mockery.

Even though she was currently bound to an iron frame with ropes, covered in blood, having been tortured for an unknown duration, her wounds had scabbed over, torn open again, and were even beginning to fester, oozing disgusting liquid.

Any normal person would find it nauseating and extremely painful, but Qin Wan showed no signs of feeling pain. She even had the presence of mind to joke with Lu Ze.

"What? Were you also possessed by some Human-Demon? You don't look like it. Could it be that you've sided with the Demons? Have you come in today to help me get out?"

Qin Wan's voice was extremely hoarse; each word sounded as if it were being torn from her throat, like she was spitting blood.

Lu Ze ignored her, instead quickly assessing everything around him.

The cages near him all contained Demons, and they were all Fourth-Level or Fifth-Level beings!

Having Demons was enough!

As long as there were Demons, he could increase his Demon Points and leave this place!

Lu Ze approached a Tier 4 Demon's cage, just about to make a move, when he heard a click from above, as if something had opened.

A beam of light projected from above, and a few breaths later, a figure largely obscured that beam of light!

Lu Ze looked up and saw that the newcomer was also an acquaintance: Huan Shen!

Huan Shen stood above the many cages, staring down at Lu Ze, seemingly contemplating something.

A few breaths later, Huan Shen suddenly fixed his gaze on a Beastman in a corner, and slowly spoke, "Beast One, you are the leader of the Beastmen. Now that you are trapped here, the Beastmen are very uneasy. Tell me, if the Beastmen were to riot because of this, what should be done?"

In the dim corner, a burly figure slowly moved. He raised his head from the corner, an iron mask covering most of his face, but on his exposed skin, it was evident that this so-called Beastman had endured many beatings.

"Heh, Lord Huan Shen, why bother testing me? I am already on the verge of death. Even if I wanted to incite a riot, I probably wouldn't have the energy. Rest assured, when I die, just hang my corpse outside the Beastman camp, and it will surely deter all Beastmen. For decades, no Beastman will harbor any thoughts of rebellion."

Beast One in the corner spoke slowly, his voice calm but filled with endless desolation.

Huan Shen nodded, "That's true, but it's a pity you couldn't be transferred to the Headquarters. Otherwise, with your intelligence, serving the Huan Family wouldn't be so frustrating."

Huan Shen seemed to glance, intentionally or not, at Qin Wan, who was barely clinging to life nearby. "Meng Yanxing is also an unreasonable one. Qin Wan is so tight-lipped; no one could make her talk. You, too, are useless. Yet he found an excuse because of this, detained you, and even wanted to beat you to death. After so many years as Deputy Director, I don't know how he managed it."

"It's precisely because of him that the Beastmen of Xuanyuan City are subtly stirring, showing signs of rebellion, even attracting the attention of the Headquarters. But by capturing you, Meng Yanxing has a good explanation. It's just a pity that your main Beastman camp is not far from here. Losing you, their backbone, they've lost the desire to fight. Otherwise, at such a close distance, they could have fought their way in, rescued you, and taken Xuanyuan City in one fell swoop!"

Below, no one responded to this statement.

After a moment of silence, Huan Shen finally refocused his gaze on Lu Ze. "Lu Ze, let me ask you, where is Lu Qianfeng? And where is Qin Yuze?"

This was the second time Lu Ze had been asked this question, but he had never met Lu Qianfeng or Qin Yuze. He had only heard their names and knew they were likely from the Guan Jiang Department, but what did that have to do with him?

"I don't know."

Lu Ze guessed Huan Shen wouldn't leave anytime soon, so he simply sat down cross-legged and answered honestly.

"Oh?"

Huan Shen let out a questioning sound, then spoke a sentence that shocked all living beings below!

"You don't even know where your biological parents are?"

Lu Ze's pupils suddenly contracted, "What did you say?"

Beast One and Qin Wan also involuntarily looked towards the direction of the mid-air.

Huan Shen's voice continued.

"I said, Lu Qianfeng and Qin Yuze are your biological parents. You didn't know? Heh, then I'll be merciful and tell you: Lu Qianfeng is the former Director of the Headquarters' Demon Subduing Division, your biological father, and Qin Yuze is the former Commander of the Guan Jiang Department, your biological mother!"

"You, you are their child. Oh no, to be precise, you are the modified version of their child!"

"From the time you were still in Qin Yuze's womb, their Guan Jiang Department had already launched its final experiment: to mix infant embryos with Demon Bloodlines to create a more powerful species!"

"And you, Lu Ze, you are the sole test subject of this experiment. Now it seems this experiment was truly successful. From your Bloodline Awakening until now, in less than half a year, you have already reached Fifth-Grade cultivation. If you were given more time to grow, perhaps in three to five years, you would be above Ninth-Grade!"

Huan Shen's voice seemed somewhat mocking. "But it's a pity. Lu Qianfeng sent you back to the Human Base, intending for you to blend in and grow slowly. However, from the moment you arrived at the Human Base, you were targeted by the Headquarters. Your growth until now has been under the Headquarters' control. If not for the power you unleashed a few days ago, like a demon slayer, the Headquarters might have tolerated you for a while longer, allowing you to enter the Heavenly Soldier Project."

"As long as you entered the Heavenly Soldier Project, you could be slowly guided towards the Headquarters of the Guan Jiang Department. Soon, you would kill all of your parents' colleagues! Then, by revealing that you had been integrated with a Demon Bloodline, making you an abomination, they could legitimately kill you!"

"Lu Ze, look at this game, a game with the entire Huaxia as its board. Are you satisfied? You are the most important chess piece! The Guan Jiang Department uses you as a chess piece, wanting you to reach the highest position in the Demon Subduing Division and control supreme power, while the Demon Subduing Division also uses you as a chess piece, wanting you to destroy the Guan Jiang Department. What a good game! What a good show!"