184: No matter how good the plan is, it will be killed by a slap

Night.

After observing the spatial node, Yang Dian, having nothing else to do, chose to follow local customs and put on the ice silkworm robe Xiao Sa Leiman had given him.

Then, carrying a portable detector, he walked alone down the extravagant streets of Riyadh, preparing to meet an old acquaintance.

Looking at the crowds of people living in debauchery in the nightclubs on both sides of the road, Yang Dian couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

Those in power, especially those who fought their way to power, none of them were soft-hearted.

Viewing human lives as numbers and treating life and death as a game was their truest portrayal.

After learning from the Citizens that the Lizardman God would burst out of the spatial node and attack Riyadh, Xiao Sa Leiman did not evacuate the populace.

Instead, he deployed a large amount of heavy firepower, hoping to delay the Lizardman God's stay on Earth for as long as possible.

As for the reason?

He wanted to use the lives of an entire city as bait to delay the Lizardman God, while also sending powerful individuals from his country to the Alien Planet's holy mountain, essentially 'swapping homes' with the Lizardman God.

In short, he wanted to use the lives of an entire city to exchange for treasures that might or might not exist in the Lizardman God's home.

Pushing open the door and entering a relatively quiet bar, Yang Dian's steps paused again after surveying the interior.

There were quite a few East Asian faces in the bar.

After standing at the entrance for a moment, Yang Dian confirmed that they were Citizens, not people from some small country bordering the Citizens.

Raising his hand to signal the waiter not to bother, Yang Dian walked to a booth and tapped on the table.

Facing the four girls who looked at him with curious eyes, he asked with some confusion:

"Didn't you receive the messages from the embassy or the phone calls?"

"Why didn't you leave?"

The girl wearing a crop top that exposed her navel, which also had a belly button ring, rolled her eyes at Yang Dian:

"The embassy tells us to leave and we just leave?

"We finally got to come out and have some fun, so of course, we have to enjoy ourselves to the fullest before we go."

As she spoke, she elbowed the tattooed girl next to her:

"Nana, isn't that right?"

The tattooed girl named Nana nodded, then winked at Yang Dian, squeezing out a breathy, bubbly sound with a high-pitched voice:

"Handsome ~ aren't you still here having fun too?"

"Want to play together?"

Yang Dian shook his head and then shifted his gaze to the other men and women:

"Do they share your thoughts?"

With that, Yang Dian didn't wait for the girls to answer. After shaking his head again, he walked to a corner.

The embassy had already given notification.

Five phone calls, ten text messages, free transportation to the airport, and a chartered flight back home.

They had arranged everything.

But they just wouldn't leave, insisting on staying here.

What more could he say?

"From your expression, you seem to feel pity for your foolish compatriots?"

Old William looked at Yang Dian, who had sat opposite him, with a hint of schadenfreude in his tone:

"Why don't you tie them up and take them back?"

"With your strength, with the strength of the Citizens, you have the power to do all of this."

Yang Dian smiled:

"Don't you all talk about human rights the most?"

"This is their own choice, we should respect them, shouldn't we?"

At this point, Yang Dian's tone shifted:

"But what makes me curious is why you would bring people from the Holy See here."

"After all, the information you gave us didn't mention any Opportunity that this Lizardmen invasion would bring."

"Or perhaps you violated your so-called oath and didn't tell us all the information."

Old William smiled:

"All the information Old William prophesied, I have told you everything, I assure you there are no omissions."

Yang Dian frowned:

"So besides Old William, you obtained other prophecies?"

Thinking of what Artoria's guardian knight had said, Yang Dian narrowed his eyes:

"So what Artoria's guardian knight said is true?"

"You can really acquire others' Awakening talents by consuming blood?"

Old William snapped his fingers, conjuring a silver coin at his fingertip:

"A very magical ability, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately, I can only inherit his ability if someone willingly allows me to devour everything."

"The inherited abilities are also imperfect; I can only see fragmented glimpses of the future, and there are strong side effects."

"The only one willing to let me devour was my father."

Saying that, he placed the coin from his fingertip onto the table and pushed it towards Yang Dian:

"Someone as powerful as you, are you truly willing to give your all for people you don't even know?"

"Join us."

"Let us create a new world."

"A world where only God and His lambs exist."

As he spoke, a wisp of golden light emerged from Old William's fingertip, solidifying into a finger-sized cross.

Then he reached out and gently pressed on the cross, embedding it firmly into the solid wood table.

"This is the improvement I gained after joining the Freemasons."

"Your talent is not inferior to mine; as long as you are willing to join us, you can also possess such strength."

Reaching out, Yang Dian picked up the coin Old William had pushed over and spun it twice.

Yang Dian then glanced at the solidified energy cross embedded in the solid wood table.

Finally, he couldn't help but exclaim:

"What an astonishing rate of strength improvement."

As he spoke, the glasses-type detector, which had been active, also provided information about the symbols on the coin.

Freemasons

'Freemasons?'

Thinking of this behemoth hidden deep within the Western world, which at least 15 America presidents had joined, and whose members included Families like the Rothschilds, Morgans, and Rockefellers, Yang Dian couldn't help but narrow his eyes and look at Old William.

"Immense resources and power, plus your talent for foreseeing the future..."

"If you can continue to develop smoothly, you might really be able to establish a divine kingdom on Earth and freely enjoy everything in the world."

Hearing Yang Dian's murmur, Old William couldn't help but smile:

"Believe us, as long as we work together, we will become gods."

Looking at the confident smile on Old William's face, Yang Dian was silent for a moment, then extended his right hand towards him.

Old William thought Yang Dian wanted to shake his hand and couldn't help but stand up, revealing a sincerely genuine smile.

From the first moment he saw Yang Dian, he had a subtle, subconscious feeling.

Yang Dian was the same kind of person as him.

They could become very good friends.

Of course, if Yang Dian was willing to wholeheartedly contribute everything to him, that would be even better.

Thinking of the beautiful future that might appear, Old William's body trembled slightly with excitement.

But what happened next left him somewhat confused.

Yang Dian's hand did not meet his.

Instead, it had moved in front of his head at some unknown point.

'What kind of special Citizens etiquette is this?'

As the thought crossed his mind, he saw the right hand in front of his head blur for a moment.

"What makes me curious is, didn't you predict that if you didn't have enough power to protect yourself, appearing before me again would lead to your death?"

"Unfortunately, you are already dead, and I will never get the answer."

"Goodbye."

"My good friend, Old William."

"I hope you enjoy your time in Hell."