159: Chapter 160 urges him to surrender quickly.

Beatrice was born into an ancient aristocratic family in Western Europe and had displayed high mental talent since childhood. However, when she was twenty, a sudden catastrophe destroyed her family. Just as she was in despair, the "Gods Chosen One" appeared, helping her take revenge through mysterious means, and telling her that she was a special existence chosen by "God," tasked with the mission of assisting the descent of the deity and reshaping the world.

From then on, Beatrice became one of the most loyal lackeys of the Oracle Organization. She firmly believed that the "Gods Chosen One" was the deity's spokesperson in the mortal world, and one day, he would guide the true "God" to descend into the world. At that time, all followers would attain eternal life and supreme authority. This faith had seeped into her very marrow, becoming the entire meaning of her existence.

"The Gods Chosen One... is the true incarnation of the deity! He is omniscient and omnipotent! You blasphemers will eventually face divine punishment!" Even while controlled by the Absolute Command Aura and forced to reveal the organization's intelligence, a twisted, fanatical light still flickered in Beatrice's eyes. Whenever the "Gods Chosen One" was mentioned, her voice would tremble involuntarily, carrying a morbid sense of awe and worship.

However, ironically, this fanatic had never seen the "Gods Chosen One" she believed in with her own eyes. The only person she had contact with was another core member within the organization—the middle-aged Western man referred to as "Hawk" by Chiba Ruri, William Preston.

"Lord William... is the most trusted apostle of the Gods Chosen One! He possesses a God-given talent and is truly favored by God!" Beatrice's eyes were filled with the same awe when mentioning William. In her understanding, William's talent was "God-Tier" rather than "sub-god level," which was clearly a false image deliberately created by the other party to consolidate his authority and control.

"So, you usually report to William, and not the Gods Chosen One himself?" Lin Muyang calmly pressed.

"Y-yes." Even under the influence of the Aura, a trace of struggle and pain flashed across Beatrice's face as she answered this question, as if admitting this point was a blasphemy against her faith. "Lord William is responsible for conveying the Oracle... executing the will of the Gods Chosen One... We humble servants do not have the qualifications to directly meet the Gods Chosen One..."

Her testimony corroborated the information provided by Chiba Ruri. The structure of the Oracle Organization was extremely tight, following a typical pyramid distribution: at the very top was the mysterious and never-publicly-seen "Gods Chosen One"; the second layer consisted of three "Apostles" possessing Sub-God Rank Talent—the "Hawk" (William Preston), the "Dragon," and Chiba Ruri; the third layer consisted of core executors like Beatrice, each responsible for different fields (intelligence, assassination, mental control, etc.); the bottom layer consisted of a large number of peripheral members, mostly professionals with decent strength but average talent, responsible for daily affairs and intelligence gathering.

This structure ensured the identity and whereabouts of the "Gods Chosen One" remained absolutely confidential. Even core members like Beatrice only knew their direct superiors and remained completely ignorant of other branches of the organization, especially the true identity of the "Gods Chosen One."

"No... this is not me... How could I betray the deity... This is impossible!" As the effect of the Absolute Command Aura gradually faded (intentionally done by Lin Muyang), Beatrice's consciousness began to recover. Recalling her betrayal just now, her spirit collapsed instantly, and she screamed hysterically. In those emerald green eyes, fear, self-reproach, and madness intertwined, eventually transforming into deep-seated hatred for Lin Muyang.

"Blasphemer! You have tainted the sacred oath! The deity will rain down wrath and burn you to ashes!!" She roared hoarsely, her voice filled with a madness on the verge of collapse.

Lin Muyang watched her coldly. This kind of thoroughly brainwashed fanatic had already lost the ability to think rationally. There was little value in continuing the interrogation, and it might even invite unnecessary trouble, such as mental self-destruction skills or tracking marks. He looked at Feng Ling beside him and nodded slightly.

Feng Ling understood and, from her slender fingertips, ignited a cluster of World Purifying Flame that appeared soft but actually contained terrifyingly high temperatures. The flames drifted silently toward Beatrice, and under her terrified gaze, gently touched the center of her forehead.

There was no screaming, no struggling. The characteristic of the World Purifying Flame was to completely disintegrate the target at the molecular level in an instant. Beatrice's body, like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, began from the head, inch by inch turning into the most basic light particles, dissipating into the air. The entire process was eerily quiet, with only those gradually hollow emerald green eyes remaining, still holding the disbelief and despair of the final moment.

Ten seconds later, this high-level hypnotist who once served the Oracle Organization had completely vanished from this world, leaving no trace behind—neither the physical body nor the soul fluctuations at the energy level had escaped being burned to nothing by the World Purifying Flame.

Chiba Ruri, who witnessed this scene, felt a flash of complex emotions in her blue eyes. As a fellow member of the organization, she felt neither sympathy nor regret for Beatrice's fate, but this scene undoubtedly reinforced her awe of Lin Muyang's power. She lowered her head respectfully, her voice soft but firm: "My Lord. The name 'William Preston' is likely a pseudonym. Given the organization's cautious style, core members do not operate under their real identities. Relying solely on this name, it is likely difficult to track down his true identity."

Her tone carried obvious obsequiousness, and her posture was humble to the point of servility. This made Shen Muyao, who was watching from the side, glance sideways slightly. The attitude of this girl from Japan toward Lin Muyang had already transcended ordinary "fear" or "obedience," resembling more of a religious worship and devotion.

"I know it is a pseudonym." Lin Muyang replied indifferently. He had already checked the "social network" of Beatrice and Chiba Ruri through the Spider God Fate Aura. This God-Tier Aura could visualize the "intimacy of relationships" between the target and others—the closer the relationship, the thicker the connection in the spiderweb-like diagram, and the closer it was to the target themselves.

In Beatrice's relationship network, the most prominent node was the middle-aged Western man marked as "William Preston." In Chiba Ruri's relationship network, the most prominent was the "Gods Chosen One." Regrettably, the only intersection between these two networks was "William," with no other repeating nodes. This meant that the "Gods Chosen One" was extremely cautious and had never directly associated with subordinate members like Beatrice using his true identity.

"To obtain more clues, I still have to rely on you." Lin Muyang looked at Chiba Ruri, his eyes deep.

"Rely on me?" Chiba Ruri was slightly stunned, but immediately realized what he meant. A flush of being flattered appeared on her stunningly beautiful face, and she knelt on one knee without hesitation, "If my Lord has any orders, Ruri will not hesitate even if it means death!"

"I want you to contact the 'Gods Chosen One' directly and tell him two things." Lin Muyang's voice was calm but unquestionable, "First, you have sworn allegiance to me; second, Beatrice has been executed for attempting to kidnap someone important to me. Then, persuade him to come and see me voluntarily—and surrender."

This request made Chiba Ruri's eyes widen instantly. Directly provoke the "Gods Chosen One"? And persuade him to surrender? This was simply... too crazy! Based on her understanding of the organization, the "Gods Chosen One" would never appear because of this; instead, he would immediately list her as a traitor and take the most severe retaliatory measures—including but not limited to executing her family in Japan!

"My Lord... this, this probably won't work." She suppressed her fear, her voice trembling slightly, "The Gods Chosen One never appears because of threats. And he knows the residence and identities of my family. If I openly betray him, he will definitely send people to harm them."

The last sentence was almost squeezed out from between her teeth. Chiba Ruri was not a cold-blooded and heartless person; her concern for her parents and younger sister was her greatest weakness at this moment.

Lin Muyang looked at her slightly trembling shoulders, his eyes devoid of emotion. He certainly knew that this plan seemed reckless but actually hid a deeper meaning. Through the Spider God Fate Aura, he had confirmed that Chiba Ruri's family were the closest nodes in her relationship network. Once the news of her "betrayal" reached the organization, the "Gods Chosen One" would very likely send people to "deal with" her family to make an example of her.

And this was exactly what Lin Muyang wanted.

As Chiba Ruri's direct superior, "Hawk" William would very likely carry out this task himself or send a trusted aide. When that time came, Lin Muyang only needed to follow them, check the relationship network of the arrivals through the Spider God Fate Aura, and he would be able to follow the trail to find more nodes directly associated with the "Gods Chosen One." This was currently the most effective method to break the organization's strict secrecy system.

As for Chiba Ruri's family... with him there, no one could touch a single finger of theirs.

"Execute the order." Lin Muyang did not explain his plan, his tone flat but unquestionable, "I will ensure the safety of your family."

A simple sentence, yet it made Chiba Ruri's tense body instantly relax. She did not know what specific arrangements the Lord had, but that absolute confidence and majesty made her instinctively choose to trust him. If the existence who could instantly cross cities, easily subdue a high-level hypnotist, and burn enemies into nothingness could not protect her family, who else in this world could?

"Yes, my Lord!" She no longer hesitated, respectfully took out the encrypted mobile phone, and began to edit the message. Her slender fingers trembled slightly due to nervousness, but the content she entered was clear and definite: "Lord Gods Chosen One: I have sworn allegiance to Lord Lin Muyang. Beatrice has been executed for attempting to kidnap someone important to Lord Lin Muyang. Lord Lin Muyang is magnanimous and is willing to give you one chance—appear voluntarily and surrender to him. Otherwise, the Oracle Organization will cease to exist."

Send.

The moment the message showed "Delivered," Chiba Ruri felt as if all her strength had been drained, and fine cold sweat seeped from her forehead. This message was equivalent to completely cutting off all her paths of retreat from the organization. From now on, she would become the number one traitor hunted by the Oracle Organization with all its might.

However, to her surprise, the phone did not receive a reply for a long time. Usually, the "Gods Chosen One" responded extremely quickly to important information, rarely taking more than five minutes. But this time, ten minutes had passed, and the screen remained dead silent.

"He didn't reply." Chiba Ruri looked at Lin Muyang with some unease.

"As expected." Lin Muyang was not surprised. The other party was either evaluating the situation or had already secretly initiated a cleanup procedure targeting Chiba Ruri's family. Regardless of which, it was time for them to take the initiative.

"Prepare to head to Japan." He said as he stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room—Gui Wanwan, Feng Ling, Succubus Maiden Elabess, Chiba Ruri, and... Shen Muyao.

"I... can I go with you?" Shen Muyao asked, plucking up her courage. After experiencing the terror of tonight, she was both afraid of being left alone and possibly encountering danger again, and eager to learn more about this brand-new Lin Muyang who had suddenly revealed the tip of the iceberg to her.

Lin Muyang looked at her eyes, which were filled with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, pondered slightly, and nodded. In the past, he would have refused without hesitation, avoiding dragging her into a deeper vortex. But tonight's events proved that even if he kept his distance, danger would still come knocking. Since that was the case, it was better to keep her by his side, where he could at least ensure her safety.