209: bait

As for the 327-meter-tall tianqing no.?

Lin Tianwei completely disregarded it.

The strength of combat power isn't solely determined by size.

The seemingly terrifying Giant Treant, with a physique that completely dwarfed Lin Tianwei, was still easily eliminated by him.

Compared to the inscrutable tianqing no., he was more interested in Legisamon's mission progress.

Those six keys might be the only things that could truly bring him some enjoyment.

That's right, it's those six keys!

Under fortuitous circumstances, Lin Tianwei learned of the importance of the key he possessed.

When combined with the other six keys of the same material, it would form a crucial master key.

Opening the corresponding treasure chest would grant easy access to the Legendary Alpha Gene.

This powerful Gene was extracted from a Cosmic Beast.

Having understood that both the Extraordinary Gene and the Extraordinary Body were powerful Talents extracted from Cosmic Beasts,

Lin Tianwei was naturally very interested in the ultimate Alpha Gene.

It's just a pity.

Collecting keys was simply too tedious.

Lin Tianwei felt it would be better to cast a bait and let these six keys and the treasure chest come to him voluntarily.

As for the so-called bait, it was naturally the key that Lin Tianwei held.

After all, Lin Tianwei believed that if he didn't throw out this key as bait, all of America would likely fall into immense despair.

Because they simply had no ability to obtain this last key from Lin Tianwei.

In other words, even if they gathered the treasure chest and five keys, they still wouldn't be able to obtain the Alpha Gene.

This feeling of being just one step away was truly too despair-inducing.

However, simply throwing out the key would be too deliberate.

So Lin Tianwei arranged for Legisamon to go undercover in America.

When the time was ripe, he would bring the six keys and the treasure chest to him.

Allowing him to acquire the powerful Alpha Gene in one fell swoop.

Generally speaking, such an opportunity to infiltrate enemy ranks is very rare.

But America had strong designs on Lin Tianwei's farm.

They had always tried every possible means to subvert the people on the farm.

Legisamon, who once belonged to America and possessed formidable strength, naturally caught their attention.

The catalyst, of course, was the emergence of t-metal.

This material, which acted like a bug in the transplantation surgery for Awakened Beast materials,

naturally perfectly suited Legisamon, who had acquired the eyes of the Six-Eyed Demon Spider.

There was no threat, no coercion.

America even proactively offered Legisamon transplantation and recovery surgery services.

Attempting to wrap a layer of t-metal around the Six-Eyed Demon Spider's eyes for protection.

However, how could they have imagined Lin Tianwei's terrifying transplantation technique?

Even without the assistance of t-metal, Legisamon would not be affected by the Six-Eyed Demon Spider's eyes at all.

A transplantation that would be affected was inherently a failed transplantation, a surgery of the lowest quality.

In other words, in Lin Tianwei's eyes, their self-congratulatory belief that they possessed the most excellent transplantation technology

was nothing but clownish behavior.

However, this opportunity for surgery could be leveraged to send Legisamon undercover.

It just so happened to play right into Lin Tianwei's hands.

And so, with a glorious mission, Legisamon traveled to Las City, a city where he had lived for a long time.

The surgery went very smoothly.

With Legisamon's active cooperation, it could even be considered painless.

However, just as the surgery was about to conclude, Gonzalo arrived at the operating room.

Under normal circumstances, to prevent bacterial Infection, strangers would never be allowed into the operating room.

But now it was different.

Awakened possess incredibly powerful physiques and are not afraid of Infection by ordinary bacteria.

This characteristic significantly reduced the difficulty of the surgery.

Facing a conscious Legisamon, Gonzalo posed a soul-searching question: “Legisamon, do you still remember your faith?”

“As a priest of God, do you still have a firm belief in God in your heart?”

Faith?

I do have faith.

But it's certainly not that useless, incompetent, and nominal God.

However, Legisamon had come to be an undercover agent, so he naturally had to go along with Gonzalo's words.

He just never expected that the other party had no intention of offering any substantial benefits.

Instead, he planned to manipulate him with this illusory God.

It was utterly disgusting.

On this point, Legisamon had misunderstood Gonzalo.

As one of the first few important figures on the farm, Legisamon's treatment could be said to be excellent to a certain degree.

In such a situation, tempting the other party might not be a good choice.

After much thought, they could only approach it from the ethereal direction of faith.

In other words, this was Gonzalo's helpless choice.

He even felt a bit weary after saying that sentence.

He was the lord of a city; why was he here doing something like coaxing children with lollipops?

It was utterly boring.

How could Legisamon fall for his empty promises? The other party wasn't a fool.

However, to Gonzalo's shock, Legisamon's expression became confused, and he murmured:

“God?”

After that, Legisamon fell into a long silence.

Even after the Six-Eyed Demon Spider's eyes had been covered with t-metal and re-transplanted, he remained silent.

A performance, of course, must be complete.

If Legisamon had agreed to Gonzalo's terms without a second thought, that would have been ridiculous.

Showing appropriate hesitation, wavering, and struggle was the most deceptive display.

As expected, upon seeing Legisamon's bewildered expression, Gonzalo's eyes lit up.

He never imagined that his simple probing would actually offer hope of subverting Legisamon.

Thinking of this, Gonzalo decided to press his advantage, saying: “Have you forgotten the solemn vows you once made before the statue of God?”

“Have you forgotten your simple faith?”

“Material things may have the power to corrupt everything, but I believe that a noble soul will never be lost.”

“...”

Gonzalo pulled out all the stops, all for the sake of successfully subverting Legisamon.

One must know, Legisamon was an extremely powerful Esper.

On the Esper ranking, he could absolutely be ranked among the top three.

This alone already gave him enough value to be subverted.

Not to mention, Legisamon was also involved in obtaining the key, which made him extremely important!

Under Gonzalo's continuous manipulation, Legisamon's eyes became increasingly confused.

As if something in his heart was about to be activated.

At this thought, Gonzalo decided to deliver a fatal blow, striking directly at Legisamon's mental defenses, saying:

“Legisamon, look over there, what is that?”

Guided by Gonzalo, Legisamon looked towards a corner of the operating room.

He found a figure there, clad in pure white and possessing two pairs of wings… a bird-man.

Gonzalo said in a highly seductive voice: “Legisamon!”

“God saw the confusion in your heart and specifically sent His messenger, a two-winged angel, to save your lost soul.”

“If you still truly believe in God, God's messenger will answer the doubts in your heart.”

No sooner had Gonzalo finished speaking than the bird-man walked up to Legisamon.

Holding a Bible in one hand and a wreath in the other, he said: “Child, God has perceived your confusion.”

“But it doesn't matter, as long as your heart still belongs to God, God will forgive you.”

“May God be with you.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bird-man's hand made a gesture in the air.

A beam of light, descending from the sky, directly struck Legisamon's head.

This beam of light was incredibly gentle, yet it contained immense power.

It quickly soothed the injuries Legisamon sustained from the transplantation surgery.

Warm, benevolent, compassionate to the world.

It was as if it were exactly like the angels, God's messengers in Legend.

However, Legisamon regarded this with considerable disdain.

It was merely a trick.

It was just a special effect created using an ability similar to life force, combined with a pure white beam of light.

It appeared extremely bright, even capable of illuminating the entire world.

Yet, the energy contained within it was quite scarce.

It would take about ten days to half a month of shining to possess the energy of Lin Tianwei's casual wave.

However, Legisamon, being a superb actor, showed sufficient longing for this beam of light, murmuring:

“An angel? It's actually God's messenger.”

“God is merciful and never hesitates to bestow holy light upon those who believe in him.”

Hearing Legisamon's words, the bird-man was overjoyed and said: “Child, you are right.”

“God will save every believer with holy light.”

“I also hope you can reciprocate God's expectations.”

Reciprocate expectations?

Naturally, it meant doing God's bidding.

Legisamon's eyes gradually cleared, and he said: “Sir Angel, Mr. Gonzalo.”

“Today's events are truly a bit hard for me to accept.”

“If possible, I hope to be alone for a while.”

“Do you understand how I feel right now?”

“That feeling of the God one has always believed in suddenly appearing before you.”

Suppressing the excitement in their hearts, the bird-man and Gonzalo, however, showed great understanding, saying:

“Mr. Legisamon, we will give you time to adjust.”

“We hope that soon you will realize what your true faith is and return to the embrace of the Lord.”

After speaking, the two, along with the doctor who performed the transplantation surgery, left the operating room.

Leaving the stage to Legisamon.

The subsequent events became much simpler.

Suppressing the nausea in his heart, Legisamon perfectly played the role of a lost lamb returning to the fold.

He began to be brainwashed by faith and became a traitor to the farm.

And Legisamon's first task was naturally the acquisition of the key.

This miraculous item, which Lin Tianwei had once obtained from the Southern Treasury, was naturally Gonzalo's primary target.

After all, other supplies on the farm could be acquired through legitimate transactions.

There was really no need to waste the lifespan of such an important chess piece as Legisamon over such a small matter.

Of course, no matter how much he coveted the key, Gonzalo dared not risk such a major offense by directly offending Lin Tianwei.

Otherwise, if the key wasn't obtained and Las City faced a second destruction, that would truly be a loss far outweighing the gain.

“You only need to find the location of the key; you don't need to do anything too superfluous.”

At least until he had the power to completely destroy Lin Tianwei, all Gonzalo needed was intelligence on the key's location.

So much so that when Legisamon brought the key to him, he was still a bit stunned.

He was even scared out of his wits.

Trembling, he said: “Legisamon, didn't I tell you not to do anything superfluous?”

Directly stealing from the Tiger King Temple?

What's the difference between that and seeking death?

Most importantly, this stolen item was now in front of him.

Once discovered by the Tiger King, Las City might once again face the tragic end of being reduced to ashes.

Gonzalo was instantly overwhelmed by fear, so much so that he was too scared to catch the special box containing the key that was in front of him.

Allowing such an important treasure to fall directly to the ground.

You don't even dare to take what's given to you; you're truly a coward.

Legisamon mocked inwardly, but on the surface, he said with extreme surprise: “Mr. Gonzalo, why are you doing this?”

“This treasure, which I painstakingly picked up in the Tiger King Temple, why aren't you holding it properly?”

“This is a priceless treasure, not a hot potato.”

Picked up?

Gonzalo's trembling hand finally recovered a bit.

But then he looked at Legisamon with a suspicious expression; how could such an important and valuable key be casually picked up?

As if seeing Gonzalo's confusion, Legisamon explained: “Although I don't know what kind of treasure this key is.”

“But I think no matter how powerful the Tiger King is, he's just a tiger; how could he understand human mechanisms?”

“Perhaps he only took the key because the box it was in was exquisite.”

“After studying it and finding nothing, he would naturally discard it.”

Legisamon's explanation instantly made Gonzalo realize.

That's right.

How could a tiger understand the importance of a key?

Such a complex mechanical creation, even he didn't understand it, so how could the Tiger King?

Thinking of this, Gonzalo felt invigorated again and bent down, intending to pick up the key he had just disregarded.

But he found that a hand was faster than his, snatching the key first.

Who else could it be but the quick-witted Legisamon?

Gonzalo asked in confusion: “Legisamon, what exactly do you mean?”

“Present the key to me, and God will remember your outstanding contribution.”

“After you die, God will have angels guide you to a carefree heaven where even your soul can find liberation.”

Although he really wanted to directly snatch the key, considering the huge disparity in combat power between them,

Gonzalo ultimately held back and started making empty promises to Legisamon.

If he could use words, he would absolutely not resort to direct action.

No one who could become the lord of a city was a simple character.

He knew exactly what he should do. (End of chapter)