28: Cuckoo in the nest

"Just tell me whether it's done or not. Don't give me all that fluff," Xiang Yan said helplessly.

His subordinates were good—they never hesitated to do what he asked—but every time he asked for a report, they had to come up with some ambiguous, non-committal nonsense.

It wasn't as if he hadn't scolded them, but this group, led by Kleid, actually claimed that answering directly showed a lack of respect and failed to highlight his aura.

Later, for one reason or another, he just couldn't be bothered to care and let them be.

Speaking of Kleid, Xiang Yan turned his gaze toward his Incarnation and said languidly, "Honestly, Nelson, I really don't understand the situation between you and your son." Xiang Yan clicked his tongue. "The son wants to send his father to the stake, and the father is practically begging to jump on. What kind of game are you two playing?"

Nelson remained silent.

"Well, well, don't make the atmosphere so serious."

Xiang Yan continued, "If we really want to get into it, this is actually my fault. After all, it was I who wanted to understand every aspect of the 'Soul Reincarnation' ability, so I had you all perform various experiments. And you happened to draw the short straw for the reproduction experiment, turning into a heartless stud-machine, frantically finding new stepmothers for Kleid. Tsk, who knew that kid was so petty as to hold a grudge against you for it."

"I pushed you out to be my Incarnation, but speaking of which, I have to scold you too. I already told you to switch people, yet you insisted on doing it yourself. Spoiling your child too much is no good."

Hearing this, Nelson immediately knelt down, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Xiang Yan raising his hand.

An invisible force sealed his mouth, rendering him unable to make a sound.

"Alright, alright, don't be nervous." Xiang Yan waved his hand. "I'm not dissatisfied with you over this matter, so don't be alarmed." As he spoke, he removed the force sealing Nelson's mouth and gestured for him to stand up. "Continue your report."

Nelson found that he could speak, but he did not stand up, remaining kneeling on the ground.

Seeing this, Xiang Yan pursed his lips but said nothing.

"Oh, Great Lord! You..."

"Stop! I told you not to give me that fluff." Xiang Yan waved his hand impatiently, interrupting Nelson's spell-casting.

Nelson quickly composed himself and said respectfully, "My Lord, we have made all the preparations. As long as you reclaim the power of those false gods, we can quickly use your grace to control the entire home planet."

After hearing this, just as Xiang Yan was about to give the order, he remembered the other personality he had locked away in the "dark room." Although he had spent all his energy on developing his abilities over these years, causing his Realm to stagnate...

...he had indeed succeeded in forcing that thing into silence. He was confident in the "dark room" and wasn't afraid that while devouring negative energy, that thing would escape and cause trouble.

However, in order to ensure that he remained completely unaffected while devouring negative energy, he would inevitably have to open a small crack in the "dark room" to let the negative energy flow toward that thing, while he devoured the pure energy himself.

That was the problem; his confidence in the "dark room" was based on it remaining intact.

No, he had to think of a way!

Seeing Xiang Yan suddenly fall silent, Nelson didn't dare say anything more and continued to wait quietly.

After a moment of silence, Xiang Yan said in a tone of disappointed expectations, "Nelson, oh Nelson, I am truly disappointed in you."

He then continued in a tone of sorrow for their misfortune and anger at their lack of ambition: "What did I tell you before? Don't make things so scary like on the Exile Star. Be normal, spread truth, kindness, and beauty, and integrate into this planet naturally. And the result? Look at what kind of plans you've given me now! You want to engage in violent rule again? You want me to go on a shooting spree? Where is our positive energy?"

The more Xiang Yan spoke, the more he felt himself to be the representative of righteousness and light. His tone became increasingly righteous, and he selectively forgot that it was he who had originally wanted to go on a shooting spree, which led them to formulate the plans in the first place.

Hearing his master's such righteous words, Nelson's eyelids twitched. He immediately said, "Oh, Great Lord, we deserve to die for failing to comprehend your true meaning. Please punish us!"

Seeing his subordinate give him such a graceful way out, Xiang Yan immediately seized the opportunity and said, "Punishment is naturally in order. However, considering that you are all thinking wholeheartedly of me... Hmm, let's do this!"

"Just have Kleid put on a bunny girl outfit and dance a pole dance."

Nelson was stunned upon hearing this.

"And you," before he could react, Xiang Yan changed the subject and pointed at Nelson, "When you go back, remember to tell him exactly what happened. Just say this is my punishment for him not respecting his old father."

Far away in the Western Hemisphere, Kleid, who was processing affairs, suddenly sneezed for no reason, and a chill rose from the bottom of his heart.

He rubbed his itchy nose, feeling that something bad was about to happen.

He put down his work and began to investigate, but found everything normal with nothing amiss.

He frowned, unable to figure out where this ominous premonition came from, and finally had to give up helplessly, attributing it to his own illusion.

After all, who was he? He was the favorite child of the nightmare immortal! Hadn't he seen that whether on the Exile Star or here, he was the Pope?

He didn't believe anyone could harm him under the nose of the nightmare immortal.

...

Nelson quickly agreed, not daring to argue. It wasn't that he was afraid Xiang Yan would kill him; after all, since his master had left the Exile Star, he had been exceptionally easygoing with his Believers.

In this situation, it was obvious that his master was just looking for a patch to save Face. If he dared to try to persuade him otherwise, he would probably be the one dancing the pole dance.

Sorry, son, I have to let you suffer for now. Dad will love you twice as much later.

Mourning in his heart for a moment, Nelson quickly opened the briefcase placed to the side and took out another document.

He couldn't help but sigh that Jonnison really lived up to being an intelligence officer; he was so well-prepared. Fearing that his master might still be thinking about the "truth, kindness, and beauty" requirements from when they first arrived in this civilization, he had specifically prepared this plan.

"My Lord, in order to promote your truth, kindness, and beauty, we have also prepared another detailed plan. Would you like to take a look?" As he said this, he held out a thick folder with both hands toward Xiang Yan.

Xiang Yan didn't open the file; he simply swept it with his mental energy and took in the contents at a glance.

As for the contents of this plan, there wasn't much to it. To sum it up in four words: Usurping the Nest.

The core idea was to have him exert a little effort to give those false gods a small mental suggestion, causing them to concentrate their power in the Western Hemisphere and pay no attention to the Eastern Hemisphere. The Nightmare Immortal Cult would then seize the opportunity to return to the Eastern Hemisphere, carry out disaster relief, do charity work, help the people, and continuously expand their influence, while spreading the word everywhere that these disasters were all caused by those false gods.

Once their wings were full and they had successfully established their golden image, they would then harness the will of the people to deal with those false gods. Afterward, they would only need to mix a group of original Believers into the war between humans and gods, continuously inciting the people's emotions so that the war could never cease, thereby constantly reducing the population.

In the end, they would leave only ten billion Believers on the entire planet who were absolutely loyal to him and resurrected through the 'Soul Reincarnation' technique. In this way, they could complete the grand plan of stealing the sky and changing the sun, of Usurping the Nest!

As for those false gods? Once the plan succeeded, they would be swept into the trash heap!

Finally, they would add a sentence in future textbooks: under the resolute resistance of the great masses of the people and through their efforts without regard for sacrifice, the people achieved a great victory, and the civilization thus stepped onto a new level!