Soul Trigger

Chapter 698 Dispute
News of the suspected attack on Flash Street Building spread the next day.

In order to eliminate risks, Flash Street expelled everyone in the building except for officials and Flash Street itself, using the Dead Apostles as a shield to completely absolve themselves of responsibility.

Apart from a small number of disgruntled individuals who had expressed their discontent, most of the secret societies that had originally settled in Flash Street chose to keep quiet.

Aside from the compensation from Flash Street, the main reason was that they didn't want to get involved in the Stargate and Illuminati affair.

Stargate is a secret society on par with the Illuminati in the Keton Federation, but it has less control over spiritual ecological resources and mostly operates in the shadows, so it is slightly inferior.

The Illuminati operates in the open, while Stargate operates in the shadows. They occasionally cooperate, but conflicts are more frequent, because Stargate is a purely commissioned organization for murder.

Their combat record is documented, and they can fly globally, but they are primarily active in Europe and the Americas. Their leadership consists of several immortals and has existed since the founding of the Keton Federation.

The Black Saintess of the Illuminati is a rising star in recent years. Her origins are mysterious. She is the fastest newcomer in the Illuminati to advance to immortality. She recently became an immortal and is highly valued by a top-level member of the Illuminati.

If it weren't for my lack of experience, I probably would have already risen to a high position and started to wield power.

To hunt down someone of this strength, one must be either a Great God of the Underworld or a top-tier Echo-level Immortal. This means that the higher-ups of the Star Gate will be mobilized, and everyone has to give them face.

"Because of the mess you caused, the entire Illuminati has been expelled from Flash Street, and the Black Saintess will probably have no choice but to seek refuge at the St. Martin Museum."

"Is this so-called saintess planning to lock herself away and hide, or is she seeking the protection of the curator?"

"I'm afraid it's the latter. Of course, using a mortuary object is also an option, but we don't yet know the Ludwig family's attitude..."

As they were talking, Angelica suddenly froze:
"you……"

She looked at Ji Li with a hint of surprise in her eyes.

"I?"

"No...no, it's nothing..."

Angelica seemed to have thought of something and suddenly felt dazed.

How are your arrangements going?

"Tomorrow I will arrange for you to enter the Memorial Museum with a suitable reason, but whether you can go directly into the vault will require the help of my teacher."

"Don't forget the boast you made before."

"I know, please believe me..."

Angelica's mind raced.

Odin doesn't do things without reason; his sudden outburst at the hotel must have been for a reason.

Adding to his hints about McCarthy yesterday... it's hard for Angelica not to think about the Illuminati.

By completely blocking the road on Flash Street, the Illuminati in Birmingham will have no choice but to seek help from the Ludwig family, who control the St. Martin's Treasury. What does he want to do with the Illuminati?
Was he deliberately making these arrangements because he didn't trust my abilities? Or did he have ulterior motives...?

Damn it, how come Odin's random outburst has caused so many people a huge headache?

Angelica scratched her head and cheeks, which made Ji Li glance at her repeatedly.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now..."

"Wait a moment."

"Is there anything else you need...?"

"Not staying here overnight?"

Angelica took a deep breath.

Ever since Pulitzer Odin's identity was exposed... she has never dared to have such thoughts again.

Forced a smile:
"I still need to help you prepare the vault..."

"Okay, is it alright if I go out tonight?"

"...No problem, but there are sentries in Birmingham. If you have any plans, please think carefully before you act."

"No, I'm going to the modeling agency. The Foster sisters are here."

"Okay... Have a nice evening."

……

In the middle of the night, Ji Li was awakened by the skull ring of the Tower of Babel.

He glanced at Anya and Sally, who were fast asleep, moved Anya's long legs off his waist, and removed Sally's arms from his neck before going into the bathroom.

As the hot water washed down, the ring emitted the sound of a tombstone:
"What did you do today? The curfew for Awakened Ones in the city suddenly increased, and the art museum was almost exposed."

"The Bewildered Knight has been caught?"

"No, they've already moved, but the level of martial law in the slums has been raised by more than one level, and the incitement operation was immediately thwarted! What exactly did you do?"

"I gave the little trinket he gave me to Flash Street."

"What???"

The tombstone almost cursed:
"The Flash Street and the official channels here are in cahoots, what's the point of you doing this?!"

"Have our two colleagues evacuated the slum? Then my men can go in."

"...Is this what you're doing?"

The tombstone seemed somewhat agitated:
"Yes, there are more undercover sentries now, and the authorities are very sensitive to this. They have already withdrawn."

However, although our ultimate goal is to stop them, if you make it too obvious, even I can't help it..."

"This was done to clear my name and take advantage of the situation, while also getting a pleasant surprise along the way, killing two birds with one stone."

"Your identity was discovered by the people on the street?"

"I fired a shot at the Flash Street building."

"That's it?"

"I punched a hole right through the building."

"..."

The sound of the tombstone carried a hint of helplessness:
"Just to hand that thing over to the authorities?"

"No, it is because the marks of corruption compel me to do this."

"You got promoted???"

"The progress on the first level of the Corruption Rift is quite rapid, isn't it?"

After a long silence:

"I understand, I'll help you explain, using other reasons. But even if they can't intervene and incite people in the slums, they can still use the wealthy areas."

The decay over there is no less than that of the slums, only there are more hidden sentries to avoid.

“I didn’t expect them to do nothing; chaos is the outcome I want. You still haven’t told me the final plan.”

"You didn't tell me what you wanted the remains of the gods for."

"Asking knowingly."

"Heh, that makes things easier. If you can absorb the remains of the god in the end, then absorb them directly. If you can't absorb them, then transfer them first. In short, you can't fall out with the two of them, because that would mean angering the Stained Knight."

"How do I transfer?"

“I’ll take care of the preparations. Also, what are your men planning to do in the slums?” The two deadbeats were stirring up emotions in the slums to create chaos and pave the way for the St. Martin’s vault.

What are your people doing in the slums? Are they going to take over? They don't even know who Ji Li can use, not even the tombstones.

"If it can be used, then you don't need to ask any more questions."

"Then I won't ask. Tomorrow at noon, No. 6, Aro Street."

"doing what?"

"The best steakhouse in Birmingham, just as we agreed."

The sound stopped, and after the ring returned to its original state, Ji Li threw it into the Dragon Ring.

Although the process was bad, the result was good.

That shot not only didn't cause him any trouble, but actually made his subsequent actions smoother, and unexpectedly stirred up a storm. What exactly is this "psychology of the soul"? Is it encouraging people to act in accordance with their desires...?

The strange noise interrupted Ji Li's thoughts. He suddenly drew his gun and turned to see the nun with her hands raised.

"Couldn't you have said something?"

Clementine looked dejected:
"...I wanted to give you a surprise."

"While I was taking a shower?"

The nun silently turned her face away:

"The two lying outside can be looked at, but I can't?"

"Would you like to come and shower with me?"

"...No, I'm here to report on my work."

Ji Li turned off the water, sat down on the toilet, and pulled out his "Madman" gun from thin air, twirling it around.
"Go ahead."

Clementine's lips twitched. What was this? A meeting in the restroom?

She sighed and told Ji Li about what she had found out in the slums over the past two days.

"That's basically it. There are a lot of unemployed people in the slums, and they are also supporters of Adela Buchan's strike."

They make up a quarter of her supporters, which, according to my inquiries, is not a small percentage.

Most of them were unemployed and struggling to feed themselves. Old Green suggested distributing food through relief stations and spreading the Odin faith…

"We don't need relief stations, they're useless." Ji Li directly rejected the idea.
“Let the Green family build a church over there, pick some bankrupt middle-class people, and offer them high-paying church jobs. I think there should be quite a few such people, right?”

"That's right, the owner of the hot dog stand on that street over there seems to have switched from the finance industry, but why would he want someone like that?"

With a click, the "madman" transformed into a square double-barreled shotgun, firing a whistling burst of steel sparks at Clementine:

"Such people had happy families when they were successful, with at least two children and a dog. They can't let go of their past, they have weaknesses, and they are easy to manipulate."

As for those who grew up in slums, lacked adequate education, and had little attachment to family and friends, most of them are virtually invincible and difficult to control in a short period of time.

There are many such people in the slums of Murphy's Mansion, and Ji Li himself used to be one of them, so he has a lot of experience with this.

"Tsk, what a dirty heart..."

"what?"

"nothing!"

"Hmph. Help them, provide them with jobs, and appropriately showcase the world of the Awakened, and they will be willing to work for us."

"Yes, yes, I'll pass that on to Old Green. Also, have you seen the list he sent me...?"

"Yes, I've seen him, Father Alexander Anderson, right?"

Old Green sent a fanatical group to Birmingham, and this was the man leading them.

He was the former Evangelical priest who possessed a centaur exoskeleton. After the Red Maple Town incident, his faith was shattered, and his devotion to the Evangelical Church was transferred to Odin.

In old Green's words, he was a mindless fanatic who thought Odin was right no matter what.

"They also brought several nuns with them..."

Are there nuns among the fanatics?

Clementine curled her lip: "He said he was going to serve you..."

"Stay in the church, I have nuns here."

"Hmph..." Clementine's lips curled into a secret smile.

"Anything else? If not, let's continue in the slums..."

"The last thing, I ran into Adela Buchanan in the slums, the leader of that big strike, the former elected district councilor..."

"Yes, if we can use her to find the people we need, it will save us a lot of trouble."

"No, that's not it! I discovered that her daughter is an Awakened One, and a Peak Ruler at that!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Li raised an eyebrow.

Peak Domination.

His reaction was that there were other forces involved behind the Birmingham strike besides the instigation of the dead, but then he thought that didn't quite make sense.

"Her daughter is strange; as an elite member of the Dark Side oversight group, she works at the Saint Martin Museum."

In her spare time, she would secretly meet with other awakened individuals who had eye-shaped tattoos and were not Birmingham officials.

Furthermore, I discovered another completely different force also monitoring them; they were unmarked, but spoke with a southern accent from the Keton Federation.

You've really found out a lot...

As long as there is no contact with the other party, Clementine is almost in a quantum state of invisibility, making it incredibly useful for gathering intelligence through walls.

However, from another perspective, this guy is still inexperienced and doesn't know much about the secret societies. Therefore, he can't recognize the secret societies to which the awakened ones belong, and his analytical work is rather amateurish and needs improvement.

Returning to the intelligence aspect, generally speaking, an eye tattoo represents the All-Seeing Eye of the Illuminati.

But in that case, these people should have nothing to do with the general strike.

The Illuminati are embroiled in conflict with the Stargate and have been expelled from Flash Street because Ji Li suddenly went mad. They have no time for this kind of thing.
Therefore, the Awakened One with the southern accent of the Keton Federation is most likely a Stargate user.

Do you travel frequently?

"We have very frequent contact with the Illuminati."

An elite Awakened member of the Dark Side Oversight Corps, working at the Royal Asylum, is the daughter of a major strike leader, has close ties to the Illuminati, and is being targeted by the Stargate...

Is this girl's background really that complicated?

"Have you found out her name?"

“Connie Lee, I saw that’s the name on her ID tag…”

Ji Li suddenly looked up:

"……What did you say?"

Ji Li almost thought he had misheard. Wasn't that his junior adjutant in Silla?
(End of this chapter)