Assassination?

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"Please, both of you, come inside," the receptionist at the Temple of the Gods instantly recognized Jiang Cheng and Lyle as they approached, and straightforwardly ushered them into the branch of the Temple of the Gods.

Perhaps because it adapted itself to local needs, the interior decor of this Temple of the Gods did not exude a strong religious sanctity.

In contrast, the inside actually looked like an advanced, modern research institute.

Bright lights, colossal machinery operating in complex synchrony—everything radiated an intense sense of technological flair.

Jiang Cheng, being from the modern world, was still composed, but Lyle, a local, was utterly dumbfounded.

"Let's go, hero,"

Jiang Cheng dismissed the attendant following them with a smile and then pulled Lyle further into the depths of the Temple of the Gods.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Ferran was again in his room, cleaning his handgun.

"What's the matter? Are you nervous?"

Jiang Cheng's avatar, watching his actions, asked with a cheerful smile.

"You've already cleaned and maintained your little handgun for the twenty-seventh time today," she commented.

"Adventurers must care for their weapons,"

Ferran replied without even turning his head. "Especially when it's a soul-linked life weapon."

"Ha, no matter how often I see it, I still find you adventurers bizarre—actually linking your souls to a tool."

"It's the only way for a weapon to manifest its true power. Those mecha engineers simply don't understand weapons."

"Ha, alright, alright,"

Jiang Cheng shrugged, appearing indifferent.

"In any case, as long as it doesn't delay our plans. You should still remember the operation plan I gave you, right?" she asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Of course I remember."

Ferran paused his cleaning, then said, "At today's street rally, I'll give them a show that's even more gripping than his speech."

"Ha, that's for the best,"

Jiang Cheng smiled. "But, for 'them'? Are you sure?"

"......"

Ferran was silent for a moment, then resumed cleaning his gun. "Of course it's for me."

"It has nothing to do with anyone else, not even for that grumpy old man. I just don't feel good—I want to do this, that's all,"

Ferran answered flatly.

"Ha, that's just like you, the rat—you doing it for the sake of the poor, that's still something better left for the Hero to say."

Jiang Cheng tossed out this bit of mockery casually. "Alright, little rat, you just keep being nervous."

"Of course, you can also go steal something to relax,"

Jiang Cheng added with a smile, standing up.

"As for me, I'll go get other things ready first~"

With that, she pushed open the door and left Ferran's shabby home in the slums.

"Alright, we're here."

Amidst the Temple of the Gods, Jiang Cheng turned to look at Lyle.

"This is the place I wanted to bring you,"

Jiang Cheng said, smiling as she took Lyle by the hand and led him into a side chamber.

In the relatively small side chamber, several groups of people were gathered. At the front, someone was talking to a priest through a window.

Lyle looked up and saw the sign above the window: "Special Race Legal Identity Application Office."

"This is..."

Lyle, still quite baffled, asked. He still didn't know why Jiang Cheng had brought him here.

"You should know that races not recognized by the Temple of the Gods suffer a lot of oppression, right?"

Jiang Cheng raised her head and looked at Lyle as she asked.

"Of course I know,"

Lyle nodded. He was well aware of such basic things.

In fact, he deeply understood that to call it 'oppression,' as Jiang Cheng did, was a charitable gloss.

"This is the very office for applying to have your race recognized by the Temple of the Gods,"

Jiang Cheng explained directly.

"See there?"

Jiang Cheng pointed to a corner where a pair—a larger and a smaller robot—were huddled together.

"They are a new race that emerged over the past couple of years—the machine race,"

Jiang Cheng explained.

"After brain-computer interfacing succeeded, a large number of poor and debt-ridden people were transformed into machines, with only a modified brain left as the original part."

"Following the 172nd legislative proposal in Adventurer City, they are now considered a separate species and no longer enjoy full human rights."

"But they're still preferred by many factories—no food, no rest, working all day for just a bit of recharging."

"Ha, real beasts of burden by nature. Pity they remain paupers—most likely they won't even be able to afford the application fee this time either."

In the corner, the little girl whose entire body had been converted into machinery peeked fearfully in their direction, then shrank back.

"So why did you bring me here?"

Lyle asked, a bit confused.

Could it be that those people in mecha were also a new, unrecognized race?

Perhaps having guessed Lyle's thoughts, Jiang Cheng shrugged and explained,

"Our reason for coming isn't about us—someone else is about to arrive."

As she spoke, a familiar figure suddenly appeared—it was Renata.

"In the applications, there's a special category—to apply for having your race designated as a human sub-classification. She's here today for that,"

Jiang Cheng explained with a smile before standing up and scanning the people in the room.

"This is my friend. I hope, out of respect for me, you all don't object to letting her go first with her application, do you?"

Jiang Cheng said with a smile—as coldness flashed in her eyes.

In fact, she rather hoped some fool would stand up to her—she hadn't harmed or killed anyone for days, and was feeling extremely bored.

Unfortunately, as representatives chosen by their entire races for such crucial business, there clearly wasn't an idiot among them.

There wasn't even one who considered protesting but was stopped by others, which left Jiang Cheng a little disappointed; she shrugged.

"Go on," she said listlessly, turning to Renata,

"Thank you, Your Holiness,"

Renata curtsied and walked up to the window.

"Well, if I remember correctly, it's right here,"

Meanwhile, her avatar walked through an enormous sewage tunnel, face full of disdain.

"I said clearly to meet here—they're in mecha, not earplugs, there's no way they wouldn't hear me. Could something have gone wrong?"

Jiang Cheng frowned in thought. Those people were always punctual; if the organization had sent someone to rendezvous with her, they'd never be late.

"So..."

She turned sharply, eyes cold, and stared at a certain spot. In her left eye, the divine crests of the gods overlapped as she focused on that location.

"If you've been discovered, you might as well come out,"

Jiang Cheng called out cheerfully.

"Otherwise, as the president's chief enforcer—ahem, lapdog—if you're so scared you can't even show your face, that's really too pathetic."

"As expected of Your Holiness," the air twisted, and a figure appeared, toying with a strange fragment in his hand.

Jiang Cheng instantly recognized it—it was a shard from those people's mecha, shattered in battle.

"So, what are you here for?"

Jiang Cheng frowned and asked.

"Of course—I'm here to kill you."

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