Southern Europe, Rome.
The autumn sun was warm, casting mottled shadows on the concrete ground. A flock of white pigeons flew over the busy cafes in the square.
Under the parasols, there were square tables and wooden chairs. Well-dressed men and women sat around the tables, chatting about recent events. Occasionally, white pigeons landed and pecked at the bread crumbs on the ground.
Coo, coo.
The white pigeon passed by the feet of a blond young man, causing him to lift his legs slightly.
He was wearing a neat gray suit, his blond hair was neatly combed behind his head, and he wore frameless glasses, just like the literary youths that can be seen everywhere in this square.
"Go away, you and I are not the same kind." Ryan stamped his feet, scared away the white pigeon, and dodged the bird shit it sprayed, while cursing at the laptop.
Since leaving Sundown Alley, he has come to Rome, the capital of art. In the former civilization, there is no Colosseum here, but many opera houses or concert halls. The sound of violins is melodious, and several young painters are painting the huge church in front of them behind the drawing board, while believers are praying in the square.
"This atmosphere makes me become artistic." Ryan shook his head, his fingers flying on the keyboard, and sneered at the messages urging for more.
What do you mean by entering the palace? Stupid, you clearly don't know what I'm doing. This character is simply beyond reproach.
How can my character not be strong? I just left Sundown Alley, killed a bunch of enemies, crossed three blockades, and started typing as soon as my butt was warm.
Other authors are all eating, drinking, gambling, and going to bed and stopping, but I killed a Herrscher and am still preparing a plan to subvert the world. It's already amazing that I can still maintain weekly updates.
He took a sip of coffee, raised his head slightly, and smiled self-deprecatingly.
This feeling is really good. I can even guess that the Fire Moth Council is meeting overnight and frantically making back-up plans, while I am enjoying the afternoon sun and afternoon tea.
Ryan glanced at the Fire Moth soldiers on the edge of the square. He didn't find his wanted order these days. He only heard a message from the public channel: Fire Moth asked him to return to the headquarters immediately to accept questioning, and the words were not too harsh.
"That's right, my enemies are just a part of you, and most of the Fire Moth Council members don't actually have conflicts of interest."
As Mei said, the gentle approach should slowly find these people, and then through the power game, let them out, but how to say it.
I'm tired of red tape, and I don't want to hand over such a useful tool as Fire Moth to a group of idiots.
Ryan smiled even more and chose a more radical approach. Fortunately, Mei was persuaded and has implemented the first phase of the plan.
"Now let's see if the General Manager can cooperate. I'm helping you."
If the Fire Moth really wants to transition from a parliamentary system to a leadership system, Carius is the best successor, because normal people will not hand over power to a young girl in her early twenties who has just joined for two years. Even for Carius, it will require a lot of political games.
But who knows the result?
Ryan closed his notebook, picked up the bread on the table, and slowly left.
He is only 60% sure now, but it is more than enough for Ryan, at least all the conditions are in place.
He walked along the edge of the square, not far away, and the sound of "clang clang" made him stop. He turned sideways and saw that the door of the huge and gorgeous Gothic church was open, and a group of priests came out.
The leader was about fifty years old, wearing a golden robe and a crown on his head. He opened his hands with a standard charlatan expression, as if embracing the believers in the square.
As he moved, prayers, crying, and atonement sounded one after another.
Another performance by a charlatan.
Ryan subconsciously rejected it, but he had to admit the role of religion. At least this Cross is an officially recognized legal organization and has a strong influence worldwide.
The biggest difference between them and cults is their attitude towards collapse.
"God said that as long as humans have courage, the devil will be destroyed. After the natural disaster, we will usher in the real heaven on earth."
"So children, you must have hope, roar at the devil, and guard our heaven."
It's a bit interesting. At least it can fool people. Many of the death squads of the Fire Moth are selected from believers.
Ryan folded his arms and listened to the Pope's sermon. No wonder Rome's defense is extremely powerful. This spiritual significance is also a strategic town.
As a scientist, he sneered at these statements, but as a human being, he understood the desire of the human spirit. The crazier the world is, the less rational it needs, because the more rational it is, the more desperate it is.
The opposite of those lunatics in Snow Prison Town is fortunately very useful, plus the generous treatment, there is no shortage of soldiers.
However, Ryan frowned as he listened. The Pope talked about sacrifice and adventure. As an insider, he probably knew that this was to encourage believers to participate in the Fusion Warrior Program with a very high mortality rate, but later...
"You should open your eyes, because demons are scary, but the minions of demons are more deceptive. They hide among us, stab sharp blades in the shadows, kill our guardians, and use power to intimidate others."
Why does it sound like he is talking about me?
Ryan blinked, always feeling that something was wrong, but this hat could also be put on the head of the pseudo-hermeneutics. He looked deeply at the Pope in his costume and disappeared in the square.
Crossing the Tiber River that runs through the city, Ryan came to the West City District, which was obviously more messy. There were old houses with three or four floors in sight. Fortunately, due to the lottery system, the public security was not too bad.
Entering the alley, entering a three-story building, stepping on the creaking stairs, and pushing open the door, Ryan showed a helpless expression again.
"Kalpas, you have too much energy."
The man was shirtless and doing push-ups in the middle of the room. Sweat slid across his strong muscles, and the man's masculine breath came to his face.
"You always refuse to fight me." Kalpas stood up, wiped the sweat with the towel around his neck, lifted the mask to wipe his face, and pulled down the mask before Ryan could see clearly.
"It's been ten days. How many excuses can you find?!"
"Excuses? Do you think I can't beat you?" Ryan put the bread on the table and folded his arms, "Only the weak need to make excuses. Do you think it's necessary?"
Kalpas was speechless for a moment. He had seen Ryan fighting power with his own eyes. It was hard to say whether he would fight to the death, but he would never be afraid of himself.
"Then why did you wait so long?"
"I've said that a fight with you is just an agreement, and I have more important things to do. Besides, with our fighting power, aren't you afraid of attracting onlookers? If someone interferes, it will end hastily. You don't want to fight for the third time, do you?"
This makes sense. Kalpas is holding his breath. If someone makes trouble, it's better not to fight.
He is right. Since it is a one-on-one, interference must be eliminated and those annoying people must not be allowed to disturb the interest.
Kalpas clenched his fists and made a crackling sound. He was very annoyed, but it was precisely because he wanted to fight Ryan with all his strength and fairness that he had recently suppressed his temper.
"So how long will it take for your shit to be done?"
"Soon, why are you in a hurry." Ryan answered like this for the umpteenth time, and said with a smile: "If you are willing to help, it may be faster."
"Get lost!!" Kalpas was furious. It was good that he could hold back.
Ryan shrugged and rolled away from the grumpy old brother. He was also amused in his heart.
As long as we grasp Kalpas weakness, we can barely control him. After all, what he said makes sense.
'The Fire Moth will make trouble, so I'm not afraid that you won't take the bait. Anyway, I don't resist fighting with you. As for the accumulated fighting spirit, there are many channels to vent. '
Ryan walked into the inner room and opened the door. He saw Pardofelis scratching her head at the table, and Aponia sat next to her wearing glasses, instructing like a female Master.
Seeing these two people, Ryan's heart was full of complaints again.
Originally, I wanted to teach Pardo to fight, but this guy was not suitable. Not only was he afraid of pain, but he was also extremely cautious. He was really not suitable to be a combatant.
Aponia still looked a little like a charlatan. She was in a daze most of the time every day, so I simply gave her the task of tutoring.
"What's up?" Ryan walked over and put the drinks he brought back on the table.
"Great, it's milk tea!" Pardo cheered, drank a sip happily, and pushed another cup to the nun, "Sister Nia, let's take a break."
"Thank you." Aponia felt sorry, put in a straw, took a sip, and smiled implicitly, "Mr. Ryan, I didn't expect to live like this after leaving Sundown Alley."
"Yes, yes, I thought it was very dangerous." Pardo nodded quickly, these days are almost like a dream.
Except that studying every day is a bit annoying, she lives in a decent house, sleeps on a soft bed, eats delicious food, and even went to two concerts.
This is not a mission, it's clearly a vacation.
"Pardo, what do you think it's like outside Sundown Alley?" Ryan also took a sip of coffee, squinting his eyes, with a slight smile.
"Of course, they were hunted by countless people, and then they slept in the open air, carefully hiding here and there, fearing that they would be discovered by the enemy." The girl counted on her fingers and got stuck while talking. The gangster movies she watched could only reach this level.
"It's really amazing, just like most people in Sundown Alley can survive a battle of that scale." Aponia also said softly, her blue eyes full of curiosity.
Her premonition was wrong for the first time, and there were more mistakes after leaving Sundown Alley. She didn't even expect the result to be like this.
Except that she couldn't go out casually, it was not like the turbulent world in her premonition. No, even including Kalpas, she didn't expect this man to be so honest.
"So Pardo, this is why you have to study hard. Stupid people will be led by the nose, while smart people-" Ryan shrugged and clenched his right palm.
"Before deciding to do this, take everything into your hands."