Chapter 165

165/Side Story

Tang Xun'an sensed something off the moment he stepped into headquarters.

He'd been summoned for a meeting about a critical mission requiring his involvement. When headquarters phrased things that way, it usually meant the job was a nasty one.

People said when the sky fell, the tall ones held it up. At 188 centimeters, Tang Xun'an was certainly tall enough.

Nine people attended the meeting, all familiar faces.

Since the spread of the Pollution Disease, humanity had been forced to abandon heavily contaminated zones and relocate. Now, the major districts huddled close together.

The atmosphere felt heavy. Tang Xun'an pulled out a chair and sat in silence, waiting for the briefing.

Director Wang from Special Operations cleared his throat. "Today, we are gathered here to… celebrate our mutual friend, Tang Xun'an's 95th birthday! Happy birthday!"

On cue, fireworks exploded outside the window.

The meeting room lights blazed on. Colorful streamers and flecks of gold foil rained down, dusting Tang Xun'an's shoulders. The timeless tune of "Happy Birthday" crackled over the intercom.

Michael wheeled in a massive, two-tiered cake. "The Research Institute made it specially. Took them a month just to source the ingredients. That pale gold rose on top? I picked it myself from Luochuan Botanical Garden."

Luochuan Botanical Garden. An S-Class contaminated zone. It teemed with symbiotic pollutants. The rose vines were one of them—their petals, when consumed, could lower one's corruption index. A favorite ingredient for the Institute's special serums. On the black market, a single flower could fetch thirty thousand contribution points.

"Thank you."

Tang Xun'an lifted the cake knife. Five precise cuts yielded ten slices.

Having lived so long, birthdays rarely registered for him. More often than not, they coincided with missions. It was rare to be at headquarters for one.

The cake's interior tasted of seasoned beef, juices seeping out with each bite. Probably purified from some pollutant's flesh, no doubt.

He had just removed the muzzle from his face when Director Wang spoke again. "However, we do have a mission requiring your assistance."

"Headquarters needs you to travel to the Crescent Divine Nation to sign a treaty. It concerns the joint development of Contaminated Zone 136 and a mutual non-aggression pact between our two human enclaves."

High-risk contaminated zones were forbidden lands, but low to mid-level zones, with their manageable corruption levels and abundant resources, remained fiercely contested prizes.

Currently, only three major human enclaves existed worldwide: the Celestial Dawn Coexistence District in the central continent, the Crescent Divine Nation in the west, and Auster Island in the southern hemisphere.

Over a century of development, the Deep Sea Society had long since become the land's most populous faith. It had successfully supplanted the secular government in its territory, merging church and state into one.

Tang Xun'an's impression of this church was… poor.

On past missions, he'd encountered Awakened devotees. They believed becoming a pollutant was the pinnacle of evolution, a return to the god's embrace. Consequently, they fought with terrifying fearlessness and readily underwent body modifications with staggeringly high mortality rates. In short, they didn't seem to value their humanity much.

Tang Xun'an gave a slight nod. "Understood."

"The Divine Nation's Holy Scion celebrated his twentieth birthday last month. Rumor has it he's preparing to enter the secular world," Director Wang added. "Word is the Scion is the biological son of their female Pontiff, kept well-hidden until now, training with his father across the globe. Use this trip to gather intelligence as well."

Tang Xun'an nodded again. "Understood."

Shortly after his birthday, Tang Xun'an boarded a charter flight to the Euroa Plains, accompanied by his deputy, Bai Ze.

Politics held no appeal for him. In this era, maintaining social stability was a task that devoured intellect and energy. His sole utility in diplomacy stemmed from his global renown—a recognizable face to sign treaties on the enclave's behalf.

He only needed to remain the sharpest blade in the armory.

The flight lasted twelve hours.

Tang Xun'an opened his laptop and began meticulously reviewing the newly filed dossiers of Awakened individuals.

These records documented every new Awakening within the enclave.

Every year, without fail, he examined them all.

Headquarters likely thought he was searching for a successor.

Only Tang Xun'an knew who he was truly looking for.

Once again, this year yielded nothing. But he was ninety-five now.

Sixty-six years had passed since he last saw Lu Yan.

*

The signing ceremony was held in the city's central opera house.

In the apocalypse, all things were simplified.

Since the abnormal surge in pollution twenty years prior, humanity's territory had shrunk. Entertainment had become a distant memory. The opulent opera house had been repurposed into an administrative hall.

Perhaps to show respect for their guests, an orchestra played on the stage.

Tang Xun'an took his seat with the delegation. For some reason, a restless, simmering agitation plagued him today.

To quell it, he forced himself to scrutinize the treaty, line by line.

All terms had been pre-negotiated and were legally binding, but everyone understood this was merely a temporary gesture of goodwill. Should any side show weakness, the others would be more than happy to take a bite.

After the disaster, alongside the plummeting population and territory, the entire framework of civilization teetered on the brink of collapse.

Tang Xun'an had arrived at his destination at 6 PM. The signing was scheduled for 8 PM.

The Celestial Dawn delegation politely declined the post-ceremony banquet, intending to depart immediately after the signing.

The Crescent Divine Nation devotees exchanged glances before one finally said, "Then please wait a moment. We shall summon the Glorious Lunar Throne for you."

Just as headquarters used the S-Class system to rank Awakened, the Divine Nation had its own hierarchy. The highest rank was called "Throne," representing a spiritual power threshold exceeding 8,000.

"Glorious Lunar Throne" was the devotees' honorific for the Holy Scion.

A twenty-year-old Throne. Anyone would call such a prodigy awe-inspiring.

About ten minutes later, the opera house doors swung open. The first to enter were several birds carrying small baskets of flowers in their beaks.

The entire hall seemed to brighten. Petals of every color drifted down from the baskets. Even the orchestra on stage shifted to a more solemn, majestic melody.

Bai Ze muttered under his breath, "What a production. Is this a feudal revival?"

The Holy Scion's procession was indeed grand. Not only was there a floral path, but four devotees also carried enormous white-and-gold parasols, clearing a way for the Throne.

Yet, more striking than the lavish decorations was the Scion's face.

It was beautiful. Paired with his Baroque-style ceremonial robes, the whole person radiated an aura of immense, untouchable worth.

Bai Ze waited for Tang Xun'an to join in the muttered critique, but none came. He glanced over.

Tang Xun'an's gaze was fixed on the other's face like iron to a magnet.

An expression of startling, undisguised wonder lit his features.

Bai Ze was baffled. "Why are you staring at their Scion like that?"

Tang Xun'an tried to look away but failed. "Is he not… pleasant to look at?"

"He is," Bai Ze admitted grudgingly, even across faction lines. "But I can't describe your expression. It's like a Xiongnu chieftain seeing a beautiful princess sent from the Tang Dynasty for a political marriage… expecting to just make do, then realizing he'd hit the jackpot. You know what I mean?"

Tang Xun'an did not know.

-

The Glorious Lunar Throne's name was Lu Yan.

Tang Xun'an stared at the signature on the treaty for a long time, finding the two ordinary characters inexplicably endearing.

Throughout the entire ceremony, Lu Yan's expression remained detached, his silver eyes like distant moons, filled with aloofness. Even his voice held no discernible emotion.

The incident happened at the very end.

The ground shook violently without warning.

Lights in the hall died instantly, plunging everything into darkness. Panicked shouts erupted.

"Earthquake! Take cover!"

Almost everyone present was Awakened. Though their spiritual power thresholds varied, at least casualties were unlikely.

Amid the tremors, a section of the opera house's ceiling gave way. A slab of marble hurtled down.

Instinct took over. Tang Xun'an unfurled his draconic wings, shielding Lu Yan.

The slab, perhaps reinforced with special materials, was crushingly heavy.

A pained grunt escaped Tang Xun'an's nostrils.

Lu Yan looked up, surprise flickering in his eyes.

Though young, he had never been associated with weakness. He hadn't expected a stranger to protect him.

He knew who this man was. Tang Xun'an. Codename: Tyrant. Currently humanity's strongest Awakened.

Lu Yan knew more than that, though Lu Cheng and Jiang Yue hadn't told him.

This signing ceremony was a trap for Tang Xun'an.

They wanted him dead here.

Not just because he belonged to another faction. But because Lu Cheng had experienced a prophetic dream.

Lu Cheng said he dreamed Tang Xun'an killed Lu Yan.

"He is the greatest obstacle on your path to godhood!"

When speaking of this man, Lu Cheng's enormous eyes burned with barely concealed fury.

Giant fissures split the ground. Pollutants swarmed from the depths—creatures with insectoid bodies and ferocious, gaping maws capable of shredding flesh.

Several devotees near the cracks were silently devoured. Within a few breaths, not even bones remained.

Tang Xian’an held Lu Yan as they rose into the air, his brow deeply furrowed.

Lu Yan’s innate talent was Omniscience.

It meant his mind was often flooded with fragmented descriptions.

Like now.

Listening to the steady beat of Tang Xian’an’s heart, Lu Yan realized something: Tang Xian’an loved him.

Not liked. Loved him.

It was puzzling.

From a very young age, Lu Cheng and Jiang Yue had told him his purpose was to ascend to godhood. He was to be the only god in this world.

He was the Holy Scion of the church, the future heir to the Divine Nation, and the very deity his followers worshipped.

Lu Yan observed the mortal world, but never became part of it.

Under his father’s guidance, he consumed Wang Yu and pollutants.

He was young, yet more powerful than anyone could imagine.

Short of a high-level pollutant, existing means could hardly kill Tang Xian’an in a physical sense.

But Tang Xian’an was not invincible. His mental state was far more fragile than most realized.

For this reason, Lu Cheng had made a special trip to Changjia and struck a deal with the Sacred God.

He obtained one of the Sacred God’s little brain-blooms.

If Tang Xian’an died by ‘accident,’ suspicion would naturally fall heaviest on the Crescent Divine Nation. But if the Scion was also present, the blame could easily be shifted to pollutants and misfortune.

The only variable in this plan was Lu Yan himself. They had raised him, yet he had not grown into the obedient instrument they desired.

He was powerful, but he did not obey. Not even Lu Cheng and Jiang Yue could dictate Lu Yan’s will.

Lu Cheng was gambling. Betting that Lu Yan would remain forever detached, a bystander.

Now, held in Tang Xian’an’s arms, Lu Yan rested a hand on his shoulder. His fingers curled slightly, then flicked.

The motion was minuscule.

So small that amid the chaos, no one noticed him flick away a tiny, falling brain-bloom.

It landed with a soft plop on the ground, where it was promptly devoured by the scuttling pollutants below.

……

……

The quake lasted two minutes.

Since the pollution spread, the frequency of natural disasters had risen sharply.

Volcanic eruptions, blizzards, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods… the world had grown as fragile as a glass sphere riddled with cracks.

This quake, though sudden, was a genuine natural disaster.

Tang Xian’an cleansed the remaining pollutants with a burst of draconic breath, then carefully set Lu Yan down on solid ground.

The opera house was now a field of rubble.

The other man’s silver eyes watched him, offering no words.

A strange tension coiled in Tang Xian’an’s chest, though his expression gave nothing away.

“Can I have a way to contact you?” he asked.

Around them, Deep Sea Society acolytes glared at the outsider, moving to block his path. “Stay away from our Scion!”

Only Lu Yan seemed to consider the question. After a moment, he answered softly, “Alright.”