Ninth class citizen

Chapter 316 Testing each other
“No.” Lin Dali shook his head with a cold smile: “Sang Ye committed premeditated murder and will be executed soon. If you need, we can find you more suitable apprentices.”

Nan Rong raised her eyes: "It's just children playing around. Isn't the death penalty too harsh? Besides, a fourth-tier growth-type superhuman should be considered a rare talent, right?"

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Lin Dali's eyes: "Master Nan probably doesn't know that the city-state has always severely punished those who use their abilities to bully ordinary people. The purpose is to prevent the two from becoming adversaries."

"Moreover, he is not a rare talent like Master Nan. Even if he really made a terrible mistake, he could still save his life with his abilities."

"Should I thank you for your leniency?" Nan Rong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Let me think about how to repay you—a Tier 1 B-grade gene optimizer? At least enough to awaken your son's extraordinary abilities at Tier 3 or above."

Lin Dali laughed.

“At least three.” He shook his head and said, “There are also second- and third-order gene optimizers that you will need to continue to provide—I will take them in advance and they don’t need to be recorded in the production register.”

“This is normal.” He glanced at the silent Nan Rong. “You’ll get used to it. In return, I can order you a supply of Stone Skin Beast Milk on a long-term basis. Prison conditions are very harsh, believe me, you’ll be extremely grateful for today’s deal.”

Nan Rong pursed her lips, not dwelling on the matter, but instead brought up Sang Ye again: "When will he be executed?"

"After the founding day celebration, which is tomorrow morning, you will be sent to the city-state prison at the same time. Oh, right, I haven't answered the question from earlier—what about those potions that were displayed in the shop earlier? They were too eye-catching; they were already pre-selected by the city management bureau."

Nan Rong sighed softly.

“But I already regret it,” she said. “I’m going out to see the National Day celebrations tonight, and I don’t want to waste the potion on you.”

Lin Dali raised an eyebrow in surprise: "I thought Master Nan was a rare intelligent person."

He couldn't continue. Because the girl in front of him had already stood up.

Those high-strength restraints, strong enough to trap a fifth-level martial artist, broke apart inch by inch, and the energy-blocking rings binding their wrists disappeared without a trace.

Lin Dali drew his instant-fire energy gun from his waist, pointed it directly at Nan Rong, and cold sweat dripped from his nose: "Stop! Don't do anything stupid! I've already warned you—you can't escape!"

His clear, dark eyes gradually magnified before him, swirling like nebulae, captivating and mesmerizing.

At the same time, Vilan frowned slightly, then his face turned cold.

Austin, the man in black robes who followed closely behind him, immediately noticed this change.

"Sir, has something unexpected happened?"

“A bunch of self-righteous idiots.” Vilan waved his hand in disgust.

The next second, Lin Dali, who was sitting blankly in the interrogation room, and the people involved in fabricating that judgment, all began to age visibly.

In just a few minutes, their hair turned gray and thin, their skin became dry and wrinkled, their teeth fell out, and their eyes lost their life-giving luster.

However, this is not the end of the story.

All the flesh continued to dry up and decay, and the bones gradually weathered into fine grayish-white dust.

“My lord,” Florent knelt and reported, “all witnesses have been put on a gag order. But given what has happened, should our previous plans be readjusted?”

“No need.” Vilan shook his head, a cold smile playing on his lips. “This is probably fate.”

On the night of the celebration, the City of Hope was ablaze with lights. The entire city participated, and the streets were teeming with people.

Millions waved banners of freedom emblazoned with scales, their songs and cheers rising and falling. Nan Rong followed the flow of people and soon arrived at a street corner.

The parade convoy appeared directly in front, immediately eliciting cheers and thunderous applause.

As if sensing something, Nan Rong turned her head and gazed at the tallest and most luxurious float, which was surrounded in the very center.

A man dressed in white and wearing a silver mask stood proudly in the center of the high platform at the top, looking down at the believers below like a god, his gray-blue eyes shimmering with a mercury-like indifference.

Countless stars lit up one after another in the artificial sky above his head, and the edges of his mask were streaked with the light of celebratory fireworks, making the lines of his jawline appear even sharper.

The inhabitants of the city-state were overwhelmed by this divine radiance, and they knelt down in waves, calling out "Great Prophet" in fervor.

In the blink of an eye, only Nan Rong remained on both sides of the street, still standing as straight as a pine tree.

The people kneeling beside her could hardly believe it; how could anyone be so disrespectful to the Prophet?
"Kneel down now! Disrespecting the Prophet is a capital offense!" they whispered, repeatedly reaching out to tug at her trouser leg, but the arrogant woman did not react at all.

The float stopped directly in front of her. The man in white waved gently, and Nan Rong disappeared from her spot, appearing beside him and standing shoulder to shoulder.

Even kneeling on the ground, the fanatical worshippers did not take their eyes off the prophet, and upon witnessing this unbelievable scene, they let out a chorus of low gasps of astonishment.

The sound quickly attracted more attention, and then spread further and further into the distance.

The white-clad man's taut jaw softened slightly at first.

He reached out to shake Nan Rong's hand in front of all the city-state residents, but she slightly turned away to avoid it.

"Should I call you Vilan Austin, or Prophet?" Nan Rong asked softly.

“In your presence, I will always just be Vilan.” He sighed and asked, “When did you discover my true identity?”

"Is this important?" Nan Rong blinked.

“Yes, for me.” Vilan lowered his head, staring intently at her.

“From the very first time I met you,” Nan Rong said casually.

Vilan's composure vanished considerably.

"Can you give me a reason?" he asked.

Nan Rong smiled but did not answer: "Then can you tell me what 'variable' means?"

Vilan sighed again: "Just the literal meaning."

He stared intently at Nan Rong: "My true extraordinary abilities encompass the entire mystical realm, including space, time, and prophecy."

Looking at Nan Rong's unmoved face, he sighed again: "So you already knew."

"I learned from the prophetic images that you are the biggest variable affecting the development of the cause of equality."

“I’m sorry, Rong.” His voice was extremely gentle: “I was too arrogant back then. I didn’t understand you at all. I only thought about using the simplest and most direct way to remove obstacles—which put you in danger.”