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Chapter 246 You're Free
Chen Xuan and Lin Qing stared at each other for a long time, but they still couldn't come up with a reasonable answer.

After the mother Lucy disappeared, not only did new angels cease to appear, but so did the demons. Logically, these artifacts should have fallen into the hands of the demonic descendants. Considering that these descendants are also human, why did they turn to the angelic alliance after witnessing the apocalyptic scene and help build underground shelters?

Not impossible.

He shrugged helplessly and said, "It seems there are still many unknown secrets hidden here."

“I have an even more terrifying guess,” Lin Qing said slowly.

"What guess?"

"What if demons haven't actually disappeared?" She stared at Chen Xuan, her eyes flashing with the green light of rapidly changing data. "Ultimately, all information about the future comes from the 'Angel Alliance' without angels. But if even angels no longer exist, who can sense the presence of demons?"

Chen Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

According to historical accounts, since no new angels or demons were born, humanity entered a peaceful society devoid of supernatural beings after the death of the old special ability users (non-angelic/demon ability users still existed, but their numbers and influence were negligible). If it weren't for the devastating crystals falling from the sky, this stable state would likely have lasted for a very, very long time.

It seems fair, but one question remains unanswered: Why would the devil do something so thankless?
If Lin Qing's speculation continues, the situation becomes quite frightening. New angels have indeed disappeared, but new demons are still being born... Once the last angel passes away, no one will be able to subdue the demons.

In a peaceful and prosperous world, it is not easy to overthrow a mature political system. But at this critical juncture, the enemy on the moon brought about a complete and utter chaos. Countless cities were destroyed, and the regime underwent a major reshuffle.

In the midst of apocalyptic chaos and widespread fear, it is a natural fit for demons, who are adept at manipulating people's minds, to exert their influence.

If they were placed in leadership positions...

Chen Xuan couldn't help but twitch his lips. "You mean, the migration of humans underground was actually the result of demons? Even the establishment of New Paris was thanks to demons?"

To put it even more dramatically... wouldn't it mean that even the later Angel Alliance was actually under the command of the demons?
"This is just speculation, after all, I have no evidence." Lin Qing paused, "but there are still some points that are worth questioning."

Chen Xuan immediately understood what she meant, "You mean the attack on the Louvre?"

“There have been protesters who didn’t want to hide underground for a long time, and street demonstrations have been going on for more than a year or two. How did it happen to turn into an armed riot just a few days after we arrived in New Paris?” Lin Qing said in a deep voice. “If the devil is still secretly controlling everything, then it’s easy to explain—they’re not attacking the government in power at all, but targeting Elori! Because she is a true angel who has reappeared after decades, and her threat is self-evident!”

"If that's the case... then they're in big trouble." Chen Xuan sighed.

This is equivalent to the demon keeping all the survivors in captivity.

The Ring of the Mind can only protect people from the corruption of demonic powers.

But once they become the actual rulers, why would they need to rely on their abilities to plunder souls? A simple decree can cause the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people.

“Fortunately, we now have a way to verify it.” Lin Qing shook the circuit board in her hand. “After we bring Elori over tomorrow, we only need to take a look at New Paris City to know whether this hypothesis is valid or not.”

……

The next day at noon, the two finally met Elori and Liuli at the Angel's Hut.

"The loan has been paid off." The little angel reported to Chen Xuan as soon as they met.

"what?"

"The Angel Alliance paid off my travel expenses by mortgaging my house to the bank. I received a text message after I got off the plane saying that if I need money in the future, I can just contact them," Elori said angrily.

"Isn't this a good thing?" Chen Xuan laughed. "They're also afraid that you won't be able to repay the loan and the bank will take the house away, which would make it harder to locate you."

“But I don’t want to owe them anything!” she said, sounding somewhat indignant. “I’d rather work to pay it off than have the league pay it.”

She truly lives up to her reputation as a little angel; she's very principled.

Chen Xuan patted her head. "You're mistaken. It's not that you owe them, but that they owe you a huge sum. If you hadn't interfered with the Temple Treasury, the Angel Alliance's losses would have been even greater. What's a mere 100,000 euro loan?" Elori thought about it and realized that what he said actually made a lot of sense. "...That seems to be true."

"So, why bother working anymore? Just ask them for whatever you want. This isn't over until we've squeezed tens of millions out of the alliance..."

“Tens of millions…” Elori’s eyes widened; the mere thought of that number was incredibly shocking to her.

"Let's get down to business." Lin Qing coughed twice, her gaze shifting to Liu Li. "As for this one..."

She is not a customer of the store, nor could she possibly become one.

For this reason, her decision to stay or leave has become a rather thorny issue.

"We'll have to leave Paris for a while. You should be fine living here on your own, right?" Chen Xuan asked. Anyway, she had said she was fine wherever she wanted as long as she wasn't within the Angel Alliance's territory.

"Of course, but it's best not to leave me alone for too long." Liuli nodded and replied calmly, "My stability also needs to be replenished."

How to supplement it?

She used the hilt of her sword to lift her straw hat, revealing her eyes as she smiled sweetly, "Of course, it's about drinking blood."

"Huh?" Chen Xuan was taken aback. "You mean..." He gestured with his hand across his neck.

Liuli said seriously, "That's right. A sword that doesn't drink blood will rust, and fighting is in my nature. If my stability is too low, I might lose control, which is a characteristic of all rare artifacts."

"...N21, you should know that Mr. Chen can never truly accept you, especially after he understands your true nature. Going out will only bring him endless trouble, or even death."

The archangel's words suddenly came to mind.

So that's how it is. Chen Xuan suddenly realized that while the Angel Alliance was maintaining the stability of the mother body Lvxian, it could also meet Liuli's requirements, but it was a huge burden for her personally.

Seeing his silence, Liuli spoke up, "If you find it hard to accept, or are afraid I'll lose control, I can leave on my own..."

“Easy.” Chen Xuan agreed without waiting for her to finish. “It’s just finding a few enemies to fight. There will be plenty of opportunities. Don’t leave, okay? I couldn’t be happier with someone as talented as you.”

Demons, Qi army, flesh and blood monsters, government agents... he has never lacked resources in these areas.

Besides, bloodshed is Liuli's nature, so she certainly wouldn't ask him for a salary. Wouldn't that be like having a free thug?

Liuli paused for a moment, then softly replied, "Mm."

"By the way," Chen Xuan asked again, "Is the N959 like that too? It seems to have been activated yesterday..."

“Of course,” she affirmed. “Although I don’t know what it can do, you’d better make use of it as a wonder object as soon as possible, otherwise it will get out of control.”

"What serious consequences could a circuit board malfunctioning cause?" Lin Qing asked curiously. "It can't possibly stand up and start a fight, can it?"

“It’s best not to gamble,” Liuli warned. “The effects of strange objects on the outside world when they are in an unstable state are unpredictable and irreversible.”

"Okay... I'll go back and ask it how to make use of it."

So that's how it is... Chen Xuan seems to have grasped a bit of the essence of the strange object.

They are like obsessive-compulsive programs; even if no one runs them, they will spontaneously execute code and continuously fulfill their value.

Returning to the main store from Angel's Cottage, Chen Xuan immediately switched the branch address. From there, all they had to do was take the elevator to New Paris a hundred years in the future.

(End of this chapter)