What the hell is the "kill line" when you're in America?

As the first rays of sunlight struggled to pierce the smog over the city, a storm far more violent than the weather had already swept through every corner of the city.

"Shocking! Congressman Hall arrested late at night, possibly in connection with dozens of missing persons cases!"

Exclusive Scoop: The Dark Side of the Sacred Heart Charity – Project Nightingale Reveals Shocking Secrets!

"Hero or madman? Detective Gordon single-handedly challenges a powerful conglomerate!"

Whether it's the glaring headlines at street newsstands or the breaking news scrolling across every household's television screen, everything is relentlessly proclaiming to the citizens that their city has been ripped open overnight with a deep, bone-revealing wound.

The putrid pus and blood flowed freely from the wound.

Li Ang sat in his apartment on 13th Street, slowly frying an egg.

The sizzling oil in the pan and the deafening noise outside the window seemed to be separated by an invisible wall.

On the cheap tablet in front of him, a dozen different live news broadcasts were displayed in split-screen mode.

At the police station entrance, reporters swarmed around everyone trying to enter or leave, like sharks smelling blood.

In some areas, protesters had gathered in front of the city council building, holding up strongly worded signs.

Many more cameras focused on the Sacred Heart Charity Asylum, once considered the conscience of the city.

The door that once symbolized "compassion" and "hope" was now tightly shut. Several police cars were parked at the entrance, and a long cordon was set up to keep out the angry, confused, or simply onlookers.

Li Ang's gaze swept across the faces of the excited anchors, the angry citizens, and the overwhelmed government spokespersons.

In his spiritual vision, a vast network of emotions—fear, anger, suspicion, and fanaticism—was interwoven above the city.

At the heart of this network, the light emanating from several key nodes is undergoing dramatic changes.

Name: Jim Gordon

[Occupation: Detective in the Major Crimes Unit of the Municipal Police Department (currently suspended)]

[The Cutoff Line: Medium (Protected by the Rules, Values ​​Being Reshaped)]

[Status: A pawn of justice, the eye of the storm]

Name: Miller

[Occupation: Precinct Chief, City Police Department]

[Cutoff threshold: Low (Value collapsing)]

[Status: The lamb about to be sacrificed, the immense pressure is driving him to the brink of collapse]

Name: Brown Smith

[Occupation: Head of Sacred Heart Charity Association]

[The kill threshold: Endangered (socially dead, value wiped out)]

[Status: A desperate, trapped beast, frantically tearing everything in its path]

interesting.

Li Ang used his fork to transfer the perfectly fried sunny-side-up egg onto the plate, a playful smile curving his lips.

He was like a master chess player who placed a piece on the board and then leisurely enjoyed the magnificent chain reaction it triggered.

Gordon was a more useful piece than he had imagined.

He not only put Congressman Hall in the interrogation room, but also ignited the whole incident in a nearly self-destructive way, pushing it to an irreversible state.

He leaked the recording and statement to the FBI, the state attorney general, and the media.

This move completely eliminated any possibility of suppressing the matter.

He drove himself and everyone else to a dead end.

"When a cornered beast fights, it often unleashes its most astonishing power," Li Ang murmured to himself.

He turned off the noisy news feed and opened an encrypted email that Victor had just sent him.

The email contained very little; it was about the church's reaction.

Faced with this overwhelming scandal, the Sacred Heart Charity, or rather, the vast religious empire behind it, did not panic or remain silent as expected.

On the contrary, their reaction was astonishingly fast and astonishingly ruthless.

Within just three hours of the news breaking, a carefully worded and heartfelt official statement spread throughout the country through official church channels and all mainstream media outlets that were on good terms with them.

In the statement, the church first expressed its "deepest shock and sorrow" at the crimes revealed by "Project Nightingale".

They then defined Congressman Hall and Father Brown as "fallen people who have been tempted by the devil and turned away from the way of the Lord," calling their actions the most vicious betrayal and defilement of the Church.

They instantly transformed themselves from "perpetrators" into "victims."

At the end of the statement, the church announced that in order to "restore the glory of the Lord and wash away the dust that has been tarnished by the doctrine," they will immediately establish a "senior internal investigation committee" directly under the headquarters to conduct a "thorough, ruthless, and radical internal purge" of the Sacred Heart Charity and all its subordinate institutions.

Furthermore, to demonstrate its impartiality and transparency, the committee will be headed by a legendary figure known within the church for his "holiness" and "iron fist."

Li Ang's gaze fell on the photo attached to the end of the email.

The background of the photo appears to be under the dome of an ancient church.

A handsome, refined middle-aged man in a white bishop's robe is smiling at the camera.

His eyes were gentle and warm, as if they contained a compassionate power capable of soothing all pain.

Sunlight streamed through the huge stained-glass window behind him, casting a holy golden halo over him.

Name: Vincent Angus

【Profession:???】

[Kill threshold: Extremely high (???)]

[Status: The Lord's Blade, the Embodiment of Order]

Li Ang looked at the words "Extremely High" that shone with dazzling golden light, and the string of question marks that followed, representing the unknown and unpredictable. For the first time, his brows furrowed slightly.

This bishop named Vincent gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.

Unlike Hall's superficial "high" which is built on power and status.

It is also different from Charlie's "high" that is honed through bloodshed and ruthlessness.

Vincent's "high" is a purer, more stable kind of "high," as if it were integrated with the basic rules of this world.

He was like a piece of refined steel, forged through countless trials, indestructible and without any flaws.

"An interesting guy."

Li Ang turned off the tablet and put the last bite of egg into his mouth.

He knew that the church had sent such a person not to find out the truth.

He came to put out the fire.

It is a more professional approach to cover up old crimes and establish a new "order".

This "feast of demonic arts" is far from over.

The real main course is only just being served.

Just then, his phone rang.

It's Victor.

"Boss," the voice on the other end of the phone trembled slightly, "something's happened."

"They brought in a bunch of lunatics from who-knows-where. These people don't care about money or their lives; they're like hyenas, and they've started attacking our territory and our people!"

"Derrick's holding out is about to collapse!"

Li Ang walked to the window and looked down at the street below, where ambulances were rushing by.

He could feel that the already taut strings of the city were tightened even more at this moment.

"Don't panic."

His voice remained calm and undisturbed.

"Tell Derek to tighten the defensive line and abandon the unimportant areas."