He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Chapter 104 "The Gospels"

If Ankasha were to rank the things she dislikes in her mind, troublesome children would most likely not even make the top 100.

But annoying clients are definitely among the top of the list.

"director--?"

Having completed the necessary pretense of compliance for the leadership inspection, Ankasha, now back in his white coat, stood quietly before the gray curtain, awaiting the arrival of the "messenger." Suddenly, Jiaen tilted his head and whispered in his ear, "You look strange—"

"Is there?"

Ankasha was taken aback, then hurriedly checked his appearance—for a proud halfling technician, this was the most important detail in his daily life.

But soon, the supervisor realized that what Jia En meant by strange was probably his current state: "intense fear, deep confusion, and like an addict—a fervent hope for some future."

Ankasha stared intently at her palm—was this really me?

Bullshit hope.

He took a deep breath, trying to regain his usual composure: "I lost my composure."

"no----"

The dog-like girl stammered, then shook her head vigorously, "I've never seen my supervisor like this before. You usually rarely show any expression, and although your coldness is reassuring, today—"

She organized her thoughts and said uneasily, "It's inexplicable, and it's frightening."

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Ankasha glanced at Jiaen, who was standing next to her with a blank expression, and gave a wry smile. "How long have you been with me? —"

—At most, it will only take half a month.

However, seeing Jia En's worried expression, before speaking, the clumsy manager patted the girl's head first, steer the conversation to another topic: "Don't overthink it, this is a problem for adults to consider."

He chuckled dryly: "Once you start working—you'll often encounter a lot of unreasonable people, some of whom wield power we can't resist—and as employees, sometimes we have no choice but to comply, unable to change anything."

Ankasha has seen far too many clients, especially in remote suburbs—where the proportion of idiots is higher than that of normal people—those utterly stupid factions, from lackeys to leaders, all have brains that seem to have been over-injected with prosthetic enhancers and nanoparticles—always adding their immature "suggestions" at crucial moments in matters.

For example—a headhunter from the Stranglers once secretly kidnapped Ankasha from his former employer to his own hideout in the middle of the night and made a mandatory business demand of him to refer to the technical means of prosthetic engineers to lift the "restriction order" on his prosthetic agreement, thereby removing the upper limit of the tolerance of flesh and nerves to the implant.

Ankasha did exactly as he was told, and then, with the restrictions lifted, the prosthetic module—its maximum output soared to twelve times its normal load—and in just ten seconds, burned the ambitious young man's brain to a crisp.

"so----"

He concluded, "If I could, I wouldn't want to associate with anyone who is hailed as having ruling authority, especially someone like this—favored by mystery."

—Ankasha knew that power and authority were the greatest measures of alienating humanity—when a person possesses overwhelming power and personal strength, he will inevitably be difficult to communicate with, or even unable to communicate at all.

In remote suburbs and similar areas, this situation is even more pronounced.

The uneasy manager sighed, "So, I don't know how to deal with such a messenger—whose status is comparable to that of a god."

"But----"

Jia En suddenly interrupted Ankasha, then shook his head vigorously: "The envoy is not that kind of person."

"The envoy—" He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and asked incredulously, "You've seen that envoy?!"

—When did this happen?

Ankasha suddenly grabbed Jiaen's shoulders, her gaze sharp: "For our safety from now on, quickly tell me everything about that messenger, everything you know—"

"

Ankasha's voice gradually faded until it stopped completely.

Tell me everything.

His heartbeat froze, and the next moment, he jerked his head up with a sudden pang of fear—

66

""

The light, like a sharp blade, seemed to tear his skin invisibly, but when he tried to touch the wound, he found it completely unharmed. He tried to plug his ears, but there was a constant flow of light, like the crunching sound of cellophane being crushed.

Ankasha narrowed his eyes and silently surveyed everything around him—although he was not qualified to awaken, his adaptability to the radiance provided this halfling with a kind of "inspiration" that allowed him to see things that mortals could not see.

This inspiration—at this moment—might be a disaster.

In moments unnoticed, something seems to be approaching from beyond the undetectable horizon.

—Someone is coming this way.

The fog that once covered everything and was omnipresent began to shrink and retreat. That eternal gray presented an unprecedentedly crowded posture, as if making way for a massive passage for a certain outline enveloped in brilliant light.

A chilling light surged forth from before him, piercing his pupils and leaving a mark—and with a chill rising from the depths of his mind, Ankasha felt as if he were in a bottomless ice cave.

Sluggish thinking is starting to sound the alarm —

—Not good.

Early morning, just as dawn is breaking.

The mornings in the suburbs are the coldest time of day because air purifiers operate at reduced efficiency in energy-saving mode at night, only starting to run at full speed during the day.

Severely aged condenser components are the culprit behind the constant low temperatures, but people in the suburbs obviously don't have the ability to repair them, so they have no choice but to endure the cold.

Just like Ankasha, who is currently suppressing her restlessness.

"Messenger of Light—"

His mouth was so dry he could barely speak—despite overestimating the existence as much as possible, his imagination still seemed barren at this moment.

In the center of the light, something dazzling and indescribable.

The gray mist solidified at that moment, spreading out horizontally in front of him like loyal guards protecting a passage on both sides. It was a group of envoys walking slowly towards him, and three figures of different heights appeared in his field of vision.

—Three people—

Ankasha barely managed to stand still, straining to open her eyes wide.

He recognized the young man walking at the front—Ronan, a full-fledged member of the Gray Court at the same level as him. Ronan had been parachuted in ten days ago and appointed as the temporary head of the "Security Department," and was also Ankasha's colleague with whom she interacted most frequently.

Even by Ankasha's harsh standards, he's someone you could call "not bad."

Most of the "samples" currently being held in the sealed-off area were delivered by him and his female assistant with antlers. A step away, walking on the edge, was also a young man with black hair and black eyes, an ordinary appearance, and no specific sexual characteristics visible on his face. The only noteworthy feature was that he always squinted, giving people a dangerous feeling that kept strangers at bay.

This person—Ankasha had also met him—was the head of the Gray Court's violent organization, "Silent Sanctuary," and was said to be a founding member of the organization.

His name—it seems to be Connor.

The process of elimination is over, leaving only the one who walked last.

Ankasha swallowed hard—a rare occurrence for him—after all, the legendary "Bathed One of Light," the "Uncrowned King of the Suburbs," was right in front of him.

In less than a month, he completely brought the chaotic territory under his authority, and now his will is an extension of the rules of the suburbs.

A terrifying presence. Even by Ankasha's standards, even when comparing him to the so-called "board members" he knew—those from giant corporations—no one would be more frightening than this "messenger."

Not far away, Ronan, who was walking at the front of the procession, had already seen Ankasha and her companion coming to greet them. Out of courtesy between colleagues, he waved ahead and then consciously stepped aside to make way for the envoys walking behind him.

-error?

When a small, cute fox with flaming ears, wearing fluffy animal slippers, walked up to them with sleepy eyes, Ankasha blinked hard.

—Not a buddy?

Ankasha's first reaction was stunned, followed by confusion. She swore this was the first time she had ever seen this "Lord of the Suburbs" — but something seemed off about the way things were going.

What was with that scene just now where a big boss was spawning?!

"This is—our boss?"

Ankasha's lips twitched, but she couldn't resist the urge to complain. She gently nudged Jiaen next to her, and the little girl nodded vigorously. When the supervisor looked over, he saw an almost fanatical adoration in her eyes.

—What's going on here?

Not knowing how to react, he could only silently bow and wait—until a smell of scrambled eggs mixed with the aroma of sun-dried meat came close, and Ankasha cautiously raised his head.

"Hello there."

The harmless fox waved to him without any airs, a bright light flashing in its eyes. "Let me see—Ankasha, right? Hmm—the file is quite long: Radiant Affinity, Potential Qualifier, Senior Technician, Priority Employee, Current Temporary Supervisor of the Control Department—"

"Wow, such a highly skilled person!"

Ai's eyes lit up.

—That means they're definitely one of our own.

After reviewing the data, the fox discovered that this unassuming halfling not only possessed an exceptionally pure soul but was also one of the few highly educated individuals in the suburbs and one of its few capable lieutenants. The fox quickly became beaming: "Not bad, not bad, very spirited—"

Ai patted Ankasha on the shoulder happily. The fox himself was quite satisfied with this height. In the past, when he was in his true form, he was always the one looking up to others. Now it was finally the other way around.

"————"

However, he quickly noticed the dark circles under Ankasha's eyes and frowned: "What's going on—why do you look like you haven't slept at all this early in the morning? Doesn't the company allow you to rest?"

After saying that, Ai pulled Ronan aside with a serious expression and whispered something to him. The former asked about the daily management rules of Gray Garden, while the latter was seriously explaining things like "the organization never forces working hours, and everyone works overtime voluntarily."

This left Ankasha standing there, witnessing this stark contrast firsthand. Normally, even a manager who isn't good at smiling would find it difficult to keep a straight face.

But he still looks shaken.

His dark pupils were stung by the pure white light—an extremely high affinity for the glow gave him keen "inspiration." After being stared at for only a few seconds, Ankasha's mind began to race.

That pale blue hue was like a cold brand—though it was just a glimmer of light that the "messenger" inadvertently let through, it was etched into the back of his pupils like a branding iron.

It was icy cold, chilling me to the bone.

—I'm numb.

For the first time in his life, Ankasha truly agreed with the saying "don't judge a book by its cover." In a surge of inspiration, this seemingly harmless messenger truly shone like the sun.

So much so that even a moment of direct eye contact or an unintentional glance can sting your eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

After finishing their Q&A session, Ai and Ronan finally turned their attention back on track. Now, the fox's gaze towards Ankasha had changed from initial admiration to one full of satisfaction.

Sure enough, no boss would dislike an employee who voluntarily works overtime.

—Perhaps a small reward could be appropriate.

After a moment of contemplation, seeing that Ankasha was still trembling uncontrollably, it was clear that she had forced herself to go through an inspiration check, saw something she shouldn't have seen, and received the influence of the overflowing radiance.

—Even so, he is still trying to face himself.

Ai admires Ankasha's "smartness," and even Grey says he likes such a clever person.

In the end, what made Ai Yi decide to give her some benefits was the Inchu girl standing quietly at the edge of her field of vision.

The fox immediately recognized that this was a member of the "Children of Darkness," probably someone Lin had sent to monitor Ankasha.

At this moment, she seemed to sense that the atmosphere was somewhat subtle—although Ai had a smiling face, Jia En could clearly see the unease and fear deep in Ankasha's heart.

So the little girl stood behind him, carefully tugging at Ankasha's hem, and cautiously casting a few uneasy glances at Ai, her eyes filled with worry.

"Um----"

Ai smiled, signaling her not to be nervous.

—For a child of darkness to act so intimately in front of him—this new manager must be quite a nice fellow indeed.

So he slowly began, "How long have you been working for me?"

"————"

Ankasha opened his mouth, but didn't answer immediately. Could he say he didn't remember the exact time?!

"About—less than a month?"

He replied in a deep voice, then fell silent again, just as expected. He was indeed not good at dealing with "big shots" in the midst of trivial matters.

Although this big guy looks about half a person's height.

Below, Jia En pulled even harder on her sleeve.

"It's a very short time."

Ignoring Ankasha's answer, Ai asked a standard question, "After spending time together, what are your thoughts on the organization?"

'

Ankasha remained silent for the first time. He wasn't good at polite words and wasn't very good at lying, so he could only squeeze out a dry sentence, "It's much better than where I was before."

Jia En started pinching the soft flesh on his waist. The middle-aged man gritted his teeth in pain, but dared not actually show his expression.

"That's alright then."

Ai Yi showed no dissatisfaction, and said with a smile, "That's my favorite compliment too."

—Not bad.

Ankasha remained noncommittal, so the fox continued, "Then, have you thought about the organization's future?"

This was another difficult question to answer. The supervisor remained silent for a long time before finally managing an awkward smile: "Not yet."

"You don't need to think about this issue right now."

Ai gave him an affirmative answer, "Currently, only a limited number of people need to consider this issue, and among them—I'm probably the one with the least free time, because I'm only responsible for confirming the general direction. Those who formulate the specific details are much busier than me—"

Ankasha listened quietly to the messenger's complaints.

"So, there are still far too few people who can manage and get things done!"

Ai sighed softly, then changed the subject.

"I have no shortage of loyal dogs—in the suburbs, I can have as many as I want. What I need are companions, people who can accompany me to the beginning of the light. Everyone can go along the path I have trod. I will go first and leave a trail of light to drive away the darkness—you must follow closely. That is the only condition."

The messenger of light spoke softly in a gentle tone, his harmless appearance comforting, and at that moment, like a flickering candlelight, he engulfed Ankasha's entire being.

"But you cannot cower in places ruled by darkness, you cannot walk in the path of light and still tremble with fear—I despise those pathetic creatures frozen in the shadows, who don't even have the right to save themselves—"

He snorted coldly.

"Even if I stuffed a panacea into their mouths, they would still be consumed by suspicion, laziness, infighting, ignorance, dullness, and greed—"

For various reasons, they gave up on salvation.

The messenger's tone was one of deep sorrow and genuine grief, yet it instantly transformed into utter indifference.

"Since they've accepted living on their knees and aren't prepared to make any changes, I won't have any further expectations of them."

He looked at Ankasha, his gaze cold and sharp.

"The minimum requirement is that those who follow me must at least understand the ideal of light or be willing to comprehend it."

"And now, as you see."

Ai sighed deeply. These words were not only spoken to Ankasha, but also made clear to Ronan and Connor on the other side.

"I am looking for such a companion."

He stepped in front of Ankasha, looked directly into his eyes, and after a moment's thought, chose to imprint a touch of pure white and a touch of rose red onto his eyes at the same time.

"I bestow upon you the true knowledge, power, and authority that belong to the light. You are elevated, without the need for bloodshed to buy mercy. The mercy of a god exists only in the shadows, while my mercy shines like light—"

The secret consciousness flows out to the other side through the pupils.

Ai said solemnly, "According to the words of the Father of Light, I promise you two paths you may tread, pure white and crimson. You may walk on both at the same time, and all will be as you wish."

At the same time he made the announcement.

Enveloped in radiance, the original text emerged from nothingness, but it was a volume titled on an appendix, entirely different from the pages recording "deeds": "Pure White Sub-volume: Gospels".

The pristine white paper slowly unfolded, and the peony ink began to write.

++First promotion:

++Specified Individual: [Lineage - Radiance] Ankasha "Evangelism: Crimson Alchemy, Pure White Tantra (Trial Version)"

"Buzz—"

His head was already intoxicated, his eyes were already clear, and it seemed as if something pure white was blowing a horn in his ear. Ankasha's vision was completely filled with two colors. The originally silent vessel was broken from its seal and entered the mysterious realm for the first time. The red liquid seemed to be given life and began to flow.

In his eyes, pure white was cold and crimson was brilliant, slowly intertwining to form a dazzling background.

Ai Yi, on the other hand, quietly observed the situation from the sidelines.

—For Ronan and Connor, who have already awakened their qualifications, their inclinations are already formed, and Ai is too lazy to interfere much, at most giving them some corrections later.

As for Ankasha, a potential star, Ai was drawn to his affinity for Radiance, his exceptional vision, and his profound understanding that transcended the level of those in the suburbs.

So the fox decided to personally bestow upon him the infinite possibilities of mystery.

"The Jade Road" and "The Reserved Spectral System Pathway"

—My first—true disciple.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Ankasha slowly opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the fox's wicked grin.

Before him, the cold, dazzling light finally dissipated, and a hazy gray once again dominated his vision—he looked around blankly, just like every newcomer who caught a glimpse of the Red Pool, his passion waning, yet his spirit soaring high.

"I—" He looked at his palm. The boundary between spirit and flesh became a question in the eyes of the qualified one. So Ai clapped his hands lightly, which slightly eased Ankasha's confusion.

"Congratulations."

He patted the halfling on the shoulder and chuckled, "Work hard from now on."

Ignoring Ankasha's next reaction, Ai turned her head, kicked her oversized slippers, and strolled toward the cordoned-off area as if taking a walk.

"Let's start with reporting on our work."