Love, Gun, Cupid

"Watch out, senior!"

Lin Jiade chased after him and saw the suspicious man throw a punch at the door, a gesture that seemed vaguely familiar to him.

Hehuan tumbled out along with the door that had been torn apart from the hinges. Lin Jiade drew out the celestial weapon, drew upon its stored energy, concentrated it in his legs, and unleashed a burst of power, sending him flying like a spring-loaded man.

As he fell, he aimed his weapon at the suspect's back, and the latter turned and delivered a flying kick. Lin Jiade's weapon had an absolute advantage in quality, and he easily tore through the suspect's magical shield and the thin steel plate under the suspect's foot, leaving a wound on the sole of his foot.

Both sides took two steps back, blood gushing from the suspicious man's feet, but he didn't seem to care. This brutal and efficient fighting style, relying on physical strength, reminded Lin Jiade of the Hatter, but right now, the suspicious man's physique and spiritual aura were different from the Hatter's, making it difficult for him to be certain.

Seeing Hehuan pay tribute to Xiren after being kicked in the heart, and vomit blood while leaning against the wall, Lin Jiade was furious. Crimson flames appeared on the blade of his sword, but Weiying's teachings enabled him to maintain precise control and utilization of his energy while he was angry.

He measured the distance, observed his opponent, and confirmed the distance before pouncing on the suspicious man like a lion. Unsure of the flames on his sword, the suspicious man retreated in quick succession, but Lin Jiade gave him no chance to create distance and retreat, relentlessly pursuing him.

A suspicious person broke a window and prepared to jump out. Lin Jiade was forced to fire his gun beforehand. The gunshot prevented the suspicious person from escaping through the window, but it also triggered the alarm.

The suspicious person turned and ran, and Lin Jiade gave chase. But as he ran, the suspicious person suddenly stopped, turned around and swept his leg towards Lin Jiade's lower body. Lin Jiade jumped up and saw the opponent's huge fist.

He barely managed to parry with his sword, and the instant the opponent's weapon struck, a vine spell was cast on his arm, binding his wrist and the suspect's wrist together. Although the fragile vines only lasted a second before being torn apart, it was enough to throw the suspect off balance.

Lin Jiade was knocked away. He plunged his sword into the ceiling, gripped the hilt with both hands, and stood suspended in mid-air. Both his arms were in excruciating pain, especially his right arm, which had taken the full force of the attack from the suspicious person while holding the sword.

He channeled his energy to revitalize his body, overcoming pain and battle damage as he drew his sword and landed. The suspicious man also regained his balance and completed his charge, punching a large hole in the wall, letting in a cacophony of noise and icy wind.

Lin Jiade used up his energy to push himself out. His sword only managed to pierce the phantom of the suspicious person before the other person jumped off the wall and gave Lin Jiade a rather mocking "bye-bye" gesture.

Lin Jiade glanced at his phone; dense blue dots representing friendly forces had already surrounded the area. "Sorry, you can't leave right now."

As if in response to his words, a gust of wind rose behind him, and Kapok flew past him, leaping down and clashing with the suspicious person several times in mid-air before crashing into the 25th-floor swimming pool, creating a huge splash.

"Are you ok?"

Jianlan arrived, her long gray hair still damp with water droplets. Lin Jiade was about to say he was alright when the pain in his right arm contorted his expression. Jianlan was about to check on him when he said through gritted teeth, "Help us catch that suspicious person first, and Senior Hehuan is more seriously injured than me."

"Oh, it looks pretty bad, but that's a defensive spell used by Hehuan. She can transfer the damage inflicted on her by vomiting blood, so she's not in any serious condition," Jianlan said.

Jianlan and Lin Jiade looked down; other gang members had already arrived and blocked any possible escape routes for the enemy. The Baiyun Charity Gang operated in groups of four, so they knew each other very well. The suspicious person struggled in the swimming pool for a while longer, and just as she surrendered, the hotel security arrived.

"You and Hehuan go to your room, look after each other, and check your room for signs that the documents have been rummaged through. I'll stop the security personnel and have Mumian bring the person they caught back," Jianlan said.

Lin Jiade nodded and went over to meet Hehuan. Hehuan looked pitiful, and even though she wasn't seriously injured, he still reached out his arm to her, and she grabbed his arm for support as they staggered back to Lin Jiade's room.

"I didn't touch anything, I didn't touch anything..." Lin Jiade tried to hypnotize himself to forget the soft touch on his elbow. He first had Hehuan sit on the sofa, and he endured the pain to take a set of photos of the scene. At this moment, Dujuan and Weiying returned together, and they had changed into each other's clothes.

Lin Jiade didn't care about their reasons for changing clothes. He took out disposable gloves from his suitcase, put them on, and checked which of his files had been accessed—the answer was all of them. His hard drive files, browser history, and even the game platform had all been accessed.

"This is going too far in terms of stealing people's privacy," he muttered.

As Du Juan treated Lin Jiade and Hehuan's injuries, Mu Mian personally escorted the suspicious individuals. She ordered the door closed, her murderous aura directed at the suspects.

"Why does it seem like Senior Kapok is very angry?" Lin Jiade asked Wei Ying in a low voice.

"We were talking about something important when we were interrupted by an unexpected event."

"what's up?"

"You don't need to know, just sign it when the time comes."

Lin Jiade didn't know what he was supposed to sign, but he had no choice but to comply. Then, Jianlan arrived and retrieved blood from the floor; it was the blood left by Lin Jiade when he wounded the suspicious person during the fight.

"Well done."

Jianlan ruffled Lin Jiade's hair. Lin Jiade felt a little embarrassed. He still hoped that Jianlan could interact with him intimately in public as his girlfriend, rather than as his stepmother.

Chapter Fifty-Five Heavenly Dragon

Gladiolus's blood analysis quickly yielded results. In unorthodox practices, witchcraft has always been more useful than magic, so Gladiolus swiftly identified the suspect as the Hatter.

The Hatter had previously conducted a military reconnaissance of Sanam Dong-do University. She was then eliminated in the second round of the additional competition because Kapok discovered the specific parameters of her abilities. When Lin Jiade fought the suspicious person, he also felt she resembled the Hatter, but her physique and soul aura were different, which prevented him from confirming it.

“Physical form can change, and so can the soul's radiance,” Jianlan explained. “Sometimes, those higher beings can even replace a person's identity from the inside out, making it impossible for even the most advanced magic to distinguish between their true and false identities.”

Jianlan glanced at Dujuan, then turned back and continued, "An intermediate-level magic researcher shouldn't have the ability to forge soul flames; it must be some kind of talisman or equipment she carries with her."

The men in the room voluntarily left, and the hotel security personnel outside tried to negotiate with the gang members, but the two sides argued and neither dared to make any rash moves.

Time was dragging on. The hotel security personnel were all third-party employees with no prior grudge against Mu Mian and were clearly unwilling to offend her. So, after encountering resistance from Mu Mian's side, he called his supervisor to negotiate. Seven minutes later, he hung up the phone and signaled his men to rush into the room.

This security team consists of individuals with the strength of intermediate-level magic researchers and militia-level weaponry. The students from the Baiyun Charity Association are of similar numbers but are slightly at a disadvantage in terms of equipment, and their morale is significantly lower. Clearly, they lack the determination to fight to the death for Kapok... except for Lin Jiade.

He may appear to be the weakest in terms of strength, but his mentality is probably the best. After all, he can brag about his encounter with the top-level sorcerer Sala (although it was just a one-sided beating). The aura of a top-level sorcerer is like a cold wind, and even breathing in front of him is painful. Right now, these intermediate researchers are no match for him.

He gripped the celestial weapon, ready to unleash all its energy once the battle began, engulfing half of this space in an explosion. This powerful strike, reminiscent of that of a high-level magic researcher, would consume the energy he had been continuously channeling into the celestial weapon for half a month.

Does it hurt? Yes, it hurts a lot, but he wasn't storing up energy to become a miser, but to use it meaningfully at a meaningful moment.

Lin Jiade was ultimately too young on this path. He controlled his energy, but not his intense, terrorist-like killing intent, which made the atmosphere between the two sides even more tense.

Just as the two sides were about to come to blows, Jianlan opened the door, showed his identification, and said, "I am from the Fuxing City Special Tactics and Rescue Service."

A mercenary sneered, "Since when has Fuxing City been allowed to interfere in Pelican Town's affairs?"

"Korobochka, that rumor is true," the mercenary captain said. "A top-level sorcerer would actually work in a third-tier city."

“That’s right, love is that magical,” Gladiolus laughed. “Are you going to continue discussing the issue of extraterritorial jurisdiction with me, or are you planning to use violence to achieve your goals?”

Normal people wouldn't challenge the authority of those in high positions, and a novice like Lin Jiade who dares to confront anyone is extremely rare. The security personnel backed down, and Jianlan sighed. She had thought she had a chance to leave a strong impression on Lin Jiade and offset the shadow that Korobochka had left on him.

Jianlan somehow broke through the hat maker's psychological defenses and obtained a huge piece of information that was enough to defeat Tianlong outside the competition. The hat maker, who was already in a daze, was taken back to Fuxing City by Jianlan for more details and was also used as a witness.

Gladiolus and the Hatter activated a teleportation spell and vanished from the spot, leaving the security personnel, who had been exchanging bewildered glances, to temporarily retreat. A short while later, the hotel manager jogged over, bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle, then pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, apologizing for the hotel's security shortcomings.

"We will provide compensation to everyone, and we ask that you not spread this around. In addition, a distinguished person wishes to meet with Ms. Kapok," the hotel manager said.

"Who?" Kapok asked.

"This... I can't say."

"Lead the way," said Kapok.

Mu Mian only brought Lin Jiade with her to the appointment, while He Huan slept in Mu Mian's room. The two arrived at the upper floor of the hotel and saw Tianlong, whom they had been studying for five days, sitting opposite them. He had black hair and black eyes, an unusual appearance, and a tall and straight figure, with shadows flowing around him like liquid.

The Dragons were also troubled. After successfully using the power of their financial backers to move their home court to Pelican Town, which was nominally a neutral venue but was actually their home court, they believed that their winning percentage was as high as 98%. This was a result derived from the video recordings of the three games played by the Dragons, including two play-in games and a first-class regular season game.

It's fair to say that in Pelicans Town, he didn't need to pull any tricks; he just needed to steadily beat Kapok in the game.

His thoughts didn't mean his subordinates thought the same. To curry favor with him, they devised a vague plan to gather further intelligence on the Kapok side. Tianlong agreed; if it succeeded, the credit would naturally go to him and his team; if it failed, they could simply find a few scapegoats to take the blame.

However, Tianlong never expected that his subordinates would devise such an outrageous plan, and that the person who failed to carry it out would be the hat maker, his old lover, and also the defeated opponent of Mumian.

Did the hat maker participate in the direct theft of information about Kapok without his knowledge because he loved him? Tianlong didn't know, but perhaps the hat maker also had a ulterior motive of retaliating against Kapok for using underhanded tactics.

All he knew was that the hatter had gotten him into big trouble. Stealing his opponent's secrets the night before the competition was a dangerous act that crossed the line of legality. If Mumian made it public, Tianlong might escape punishment from the organizing committee, but his reputation among the general public (referring to superhumans and ordinary people who knew the truth) would decline, his investors would reconsider their partnership, and potential partners would be re-evaluated.

Therefore, Tianlong had no choice but to engage in crisis public relations. He drew a bottom line for himself in his mind, and before that line, he might make some deals with Mumian to protect his core interests.

With such a huge handle at her disposal, Mu Mian was actually a little anxious. In such a short time, how could she figure out Tianlong's bottom line, get benefits without causing Tianlong to fight to the death, which was beyond her ability? As for Lin Jiade... well, he didn't seem like a villain.

The two parties sat down, and a waiter served tea, but neither of them showed any intention of eating. Tianlong pondered for a moment, then said with difficulty, "This matter was not something I initiated. I feel very sorry that this happened, and I apologize for causing you trouble. Therefore, within reasonable limits, I can offer you some compensation."

I touched it.

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Golden Branch

“What I want in compensation is for you to withdraw from the competition and for me to win,” Kapok said. “On that basis, I can preserve your reputation.”

"If this gets exposed, my value will plummet, and withdrawing from the competition will be the same. Will you protect my reputation? Withdrawing from the competition as one of the favorites to win the championship is utterly dishonorable!"

Although the First Continent has three slots for promotion to senior ranks each year, the champion is usually given special significance: as a kind of entertainment or further test, they are arranged to participate in two battles in succession.

In the first round, they will fight against the previous year's champion (skip this round if the champion is dead) to determine who has the right to visit the Temple of Diana in the woodland.

In the second round, the winner will enter the woodland, break off the "Golden Branch"—a special branch from a special tree in the woodland—and seek the opportunity to duel the priest of the Temple of Diana, the Oracle Protector known as the "King of the Woods."

If the priest can be killed, the victor will receive the divine blessing of Diana and become the new priest of the Temple of Diana, the King of the Forest. These two titles have been passed down for ten thousand years, indicating the essence of the divine protector: a leader who combines religious and secular elements.

This was something Wei Ying casually told Lin Jiade while they were playing duo queue and waiting for the game to start. As a high school student from the Celestial Realm, she was at an age where she was full of rebellious spirit, and the Empire had given her the means to disregard authority and deny the rules.

Some information that the cuckoos wouldn't tell Lin Jiade was casually revealed by the reed warbler. While they were discussing the contemporary spirit of respecting imperial customs in their conversations, the reed warbler turned her mockery to those old fogies who had guided humanity in the early days of the empire's development but were now out of touch with the times.

She then spoke of Diana and the outdated custom by which Diana caused her Oracle Protectors to kill each other generation after generation. It turns out that when the Celestial Observers became the first Oracle Protectors through reincarnation, they limited their own lifespans.

Whenever their physical bodies aged, a new Oracle Blessed candidate, born through the same method, would duel with the older generation. The victor would become king, while the loser would return to the heavens. Later, when humanity became the dominant species on the planet, this cruel method of succession was abolished, because expanding territory required the young and vigorous, while maintaining it required the mature and experienced.

After humanity took control of the planet, Diana was one of the few celestial observers interested in playing a role there. She maintained her small temple in the woodland, taking those who entered the woodland as her priests (oracle protectors), and this favor was only bestowed upon one person.

She retained the system of the victor taking all; anyone who entered the woods could fight the King of the Woods by breaking off a golden branch, and whoever killed the King of the Woods by any means could take his place, with their strength remaining constant at that moment.

Becoming a priestess of Diana sounds like living in constant fear of being murdered, and it means giving up any hope of being promoted to a high-ranking priest. Yet people still hope to gain Diana's favor, because Diana's divine blessing is for hunting and procreation, while its essence is murder and inheritance.

Superhumans have extremely high expectations for their offspring, making inheritance a major headache for superhuman couples. Diana's divine blessing solves this problem. As for the divine blessing of murder, it's an essential skill for navigating the empire, much like mathematics and physics.

As for the issue of not being able to advance further, some people have already realized that they cannot go any further, so this is not a problem. As for why Diana limited her power as an Oracle Protector, even the Celestial Observers who worked with Diana did not know.

In short, Wei Ying advised Lin Jiade that if there was even a one in a million chance of encountering Diana or her priestess, he should stay as far away as possible. Because in the Celestial Realm, old rumors about Diana circulated: she killed her colleagues using unusual methods and usurped their identities, appearing two-faced in public but consistent in private.

That's why Lin Jiade understood the meaning of the champion—it meant that the one with the chance would pluck the golden branch and become the king of the forest. This information was tacitly kept secret by everyone, and as for why the reed warbler knew this, she explained it as some old grudges between Mars, whom she served, and Diana.

Even if one has no interest in breaking the golden branch, in order to prevent one's enemies from receiving the protection of murder and inheritance, it is necessary to win the championship to block the possibility of others breaking the golden branch, or to do a favor for one's ally in exchange for something of equal value.

Tianlong's passion for winning the championship belonged to the latter. He wanted to make a deal with the hat maker in exchange for his qualification to enter the woodland, in exchange for the skills of how to modify himself, inject nano-repair materials and make good use of them. These were the hat maker's special skills. Even though they had slept together many times and the hat maker was infatuated with him, the other party still kept his livelihood tightly under his control.

Mumian responded to Tianlong with an even tougher stance, insisting that Tianlong be eliminated in this round. The only things that could be discussed were the form of Tianlong's elimination and what each side could gain from the deal.

This was destined to be a difficult negotiation. Lin Jiade initially tried to help Kapok, but the argument between the two sides made him drowsy, and he unknowingly closed his eyes.

Immediately, the young man felt a poke in his cheek. Thinking it was Kapok, he opened his eyes and hurriedly apologized, but what he saw was Jasmine's face... The two Jasmines bent over with their hands on their knees. Their styles were completely different, one charming and the other arrogant.

“Miss Dujuan, Miss Weiying… what are you doing?” he asked.

"See? I told you he'd be recognized at first glance. He's particularly talented at distinguishing different types of jasmine," Du Juan said.

“Of course I can tell, because these are people I love,” Lin Jiade added. “If you turned into footballs, I probably could tell even faster.”

Wei Ying said sarcastically, "In your value system, your girlfriend is not even worth as much as a ball?"

"The ball holds special meaning for me, perhaps it's something etched into my bones... Anyway, why are you all in my dreams? I have important matters to attend to..."

"You mean the important thing that made you fall asleep halfway through?" said the reed warbler.

"Okay, I can't help. All I know is that if they reach an agreement, Senior Kapok can advance to the top eight without any trouble. It's a good thing, but I feel a little uncomfortable."

Du Juan smiled: "Caring for my contractors is also my responsibility, so I pulled you into this dream, and then—"

Lin Jiade's dream was eroded and replaced. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in an oval-shaped room. The futuristic metallic room surprised him.

“This is…” he said.

“Yes, this is our home. Haven’t you always been curious about our life? So I brought you here to see it,” Du Juan said.