Spellcasting Gods

Jason shook his head slightly: "It's not really an operation yet, just to prevent the situation from escalating. After all, we're in a sensitive period right now, and any slight movement could trigger a fight between the Brooklyn lords. By the way, who is this young man? I've never seen him before."

Polman smiled mysteriously and said, "I'm sorry, old friend, I can only tell you that he works for Lord Catherine. If you want to know more, you should ask the lady herself."

“The Desire Witch Catherine?!” Jason was clearly taken aback.

"Hehe, that's right. I advise you not to get any funny ideas, or Ms. Catherine won't let you off the hook. Alright, we have other things to do. We'll talk about it another time." With that, Polman gave a wink and, without another word, pulled Zhang Cheng toward the apartment door.

However, Zhang Cheng, who had hidden a large number of sensitive items in the room, couldn't possibly be at ease. He quickly whispered, "Wait! I have something I need to take care of. Can you give me half an hour?"

"What's in such a hurry? Can't we wait until we get back to deal with it?" Polman frowned slightly.

You could tell from the anxious look on his face that he didn't like being with Jason at all.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid that won't work. I'm hiding something that I can't show in the light of day. If the police find it, it's probably beyond what a lawyer can handle."

Although Zhang Cheng also wanted to leave this dangerous place with the other party and find out how the underworld actually worked and how even the famous FBI had been infiltrated.

But he also didn't want anything to happen to the treasures he had worked so hard to bring back, especially the seeds of various herbs.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me.” Polman directly instructed his silent assistant, “Harpy, stay here and wait for Mr. Zhang to return, understand?”

The latter nodded without hesitation: "Understood!"

Seeing that someone was watching the door for him, Zhang Cheng stopped insisting. He and the lawyer stepped onto a black car through the creaking floorboards and drove slowly toward the restaurant.

Once the car had left the alley and entered the main road, he finally couldn't contain himself and asked in a curious tone, "Mr. Polman, how exactly did the information you presented fool the police? And who were those two FBI agents?"

"Hahahaha!" Upon hearing the barrage of questions, Polman immediately burst into smug laughter, explaining as he laughed, "It's very simple. That document wasn't forged at all; it was real. I simply changed the photo and a certain lady's memory slightly."

"You mean, impersonation?!" Zhang Cheng instantly understood what the other party meant.

"Yes! The person with the same name as you died six months ago due to an accident."

To cover up the truth, I altered the memories of all those involved, making them believe that this person had gone on a long trip.

Now, you can use his identity to integrate into society.

As for Jensen, he was a member of the council and was responsible for ensuring that, no matter what happened, the underworld would not be exposed to the public eye.

If I had to describe him in one word, it would be "a killer, a cleaner..."

Chapter 0055 The Power of the Underground World (Part 2)

Although it consists of only two short sentences, the amount of information contained within them is astonishing.

First, Polman seems to have the ability to modify other people's memories. Although we don't yet know exactly how he does it or if there are any limitations, this alone is already quite terrifying.

Secondly, the organization known as the Parliament is quite powerful, not only controlling the entire underworld but also infiltrating all aspects of society, and even using the power of government agencies to cover up its own existence.

Finally, and most importantly, the witch Catherine seems to be quite famous in the underworld, and many people show undisguised awe and fear just from hearing her name.

Clearly, this woman, who exudes amazing charm, is not as harmless as she appears on the surface.

Watching the buildings rushing past the car window, Zhang Cheng squinted and silently pondered his next move.

However, because the apartment was too close to the restaurant, the car slowly came to a stop before he could come up with a solution.

Carls, who had been waiting at the door, stepped forward and opened the car door, greeting him in a half-joking tone: "Good morning, sir. I regret to inform you that you have been fired from the restaurant. I dare not let a powerful wizard wash dishes in the kitchen."

“Well, looks like I need to find a new job, don’t I?” Zhang Cheng climbed out of the car and joked as well.

As a mage who was extremely sensitive to energy, he clearly sensed an evil power full of curses and resentment emanating from the other party, and instantly became vigilant.

"Hahaha! I love your humor! Please come with me. Ms. Catherine is taking a bath right now, so let me first introduce the underground world and the rules that must be followed." With that, Karls waved to Polman.

Without saying a word, the latter immediately turned the car around and disappeared at the end of the road.

Led by the elderly Mexican man, the two quickly walked through the restaurant and arrived at a completely enclosed room without any windows.

The room wasn't large, only about forty square meters. The walls and ceiling were covered with all sorts of pictures depicting human desires. There was an expensive handmade rug on the floor, on which sat a chipped old table and two bright red antique sofas. There was nothing else there.

"Sit down!" Kars casually closed the heavy door and gestured for them to sit.

He then picked up the heavy book on the table, wiped the thick dust off the cover, and opened the first page.

Driven by curiosity, Zhang Cheng glanced at it and discovered that it wasn't English, but Latin, or more precisely, Old Latin, which was almost obsolete in the world.

As for what the content is...

Unfortunately, he didn't recognize a single word, let alone understand it.

Karls clearly noticed this and explained with a smile, “This is a rather ancient book, which records in detail the underworld before and after the birth of the Council. Because it was written by a powerful wizard who has lived for nearly eight hundred years, it is written in ancient Latin. If you intend to read the whole thing, you would be better off having Polman extract the memories from someone who speaks ancient Latin and then transfer them into yourself. Today I will only give you a rough explanation, so you can get a general idea.”

"Please begin, I'm getting impatient." Zhang Cheng plopped down on the sofa, his eyes revealing intense anticipation.

Karls nodded meaningfully: "Alright, let's begin. We'll skip the part about before the establishment of Parliament; that period was too dark, bloody, and filled with disorder and violence, but all of that ended in 1354."

Because at the end of that year, the book's author, the great wizard Willie Augustus, along with his friends, successfully killed Taman, the creator and spreader of the Black Death, and uprooted the evil cult he had established.

To prevent the tragedy from repeating itself, he proposed to establish an organization to restrain all those who possess supernatural powers, or monsters disguised as humans.

Given the immense impact of the Black Death on Europe, many individuals and forces chose to join, and this organization was the prototype of the Parliament.

Over hundreds of years of evolution and expansion, the Parliament now governs the entire Americas, Europe, Oceania, and Central Asia, while also having agreements with local powers in other regions to ensure that the underworld is never discovered by ordinary people.

Of course, due to the rapid expansion, the current legislature has actually split into several parts that govern themselves. New York, where we are located, belongs to the North American part, which mainly includes Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Within this region, there exists a supreme council composed of thirteen members of equal status. They possess not only formidable personal strength but also govern hundreds of lords within their jurisdiction.

In addition to the Supreme Council, secondary councils will be established in some important regions, such as New York, an international metropolis.

Secondary parliaments typically select the strongest and most capable individuals as members of parliament based on administrative regions, through rules known as the War Game, to assist the Supreme Parliament in handling daily affairs.

To put it simply, members of the secondary council are essentially slated to become members of the highest council. If a member of the secondary council reaches the end of their lifespan or dies in an accident, they will be selected from among the members of the higher council through a vote.

My master, the Witch of Desire, Ms. Catherine, is currently a lord in Brooklyn, New York. Any supernatural force residing within her jurisdiction must unconditionally obey the rules she has set, or face punishment and expulsion.

“Council…Lord…that sounds quite interesting…” Zhang Cheng murmured to himself, a smirk playing on his lips.

"There's no way around it. You have to understand that when Parliament was established, Europe was still on the verge of the Dark Ages, so it retained a lot of medieval characteristics, such as the title of lord, and the legislative power within the territory," Karls explained with a helpless shrug.

He clearly understood what "interesting" meant.

"Alright, in that case, can you tell me about the power of Congress? Are they capable of controlling the US government?" Zhang Cheng hesitated for a few seconds before asking the question that concerned him most.

"Manipulate the US government? Who would do something so pointless? I can only tell you that if Congress deems it necessary, it is fully capable of influencing and changing any government decision. But generally speaking, the underworld is the underworld, and the world of ordinary people is the world of ordinary people; we try our best not to interfere..."

Before Karls could finish speaking, a semi-transparent spirit suddenly passed through the wall and appeared in the sealed room, solidifying into a physical form in less than a minute.

She was none other than Catherine.

The witch had undoubtedly just taken a bath; her skin was still faintly steaming, and her semi-transparent silk robe revealed alluring curves that could make any man's blood boil.

Chapter 0056 Two Worlds

"So, where did you two get to in your conversation?" Catherine asked with a smile as she sat down close to Zhang Cheng.

She seemed completely unconcerned about her naked body being exposed to the opposite sex, and continued to dry her wet hair with a towel.

Karls quickly bowed and replied, "Madam, we were just talking about the establishment and development of Parliament. However, Zhang has some misconceptions; he confuses the world of ordinary people with our world."

"Oh? You don't actually think that the parliament is secretly controlling the government, do you?" Catherine's lips curled up slightly as she turned her gaze to the young man beside her, her eyes full of mockery.

"Why not? I saw with my own eyes today that even the FBI agents were members of Congress. Doesn't that prove anything?" Zhang Cheng asked rhetorically, frowning.

In his view, no matter what kind of organization it is, what they pursue is nothing more than two things: power and wealth.

If an organization could quietly control the US government, it could gain inexhaustible wealth and a massive nuclear arsenal that supposedly could destroy human civilization hundreds of times over.

Judging from the reactions of these two people, it seems that the parliament never had such a plan, or even had such an idea.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" Catherine couldn't help but burst into laughter, her two rather large breasts jiggling up and down.

After a while, she slowly stopped laughing, stretched out a finger to lift Zhang Cheng's chin, and explained in a lewd tone, "No, no, no, my lovely little wizard."

Please remember, the world of ordinary people is meaningless to us!

What benefits does parliament gain from controlling the government?

US dollars?

I admit that for some guys living at the very bottom of the underground world, the US dollar is indeed quite attractive.

But for a lord like me, it's basically no different from a piece of waste paper.

If I wanted, I could enter the vault of any bank in the world at any time and take away tens of thousands of banknotes and gold bars without anyone noticing. Furthermore, with the help of Polman's abilities, I could inherit the estates of wealthy people who are about to die through so-called 'legal means'.

Unfortunately, in the underworld, anything of even slightly value isn't traded for dollars, but rather...

As she spoke, the witch pulled a golden coin from the depths of her unfathomable cleavage.

The coin features an old man's profile on the front and thirteen six-pointed stars on the back. A small hole is drilled in the center, through which a black cord is threaded, and the coin is worn as a talisman around the slender, snow-white neck.

Zhang Cheng stroked the still-warm coin, then quickly asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, "A gold coin? You mean... the underworld is still using primitive precious metals as currency?"

Catherine nodded slightly: "That's right! Please note, this isn't ordinary precious metal currency, but a magical gold coin minted in a special place, which we call a gold dinar. Each gold dinar contains a considerable amount of magical energy. Not only can it not be counterfeited, but it can also be melted down and used to create magical items. A gold coin like this can easily be exchanged for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the underworld, but hundreds of thousands of dollars may not necessarily buy a single gold coin."

"I see……"

After listening to the witch's explanation, Zhang Cheng finally understood why the world of ordinary people was meaningless to the underworld.

The answer is quite simple: Parliament has long since firmly controlled everything it needs, forming a relatively independent economic, political, and monetary system. In addition, with a small population base, there is no need for it to desperately compete for various natural resources in order to survive.

Especially for a lord like Catherine who possesses powerful supernatural abilities, what she truly pursues is power and status in the underworld; the world of ordinary people is utterly worthless in her eyes.

Having figured this out, Zhang Cheng finally began to truly understand this world and the true meaning of the so-called "fantasy world" mentioned on the sheepskin.

Just as he was about to ask who controlled the minting of the magic coins and what the production volume was, Catherine suddenly pounced on him without warning, pinning him down and taking a deep breath against her cheek: "Ah—what an intoxicating scent! I really want to eat you up right now, you delicious little snack!"

Upon seeing this, Carls's expression changed drastically, and he quickly and sternly reminded her, "Madam! Please calm down! You're losing control of your emotions!"

The words had barely left his mouth!

The witch involuntarily shuddered, took several deep breaths, and her predatory gaze slowly returned to normal. She got up from the sofa, straightened her disheveled bathrobe, and said coldly, "Alright, let's end our conversation here. Karls, take him to register his identity."

"Understood! Zhang, come with me, the lady needs to be alone for a while." Without saying a word, Carls grabbed Zhang Cheng and headed outside.

When he left the room, he made sure to close the door tightly. Although it had only been less than a minute, his forehead was already covered in sweat.

"What exactly happened just now? I seem to... I seem to feel my magic power draining away?" Zhang Cheng asked, his brows furrowed.

Although it was only for a brief moment, he still sensed a mysterious force drawing a bit of magic from his body the instant the witch inhaled.

You see, ever since he returned, he has been unable to draw magical energy from nature to replenish his own magic power, so even the slightest loss is palpable.