Spellcasting Gods

"Go away!"

Zhang Cheng wasn't the kind of person who liked wild animals. He directly and rudely invaded the brain of a lion that was trying to approach, making it obediently retreat to a corner and stay there quietly. Then he took out his phone and dialed one of the numbers.

Within seconds, the voice of intelligence chief Leonid came through the microphone: "Hello, boss, is this you?"

"That's right! It's been a long time. You haven't forgotten me, have you?" Zhang Cheng rarely joked with a smile.

With his plans in hell going smoothly, he was finally able to relax a little and give his tense nerves a break.

“How could that be! I will never forget that you gave me all of this today! You know what? To be able to once again wield power in the intelligence community and terrify those damned bastards in the CIA is simply my biggest dream in this life.” Leonid’s tone revealed an undisguised excitement.

Clearly, during this period, he had successfully built a vast intelligence network and, with the advantage of magic and advanced technology, had dealt with the world's largest intelligence agency quite a bit, perhaps even teaching them a lesson.

It's important to understand that since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the KGB, the only intelligence organization capable of rivaling the CIA, has been in a state of collapse. Therefore, the United States has easily seized control of intelligence networks in most parts of the world. Naturally, it would not allow a new organization with weaponry that is at least 15 to 20 years more advanced than any other country to rise up.

Unfortunately, no matter how skilled they are, they are unable to leverage their absolute technological advantage as before when faced with elite action teams that can launch attacks and retreats anytime and anywhere via teleportation devices and stealthy Quinjet fighters.

With the widespread availability of lie detectors, it is often easy to detect spies who have infiltrated from within. Therefore, at present, all that is known in the world is that a powerful intelligence organization of unknown origin has joined this dangerous game, but no one knows which country is controlling the organization.

After all, according to normal logical reasoning, an organization that possesses highly technological capabilities even in the most basic firearms and bullets must be supported by a complete industrial and technological system. Moreover, such a system cannot be managed by one or two wealthy companies; only a nation, and a leading industrial and technological power, can meet even the minimum requirements.

As the instigator, Zhang Cheng had clearly anticipated this situation and asked directly, "Tell me, how many people do you have in Iraq? Can you handle a rather troublesome matter for me?"

“We have about twelve professional intelligence personnel, two action teams, and more than four hundred peripheral mercenaries in Iraq, which theoretically can handle most emergencies,” Leonid quickly gave specific figures.

"Oh? It sounds like things are going well." A hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Cheng's eyes.

Building a global intelligence network from scratch is no easy task, especially infiltrating a country like Iraq, which has just fought a real war and is rife with internal turmoil and danger.

Leonid explained with considerable pride, “Not only that! We earn four to six million dollars a month in the Middle East, including from the sale of oil, intelligence, weapons, medicine, daily necessities, drugs, and so on. There are also several restaurants and hotels in Baghdad that are under our indirect control. With just a word from you, I can throw the place into chaos immediately, and even the large number of American troops stationed there will be useless.”

"War, suffering, hatred, chaos, and death—I didn't expect you to act so quickly. But don't rush things. Before that place descends into complete chaos, find me some experts in archaeology and geology. I need to decipher an ancient map." With that, Zhang Cheng sent a high-resolution photo of the parchment map via satellite network.

Within two or three seconds, Leonid received the photo. After glancing at it briefly, he immediately assured him, "Please rest assured, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer within a week at most."

"Very good! I'll wait for your news." Zhang Cheng had never doubted the other party's abilities and hung up the phone cleanly and decisively.

In any case, Iraq today is not the country that experienced more than a decade or two of war and was ravaged by various mercenaries and extremist religious terrorists. There are still many experts and professors in some museums and universities, so getting a map shouldn't be a problem.

Once the location is confirmed, he will set off immediately to see what the real seal looks like.

……

Meanwhile, Leonid, located in a secret underground base in the Pacific, quickly relayed the mission, and soon data from a dozen archaeologists and geologists in Iraq was transmitted back.

After a quick screening, he quickly identified two of them and, without turning around, said to the girl standing silently behind him, "Yelena, take this map and go to Iraq yourself right now. Remember, you have to be quick; I don't want anything to go wrong."

"Yes, sir!" The young girl, who looked like a little girl, immediately stood at attention and gave a standard Soviet-style military salute.

But just as she was about to turn and leave, Leonid seemed to remember something and raised his hand to stop her, saying, "Wait! There's one more thing! Lately, the CIA has been too quiet, so quiet that it's making me uneasy. If we have enough time, let's also take the opportunity to clean up our intelligence personnel in Iraq and see if anyone has betrayed or sold out the organization."

“Understood! Whoever dares to betray me, I will make them regret being born.” A cold glint flashed in Yelena’s eyes.

If anyone within the entire intelligence organization is the most loyal, it is undoubtedly the "old guard" like her who followed Leonid in hiding in South America for years.

These people had all experienced living like stray dogs, without any backing or home, constantly hiding and fearing being recognized as former KGB spies. Living like this for a long time was enough to drive them to a mental breakdown.

Therefore, if anyone dares to disrupt their peaceful life, they will not hesitate to use the cruelest punishments to make the traitor understand that death is not the most terrible thing; sometimes it is a wonderful relief, at least allowing them to escape pain and torment.

"Remember our old rule? Don't be stingy! Bring it all out when necessary!"

As he said this, Leonid's lips curled up slightly, revealing a chilling smile.

Anyone who saw him smile like that instinctively shuddered and began to pray silently for the intelligence personnel stationed in Iraq, praying that none of them would betray them.

otherwise……

It's best to shoot yourself in the head before the interrogation begins; the sooner you die, the sooner you'll be free.

Chapter 816 The Mystery of Death (Part 1)

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Cheng began to survey the living room with a rather troubled look at the wild animals he had somehow acquired.

According to his usual practice, the best way to deal with ordinary animals like these, which have low intelligence and no special abilities, is humane annihilation, directly using disintegration magic to break them down into harmless dust particles that drift away with the wind.

After all, he is not an animal rights activist, and he has never thought that wild animals have any value worth protecting.

Survival of the fittest is an integral part of the evolutionary process of life. If a certain animal cannot adapt to the changes and destruction of the environment by humans, it will be eliminated, and other organisms will naturally fill its place in the food chain.

However, considering that Elizabeth might need some of them, Zhang Cheng ultimately refrained from doing so and instead quickly moved them to a room in the right-hand corridor on the first floor.

After finishing all this, I lazily lay down on the living room sofa and looked through the missed calls and messages from the time I was gone.

Soon, one seemingly insignificant piece of information caught his attention.

Just as he was about to make a call to inquire about the specifics, the magical energy permeating the air suddenly fluctuated violently, and then a familiar figure tore through space and emerged from the other side.

"Ah! You've finally returned, my friend." Faust placed one hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

This strange man, who holds the title of the strongest necromancer, looks even paler than he did a few months ago. If it weren't for the fact that his internal organs are still functioning normally, he would look no different from a corpse that has come back to life.

"How did you know I was back?" Zhang Cheng asked, slightly surprised.

Keep in mind that he had only recently left Hell and had not yet met anyone. Furthermore, he constantly possessed various evasion spells that were sufficient to resist all kinds of magical detection.

“It’s very simple! Through your phone. I discovered that every time you mysteriously disappear, the phone is always switched off or unable to connect, but as soon as you return, it immediately reconnects to the communication network,” Faust explained with a grin.

It must be said that this answer was both unexpected and reasonable.

Zhang Cheng feigned helplessness and sighed, "Well, it seems you've discovered one of my little secrets, haven't you? So, what's the urgent matter?"

Faust smiled and shook his head: "No, it's nothing urgent. On the contrary, I've come to tell you some good news. The goddess's body is finished. She is one of my top three masterpieces. To express my gratitude for your decision to give up the competition, I've decided to give you a book, a secret manual that records the mysteries of death."

"The mystery of death?!" Upon hearing these words, Zhang Cheng's eyes lit up with anticipation.

In the Harry Potter world, he once triggered a global thermonuclear war, with billions of people trying to peek into the secrets of the rules of death.

But to everyone's surprise, it was interrupted by a strange ball of light.

"Yes! The mystery of death! I can sense that, in essence, you and I are actually the same kind of people, both so obsessed with knowledge and power. Trust me, this book will not disappoint you..."

As he spoke, Faust gently placed a dirty, old book with dark brown pages on the table, then gave a meaningful smile, gradually becoming transparent and finally disappearing from the spot.

Sensing the intense aura of death emanating from the book, Zhang Cheng subconsciously frowned and reached out his right hand to turn to the first page to see what was written inside.

The moment my fingertips touched the cover, the pages suddenly began to turn on their own.

Before he could even react, he found himself being pulled into another world, a world entirely composed of spirit and consciousness.

"This is!!!" Zhang Cheng stared wide-eyed as he looked around.

All around were gray, leafless dead trees, with very low visibility, giving a strong sense of death.

"What is death?" A phantom shrouded in a gray cloak suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked loudly.

"Who are you? And where is this place?" Zhang Cheng not only did not answer the other party's questions, but also raised his own questions.

Unfortunately, the phantom clearly had no intention of answering any questions, or rather, it lacked the ability to answer them, only repeatedly asking, "What is death?"

Every time it makes a sound, a chilling echo reverberates throughout the deadwood forest, as if something is hidden deep within.

"Damn it! I think I'm in trouble..." Zhang Cheng complained in frustration.

Clearly, this secret manual is not a book at all, but a connection point, a teleportation key, which directly pulls the consciousness of the person who touches the pages into this mysterious space.

Most importantly, he was unsure whether there was any difference in the flow of time between the two worlds.

If time in the real world were to stand still, that would be fine. But if it were to flow at a speed similar to that in the real world, then a body that has lost consciousness would be in a very dangerous and unprotected state.

Being someone who is extremely wary of everything is practically no different from a fish lying on a chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.

Moreover, since the entire world is composed entirely of consciousness, Zhang Cheng was unable to bring any of his equipment or magical items with him, so the only thing he can rely on right now is his own mind.

"What is death?" the phantom asked tirelessly once again.

“Death is the end of life, the ultimate destination of everything in the world and even the universe. Nothing can escape the final death, not even death itself.” Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment before quickly giving his understanding of death.

"You believe death is the end of everything? Then what comes after the end?" This time, the phantom did not repeat its previous words, but instead raised a new question.

"After the end?" Zhang Cheng narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought once again.

Undoubtedly, such coercive and leading questions usually serve only two purposes: either to drive a person crazy or to make them think deeply until they find the correct answer.

Of course, if the person answering the question is not smart enough or lacks sufficient knowledge, they are very likely to be driven crazy.

After all, you'll never know whether the person who made this thing is more inclined towards rational materialism or emotional idealism.

This is similar to the definition of death, which often has two aspects: philosophical and physiological. The latter emphasizes the external characteristics of the body's organs, while the former emphasizes the abstract spirit. It is not only used to describe the biological entity itself, but is also frequently used in other contexts.

Chapter 817 The Mystery of Death (Part 2)

"You believe death is the end of everything? Then what comes after the end?"

Are you really sure death is the true end?

"What is the meaning of death after all things have withered and died?"

……

After answering the first question, the black phantom seemed to have activated its internally programmed artificial intelligence, asking one question after another from different angles, like a buzzing fly that was extremely annoying.

If it weren't for the fear that destroying it would cause irreparable damage to the entire consciousness space, Zhang Cheng would have already used the characteristics of his magical soul to slap this chatterbox to death.

Unfortunately, he can only think about it at the moment and cannot take any actual action. He is also unwilling to answer any questions before clarifying the specific situation.

Because in the mysterious space composed purely of consciousness, no one knows what serious consequences using supernatural power will cause, let alone whether it will harm themselves.

Although Zhang Cheng sometimes doesn't mind unleashing the crazy side hidden in his subconscious, this is definitely not the time.

He squinted and remained silent for a long time, observing for a long time before tentatively speaking to the black phantom: "Why are you so obsessed with death? If you truly represent some kind of mystery of death, then why are you still alive? Don't tell me that the undead are not living beings. In the face of ultimate death, even the dead must decay."

"..."

This time, the shadowy figure remained silent, and a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in its previously lifeless eyes.

"Ah, it seems I've discovered your little secret."

With his keen observation skills, Zhang Cheng could not possibly miss that fleeting anomaly. He immediately moved closer and stared directly into the other person's face, which was nothing but bones: "Tell me, what is your understanding of death? And who created this understanding of death?"

"You are very intelligent, mortal, one of the most intelligent mortals I have ever met." A faint red light emanated from the illusory skeletal eye sockets.

Seeing this, Zhang Cheng immediately nodded in satisfaction: "Just as I expected, you are intelligent, or rather, this space is intelligent, right? But I'm very curious, you said I am one of the smartest mortals you have ever met, which means that others have also discovered this little secret."

“That’s right! The last person to discover me was just as young as you, the only difference being that he was a little crazy, full of all sorts of whimsical ideas. Oh, I remember now, his name was Faust.” The phantom raised his hand and touched his jawbone, as if recalling the distant past.