Chapter 86
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Chapter 86: Destiny Gate Pharmaceuticals
“You… know this?” he suddenly managed to speak with difficulty.
“What is it?” Ge Wei leaned closer.
“If the God of Hidden Mist… could destroy you all…” He spoke haltingly as he reached for his clothes, “then I must be… its most devoted follower!”
With these words, the man used all his strength to rip open his clothes, revealing a bundle of explosives strapped to him. As he moved, he accidentally lit the fuse, causing sparks to sizzle and flare up!
Wudi gasped sharply and shouted urgently, “Ge Wei, quickly cut the fuse!”
But she didn’t move, even patting the man’s shoulder as to encourage him.
What is she doing? Is she going to let him blow himself up?!
There was no time for Wudi to think about it. In the loudest voice he had ever raised , he shouted, “Explosives! Everyone, drop and take cover now!”
As soon as his subordinates heard his scream, they panicked and rushed to hide behind any available cover.
Wasting no time, Wudi too quickly found a nearby depression and crouched down. In such close proximity, he couldn’t worry himself about possible blast injuries from the explosion!
As he ducked, Wudi noticed that the priestess was still half-kneeling in place, and her head slightly raised. Her expression had a strangely holy look, as if she wasn’t in an abandoned mine, but in the prayer room of a church.
Damn, What a lunatic!
Even for a great master warrior, there was no way to survive so much explosives at close range.
In just two or three short seconds, the sparks reached the bottom of the fuse. Wudi braced himself, burying his head as he waited for the incoming shockwave—
But after a few breaths, nothing happened. There was no deafening roar or earth-shaking tremor. An eerie silence had settled over the cave.
Had the explosives failed to detonate? Or did Ge Wei manage to cut the fuse at the last moment? Wudi slowly raised his head, only to find that neither of these answers was true. The man’s chest seemed to be completely shattered, his flesh burned to a charred black, resembling wounds which seemed to be inflicted by intense heat. But other than that, he couldn’t find any signs of an explosion, and the bundle of explosives had disappeared without a trace.
So, did it explode or not?
“What did you do just now?” Wudi cautiously stood up and couldn’t help but question her, “Why didn’t you cut the fuse?”
“His last wish was to take us down with him. I didn’t want to destroy his last remaining hope. Look…” Ge Wei gestured towards the man, “He died with a deep sense of satisfaction.”
Wudi glanced at the Nepheid soldier. Just as the priestess had stated, there was no longer any anger on the man’s face, but a faint smile, as if he had died peacefully in a beautiful dream.
Although this eerie sight made the hairs on the back of Wudi’s neck stand up. He couldn’t help but asked, “You…didn’t stop the explosion?”
Ge Wei shook her head, “He died while staring directly at the explosion, so he wouldn’t have any regrets.”
“Why?”
What Wudi really wanted to ask was, why she chose this course of action. She could have easily killed the enemy using similar methods without any risk, but she deliberately chose to take an unnecessary risk. Although he did not know exactly what happened, he guessed that it had something to do with an ability from her arcane artifact. However, the problem lay in the fact that there was a price to pay for using such artifacts, and moreover, achieving such a feat probably wasn’t as easy as it seemed on the surface.
As expected, when Ge Wei stood up this time, she swayed slightly for the first time. The woman who had been moving so lightly like a panther, charging back and forth with her cross, was finally showing signs of fatigue.
However, this fatigue seemed to be limited to her physical body.
Ge Wei’s expression remained remarkably calm as she said, “Because he deserved it.”
“What?” Wudi momentarily doubted if he’d misheard.
“He didn’t fight us by relying on evil entities or because his mind was corrupted, he fought us because of his own will. This man was not a believer of the evil gods, so I felt it was worth granting him one last wish.” Ge Wei slung her cross over her back and began walking towards the mine exit. “There is no presence of the Church of Hidden Mist here, so my mission ends at this point.”
“Wait… Are you saying that these rebels weren’t working with the heretics?”
“I’ve only shared my conclusion. How you choose to report that to the Commander is entirely up to you,” the priest replied without even turning around.
***
“I heard they plan to renovate the cathedral?”
“No way, isn’t it just for the poor only? Where would they get the money to expand it?”
“Right… wouldn’t that just lead to bigger losses as it grows?”
Anyone walking along Fafu Street couldn’t help but overhear similar discussions. Some people even stopped to take a closer look at the old building with great interest. Compared to before, the cathedral now seemed much busier now. Apart from the patients and nuns who were constantly coming and going, there were also many workers who were continuously transporting cement, sandstone, steel bars, and wood inside the building. Regardless of people’s speculations, one fact was evident, Yeni Cathedral was on the verge of significant changes.
And the mastermind behind it all was none other than Chaoyang himself.
Currently using a somewhat clumsy-looking body, he wore a tall top hat and dark red formal attire, which made him seem like a newly wealthy aristocrat who had struck it lucky. As the new investor of the Cathedral, he stood in the cathedral’s large courtyard, discussing expansion plans with the architect.
“The design plans you gave us are quite interesting. It looks like a large hotel, but the furnishings seem too simple. Additionally, the attached storage facilities take up a lot of space, which might make it difficult to use in the future,” the architect politely noted. “Are you sure you don’t want us to redraw the blueprints? The Skyhall Hotel on Central Avenue was designed and built by our company.”
“I don’t need an actual hotel. Its main purpose is still to receive and treat patients,” Chaoyang explained with a shrug. “As you know, if we spend too much on luxury features, we won’t be able to recoup the cost.”
The architect smiled modestly, but did not agree—probably because he viewed the idea of profiting from the Cathedral’s patients seemed absurd to him. “Of course, the final decision is yours. We’ve calculated the construction time, and even if we do our best, it will take at least three months.”
That’s fast! Chaoyang thought to himself. This project included the construction of a small three-story building along with a separate facility for the production and storage of medicine. At the same time, they had to renovate the existing Cathedral, which seemed like a lot of work.
“Can you guarantee the quality?” Chaoyang asked
“You’re joking, Mr. Yang. When it comes to experience and track record, our Fafu Construction is one of the oldest companies in the Old continent. We even named this street after ourselves. As long as payments are made on time, you don’t have to worry about any quality issues,” the representative assured, beating his chest with confidence.
That was one of the perks of having money at disposal.
In reality, the renovation of Yeni Cathedral was just one part of Chaoyang’s larger plan. He didn’t intend to prolong the wish fulfillment period excessively. He had already rented a temporary theater near the church, and planned to start producing medical supplies there first. Once the cathedral’s renovation was complete, he would then move the equipment there. Since the Yeni Cathedral actually took up quite a bit of space, the construction wouldn’t interfere with the patient care—though noise and dust from the work would still be unavoidable.
“Ah, Mr. Yang, there you are.”
Chaoyang turned around to see Kurt Dunn hurrying toward him, holding a stack of parchment scrolls.
“It has been approved?”
“Yes!” Dunn’s voice brimmed with excitement. “The lord’s trade official has given his approval. As of today, Destiny Gate Pharmaceuticals can begin operations in Glorious Fortress!”