Chapter 37 The Essence of Humanity

It must be said that Williams indeed had great foresight.

The battle in the underground district had just broken out, and the inspectors of the law enforcement bureau rushed over, including the robotic figures in black robes, who quickly surrounded the entire street, with buzzing drones hovering overhead, effectively sealing off the area.

"Maintain order at the scene, apprehend the criminals immediately!"

Chief Charles, a cold and rigid middle-aged man, was at the back of the crowd, the most striking feature being a scar that cut through his face, blinding one of his eyes.

Mike was immediately surrounded by a group of inspectors.

A gun was pointed directly at his head, causing his brow to furrow.

"Put the person down."

The inspector spoke sternly.

Mike shrugged, completely unperturbed.

Because this was a problem that Williams was going to solve.

He was curious to see how The Grand Adjudicator would handle this.

"These people are indeed criminals, but they have committed religious crimes and should be handled by the Heresy Tribunal. Once we're done, you can take them into custody." Williams, carrying the unconscious heretic, calmly returned to his wheelchair and sat down.

He took a drag on his cigarette and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

A large group of Adjudicators emerged from the street corner, facing off against the inspectors from a distance.

"What do you want to do? Rebel? According to the rules, the Heresy Tribunal should first report to the law enforcement bureau when carrying out an arrest, and conduct operations under the supervision and assistance of the inspectors. You have violated the rules, and I won't even bother asking about your responsibilities."

Chief Charles looked at the damaged street, "Look at what you've done, the underground district is also the property of the city, and the people in the underground district are lives!"

However, the Adjudicators were completely unmoved.

Instead, Damon and Rose, ignoring the guns pointed at them from all directions, had already tied up the surviving heretics and loaded them into a cargo van.

"Well, open your eyes and take a good look, are there any dead people?"

Williams smoked his cigarette and spoke leisurely, "Normally, you haven't seen you treating the people in the underground district as human. Now, at this moment, they have become lives in your eyes. Don't try to moralize me. When conflicts and homicides broke out in the underground district, I didn't see you coming to manage it. Charles, how many times a year do you come here? You even need a navigation system to find this place."

Charles' pupils contracted, and a route map was still displayed on his tablet.

He didn't expect that even these details would be discovered.

"The losses in the underground district, I will compensate at the original price, you don't need to worry about it. As for the unauthorized action, you can go to the Sanctuary to report me, I don't mind."

Williams threw away his cigarette butt, then took out a syringe from his shirt pocket, his voice piercing the whole scene, "Now... you are suspected of obstructing the Heresy Tribunal's arrest operation."

Charles saw the syringe in his hand, and the corner of his eye twitched involuntarily.

"You are suspected of illegally rescuing heretics."

The inspectors looked at each other, not knowing why their boss still hadn't given the order.

"You are suspected of illegally colluding with heresy."

The law enforcement officers were drenched in sweat.

"You are suspected of the crime of apostasy."

Williams' voice was not loud, but each sentence was like a heavy hammer.

Pounding mercilessly on their hearts.

"You have been locked in."

Williams raised his head, his black eyes locking onto all the people in front of him.

The needle was already on his leg.

Chief Charles' face turned ashen, and he waved his hand.

"Withdraw!"

He finally succumbed to the pressure.

The chief spat out a mouthful of saliva and turned to leave with his men.

A loud thud.

The inspector's gun was knocked to the ground.

Mike reached out and poked him in the middle of the forehead, "Afraid to shoot, what are you waving around for?"

Baron's body was grabbed by the young man and thrown into the cargo van.

It was expected that Williams would use various tactics and rhetoric to deceive the other party.

But unexpectedly, he relied on sheer strength.

"The Third Generation Sacred Sovereign, Constantine, once joked that none of the rules in Ember were made for the weak, and so he had to become strong to enjoy the protection of the rules. But when he finally qualified to use the rules to protect himself, he found that he no longer needed them, and instead became someone who violated the rules."

Williams, sitting in a wheelchair, passed by him, "But he never thought that power itself was a sin... The truly guilty are those who abuse power."

Mike was taken aback.

"Fighting fire with fire is the best therapy for this sick world."

Williams glanced at him, finally restraining his murderous intent, and said with a hint of a smile, "Fellow patient, can you still keep your mind clear when the holy rage is flaring up?"

The scene of Mike knocking over the stall while not forgetting to leave the merit ticket was seen by Williams, who was hiding in the shadows, otherwise he wouldn't have asked such a question.

Mike shrugged, "I was just spiking my blood pressure, not going crazy."

Williams raised his eyes to the burning neighborhood and sighed softly, "It's rare these days to find someone who still cares about the lives of the lower class."

"I'm from the lower class myself."

Mike shrugged indifferently, then changed the subject, "Besides, that money is nothing compared to the compensation I get for helping your Heresy Tribunal."

He said firmly, "Where's my payment?"

In the underground of the Heresy Tribunal, the sturdy black prison was stained with blood, with hundreds of candles burning in the corridors, and chains hanging on the metal doors, swaying slightly.

Muffled growls could be heard from within the doors.

"The boss doesn't seem too happy."

Rose raised an eyebrow and casually asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Damon said in a low voice, "The boss also came from the underground district, and did a lot for those people, even killing many. He thought their lives might improve, but after returning there years later, it's still the same."

Williams, sitting in the wheelchair, seemed not to have noticed their whispering.

When he came to the underground district, he had already ordered his subordinates to conduct a thorough investigation. He was more familiar with the place he used to live than anyone else, and he had his unique methods.

In the end, he got the result he wanted.

But this result made him feel sad.

Because the heretics who eventually emerged were all from the underground district without exception.

"What kind of life made them willing to turn themselves into demons?"

Williams murmured.

Mike's heart stirred, "This is a city of evil, a world of error. When I was a good person, you oppressed me. When I was a bad person, you condemned me."

Williams and the others looked back at him.

"This is what Baron said to me before he died."

What Mike remembered most deeply were the memories he saw.

For some reason, when he devoured the Dark Matter, he could see the host's related memories.

That should be the most painful memory of Baron's life.

When he recalled it, he extracted the keywords:

Progenitor Hive, Decaying Spectre.

Evolutionary Chain.

Heretical Art.

He didn't know what these terms meant, maybe he could find the answers in the Heresy Tribunal.

"If there was no inevitability, no one would turn themselves into that."

Williams changed the subject, "I didn't expect that you have already initially condensed your Fate, and are even a rare Celestial system. In that case, the reward I prepared for you before is no longer useful."

Mike, thinking of the terrifying power this man had unleashed today, said eagerly, "Is the Praxis you mentioned the advanced application of Fate? If possible, I'd like to get the usage method of Praxis in advance, so I can use it when I upgrade to the second realm."

Williams gave him a sidelong glance.

Damon and Rose also showed a helpless expression.

"What's wrong?"

Mike frowned.

"The Celestial system is very rare, and the Lightning attribute is even rarer. Looking at the entire Avalon City, there may not be a second one. People with this kind of Fate are usually super geniuses from Celestia City. If you can demonstrate your talent, your prospects are limitless."

Williams said indifferently, "I'm a Fire attribute, how can I have a Lightning Praxis?"

Mike was stunned.

This was something he hadn't expected.

"I do have an acquaintance who, like you, is also a Lightning attribute."

Williams changed the subject.

"Where?"

"You'll have to go to Holy Mountain to find her. She's been dead for many years."

"..."

Mike was at a loss for words.

A few days ago, Isabelle had mentioned Holy Mountain to him, which was a mysterious place that Avalon City was responsible for guarding, the holy land where the Third Generation Sacred Sovereign rose to power, almost unreachable.

Those who try to explore that secret usually don't come back alive.

And here, right in front of him, was one of them.

"However, her files are still kept in the military archives, and there may even be memory crystals left behind by her. Although many years have passed, no user with lightning-type evolution has ever appeared. If you can obtain enough recognition, you can go to the military archives to claim them."

When Williams mentioned this person, his gaze became wistful, "She was also a candidate saint pursuing the path of the Sacred Sovereign, not just the Praxis she left behind, but also her path of spiritual advancement - you can refer to that as well, it will greatly benefit you."

Mike asked skeptically, "What's your relationship with her? Were you lovers?"

Williams shook his head, "She's my sister."

"As for the reward I promised you, we'll have to leave that for later. I just lost a lot of money, so I'm quite broke right now."

Mike suddenly realized.

The reason he was willing to compensate those merchants was largely because the amount was small and didn't hurt him, it was just to put his mind at ease.

If he was so broke that he couldn't make ends meet, would he still compensate them?

He didn't know.

But Williams was different - even if he was broke, he would still compensate.

"Time is of the essence, the law enforcement personnel have indeed shown up today, we must hurry. First, we need to find out exactly what they encountered and what kind of power they obtained." Williams opened the door to a prison cell, in the dark depths where Necro Cult members were restrained in straitjackets.

Mike's expression changed slightly.

He already had part of the answer to this question.

"Sir, someone has already interrogated them before we arrived." Damon reported, "But they won't talk."

"Won't talk?" Rose questioned, "Is that true?"

The interrogation methods of the Heresy Inquisition were already infamous, once someone was in their prison, there were very few who could keep their mouths shut, and it was rare for anyone to be able to remain silent here.

What kind of super tough guy was this?

In the darkness, the Necro Cult members in straitjackets, from beginning to end, had only one sentence.

"Sathaam, Abaalya! Sathaam, Abaalya!"

Even when severely injured, this was all they said.

No matter how formidable the interrogation methods, they were useless against lunatics.

Or perhaps the essence of humanity is just parroting.

"Their bodies are abnormally tough, and their self-healing abilities are very strong after mutation." Williams analyzed, "This group is not afraid of pain."

"Sathaam, Abaalya! Sathaam, Abaalya!"

The Necro Cult members murmured in a trance-like state.

Everyone has weaknesses, but they seem to have none.

At least physically, they appeared impregnable.

As for their mental state...

Wait a minute!

Mike stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall when a sudden idea struck him.

"Good girl, go get daddy a piece of rotten meat, the smellier the better."