Chapter 370: Looking for a Replacement?

Chapter 370: Looking for a Replacement?

The certificate issued by the Sanctuary Church made it much easier for Zheng Yichen to enter the Academy. He arrived at the classroom where Lily was having her lesson. She hadn’t finished class yet. Well, this wasn’t a combat class, but a “culture class”—studying the Magic Weapon Summoning Book… Tsk, watching people study something he created and developed himself, he couldn’t help but feel quite proud.

While waiting, Carlin, who was secretly observing, widened his eyes. The Boss actually came to the Academy. Should he go over and say hello properly, or should he focus even more seriously on his work?

After struggling for a moment, Oss helplessly realized that going over to greet him would be abandoning his post. He was an Infiltrator, not an open bodyguard. Working more seriously—damn, he was an Infiltrator. What was the point of working harder other than being even harder to detect?

Right now, Zheng Yichen couldn’t see him. Even if he worked more seriously, Zheng Yichen still wouldn’t see him!

“I really wish someone could take over my job,” Carlin muttered in his mind, feeling a bit frustrated. Since the Boss was here, he could probably slack off a little and let his mind wander. He quickly thought about people he knew in the past. As for Infiltrators, there were a few good ones, but those people chose the Infiltrator profession mainly to pursue freedom. After all, Infiltrators mastered many skills.

Their wilderness survival abilities were also very strong. They loved to wander around everywhere. Asking them to stay in one place as an Infiltrator or something—even with generous treatment—they wouldn’t agree if it meant losing enough freedom. Those people were more suited to taking on scattered Quests that didn’t interfere with their own goals.

As for those who were neither good nor bad… Carlin thought about it. This type was even less suitable. They might change their stance because of certain temptations and didn’t stick to much… Otherwise, why would they choose to be Infiltrators?

Wasn’t it just about seeing when things were hopeless and immediately making a quick escape?

The bad ones… Well, most of the bad ones Carlin knew had pretty much been eliminated by him during collaborations because they tried to backstab each other. After thinking a lot, he realized there might not be anyone he could drag into this pit.

“My goodness, I didn’t really notice before, but now that I’ve encountered these things, I realize I don’t actually know that many people… When it comes down to it, there isn’t a single person who could replace me!”

Troubled, he rubbed his head. Carlin simply opened the Magic Weapon Summoning Book and clicked on a post, reading the latest updated news. Well, the problem in Windwhisper Valley was still serious. The Sanctuary Church had already sent a large number of Holy Knights there. The area was now half-sealed off. It wasn’t impossible to enter.

First, you had to meet the hard requirements related to strength. Not to mention anything else, you just had to be able to defeat the tester guarding the sealed border. If someone with too little strength went in, not to mention encountering accidents in Windwhisper Valley, the increasing pressure there alone could scare the weak-willed out of their minds!

As the storm intensified, the Witch’s Power inside Windwhisper Valley had begun to overflow and spread. Moreover, that place had started to produce some light rain. The raindrops were a murky gray and were highly polluting to living creatures. Even though the Sanctuary Church had done related Purification work there.

But Purification could only maintain the situation for a while, reducing the pollution concentration there. Without solving the root cause, the problem would still exist. Therefore, those without enough strength to resist the pollution there would experience abnormal shifts in their sanity, either going mad or having their consciousness twisted. Even kind people would commit acts of killing without blinking.

Well, this kind of slick measure made Carlin purse his lips. It was the Sanctuary Church’s usual style—first, they stood on the right side to cut off certain things. This time was no exception. They didn’t stop Adventurers or Mercenaries from entering the Lockdown Zone—provided your strength was sufficient.

See that tester? If you could last one minute against them, you could pass. Not strong enough? Sorry, for your own safety, please stay outside. Don’t want to leave? Then just watch from the sidelines.

Too many people testing, worried about the tester’s stamina? That’s even less of a problem. The stationed Holy Knights were more than enough. This play… no, if one gets tired, another will immediately take over. No need to worry about that!

Too many people, worried about slow testing speed? That’s also not a problem. There were also two-minute-level tests nearby, and even three-minute-level tests. If you could last through those, that worked too. If you could actually defeat them, even better. The Sanctuary Church provided ample resting places and food. You could rest properly before entering. Say no more—your strength deserved such treatment. The Lockdown Zone needed talents like you right now!

If you felt a bit idle during the rest, you could also participate in the tester’s work… Being idle was still being idle, right? Even if you didn’t want to find strong opponents, beating up weaker ones could help improve your mood.

In short, the Sanctuary Church fully utilized certain human mindsets. The Lockdown Zone was established very well. Those who couldn’t pass the test couldn’t complain about anything. Not strong enough? What was there to say? What was the point of saying anything?

Even if they argued their way through, would those who had worked hard to survive the fights agree? This further eliminated any possibility of them causing trouble or forming alliances.

“I’ve always thought that if the Sanctuary Church weren’t a proper organization, they could have conquered the world long ago,” Carlin couldn’t help but say after reading this latest news. “The Dark Church and such are totally weak in comparison.”

“The person has already left.”

“…Huh? Person? What… Oh no!” Catching sight of Zheng Yichen leading Lily, who had finished class, toward the Academy entrance from the corner of his eye, Carlin snapped his book shut and quickly got up to follow Lily. Even though the Boss’s arrival meant he could slack off, there had to be limits. If he wasn’t discovered, it was fine. But if he was discovered, what if points were deducted?

The last protection job ended in failure, making Carlin uneasy. Even though Zheng Yichen didn’t say anything afterward, he still returned some of the equipment he took from the Armory at that time. If the job had been done perfectly, he would have had no psychological burden keeping those things.

The problem was, he really hadn’t fulfilled his protection duty at that time. Even though circumstances forced it, failure was still failure. Luckily, the person he was protecting didn’t run into any accidents and instead gained potential power comparable to his own… It felt awful!

As Carlin left, he didn’t notice another pair of eyes watching him secretly in the shadows. That was also an Infiltrator, and one more skilled than him. After all, this was a famous Academy. Even if they hadn’t discovered him at first, after he became a regular here, if they still couldn’t detect him, then this Academy was basically just like that…