Chapter 821: Chapter 821

He Ao held a hamburger in his hand, flipped over, and jumped straight down from the SUV.

Lena glanced at him and hurried to follow.

The SUV was parked by the sea, the nearby roads worn and potholed with age, reflecting uneven colors under the dying evening light.

The sound had come from an alleyway that was somewhat narrow but seemed to be frequently trodden, as there wasn’t much accumulated snow, only a bit piled up by the roadside.

These scattered snowflakes mingled with the wet ground, extending all the way into the depths of the alley, reaching into the darkness untouched by the light.

He Ao’s speed was fast, and he almost instantly disappeared into the dark shadows.

Lena swept a glance over the secluded alley and quickly caught up to He Ao’s strides.

The alley was not flanked by towering buildings but by shanties made of broken bricks and rusted iron sheets cobbled together.

One by one, people in ragged clothes huddled in the shanties, watching the outside world warily through the gaps in the tin.

Lena observed all this with calm eyes.

She was familiar with this because she had lived in such an environment as a child and could even guess what the boy who had shouted was going through.

Her pace quickened slightly under the shadows of the ramshackle shanties, where the beautiful twilight seemed to lose its proper color.

A man robed in black, with deformed patterns tattooed on his arms, reached out to grab the woman in front of him by the throat and pinned her against the cold brick wall,

"Now that your husband is dead and your cousin has gone to the Eternal Divine Nation, probably never to return, you can’t protect yourself or your son. Why not hand over your valuables? It’s better than suffering here. You look good; the people on the boats are willing to pay a good price."

He leaned in closer, observing the still somewhat beautiful face beneath the woman’s dirty hair, lifting his other hand to lightly scrape a knife back across her cheek, his smile somewhat playful, "do you like being treated this way?"

The woman gathered a mouthful of saliva and spat it in the man’s face, "Bastard!"

The man wiped his cheek clean with the hand holding the dagger, staring at the woman and slightly increasing the pressure on his grip, "I hope you’ll be just as feisty when you’re sold."

A slightly frail boy picked up a piece of broken brick from the ground and yelled at the man.

The man turned around, smirking at the boy’s gaunt cheeks, "You think you can save your mom? Come on, then?"

He tapped his head with the handle of the dagger, saying with a grin, "Come hit me with this, hit hard."

The two men behind him, also wrapped in black robes, burst into laughter at the same time.

The whistling wind carried a cold dampness as it brushed past the man’s face.

The two standing behind him quickly dodged, avoiding the flying brick.

The brick was almost on target but just missed the man’s cheek, and had it been a bit further to the side, it would have hit him right in the forehead.

At this moment, the boy was already picking up another fragment of brick from the ground.

"You little bastard!"

The man’s former smile froze on his face, "Grab him!"

The two somewhat stunned henchmen behind him immediately reacted and charged at the boy.

The boy raised the brick in his hand to strike the attackers but was easily dodged, and then he was quickly pinned to the ground by the two adults, "Son of a bitch, asshole, animal, motherfucker, let me go!"

The boy struggled violently, beginning to curse the families of the two men holding him down.

At this time, the woman who had been clamped suddenly raised a foot, kicking towards the tattooed man’s groin.

She missed the kick, but it threw the tattooed man off balance.

Seizing the opportunity, the woman broke free and rushed toward her son at the side.

Accompanied by a curse, her hand was fiercely grabbed, and then, with a swing, it hit the wall with a thud.

The tattooed man glared at the woman with a ferocious look, one hand holding her throat, and the other hand pointing his dagger at the Eternal Radiance mark on his black robe,

"You f**king know who I am now, huh? You dare to mess with someone from the Church? You bitch."

He slid the dagger into his waistband and raised his hand, sneering, "I’m gonna check out your goods right now, let your son have a look too."

With a soft noise, the flying gravel struck the back of his hand, causing him to falter in his actions.

He lifted his head, glanced at his hand that was rapidly swelling and turning red, and looked in the direction from which the stone had come.

There was a blurry Shadow.

"The Eternal Secret Teachings are at work here, do you know who you’ve offended?!"

He bellowed at the Shadow, then casually threw the woman beside him into the open door of a nearby shanty.

He glanced at his swollen palm, pulled out the dagger from his waistband with the other hand, and said to his two underlings in front of him, "Fire!"

The two underlings hesitated for a moment, then drew their Qi-powered pistols and pulled the triggers at the Shadow.

Under the dim light, a skinny figure emerged from the Shadow. He lifted his hand, and his fingertips gently flicked twice in the air.

With two crisp sounds, the sharp bullets flew back, hitting the foreheads of the two underlings who had fired.

The bullets exited the backs of their heads, taking their falling bodies with them.

The boy pinned to the ground felt a sudden lightness. His eyes widened in disbelief at the unfolding scene.

He tried to see clearly what had just happened, but couldn’t make out anything.

All he heard were gunshots, and then saw that the figure in the Shadow seemed to raise his hand at a great speed, and then the two men pressing him went down.

"What the hell is that!"

The tattooed man was taken aback, and then reached toward his waist, pulling out a grenade.

In quick succession, he tossed the dagger first and then removed the safety pin from the grenade, intending to throw it after the dagger.

At this moment, the skinny figure from the Shadow fully revealed himself. He glanced at the half-flying dagger, took a step forward, and instantly appeared in front of the dagger, flicking it with his finger.

The whirling Dagger flew back, howling through the air, and abruptly plunged into the man’s throat.

Bright red blood sprayed out, and the man’s eyes bulged, staring in disbelief at the boy in front of him, not understanding how he had appeared so close all of a sudden.

At this time, he also let go of the grenade.

This was a delayed grenade, likely to explode by the time the boy reached it, and he might end up accompanying the man in death.

Then he saw the boy instantly appear in front of him, catch the falling grenade in midair, and stuff it into his clothes.

And grabbed his collar, hurling him upwards with force.

With a roaring explosion in the sky, the fierce firelight, like a fleeting sunset, lit up the dark alley.

The boy lying on the ground lifted his head, staring dumbfounded at the figure before him, at the pale cheeks under that firelight.

Like a Divine Being emerging from the flames.

He Ao looked down at the small boy on the ground and gave him a gentle smile.

Strictly speaking, the boy was an acquaintance.

The night before last, when he was dealing with the Hell Apostle Mechs that came to support at the Eternal Secret Teachings Cathedral, the boy had seen his Mecha nearby.

At the time, he even made a ’shh’ gesture, telling the boy to stay quiet.

He looked up at the buildings nearby; this spot was actually quite far from that day’s location.

At this time, the boy also got up from the ground. He looked up at He Ao and blinked, "Are you a Divine Being?"

He Ao shook his head.

The boy’s eyes widened in disbelief at his denial, then he gestured with his hands, "That move just now, the whooshing appearance, was it Instant teleportation?"

He Ao shook his head, "It’s a movement technique."

"Movement technique?"

The boy blinked, seemingly unable to understand the meaning of the word, then he pondered a moment, "Can I learn it?"

"I probably don’t have time to teach you,"

He Ao glanced at the boy and tilted his head, "Why do you want to learn this?"

"I want to protect my mom!"

At that moment, slow footsteps approached from behind the boy, and a woman covered in bruises and dressed in tattered clothes staggered out from behind the door.

He Ao calmly looked at the boy before him, "If you want to protect your family, I can introduce you to a teacher who will teach you things that can protect them."

The boy immediately said happily, then he paused and glanced at the shacks on either side of the alley’s shadows, carefully asking, "Can I teach these things to other people?"

"I’ve met a lot of people,"

The boy hesitated, then spoke softly, "They all want to protect their families."

"If you want to protect many people’s families, then what you’ll learn won’t be of use."

"Then what is useful?!"

The boy blinked, "You’re so powerful, you must have a way."

He Ao looked at the little boy with a helpless smile, "Don’t flatter me."

The boy’s clever ploy hit the mark, and his face turned red.

Then he heard He Ao say softly, "It’s a very difficult path, you might die on that road."

The boy immediately said, "I’ve been brave since I was little!"

He Ao looked at the boy before him and said nothing.

The boy thought he might have said something wrong, cautiously shrinking his head as he watched this ’little Divine Being’.

"I can introduce you to a teacher first."

After a brief silence, He Ao said softly.

Then the boy pondered for a moment and took out an amulet from his chest, "I don’t have money for tuition, can I give this to you? My mom bought it for me at the market. Although it’s not worth much, the Boss who sold it to me said it might bring safety to people. It’s all I have."

He Ao looked at the amulet in his hand.

It was a small crystal pendant with a silver chain, and in the middle of the pendant, encapsulated, was a tiny black and white alternating, eerie smiling mask.

"This mask, although it looked a bit scary when I first saw it,"

The boy said softly, looking at He Ao as he observed the pendant in his hand, "But after looking at it for a while it’s quite nice. The Boss said, the scarier the amulet, the more useful it is. He said this mask is related to someone called... called ’K’, as long as you believe in it, it will always bless you. I really believe in it."

He Ao shook his head, "Whether the teacher I find for you wants you is another question."

The little boy was taken aback, scratching his head, "I’ll work very hard."

At that moment, He Ao’s gaze lifted, looking toward Lena who stood behind the boy.

In fact, Lena had arrived earlier, but she had naturally started to chat with the boy’s mother upon seeing He Ao talking with the boy.

"Would you like something to eat?"

He Ao lowered his head to look at the boy’s frail face.

"Actually, I’m not very hungry..."

The boy instinctively refused.

The crisp sound of intestinal movement echoed in the shadowy corridor.

The boy blinked his eyes, and after a brief hesitation, looked at He Ao, "Small deity, may I borrow some money from you? I’ll pay you back when I’m capable and earning money."

He Ao gave him a glance, nodding, "Sure."

Then he turned around and walked into the darkness.

The boy also turned, intending to call out to his mother, but seeing her chatting with a red-haired lady, he quickly withdrew his gaze and followed behind He Ao.

"Small deity, are you naturally this powerful?"

"Small deity, how old are you? I’m ten. I feel like I’m almost as tall as you."

"Small deity, when I reach your age, would I be able to be as powerful as you?"

"Small deity, do you have any teacher to recommend to me? Can I learn mecha? You know, I saw a mecha the night before last, swish swish swish, boom boom boom, it was so cool!"

"Learning mecha requires a certain talent."

"Ah, isn’t there anything that doesn’t require talent?"

"There isn’t, but effort can make up for a lack of talent to some extent."

"I’m super hardworking! Small deity, why do you speak so little? You’re so cool."

Outside a simple fast-food restaurant, He Ao and Lena stood together, watching the mother and son inside, who were trying to eat their meal with controlled movements.

"This boy is the son of that lady and her previous husband. Her ex-husband was a crew member for United Industries and was killed by a creature from Storm Sea while mining; she didn’t receive any compensation."

Lena spoke slowly, recounting the ’intelligence’ she had just learned from the boy’s mother,

"In the Storm Zone, it’s very difficult for a widow with a child to survive, so she chose to seek refuge with her cousin. Then her cousin swindled all their money, donating it to the Eternal Secret Teachings to secure a place in the Eternal Divine Nation.

"They had no choice but to leave their original home and wander here, while her cousin’s wife and children wandered elsewhere."

She paused, then continued, "This lady’s skills and resources are actually quite good; I’m planning to recruit her into my company. There are some spare rooms in my secret base where they can stay for now."

"Thank you for the trouble."

He Ao nodded slightly, the butterfly on his shoulder slowly spreading its wings.

"This is a standard recruitment process."

After a full meal, Lena got into an off-road vehicle, ready to take the mother and son to the secret base.

"Small deity, aren’t you coming with us?"

The boy poked his head out of the car window, looking at He Ao.

"I still have some things to take care of."

The cold sea breeze teased He Ao’s locks of hair.

The boy watched He Ao’s cheek and suddenly said.

The off-road vehicle started, and He Ao watched as everyone departed.

Night had fallen, and the blood-red color on his shoulders slowly spread its wings.

The soul that had been in deep sleep within the butterfly had awakened.

He Ao gently raised his hand, an invisible domain opening in front of him.

Then, a human-shaped Illusion materialized before him.

Moonlight spilled onto the pitch-black sea surface, and the rising and falling waves lapped against the gravel.