Endless Debt Chapter 1173 - 24: Perfect Society (Part 2)

Aimou asked, "Do we need to report to the Decision Room?"

"No rush. I want to see what that Priest is really like."

Bologue tightened his grip on Aimou’s hand, pushed through the crowd, and walked toward the front. When the last ray of sunlight vanished from the sky and countless torches rose around the square, a pitch‑black silhouette stepped steadily onto the high platform, the golden Cross on his chest glinting in the firelight.

"Good evening, everyone."

The Priest’s voice was very calm and deep, carrying a reassuring quality, as if in front of him you could set down all your defenses.

Bologue studied the Priest’s face. Unfortunately, the flickering firelight failed to illuminate it fully; all Bologue could see was a pair of tea‑tinted glasses. Aside from the golden Cross on his chest, that was his only distinguishing feature.

As always, the Priest first opened the Scripture and, following his memory, checked where he should begin. Then he swept his gaze across the townsfolk—or rather, the believers—who had come. Among them, the Priest spotted Bologue and Aimou at a glance.

Under the Priest’s management, Gray Stone Town had been divided into one large and one small area. The larger area was where the old townsfolk lived; that was Gray Stone Town proper. The smaller area was a newly developed zone further out on the edge of Gray Stone, where a trading post had been built, and around that post, ring after ring of residential quarters had sprung up.

No matter how closed‑off Gray Stone Town was, it still needed material exchange with the outside world. But the outsiders who came in couldn’t stand the townspeople’s borderline deranged worship of the Priest. Because of that, they only moved around near the trading post, rarely going deeper into town, let alone taking part in the square sermons.

Over time, these two areas, one large and one small, were divided by the townsfolk into the New Town and the Old Town. Under the Priest’s leadership, the Old Town became a perfect society where crime was eradicated, while the outsiders in the New Town only wanted to make money and couldn’t care less about anything that happened in the Old Town.

So, the first moment the Priest saw Bologue, he took this stranger for an outsider from the New Town. That gave him a faint sense of comfort—what he had done was not without results.

First the Old Town, then the New Town, and next, the surrounding regions. The Priest believed that under his guidance, all evil would be wiped out.

"Oh? We have two new guests today," the Priest asked. "Are you interested in the faith as well?"

Bologue shook his head outright and said, without yielding an inch, "Just curious, that’s all."

The Priest kept a smile on his face. He didn’t say much more, only offered Bologue a courteous nod, then began his sermon.

The sermon ended without lasting very long; nothing happened in between, and as for anomalies, there were none at all.

Bologue had killed plenty of cult leaders. Those half‑baked theology dropouts always wrote some nonsensical Scripture to fool others. Bologue had assumed the Priest was cut from the same cloth and had even made plans for what came after.

For example, ambushing the Priest in secret, snapping his spine, then interrogating him.

But when Bologue listened closely to the sermon, he realized it was just a very ordinary sermon—in fact, word for word identical to the Scripture widely circulated on the market.

Bologue didn’t believe in God, but Adelle did. Whether in wartime or during the days after his release from prison, Bologue had heard her go on and on about these things. Even if he didn’t believe, he had at least picked up quite a bit by osmosis.

Looked at this way, this Priest was unexpectedly normal, even upright.

He cleaned up the town’s security, drove the crime rate down to nearly zero, boosted the economy so that every townsman had enough to eat...

Bologue didn’t seem to have much he could question him on. But he still discovered where the problem lay.

The Old Town was simply too perfect—so perfect it resembled an Earthly Celestial Kingdom, as if everyone’s desires had been suppressed and all evil thoughts had been transformed.

Bologue knew that was impossible. He never believed human desire could be suppressed, nor that evil thoughts would simply vanish—unless some other force was looming over them, forcing them to become "noble."

At that thought, a smile appeared on Bologue’s face. On this particular point, he understood all too well—just as in the things he himself had done.

Building an Earthly Celestial Kingdom is simple.

All you need is an absolute, unstoppable violence.

...

The New Town built around the trading post was very small, but its basic facilities were all in place. Once he sensed that something was off here, Bologue didn’t leave; instead, he stayed and began looking for an opening to act.

He booked two rooms at an inn, did some simple tidying up, and prepared for what was to come.

"Are you coming with me?" Bologue asked Aimou.

"Of course," Aimou said. "It’s just that the two of us moving together might draw too much attention."

As she spoke, Aimou took off her clothes... and nothing strange followed. Beneath the falling fabric was the Second Skin, clinging tightly to her body like a black leather suit.

In the dim light, Aimou’s body was like a graceful black silhouette, an artistic curve cutting the border between light and shadow.

After a bit of light stretching, Aimou tied up her long hair. She watched Bologue’s reaction, only to find the man remained utterly unmoved.

Aimou felt a bit disappointed and sighed helplessly. "So what’s your plan?"

"Go pay that Priest a visit. Have a talk with him," Bologue said.

"You don’t seem like someone who enjoys talking." In Aimou’s eyes, Bologue was always silent.

"That’s true. But life is life, and work is work," Bologue said with complete seriousness. "In a person’s words, there are bound to be slips."

"Mm."

Aimou agreed with Bologue. He might appear slow, but when it came to work, you could place absolute trust in him.

She伸出手, pressed her palm against Bologue’s back. After a brief pause, her entire hand sank into Bologue’s body; the overlapping flesh shimmered faintly.

Aimou kept going, slipping completely into Bologue’s body. With the blessing of Secret Energy·Heart Overlapping Shadow, the two became one.

Bologue could clearly feel there was something extra inside him, like a cold serpent crawling across his brain. A ghostly blue halo lit up at the bottom of his eyes, lending his already murderous aura a touch more of the uncanny.

"Makes you wonder—now that we’re working together, just how strong are we?" Aimou said, full of curiosity.

Bologue slowed his breathing until even his presence seemed to fade. As he activated Ethereal Concealment, Aimou also activated Ethereal Concealment. Under this dual shroud, Bologue’s Ether signature vanished completely, and even his sense of existence grew thin.

"Let’s go."

Bologue murmured to himself, grabbed his case, and slipped out of the inn like a soundless ghost.

To maintain contact with the outside world, Gray Stone Town had built, near the New Town, a lift that ran along the cliff face, as well as a switchback corridor clinging to one side. The scene was familiar—Qiushang Town inside the Great Rift had the same design.

Shortly after Bologue left, the lift descended slowly through the darkness, bringing another batch of outsiders into the New Town. Only, these outsiders carried no cargo at all; they didn’t look like traders.

Cold eyes surveyed the small town. Faintly, his breath carried a nauseating reek of blood.

"So this is the town where they went missing?"

A deep voice sounded among the outsiders. The others parted, and a tall figure stepped forward. His face was hidden beneath a red hood, and the skin that showed had a strange, blood‑tinged hue.

"What exactly happened?"