Chapter 452: Meeting the Pope Again! Light and Memory

“But speaking of which, if Nuwa’s problem is pollution, then…”

Chu Bamboo looked up at the metal ceiling. ‘Z must be having the same problem right now, right?’

“I’ll find out after I make a trip to Mars!”

Shaking his head, Chu Bamboo’s brow furrowed deeply. “There’s one more thing I don’t understand… Why didn’t Nuwa tell me before that the pollution is Extraordinary Power, and that the key is emotion… Oh!”

It dawned on Chu Bamboo that Nuwa probably didn’t know what she could or couldn’t tell him. ‘Or rather, the AI couldn’t be sure! So it chose the most conservative approach… As for the Nuwa Mainframe narrating everything without a care, that’s naturally because she’s half-insane.’

Heck, even Chu Bamboo himself didn’t know what he was allowed to know. The only way he could find out was through trial and error—sealing his own memories to pinpoint the exact information he was permitted to access.

“What a pain!” Chu Bamboo sighed. “So… what’s the next step?”

Chu Bamboo closed his eyes and thought for over ten minutes before finally making a decision. “Let’s continue! But this time, I just won’t perform the Fengshan ritual to awaken Nuwa.”

Then, Chu Bamboo picked up Little Mushroom Head and continued with his previous operations.

At eight o’clock, following Huo Qiming, Hu Kaikang successfully walked out of the underground base.

He further streamlined the process and called on Huo Qiming to act as muscle, clearing away any obstacles that were wasting his time on the way into the Underground Temple. By one-thirty in the afternoon, everything was ready!

Earlier, at eleven in the morning, Chu Bamboo had taken control of the Nuwa Base in the Great River Industrial Belt. As he was heading north, he issued an order for some of the drones in those regions to start moving north as well. As a result, by one-forty-five, a sufficient number of drones had gathered near the Imperial Capital.

Finally, with a single command from Chu Bamboo.

…

「Two-thirty in the afternoon.」

More than half the empire was once again under Chu Bamboo’s control.

However, this time, Chu Bamboo never once showed his face in the Imperial Capital. To be more precise, he never even went there. All his directives were basically airdropped via Nuwa and the Hive, a bit of remote micromanagement reminiscent of some armchair general.

Chu Bamboo took an unmanned shuttle and sped to the Celestial Capital to meet with the Pope again.

“…Should I call you Mr. Zhu now, or His Majesty the Emperor of Chu?” The Pope stared at Chu Bamboo’s face, a wry smile appearing. He was clearly having an existential crisis.

“Whatever you want!” Chu Bamboo was very casual, not caring in the slightest about the so-called throne. He cut straight to the chase: “I can promise you the status of a state religion! But you have to promise me one thing.”

The Pope froze, his mind struggling to process this. His breath caught for a moment. That’s right—the Daqian dynasty had stubbornly refused to allow any state religion because of a strict decree from the Grand Ancestor Emperor… But the man before him had founded a new dynasty. Naturally, he called the shots now!

“…” The Pope’s expression became pious. “Do you wish for my support? Not a problem!”

“I will issue the order right now… All God Worship Churches everywhere are to use their full strength to suppress the emerging cults!”

“Good!” Chu Bamboo nodded. He knew this nod would inevitably create great risks for future generations… ‘But that’s all contingent on me not resetting,’ he thought. ‘Otherwise, it won’t count, of course.’

“Do you know Ji Lan?” Chu Bamboo spoke again. “He will undoubtedly attack me soon… so, I need you to send powerful bodyguards!”

Chu Bamboo’s next target was the C Company headquarters, but… even though he had already conquered the empire, it was almost inevitable he would be attacked—as long as word of his arrival got out!

The Pope frowned and fell into thought. After a moment, he said carefully, “Within the entire God Worship Sect in the Celestial Capital, there are only two people who can reliably defeat him!”

“? You’re that weak?” Chu Bamboo was shocked. He knew that one of the two people the Pope mentioned had to be the Pope himself… This was far beyond his expectations.

“…Perhaps you are underestimating this Great Scholar?” the Pope said with another wry smile. “The Celestial Capital is known as the second capital, and it’s also where the God Worship Sect is stationed… You must understand, the Imperial Capital… ah, has never quite trusted our Western Sect!”

Under these circumstances, the person the Imperial Court sent to oversee the Jiangnan region… couldn’t possibly be weak by any measure!

“So, you’ll come with me personally?” Chu Bamboo stared at the Pope with great interest.

“…Please forgive me, but I cannot get away!” The Pope was very frank. “In fact, for the past five years, I’ve basically been unable to leave the God Worship Sect headquarters for more than five minutes at a time! Only here can my spirit find some small measure of comfort…”

“Is that so? I see!” Chu Bamboo recalled his previous encounters with the Pope, a look of understanding appearing in his eyes. It seemed the Pope’s condition was also very poor, and he had to use this method to keep from being corrupted by the pollution. He paused for a moment, then said, “Then the other person…”

“…Her.” The Pope’s brow tightened, and he thought for a good while before saying, “How about this: I will keep a constant watch over you! If anyone attacks you… I will intervene at the first possible moment! Don’t worry, I can definitely make it in time…”

After a slight pause, a faint smile appeared on the Pope’s face, and his voice took on a trace of confidence. “When I am needed… I have never failed to arrive in time.”

‘?’ Chu Bamboo’s expression stiffened. ‘Are you serious? What a load of crap! If that were true… what about the problem in Jinghai? Why didn’t you make it there then…’

As he was internally mocking him, Chu Bamboo suddenly realized something. With a strange expression, he pressed his palm onto the Pope’s shoulder. “Don’t resist! I’ve already made you such a promise… You shouldn’t mind if I do something a little out of line, right?”

“?!” The Pope was clearly confused, but he ultimately suppressed the urge to counterattack.

With a solemn expression, Chu Bamboo began his analysis.

Divine Technique: Light

First Divine Power: Light of Purification—Purges negative statuses to a certain degree!

Second Divine Power: Light Bullet—Forms bullets from light! Possesses destructive power… At first, it has the force of a bullet, but as one’s Cultivation increases, it will gradually gain the power of a cannonball, a missile, or even higher-level projectiles…

Third Divine Power: Light Transformation—Transform the body into light, gaining the fastest speed in the world. However, one cannot arrive precisely at a specific location… it’s very easy to overshoot!

A look of astonishment appeared in Chu Bamboo’s eyes. ‘Strong… Terrifyingly strong!’

‘Recovery, attack, and speed! It’s developed in all three areas.’

‘But… this inability to arrive at a precise location is a real piece of work!’

Chu Bamboo forcibly suppressed the urge to keep mocking the Pope’s claim that “I have never failed to arrive in time”… After a moment’s hesitation, he chose to use his Destiny Divine Techniques.

Then, Chu Bamboo maxed out his luck. After that, he chose Reproduction… Although the power from his Destiny Divine Techniques had not yet dissipated, the slot it occupied freed up the moment he used it, leaving one of his three slots open.

The Pope gave Chu Bamboo a deep look but didn’t say anything more. He waited quietly.

After a few breaths, Chu Bamboo was panting slightly, and a light sweat broke out on his forehead. While it wasn’t exactly strenuous, Reproduction was definitely not easy for him. It consumed one-third of his Blessing Power.

The next moment, the Pope placed a hand on Chu Bamboo’s shoulder. Chu Bamboo gave the Pope a strange look, and then his pupils contracted. He was astonished to find that his Blessing Power had been fully restored. Recalling what he had just discovered, his voice held a trace of uncertainty as he said, “…Purification?”

“…So that’s how it is.” The Pope nodded thoughtfully. Realizing that Chu Bamboo knew about his Divine Power, he naturally assumed the abnormality he’d sensed earlier was Chu Bamboo’s probing. He immediately said, “Yes! Purification.”

“…” For a moment, Chu Bamboo didn’t know what expression to make. ‘So this so-called “purging all negative effects” doesn’t just heal injuries—it can even “purify” a lack of energy… and restore it to full?!’

‘This Divine Technique is too ridiculous!’

‘Good thing this Divine Technique is mine now, though…’

‘Of course, I’m also wondering if the recovery aspect of my Memory Divine Techniques could achieve a similar effect in the future—restoring my Energy to full whenever I use it.’

‘If it can do that… wouldn’t it basically be a perpetual motion machine? I’d have an endless supply of Blessing Power!’

‘I’m suddenly itching to try it out.’ He forcibly calmed himself down and made up his mind. ‘Next time, I’ll have my “good buddy” do some proper research on this…’