Chapter 453: Key? Key! The Drastic Transformation of C Company Headquarters

“Hive!” Chu Bamboo took out his phone. “Temporarily place C Company’s headquarters under lockdown—no, put the entire twenty-kilometer radius around C Company under lockdown. Have all civilians return home!”

Just locking down C Company headquarters would be a dead giveaway. Any fool would know something was up. That would definitely draw Ji Lan’s attention… Although Chu Bamboo had come to an understanding with the Pope, that was more of an insurance policy. It was best to avoid a confrontation if possible.

Ji Lan was a threat, but not an absolute one to Chu Bamboo… or rather, Chu Bamboo was currently exploiting a blind spot. Any normal person would assume he was in the Imperial Capital right now.

As for why a lockdown was necessary… that was, of course, a precaution in case he needed to display a certain amount of Extraordinary Power in front of C Company’s headquarters.

“…Yes!” Hive’s voice was calm.

“…How nostalgic!” the Pope suddenly said, his expression turning complex, tinged with a sigh of wonder and reverent awe. “So… Your Excellency has not only received Wa Huang’s approval, but even this one’s…”

“?! Wait! You know Hive?” Chu Bamboo was startled, then it dawned on him. ‘The Pope must know Z… and they probably aren’t very familiar with each other! Just on the level of having met and spoken before…’

After all, while Hive’s voice was very similar to Z’s, it wasn’t exactly the same.

“‘Hive’? What is that?” Confusion appeared in the Pope’s eyes.

“?”

“…This person,” the Pope said, sensing the disbelief on Chu Bamboo’s face and keenly realizing something. He asked cautiously, “Isn’t this… the God of Mechanics and Industry?”

“???” Chu Bamboo’s brain short-circuited for a moment. ‘He’s talking about… the Mo Saint of the Mo Family? Isn’t Z Emperor Ziwei of the Celestial Court?!’

‘Wait!’ A flash of realization hit Chu Bamboo’s eyes. ‘Right, how could I have forgotten… Although Z joined the Celestial Court, it’s obvious she didn’t meet her end with God. She must have been active in the mortal world for some time.’

‘Considering the various Divine Positions…’

‘The one for mechanics and industry would suit her best!’

However…

“…Could she… also be the God of Wisdom and Literary Qi?” Chu Bamboo asked tentatively. For some reason, he thought of… the Z from The Matrix Line!

The Pope’s expression froze. He turned his head in terror and looked through the stained-glass window toward the sky—flashes of lightning had actually appeared in the heavens.

A few breaths of silence…

The atmosphere froze like amber.

Finally… the lightning gradually dissipated.

“…You scared the life out of me!” The Pope wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He bit his lip, staring daggers at Chu Bamboo, the curses caught in his throat. Considering the man’s identity, he ultimately swallowed his anger and said, “Your Majesty, even with your status, you must never utter such blasphemy…”

“Even a Heavenly Monarch is ultimately a ‘son of heaven’… You must maintain reverence when facing the gods, who are said to be aspects of heaven itself!”

“To say nothing of the fact that becoming a qualified Heavenly Monarch requires performing the Fengshan Rituals! Only then can one, on some level, communicate with the gods!”

“…You mean the gods are still alive? And they even… have the ability to walk the earth?” Chu Bamboo was thoroughly intrigued.

“…I don’t know!” The Pope shook his head, but his words were firm. “But I do know that if you continue on this path… something bad is bound to happen in the future!”

Chu Bamboo: “…”

“Alright, alright!” Chu Bamboo made a time-out gesture, indicating his surrender. But he was now thinking, ‘Doesn’t this mean the Mo Family is the force most worthy of my trust?’

‘Well, this experience will certainly be useful next time!’

‘No… considering I also have the Buddha Saint’s halo in my head… should I also make a trip to the Buddhist Sect and see if I can swindle them?’

‘If everything goes smoothly, then I’m not really lacking for Extraordinary Power, am I…’

Chu Bamboo’s mood lightened. He said casually, “Well then… I’ll leave the rest to you!”

The Pope snapped back to reality. He didn’t say anything more, just nodded with a solemn expression.

Chu Bamboo gave a slight laugh, wiped a hand across his face, and activated his Power of Overwriting. He instantly transformed into a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, the very image of himself from his time as a vagrant in the Celestial Capital.

He was certain that even if Ji Lan figured out Mr. Zhu’s identity, there was no way he could have also dug up his identity as a vagrant in the Celestial Capital.

Humming a tune, Chu Bamboo walked out with calm and composure.

The Pope stared at Chu Bamboo’s back for a long, long time, a strange note in his voice.

“A being chosen by… both Wa Huang and the Mo Saint…?”

Closing his eyes, the Pope said no more. He turned around and faced the faceless statue of God, beginning to pray piously.

…

「The Heaven-Reaching Ladder.」

Chu Bamboo circled it once, scratching his head. “So… where’s the gift Z told me about? Isn’t this the same as last time… umm, Hive, you should know the answer, right?”

“There are no relevant records in the database!” Hive’s response was the same as always.

Chu Bamboo fell silent for a moment, almost laughing out of frustration. Suddenly, he realized something and pondered for a moment. “Wait! Z must have made sure… that C Company’s headquarters would only sense my arrival and activate when it was me, and only me…”

‘Is it because I look like a teenager now? That can’t be it… Even as a teenager, it’s still *my* teenage face! It should be able to detect me… Should I try using my original appearance?’

After trying again and walking another circle, Chu Bamboo looked at the still-unresponsive company headquarters: “…”

Suddenly, he heard a piercing clap of thunder… A vast wave of Confucian Qi, carrying an oppressive presence that was hard to describe, rushed toward him from a distance. “I knew it!”

Chu Bamboo rubbed his temples with a wry smile. ‘The disguise was fine, but the moment I showed my real face…’

In the next instant!

A scorching white light erupted, illuminating the entire world as if a sun had suddenly risen out of thin air.

“…Oh my god!”

“I’m done for!”

“Son of a bitch, what the hell! Did the Sun fall down?!”

The civilians, completely unaware of what was happening, thought they were witnessing some bizarre atmospheric phenomenon. The white light and the lightning made brief contact, then both vanished completely.

The attack on Chu Bamboo didn’t continue. More accurately, Ji Lan’s strike was more of a probe.

Meanwhile…

“…Interesting!” Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. He could feel waves of powerful Divine Thought Power attempting to invade him, but they were quickly dispelled by a warm force—a warmth just like the Pope’s hand that he had held earlier.

‘Good, Old Fang is still reliable!’ Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Chu Bamboo once again gazed at the Heaven-Reaching Ladder before him, completely stumped. ‘So my real face isn’t the key either, huh?’

‘Then what else could be the key… hmm?!’ Chu Bamboo’s expression grew strange. ‘The key… it has to be something that only I possess, something that only I can command!’

‘Thinking about it that way…’ “…Hive, I’ll ask one more time… you really don’t know?” Chu Bamboo’s expression was subtle.

“I do not know!” Hive was as consistent as ever.

“…Fine, then!” Chu Bamboo shrugged. “Bring the Aerospace Carrier… no, not just that one, bring the other two operational drone carriers over too!”

‘These things… are probably the only things only I can command, right?’

‘Of course, if this still isn’t the answer… ‘ Chu Bamboo began to wonder if he should dig up Hive’s main server. But that was unlikely to be it…

And then…

BOOM!

The moment the Aerospace Carrier and the drone carriers arrived, a beam of white light shot out from the junction where the main body of the Heaven-Reaching Ladder met the space elevator that shot up to the heavens. It precisely illuminated one drone carrier and the Aerospace Carrier…

“Initiating unlock sequence!” Hive’s voice suddenly changed. “Please begin authentication… There are three conditions for authentication. Please ensure your strength is sufficient…”

“Skip, skip, skip all of it!” Chu Bamboo said without hesitation.

Until the interface reached…

“…Initiate?”

As if he even needed to be asked, Chu Bamboo said, “Yes!”

The next moment, the massive, completely enclosed black building before him began to change.

Countless black walls, like roll-up garage doors, slowly retracted upwards, revealing one perfectly normal window after another.

Even the main entrance… slowly appeared amidst the transformation!

The black structure now exuded a solemn, dignified air.

Chu Bamboo happened to be standing right in front of one of the doors. He looked at the giant number “3” on it… ‘This must be Gate 3!’

A dead silence.

The expressions of the top-tier Transcendents in the Celestial Capital who had been watching this place changed dramatically. Some were shocked and disbelieving, some frowned deeply, and others lost their composure entirely…

Among them, Ji Lan’s emotional fluctuation was the greatest. “…Impossible! Absolutely impossible! If I remember correctly… that place is supposed to be…”

Because Ji Lan had once heard a legend… that since ancient times, only the Grand Ancestor Emperor had ever managed to make this Holy place react… Of course, it was only a reaction… even the Grand Ancestor Emperor had never entered!

‘But why could this traitor… accomplish something that even the Grand Ancestor Emperor couldn’t?!’

‘By what right…’

「Within Fengming Temple.」

The current Abbot was fingering his Buddhist Beads, his gaze deep as he sensed the opening of the Ancient Ruins. He was already considering whether he should rush over and kill the intruder. However… he felt the abundant Power of Light!

That was, without a doubt, a warning and a deterrent from the Bright Pope—

The Bright Pope was, naturally, the strongest individual in all of Celestial Capital City at this moment… If not, the Celestial Capital would not be considered the territory of the God Worship Sect.

Besides…

“…Fine. I’ll consider it giving face to the Emperor!” The Abbot of Fengming Temple finally closed his eyes. No matter how powerful a Transcendent was, they had to be cautious and reverent when facing the Heavenly Monarch… even if this particular one was so unusual in every way… and even though the world had not yet been fully stabilized!

After all, if they angered the Heavenly Monarch and he decided to destroy temples and suppress Buddhism, that would be a real disaster…

The Heavenly Monarch might not be able to wipe out all of the Buddhist Sect’s Transcendents, but if he wanted to, and was willing to pay the price, he could certainly inflict a devastating blow on Buddhism’s influence in the Mortal Realm—he could even completely eradicate the Buddhist presence in the core territories firmly under the dynasty’s control…