Chapter 159: Human Joys and Sorrows Are Not Shared

"Has anyone been here to clean before?"
"No."
"Have you seen Dust Civil 12581?"
"No."
"Have you seen the newly arrived Dust Civil?"
"No."
"No."
"No..."

Wherever the Law Enforcers of the Church of Light and Shadow went, chaos followed. After all, the entire Lighthouse was made of metal, and the high heels of the Lotus-Light Envoy clanked loudly against the deck.

Following Charles's orders, she led a group of Law Enforcers not only questioning everyone they met but also conducting thorough searches everywhere. She condescended to visit the pigeon cages, searched the dormitory assigned to Zhou Shu, and ransacked the rooms of other Dust Civils as well.

For those whose doors were locked because they were out working, she simply had the big dogs kick them open. After searching everywhere, ignoring any contraband hidden by certain Dust Civils, and failing to find Zhou Shu, they left. However, this left the Dust Civils trembling in terror, hurriedly throwing their belongings out of the Lighthouse from the high levels.

Fortunately, there was no one down below at the moment, and even if anything hit something, it would just hit a monstrous beast. It was a net positive.

"What on earth do you think that newcomer did to make the Law Enforcers of the Church of Light and Shadow make such a huge fuss?"
"He must have done something terrible. I hope he gets caught soon; I can't wait to see the burning at the stake."
"Yeah, I haven't seen a burning in so long. I wonder if he'll cry and beg for mercy."
"I heard he was chosen to clean the periphery of the Blessing Hall, but he never showed up. That's a total blasphemy against the Lord of Light and Shadow!"
"Ah, no wonder he's being hunted by the Law Enforcers. If I see him, I'll definitely report him!"
"Hehe, true. Maybe we'll even get a reward. How about a Marked Civil status as a reward?"
"Hehe, I think that would work! With a Marked Civil status, I could finally go check out the Dawn Hall..."

Listening to these discussions, 4068, who was carrying goods nearby, curled his lip in silent scorn. *You ugly freak, you want to become a Marked Civil? And you want to go to the Dawn Hall? Go eat shit!*

*Although Lord Zhou Shu loves to brag, his combat skills are top-notch. If these useless Law Enforcers could catch him, humanity would have returned to the surface long ago.*

***

However, compared to 4068, who had absolute trust in Zhou Shu's combat prowess, 4079, who stood beside him, was slightly less convinced.

Their personalities could even be told apart from their hairstyles: 4068 had a spirited, short-cropped buzz cut, while 4079 had fluffy, slanted bangs and ear-length blonde hair that looked dull and lifeless.

Leaning closer to 4068, 4079 whispered anxiously, "What should we do? Should we go look for Lord Zhou Shu so he can hide quickly?"

"Are you stupid?" 4068 nudged him with his shoulder, whispering back, "So many Law Enforcers can't find Lord Zhou Shu, how could the two of us possibly find him?"

"Besides, I believe in Lord Zhou Shu. Those good-for-nothings have no way of finding him, and even if they did, they couldn't catch him."

"Instead of thinking about this, we should hurry up and finish moving these things, then go back and hide the contraband we brought up from below. Right now, they're searching for Lord Zhou Shu and aren't paying attention to those things, but once they realize they can't find him, they'll definitely take their anger out on us!"

Hearing 4068 mention this, 4079 grew nervous again. "Right, let's hurry up and work to hide those things. 4277 has the most stuff on her side; we need to figure out how to handle her share too."

"Mmm."

4068 replied, putting down the goods and looking toward the Marked Civil residential area. He had a hunch that Zhou Shu must have gone there.

Someone for whom killing monstrous beasts on the ground was as easy as eating a meal would never care about the Lighthouse's rules. If the Lighthouse had given him a very high position, it might be a different story, but giving him the status of a Dust Civil right off the bat—put himself in Zhou Shu's shoes, and 4068 figured he would have turned the Lighthouse upside down.

Just like... just like that Monkey King.

Even if Zhou Shu wouldn't be as extreme as that, he certainly wouldn't wrong himself.

On the other side, Zhou Shu certainly wasn't wronging himself. He was currently swimming in an ocean of knowledge, feeling immensely happy.

However, to minimize the risk of exposure, he hadn't left the data room all day, which also meant he hadn't eaten or used the restroom for an entire day. Fortunately, he was very strong now; missing a meal or two had zero effect on him. He had previously gone a week without food or water anyway.

Similarly, with his digestion and nutrient absorption being thorough enough, his need to use the restroom was greatly reduced.

While he spent the day indoors, the Lighthouse had a miserable time.

The actions of the Church of Light and Shadow had begun to interfere with the normal operation of the Lighthouse. They barged into places where work protocols prohibited entry during operational hours. Technicians working diligently would suddenly have their doors pushed open, scaring them so badly that their hands slipped, ruining data that had taken hours to verify, or snapping a screw right into an interface.

Ultimately, during the afternoon daily council meeting, the City Lord directly questioned the matter.

"Charles, do you know how much of an impact a single order of yours has had on the Lighthouse? Give me a reason."

What reason could Charles give? Could he say, "Zhou Shu didn't show me respect, so I want to fix him"?

As the head of the Church of Light and Shadow, he could be angry in private, but in public, he had to maintain the dignity befitting his position. How did religion convict people? Naturally, by letting God "step forward."

So, Charles bowed gracefully, raised his head, and said, "Because he blasphemed the Lord of Light and Shadow and fled from justice, I am arresting him."

***

The others: "..."

Not this again.

This trick really was a one-size-fits-all solution.

However, the old City Lord still knew what was truly important, and the Church of Light and Shadow had been established by Charles under his original tacit approval. Therefore, he said, "Let it end here, Charles. If the Lord of Light and Shadow descends, He will surely forgive that child, because that child brought supplies to the Lighthouse according to His instructions."

"Furthermore, the actions of those Law Enforcers have severely disrupted the operation of the Lighthouse. If the Lord of Light and Shadow were to descend once more, I doubt He would be pleased to see a chaotic Lighthouse. Therefore, I want you to immediately halt the massive search and restore order to the Lighthouse."

The old City Lord made his stance clear, prompting Charles to think carefully about the true purpose behind the establishment of the Church of Light and Shadow.

Hearing these words, Charles's expression shifted slightly, but he still bowed gracefully and replied, "Very well, City Lord—大人!"

His etiquette and delivery were flawless, but some people acutely caught the tone in his voice.

Among them, of course, was Mark.

He could already feel Charles's lust for power expanding, gradually influencing the people on the Lighthouse through the power of the Church of Light and Shadow. According to whispers occasionally overheard by Hunter-Raiders, public opinion on the Lighthouse was beginning to attribute the retrieval of supplies not to the Hunter-Raiders, but to Charles's pious prayers.

This was certainly not a good sign.

As the City Lord grew older—even if he chose to ignore the Age of Departure rules he himself had set—he no longer had the energy to manage the affairs of the Lighthouse. Coupled with his severe heart condition, his health was deteriorating further.

It was foreseeable that the Lighthouse would soon welcome a new City Lord, and Mark felt that Jing Nan was a suitable candidate.

Though he didn't want to admit to personal bias, he felt that having Jing Nan as City Lord would be beneficial for the Hunter-Raiders. He himself was unfit to be City Lord and had never desired the position, feeling that he was only good at fighting monstrous beasts.

Even Victor, the commander of the garrison forces, would do; having followed the old City Lord for many years, he was the most familiar with and strictest enforcer of the Lighthouse's rules.

In any case, it could not be Charles.

Mark felt that if Charles became City Lord, the Lighthouse wouldn't be far from "crashing."

This "crash" could be on a physical level or a spiritual level, but either way, it would spell disaster for the Lighthouse and for humanity. It would only benefit Charles.

Now that the old City Lord had spoken, Mark felt things were taking a favorable turn. Perhaps he wouldn't even have to wait until the next scavenging mission for Zhou Shu to join the Hunter-Raiders as a Marked Civil.

With the council meeting concluded, Mark hurriedly dispatched Hunter-Raiders to search for Zhou Shu, while the old City Lord summoned Charles into his office.

He had some things to discuss with Charles, in the name of a long-overdue father and son.