Hey! Control Yourself! - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Failed Assassination

Before the experiment began, the mentors from both sides repeated several precautions.

“The destination is the year 4212 of the Gaya Era. The location is the Colossus Cathedral. You might encounter a church ceremony there…” Midway through the mentor’s sentence, the detector emitted a sharp, rapid alarm. It sensed a violent shift in the subterranean magnetic field, and the surrounding environment suddenly fractured.

Before anyone had time to prepare, the transmigration began.

A sense of weightlessness surged from the soul. After a momentary blur, the surrounding airflow slammed against him with crushing pressure, causing his heart to constrict instantly.

Shen Ji opened his eyes. The air was so fresh it made him gasp for breath. Above him, the starry sky was distorted like an ink wash painting; the light of every star scrambled to melt into his pupils, while chaotic, buzzing sounds bored into his ears.

Amidst the dizziness, he realized he was lying on a lawn. His body trembled uncontrollably, and it took a long while before he regained normalcy. He touched his limbs and facial features to ensure the space-time machine hadn’t left any parts behind.

Sha Mo and Llyrs were not far from him, their faces pale, looking as if they were suffering from motion sickness.

Shen Ji stood up: “Rey!”

With a splash, a figure emerged from a nearby canal, weakly raising a hand.

The group gathered and checked their light-brains, everything was functioning normally. Simultaneously, they discovered that the First Military Academy team was nowhere nearby.

Shen Ji walked across the grass, gazing at the sky. With footsteps that seemed to bridge fractured space-time, a bright, thick meteor streaked across the top of his head. They walked onto a bustling main road and heard the surrounding people arguing about something.

Shen Ji observed the style of these prehistoric people. Just as his father had said, Gaya humans were taller, their heads rounder, and they preferred long hair; gold and grey hair colors were extremely common regardless of gender. Because his father had taught him Gaya script since childhood, he could hear the troubles being voiced by the passersby—living, breathing troubles from prehistory.

The sensation was indescribable.

Llyrs looked up and said, “Our timing is wrong.”

Everyone followed his gaze toward the sky.

Rey: “What?”

Sha Mo: “Ha…”

Shen Ji looked up. A cathedral towering into the clouds dominated half the night sky. Massive red spiral passages hovered and coiled around the exterior of the building, emitting a crimson, dim light. Under the stars, it looked like a giant red serpent coiling around a Tower of Babel.

This was the legendary Colossus Cathedral—one of the masterpieces of the Gaya humans’ brilliant civilization. The prehistoric monolith combined wildness with solemnity; its dark, towering framework was such a visual shock that Shen Ji found it hard to look away.

Children’s hymns drifted from the cathedral to the flat riverbank, where the scent of fruit wine mingled with the fresh fragrance of laundry soap.

They had truly returned to the Gaya era. However, the time displayed on the clock tower was 4222.

“Ha!” Sha Mo was aghast. Rey covered his head: “D*mmit! Can we even get back like this? Are we going to be stuck here for the rest of our lives?!”

Llyrs remained calm: “It seems the location transport was correct, only the time is off. The mentors will surely find a way. We just need to focus on completing the mission.”

Rey rolled his eyes at him. Llyrs acted as if he didn’t see it. Sha Mo pulled up a projected itinerary filled with food and holy sites. Rey immediately whistled: “Beautiful. Send me a copy.”

In the midst of their chatter, the bells of the cathedral rang out deeply. Beneath the structure, a crowd had gathered at some unknown point.

Rey asked, “What… what day is it? A church service?”

Sha Mo recited from memory: “October 3rd, 4222. The 100th birthday of the 37th Pope of the Colossus Sect. Believers spent four years carving a massive mural for the Pope, with the unveiling ceremony happening tonight.”

Shen Ji stepped forward: “Yes. It was on this very day that the Colossus Sect began its turning point toward decline…”

He saw the Pope standing at the top of a high platform at the front of the cathedral, receiving the worship of the believers. Cameras from across the world were broadcasting this grand ceremony live.

Messengers held torches high to ignite the curtain covering the exterior wall. The red fabric erupted into raging flames that surged upward. The people waited for the Pope’s grand image to appear on the mural.

However, as the flames rose and the mural was revealed to the world, the people of the world widened their eyes, as did the believers beneath the cathedral.

The mural, which should have depicted the Pope, was now a scene of cruel, horrific sins: slaughter, child abuse, promiscuity, genetic experiments, gouging eyes, devouring hearts, and being flayed alive. These images were embedded into the sacred cathedral, vivid and lifelike. Each painting was like an arrow piercing the eyes of the believers.

The Pope stared abruptly at the figures on the mural, the muscles on his face twitching horizontally.

A reporter on the scene faced the camera: “A major accident has occurred during tonight’s unveiling of the Colossus Sect mural. The image that should have been the Pope has, as you can see, become a Wall of Sin. The specific cause is currently unknown… but this year, the Pope has already been mired in allegations of bribery, rape, human experimentation, and child abuse. It is not hard to guess that this Wall of Sin is targeted directly at the Pope himself…”

Rey activated his light-brain’s built-in recording device: “Looks like we came at the right time.” Bringing this back would be enough for his credit evaluation this year.

“Where’s Shen Ji?” Llyrs suddenly asked. Rey looked back: “Huh?”

Ding-ding. The spot where Shen Ji had just been standing was now occupied only by a human-shaped dotted line.

During the chaos, atop the building opposite the cathedral, Shen Ji stood by a top-floor window overlooking the scene inside the cathedral. Wearing a black mask and hat, he waited for Saint Lu to appear.

Suddenly, a gasp from the crowd interrupted the reporter. “It’s the demon Saint Lu!”

The camera zoomed in. Behind the arched floor-to-ceiling windows of the cathedral’s upper level stood a figure. Amidst the swirling mist, his signature pointed ears, red eyes, and white, curled long hair were revealed—hair so thick and long it trailed on the ground like tree roots. Behind him stood twelve black-clad followers, all core members of the Shaxing Organization.

“It really is Saint Lu!” Someone screamed! The scene turned chaotic.

“It’s Lord Saint Lu! It’s Lord Saint Lu!”

“No! It’s the great demon!”

“Yes! He is a demon!”

“Overthrow the Pope! Lord Saint Lu is our true master!”

“You have been completely bewitched by the demon!”

Shen Ji stood behind the window, watching this turning point in the storm of history. When he saw Saint Lu’s figure appear in the cathedral, his brow furrowed. There was at least five hundred meters between them, with a wire fence and a slanting roof in between; he could only see a blurry upper body.

Using his mental perception, Shen Ji magnified the scene before him, and his vision became crystal clear. It could be said that for the first time in eighteen years, he was seeing Saint Lu while fully conscious.

The man’s build was lean and powerful. He wore a long black suit. A cold whiteness seemed to radiate from his very bones, and he exuded a sickly, neurotic beauty. His gaze was deep and cold, attracting countless people to follow him to their deaths.

Saint Lu was standing exactly in the center of the pupil of the murdered child on the mural. The city lights flickered uneasily. Standing in the terrified eye of the child, Saint Lu carried the gaze of the entire world.

Only the craftsmen who had worked day and night knew that what they had carved with every strike of their chisels was the current Pope, not a Wall of Sin. It had taken them four years to complete this peerless mural. Why had it all changed overnight? Only the Shaxing Organization and Lord Saint Lu possessed such terrifying power in this world.

“It must be God’s grace! This is the will of God! Lord Saint Lu is our true Pope!” one craftsman shouted. More and more people joined the cry.

Shen Ji’s eyes remained fixed on the figure in the cathedral. Saint Lu at 36—what kind of existence was that? A demon compared to a falling meteorite, his combat and mental power at their peak, possessing unique empathy and powerful supernatural abilities. The Shaxing Organization in his hands was a headache even for the Gaya government; even the invincible Colossus Sect could be overturned with a wave of his hand.

Shen Ji knew his chances of killing Saint Lu in this situation were slim.

Mental energy stripped away from his body rapidly, floating in the wind like spider silk. The ends of these threads could sense the unfamiliar powers around him. There was clearly no defense in this immediate vicinity.

Saint Lu looked down at the crowd. He looked at the Pope, his voice calm and carrying a hint of a smile, yet it pierced through everyone’s chest: “This mural represents the Pope’s ‘achievements.’ Every part of it hits the Pope’s sexual interests perfectly. Let me guess, you must be feeling quite excited now, Your Holiness.”

The moment he spoke, the world went silent. Everyone stared at the Pope in horror. The Pope’s face turned deathly pale. He sneered: “Saint Lu, do not dream of imposing the world’s sins upon me. The Gaya people will never listen to the words of a demon.”

The believers were agitated: “Demon! Do not hope to bewitch us! The Pope is the chosen one of God! And you are the incarnation of a demon!”

Saint Lu’s eyes lost their last bit of patience, piercing through the Pope’s thoughts and consciousness: “Very well. To ensure the Pope is not wronged, please allow the people to remove the Pope’s trousers.”

Two members of Shaxing jumped directly from the cathedral into the air, landing beside the Pope. The frantic believers tried to protect the Pope, but it was too late. As the two landed, they grabbed the Pope’s magnificent robes from both sides and leaped apart, tearing the fabric open.

Under the shocked and bewildered gazes of the crowd, the Pope’s bloated body was exposed beneath the gaze of the divine statues. Something was obscenely erect. It formed a satirical contrast with the weeping children on the mural.

With a thunderous crash, something collapsed, and the people below began to shout in disappointment. Some obsessed believers still tried to save their Pope, but this only made the betrayed masses even angrier. The two sides fell into chaos, and the Pope was nearly torn in half.

Standing on the edge of the window frame, Shen Ji watched this history scroll thick with ink and color. He focused his mental energy, closing in on the demon in the cathedral, concentrating all his attention.

Now, several members of Shaxing had joined the fray. Only two faithful messengers remained beside Saint Lu, forming a perfect triangle. There was still a chance.

Shen Ji’s mental energy tightened from its scattered state, like an arrow on a string, waiting for the opportunity. The wind blew Saint Lu’s long white hair. The streetlights flickered as people collided with them. Someone drove a car into the divine statue in front of the cathedral. At that moment, Saint Lu turned and sat upon the Pope’s solid gold throne.

Now!

Shen Ji released his concentrated energy. The light of his mental power pierced through the night mist at lightning speed. Reflecting the startled pupils of the two messengers who had no time to react, it grazed Saint Lu’s ear. That bright spark of light severed a lock of his white hair before piercing the backrest of the gold throne.

A few strands of white hair suddenly scattered within the golden cathedral.

It failed…

Shen Ji’s heart tightened.

Saint Lu whipped his head around to look toward him—Shen Ji was certain the man was looking directly at him. Those cold eyes burst with a blood-red, ecstatic light. Across five hundred meters, his gaze was like two bolts of lightning piercing through the fog and the wire fence over the river, accurately striking Shen Ji’s eyes.

Shen Ji was stunned. He was certain the other party hadn’t used mental perception but had accurately captured him with his naked eyes alone.

The demon on the cathedral, after his moment of excitement, began to tremble with his lips. He showed a look of heartbroken betrayal: “Are you really going to kill me? Baby…”

Then, he revealed a sickly, greedy smile. This smile, along with the fluttering severed hair, completely dominated Shen Ji’s vision.

Shen Ji’s mental perception almost faltered. He hurriedly turned and ran through the entire building, leaping from a window at the other end.

What kind of decent person smiles at someone like that from five hundred meters away? That kind of pure, perverted smile could almost be recorded in the history books.