Chapter 153: The Puppet

Electricity!

Huang Ze experienced a sudden flash of insight. In truth, he had anticipated this outcome all along!

The deities had locked down the microscopic realm of this world and sealed off the practical application of electrical energy for a reason. There must be a monumental secret hidden within it; once unleashed, it would entirely subvert their rule. Naturally, they guarded it with extreme vigilance.

Yet, as an angel specifically dispatched to infiltrate and gather intelligence in the Xia State, Kyle's loyalty should have been beyond reproach. And yet, after being subjected to a few electrical charges, such profound transformations had occurred in both her body and soul... It genuinely astonished Huang Ze. Was electricity truly this remarkably useful?

Should he consider... capturing a few more transcendental creatures in the future, subjecting them to electric therapy, and inviting them to embrace this form of progress as well?

Huang Ze could not help falling into a thoughtful reverie.

"Since your soul has been liberated, transforming you from a marionette blindly obeying the God of Light's commands into a being with independent thought and personality, isn't this a wonderful outcome? Why are you still so set on leaving the Xia State?"

Huang Ze asked with genuine perplexity. "Could it be you are unaware that in your current condition, you will never receive the forgiveness or acceptance of the God of Light? Instead, you will incur His wrath and face total destruction!"

"After all, a heretic is far more unforgivable than an alien. Surely you understand this principle. To the God of Light, you are unmistakably a heretic now, and Heaven's Mountain will never accept you again!"

"That being the case, why are you in such a desperate rush to have me rescue you? Could it be that you are seeking martyrdom, wishing to return to the embrace of your so-called Lord even if it means death?"

"I am not that foolish."

Kyle fell silent for a moment before replying, "I am no longer the person I used to be, so naturally, I would not commit such a foolish act."

"My Lord bears the name of Light, but His methods are exceptionally cruel. If I were to flee back to Him, a grim fate would await me... He wouldn't even need to issue a direct decree; if the other angels of light were to discover these changes in my physique, they would hunt me down relentlessly and purify me with the most violent sacred light."

"My desire to leave stems from other reasons and considerations. After all, a place like Xia State is not somewhere an angel like me can linger indefinitely."

"Very well."

Huang Ze pondered for a moment and decided not to pry further. People have different aspirations; moreover, she was an angel. How could she possibly share the strong sense of identity, trust, and deep-seated alignment of interests that he, a native dragon, felt toward the Xia State from the very beginning?

As an outsider, feeling ill at ease and insecure in a strange human realm was the natural state of affairs. Finding herself at her wits' end and turning to him, a black dragon, was hardly surprising.

"Since you know that your Lord... is that sort of winged monster, why did you try to trick me?"

Huang Ze asked with a hint of dissatisfaction. "You angels are supposed to be crucial assets of the deities. The spiritual bond between you and the God of Light cannot be severed so easily. If I had rashly accepted your soul, it would inevitably have caused a direct conflict of wills with Him, and I would have been the one to suffer immensely!"

"That demand... was something you proposed yourself!"

Kyle emphasized. "It was clearly you who desired to subjugate my soul, so you naturally had to shoulder the risks involved!"

"Otherwise, why do you think that apart from orthodox deities, we angels practically never serve other races or powerhouses? It is because our destinies are firmly grasped in the hands of the deities. To claim us, one must first clear the hurdle they set!"

That seemed true...

Huang Ze reflected on it. Indeed, the idea had been his own proposition in the first place. After all, if he could secure an angel to work for him as a secretary, his prestige would reach its absolute peak, making him the most dazzling creature wherever he went!

Alas, advanced life forms remained advanced life forms. A creature as perfect and obedient as an angel had long since become a scarce resource, thoroughly monopolized by the deities in the heavens. With his current tier and capabilities, trying to snatch food from the tiger's mouth was bound to be an arduous task...

With these thoughts in mind, Huang Ze dismissed the matter aloud, saying, "Forget it. I won't hold you accountable for trying to trap me, and you can give up on the idea of me rescuing you. Let's drop this topic and move on."

"..."

Kyle gazed at the black dragon for a moment, surprisingly offering no further persistence. Perhaps she, too, realized that the scheme was somewhat unreliable; entrusting her soul to a black dragon in exchange for freedom might not turn out to be a wise choice after all.

"Besides... you don't actually need to be in such a rush. The people of Xia might not keep you locked up forever."

Seeming rather satisfied with Kyle's attitude, the black dragon added a reassuring note, "The people of Xia are not unreasonable. As long as you cooperate actively and honestly give a full account of everything, they will let you go eventually."

"Why do you trust the people of Xia so deeply?"

Kyle could not help asking. "You dragons are supposed to be sworn enemies of humanity, yet look at you—you actually want to acquire Xia citizenship and work your heart out for them... Could it be that you genuinely intend to become some sort of revolutionary dragon, stubbornly bent on making an enemy of the deities?"

"I will answer that question in a moment."

Huang Ze stated, "After all, according to the order of things, it is now my turn to ask."

"..."

"Why did the God of Light cease all subsequent actions after dispatching you to the Xia State?"

The black dragon stared straight into the angel's eyes and asked in a deep voice, "What kind of conspiracy does He harbor against the Xia State, and what methods will He employ to deal with it?"

"Isn't that... technically two questions?"

Kyle felt compelled to point out.

"How is it not? They are clearly part of the exact same matter!"

The black dragon insisted. It wasn't trying to wriggle out of the rules; rather, the situation naturally formed a single cohesive event. If every single detail required a separate inquiry, going back and forth would simply become far too cumbersome.

"Very well."

Kyle couldn't be bothered to argue further with the black dragon. After a brief pause, she said, "As for what you've mentioned... I actually don't know."

"You don't know?"

Huang Ze was genuinely baffled. "How can you not know? Since you were chosen to execute a mission in the Xia State, your status on Heaven's Mountain cannot be low. Even if you aren't an archangel, serving as a squad captain was certainly within reason."

"That means you have served your precious God of Light for at least hundreds, if not thousands of years. As one of His executors, how could you possibly be unfamiliar with His operational style and methods?"

"I am unfamiliar with them."

Kyle replied calmly. "Just as you said earlier, we angels are mere marionettes, the most loyal sheepdogs and weapons of war. We possess no independent thoughts of our own whatsoever."