Chapter 18 The Imprisoned God of Redemption

In front of the inexplicable sense of oppression, Jiang Lu's expression turned much more serious.

Is this the God of Redemption?

The messenger received the woman's nod, stood up, and walked towards her with a deep bow.

Jiang Lu followed behind her, step by step.

But what Jiang Lu hadn't expected was that upon drawing closer, he realized that the messenger's abruptly human face bore a striking resemblance to the woman locked within the statue.

Equally beautiful, and equally exquisite.

The only difference was that the messenger's face seemed somewhat demonic, and for reasons unknown, one could see a stiffness in it, unnatural, yet the woman's countenance was completely natural, like uncarved jade that, even without the touch of makeup, could not be matched by any other woman in the human world.

The woman possessed a human body, draped in a thin white veil. Perhaps because she had been locked away for too long, the veil was slightly torn at the shoulders, underarms, chest, and abdomen, revealing skin as pale as snow, in stark contrast to her long, ink-black hair that fell to the ground.

"Let me see what you have done while I was in slumber," the woman commanded.

Upon hearing this, the messenger obediently lowered her head, her face beginning to emit a faint green glow that grew stronger, and under the guidance of the flickering light, the two of them seemed to form a sort of connection.

In just an instant, the woman retched.

She looked incredulously at the messenger, then at Jiang Lu beside her, regretting her action immensely.

Because, upon scanning the messenger's memories briefly, the perspective in one of the segments was very strange.

This piqued her curiosity enough to pause and take a closer look, only to find a scene she dared not even contemplate.

Even worse, when reading the memory, sensory feedback was also transmitted.

The originally dignified and pure face now twisted as if she had just bitten into a bitter lemon.

Jiang Lu, not understanding, asked with concern, "What's wrong? Did you eat something dirty?"

The woman stared at him intently, as if she wanted to flay him alive.

Jiang Lu felt utterly confused.

What a rotten attitude!

The woman took a deep breath and said nothing.

To maintain her dignity, she had to act as if nothing had happened.

Her long eyelashes couldn't hide the disdain in her eyes, but she eventually managed to control her emotions.

"If we ignore the amusing show you put on yesterday, completing a redemption on your first attempt is truly beyond my expectation."

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile, though it was cold and indifferent.

This was the preamble to getting to the point, Jiang Lu knew that, but he was not willing to play along with her in this meaningless charade of god and worshipper. He was pressed for time.

"You are the God of Redemption, aren't you?"

Jiang Lu, with hands on his hips, said, "Let's skip the irrelevant chatter, please begin your story!"

"My story?" The woman did not deny she was the God of Redemption but replied indifferently, "I never said I had any intention of sharing my story with you."

"Alright, alright, if you won't talk, then I will." Jiang Lu didn't care about the God of Redemption's attitude and began revealing everything he knew to her, bit by bit:

"Let's start with your relationship with the messenger. I don't know if she is a puppet you created or something else.

The bracelet was supposed to measure our affection levels with the messenger, but the affection level I gained after the redemption yesterday came from you.

How can two different entities share affection levels, even prioritizing you? Can't you pay a bit more attention when coding?"

The messenger was taken aback, then remembered various past details, suddenly realizing something, looked at the God of Redemption in shock and helplessness.

Ever since she became conscious, she had always been the messenger of the Black Tower, could it be that...

Seeing this reaction, Jiang Lu scoffed, "You didn't even know?"

The God of Redemption's face turned cold.

But just as the messenger was about to speak, Jiang Lu raised his hand to stop her in her tracks, "Hold on, let me worry about this first."

After that, he continued to speak to the God of Redemption:

"Whether it is the rules set by your messenger for us, or the difficulties we encounter, not a single one proves that you are aiming for the redemption of prisoners, but rather for their smooth entry into heaven.

You, as the God of Redemption, do things that contradict your very title, which honestly baffles me.

As for your method of sending prisoners to heaven, it is, in fact, a sacrifice of the managers.

Though I do not know by what means you accomplish this, there must be a way for prisoners to replace those pure-born managers and take their place in heaven.

In this regard, even the position of managers in your heart is not as important as a spot for prisoners to ascend to heaven."

The God of Redemption's gaze shifted from icy to calm: "Continue."

Jiang Lu appeared uninhibited in front of the incarcerated God of Redemption and laid it all out:

"I have always been curious as to why you turned the black tower, which was supposed to provide lost souls with a chance for transformation, into what it is now.

In fact, before I came here, I always considered you an enemy.

That is, until I ended up like this and saw what you looked like."

With these words, he spread his arms wide, revealing his completely disfigured body.

"A curse, is it? It's not that you cast a curse upon the upper echelons, but rather, someone cursed you, affecting the higher realms and, by extension, the entire black tower."

The previously composed expression on the God of Redemption's face began to shift into one of melancholy.

"I originally wanted you to be my eyes, to become the first messenger promoted from a manager since the incident at the black tower. But now, it seems you are even better than I imagined."

Without denial, that was confirmation.

"Was it God?" Jiang Lu asked.

He had once greatly mocked Jesus for redemption, but the result was that he gained the favor of the God of Redemption. This made him suspect that God was the one who had made an enemy of the God of Redemption.

Sure enough, upon hearing this name, the God of Redemption's hands, previously resting on the abdomen, suddenly clenched into fists.

Seeing this, Jiang Lu nodded thoughtfully: "This seems to be right."

The God of Redemption looked deep into his eyes: "You have no ounce of reverence for the divine, so I can trust you with the truth of the black tower. But I dare say, do you have the courage to listen?"

"If I say I don't, would you be embarrassed?" Jiang Lu asked with a mischievous smile.

The God of Redemption suddenly smiled: "Now it doesn't matter whether you dare or not, I am going to tell you."

Jiang Lu gestured with his right hand, palm up, indicating for her to continue.

"Many, many years ago, so long that I can't remember the exact number, a powerful Evil God fell. His successor spent many years assimilating the remnants of the Evil God's power, and then launched an assault on the Underworld.

The protracted war continued, even affecting heaven, forcing that exalted one to prepare early.

Aside from His followers spreading the faith on earth, even my Tower of Redemption had become, in His eyes, a new barracks.

He criticized me for spending a vast amount of resources, detaining so many evil souls, yet requiring years to fully purify a single soul.

In His eyes, soldiers for the battlefield needed only to obey, not possess any noble qualities. On the contrary, an army composed of malevolent souls was far superior to one with noble souls.

I did not agree with His view and openly defied Him.

As a result, He punished me with divine wrath, not only imprisoning me here but also stripping me of control over the Tower of Redemption.

Since that day, the Tower of Redemption became the black tower, which incessantly attracts fresh blood, bestowing upon them the status of managers, and then using those prisoners to replace them."

Pity now filled the God of Redemption's face:

"Favorability was one attempt I made.

Based on the messenger's evaluation of the manager's abilities, I would also grant varying degrees of protection.

But His curse was too strong, and my protection could not last long. It was only by the holy light that fell when the heavenly stairway opened that I could receive some replenishment.

You, however, are the only manager that has given me a glimpse of hope, and you deserve more of my protection.

It's just that if you want to change the current situation, I must tell you the truth, it's impossible."