"You... How dare you!"
Seeing that both the formidable "Big Dog" and the entire squad of Inquisitors had been utterly routed, the Luminary's ample bosom heaved violently; it was abundantly clear that she was absolutely seething with rage.
As an enforcer of the Church of Light and Shadow—a figure towering high above like the Lighthouse itself—when had she ever suffered such humiliation?
"I will definitely..."
Before she could finish her threatening words, she felt an unbearable, heavy blow land squarely on her stomach. Her entire body went flying through the air, meeting the exact same fate as those Law Priests before her.
"Just spouting gibberish—who knows what she was even saying."
Goku retracted his fist.
He didn't care in the slightest what the other person's status was—whether they were male or female, ugly or beautiful.
Since she was a bad person, and harbored such intense malice toward him, she definitely deserved a good thrashing.
Although his Grandpa had told him to be gentle with girls, he meant good girls.
Seeing that even the Light Bearer had been sent flying, Ran Bing and the others instantly gasped in shock.
"Did he go a little too hard?"
Jeff couldn't help but swallow hard.
He often cursed the followers of the Church of Light and Shadow under his breath, but he also knew just how immense the Church's influence was within the Lighthouse.
Beating up those Law Priests was one thing—after all, they were the ones who picked the fight first, and procedurally speaking, his team was in the right.
But striking the Light Bearer—the Church Leader's most trusted right-hand woman—that was a sure way to make a mortal enemy.
"Hmph! I've wanted to punch that cold-blooded woman for ages! Good job, Goku!"
Erika clenched her fists and gave a triumphant wave.
"It couldn't be helped; we tried to reason with her, didn't we? From here on out, let's leave it to the Captain."
The handsome Mo Cheng coolly swept his hand through his hair.
Given how things unfolded just moments ago, they hadn't even had time to react—let alone stop Goku from striking the Light Bearer.
But since the deed was already done, all they could do now was wait for their Captain, Mark, to go and smooth things over with the Church Leader, Charles.
"Let's go get some food!"
Ran Bing felt that Mo Cheng had a point; stepping forward, she took Goku by the hand and led him toward the mess hall.
Meanwhile, inside the Resource Distribution Room, the Dust-People watched as even the high-and-mighty Light Bearer was beaten down—and every single one of them stood there with their mouths agape.
But almost immediately, expressions of gleeful schadenfreude began to spread across their faces. Essentially, there wasn't a single person who didn't detest the Light and Shadow Society—or, for that matter, the Light Bearers.
For on the Lighthouse, the "Dust People" were treated little better than slaves; even an accidental brush against an Upper-Class citizen's weapon would result in a brutal lashing—twelve lashes, delivered by the Disciplinarians under the command of the Light Bearers.
Meanwhile, the Upper-Class citizens stationed at the Resource Distribution Center immediately used their communicators to summon medical personnel.
However, that was the extent of their involvement; they dared not attempt to intercept Ran Bing and her group.
After all, only Upper-Class citizens were eligible to join the Wilderness Hunters.
Consequently, elite Hunters like Ran Bing were all members of the Upper Class. Furthermore, having accompanied Mark on numerous resource-gathering expeditions, they commanded considerable prestige among the Upper-Class population.
Aside from the Light and Shadow Society's Disciplinarians and the City Lord's own City Defense Force, the Wilderness Hunters constituted the most formidable armed force on the Lighthouse.
"Goku, eat your fill! The Captain is treating!"
Inside the Wilderness Hunters' mess hall, Ran Bing handed Mark's meal card to the cafeteria attendant and, with a flamboyant air of generosity, waved to Goku.
As the Captain of the Wilderness Hunters, Mark earned the highest number of "Contribution Points" after every successful resource-gathering mission.
Although Mark was known for his charitable nature—often expending a significant portion of his points to help others—he still had more than enough left over to treat everyone to a meal.
Moreover, this latest mission had just concluded with only single-digit casualties; come tomorrow, Mark was bound to receive another substantial bonus in Contribution Points.
"Thank you! The Captain really is a good man. In that case... let's eat!"
Gazing at the steaming, appetizing food laid out before him, Goku grabbed his tray and launched into a full-scale culinary assault.
Since the success—or failure—of the Wilderness Hunters' resource-gathering missions determined the very survival of the entire Lighthouse, their food rations were accorded the highest priority—second only to those of the Lighthouse's ruling council.
All manner of gourmet delicacies from the pre-apocalyptic era could be found within the Wilderness Hunters' mess hall.
The only catch was that they required a slightly higher expenditure of Contribution Points. "Good heavens—is he a reincarnated starving ghost?"
Ten minutes later, everyone in the entire dining hall—watching the Goku, who was still furiously stuffing his face—found the exact same thought flashing through their minds.
"It's truly a case of going right back to square one!"
Gazing at the precipitous drop in Captain Mark's "Contribution Points," Ran Bing couldn't help but bury her face in her hands.
"Mark, you can't blame me for this; you were the one who offered to treat him to a meal."
Meanwhile, in the Lighthouse's Central Command Hall...
Mark was currently briefing the City Lord on the details of their recent mission.
"The supplies gathered by the Wilderness Hunters this time primarily consist of: controllable energy sources, compressed rations, rare metals, and various pieces of equipment from the Old World. We suffered one casualty among the Dust-born, and two among the Upper-born."
"Did you bring back the bodies?"
The elderly City Lord inquired.
Mark shook his head.
"We were only able to retrieve some personal effects."
"Sigh... Reclaim their gear and their living quarters," the old City Lord sighed.
At that moment, Charles—the leader of the "Order of Light and Shadow," clad in a long coat—stepped forward and extended his hands.
"It seems my ceaseless prayers to the Lord of Light and Shadow have borne fruit. It is solely through the Lord of Light and Shadow's divine protection that you were able to return safely this time—and with such minimal loss of life, at that."
Upon hearing this, the heads of the other departments wore expressions of thinly veiled mockery.
As for the notion of the "Lord of Light and Shadow" granting blessings? That might suffice to hoodwink the mindless rabble, but there was no way they would ever believe such nonsense.
The City Lord required religion as a tool to indoctrinate the Lighthouse's inhabitants—thereby securing his own dominion and minimizing the likelihood of rebellion.
And that, precisely, was the reason for the existence of such an absurd entity as the Order of Light and Shadow.
"Heh. In that case, perhaps the venerable Lord of Light and Shadow could see fit to bless us next time so that not a single one of us dies."
Mark shrugged.
Charles raised an eyebrow, then turned to face Mark.
"To receive the divine protection of the great Lord of Light and Shadow, it is not enough for me alone to pray on your behalf; you yourselves must also offer your prayers with true piety.
Provided your faith is sincere enough, then—without a doubt—not a single soul among you shall perish."
Mark couldn't be bothered to deal with the charlatan-like Charles; his expression turning serious, he continued his report to the old City Lord:
"The proliferation rate of the Phage Beasts has already exceeded our expectations. Furthermore, specimens of colossal size have begun appearing within the Pan-species lineage.
Moreover, this time, we have brought back a living human boy."
"What? There are still humans surviving on the surface?"
Expressions of astonishment appeared on the faces of the heads of the other departments, and they began to murmur amongst themselves.
"That's impossible! With so many Phage Beasts on the ground, how could any humans possibly survive?"
"You never know. Since the catastrophe struck, aside from gathering supplies, we've never actually conducted a thorough, systematic exploration of the surface.
It's not entirely inconceivable that one or two might have managed to survive."
"Humans? Who's to say whether it's a human or merely a humanoid Phage Beast? If my eyes didn't deceive me, didn't that child appear to have a tail?"
Charles rolled his eyes and continued to look for trouble.
"A tail? Could he be a mutant?"
Carrie, the Head of Medical and Ecological Services, immediately wore an expression of keen interest:
"Captain Mark, why don't you hand that boy over to me? I'd like to conduct some research on him."
***************************
Thoughts on where the plot is heading? Let me know in the comments! If you're enjoying the ride, please leave a quick review and toss a few Power Stones my way. Every bit of support means the world! 🙌