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"No, I don't get along with men, and my libido isn't strong. Oh right, that was before. Now I actually quite enjoy it." Canaan was frank with Louise. She used to have little libido, but after Ronan's encounter with her, it's become quite strong.
Louise sighed. She thought that Canaan hadn't really realized his feelings for decades, but when they met again after Ronan left, his feelings suddenly became intense.
The result was surprisingly ordinary and unromantic.
Seeing Louise's expression, Canaan was displeased. "Hey, what's with that look? Do you think I'm easy? I have real feelings for him."
“I didn’t say I didn’t.” Louise had barely finished speaking when Canaan pinched her cheek.
After pinching for a long time, Canaan finally let go, saying, "You're such an unlovable child."
Louise turned her face away.
Canaan chuckled and patted Louise on the back. "Stop dawdling, confess your love soon, like a young person."
“I don’t need you to teach me this,” Louise muttered.
Canaan shrugged. "I wasn't planning on teaching you anyway."
At this moment, Ronan came over with Lavana and Liz. "Come on, I'll take you back to your dorm."
Chapter 1182 Public and Private, Never to Return to the Past, Turmoil is Imminent
The High Cathedral in Tehran, commonly known as the High Temple, is the site of grand gatherings for the Church of Light and also the venue for important national conferences of the Persian Republic.
Two meetings have just concluded.
Bahar's husband, the current head of state of Persia, President Damavan, arrived at the platform on the outer edge of the second floor. Freishta's husband, the current chief scholar of the Church of Light, and religious leader Farshid, was also there.
Damavan is of medium height, around 1.75 meters, neither fat nor thin, with thick black eyebrows, thick eyelashes, deep-set eyes, a high-bridged, hooked nose, a full beard, and skin that is whiter than many white people—a typical Central Asian appearance.
Farshid was considerably taller, nearly 1.9 meters, with a slender build, wheat-colored skin, thin eyebrows, blue eyes, a delicate nose, and a somewhat feminine face. He was impeccably clean-shaven, without a single stubble. "Nationalization is not the essential characteristic of socialism. Our country's economy is still very fragile. Transferring the functions of industry and commerce to the state now, frankly speaking, is reactionary, a regression to the Middle Ages. The inevitable result will be a decline in the quality of goods and a rise in prices," Farshid said, looking ahead. "Your practices are both feudal and reactionary; they are nothing more than extracting money and turning the proletariat into state-dependent civil servants and pensioners."
"I still maintain that all forms of socialism that are not democratic are reactionary."
After hearing this, Damavan's face showed little emotion. "Falfa, you are too extreme. First of all, it is not nationalization, but collection of some sectors. Secondly, all of this is just a temporary transition."
“Word games are meaningless.” Farshid remained unmoved. “Production is a division of labor and cooperation. Leaving aside the so-called managers, if we only talk about producers, there must be someone who occupies and uses certain means of production for a long time. Therefore, there is no real collective.”
"As for 'temporary,' that's ridiculous. I've never seen anyone who can be temporary."
Damavan sighed, "Then let me put it another way: some things are the destiny of a nation built by heroes."
“My mother and the others chose to withdraw precisely to change this fate,” Farshid responded.
Damavan countered, "Really withdrawn?"
A flash of anger crossed Farshid's face. "The filth of politics has changed you—it was I who changed, that allowed me to get so close to the mire," Damavan said.
Farshid recalled the past, how he and his group of orphanage children, raised and educated by Manar and Mushir, were as close as brothers and shared a common goal. "If only it had been you and me who died in that attack on the orphanage, instead of Brother Vandir."
“Memories can’t solve anything,” Damavan said. “Back then, when Bak was arrested and tortured like that, he never thought of betraying anyone. But he was the first major corrupt official after the country was founded. Do you know how heartbroken I was when I announced that he would be executed? He was our brother.”
“You are now the head of all the corrupt officials,” Farshid said mercilessly.
"Which country's leader isn't?" Damavan retorted.
"It seems there's nothing to say." After a moment of disappointment and sorrow, Falshid's gaze became even more resolute.
“It’s not that there’s nothing to say. You and my wife aren’t on our side,” Damavan said. “My wife Bahar is like a princess. She’s kind and innocent, but her kindness and innocence are what protects those people. As for your wife Freishta, nobody knows what she’s really up to.”
Farshid knew that Damavan wanted to find out Freishta's plans from him. "Unfortunately, I don't know."
“As expected.” Damavan believed Farshid’s words. “Perhaps we are the male lead in this play, but the male lead is just an actor, not a director who can stop the performance at any time. During the performance, one actor cannot do anything to another actor.”
Falshid turned around, preparing to leave. "Is the time the week after the National Day holiday ends?"
“Yes,” Damavan replied.
The two said goodbye.
It might have been the last time we met, but it ended in such a terrible atmosphere. In the end, no one can go back to the way things were.
Time flies, and more than a month has passed.
During this period, Tehran can no longer be described as having undercurrents; rather, beneath the calm surface, a volcano in the deep sea has erupted. On the surface, all is calm, but beneath, things are boiling.
During the same period, Liz completed the transplant and is now a fourth-order superhuman.
Louise also received her own bio-armor, giving her the same level of combat power as Tier 4.
In addition, Canaan gave them a device based on the principle of the Concealing Breath Technique, which could prevent them from being directly perceived by others and their rank estimated.
As long as they don't remove the device or undergo detailed testing and are perceived from the outside, they will remain at the second level.
The date is December 2nd.
Tomorrow, December 3rd, is All Souls' Day, the day of the Church of Light and also the National Day of the Republic of Persia. From the moment this day begins, the sacred fire tower will be lit and will remain lit all day. At the same time, every household will light candles at home to keep them burning.
There will generally be no entertainment activities tomorrow, and some commercial venues will also be closed. Apart from paying homage to the sacred flame, residents will conduct prayer ceremonies at home until the next day when they will be free to move around.
The next three days are a three-day holiday, which can be considered the Persian Republic's National Day mini-holiday.
Starting the week after the holidays, and continuing throughout December, there will be several important meetings. This period is the time during which the planned coup will take place.
That day, the training camp was closed early at noon, and Lavana, Liz, and Louise went to Ronan's house.
At this moment, Ronan, Lu Jianling, and Falek were all present.
"How about we go see the Olympic torch tomorrow?" Louise suggested. She was quite outgoing and spoke up before anyone else did. Although she still hadn't confessed to Ronan, she already considered herself a member of the group.
“Do you know how many people will be there? The front seats are reserved, and the back seats will be filled by people who have finished dinner.” Liz said for a while, and then added, “I’m not going.” “Don’t worry about the seats, I’ve already taken care of them,” Lu Jianling said.
Louise was very curious, "How did you get it?"
"Money." Guo Hanlu answered for Lu Jianling with a displeased look. That was her hard-earned money, and it was being spent on something like this.
“After dinner, we can go to the public bathhouse,” Ronan said.
Tehran isn't actually particularly short of water, but in order to implement the national policy of water conservation, the entire country prohibits the construction of private bathhouses that exceed the permitted size, including those built on one's own property; violators face severe penalties. A significant number of state-run bathhouses are only open for a few days around major holidays each year.
"I'm not going to any public bathhouse, I want to go to the Yunnan hot springs in Seris." Louise has now fallen in love with Ronan Global Flights and wants to fly whenever she wants. She had heard from Guo Hanlu and the others that the hot springs in Yunnan, Seris were particularly good and she had always wanted to go.
Chapter 1183 Hot Spring, Teasing, and Reminder
A hot spring in Yunnan.
Further west from here lies Myanmar, which belonged to Annam. In the war decades ago, Annam was once again brutally defeated by Seris. He was defeated but not conquered. Instead, he brought back the Champa Kingdom, which had been independent and restored by Ronan more than a hundred years ago.
Annam, a feudal-style democracy founded by the Seres, developed a new secular Buddhism after the war, and the country began to have an extraordinary attraction to Southeast Asia.
It sounds absurd to most people, but it is precisely because it is feudal that it is inclusive, and because it is Buddhism, it is also free.
Annam still exists, and is even thriving, with trade with Seres being more frequent than before.
With the influx of more businesspeople into Yunnan, the hot springs have been further developed.
For example, the place where Ronan and his group are now was largely undeveloped more than a hundred years ago, and most of the pools were still wild hot springs. But now it's different; many of them have been developed.
The women were in a large pool, while Ronan was alone in a small pool not far away.
Louise stepped into the hot spring and saw everyone else sitting down immediately, so she did too. She never imagined that her stomach's heat tolerance was completely different from her feet; her stomach had never experienced such a scorching heat before.
The heat made her jump up, but as soon as she got up, Canaan pulled her down with a wicked grin and held her down, preventing her from getting up. Louise could only grit her teeth and endure the scorching heat of the hot spring with a worried expression.
Liz covered her mouth and chuckled. She loved seeing Louise make a fool of herself. But then Falek pushed and pulled her from behind, dragging her into the water as well. He held her and wouldn't let her get up. She was even less comfortable in the hot spring than Louise, splashing water everywhere with her hands and feet.
Seeing Liz's Ω-shaped face, Louise immediately felt much better.
Ravana was much more cautious, and being tall and heavy, she wouldn't be so easily dragged into the mess.
Unfortunately, she didn't expect that Lu Jianling, such a serious person, would also play pranks. The 196-year-old Lu Jianling easily dragged her down, almost making Lavana squeal like a pig from the heat.
After quite some time, the three of them, who were soaking in such a hot spring for the first time, finally got used to it.
Louise opened her eyes, tilted her head back, and let out a long, comfortable breath.
Canaan nudged Louise's chest. "Louise, what do you think?"
"It feels so good." Louise was starting to love the feeling.
Canaan asked with a wicked grin, "Do you need to pee?"
It wouldn't have mattered if she hadn't said anything, but now that she did, Louise suddenly realized what was going on and firmly denied it, "I don't want to!"
“This water is alive, it’s fine if you pee in it,” Canaan said again.
Louise simply stopped responding.
Beside him, Falek looked at Liz, who instantly glared back.
Falek looked completely innocent. "Actually, I was thinking that if you don't want to pee in the water, you can ask Ronan to bring you a chamber pot."
Isn't that even more shameful than urinating directly in the water?
"I'll go get some drinks," Lavana called out, then jumped up, wrung out a towel, hurriedly dried herself, wrapped it tightly around her body, and ran off.
Louise and Liz realized what was happening and quickly offered to get drinks, just like Lavana did, before disappearing into the night together.
As soon as the three men left, the women burst into laughter; sometimes, happiness is that simple.
After a long while, Lavana, Louise, and Liz returned.
He did urinate, but he did bring back a drink.
In this era, there weren't many beverages that could be preserved for a long time, and soaking in hot springs here wasn't exactly the best place to drink alcohol, so the three of them brought back chilled canned goods. More than a hundred years ago, Ronan had already used Guangdong's sugar industry in conjunction with fruit production to create a canning center.
The three of them had chilled canned pineapple, which they could eat or drink. It was loaded with sugar, and it was very refreshing to have a bite of the icy treat in the hot spring.
After a moment of relief, Lu Jianling got down to business, "If something is really going to happen in Tehran, it will probably happen in the days after the National Day holiday. So, don't even think about taking a break for the next two days. Get ready for special training."
Guo Hanlu said, "Although Ronan will mainly handle the important matters at that time." After she finished speaking, a group of women started chatting.
It was nothing more than women's topics like makeup, hairstyling, and clothing. One minute it was which makeup suited which hairstyle, the next it was which clothes were pretty but didn't go well with bottoms, then it was which shoes looked good with this color of stockings, and soon they started complaining about the current popular makeup and fashion trends in various places. As they talked, the women even started talking about the history of clothing development.
Louise hadn't talked about these things with anyone in a long time, so she quickly joined in the conversation.
Liz was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected that women as learned and insightful as them would discuss such superficial topics.
As for Lavana, she couldn't get a word in edgewise, because before meeting Ronan, although her income was much higher than that of the truly impoverished, she was definitely not sophisticated enough.
Canaan, Falek, and Faith managed to endure a few days of hardship, but Lu Jianling, Guo Hanlu, and Madam Zhao never experienced hardship. Many things that ordinary girls could only dream of were just common household items to them.
However, Lavana is listening very carefully now. She wants to learn more and become more valuable to Ronan as a woman.
Chapter 1184 Special Training? Getting Beaten Up! Pseudo-Fusion
Early the next morning, in the deserted valley, the special training began.
Louise activated her implant, and the bracelets on her hands began to spread and proliferate rapidly. Soon, a mass of black fluid enveloped her entire body. Then, the fluid began to reshape and harden, and the implant was completed in a very short time.
Louise, who was originally 165 cm tall, is now an armored human who is over 1.8 meters tall. The main body of the armor is a piano black with a slightly mirror-like sheen. The one-piece arm armor, gauntlets, and boots have upward-facing dark gold flame patterns. The area above the chest and below the neck is decorated with a golden eagle with outstretched wings. The wings follow the curve of the upper chest, while the tail feathers are directly between the two sides of the chest, and the eagle's head is between the collarbones.
Her entire head was covered by a black knight's helmet, with a long, pale gold tassel on top that matched the color of her hair, fluttering in the wind.
The moment the armor was completed, Louise launched an attack on Guo Hanlu, who was closer to her.
When the weak fight against the strong, it's impossible not to seize the initiative.
Two bolts of lightning shot out through the gaps in the eye armor's grille and struck Guo Hanlu head-on.
Louise is an elemental mage, and her armor is specifically designed to suit her unique characteristics. While her attacks appear to be elemental magic, they actually possess power approaching that of the rule-based magic system. These lightning rays can disrupt the flow of magical energy in their targets, damaging defensive barriers and even interfering with the operation of superhuman powers.
However, this had no effect on Guo Hanlu.
She's slender, and looks like she should be either an agile assassin or a ranged skill user. Unfortunately, her abilities are quite different from her appearance; she's a melee attacker with basic attacks, relying heavily on passive skills and unable to use abilities. Her essence is that she becomes stronger the more she takes damage and the more aggressive she gets, and she deals damage even with magic.
The next instant, Guo Hanlu appeared in front of Louise and punched her in the face.
However, the invisible water wave defense layer neutralized the force. Louise merely took two steps back, then conjured a flaming longsword with both hands and unleashed a slash. This flaming longsword was no ordinary elemental magic; it possessed the characteristic of burning the opponent's magic power without even making contact, simply by getting close.
No matter what extraordinary abilities a superhuman possesses, once they run out of magic, they will fall.
Guo Hanlu delivered a sweeping kick, injuring Louise again. This kick was even stronger than the punch, causing Louise's waist and armor to cave in.
But in an instant, Louise's armor and body bounced back together. This was the shaping of the earth. No matter how many times it was dented, or even if it was turned into a lump of mush, it could still return to its original shape.
For a time, Louise was not at a disadvantage.
But soon, she couldn't keep up. Guo Hanlu was getting more and more intense, and her magic couldn't hold up.
The armor itself possesses magic power, and combined with her own, the total magic power is only at the third-tier level.
In other words, Louise possesses strength beyond that of a typical fourth-tier cultivator, magic power of a third-tier cultivator, and combat awareness even weaker than that of a typical second-tier cultivator. As a wealthy young lady, she has never had a proper fight before.
Guo Hanlu is actually a noob, but her magic power is at the true level of the fifth tier, and her total magic power is six times that of Louise in this state.
"I can't take it anymore, I can't hold on any longer." Louise raised her hands in surrender; if she continued fighting like this, she wouldn't even be able to maintain her armor.
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