Outer Gate 500, Headquarters of the Heavenly Army.
Prithvi held a stack of parchments stamped with the Two Goddesses' insignia and waved them toward Indra.
"Old man Indra, the latest intel from Thousand Eyes—and it's free! Want to see it or not?"
"Oh? Interesting? Given Thousand Eyes' notoriously greedy nature, how come it's free?"
Buried under a mountain of documents, Indra looked up with interest.
It was common knowledge that Thousand Eyes' information was fair, objective, accurate, extremely timely, and never wrong.
But in exchange, their fees were astronomical—sometimes so exorbitant they could bankrupt entire pantheons.
Robbing money? Robbing money was faster than paying for their intel!
"It seems related to the recent mythological shift."
Prithvi opened the document, cursing all the way as she read aloud.
"Thousand Eyes has been extorting money from me for years. Today, I finally get free intel from them!"
Gradually, her voice trailed off.
Sensing something was wrong, Indra lifted his head in confusion.
"Why aren't you reading anymore?"
"You sure you want me to keep reading?"
Prithvi stared at him with a strange expression.
"What happened?"
Indra's heart skipped a beat. A terrible premonition crept over him.
"Just read it yourself."
Prithvi stood up, stepped forward, and handed the report to Indra—still muttering curses.
"Damn it… turns out the 'free' stuff is the most expensive. Old man Indra, you better brace yourself."
"What on earth happened…"
Indra felt uneasy. He took the document and began to read.
[A newly observed universe recently triggered a large-scale mythological shift. The biggest difference between this universe and current Human History is...]
[In a certain parallel world, Verethragna serves as the King of the End.]
[The King of the End manifests at the end times—the final Savior, encompassing the Ten Avatars of Vishnu, the Holy Son's faith, King Arthur the Eternal, the Future Buddha Maitreya...]
With a whoosh of wind, the document slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.
Prithvi watched as Indra's nostrils suddenly flared, even emitting smoke—and remained silent.
"A wicked citizen wants to harm me!"
"A wicked citizen wants to harm me!"
Indra dropped to his knees on his office chair, clutching its backrest, screaming loudly. His voice was filled with terror and anxiety from being intimidated.
Uesugi Kenshin had just returned from an external mission. The moment she stepped through the door and heard Indra's cries, she couldn't help but glance toward Prithvi.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Scared half to death by Thousand Eyes' 'free' intel."
Prithvi shrugged, picked up a pear from the desk, and handed it to Uesugi.
"I kept wondering why Thousand Eyes suddenly grew a conscience and gave away free intel. Turns out—it was just to scare people."
"Where's the report?"
Uesugi accepted the pear and asked curiously.
Prithvi let out a soft "puff" of laughter and pointed toward Indra.
"There it is. But my advice? Steel your nerves first."
Frowning slightly, Uesugi took the document with mild curiosity, opened it, and began reading slowly.
She quietly flipped through the pages. Her reading pace quickened… until finally, she fell silent and looked up at Prithvi.
"How about I become the next leader of the Heavenly Army?"
"Get lost!"
Indra, hugging the sofa, immediately grabbed the nearest table and hurled it at Uesugi.
"I'm not dead yet!"
"I thought you'd be soon."
Uesugi didn't dodge. She let the table—and the documents on it—pass right through her, then spoke calmly.
Indra froze at her words, then snapped irritably:
"Can't you stop gloating over other people's suffering? I nearly died!"
"Aren't you still alive?"
Uesugi looked utterly indifferent. After all, it wasn't her who was suffering.
"You really are something, Uesugi."
Prithvi burst into laughter.
"When the Heavenly Army elects a new leader, I'll definitely cast my vote for you."
"You two have no hearts…"
Indra ground his teeth furiously. He took several deep breaths before finally calming down.
"Who the hell made this cursed thing?"
"Didn't the report already say? It's a newly observed world detected by Little Garden's Central Core—then Thousand Eyes got the world's coordinates before anyone else."
Uesugi took a calm bite of her pear.
"Nonsense. I don't believe it. Unless those Two speak up themselves, the Heavenly Army handles world observation before Thousand Eyes does."
Indra couldn't help rolling his eyes. There were several worlds significantly affecting Little Garden that were still under the Heavenly Army's jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Prithvi wiped her mouth with a tissue.
"Of course, maybe you're just incredibly unlucky—and the King of the End title just happened to land on you."
Hearing that, Indra's face darkened further.
(Damn it… just how bad is my luck that this happens to me? I'm perfectly happy with my current situation—I have zero intention of climbing higher!)
"This shouldn't be happening. Am I really that terrible…?"
"Aren't you lucky? You got an incomplete God-Spirit Status that's at least One-Digit!"
Uesugi barely suppressed a laugh and patted Indra's shoulder sympathetically.
"Do you think I'm short on God-Spirit Statuses? Mine wasn't much better than this when I was still the Supreme Deity in Hinduism!"
Indra shouted furiously.
(Damn it! After coming this far, I still can't escape being targeted!)
(Dare mess with me—I'll make sure you regret it...)
"Try thinking about how you'll face the Solar King Pantheon."
Prithvi spoke casually—stabbing straight into Indra's fragile heart just as he'd mustered a bit of courage.
Indra collapsed onto the sofa, utterly limp. His body twitched like a corpse.
(Dare mess with me—you've just kicked a sack of cotton!)
Regardless of who gave him that title, his top priority now was clearing his name.
"How about you ask Thousand Eyes directly? Since they released the intel, maybe there's a follow-up."
Uesugi said indifferently. She didn't tell Indra that the incomplete King of the End God-Spirit Status might actually belong to her too.
She wanted to see just how deep this old man's reserves really were—whether he was genuinely wounded or just pretending. After all, she treated him like livestock every day.
She had her own grudge to settle.
"Oh right, remember…"
Uesugi paused. She hadn't finished her sentence—but Indra's figure had already vanished.
"Remember to ask me why I also have a chance of becoming the King of the End."
Uesugi and Prithvi exchanged glances. The room fell suddenly silent.
"Damn it—that old dog ran off too fast."
Uesugi couldn't help cursing. She'd still wanted to warn Indra to be careful not to get scammed by Thousand Eyes.
"Hmph. I hope this guy's petty cash stash is enough to cover Thousand Eyes' fees."
Prithvi added helplessly.
One could only say Indra thoroughly deserved to be bled dry.
Ever since receiving that "free" intel from Thousand Eyes, Prithvi had sensed something off. Now she felt it was outright extortion.
Then, Prithvi and Uesugi fell silent.
"Oh no—the Heavenly Army's treasury key is still with Indra!"
Minutes later, chaos erupted at the Heavenly Army Headquarters, accompanied by faint curses from several gods and buddhas.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Meanwhile, at the Boundary Gate leading to Little Garden's Lower Layers, Indra wiped his nose, patted his bulging pockets, and muttered to himself:
"Almost got caught. Can't let that happen. Gotta leave quickly."
As he said this, Indra unconsciously quickened his pace.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Outer Gate 3345, Thousand Eyes Headquarters.
Shiroyasha, dressed in a purple kimono embroidered with peonies and maintaining the appearance of a young girl, happily counted the payment she'd just received for her intel.
"One Divine Artifact Authority, two Divine Artifact Authorities… one Divinity, two Divinities…"
"Hehehe… this time, I've really struck gold."
Shiroyasha's face showed an indescribable smile. Touching those Divine Artifact Authorities and Divinities felt like caressing a girl's soft skin.
"Just wait a little longer—I'll profit again soon. After that, I'll take Aslan out to play in the City of Flowers."
Footsteps approached.
The servant assigned to manage Shiroyasha's residence at Thousand Eyes Headquarters came running.
"Lord Shiroyasha! His Majesty Indra requests an audience!"
Hearing this, Shiroyasha tucked away the Divine Artifacts and Divinities she'd just acquired and clapped her hands.
"Yoho! The money courier's back!"
The moment those words left her mouth, a furious voice cut in:
"I couldn't possibly have misheard that. What do you mean 'money courier'?"
Before the messenger servant could even react, Indra was already standing behind him.
Shiroyasha waved the servant away and explained to Indra with a smile:
"Yo! If it isn't old man Indra from next door? Why not go to the City of Flowers instead of wasting time wandering around our place?"
Indra couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"Wandering? You're just another greedy landlord pretending to be generous! Was that 'free' intel deliberately given to me?"
"That one?"
Shiroyasha clapped gleefully and pulled out a whiteboard.
"This is Thousand Eyes' brand-new membership system! Anyone who purchases a certain amount of intel from us gets one free report as a bonus!"
Indra's face instantly turned dark purple.
"Free?! Isn't this pure extortion?"
"Hmm? Extortion? Extortion's illegal. Thousand Eyes is an official intel agency."
Shiroyasha spoke with absolute confidence.
"Just say it—do you want the follow-up intel or not?"
She extended her tiny hand, waving it in front of Indra, demanding payment.
"You…"
Indra muttered a quiet curse, completely lacking the fiery temper he'd shown earlier.
He had no choice. With such a massive target painted on his back, he genuinely didn't dare refuse to buy the follow-up intel.
Moreover, he couldn't afford to offend Shiroyasha. Not only was she the Two Goddesses' top subordinate, but she was also a sealed Two-Digit entity in her own right.
Her position alone—as Chief of Staff of Thousand Eyes, overseeing top-tier critical intel—was enough to make her untouchable.
Would the Heavenly Army still dare purchase intel from Thousand Eyes in the future?
"No? Then I'll be off."
Shiroyasha turned her head and called out to the servant by the door:
"Julie, close the door on our guest. Today's quota's already met."
"Wait, wait, wait! I'll buy it—okay?!"
Indra hurriedly called after Shiroyasha. He didn't want to end up murdered by an Alternate Cosmology someday, only for the Heavenly Army to rule it a suicide.
"That's more like it."
Shiroyasha's expression instantly brightened into a radiant smile.
Indra's face remained grim as he spoke in a thick, heavy voice:
"The intel about that Campione! World—Verethragna there, and the King of the End. I want deeper details… even hints will do."
As he said this, Indra fixed Shiroyasha with a cold stare:
"Don't tell me you don't know anything. You've already extorted me right in front of my eyes."
Shiroyasha smiled, extended her small hand, and waved it teasingly before Indra.
"Five Divine Artifact Powers? Are you robbing me?"
Indra's eyes bulged in disbelief.
"Robbing? Robbing what's faster than paying this money?"
Shiroyasha narrowed her eyes, speaking with glee. Truthfully, she'd originally intended to ask for five Divinities—and it was still negotiable.
But who told Indra to be so proactive?
Of course, she'd deliberately kept that to herself.
She'd just scammed a few old folks. One had to admit—old people really did have money.
"You…"
Indra fell speechless for a moment, sighed deeply, then gritted his teeth:
"One Divine Artifact Authority! Not a single bit more!"
"I need to know who's plotting against me!"
At the same time, Indra was slightly anxious—what if Shiroyasha refused to sell because the price was too low?
Shiroyasha paused briefly. Indra hesitated, then tried raising his offer:
"Two Divine Artifact Authorities. Any more, and I'll truly be broke!"
"Deal. Pay up."
Shiroyasha knew when to stop. After all, she still had future business to consider—and fools like this were hard to come by.
Indra fell silent for a moment, then spoke with a pained expression:
"Damn it… I've been scammed!! You old witch—I knew you'd take this chance to fleece me!"
Grumbling, Indra pulled out two Divine Artifact Authorities from his petty cash stash and handed them to Shiroyasha.
Shiroyasha cheerfully tossed both authorities into her pocket, then grabbed a pre-written intel sheet and tossed it to Indra.
Indra's eyebrow twitched violently as he took the parchment without expression, opened it, and read:
[King of the End Qualification Requirements: Simply being a Steel Hero fulfills the basic criteria!]
[Verethragna becoming King of the End is merely a parallel-world possibility. The current King of the End is Arthur.]
[Two Goddesses Intelligence Department, Special Investigator Aslan. Avalon, Leader Arthur.]
Indra stared at the intel—stunned.
(Damn it… this piece of junk… cost me two Divine Artifact Authorities?!)
It was utterly worthless!!
Indra slammed the scroll onto the floor and shouted furiously:
"You damn Central Core—you're playing me!"
Shiroyasha rolled her eyes.
"Alright, hurry up and leave. Don't ruin my next deal."
Indra's breath caught in his throat. He stormed out of Thousand Eyes in rage—but the moment he spotted an acquaintance approaching, his expression instantly changed, pretending he'd just scored a major breakthrough.
(Damn it… I can't shoulder a loss this big alone!)
He then quietly sought out some bushes and squatted down.
But before he could settle in, a gruff voice sounded:
"Someone's already here."
"Damn!!"
Indra cursed inwardly and moved to another bush.
"Someone's here too!"
"Damn!!!"
Finally, he found a spot next to Heracles.
"Brother, how much did they scam you for?"
"Two Divine Artifact Authorities… You?"
"… Two Divinities…"
"Shiroyasha—I swear to god, f*** you*****!"
Indra cursed with extreme vulgarity.