I created the Bureau of Anomaly Control

Chapter 474 472. Re-encounter with the Balancer (4k combined)

Southern Hell, Libra City.

Ma En was sitting in a window-side booth in a cafe, his gaze intently fixed on the scene outside. The architecture that met his eyes could be described as quite prosperous and modern, almost on par with any major city on the surface.

The devils and demons traversing the streets were all dressed exceptionally "civilized," and their behavior seemed no different from people out for a stroll, a stark contrast to the residents of the Ancient Dragon Ruins.

Compared to the inhabitants of this city, the demons of the Ancient Dragon Ruins seemed to be deliberately imitating, while those outside now were practically modern humans in devil's skin. Even indoors or in dark alleys, there were no sounds of strife; everyone behaved with exceptional politeness.

This was partly due to the fact that most of the city's residents were devils, but more importantly, it was because the master here was a Hell Prince known as the Balancer, who had personally decreed that violence was not allowed in this city.

In reality, he hadn't completely prohibited ordinary acts of violence, nor did he impose any punishments, but his power permeated the city, and anyone who initiated violence would be restricted.

In other words, if someone were to actively attack another here, their combat power would be severely suppressed. As a result, not long after the city was established, there was almost no overt conflict, and the residents gradually developed an aversion to violence, so even demons wouldn't easily resort to it.

However, the city itself didn't prevent any conspiracies or schemes, so the city was actually no less bloody and dangerous than other cities in Hell, only it was expressed more subtly.

This also faintly revealed the Balancer's own preferences. Clearly, he had no fondness for the overt acts of violence common among demons, and favored things like assassinations or schemes.

It also demonstrated his obsession with rules. Although other devils' cities were slightly more civilized than those of demons, they didn't have special restrictions like Libra City. That power to suppress others also secretly aligned with the meaning of "Balancer"; in a sense, he was indeed creating balance.

The reason the Federation sought him to sign a truce with the Salvation Alliance was because the Balancer had a reputation for not directly participating in conflicts. This wasn't to say he wouldn't participate in anything, but rather that the Balancer wouldn't actively become an enemy of anyone individually; he was more inclined to influence a conflict that already had opposing factions.

For example, the war between the Salvation Alliance and the Federation at the time. According to his very "arrogant" claim, he was pushing everything towards a balance in his eyes. Sometimes, he would even provide assistance for free, just to achieve this so-called balance. Of course, most of the time, he would still charge a fee.

But the Balancer didn't seem to base his fees on whether he could get a return. Sometimes, he would do particularly troublesome things for a very small price, or perhaps the balance itself was the reward he sought.

In any case, he had a very special characteristic, which was that he didn't have a clear stance and wouldn't firmly stand by any side in a conflict. Instead, he treated all clients with a very open attitude.

In other words, no matter who the mastermind was, the Balancer wouldn't insist on standing by their side. As long as Ma En found him, he would have a chance to reach a deal with him, and thanks to his personality, the possibility of success was quite high.

As Ma En observed the scenery of this Hell city, a black, luxurious, extended car that looked like it was produced in the 1980s slowly stopped outside the cafe, and the back door was pushed open.

The one who stepped out was none other than the Little Devil. The moment he got out of the car, he excitedly trotted into the cafe, circled around and arrived at the booth where Ma En was, and said with a proud expression:

"Master, the Balancer has agreed to meet."

After leaving the Ancient Dragon Ruins, the Little Devil's worship of Ma En could be said to have reached its peak. He executed any order from Ma En with a near-fanatical attitude, and felt proud after successfully completing it.

Ma En's conversation with the Dragon Mother at the time had been deeply engraved in his soul, and that was why Ma En's image in the Little Devil's heart was even taller than the Dragon Mother he had feared in the past, even surpassing Hell Princes like the Balancer. He always maintained a strong confidence when communicating with the Balancer's subordinates.

Ma En nodded:

"Good job, you can go back and wait for me."

The Little Devil, praised, revealed a joyful expression, but he quickly turned around and walked out of the booth, executing Ma En's order as quickly as possible, treating going back as an important task to be carried out.

In fact, this was somewhat beyond Ma En's expectations. At this time, the Little Devil truly had a strong loyalty to him, so strong that it could even resist the fear of death—even if it was based on fanatical worship.

Watching the Little Devil's figure gradually disappear, Ma En also got up and left the booth, casually tossing the silver coin that echoed with the sorrowful wails of souls to the devil cashier, and then walked towards the black car waiting for him.

Ma En pulled open the rearmost door of the black car. The space inside was several times wider than it looked. The aisle between the two rows of vertical sofas even had a long table for playing cards and drinking. The interior decoration was far more luxurious than any mansion Ma En had ever seen, with gold and jewels storing powerful souls everywhere.

Sitting across the table was a young man in a black suit, looking only about twenty years old, even younger than Ma En, with a pair of white gloves on his hands.

The man smiled and poured a glass of pale red strange wine, pushing the glass towards the opposite side:

"We meet again, Ma En from the Secret Covenant."

Ma En sat down opposite him, raised his hand and took a sip of the wine:

"Balancer?"

In fact, although the Little Devil didn't see it, Ma En, who had observed the entire process of his work through the Little Devil, still noticed that the so-called Balancer's subordinate who contacted and arranged the meeting with the Little Devil was this Hell Prince himself, but in this situation, Ma En still pretended that he didn't know anything.

The Balancer smiled faintly, politely raised his glass:

"That's right. Last time we met, I was helping Qin Luan sign a contract between you and the Federation. At that time, when I watched your battle with Hong Yuan, I felt that there must be something wrong with you.

"But I didn't expect you to hide so deeply. Of course, even if I knew, I wouldn't tell the Federation.

"After all, you know, I like to remain neutral."

This wasn't entirely accurate. The so-called neutrality maintained by the Balancer wasn't to not interfere in anything, but to exert influence in a way that he considered "neutral."

However, this Hell Prince was easier to approach than Ma En had imagined. He wasn't as aloof as Ma En had initially expected, nor did he put on any airs, completely different from the Dragon Mother.

Perhaps this was the difference between devils and demons, or perhaps the Dragon Mother was the unusual one.

After all, he could be considered an ability user of the same rank as them.

Ma En said:

"I've also heard that you don't like to participate in any struggles. Is it because you don't like trouble?"

The Balancer explained with a smile:

"Not entirely. I do dislike trouble, but if that were the only reason, I could actually participate in those struggles that are safe and beneficial to me. I maintain neutrality to build this reputation.

"Look, both the Salvation Alliance and the Federation can trust me. No one will suspect that I will do anything in the contract to favor any party, because they have all heard of my reputation.

"Credibility, that's what I get by remaining neutral. They believe that I will remain neutral, which is infinitely more important than whether I actually remain neutral. I do the latter to achieve the former.

"Of course, you don't have to worry that I will deceive you, because the best and only way to gain the trust of others in the long term is to prove it with practical actions. Unless the benefits of something are enough for me to advance to Tier Ⅵ, I would never abandon the good reputation I have built over the years for those petty gains.

"And if it really concerns such amazing value, you wouldn't be foolish enough to come to me."

Ma En revealed a puzzled expression:

"But you often intervene in various struggles to maintain the balance of various things. Doesn't that seem to have anything to do with reputation?"

The devil smiled:

"How can it not? People like you can realize that I will never give up my most valuable thing for any benefit, but some guys may not be able to figure this out and will suspect that I, without any constraints, may violate the contract at any time.

"And most people tend to think that all behaviors must have some logic and meaning, so if you want them to believe that I will not break the contract, you have to give them a seemingly meaningful reason.

"If they think I am a weirdo dedicated to creating balance, they can also believe that I will maintain some kind of neutrality because of this weird trait of mine. They are always willing to believe in this kind of thing.

"Aren't they?"

Ma En didn't expect him to answer his question so sincerely, but on second thought, it was very likely just a seemingly reasonable lie. Sitting across from him at this moment was a very cunning devil.

He nodded slightly, revealing an understanding expression:

"That makes sense."

Seeing that Ma En didn't intend to get to the point yet, the Balancer asked without any rush:

"I heard that you have also encountered some small troubles recently. It seems that someone is secretly dealing with you. Have you found out who did it? Have you solved this problem?"

Faced with his seemingly gossipy question, Ma En shook his head slightly, revealing a slightly heavy expression:

"Not yet. Actually, my visit to you on behalf of the Secret Covenant is also related to this matter."

The Balancer revealed a somewhat curious expression:

"You don't have any news about someone wanting to be detrimental to me?"

Ma En replied:

"That's right, and the person I'm talking about is the one who attacked us. In fact, he may not be targeting you, but he did make actions that would seriously damage your interests, because he wants us to suspect that you are the mastermind."

Hearing this, the Balancer narrowed his eyes slightly, then asked with a smile:

"And you shouldn't believe such a low-level lie, right? I am a neutral party."

The second half of the Balancer's sentence was also a lie, but Ma En didn't care.

"Of course we weren't fooled by him," Ma En said, "But if he really fooled us, it would be a very bad thing for both you and the Secret Covenant, and I can let you see the stolen goods he left behind."

The Balancer blinked, not agreeing immediately:

"You know I am a neutral party, so I won't interfere in your battle."

Ma En realized that this was the reason why he repeatedly emphasized the word "neutral." The Balancer didn't intend to interfere in any way in this war between them and the mastermind. Perhaps, as he had just said, this was because the so-called creation of balance was just his disguise, or perhaps this matter had already reached some kind of balance for him.

Seeing this, Ma En just immediately clarified:

"No, we don't intend to let you interfere in this matter. We do intend to trade information about the stolen goods, but what we are asking for is not something particularly important, just some unimportant information."

The Balancer looked at him and asked:

"What do you want?"

Ma En replied:

"We want to know the ancient demon worshiped by the Dark Star Church. By the way, after you have read the stolen goods, we also want to get your judgment on it, after all, you are a very powerful devil."

The Balancer only thought for a moment before giving an answer:

"I see, then of course I am very happy to trade with you."

After speaking, he took out a contract and handed it to Ma En.

Watching Ma En finish signing, the Balancer immediately continued:

"First of all, Dark Star is a name that has been distorted over time. Back then, we, the great demons who were familiar with him, knew that his more accurate name should be Dark Sun, but this is not a secret."

Ma En asked:

"Does this title have any meaning?"

The Balancer smiled:

"Of course, he called himself that at the time to say that he would be as eternal and immortal as the second sun. We didn't pay much attention to this at the time, but according to the news I have recently received…

"He wasn't lying, but he may have vaguely revealed that he has some means of resurrection."

Ma En asked curiously:

"Resurrection?"

The Balancer nodded slightly:

"That's right, the reason I say that is because he is already dead, at least that's what we used to think. In fact, the name Dark Star is the nickname we gave him later, with a bit of irony.

"Because he was as fleeting as a shooting star at the time. Dark Sun was indeed a powerful demon, but because he was too arrogant and stupid, he offended many great demons, and was eventually killed by them together.

"Now it seems that he is definitely not a true demon, he should have other identities, but this style of behavior has reminded me of several old acquaintances, maybe I can give you more than you initially expected."

Requesting monthly tickets~