Becoming a Deity from Planting the Bodhi Tree-Chapter 66: The 63rd person is like a tree.

Ji Jingqiu asked the question that was on his mind.

Lin Donghe smiled and instead of answering, asked, "I heard that Special Commissioner Ji recently took a task from the City Hall and rescued a girl with an unknown identity?"

Ji Jingqiu did not deny it.

Lin Donghe's gaze at him was either one of pity or of schadenfreude, but he still said,

"Then Special Commissioner Ji should turn back before it's too late and make amends. Don't get too close to City Hall."

Just then,

a firefight erupted ahead. The Order Office began their operation. The swarm of drones approached the target area along the predetermined route, rapidly identifying and locking onto the enemy before firing in sync.

Under the barrage formed by the drones, the abandoned factory building was engulfed in dust. The caught-off-guard gang members retreated in defeat until a piece of debris shot out from the dust, destroying several drones.

A burly figure leaped from the second floor, drawing the drones' identification and lock.

It was a sturdy man with eyes sharp as a hawk's. His muscular arms were notably defined and taut as he swiftly destroyed several drones, bearing through the barrage to buy time for his followers.

Lin Donghe glanced over and said with a smile, "This guy's strength is quite decent. Special Commissioner Ji, it's our turn. Want to see who takes down more?"

Ji Jingqiu didn't respond and accelerated toward the target.

From Lin Donghe's earlier words, he roughly guessed the truth about the situation, but he wasn't ready to think too much because of a stranger's words.

*He could just ask Master Yang when he got back.*

As for Lin Donghe's suggestion, he ignored it altogether.

*He wasn't a killer, nor did he think killing should become a competition.*

There wasn't much suspense in this raid.

The specially marked "Eagle Claw" was killed by Ji Jingqiu and Lin Donghe's combined efforts.

As soon as Eagle Claw fell, Lin Donghe couldn't wait to slash off Eagle Claw's head with a knife and looked at Ji Jingqiu with a smile, saying,

"Special Commissioner Ji, you were too slow. I got there first."

Ji Jingqiu had a peculiar expression.

*Wasn't this merit to be evenly distributed? What did he get ahead of?*

With the leader dead, the remaining subordinates scattered and fled. Ji Jingqiu and Lin Donghe began capturing based on the personnel information they had in advance.

For those involved in murder cases who resisted desperately, Ji Jingqiu was willing to send them off, considering an early death as a quick release from suffering.

Suddenly,

he noticed Lin Donghe's actions.

A boy of about seven or eight was cowering in a corner, watching in horror as the fierce man not far away kicked at him.

A shadow fell over the boy.

Ji Jingqiu grabbed Lin Donghe's foot, which was strong enough to kick down a wall, with one hand. Glancing at the cornered boy, he said in a firm voice,

"Mr. Lin, our task doesn't include slaughtering innocents and children."

Lin Donghe hadn't expected Ji Jingqiu to embarrass him like this.

*What's good about a boy mixed up with the gangsters hunted by the Order Office?*

He had seen many such kids from the lower levels who seemed young but were actually more cunning than anyone else.

Lin Donghe laughed awkwardly twice, pretending to withdraw his leg, but his eyes were fierce. With a sudden force in his right foot, he vowed to kick Ji Jingqiu, who dared to grab him, away.

But he didn't move.

His right leg remained firmly held in the air by Ji Jingqiu, and no matter how much strength Lin Donghe exerted, he couldn't move him.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

His face flushed red like pig liver, but it wasn't embarrassment; it was a mix of both blood rushing and anger.

"You..."

Ji Jingqiu threw Lin Donghe backward and glanced at the swarm of drones behind him, saying, "Mr. Lin, let's not joke around, get to work."

Lin Donghe staggered back several steps, looking at Ji Jingqiu in disbelief.

He had condensed a True Seed with the first limit of his Cultivation Body, and even though it wasn't completed, how could he lose in strength to Ji Jingqiu?

Ji Jingqiu took out the personnel detector from the Order Office, scanned the boy, confirmed he was clean and not a gang member, and then led the boy outside to let the Order Office handle him.

Just as they stepped out of the abandoned factory's range, the boy suddenly took off running, his movements nimble and quick like a little monkey in the forest.

Ji Jingqiu hesitated for a moment, glanced at Lin Donghe, who was busy clearing out the gang members.

The next moment, Ji Jingqiu decided to follow the boy.

*After all, the merit would be split evenly. Let Mr. Lin work hard if he wanted.*

He followed slowly behind the boy, heading into the depths of the lower areas.

The lower layer was also divided into areas. Some areas housed citizens with legal identities who were just poor. Others were occupied by black households, whose ancestors had been undocumented from who knew when and who couldn't even find legitimate work due to lack of opportunities.

Ji Jingqiu had once seen a phrase online, "The Federation's millennia-old chronic illnesses are deeply entrenched and hard to uproot."

Of course, *that wasn't something he should worry about.*

The boy ran into a residential building.

It was a dilapidated apartment building with its outer walls mottled, covered in moss like an eyesore in the city's corners.

Entering the building, a musty and fermenting odor from who-knows-what hit him. The staircase was cluttered with all sorts of trash, blocking the already narrow space, leaving almost no place to step.

But the boy ahead ran quickly, navigating with ease.

As Ji Jingqiu went up, the residents he encountered all looked disheveled and haggard. Besides weariness and fatigue, their gazes were full of apprehension.

*He had heard many rumors about the lower regions, but he had never ventured near.*

He found the boy's home, and the door, which didn't even have a lock, was half-open.

Ji Jingqiu walked in, and the light shone in from outside. There were no lamps inside, with only a small window letting in the scant light.

The room was filled with many things, but everything was neatly arranged, reflecting the life attitude of the people living there.

An elderly woman with a hunched back leaned against the wall, coming out from inside the house with a puzzled look at the intrudingly entering Ji Jingqiu. Suddenly she paused, glancing at the boy who had rushed in hurriedly a moment ago.

The old woman said anxiously, "Sir... What bad thing has Cheng done again? Did he steal something? I can help him repay..."

The old lady quickly turned around, her trembling hands rummaging out a plastic bag.

Inside was a handful of rarely seen paper currency, mostly in small denominations.

In the lower levels, certain fugitives or undocumented people, due to their personal accounts being closed, could only use paper money.

Ji Jingqiu swept a glance over it.

The money the old woman took out, altogether, probably amounted to a few hundred at most, very little, yet it was the family's entire fortune.

He pressed down the old lady's weathered hand that held the money, shaking his head to indicate it was fine.

He looked at the boy and asked, "Were you taken by them, or did you want to join the gang yourself?"

The boy, hiding behind the old woman, pursed his lips and didn't respond.

Ji Jingqiu had done many tasks these days and was well aware of the fate of those gang members.

One of the harshest things he had heard from others was that in a sense, gangs were used as tools to consume the increasing population in the lower levels, especially those undocumented.

The old woman smacked the boy's shoulder hard.

Only then did the boy timidly say, "They needed a runner, and I know the terrain around here well..."

Ji Jingqiu nodded. It wasn't an unexpected answer. It was the boy's way of surviving.

He said, "I'm Ji Jingqiu. On the Seventh Street corner, there's a Divine Temple. You can help by running errands and cleaning. There might not be much pay, but it could cover meals for two people. There's a small library in the temple; reading can open the mind."

In this era, the Divine Temple was somewhat akin to the churches of the past life, with neighbors frequently stopping by to help and the temples often distributing things or hosting activities to attract worshipers.

The boy bit his lip, his eyes filled with bewilderment, still in disbelief.

The old woman's eyes were brimming with gratitude as she repeatedly thanked him.

Ji Jingqiu stopped her. *He hadn't helped much, only followed his curiosity to come and look.*

On the way down, Ji Jingqiu didn't look at the weary figures peering through the windows.

He looked up at the front of the apartment building, at that crooked tree that hardly received much sunlight but still insistently grew upwards.

*Many times, people were like trees.*

*The more they wanted to reach the heights and brightness, the more their roots had to grow downward, into the soil, into darkness, deep down, into evil...*

*But how many people could endure this endless descent into darkness without being pulled into Hell before rising to reach the sky and touch the sunlight?*

Compared to this place, *he was actually lucky to have had parents who loved and cared for him.*

Ji Jingqiu strode away.

*After this task was completed, he was going back to prepare for breaking through the third limit.*