Chapter 136, Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Lost Manor
Cheng Yuzhou's sudden move truly startled the others.
He has always given the impression of being a reasonable and amiable person; even in urgent situations, he just speaks a little faster.
Those two ruthless and decisive punches, and the expressionless act of piercing the man's arm, made some people realize that Cheng Yuzhou was far more terrifying than the sharp-tongued Song Xiaona.
He dealt with the biggest troublemaker, and not only did no one in the opposition dare to question his demands, but even the tourists who had originally sided with Cheng Yuzhou began to feel a bit of fear towards him.
Under violent suppression, his ideas were able to be executed smoothly.
Only Li Yufei felt something was amiss.
She had beaten people before, many times even more ruthlessly than Cheng Yuzhou had done this time. In her experience, at least a third of the people who were beaten to the ground would not only not back down, but would become even more rebellious.
Cheng Yuzhou's two punches were indeed frightening; even she was startled.
But in the eyes of others, he was just an ordinary human being, not particularly tall or strong, and the opposition could easily overpower him when they swarmed him.
But they were all terrified and obeyed obediently like little rabbits.
This reaction was a bit strange, but not entirely incomprehensible.
In junior high school coding class, she followed the textbook steps meticulously, and even Cheng Yuzhou checked her work twice, but the final result was still different from Cheng Yuzhou's.
That's truly unbelievable.
The same task might yield different results depending on who does it.
Li Yufei once named this phenomenon the "YU" phenomenon, which means that the same letters, Cheng Yuzhou spelled out "煜" (Yu), while she spelled out "雨" (Yu).
With the "YU" phenomenon as theoretical support, the reason why people were intimidated by Cheng Yuzhou was perfectly explained. However, during the shift handover in the afternoon, Li Yufei suddenly discovered that in the group that came to replace them, someone's soul showed a familiar black and red tinge.
That person was one of the opposition representatives I had met that morning.
Li Yufei turned around in confusion.
There were too many people in the manor, and she only used the Psyche card during the Holy War. She stayed with Cheng Yuzhou from morning till night to fight against the demons, so it was impossible for her to observe the color of each person's soul.
Maybe this color was already available there, and she just hadn't noticed it before.
Thinking this, Song Xiaona's words echoed back:
"Psyche is not only a woman of the soul, but also a goddess of the heart."
"This ability didn't disappear; it was stolen."
The extra touch of black and red in Dean's soul also kept replaying in Li Yufei's mind.
There didn't seem to be that red and black color before he left.
Does it exist, or not? It seems so, but upon closer inspection, it seems not.
The more she thought about it, the less certain she became. Who would observe every detail of a passerby so closely, especially since he was Song Xiaona's man? Why was she looking at him?
Li Yufei was certain that Cheng Yuzhou wouldn't hurt her, but she still couldn't help going to the bathroom and finding a mirror.
She had never seen what color her soul was.
By kissing the talisman, Li Yufei saw her own soul in the mirror for the first time.
The dazzling and gorgeous gold and red colors shone in her eyes.
She stared at the floating phantom behind her in the mirror, a mixture of gold and fiery red, like a ball of intensely burning gold.
Li Yufei's eyes widened instantly. She had looked at more than sixty souls and had never seen such a beautiful and dazzling color.
Such a beautiful soul, no wonder even the goddess of beauty would be jealous.
As expected of her.
She carefully examined her soul in the mirror; it was mostly red, but not a trace of black or red.
"Feifei?"
A soft urging came from the doorway.
He waited for a long time and then walked to the entrance of the women's restroom.
Looking at Li Yufei bending over in front of the mirror, Cheng Yuzhou asked gently, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with your eyeliner?"
"No." Li Yufei turned on the tap and washed her hands. "After seeing too many demons, I want to read something good to cleanse my eyes."
Both statements were true; when she wasn't lying, Li Yufei spoke with confidence and self-assurance.
Cheng Yuzhou didn't notice anything unnatural on her face until she asked, "Cheng Yuzhou."
"Um?"
"If we were to engage in BDSM, and you were the master, what command would you most like to give me?"
Cheng Yuzhou choked and coughed.
"Cough, what?" He looked on in astonishment.
"I was just asking." Li Yufei couldn't find a reason to explain why she was asking such a question, so she urged him forcefully, "Just tell me already."
"I...I don't know." After dating for a month, Cheng Yuzhou had finally become more open, but this question brought him back to his old self, turning red from his ears to his neck. "I never thought about it."
"Then think about it now!"
“Then…” Cheng Yuzhou turned his face slightly, revealing one of his burning ear tips, “I might, I hope you can say to me… ‘I like you too’.”
The expected answer from a love-struck and naive virgin.
"You're really spineless," Li Yufei said, hands on her hips. "You don't even dare to dream big."
"What if you were in my shoes?" Cheng Yuzhou asked. "Feifei, what orders would you give me?"
"Me?" When it was Li Yufei's turn, she realized that this question was indeed difficult to answer.
After all, she had already given orders like asking Cheng Yuzhou to deliver condoms to her and her boyfriend at 2 a.m.
That idiot actually drove here in the rain.
Not only did he buy all the models, but he even asked her if she wanted him to wait in the car and take her home later.
This is insane!
Enraged, she threw the bag of SKNY directly at Cheng Yuzhou's head.
She doesn't have a latex allergy, so she doesn't need a brand that's specifically for allergy sufferers!
Two minutes after slamming the door shut, Li Yufei threw the man inside into Cheng Yuzhou's arms, who was still there.
Get out of here, everyone.
Li Yufei was already tired of giving orders to Cheng Yuzhou. After thinking it over, her fox-like eyes finally landed on Cheng Yuzhou's flushed face.
She suddenly burst out laughing, her manicured nails touching her chin, and said with a playful and teasing tone, "As for me, I'll let you pick a novel from your bookshelf, and whatever the male lead is like, you'll become just like him from now on."
Cheng Yuzhou asked in confusion, "What kind of order is this?"
"How interesting. Just think of all those brainless novels on your bookshelf. I'm curious what you'd be like if you turned into a rabid, rutting male dog."
Cheng Yuzhou had a headache. "Feifei, even I sometimes can't handle your surprising remarks."
“Ha,” Li Yufei complained, “If you could really become like that, you might not have to suffer so much.”
She did have a bad temper when she was young, but there's no smoke without fire. Putting her side aside, was Cheng Yuzhou, who was tormented, completely without fault?
Seeing him squatting on the ground, calmly picking up condoms, even the best wife would be furious, let alone his fiancée.
In short, Cheng Yuzhou is such a coward. Even if he had the ability to brainwash her, he would only dare to ask her to say a single sweet word, no matter how hard he tries.
Since the start of the ghost story, she has been almost inseparable from Cheng Yuzhou, and she must be the one Cheng Yuzhou desires most.
If even she wasn't mentally controlled by Cheng Yuzhou, then it's even less likely that anyone else would be.
Based on her past experiences, Li Yufei still had reservations about Song Xiaona's words.
After looking in the mirror, the two finished their last shift of the day and returned to their posts to guard the checkpoint.
Fortunately, the damaged barriers have been repaired, and after the opposition was persuaded by force, the newly added golden-armored knights provided a great deal of assistance.
By the end of this day, the Fourth Holy War had finally been won.
The next day, the ant announced the ball, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had seen the light of day again.
It's over, it's finally over.
This victory was hard-won, but the celebration ball was not as relaxed and lively as the previous three.
Having tasted defeat, they were tired and afraid, and dared not take the holy war lightly again.
In addition, people's attitudes toward Cheng Yuzhou have also undergone a subtle change.
Many people therefore feared him and avoided him;
Many people thanked him and praised his decisiveness. If it weren't for Cheng Yuzhou's extraordinary courage, they would probably still be fighting amongst themselves over a mere 3 points of faith.
Regardless of the methods used, Cheng Yuzhou did lead them to victory, ending this long and painful nightmare.
He deservedly won the championship of this holy war.
This time, no one made a proposal before he could speak.
"You've all worked so hard." He sighed first, "We all know how hard-won this victory was."
"Even though everyone gave it their all, we still lost a lot of faith points."
The banquet hall was silent.
With double-digit faith points deducted, everyone was filled with anxiety about the next holy war and did not want to experience another defeat.
Cheng Yuzhou analyzed, "We still have 13 days left. Without executions, we can only gain a maximum of 39 faith points from Mass alone. However, these two holy wars and one reset war have caused us to lose 16-26 points."
"Mr. Zheng, hurry up and open the sacred artifact and holy water shop!" someone said.
"This is a method, but not a good one," Cheng Yuzhou pondered. "In these two holy wars, we increased our number of divine tokens, yet we still failed. Do you all remember what the ant said at the beginning—'What can truly defeat the demon is our own heart.'"
"What determines victory or defeat should not be external props, but our faith value."
“What you say makes sense. We also wish for a higher level of faith.”
"We can't just deliberately create executions to increase faith points, can we?"
“I have an idea,” Cheng Yuzhou said, “It may not be correct. If we guess correctly, everyone will gain extra faith points, but the process won’t be easy. And if we guess wrong, we’ll waste an opportunity. Are you all willing to take this risk with me?”
His words aroused curiosity. "What is it?" "Mr. Zheng, please tell us. From the beginning until now, when have you ever made a mistake in your reasoning?" "Yes, please tell us."
Cheng Yuzhou paused for a moment, then looked up at everyone and said, "I want to build a new church."
Instead of building a church outright, they started from the foundation and built it by hand, bit by bit.
"What? Build a church?"
"There are no building materials here, no construction machinery, and who knows how to build houses?"
Everyone was astonished. "How would we know how to do this?"
Cheng Yuzhou spoke up, “Building a small chapel in the shape of a square tower is not as difficult as everyone imagines. It does not require too complicated equipment, nor does it require all the materials to be purchased at once. I plan to use five territory rewards to gradually supply the necessary equipment.”
“Please listen to my reasons first,” he said. “For any religion, the most important things are people and temples. The way to increase believers is through proselytizing, and you have all seen how much faith value is increased through proselytizing.”
"Therefore, it can be inferred that building a church would inevitably enhance the faith of the contributors."
“I know many people have concerns, perhaps thinking they are not strong enough to participate in the project. But a church is not only about brick walls, but also about decorations, furniture, tables, chairs, and curtains. These are all part of a church and can greatly enhance our faith.”
“Building a small church can provide us with many opportunities to earn faith points. Once our basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation are met, I think we should try exchanging it for a building site.”
These words made a lot of sense, and after hearing them, people were actually somewhat moved.
"If you all think my proposal is feasible—" Seeing that they still had some reservations, Cheng Yuzhou pulled out the whiteboard that Song Xiaona had used in the meeting, uncapped the pen, "I will first use a visual method to give you a simple introduction to the construction process of traditional engineering projects."
Cheng Yuzhou used a digital drawing to explain the traditional engineering process without special equipment.
His drawings are quite professional, and his explanations are both insightful and simple.
Li Yufei listened from below, glancing at the tourists on both sides. More than 90% of them were focused and staring intently at Cheng Yuzhou.
Does Cheng Yuzhou need mind manipulation?
Cheng Yuzhou had been quite popular since middle school. Li Yufei tilted her head and glanced inquiringly at Song Xiaona in the corner.
Song Xiaona's face looked terribly pale.
Could she be jealous of Cheng Yuzhou's personal charm and deliberately trying to smear him?
Song Xiaona crossed her arms and stared anxiously at the crystal ball suspended high in the air.
They had a large amount of faith deducted, but the gold in the crystal ball increased dramatically.
This is definitely not the sum of faith power!
What is this count of?
What grew rapidly during this period?
Prosperity level?
No, she didn't open a shop, and no new buildings or facilities were added to this haunted house.
Death toll?
This can be considered an increase, but during the peace period in the first two rounds when no one died, Sands also saw a slight increase.
Song Xiaona bit her thumbnail as she listened to Cheng Yuzhou's eloquent speech on stage and saw everyone around her listening attentively. An indescribable anxiety filled her mind and body.
She was terrified that if she stayed here any longer, she might one day become like everyone else—fanatically devoted to Psyche and blindly obedient to Cheng Yuzhou.
We must leave! We must leave immediately!
Once she's brainwashed and assimilated by Cheng Yuzhou, she'll never be able to leave!
But she couldn't confront Cheng Yuzhou face to face, and Dean was also being manipulated by him, so she didn't know what he might do.
What other information is available, and who can be trusted?
Song Xiaona suddenly turned her head and stared intently at Li Yufei.
If Cheng Yuzhou wasn't lying, and the deaths in the manor weren't real deaths, then where did all the missing people go?
They were imprisoned somewhere unknown;
Or... did he quit the game and return to reality?
She didn't dare gamble with her own life, and she couldn't see the results of experiments on other people.
The only thing that can be detected is Cheng Yuzhou's reaction after Li Yufei's death.
If Cheng Yuzhou doesn't act so crazy, it proves that the dead person has really returned to their original world without any casualties, and then she can get away immediately.
This is currently the most effective and direct escape plan.
But what if those words were just lies Cheng Yuzhou told Li Yufei to reassure her...?
Song Xiaona frowned deeply.
Across the crowd, she gazed at the oblivious Li Yufei, her eyes filled with struggle.
Killing Li Yufei would be easy; a little bait would lure her out again, and Li Yufei wouldn't be too wary of her.
Song Xiaona stared intently at Li Yufei, at that woman who was so different from her.
They spend their time and energy chasing the light, exhausting their lives just to stand in a higher place; but Li Yufei—she doesn't have even a tenth of her or Cheng Yuzhou's talent, yet she seems to have been born high above them all.
She doesn't chase the light, but flaunts it as if she herself is the light.
Li Yufei, what makes her so special?
Song Xiaona had questioned herself and Li Yufei about this countless times.
In the instant that she felt the urge to kill Li Yufei, Song Xiaona suddenly remembered what her teacher had taught in her financial investment course:
Aggressive investing requires investors to be able to withstand significant investment losses.
This is a principle that Song Xiaona has always adhered to. When making aggressive investments, her primary consideration is not the probability of risk, but whether she can afford to lose money.
Can she afford it?
In order to gain a chance to return to the outside world, she killed Li Yufei with her own hands—can she afford such a loss?
Was the return on investment for killing Li Yufei worthwhile...?
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