After leaving Mengfeila, the funeral group changed transportation several times and arrived safely at their destination, Feidengla.
Yaxiu thought that Annan had some local tyrants here to support him. After all, Lala Fei was the only one in the entire Gospel who had not been offended by them. If no one supported them, then they would be met with either betrayal or bullets.
However, according to Annan, "This is a city where one can hide safely even if one offends the whole world."
In fact, this is true.
Because Feidengla is the area where the gospel is weakest. It's not that this is a forbidden magic area, and the gospel can't be effective here, it's simply because the people here are too poor to afford to listen to the gospel.
Listening to the gospel requires gospel points, and the only source of points is to be on the list. Geniuses can be on the list themselves, but the only way for ordinary people to get points is to use city points and collective points, that is, the city will distribute points to all citizens, and companies will distribute points to employees.
But there is a problem here: there are limited places on the list, so there will definitely be cities and companies that will not make the list.
Azura, Vanmura, and Mengfera are all cities that rank at the top of the list, so the cities and enterprises earn a lot of points every year, which are invested in reproduction. As a result, they have created an unshakable first-mover advantage in their respective fields, quickly completed new modernization construction, and built second-story cities one after another.
As for the group like Feidengla, it is an atmosphere group that cannot be ranked on any list. Its greatest significance is to highlight how excellent the cities on the list are.
What? You ask why the backward cities don't try their best to catch up and strive to become national civilized cities? This is the same as why singles don't leave the group, why authors don't update, and why they don't hide when they are shot.
Public security, organizational strength, gross domestic product, education level... these data are not independent of each other, but are interrelated.
Excluding the two cities of Monferra and Fanmulla that cheated by miracles, let's take Azura as an example: because everyone listens to the gospel, the public security is good, everyone actively accepts education, enterprises have a good development environment, the overall level of the city rises, and then it gets a good ranking, the citizens all get gospel points, and then the citizens are more motivated to listen to the gospel...
Therefore, if a city fails to make the list in all aspects, it means that it is not just a little bit bad, but as bad as underground mud - because it has not entered a virtuous positive cycle at all!
Philadelphus is the best example. As one of the top five cities in terms of population, its competitor is first-tier cities like Azura. However, the gap between it and Azura can be reflected in just one sentence: Philadelphus has no school.
There are education cabins in the public schools of Azura, and everyone can enjoy customized education by lying in them. This kind of welfare facilities is not available in Philippine Dengla. It is not that the Empire does not provide them, but once they are sent to Philippine Dengla, they will be dismantled and sold for money.
This leads to the second characteristic of Philadelphin: the Red Hats are only responsible for the central wealthy areas. As for crimes occurring in other areas of Philadelphin, the Red Hats are completely indifferent.
Disorder, no education, and no government are the three main characteristics of Feidengla.
This is not because the citizens of Fedenla yearn for freedom, but the result of a complicated game - to put it simply, the empire will issue point subsidies every year according to the proportion of the city's population. At the beginning, the upper class of Fedenla believed that Fedenla could not compete with other cities, so this point subsidy would definitely be wasted, so it would be better to let them spend it themselves.
Without the aid of points in governance, the Philippines would naturally erode day by day, but this ulcerous city has attracted special attention: companies want to do dirty work in lawless areas, and chaosists are eager to break free from the shackles of the gospel.
Bribery, buying off, dereliction of duty, collusion... Crimes that would have been uncovered by the Gospel long ago in other cities have once again come to life in this mud with the joint cooperation of all parties. As for the Red Hats, they pretend to know nothing - as the lowest-ranked Red Hats in the entire Gospel, their non-participation in crime is the result of the Red Hats being bound by their professional contracts.
After decades of development, Feidengla has completely degenerated into a free and chaotic city. It is indeed an excellent choice for Annan to seek refuge here - don't forget, although the people here are too poor to listen to the gospel, Annan herself is a rich woman who has money to pray for the gospel!
After seeing how wealthy her mother and Efalin were, Annan was only a small rich woman in Yaxiu's eyes. However, even if she was a small rich woman, she could still cause a dimensionality reduction attack on the primitive society of Feidengla.
Ordinary people without Gospel Points couldn't even detect their identities. An Nan prayed for a fixed "random avatar blessing" for the house. As long as they moved in the house, their images would be replaced with other appearances in the eyes of outsiders, so there was no need to worry about revealing their identities.
If it were in a normal city, An Nan would not dare to pray for such a blessing. In the regular reconnaissance gift pack of the Gospel Magician, there are dozens of items such as miracles, magic spirits, blessings, etc. It only takes 10 points to detect all abnormal conditions within a radius of 100 meters. If the purple moth dared to pray for a fixed blessing, it would be like saying to others, "Look at me, look at me, I am super suspicious."
But in a poor place like Feidengla, this kind of blessing is extremely practical.
Ash had no doubt that they could even stay here safely until the Weaving Festival was over.
However, Annan came to Feidengla not just to seek refuge.
After washing up, Ash and Harvey went back to sit down. The room was narrow and the table was small, so it was a bit crowded for six people to sit, but they got used to it in the past few days. When everyone was gathered, An Nan said, "We can have dinner now."
Everyone started to eat. Today's breakfast was cream macaroni, egg bacon bread and milk tea. Panji said, "This breakfast cost 32 coppers in total. I have 73 coppers left. Take it, Ash."
"Yeah." Ash took over the financial power of the family.
Annan asked, "What is your job today, Harvey?"
"Let's go to the construction site." Harvey said, "You need an acquaintance to introduce you to the morgue here. I won't be here for a few days anyway, so I won't be busy anymore."
"Igura, what about you?"
"I became friends with Miss Martha yesterday, and she agreed to let me run her divination club room for a few days." Igula said, "I'll try to be a fortune teller."
"I plan to change my job." Ban Ji said suddenly.
"Why? Aren't you doing a good job as a chorister?" An Nan asked.
"But the boss's little daughter seems to like me." Pan Ji said calmly: "It's not good for her to stay any longer."
"Isn't this great?" Igula said with a smile, "If you get married and have children here, wouldn't that be the 'happiness' we are pursuing?"
"Yes, yes." An Nan also smiled and said, "Is the other person good-looking?"
"Don't make fun of me." Panji's expression did not waver at all: "My happiness is that the lady is happy, and I have no other wishes... and I have been in Gospel for so many years, I can't deceive Gospel, the most I can do is cooperate with you."
As soon as they arrived at Feidengla, Ash and the others immediately asked Annan what the next list was.
Although Igula himself thought it was quite fun, for people like Ash, Liz, and Harvey who had no interest in intellectual games, the "Trick List" had really left a psychological trauma on them, and they would never give Annan the chance to repeat his old tricks.
However, there was no need to hide the fourth list, so An Nan directly told them the theme of the fourth list: happiness.
Under normal circumstances, Ash and his friends would have no chance of making it onto this list.
Not even if they are migrant workers with countless possibilities.
After all, no matter how happy they are, they can never compare to the ruling class who hold power and wealth, such as Efalien, Kyna, and Mercury. Although the gospel implies that Ash and others will dominate the gospel in the future, even so, the happiest ones are definitely not Ash and others, but Ash's children.
Is there anything happier than being born with a golden shovel in your mouth?
As for the saying "rich people are unhappy", that is a lie told by the rich to deceive the poor. After all, if people everywhere say "being rich means being in a good position", then sooner or later the poor will squeeze the rich out of their laps.
However, under the premise that the future will inevitably be the end of the world, the definition of "happiness" is different.
Happiness in the end times is definitely not power and wealth. After all, society has collapsed and everyone is in danger. What's the point of having power? Can you order takeout? Can you get eight people to fight Ji Zhanli Ba Jue Gong?
Then everyone quickly realized what the real definition of "happiness" is here: life.
If a group of people can support each other in the apocalypse, maintain a dignified life, and even have a quality of life that is almost the same as before the apocalypse, that would be the greatest happiness.
So An Nan did not rent a big house in the wealthy area of Fidengla, but instead rented a small house in the chaotic urban village. Ash and four other people slept in a room with bunk beds, and she slept in another room holding Liz. What she was pursuing was to be close to the end of the world - in the gospel kingdom, the life of the poor is indeed the closest to the end of the world.
In order to better role-play the gospel of deception, An Nan also set three rules: everyone must work for a better life; living expenses must be paid from labor income, and savings cannot be used; save as much as possible but not affect the quality of life.
It’s not that An Nan is unwilling to give money, but her money is too easy to use. The bank interest from the Dolan family alone is enough to allow Ash and others to live freely in Feidengla. They are happy, but they will definitely be eliminated by Gospel!
It was precisely because of these three rules that they had almost nothing to eat on the first day in Feildela, and things only got back on track after Harvey and Pancake found jobs.
"Lis," An Nan asked, "How's your study going?"
Everyone has to work, and Liz is no exception. Although she doesn't need to go out to work, she has to study at home by reading the Gospel Book. The effect is naturally not as good as the "exclusive customization" of the education cabin, but at least the teaching materials in the Gospel Book are free and professional, and even homework exercises can be assigned. It is definitely worthwhile to study according to it, but it requires strong self-control.
"Everything, everything is fine..." Liz's tone flickered.
An Nan raised his eyebrows: "Let me see your homework evaluation."
"Everything is fine indeed—"
“Stop talking nonsense!”
The purple moth was still very dignified, so Liz had no choice but to open the Gospel book to the homework page and turn it over to show An Nan. The eldest lady frowned and said, "Why are your other homeworks so good, but your math is so bad? Gospel thinks that the mathematical thinking reflected in your homework has a major disability and defect, and suggests that you just give up this course?"
"What!?" Ash was shocked, and couldn't believe the shocking fact at all: "Did the gospel really say that? It's impossible!?"
"Yeah." An Nan blinked. "You care so much about her, but do you usually help her with her homework? How come she is so bad at it?"
"I, I not only tutored her..." Ash was about to collapse: "She said she was too lazy to do it, and I helped her with her math homework..."
After a brief silence, Harvey was the first to stand up: "I'm full, then I'll go to work."
"I'm full too."
"Ash, do you want me to help with the dishes?"
"No thanks." Ash munched on his egg and bacon bread gloomily, muttering, "Although I've graduated for a few years, it shouldn't be that serious..."
After Panji and the others left, An Nan went over and hugged Liz, then hugged Ash from behind.
“Is this really necessary?!”
"I'm the head of the family. I'm hugging you before going out to increase your power. Don't be ungrateful!" An Nan's hug turned into a cross lock, and he started to quarrel with Yaxiu early in the morning.
After they all went to work, Ash began to clear the dishes and said, "Study will start in half an hour."
"Great!" Liz cheered, "Then let's play "Magic Duel 14"!"
"Wait until I finish washing the dishes."
That’s right, Ash’s job is home security guard and babysitter.
There are two reasons for this: first, Liz cannot be left alone at home, someone must be at home to watch her; second, Ash simply cannot go out and show his face in public.
Although one can change one's appearance through makeup or even miracles, which is what An Nan and others did, the problem is that Ash's "distorted mask" is a permanent effect, and no matter how he changes, he will always be wearing the mask.
He always wears a mask when working. Others can tell there is something wrong with you just by looking at your onychomycosis, so Ash stayed at home with honor.
After washing the dishes and playing games with Liz, Ash started to work.
Wash clothes in the washing machine and dry them in the dryer. Drag the ironing board under the sun and iron them one by one. Sweep and mop the floor, clean the bathroom, and clean the toilet with disinfectant. Clean the windows with a rag, make everyone's beds, and take out the trash...
All of the above are jobs done by stand-ins.
Ash sat next to Liz and urged her to study, while he himself was also learning about the virtual realm, magic factions, and knowledge creatures.
More than two hours passed, and when Liz turned her head to peek at him for the 13th time, Ash closed the Gospel and said, "Let's go out and buy something."
"yeah!"
Ash put on his hooded windbreaker and left the residential building holding Liz's hand.
Although it is a chaotic area, a certain order has been formed over the years, otherwise there would be no working environment for ordinary people. The area where they live now is also called the "Salome District" because the company responsible for maintaining order here is Salome.
Hospitals, pet shops, restaurants, cafes, balance bike stores, grocery stores... These stores, which may have been integrated into online shopping in other cities, still have tenacious vitality in Feidengla.
Ash took Liz to the supermarket. The luxurious decoration inside was very grand and modern. It was obviously impossible to steal things here.
Passing by the snack and dessert area, Ash covered Liz's eyes and said, "Don't look at it, don't look at it. We only have 73 coppers and can't afford it."
Passing by the LaLaFet sale area, Liz covered Ash's eyes and said, "Don't look at it, don't look at it. We only have 73 coppers and can't afford it."
After some careful planning and food tasting, Ash and Liz returned home with their bags.
After finishing a simple lunch, Ash dragged a carpet to the balcony and lay lazily on it with Liz.
It was almost three o'clock when they woke up, so Ash urged Liz to study quickly and asked the stand-in to start preparing the ingredients, while he lay down for a while.
At around 4 o'clock, Panti was the first to come back, and as soon as he came back he went to help in the kitchen; then it was Igulla, who had a lingering fragrance on his body and must have cheated a lot of women's money; followed by Annan, who came back and ordered Yaxiu to take off her stockings, with an extremely arrogant attitude; lastly it was Harvey, who came back covered in dust and was sent directly to the bathroom to take a shower.
The noise from the residential buildings fell with the nightfall. The poor quality partitions did not affect the symphony of the Philippine lights at all. Some people were drinking and making noise downstairs, some were wearing high-heeled boots upstairs, and the lights were on in the building opposite, as if people were watching a movie or a play while eating.
The dark forest of Feidengla gradually became brighter. Although it was not as bright as the big cities like Azura and Mengfera that provided centralized lighting, the lights hidden in the houses could indeed make people feel warm.
The six people in the funeral sat around the round table. After Harvey finished his shower and sat down, An Nan said, "It's time to eat."
"Waiting for everyone to announce the start of the meal" is a very important step. According to An Nan, this can increase their happiness index by 5%. But in Yaxiu's opinion, this should be a ritual added by An Nan to emphasize that he is the head of the family.
This was the day of the funeral, and it might be the most ordinary time since coming to Gospel. No one was chasing them, their personal safety was not restricted, and everyone was no longer as reserved as they were at the beginning... In the steaming hot steam of the soup and vegetables, it seemed that even time had become gentle, and Ash felt that he was about to forget about the weaving ceremony, the Lord's wish, and the end of the world.
Until the Gospels popped up on their own.
The glowing bookmark announced a great piece of good news to everyone very strongly.
"Good news..." An Nan murmured, "More updates!?"