Chapter 44 God's Work Manual: Temple Upgrade Blueprints!
Chapter Forty-Four
For some reason, Mimi Yin didn't seem to have much hostility towards her.
Du Yu felt strange, but that didn't stop her from completely devouring the collapsing brown thread after that mysterious aura disappeared.
[Ding-dong, congratulations on completing the side quest.]
The purple flames swept swiftly across the spirit realm, erasing all traces. Only after Du Yu confirmed that all the miners' spirits had returned to normal did he end this journey through the spirit realm.
The woman lying on the bed in the apartment seemed to be fast asleep, and naturally turned over.
Du Yu's consciousness returned to reality. Although he knew there were no surveillance cameras in the apartment, he still didn't open his eyes. His consciousness sank deep to check the notification that the game system had just popped up.
[The player completes the quest series [Evil Sacrifice - Part 1], thwarting the false god's conspiracy and successfully protecting potential believers.]
Players receive the following rewards: [Temple Upgrade Blueprint - Dusk] *1, [Newbie God's Work Manual] (Chapter 1)
Every choice made by the gods carries profound meaning. Players who complete a good deed approved by an evil god unlock a divine inclination [leap].
[Your name has gained limited renown in the spirit world; Divine Name Spread Amount +1500.]
[With a divine name spread exceeding 1000, congratulations to the player for unlocking the title [Newcomer God], which increases Faith Point acquisition by 5% when equipped.]
Even a small mosquito is still meat. Du Yu controlled his spiritual clone to sleep, casually put on the newly acquired title, and opened the [Task] interface on the panel.
In addition to displaying the ongoing main quest "Spark of Hope", the interface now includes a new quest series "Evil Sacrifice".
This new series of quests is activated the moment [MiMiYin]'s consciousness descends. At this point, apart from [Quest One] which has already been completed, the rest are all question marks, a feature characteristic of the game.
Unlike the main quest, side quests, also known as series quests, can be declined. But Du Yu didn't hesitate and accepted them immediately.
Du Yu had a feeling that this series of tasks seemed to have nothing to do with him, but in fact the system was waiting for his choice—whether to turn a blind eye or to offend the gods for the sake of mortals.
Seeing the newly unlocked divine tendency [Leap], Du Yu knew her intuition was right. She tentatively spoke, and to her surprise, the system didn't play dead this time, giving her a straightforward answer:
Regarding deity inclinations, please refer to the [Beginner's Guide to Working as a Deity] (Chapter 1)
Du Yu looked at the reward for this system task, ignoring the name full of complaints, and tentatively clicked on it. The next moment, a thin booklet appeared out of thin air in Du Yu's hand.
The booklet was thin, and the pattern printed on the cover was somewhat similar to that on the altar. Du Yu glanced at the words "Beginner God's Handbook" written in Chinese on the cover with a strange look, and instead of reading the contents, he turned to the table of contents first.
For a book, the table of contents is the most easily overlooked, yet it is actually the most important part. Through the table of contents, readers can quickly understand the overall framework of the book and the author's writing process.
This time, the system did a good job; although the manual only has one chapter, the table of contents is complete.
[Beginner's Guide to Working as a God]
Chapter 1: Stop Drowsiness at Work—The Three Essentials to Rise to the Top: Believers, Authority, and Inclination.
[Chapter Two: The Newcomer Working Through the Night - Roll up your sleeves, roll up everything! Steal your colleague's business!]
Chapter 3: A Beacon of Light Standing Alone – Standing Out Among Colleagues
[Chapter 4: A Star-Studded Workstation—Supporting Your Divine Kingdom, Now It's Time to Slack Off!]
Chapter 5: My Sky Has Only One Moon—Working is Out of the question, I'll kill the boss!
[Chapter Six: Entering the Eternal Night—The Day of Ascension Has Arrived!]
Du Yu tried to ignore the complicated title and extract the key information from the abstract text. In the system's eyes, he was still a "newbie" in the field of gods.
The first three chapters of this handbook are about how to outwit and outmaneuver your "colleagues," while in the last three chapters, your "boss" becomes your enemy.
She now knows that gods have their own authority. "Colleagues" is easy to understand; they are gods who have the same or similar authority as her. Her initial goal was to seize authority from them and become a "beacon that stands alone."
What does "boss" in the manual refer to? The system? A higher-dimensional being that restrains the gods? Or a powerful, long-established god?
Various guesses flashed through Du Yu's mind. She did not linger on this question, which she could not answer for the time being, and re-examined the title of each chapter in the manual.
Despite the flamboyant titles of each chapter, Du Yu still managed to keenly identify the words "dusk," "candle," and "lamp" in the first three chapters, which correspond to the levels of the Fallen Species!
Du Yu lowered his gaze, a bold conjecture forming in his mind—
It is known that there are six levels of Fallen Ones. She learned from Cat Whiskers that the first three levels are Twilight, Candle, and Lamp, while the latter three levels are too dangerous and are collectively referred to as the "Catastrophe" level.
So, based on the table of contents of the manual, can we infer that the last three levels of the Fallen are "Star", "Moon" and "Night"?
The manual changes the target of the struggle to the boss starting from the last three chapters, and the Fallen Ones also change from the last three levels to natural disasters that cannot be mentioned at all. What is the connection between these two?
What is the relationship between "bosses" and natural disasters?
Du Yu was caught in a mental storm, so he flipped through the table of contents and began reading the first chapter.
Although the handbook was written in a very unconventional style, careful study revealed a considerable amount of information. After reading the first chapter, she finally understood some of the words that [MiMiYin] had told her.
The manual likens becoming a god to waking up from a drowsy state and working hard to reach the pinnacle of life.
In this process, the authority of the gods is the "workstation," and "inclination" is the "promotion channel" of the gods. The mysterious "boss" is not responsible for paying the employees' salaries; all the employees' income comes from commissions—that is, the believers' faith.
If there are not enough believers, the deity's performance will not be up to par, and the deity will not be able to eat enough, or even "starve to death".
The "workstation"—that is, authority—is the qualification for gods to sit at the table and eat. If authority is taken away, the god will be fired from the company, which means being stripped of his qualification as a god.
Once the gods have acquired enough authority, there will be three different advancement paths, and the [Leap] that Du Yu unlocked is one of them.
The manual mentions that when a novice deity has a certain number of followers and acquires a certain amount of authority, they will vaguely perceive their ranking in their respective inclinations, which is the "sequence" mentioned by [MiMiYin].
The higher your rank in the hierarchy, the more powerful the deity, and the fewer competitors you'll face. Of course, there's an even simpler way to climb the hierarchy—eliminate your colleagues.
After reading the manual, Du Yu finally gained a basic understanding of the gods and also understood why [Mi Mi Yin] said they would become friends.
In the spirit world, the colors of spirits represent different elements. Although she didn't know which higher elements her authority involved, judging from her color and aura alone, she was completely different from [MiMiYin], so there was no power struggle between her and [MiMiYin] for the time being.
As for the debate over the sequence within the category of inclination, that goes without saying.
Du Yu unlocked the tendency of [Leap] because of a "good deed" recognized by the system. She didn't know about the tendency of [Decadent Sound], but it was definitely not [Leap].
She would neither usurp Mimi's power nor engage in any competitive rivalry with her. No wonder Mimi showed her goodwill and tried to win her over.
But is the competition between gods really that simple? In the end, even the "boss" will be killed by the gods who are "working" for them, let alone the "colleagues" with whom there is no competition for the time being.
Du Yu put away the manual, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
[MiMiYin] specifically mentioned the sequence, meaning He is currently still in the stage of infighting with His "colleagues." A god wouldn't need to go through so much trouble to acquire a spiritual body. Was He going to such lengths in the mine to gain authority?
As Du Yu was pondering, a cluster of purple flames suddenly appeared beside him, trembled for a moment, and then "spit out" a brown glass ball as if he had indigestion.
Du Yu was surprised and grabbed the small ball. In a flash, he knew what it was. The purple flame could burn the brown lines to replenish its energy, but it couldn't "eat" everything. This small glass ball was the part that the purple flame couldn't consume.
Du Yu tentatively used her mental power to sense it, and a look of joy flashed in her eyes. Her biggest problem now was that she had too little information, and this little glass ball was the memory of the brown line.
According to the information transmitted back by the mental energy, this brown string was not originally what it is now, but was an ordinary dancer in the lower city.
While working at a bar, she came into contact with the faith of "Mimi Yin" and quickly became a fanatical follower. In order to receive the divine power of "Mimi Yin," she willingly sacrificed her physical body and spirit, twisting herself into the form that Du Yu saw.
The religious order that believes in [Mimi Yin] is called the "Joyful Orchestra". The order's hierarchy is very interesting, divided into ordinary believers as "listeners", missionaries as "performers", bishops as "conductors", and the special messengers of God, "Fifty Strings", who are personally governed by [Mimi Yin].
The brown line that Du Yu encountered was one of the "Fifty Strings," whose intelligence began to decline because they were too close to God.
No wonder this brown line attracted the attention of [Mimiyin]. When the divine messenger encountered a problem, it was as if he had slapped God in the face.
Du Yu flipped through the brown-lined memory crystal with great interest; this was the first time she had ever clearly understood the internal hierarchy of a cult.
Unfortunately, it's unclear whether [MiMi Yin] tampered with her memory or whether the brown thread held a low position in the "Fifty Strings," as there's not much information about the "Final Feast of Revelry" in the fragments of memory.
But a strange thing made Du Yu sit up straight immediately—she saw the news of the Six-Star Holy Grail in the memories of the brown line!
This six-star Holy Grail is not only involved in her main quest, but it is also the focus of many forces, with many people searching for it.
The "Joyful Band" also received a mission to find the Holy Grail, which was issued by the brown line. It is said that the Holy Grail is a key item for the "Final Feast of Carnival".
Strangely, in the "Fifty Strings" closest to the "Mimi Sound," the orders they received were that they could search for it casually without expending too much effort.
This undoubtedly contradicts the information above.
Du frowned. Clearly, Dong Shijiu and the others who sent people to the Furensa docks were probably the lowest-ranking "listeners" in the cult, and their mission was to find the Holy Grail at all costs.
Why did the divine messenger issue different commands to ordinary believers and divine messengers?
Where did Dong Shijiu and his group find out about the Holy Grail's existence at the Furensa docks?
Du Yu sat and pondered for a long time. He obtained more information, but the mystery did not shrink. Instead, it became even bigger.
Collecting all the Holy Grail fragments won't be easy. But since it concerns the main quest, she won't give up.
Putting aside the troublesome matter of the Holy Grail, Du Yu examined another gain from this trip—the blueprints to upgrade the temple to the "Twilight" level.
Compared to the shrouded Holy Grail quest, upgrading the temple is much simpler; it's all about one word—just grind!
【Name: Temple Upgrade Blueprint - Dusk】
[Attribute: Divine Kingdom Architecture]
[Hint: Things have changed dramatically in just a few days! You are no longer an obscure and impoverished deity; more and more people are choosing to follow you. It's time to upgrade your temple, establish a religious order, and bestow God's glory upon your believers!]
[Note: After constructing the [Temple of Dusk], the gods can use the temple to bestow authority upon bishops, allowing your divine name to spread further. Capacity for bishops: 3.]
Du Yu's gaze lingered on the "Architectural Description" for a moment.
After the temple is upgraded, in addition to the expansion of the area protected by the divine kingdom, the biggest change is that bishops can be appointed and granted abilities.
The brown line she encountered should be this situation, where she can directly use the divine power of [Mimi Yin].
This feature is quite useful. After all, proselytizing is not just about making empty promises, and believers cannot solve problems on their own. It's manageable now that there are few people, but as the number of believers increases, we may really need a "bishop" to help them solve their problems.
Du Yu touched his chin and continued looking down.
[Required Materials: Beginner Temple, 6 Fallen Element Cores of Tier 1, Divine Power Crystal, 15 Believers, 1000 Grade C Wood, 1000 Grade C Stone...]
Aside from miscellaneous C-grade building materials, the hardest to obtain are elemental cores and divine power crystals, but...
Du Yu closed the [Building] tab and opened [Synthesis]. This was the first time she had encountered a synthesis process that required a progress bar; it was a bit like eating too much at once and experiencing indigestion.
At this point, the progress bar finally reached the end—
【Name: Divine Power Crystal (Weak)】
[Level: K+]
[Note: This is a divine crystal that was forcibly extracted by a stingy player who was extremely greedy. It contains a very weak [Calamity] divine power. Despite its weakness, it still represents the status of a deity.]
Swallowing it offers an extremely small chance of breaking through the limits of mortals, surpassing the "K" level, achieving true "transcendence," and becoming a god!
Du Yu's gaze sharpened. She had only collected the divine power imprints of [Mi Mi Yin] to complete the mission, but she hadn't expected to obtain such an excessive amount of synthetic material as divine power crystals.
Even if the probability is extremely low, it is still a possibility to become a god!
However, this thing obviously has a threshold for use. Du Yu's gaze fell on "true 'transcendence'", and it was clear that the system's words were meaningful.
Only by reaching K-level and consuming the divine power crystal can one break through to K-level; only by becoming a transcendent can one gain the qualification to transform from human to god and achieve true "transcendence".
Du Yu had stumbled upon information about "the transcendent" in the memories of the brown line.
The Transcendent, as the name suggests, is an existence that surpasses human limits and is one step away from godhood. Whether by coincidence or not, just like the system's classification, the Joyful Band also positions Transcendents as K-level.
In Brown Line's memory, the number of Transcendents was extremely small. Apart from the rebel leaders who had already been killed, the only Transcendent she knew of still alive was Christina Fisher, the head of the Sun City Security Bureau.
What Du Yu found most strange was the attitude towards the Transcendent in the Brown Line Memories.
Whether it's within the Joyful Band, other evil/god cults, or even the security department under the Beyonder's own management, their attitude towards the Beyonder is remarkably consistent: kill without mercy!
Why could the Transcendent Ones reach an agreement with both the evil cult and the police department? Was it to curb potential evil gods?
In the City of the Sun, evil gods are potential social threats, while those who transcend can become gods by consuming divine power crystals.
However, this cannot explain why the evil god cult also dislikes those who transcend, since gods are not all competitors, but can also cooperate.
Or rather, the gods who transcended are different from the evil gods of today?
As Du Yu thought about this, a chill ran down his spine for no reason. He felt a sense of terror, as if he were walking in a jungle, with ferocious beasts lurking all around him, watching him intently. A thought flashed through his mind: Could she be considered a god who had transcended?
Du Yu felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason. His intuition was screaming warnings, and he resolved to keep this secret buried deep inside.
"Good morning!"
The girl's cheerful voice outside dispelled the chill that lingered in Du Yu's heart.
The fog obscured the sun and moon, but after obtaining the quantum computer, Tian Yinuo still insisted on living according to the city's schedule. It was morning at this time.
Tian Yinuo recited the prayer, put her hands together and bowed haphazardly to the altar. Xiao Yi, who was beside her, did the same without understanding why.
She turned around and was startled, taking a step back and patting her chest: "Boss, when did you arrive? You walked without making a sound."
Tian Yinuo quickly put the little fright behind her and hummed a song as she headed to the kitchen—she had recently fallen in love with this job.
Xiao Yi turned around, glanced longingly in the direction of the kitchen, then hesitated before turning back to stare at Du Yu for a long time before extending her hand to her: "Here you go."
"What's this?"
Du Yu lowered her eyes and glanced at the man's palm, at a piece of fruit hard candy wrapped in cellophane.
This is the candy I casually slipped to him a few days ago when I saw him working hard. Now he wants to return it to me?
"If you're hurt, eat candy, and the pain will go away."
The ordinary candy stubbornly remained suspended in mid-air. Du Yu looked at it with a puzzled expression for a while, then chuckled and reached out to close his palm. "Be good, you can keep it for yourself. I'm not hurt."
Du Yu turned to leave, but the hand stretched out again, revealing a sweet candy wrapped in colorful cellophane, like a tiny opal gemstone.
"A wounded heart will ache, but don't be sad."
Xiao Yi explained somewhat awkwardly.
As Du Yu's understanding of the spirit world and spirits deepened, he realized his current situation.
Xiao Yi had been drained of energy by that lamp-level corrupted entity for a long time, and even though Du Yu helped him remove his shackles, the long-term deficit could not be easily made up.
His spirit was severely injured, and he had lost all reason. He acted almost entirely on instinct. Besides being easily fooled, this also meant that once he made up his mind about something, he became extremely stubborn.
Du Yu stared at the candy for a few seconds.
She wasn't exactly a heartless boss, but Xiao Yi had a huge appetite and would eat anything the moment he got it. This candy was probably his only remaining stock.
Du hesitated for a moment, but under his persistent gaze, she took the candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. Even the most ordinary candy becomes sweeter when someone cherishes it.
After breakfast, Du Yu was silently calculating how many building materials were left to upgrade the temple when Tian Yinuo suddenly crept up to him furtively, dropped a small box, and ran off.
"Miss, I made a bracelet out of boredom. If you like it, wear it; if you don't, just throw it away!"
The original owner loved collecting beautiful stones, whether they were gems or the most common pebbles.
Du Yu opened the box, inside was a bracelet made of small stones of different colors, each stone being similar in size and carefully polished.
Du Yu glanced at it a few times, took it out and put it on his wrist, sighing inwardly: They all figured it out.
——
The former site of the Flénza pier.
Du Yu carried the safe to the manager of the place, Wu Dawei of the Gentlemen's Club, but received unexpected news:
"Mining operations suspended?"
To be honest, after clearing the mark of [MiMi Yin] on the miners, Du Yu had come up with several plans, even considering the possibility of this body being identified. But what she didn't expect was that the mine would shut down.
"What bad luck."
Wu Dawei cursed under his breath, his expression genuine, "New information has come from headquarters: new facilities need to be built at the mine first, and a new person in charge will take over."
Wu Dawei looked annoyed; clearly, in his view, the new person in charge was there to take credit for him.
Du Yu's gaze shifted; her thoughts differed from his. The Gentlemen's Club must have some kind of collaboration with the Pleasure Troupe, and the current mine was proof of that.
It was no coincidence that the Gentlemen's Club sent a new person in charge the day after he had ruined the Pleasure Troupe's plans.
The problem is, with himself around, harvesting the spirits from the mine is definitely not an option. What will the Joyful Band's new plan be?
"Huh? Perfect timing."
Wu Dawei glanced around the office several times, feeling frustrated. He turned off the communications station and stood up. "Perfect timing. The new person in charge is here. Let me introduce him to you."
The office door opened, and Du Yu looked at the familiar bald head behind it, clicking his tongue inwardly. Ah, a familiar face.
The man was burly, with a shaved head and the standard gentleman's hairstyle. He had a horizontal scar in the middle of his forehead. He was Hu Tiankui, who had chased after Le Feiyou and the others and was eventually killed after turning into a monster.
——
"That's how it is. Everyone, make your choice. The rest of the money in the group is here. Those who want to leave can take it and go. I will definitely not blame you."
A shady clinic in the downtown area has put up a sign that says it's closed. In the basement, a vote is being held.
Cat Whiskers stood in the middle of the round table, scanning the group members around him, some sitting, some standing, and even a few leaning on canes. His face was solemn, which was completely out of character for his age.
Le Feiyou was the first to get angry. Without even glancing at the credit card on the table, he slammed his hand on the table. "Captain, you called us here just to talk about this? We've killed so many mutants, are we afraid of those scoundrels like Quark?"
Some people echoed her sentiments, but most fell silent.
Le Feiyou flew into a rage, glaring at them one by one, wishing he could grab them by the collar and shake them: "What's wrong with you all? Have you forgotten how our sisters in the troupe died tragically? Who was it that was shouting about revenge every day? What, you've gone limp at the mention of a tycoon's name..."
"Lele".
Cai Chunyu pinched the bridge of her nose, stopping Le Feiyou from questioning the others, her tone unusually gentle:
"Don't make things difficult for everyone. I know you are loyal to the pirate crew, otherwise you wouldn't be risking your lives to follow us and hide everywhere. But your original intention in joining the crew was just to stick together and find a way to survive. There's no need for you to follow us and risk your lives for revenge."
Le Feiyou was furious, but he didn't say anything more and sat down with his back to the round table.
Among the silent crowd, someone's eyes reddened. Without even glancing at the enormous fortune on the table, they looked at Cat Whiskers and said, "Captain, can't we not disband? You're all still alive. We can do what we used to do: if we're short on men, we can take on smaller missions. If we all work together, we can slowly rebuild the pirate crew..."
"Lanlan".
Cat Whiskers, who had been silent all along, called out her name, interrupting her, "I am responsible not only for the sisters who are alive, but also for the sisters who have died."
Upon hearing this, even Alya, who had been sitting silently in the corner with her gun in her arms, had tears welling up in her eyes.
The girl who had just spoken held back for a while, but finally burst into tears and bowed deeply to the cat's whiskers.
"...I'm sorry, Commander, my sister is sick and I need to take care of her."
After she finished speaking, she staggered out, but Shen Xijing, who was guarding the door, forcibly stuffed a card into her hand. Unable to refuse, she left.
Once one leaves, another follows. People gradually leave the meeting room. Cat Beard silently observes these faces—some silent, some ashamed, some wishing they could hide their faces in the floor—and then looks at the seven people remaining besides himself, his voice slightly hoarse:
"Gentlemen, won't you reconsider?"
"Think about it?!"
Le Feiyou could no longer hold back. He glared at Cat Whiskers, tears streaming down his face. "I'm not going anywhere! I'm a member of the pirate crew. Wherever the captain goes, I'll go!"
Cat Beard looked at the others. They might not have been as impulsive as Le Feiyou, but their resolve was just as strong. She took several deep breaths to calm herself down and instructed everyone to pack their belongings.
“If we stay here any longer, we will endanger them. It’s time to leave.”
The group left through a hidden door in the clinic, with more than a dozen pairs of eyes silently watching them from behind. Cat Whiskers didn't turn around.
"What's wrong? Are you so unhappy to see me?"
Through a full-length mirror as tall as a person, Du Yu transformed into the familiar "Xiao Ran," looking at the few people sitting scattered across the other side, their expressions somewhat downcast.
A dressing mirror flashed, and a figure surrounded by purple flames appeared in the mirror.
Knowing the ritual had worked, Cat Whiskers dispelled his negative emotions and got back into work mode:
"It was just some private matters... We found out some of the things you asked us to investigate."
"Quark Corporation lost an important item in the mist. They had previously entrusted us with the task, but I refused. After that, Quark approached the Gentlemen's Club."
"The Black Death Corpse Oil was provided by Quark. Its specific effects are still under investigation. What we know so far is that people who die from infection with the corpse oil will not even leave behind their spirit. The Gentlemen's Guild will collect the used corpse oil. It is speculated that the Black Death Corpse Oil can devour people's spirit."
Du Yu glanced at the barely suppressed anger in Cat Whiskers' eyes, but didn't have the tact to ask her how she discovered this.
Cat Whiskers took a deep breath, suppressing the surging anger in his heart. "They've collected so many spiritual effects, and we haven't found any yet. But actually, there are only a few kinds of spiritual effects."
"Sacrifice to evil...sacrifice to gods, materials for specific rituals, requirements for using certain special sealing objects."
Cat Whiskers' voice grew softer and softer. Towards the end, her facial muscles twitched a few times, but she forced herself to remain composed; the flames of anger almost leaped from her eyes.
"...I learned that Quark borrowed a special sealed artifact that can be used to find lost items."
Besides living organisms, some objects infected by the mist may also mutate. In fact, the harm caused by these inanimate objects once they fall can be even more terrifying than that of ordinary corrupted beings.
Once traces of contaminated materials are discovered, the police department will dispatch personnel to destroy them at all costs.
However, there are always exceptions. Although corrupted beings are terrifying, they are not living beings and are very rigid. Some corrupted beings can be sealed away using specific methods and used by humans.
These controlled defilements are aptly named "sealed items." Each one is collected by the police department, strictly numbered, and its sealing status is checked periodically.
As top-tier Mist Hunters, Catwhisker and his team often collaborate with the Security Bureau on their daily missions, so it's not surprising that they could find out what sealed artifact Quark borrowed.
"You mean, those bald guys were spreading corpse oil everywhere to feed that sealed artifact? The police department allowed them to do that?"
In Du Yu's memory, the police department with a certain bottom line is one of the few conscientious ones in the novel. Even the arrogant protagonist Bian Shaoyan has to give Christina some face.
"Not everyone in the police department is as trustworthy as Chief Fisher. As long as the sealed item is returned in time, no one will care whether the seal has been broken, let alone use the spirituality of a superhuman to feed the sealed item."
"It seems you already have a plan."
Du Yu glanced at the unfamiliar surroundings. Compared to the twenty or thirty people last time, there were only eight people in front of her this time.
Although they were in low spirits, it was as if they had made a decision. The confusion and dejection in their eyes were gone, replaced by a chilling hatred.
"It's not really a plan, it's just that I've come to understand a simple truth now."
The girl curled her lips into a sinister smile, saying, "Tolerance will only lead to further demands; blood debts must be repaid in blood."
She stared intently at the evil god's retinue in the mirror, her eyes bloodshot like a spiderweb, her former hesitation and caution replaced by madness and rage:
“I know where the gentleman stores his supplies, I know where the sealed artifact is kept, and I will offer everything the Lord desires.”
What do you want?
"I need strength."
"good."
The bishop on the other side of the mirror smiled, a smile of satisfaction like a teacher seeing a student who has completed their studies, both indulgent and pleased: "I like your determination, just as you wished."
[Player, your smile looks just like a villain's.]
Du Yu learned the ritual of communicating with believers through a mirror from 166. She wasn't surprised that 166 could see the contents of the mirror, and instead asked:
"When did I give you the impression that I wasn't a villain?"
The current CEO of Quark is none other than Bian Shaoyan, the male protagonist of the novel. Going against the protagonist—in a novel, if he's not the villain, who is?
[The player is truly self-aware.]
Ignoring 166's sarcastic remarks, Du Yu multitasked, controlling his main body to collect scraps and synthesize materials in the mist, while simultaneously controlling Dong Shiwu to wander around the mine, trying to figure out [Mi Mi Yin]'s backup plan. At the same time, he watched through the mirror as Mao Hu Zi and the others discussed the details of the plan and assigned different tasks.
"Huh?"
A familiar yet unfamiliar link was established. Du Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise and quickly figured out how the link came about.
Xu Xunyuan, draped in a curtain, was furtively observing the headquarters of the Gentlemen's Club.
It must be said that although her combat ability is not strong, her traits are very practical and very suitable for stealth and tracking.
Of course, that wasn't what surprised Du Yu.
As a follower of Du Yu, Xu Xunyuan naturally carried her own mark. As she slowly approached the Gentlemen's Club headquarters, the mark sensed a familiar aura and, like a transfer station, automatically switched to Du Yu.
【……Who are you? 】
The person on the other end seemed somewhat surprised, tentatively sending a question through the link. This was the first time since establishing contact with the believer that someone had been able to transmit information back to her through this link.
Du Yu glanced at it in surprise, her eyes instantly turning strange. Had she discovered... Little Yi No. 2?
The person on the other end of the link, unaware of Du Yu's feelings, spoke hesitantly: "I don't remember you. Was the person you were in contact with one of my clones?"
Du Yu didn't rush to answer. He looked at Xiao Yi, who was actively picking up trash, and asked, "Aren't your memories and your original body interconnected?"
Xiao Yi scratched her face, leaving a black mark on that handsome face: "The main body will sense it, but the other clones won't."
Du Yu understood; it seemed that the Gentlemen's Club headquarters was holding another clone of Xiao Yi's true form.
"Shouldn't you talk about yourself before asking someone else's identity?"
Sure enough, the one opposite, although a little smarter than the one with the topknot next to it, wasn't very smart. It was quickly led astray by Du Yu and answered in Du Yu's rhythm:
Who am I? I don't know.
"I'll call you Little Yi Number Two from now on. What are you doing there?"
Little Yi II obediently accepted this very strange name, pondered for a moment, and honestly replied:
I don't know. They told me to find something, and they'd give me food if I found it.
While searching for something, Du Yu quickly recalled that Xiao Yi had come to him in search of the Holy Grail fragments and had been bribed by Du Yu with roasted meat.
Was it the Gentlemen's Guild that sent out Little E's clone? Or was it Quark who commissioned them? Are they also looking for the Holy Grail, or is the important item they lost the Holy Grail?
While pondering, Du Yu tried to elicit information. Her communication with Xiao Yi No. 2 still relied on Xu Xunyuan as an intermediary, and they couldn't do anything except exchange information: "Do you know where the thing you found is?"
[At a neighbor's place, he ate people; it smelled terrible.]
Cannibalism? Du Yu's eyes lit up. It was said that the Black Corpse Oil was obtained from ghouls. Moreover, as a corrupted species, although ghouls looked similar to humans, they always had an unmistakable stench of corpses.
Can you describe your location?
The Gentlemen's Club headquarters is very large. Xu Xunyuan was hiding from layers of patrol teams, so the search was very slow. If Number Two could provide the specific location, it would save a lot of time.
After a moment of silence on the other end, just as Du Yu was wondering if he was being unreasonable, a map was transmitted directly through the link.
Combined with the parts that Xu Xunyuan has already explored, it is the map of the Gentlemen's Club headquarters!
Xiao Yi's special ability seems to be related to finding objects. Not only can she find items by following their scent, but the maps she draws are also as precise as if they were measured by a machine, with extremely detailed proportions.
Is this okay?
"Of course! Don't worry, I'll get you out."
To Du Yu's surprise, Little Yi No. 2 actually rejected her.
Thank you. You can chat with me a little longer. This body is about to dissipate, and I have something important to tell the original body.
Even with a bit more intelligence, the little Yi opposite was still easily fooled. Du Yu paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Then where is your true form?"
I don't know; in a place that's both very far and very near, something is blocking my view. Only death can return me to my true self.
In a place that is both very far and very near?
Du Yu found this statement completely baffling, only knowing that Xiao Yi's true form must be locked in a very special place.
It's so special that it can even isolate the link between gods and believers to a certain extent. She has to get close enough to establish a connection with Little I-II, which simply violates common sense in the mysticism.
Du Yu pondered for a moment, tossing the map sent by Number Two to Xu Xunyuan for her to check herself, while chatting casually with Xiao Yi Number Two. Suddenly, she had a whimsical idea: "Do you have a mirror over there? Or anything with a smooth surface?"
At the bottom of the high-rise building, in a sealed room filled with thick alloy and without any ventilation holes, a man who had been sitting with his knees drawn up in a daze looked up, his searching gaze peeking out from his overly long hair.
He searched the empty room for a moment, then reached down with his left hand, his fingers digging into the alloy floor as if squeezing tofu, and a piece was pried off.
His golden eyes flashed, the coating peeled away, revealing a smooth, mirror-like surface of alloy. Following the voice's instructions, he recited a specific ritual incantation, and purple flames suddenly appeared on the alloy surface. He widened his eyes, and after the flames dissipated, a small figure appeared within them.
"Wow."
Du Yu looked him over and exclaimed in surprise, "Are you in jail?"
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Author's note: I couldn't wait until 8 o'clock, so I'm posting it early!
Thank you for reading this far! Sending a small red envelope to the commenters!
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