Chapter 5: The first devout believer praises the great Lord who hears! ...
This mutated leopard was larger than the mutated cockroach, and mammals have a higher meat yield than arthropods. After clicking to decompose it, a total of 24 pieces of mutated animal meat were obtained. After putting them into the inventory, the game popped up a prompt:
Should we combine 4 [Mutant Meat] (Cockroach) and 24 [Mutant Meat] (Leopard) into one container?
[Note: Materials with the same attributes can be placed together, but only the shared attributes will be retained after merging.]
This is what makes the game both troublesome and fun. Although it has a pixel art style, the game strives for realism. Even though they are both mutated beast meat, the two pieces of meat will have different hidden attributes due to their different sources. These hidden attributes will sometimes affect the synthesis effect, which can be considered a little Easter egg in the game.
If you combine two pieces of meat, the subsequent synthesis will only produce general-purpose foods like [Advanced Meatballs], and will not produce special foods like [Meatballs with Half a Cockroach's Head] or [Cat Ear Meatballs].
There are still plenty of slots in the backpack. The Flying Mantis Stick needs more mutated cockroach meat to replenish its uses. After clicking "No," a slightly lighter-colored meat slot appeared next to the mutated cockroach meat.
Du Yu clicked on the description of the mutated leopard meat, which was very similar to that of the mutated cockroach meat, except that the note "highly poisonous, edible, but will definitely kill if eaten" was changed to "contains unknown radiation, long-term consumption will reduce lifespan".
Perhaps the mutated leopard's meat is less toxic than the mutated cockroach's? Du Yu closed the introduction, clicked on normal crafting, and the interface was completely different from before; the game prompt popped up again:
[Player has been detected to have 1 unlimited synthesis attempt. Do you wish to use this attempt to synthesize regular beast meat?]
"Unlimited synthesis? What are the current limitations on synthesis?"
[Dear player, we regret to inform you that the trial period for the Synthesis Altar has ended. Subsequent synthesis will be limited by factors such as the altar level, player's spirit level, and faith points, specifically the player's synthesis level.]
Your current crafting level is lv0. You can only craft E-grade and low-grade materials for free, and you can craft higher-grade materials for a fee. Crafting higher-grade materials will cost the corresponding points or randomly consume 1 to 5 times the amount of crafting materials.
Du Yu read these two prompts over and over again, but only managed to make out two words: Send money!
Giving them materials was out of the question; there wasn't even enough for one person to eat. Du Yu looked at another option, "What are points?"
[Players can simply understand this as a virtual currency with energy; currently, players can choose to pay using stamina points or faith points.]
Everyone knows that stamina points are essential for completing many actions in these kinds of mini-games, making them a significant monetization point.
Du Yu quickly found the purple pixel heart representing stamina in the upper left corner of the altar. The value next to the heart was "23/24" (status: hungry).
166 very tactfully jumped out to explain that even though it and the game system used the same electronic voice, Du Yu could easily tell who was speaking.
When the player is in a normal state, their stamina regenerates by 1 point per hour under natural conditions. The player's current maximum stamina is 24.
The world in the book is similar to the world in my previous life in some physical laws. Both have 24 hours in a day and about 365 days in a year. However, due to historical reasons, the novel's world does not have the division of months.
Du Yu glanced at the stamina points that had been deducted due to hunger, and didn't move for the time being. He asked 166, "How do I get faith points?"
The system will comprehensively evaluate a player's faith index based on factors such as the number of followers, the level of devotion among followers, and the spread of the god's name, and will then distribute faith points to the player accordingly.
166 also enthusiastically broadcast for Du Yu, "[The player currently has 0 Faith Points.]"
Faith Points are a new setting added after the game enters the world of the book. Du Yu remembers that although it is a backdrop of melodramatic love, there are gods in the novel. They are not the kind of illusory faith, but real beings that can issue divine pronouncements.
So, the incredible power to travel between worlds is probably only something that gods beyond human imagination could do, right?
The game sets up faith points simply to urge you to "become a god." Is this the game's true purpose in taking me through this world? And why did it choose me?
Du Yu's mind raced, but that didn't stop her from staring at the golden four-pointed star below the purple heart, finding the "0" behind the star particularly irritating.
Du Yu stroked his chin, then suddenly turned to look at Tian Yinuo, "Would you believe anything I say?"
"ah?"
Tian Yinuo was struggling to pry open the wood outside the protective shield when she heard this. She looked up at Du Yu with difficulty, her lips twitching to reveal two sharp canine teeth. Her bright brown eyes were free of any gloom. "Of course."
"Oh, I suddenly realize I am a god."
"Ah." Tian Yinuo took a moment to react, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Then I am Miss's follower!"
Du Yu nodded in satisfaction, waited a minute, and then asked 166 in his mind, "Where are my faith points?"
Hmm... Honey, your behavior just now might not have been quite in line with missionary norms. Please try again!
"What doesn't match?"
Faith is a very serious matter. A mature deity must possess a divine name, divine authority, and a divine kingdom; otherwise, the believer's prayers cannot be directed towards the correct deity.
As 166 finished speaking, the normal synthesis interface closed, and the [Believers] section on the left side of the initial interface opened automatically. The cold, emotionless announcement from the system began:
The Deity Management section is now open.
[God’s name: Unnamed]
[Divine Authority: Not Granted (Can be selected from traits)]
[Divine Kingdom: Core building [Altar] under construction (immovable)... Current location: Spacetime Rift - Erosion (Dusk)]
[Note: Once the god's name and divine authority are determined, they cannot be changed. Players should choose carefully.]
[The player has been detected to possess the rudiments of a divine kingdom. Once the divine name and divine authority are selected, the player can acquire faith through prayers that refer to these three elements.]
[Note: The traveler should know where the road leads; this is a destined, solitary, and arduous journey.]
Du Yu's gaze fell on the last, incoherent message. Her eyelashes drooped slightly, and after a moment's thought, she happily decided to name her god "Find Some Fun," only to be disappointedly rejected by 166.
[The name of a god represents the power of the god; please confirm the god's authority first.]
Du Yu curled his lip in boredom, opened his personal information, and looked at the [Traits] section:
[Traits: Wheel of Fortune (Lost), Dudu Loves Synthesis (Unlocking), ? ? ? (Unlocked)]
Perhaps because the Gods section has been unlocked, the five question marks in the original [Traits] section now contain information, and the "Unlocked" in parentheses has changed to "Unlocking".
"Special trait" can be simply understood as a person's special ability. The original owner's special trait was the "Wheel of Fate," which was a trait with great potential. It was because of this that the original owner looked down on the female protagonist Gu Tu, who had not awakened her special trait.
So, after the original owner's plot to frame the female lead failed, the male lead Bian Shaoyan took away her traits and grafted them onto the female lead.
The book doesn't go into detail about the original character's fate as cannon fodder; it only briefly mentions her tragic death and being abandoned by her family, without any description of her being stripped of her special traits.
Du Yu found this part of the original owner's memories a bit strange. The novel's focus was on melodrama, and this was the first time she learned that the original owner's trait was "Wheel of Fate," a trait that was powerful just by hearing the name, without even looking at its effects. Why did such a character die so mysteriously?
Moreover... Du Yu rubbed his temples, perhaps because of the pain, his memories of the original owner's conspiracy being exposed were somewhat fragmented.
She could only vaguely piece together a timeline: at the banquet where the Gu family was preparing to announce the return of their true daughter, the original owner framed the innocent female lead for stealing her jewelry. After the matter blew up, she was repeatedly humiliated by the Gu family, the male lead, and the righteous hotel staff. Even her father, who had always doted on her, reprimanded her.
Feeling ashamed, and fearing the female lead's revenge after learning her identity as the heiress of the Gu family, the original owner decided to use his special ability to sneak into her room to murder her, but was caught on the spot by the male lead.
"A vicious woman like you would only use this ability to harm others. Gu Tu may be an ordinary person, but she is much kinder than you! She deserves this quality far more than you do!"
The original owner was severely injured by the male protagonist, and it seems that her special traits were stripped away on the spot after he said those words, leaving her to watch helplessly as her traits were transferred to the female protagonist...
Wait a minute, these traits aren't like the liver, kidneys, and heart that you can just dig out of in melodramatic novels! Everyone's traits originate from their soul and are unique. They can only be inherited by completely unrelated people after the owner's death.
To put it more poetically, these traits reveal the most subtle desires and the colors of the soul in people's hearts. How could such things be taken away? And were they even transplanted to the female lead by the male lead on the spot?
Given the level of technological development in the future, even organ transplants would require lying in a treatment ward. How could the female lead, with nothing at home, have a successful transplant? And how could she be pushed into ice water by a fake heiress at school the very next day and then climb out and cry without any problems?
After the novel was adapted into a real world, it seemed to become full of loopholes, leaving me with a lot of questions. After tentatively clicking on the [Wheel of Fate], a prompt appeared asking me to [Please select the traits you already possess].
The Wheel of Fate belongs to the original owner, while the last two [Dudu Loves Synthesis] and the three question marks belong to her own. After receiving the hint that she could only choose one, she bit her fingertips in frustration. Her intuition, honed through countless life-and-death experiences, told her that this choice was very important.
Logically, an option with at least a name and some information would be more reassuring, but perhaps because I've encountered too many questions today, I feel a special warmth for the final "???" option.
The increasingly intense hunger burned his stomach, but Du Yu was not a hesitant person and quickly made a decision: "Anyway, I've never had good luck, so I might as well choose one I like."
[Whether to choose to designate [?] as divine authority, once determined, cannot be changed. This choice may be correct or incorrect; please choose carefully.]
"There is no such thing as a correct choice."
Du Yu quickly clicked "OK," and the screen flashed back to the God Management interface. The "Divine Authority" section had changed to "[Divine Authority: ??? (Unlocking)]," and the parentheses after the three question marks after selection also changed to "Unlocking." However, there was no progress bar, and who knew when it would finally be unlocked.
Just as Du Yu was about to fill in "God of Question Marks" in the God Name column, the system seemed to be afraid of her superior naming talent. The "Unnamed" after the God Name on the interface changed to "Naming", and then three words popped up: "Little Ears".
Du Yu stared at the divine name, which was hardly better than the one she had given, her eyes widening slightly, her doubts about the game deepening.
Because "Little Ears" was Du Yu's former name, or rather, her first name. While she herself had typed her nickname "Dudu" into the game, the name "Little Ears" was known to fewer than five people in her previous life!
Unlike the original owner who grew up in luxury, Du Yu grew up in an orphanage. Because of the unusual shape of his ears, he was called "Little Ears" by the director and his peers.
At that time, the household registration system was not strict, and she didn't receive her formal name until she was five years old. The dean let her choose for herself, and she chose two characters with the familiar "ear radical" to name herself.
She's been depressed ever since.
"You read my memories?"
Du Yu raised an eyebrow; those familiar with her temper knew this was a prelude to her anger. The system, seemingly busy with something, ignored her. After adding "analyzing" to "Little Ears," 166 weakly offered an explanation:
No, the game exists to bring joy to players. All player information the game knows is authorized by the players. Please believe that 166 will always stand with the players.
166 seemed to be subtly distancing itself from the game again, and Du Yu didn't respond, looking at the "analyzing" message behind "Little Ears," waiting to see what the game system could analyze.
[Ding-dong~ The deity management module has finished loading, unlocking the new feature [believer management]. Information update complete.]
[God's Name: Lord Who Listens (Silent and Unsung)]
[Divine Authority: ??? (Unlocking)]
[Divine Kingdom: Core building [Altar] under construction...]
[Believer: 0 (Please create a prayer that refers to yourself, so that your fame may spread throughout the world~)]
It was time for the most annoying part: naming the child. Fortunately, there were three directions to consider this time. Du Yu was rejected by the system five or six times before finally writing a prayer that was approved by the system.
"Xiaotian, the great Lord of Hearing has shown us the way. Would you like to pray to Him?"
Du Yu looked at the only person beside him who was marked "can be proselytized," his expression unusually serious.
Although there are gods in this world, the authorities severely crack down on all related beliefs because gods in this world are often associated with evil and danger. In Du Yu's understanding, the gods in this world can all be classified as "evil gods".
Praying to any random, unfamiliar deity in this world is tantamount to suicide. But there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the original owner's death, and if Tian Yinuo doesn't pray to her, she won't keep her by her side.
"Ah? Miss, Madam said not to pray to unfamiliar gods." Tian Yinuo blinked blankly. Even though she had been brainwashed by the Du family for a long time, she knew the dangers of praying to evil gods.
Although Tian Yinuo lacked talent, she possessed the keen intuition of a small animal. She suddenly stood up, wanting to tug at Du Yu's sleeve but not daring to, and the firewood she had gathered fell to the ground. "Miss, if I don't study, does that mean I can't follow you anymore?"
Du Yu lowered her eyes and didn't answer. Tian Yinuo already knew the answer. She wiped the sweat from her hands at the seam of her pants and swallowed. "I, I'm willing to read it. I'm willing to read it for Miss!"
Du Yu looked up at her, and even though he knew this loyalty wasn't for her, he still remembered her anxious face. "Then repeat after me: Time traveler in the eroding rift, six-winged white dove that devours the riddle of time, listener at both ends! I beg for your attention, I beg to offer you my loyalty!"
Du Yu spent a lot of time composing this prayer. The first part, which referred to the Kingdom of God, was easy enough; she just copied the system prompt and finished. The third part, about the name of God, wasn't difficult either. Du Yu thought that she had crossed two worlds, so she added "listening to both ends" and that was it.
The most difficult part was the second sentence, which represented divine authority. How was she supposed to come up with the content for the three question marks?
Anyway, divine power is the power of the gods, which is also Du Yu's own. Du Yu simply made up a "devouring" part of his talent [Taotie]. The "six-winged white dove" is the game's logo, which also appeared in the opening animation. The time riddle naturally refers to the system giving a series of question marks. Unexpectedly, the system also recognized this pieced-together divine power.
"The time traveler in the eroding rift, the six-winged white dove that devours the riddles of time, the listener who hears at both ends! I, I beg for your attention, I beg to offer you my loyalty!"
Tian Yinuo kept her eyes tightly closed, trembling as she finished reciting. After a long while, she opened one eye, looked around, and patted her chest in surprise: "Thank goodness! I didn't die! That's wonderful!"
Du Yu looked at the faith points column where a "+1" had been painstakingly popped up, bringing the number of believers to 1. He looked at Tian Yinuo with amusement, "I also believe in this great being. Would I harm you?"
"Oh right, Miss also prayed to the Lord."
Tian Yinuo nodded in sudden realization, "No wonder Miss was able to produce such magical props, it seems Miss is the divine messenger!"
Du Yu saw a "+3" suddenly appear in the Faith Points column. Clearly, the ethereal deity was not as appealing as the tangible benefits before his eyes. He nodded solemnly, "Yes, I heard the Lord's will in the midst of crisis, and He bestowed upon me new qualities."
"So it was God who saved the young lady! Praise be to the great Lord who hears!"
Tian Yinuo's expression was much more devout than when she had just finished reciting the prayer. She had easily achieved her goal of disguising herself. Du Yu, however, secretly shook his head. His first believer was really easy to fool. He would have to be more careful with her in the future...
Having earned some points, Du Yu took out the meat chunks that the game had prepared and casually made up an excuse: "Xiao Tian, stop nagging that this meat can't be eaten. The great Lord of Listening just granted me the ability to purify meat, so we have meat to eat now."
"Really? Praise be to the great Lord who hears!"
[Ding! Player gains +5 Faith Points]
[Player's follower status has changed -]
[Believer: [Tian Yinuo] (Shallow Believer → Devout Believer)]
[Congratulations to the player for acquiring the first devout follower!]
A note from the author:
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Sorry, I got carried away writing, but I haven't gotten any steamy scenes after two chapters!
Next chapter is definitely coming.jpg
P.S.: Although I want to update earlier, I usually finish writing in the evening, so this story is generally updated at night. If there are updates during the day, it's because I'm fixing bugs, so don't worry about it.
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