Chapter 168: God’s Favor (17)

Chapter 168: Divine Favor (XVII)

Although Zhong Dao'an's plan was unfolding smoothly and systematically, the transformation was akin to the rotting of an apple, slowly seeping out from the core.

On the surface, Qiming City remained tranquil, with players still revered as "Lords of Divine Favor" by the locals, who continued to live their lives in quiet submission.

At least for now, although many residents were aware of the unimaginable luxury inside the God's Residence Tower, the residual fear of the former divine servants lingered, instilling a sense of imbalance in their hearts, prompting silent murmurs of "sins" as their initial response to years of religious indoctrination.

Not envying the privileges of the divine servants had become an ingrained lesson.

In reality, the divine servants rarely interfered with the common populace. Even in cases like the woman Zhong Dao'an had helped, who had nearly been beaten to death, no one sought assistance from the servants.

For the deity, perched high above, had decreed the rules: those destined to be couples by divine intervention were immutable, and whatever occurred was preordained.

The deity did not stoop to witness individual suffering; the divine servants' duties encompassed only promoting the benevolence and wisdom of the god, not alleviating human suffering.

Ironically, advocating for the acknowledgment of suffering was punishable in Qiming City, as under divine rule, only happiness was permitted.

However, this did not mean the divine servants refrained from exercising their power over the citizens, as they were responsible for eliminating undesirable elements and punishing those who crossed boundaries.

Generally speaking, "crossing boundaries" referred mainly to disrespect towards the deity or its servants. Disputes among the citizens were overlooked as long as they didn't disrupt the peace and stability of Qiming City.

Although the divine servants were now deceased, those who had been kneeling for so long couldn't suddenly stand upright; there needed to be a catalyst...

"Brother Jie, Brother Zhong," Qi Chanyang said, his face fraught with concern, "perhaps you should come take a look in the warehouse."

After finding the child, He Yanhui went to the warehouse to get milk. Qi Chanyang, with a meticulous mind, was deeply concerned about the “reclamation” mentioned to the NPCs. While He Yanhui was busy taking care of the child and other players were gathering divine power in preparation for the afternoon ceremony to find the God’s Child, Qi Chanyang conducted a thorough search in the warehouse, eventually discovering a small door concealed behind stacks of grains.

The door was rusty, with locks stained by years of blood, forming dark brown rust spots.

Upon opening the door, a single glance forced him to step back hastily, rushing upstairs with a sense of urgency.

Xie Fangcheng seemed to anticipate something, exchanging a knowing glance with Zhong Dao'an.

Zhong Dao'an nodded: "Let’s go together."

By "together," he meant all the players.

The gathering of divine power and sensing the God's Child's location was an intricate and time-consuming process. Initially, the players were reluctant to search for clues before the sensing ceremony. However, Zhong Dao'an's words, "We have found the locus of divine power accumulation," persuaded these deity-devoted players to obediently follow them to the warehouse.

The Divine Residence Tower soars over a hundred meters high, its underground space is not extensive, encompassing only one level, filled with an endless array of wealth, jewels, and provisions.

At this moment, Xie Fangcheng approached the small door, initially opening it to take a glance inside.

The door only allows one or two people to pass through at a time, several players behind him curiously inquired, "What's inside?"

Xie Fangcheng turned to look at them once before decisively swinging his massive sword, shattering both the door and the wall in one fell swoop, creating a gaping hole about four to five meters wide.

There was a breeze.

A chilly wind from an unknown source blew in, carrying with it a nauseating stench.

A few players near Xie Fangcheng peeked inside, immediately retreating several steps backward, their faces turning ashen.

"What exactly is it?" The players unable to see kept asking.

Someone muttered, "...a mass grave."

The players capable of entering a level-five instance dungeon had already experienced countless dungeons; frankly, a mass grave wasn't usually much to them.

However, when the players who initially thought "it wasn't a big deal" saw it with their own eyes, they realized why others reacted in such a manner.

In the seemingly bottomless, abyss-like massive pit, countless corpses were discarded haphazardly, just lying there.

As time went by, they hadn't decomposed to skeletons, still retaining their appearance from the time of death.

Some had their necks snapped, others decapitated. The vast pit was engulfed in darkness, only illuminated by heaps of corpses, resembling a hellish abyss. Despite being lifeless, the corpses harbored glaring eyes filled with anger, hatred, resentment, and despair, conveying a chilling spectacle to the players.

The smell of blood mingled with other repugnant odors, pervading the entire warehouse at this moment.

"What on earth is this..."

"It is the will of God," said Zhang Dao'an with a serene expression. Although his tone lacked any apparent sarcasm, each word seemed to pierce the hearts of the "believers".

"The benevolent, holy deity brings happiness to humanity, its gaze upon the Qi Ming City. Under its divine radiance, there are no shadows in the city, only happiness and light."

This phrase, inscribed in front of the statue of the deity in the temple, was a firm belief held by every follower.

Yet, at this moment, beneath the Divine Residence Tower in the supposedly "happy" city of Qi Ming, a hell existed where those closest to God resided.

Were all those corpses heretics?

Unlikely, as among them were numerous children under the age of three.

The deity granted the players wonderful dreams, bestowed them with artifacts and skills; it should indeed be a benevolent and sacred deity...

Suddenly, the child in He Yanhui's arms started crying, the piercing cries echoing ominously within the underground space.

"Let's go back up for now," Wei Yuan suggested.

The crowd emerged from underground in silence, many players seemingly lost in deep thought.

However, after the culmination of the ceremony to find the divine child, powered by their collective faith, the earlier shock of witnessing the mass grave seemed to have faded in the hearts of the players.

They gathered once again, fervently discussing the wisdom of the deity, deliberating on the urgency to find the Divine Child — not for the sake of completing the game, but to repay the boundless kindness of their benevolent God.

Suddenly, Zhong Dao'an chimed in coldly, "Have you all forgotten about the bodies buried beneath the Divine Residence Tower?"

This time, Wei Yuan responded swiftly.

"The Bright City was constructed by God. Those who were buried were people who did not adhere to the divine precepts," he asserted.

Without missing a beat, Zhong Dao'an inquired further, "Could it be the atrocities committed by the divine servants...?"

"Impossible!!" Wei Yuan retorted instantly, his voice tinged with a hint of anger, "The divine servants are the most devout followers! They cannot possibly commit any wrongdoings!!"

Zhong Dao'an looked at him, before shifting his gaze towards Qiao Mai.

Startled, Qiao Mai nodded vehemently, tears welling up in her eyes.

Zhong Dao'an said no more.

This time, only six divine children were found during the search. The players went to bring each of them back.

All the divine children were handsome young boys and girls, bearing the divine marks visible only to the "God-favored", visible on their foreheads. Arriving at the Divine Residence Tower, they were all thrilled to discover their identity as divine offspring.

Raised with a deep-seated faith, they fervently believed that they were destined to take care of the kind-hearted deity.

The top floor of the Divine Residence Tower, where the divine children resided, might not be as grandiose as the levels below, but it offered a level of luxury they had never experienced before.

However, during the dinner that evening, the warehouse was filled with the lingering stench from the mass grave, an unfortunate consequence of Xie Fangcheng's earlier sword strike.

The thought of the horrific scene below was met with instinctive resistance, despite the players rationalizing it as "just a burial ground for those forsaken by God".

At one point, a player uttered, almost involuntarily, "Perhaps we shouldn't stay in the Divine Residence Tower anymore."

Could a tower built atop so many corpses really be considered a good place?

But if not in the Divine Residence Tower, where else could the favored ones reside?

Though their lodging options were limited, they still had choices when it came to food.

As evening approached, the players asked the NPCs in the city to deliver meals.

The NPC hesitated for a moment, and although clearly uncomfortable, they eventually nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

After a wait of over two hours, long after dusk had settled and the players had reluctantly finished their prayers within the tower, the NPC finally arrived, bearing two large buckets of rice and an assortment of mismatched dishes.

The plates holding the dishes were all different, a kaleidoscope of styles and patterns. Some observant players noted that these dishes seemed to have been collected from various households.

"What is this stuff?" a player couldn't help but complain.

Since entering this instance, the players had been living the most privileged lives.

The variety of food was endless, with divine servants ready to prepare whatever they wished, using the freshest, finest, and most precious ingredients.

But what was this array of dishes now laid before them? It would be acceptable if there was merely an absence of meat, but some plates held only a morsel of something dark and unidentifiable.

Hearing the players' complaints, a flicker of an unusual emotion passed through the NPC's eyes, before they quickly knelt down in a fluster.

"Honored God-favored, this is the best food we can offer!" they exclaimed.

The players paused, a feeling akin to guilt just beginning to surface in their hearts when suddenly, a cold snort echoed from amongst them.

"We are the beloved of the deity, how dare you try to deceive us with this kind of thing!" one of them rebuked.

Everyone turned their heads in unison.

It was Wei Yuan.

As he spoke, the sense of guilt that had been brewing in the players seemed to dissipate, replaced by a sentiment of 'it should be this way'.

Wei Yuan took a couple of steps forward, even drawing his weapon—a weapon restored by the "deity", the "Bounty of the Thick Earth", emanating a substantial and gentle glow.

Wei Yuan raised his weapon high—

A loud "thump" echoed.

Before the others could comprehend, they witnessed a flash of green followed by yellow, and in the blink of an eye, Wei Yuan was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Xie Fangcheng reprimanded sharply, "Wei Yuan!"

That shout seemed to momentarily awaken Wei Yuan. Lying on the ground, the current president of Ronghua stared blankly at him, his eyes seemingly filled with a plea.

But soon, Wei Yuan's expression returned to its previous dull state.

Xie Fangcheng turned abruptly, fixing his gaze on Zhong Dao'an.

Zhong Dao'an gave a subtle shake of his head, followed by a nod.

Struggling to contain himself, Xie Fangcheng finally burst out, "Stop shaking and nodding, I can't understand what you mean!"

In this serious atmosphere, Zhong Dao'an couldn't help but chuckle, "I'll tell you tonight."

Only then did Xie Fangcheng sheathe his sword, turning to assist the NPC who had collapsed to the ground.

The NPC looked at him, their expression somewhat complex, "Honored God-favored..."

"You've worked hard, go back now," he said, his tone gentle yet firm.

The NPC finally left, looking back every few steps.

The players didn't dare to say much more, silently partaking in their meal.

The taste of the food was indeed nothing to be complimented, many players pondered hazily.

How joyous the initial instance was! Dressed well, well-fed, respected by others, and even blessed with pleasant dreams after prayers at the temple each night.

These were all blessings bestowed by the deity! All manifestations of the deity's benevolence!

But now, the divine servants who attended to them were dead, and their meals had devolved into this...

It was all due to... Xie Fangcheng and Zhong Dao'an.

These two heretics did not believe in the benevolent deity, showing great disrespect and even obstructing them from praying and offering tributes at the temple to their most revered deity.

—If only they were not here.

Xie Fangcheng glanced around; noticing his gaze, the players secretly observing him quickly lowered their heads.

Xie Fangcheng was acutely aware of the murderous intent in the air. Without a word, he slapped his sword onto the table with a "smack", shattering it instantly.

"A word of caution: Be careful when you try to lay a hand on me. My reflexes are very quick," he warned.

This wasn't an exaggeration. Even if unconscious, Xie Fangcheng could retaliate against any aggressor without even awakening, capable of felling enemies with his eyes closed.

The players dared not utter a sound.

What a rotten scenario!

Xie Fangcheng was extremely irritated internally.

Meanwhile, Zhong Dao'an appeared calm as usual, advising him, "It's fine, really. Even if you accidentally kill them, it doesn't matter. They're not far from death anyway if they continue like this."

Xie Fangcheng was speechless, "Is that supposed to be comforting?"

"Yes," Zhong Dao'an genuinely nodded, "Injuring those you don't intend to, due to a clouded judgement, that's something some players wouldn't want to see, right?"

With that, Zhong Dao'an paused briefly, "If it were me, I'd rather die myself."

Xie Fangcheng looked at him, somewhat puzzled but nodded in agreement.

That evening, Zhong Dao'an indeed arrived as promised.

Xie Fangcheng was slightly frustrated, "Are you entering my dreams again?"

"No choice."

According to Zhong Dao'an's speculation, they were now under Ji Chaoyang's surveillance, and only in dreams could they find a semblance of safety.

Xie Fangcheng was quite forthcoming, "Alright, come on then."

Saying this, he voluntarily grasped Zhong Dao'an's hand.

Just as Zhong Dao'an was caught off guard, a silver figure suddenly swam out from Xie Fangcheng's wrist, diving straight into Zhong Dao'an's body.

"Holy crap! That fish..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a flash appeared before Xie Fangcheng's eyes.

The scenery changed in an instant.

He couldn't help but let out a surprised "huh".

This doesn't seem to be his dream anymore, does it? A dream of Professor Zhong?

It seems they have come to a tie, taking turns experiencing each other's dreams!

Just as Xie Fangcheng thought this, his gaze shifted.

It appeared to be a dilapidated room, devoid of any extra furniture, except for a few books laid on a table.

A young figure clad in a school uniform slumped to the floor, clutching his chest and looking towards the doorway.

Who is this??

Professor Zhong during his high school years???

Hey!

Unable to curb his curiosity, Xie Fangcheng circled around to the front to get a good look at Zhong Dao'an's face.

Tsk tsk, the kid hasn't changed much, already so mature-looking during his high school years!

Just as Xie Fangcheng was thinking this, suddenly, a familiar voice echoed from behind him.

"Hey!"

Xie Fangcheng whirled around, his eyes widening in the next moment.

At the entrance, a “Xie Fangcheng” with black clothing and white hair was blocking the path of a red-clothed Lang Gu.

The "Xie Fangcheng" spoke with a tone of displeasure: "Which department are you from? You attack just because you have a judgment order? If he dies, are you going to write the report?!"