Chapter 64

Chapter 64

Although Lanen was somewhat moved by Edmund's words, unfortunately, players can't actually be killed.

However, eliminating a player isn't entirely useless. In this world, the death of a player's character card means that, to its inhabitants, the person they interacted with is also dead. Even if the player returns with a similar character, they won't be mistaken for the same individual. So, if Destiny in Me and his group are indeed killed by Edmund, even if they rejoin the Inspection Bureau, they would have to start over from scratch.

Lanen subtly informed Edmund of some of the players' characteristics. Edmund only indicated he understood and didn't intend to cancel his plan, merely assuring Lanen not to worry.

"I won't act rashly."

After that prayer, Edmund sent no further messages. Later, Archie reported that Edmund was fine, which put Lanen at ease.

Although he was unsure why Archie had also infiltrated the Inspection Bureau, at least he and Edmund could watch out for each other. And unlike Edmund, Archie wasn’t a member of the Inspection Bureau and had no criminal record. Even if linked to a cult, in this country of religious freedom, no one could arrest him on that basis alone. So Lanen wasn't too worried about Archie's situation.

His main focus remained on the players. As the faction's daily activities progressed, the various cunning maneuvers of the other players gradually came to light.

Initially, Lanen thought the players' methods in the Secret Church were outrageous, but reality showed him that their actions there were actually restrained compared to their behavior in other factions, where their audacity knew no bounds.

There were countless acts of betrayal, and Karens even complained to Lanen about the frequent reports from players against gangs, affecting his work significantly. Now, the only place without reports was Black Poker, which raised suspicions among other organizations, forcing him to report his own faction.

Apart from gangs, players mostly joined foreign cults and secret societies, targeting the Gatekeeper, just as Edmund had reported to Lanen.

As for how Lanen knew all this.

Oh, players often upload such information without any sense of secrecy, resulting in Lanen frequently encountering tasks like sneaking into the police station for information or investigating past Gate-closing incidents among Arkham's citizens while browsing forums.

Lanen had initially worried that players joining these forces might adversely affect him, but now he felt his concerns were unwarranted.

The Secret Church's influence was established, being the main faction where most players deeply engaged. Unless out of their minds, players generally wouldn't oppose the Secret Church. Those joining other factions did so mainly to see what benefits they could reap, finding that none compared to the Secret Church, thus lacking loyalty.

Lanen even suspected that if a main storyline started, these players hidden in other organizations would not hesitate to betray them.

Thus, he gradually relaxed, knowing that if anything went wrong, it wouldn’t be him or his Secret Church facing trouble.

Over these three days, besides tracking players' actions, Lanen also continued familiarizing himself with his abilities.

Currently, his power mainly comprised the following:

1# Believers' origin power. Edmund's clown state can temporarily boost combat ability and physical fitness. Lanen briefly tested it and found that besides enhanced physical fitness, it might be due to Edmund's higher level in the Dream Rift.

Then there's Archie's origin, the Sphinx, allowing three questions a day, but they must not exceed his own level, or severe backlash will follow (as told by the Sphinx).

Lanen later realized that if he hadn't given the Sphinx sentience, he could still ask questions, but an unintelligent Sphinx wouldn't warn him if his questions exceeded its knowledge range.

In other words, asking the wrong question would result in immediate backlash.

2# His own abilities, apart from those gained in the Dream Rift, include a strange allure in his appearance, gaining the affection of both weird beings and humans. If a human is in a mentally dazed state, they're even more likely to be attracted and become a believer.

Also, his extraordinary self-healing ability and increasingly tough skin. Lanen tested with a knife; ordinary blades can no longer harm him, and even a deep cut heals rapidly.

Lastly, the ability to draw magical runes and create enchanted weapons, taught by Professor Ogres. Currently, Lanen can make up to B-level enchanted weapons, mostly with healing, blood-sucking, growth, or decay properties, with specific effects being random.

3# His Divine Kingdom. Frankly, Lanen doesn't quite remember how he acquired it, only knowing it originated from his power surge during a breakdown, infiltrating the hospital's central courtyard's array. Perhaps because of this, the hospital's instance remained, becoming Lanen's Divine Kingdom, where he can wield immense power, virtually invincible.

4# The rights and abilities Lanen acquired in the Dream Rift. First is the dice from the first level, which he has used many times. Its function is similar to role-playing dice, but with added controllability.

The scepter from the second level, currently effective against weird beings, can absorb their spirit to replenish itself and also bestow spirit on inanimate objects. This is the ability Lanen is most eager to test.

Unfortunately, it seems the spirit stored in the scepter was depleted when giving life to the Sphinx. Recently, the patterns on the scepter have remained dim, possibly needing a recharge of spirit.

Hearing this, Ogres suddenly stood up quietly and went outside the Divine Kingdom.

Five minutes later, he returned under Lanen's puzzled gaze, holding a weird creature.

"Is this enough? If not, I can catch more."

In his hand was a C-level human-faced crow, now in a near-death state. If Lanen wasn’t mistaken, it seemed to be the one that often perched on the tree outside his psychological clinic.

"Uh, let me try." Lanen re-summoned the scepter. The half-dead crow let out a hoarse cry upon seeing the scepter but was firmly grasped by Ogres' hand. Lanen gently tapped it with the scepter.

Instantly, the struggling crow wilted, its spirit, visible only to Lanen, being drawn out like the faceless man before, leaving behind only a dried husk of crow skin.

In place of this, the dull silver lines on the scepter brightened slightly.

Lanen closed his eyes for a moment, then took out a seed, infusing the extracted spirit into it.

The transformation began.

Contemplatively, Lanen threw the seed to the ground. Surprisingly, it burrowed into the soil of the courtyard on its own and began to sprout and grow, eventually becoming a small tree over a meter tall.

Ogres silently observed as the small tree grew to over a meter tall, then stopped growing.

"Is the weird being not strong enough?" Ogres glanced at the Soul-Eating Butterfly perched on Lanen's shoulder.

The butterfly quietly tightened its antennae around the fabric on Lanen's shoulder.

"No, this seed isn't meant for use in the Divine Kingdom. I just commanded it to stop growing for now," Lanen's eyes sparkled with understanding. "I finally realize why it's said that the Shepherd God needs his own forest, and this forest refers to more than just the Divine Kingdom."

"The true purpose of this seed is to extend the tendrils of the Divine Kingdom into reality."

In the Divine Kingdom, all of Lanen's abilities are greatly enhanced. He can control the monsters in the hospital, which are the medical staff transformed into weird beings in their dreams. He can also control the spatial structure here to a certain degree. That's why Lanen has been staying in the Divine Kingdom recently; here, he is virtually invincible.

However, the Divine Kingdom is not without limitations. Firstly, it's established atop Arkham Hospital, which has become somewhat of an 'anchor' for the Divine Kingdom. If the hospital is destroyed in reality, the Divine Kingdom won't completely collapse but will definitely be impacted.

Secondly, although Lanen can travel to the Divine Kingdom through the mist of the Dream Rift from any location, his combat power in reality is just average when he's outside the Divine Kingdom.

But after the empowerment from the scepter, the spiritual plant grown from this seed can take root in reality. Ordinary people can't see it, but as the spiritual plants gradually grow a forest in reality, wherever the plants reach, Lanen will gain enhancements similar to those in the Divine Kingdom. All spiritual plants will act as his eyes, extending his senses and limbs.

This is the true purpose of the scepter.

To construct an earthly Divine Kingdom.

Of course, the seed can't just be scattered anywhere. It will only take root when planted by two types of people: Lanen or his believers.

And they must be true believers for Lanen to use them to plant the seeds of spirit in reality. Moreover, planting the seeds consumes the believers' physical energy. To prevent them from fainting, an ordinary human true believer can only plant one seed, while a supernatural being can plant more than five.

"...That's so few! How long will it take to cover the ground with a forest like this!"

Lanen closed his eyes and, in a pitch-black vision, seemed to faintly perceive dozens of light points.

His true believers had grown to a group of over 100 people. Initially, Lanen thought that becoming a true believer would manifest as a small light point in his Dream Rift, but this wasn't the case. Apart from Edmund and others, he could generally sense what the rest of the true believers were doing, know their identities, and now he also had the option to plant seeds of spirit at their locations. Beyond that, there were no other capabilities.

This seemed to vaguely imply that the white light points in the Dream Rift might have other meanings.

But then again, why are there so many people?

Was that player, God Amongst Men, really working that hard?

Lanen recalled God Amongst Men's selling, oh no, preaching methods, and almost couldn't hold back his struggle between power and shame.

Power or shame? That is the question.

"Ogres," Lanen asked solemnly, "if you were faced with a choice where overcoming your shame would grant you power, what would you choose?"

Ogres looked at him and said, "If it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate. When you really need to use power, you'll feel very insignificant… very insignificant."

Lanen took a shallow breath and made up his mind.

However, at this moment, Lanen had no idea what he was about to go through, and that in the future, there would be countless times he would want to slap his current self for agreeing.

……

That day, God Amongst Men was normally playing the game when he saw Carmen approaching with a life-questioning expression.

"What's the matter, Priest?" God Amongst Men asked without changing his expression, though internally he wondered if his previous rhetoric had been exposed.

"Lord Lanen has issued a divine decree," Carmen said with disbelief still in his eyes, looking at God Amongst Men with a complex gaze before patting his shoulder. "You... did well, keep it up."

A system prompt echoed in the mind of God Amongst Men.

[The NPC priest of the Secret Church has affirmed your work.]

[You have gained recognition from the faction NPC, and your faction reputation has risen to Neutral.]

[You have earned 5000 Faction Honor Points.]

[You have been granted the faction title - Faith Vanguard. Effect: When equipped, increases the success rate of preaching by 5%, adds +5 to Persuasion and Oratory skills, and +2 to Mysticism.]

God Amongst Men took a light breath, pleased by the unexpected rewards although he had been doing all this purely for fun.

"Thank you for your affirmation. I will continue to work hard," God Amongst Men said.

Carmen patted his shoulder reassuringly: "Keep it up, and feel free to ask for help if needed."

Carmen sincerely rejoiced for God Amongst Men. In his view, anyone who contributes to Lord Lanen deserved his joy.

As he watched Carmen walk away, God Amongst Men, smiling, continued preaching to the confused flock below, this time gaining not only pleasure but also faction rewards.

[Faction Mission - Preaching

Objective: Convert a shallow believer to gain 100 Faction Honor Points; convert a true believer for 500 Honor Points.]

God Amongst Men calculated: Previously, a volunteer task yielded about 50 to 100 points. A player performing a task, like transporting supplies or treating the wounded, had to serve for at least 3 hours to complete it. Now, just one of his speeches could earn him a couple of hundred points, and if lucky enough to convert a true believer, even 500 in one go.

Is this what they call the sense of achievement in games?

Without hesitation, God Amongst Men chose to share this joy (or show off) with others by posting a screenshot of the system notification.

“Faction Honor Points? Aren't these pretty easy to earn?”

God Amongst Men: Screenshot.jpg

Post #1: Lol.

Post #2: I came here to mock the original poster about not knowing the value of a three-hour volunteer activity, but after seeing the screenshot, my apologies. Please, master, take me with you!

Post #3: A mission to preach? How did you get that? I thought it was just a player's prank.

Post #4: There's actually a preaching mission, wow! And 500 points for converting a true believer?? I'm going to start preaching to NPCs right away.

Post #5: I protest, why can't we preach to players? If they become true believers, I'll happily pocket those 500 points.

Post #6: How do you even preach? Just roll for Oratory?

Post #7: Not just that. This game, despite its high level of freedom, won't let players succeed by just rolling dice. You need to take appropriate actions or say the right words. I tried before, but with my poor speaking skills, I'm not cut out for preaching.

Post #8: I knew the original poster looked familiar! Isn't this the legendary God Amongst Men? True to the title, even carving out new tasks for himself.

God Amongst Men: You all flatter me, I'm just doing this for fun.

Post #9: Front-row capture! Mind sharing how you preach?

God Amongst Men: Not at all, the preaching mission doesn't limit the number of participants, and there are so many people in Arkham City.

God Amongst Men: However, my method isn't universally applicable. If I have to give advice, it's important to choose the right target audience. And to make others believe in the faith, you first need to genuinely believe in it yourself to influence others.

Post #10: That sounds profound and difficult. Not suited for someone as inarticulate as me. I'll stick to volunteering.

Post #11: Sigh, another task unfriendly to social anxiety.

Post #12: Has anyone noticed that since the Secret Church released a preaching mission with such high rewards, it implies that the faction actually encourages this? It seems to corroborate Black Cat's earlier speculations.

Post #13: Someone please tag @Black Cat.

Black Cat: It's still too early to say for sure.

Post #14: Big bro, you're here haha.

Black Cat: Just taking a break from volunteering and browsing the forum. I think everyone should try this preaching mission. The rewards are high, and if my guess is right, it might even be linked to a major upcoming task. Everyone should give it a shot.

Post #15: Big bro, we'd love to try, but this seems way beyond the capabilities of most of us.

Post #16: Yeah, I know nothing about religious stuff.

God Amongst Men: Well, you don't need to be hardcore about it. Preaching is kind of like promoting a product. As long as you can spark interest, it's a win. Whatever method you use to draw attention is fair game. Just one interested person means profit.

Night Night: Now that you mention it, I suddenly have a bold idea.

Baba: I've got an idea too, and I bet it's the same as yours. (winks)

Uncle Hao: Dear players, have you ever heard of MLM, marketing, or fan culture?

17l：？？？

18l：？？

Meanwhile, a mysterious organization is still brewing, waiting to return like a storm to shock the simple local NPCs. Meanwhile, a few players are still awkwardly trying to find the right way to start playing.

Yes, I'm talking about the Starwatching Squad.

Do you know how they've spent the last three days?

For three whole days, Destiny and his team haven't received any tasks or benefits from the Inspection Bureau. They've been waiting hopelessly, watching Secret Church players rack up tasks, skill points, and progress. Starwatching Squad has now consciously filtered out 'Secret Church' from their forum keywords. Nothing else, just sore eyes from staring at the screen.

If it weren't for the guild's promise of compensation, Fatso would have quit first.

But now, their patience is running thin.

"Boss, we've been waiting for three days. We're falling behind other players by a whole three days," Fatso said with a pleading look at Destiny.

Destiny sighed: "Okay, okay, don't worry. We'll try one last time today."

Early this morning, the Starwatching Squad went to the Inspection Bureau's apartment and confronted Job Gage. Before Gage could brush them off, Destiny said, "Mr. Gage, can I talk to you alone? I have something important to discuss."

Job Gage's eyes flickered at the request.

Couldn't hold back anymore, huh?

Job nodded: "Alright, let's go upstairs to talk."

Job and Destiny went to a room on the second floor. Destiny said, "I have crucial information to report about a dark god."

Job raised an eyebrow: "Go ahead."

"Have you heard of the Secret Church? It's a local cult in Arkham that worships the Shepherd God and has been active in Arkham City lately."

Job just listened with a smile but didn't seem particularly moved or concerned. After Destiny finished, Job simply said, "Alright, I understand your urgency, but don't worry. I'll forward your information to headquarters for verification, and they'll send a dedicated team."

Destiny in disbelief: "But aren't you already here? Aren't you interested in a cult?"

Job rubbing his forehead: "It's not that we're not concerned; we just have our own missions to complete."

In short, they're already too busy and don't have the capacity to handle other matters.

And strictly speaking, in a country with freedom of belief, there's no such thing as a cult unless there's concrete evidence of criminal activity by its followers.

Destiny: "Even if this organization is linked to foreigners?"

Job's expression changed, looking up at the seemingly calm Destiny.

"Hmm... then I have to listen."

Destiny and Job entered an office, and after some coaxing, Destiny divulged everything about Lan, the foreigners, and their designs on Lan, the current object of the Secret Church's faith.

"You mean to say, a dark god once walked among us in Arkham City as a human?" Job asked in surprise.

"Yes, he was likely sealed at the time," Destiny said. "And his arrival is linked to the foreigners, whose leader was eager to capture him."

Job, with a meaningful tone: "You seem to know a lot."

Anticipating Job's reaction, Destiny bent forward: "I won't hide it from you. I was once a member of that organization, which is why I know so much. But now I realize the folly of worshipping dark gods. A few friends and I saw the error of our ways and escaped. We're still being hunted by them, which is why we sought refuge with the Inspection Bureau."

Destiny had previously consulted with a seasoned campaign advisor in the guild. Upon hearing his actions, the advisor suspected they might already be under suspicion by the Inspection Bureau.

"If this game is indeed like a role-playing campaign, then you must treat the NPCs as real people. Their reactions will mirror what you'd expect from a real person."

Hence, Destiny had carefully crafted an explanation to justify the information and the source of previous suspicions.

Job studied Destiny's expression intently, seemingly deep in thought.

[Requesting Psychology from the system.]

[You can't discern any expression on his face, unsure of how much he believes your explanation.]

Job said, "I understand. I'll discuss it with my colleagues."

Destiny nodded solemnly: "Then I advise you not to approach Edmund. I've seen him in the church."

Job paused, narrowing his eyes, but left the room without comment.

Destiny sighed, leaning back in the chair.

"I've done everything I could. If this still doesn't work, maybe it's time to give up."

Job walked slowly out of the room, and after sending Edmund away on some pretext, he shared Destiny's words with the remaining seasoned members of his team.

"How credible do we think this is?" Job asked.

Diana, pushing up her glasses, replied: "Zero. The words of cultists hold no value. This is the first rule emphasized by the training officers to every official investigator."

Eunice suggested, “But I think it’s worth investigating. We've hit a dead end in our recent inquiries; this could be a good opportunity to break through.”

The elite team from the Inspection Bureau currently has two missions: to uncover the true identity of the ‘Gatekeeper’ and to eliminate Albert, a traitor within the Bureau.

Both tasks are closely related to the organization known as the 'Foreigners.' Recently, Job and his team have been focusing on this group, but progress has been slow. After the leader of the Foreigners failed, the organization disintegrated into chaos, scattering across the land of Arkham, making it difficult to discern the truth from the muck.

The elites previously linked with the Foreigners have long since left the city by various means, leaving behind only the low-level cult members who are ignorant of core secrets. Despite efforts by Eunice and Idy, the information extracted from them has been of little value.

All they know is that a cult once attempted to open a gateway to the dream world in Arkham, only to be thwarted by a mysterious Gatekeeper. That’s all.

No one knows the core details, such as the Gatekeeper’s identity or Albert’s whereabouts.

Eunice added, “Plus, they claimed that the new guy who joined is also a cultist.”

Diana countered, “It could also be a setup, a framing. That seems more likely.”

However, Idy disagreed, “According to my research, this group is new to Arkham, meaning they shouldn’t have encountered Edmund before. Why would they slander a stranger? They have no motive.”

“Another point of suspicion is their claim of being former members of the Secret Church.”

“What about it?”

Idy showed her computer screen to the others, “My research indicates that the Secret Church is a new religious movement that emerged among the victims of this disaster and the refugees, originating in Arkham. Currently, the church’s influence is minimal, almost non-existent. So, when did they join it?”

This glaring logical flaw rendered the others silent.

“Is there no external information about the Secret Church?”

"No, at least I haven't found any," Idy said with an air of casual arrogance in his voice. "Unless there's a hacker of my caliber concealing their information, which I find highly unlikely."

He indeed had the credentials to match his pride; there were very few hackers in the world who could compete with him.

Moreover, his unique origin ability made him virtually unbeatable in the realm of electronics.

"If it's true, it means they lied, they're certainly not members of the Secret Church," Job speculated. "Why would they fabricate such a lie?"

"Could they be from a third party?" Eunice guessed out loud.

At this, Diana pondered, "If it's a third party, why would they give us this information? Is it a trap?"

"Or maybe," Job murmured softly, "they want us to step into a minefield first."

"But regardless, if we do nothing, our investigation will never progress," Job resolved. "Let's explore this lead."

"What about Edmund?"

"No rush, let's observe for a while," Job said. "I'll continue to engage with them, might find out some interesting info, especially now that I've finally gotten approval for that thing."

He patted his backpack, "But I'd rather not use it unless absolutely necessary."

Eunice nodded in agreement, and although Diana and Idy didn’t voice their opinions, their eyes also flickered with repulsion and dislike.

Although it could extract information, no investigator liked to resort to that method unless absolutely necessary.

Sometimes, it made them feel no different from the criminals they pursued.

Luckily, the Observing Star team was cooperative, readily sharing all the information they knew.

They revealed three pieces of intelligence: the current distribution of the Secret Church's power mainly among the Black Poker and the Camui Tribe, the previous conflict between the Secret Church and the Foreigners, and a young man named Lann who is actually an incarnation of a malevolent god.

Honestly, if they weren't worried about arousing suspicion, the Observing Star team would have loved to elaborate on all the major events from the forums, but that would make them seem too informed and suspicious. Therefore, they chose to reveal information bit by bit.

Finally, with a grit of his teeth, Tian Ming in Wo added a speculation that had circulated on the forums: "We suspect that this being, presumed to be the incarnation of a malevolent god, is actually the Gatekeeper who ultimately thwarted the Foreigners' plan."

"The Gatekeeper, huh..." Job murmured, "That does warrant an investigation."

At this moment, the Observing Star team finally heard the system notification they had been longing for.

[Triggered a chain mission - The Truth of the Secret Church.]

[Objective: The Inspection Bureau is suspicious of the existence of the Secret Church and has started an investigation into this enigmatic entity. Assist the Bureau in unveiling its mysteries.]

[First mission in the series: Black Poker.]

[Mission level: Dangerous, proceed with caution.]

Finally, a chain mission is triggered!

The members of the Observing Star team's eyes sparkled instantly.

Since the last game update, apart from task categories, a mission level classification was added, including 'Normal,' 'Dangerous,' 'Very Dangerous,' 'Hell,' and 'Nightmare' levels. This first mission of the chain is 'Dangerous,' suggesting even higher levels to follow?

It's well-known that the more dangerous the mission, the richer the rewards. While other players were still grinding daily faction missions, they had already received a mission with super generous rewards!

What does this mean? It proves that their choice was correct!

"Can we all go together?" Tian Ming in Wo asked.

Job looked up at them and said with a smile, "Of course, after all, it was you who brought up this intelligence."

If there's a minefield, let them be the first to tread.

"Edie."

"I know, I'm already on it," Edie rapidly typed on the keyboard, "The Kamui tribe rarely uses electronic devices, and there are hardly any cameras in their district. It's tough to find much information, but I suggest we start with the Black Poker."

"Ah, found it."

"Based on the information provided by this group," Edie glanced at the excited Stargazing Team, "there was indeed some unrest in Akam recently. It started when some underground gang leaders and members died after attending a banquet hosted by Black Poker. The former leader of Black Poker also died there, cause unknown."

The woman with glasses pondered, "A purge... or infighting?"

"It's highly likely an abnormal force was involved. Edmund's Inspection Team also investigated this incident and found traces resembling a Class D ghoul, a corpse-eater. However, they couldn't find anything substantial," Edie shrugged.

Jobe: "So, this was the first clash between the foreigners and the secret church?"

Edie said, "The surveillance footage from the night of the banquet was completely destroyed. Purely electronic methods can't recover it."

Having said that, he pressed the Enter key hard, and a screenshot of a man appeared on the computer screen.

This seemed to be a capture from surveillance footage, blurry, showing only the dark side profile of a man with black hair getting out of a black sedan, flanked by subordinates in black suits, shielding him from potential gunfire.

That's the current boss of Black Poker, Clarence.

"I suggest we directly inquire with the person involved."