Chapter 44: The Orphanage of the Holy Child 11

Chapter 44: The Orphanage of the Holy Child 11

"..."

Silence enveloped the confessional.

After a long while, the priest wore a peculiar expression. "Give it to you?"

He couldn't grasp such an odd request at all.

Had this young man been causing trouble for so long just to snatch his job?

"What will you do after I give it to you?" the priest asked.

Qin Fei smiled enigmatically. "That's none of your concern."

With that, he waved the brick in front of the priest again.

The old man seemed oblivious to his current predicament; there was no room for him to speak out of turn now.

Priest: "…I see. I can yield to you, of course, if that's what you want."

Damn, how frustrating! This feeling of being led around by the nose!

"You can let me out right now, as long as you promise not to speak out of turn. But..."

The priest still found it hard to accept that he had been outwitted by an innocent-looking young man.

He muttered to himself in confusion,

"But if I give up my position as a priest, where else would I go?"

Qin Fei couldn't help but roll his eyes at the old man's indecisiveness.

The young man crossed his arms and wore a sincere smile on his handsome face, yet his words were unexpectedly piercing:

"Why should it concern me where you go? Can't you return home once you leave here? Do you live at the church every day? Don't you have a place of your own?"

He casually glanced at the top of the old man's head, where the glaring words "Unattainable" were displayed.

There was no way around it; it was simply the reality.

Qin Fei, an unapproachable annoyance, wasn't even worth the effort of a second glance.

The Priest: "…."

"You—"

The Priest hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

In the end, he couldn't hold back and said, "After I leave, you won't say anything more to the Lord, will you?"

He hastily added, "I know what you people want, but confessing my sins to the Lord won't get you what you desire."

He would be punished, but Qin Fei wouldn't gain any points – it was purely a lose-lose situation.

Is that so?

Qin Fei was skeptical.

He scrutinized the priest from head to toe. Judging from the subtle expressions on the man's face, he seemed to be telling the truth.

It seemed that the 24 Confession Points could only circulate among the 24 Holy Infants.

Over there, the priest had already taken off his robe and cross, placing them on the bench of his own accord.

"I've got everything here. Take it. I... I'll be going back first."

He handed the key to the Confessional to Qin Fei and then turned around, crawling back towards his seat.

"Hey, hey, hey??"

Xiao Xiao called out to stop him. "Where are you going?"

Didn't he want to leave? Why was he crawling back instead?

The priest, having suffered a series of blows, was a bit disoriented. "I'm going back to my dormitory. There's a staircase inside the confessional... Wait, you're not planning on stealing my dorm too, are you?!"

He now resembled a startled bird or a flustered quail.

When Qin Fei heard the word "stairway," his eyes suddenly lit up.

He suddenly felt that his spontaneous decision to snatch the priest's position might bring him some unexpected benefits.

The corners of Qin Fei's lips curled up in an ambiguous curve, which in the priest's eyes was like a deadly knife.

"Of course not. Do I look like such a terrible person?"

Qin Fei raised his hand and brushed off non-existent dust from his sleeve. The gesture made the priest flinch, afraid that Qin Fei would throw a brick at his face at any moment.

"I just want to ask you, if another Holy Child confesses with the same content as yours, will they still receive God's reward?"

"Yes, yes, they can."

The priest thought that this handsome young bandit was asking on behalf of the fool beside him and nodded eagerly.

"Absolutely, even if they repeat your words verbatim. If you don't believe me, you can try it out later."

Not daring to stay for a second longer, the priest swayed his hips and vanished, saying, "I'm leaving. Don't come looking for me unless it's something important..."

The disoriented voice dissipated into the air.

Xiao Xiao was still in a daze up until this moment.

This series of actions had utterly stunned him. He had no idea how Qin Fei had managed to convince the priest, nor did he understand why Qin Fei had chased the priest away.

Meanwhile, Qin Fei, after obtaining the key, immediately locked the confessional door from the inside.

Xiao Xiao: "?"

The number of things he couldn't comprehend kept increasing.

"What is…?" He looked up at Qin Fei.

Qin Fei smiled but remained silent, stretching out his hand and pointing outside the confessional. "Look."

Xiao Xiao was taken aback for a moment before peeking through a small gap in the curtain, peering outside.

In the empty church, the wooden door that Qin Fei had locked when they first arrived was now mysteriously ajar.

Faint footsteps and whispers of conversation echoed from within the corridor.

It was evident that someone would be arriving shortly.

Xiao Xiao was utterly astonished. "What's going on?! Who helped them open the door?"

Qin Fei replied, "Of course, it's me."

Xiao Xiao: "?"

???

Hadn't Big Shot Qin been standing right beside him in the confessional the whole time? When did he manage to go out and open the door?

Confusion deepened on Xiao Xiao's face.

Qin Fei lifted the fluffy hat of the ghost infant with one hand, suspending the tiny creature mid-air. "There, he's the one who opened it."

While Xiao Xiao had his eyes closed, confessing his sins, Qin Fei had entrusted the key to the corridor outside to the ghost infant, asking it to do the errand.

Xiao Xiao silently closed his mouth, which had been opened in confusion.

Suddenly, he recalled Qin Fei's words earlier, "The ghost baby is useless, just like him."

But now, the ghost baby was clearly very useful...

So, was it only himself who was useless?

Xiao Xiao despairingly realized this fact and felt deeply isolated.

He stared blankly as Qin Fei donned the solemn and majestic robes, hanging the cross around his neck.

The young man lowered his gaze slightly, his pale face grave and serene. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile was innocent: "Someone is coming, but it doesn't matter."

"Because, from now on, I am a priest."

...

In the live stream, the chat was in an uproar.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, no way! The host is too cunning!"

"He knew he couldn't keep the key all to himself without provoking anger, so he came up with this brilliant strategy to cut off the root of the problem."

"But I still don't get it, what can the host do by pretending to be a priest? Aren't points awarded by the system's judgment?"

"Haven't you noticed that he locked the confessional? Fool!"

"Wife! Wife, wife, wife! My wife is so hot, ahh ahh ahh! She looks incredibly abstinent in that priest's attire!"

"Hiss, hah, hiss, hah, especially that cross in front...hah..."

"I really want to rip my wife's clothes off! Tearing them fiercely!"

Given the pirate-like nature of the live stream, Qin Fei couldn't see the bullet screen comments discussing his actions.

All around him, the air seemed to be filled with "wife," "hiss, hah," and "take off the clothes."

Qin Fei: ...

As powerful as I am, there's still a day when I can be defeated.

What kind of people are these??

Outside the confessional, the commotion grew louder and louder.

In that corridor, which could be crossed in mere minutes, an argument seemed to be taking place.

Xiao Xiao wanted to see but dared not, so he crouched behind the curtain and peeped out.

He heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar shouting, "You go first. I'll handle this!"

Then came a heavy slam of a door.

Followed by hurried and panicked footsteps.

Before Xiao Xiao realized the impending danger, the church shook violently!

The entire space shrank fiercely, oozing dark red liquid like a piece of decaying flesh. A pungent smell, akin to burnt ashes, permeated the air.

The pristine white walls and polished floor had transformed, now covered in bulging, tumor-like protrusions.

"Infant Saint 4 has withdrawn from this selection!"

"Congratulations to Infant Saint 6 for obtaining: 4 points! Current points: 3!"

The system's announcement blasted in their ears!

The tremors of the church reverberated through the confessional, causing Xiao Xiao to lose his balance and stumble, falling to the ground.

Scrambling to his feet, he saw beside him, the young man dressed as a priest with his hands crossed, gently resting on the crucifix at his chest.

He lifted his gaze towards an empty point in the air, his irises appearing deeper than usual. That gaze seemed to have pierced through the small, square darkness and reached some other place.

"It has begun," he murmured softly.

Xiao Xiao was taken aback. "What has begun?"

Qin Fei's eyes drooped slightly, casting a row of shadows on his pale face from his long, curled eyelashes. He took out a candle from his backpack and lit it, casting a flickering, dim light that obscured his expression.

He declared,

"The Killing Game is about to commence."

...

Xiao Xiao suppressed the tremors within him, staring blankly at Qin Fei.

From this statement, he seemed to have deciphered the other party's intention, at least part of it.

Qin Fei, the big shot, had done this on purpose.

He had already deduced that divulging secrets could earn points, so he deliberately distanced himself from the other players, venturing alone into the Confessional Chamber while leaving a clue for them to discover.

Within the chamber, he enumerated the sins of others, causing the system announcement to repeat incessantly, putting everyone on edge and throwing their strategies into chaos.

At such a moment, upon discovering that the door to the Confessional Chamber was open, the intense competition for that hard-won scoring opportunity finally sparked a major conflict.

What Qin Fei had done was like striking a flame in a room that was already leaking gas.

With a loud "bang."

The delicate balance between individuals was disrupted.

And Qin Fei had finally succeeded in bringing about this moment.

The moment when the facade of the world turned inside out.

But...

Why?

Xiao Xiao lifted his gaze to meet Qin Fei's.

Qin Fei didn't respond.

He sat there, gazing outside through the narrow gap in the curtains.

Someone was approaching, getting closer and closer.

They were about to reach the Confessional's entrance.

Actually, Qin Fei had a straightforward reason for his actions.

The reason he went through such trouble was simply because he needed someone to die.

Qin Fei didn't believe that this instance dungeon's solution was as simple as "mutual slaughter + betrayal."

There was clearly a storyline within the Holy Infant Orphanage, and its existence held meaning. It was just that the players hadn't delved deep enough into it yet.

Their minds were distracted by the points within their reach, causing them to overlook the essence of the instance dungeon.

In contrast, Qin Fei was more eager to uncover the secrets hidden behind the Holy Infant Orphanage.

To achieve this, he had to continually enter the Inner World.

Because it was obvious that the Outer World was nothing but a blank slate.

All those clues and hidden information were concealed within the Inner World.

The reversal between the Surface World and the Inner World required the death of a player to progress, but Qin Fei had no intention of doing it himself.

This cathedral was filled with invisible eyes at every turn.

"The Master" could see, hear, and knew all.

The consequences of taking someone's life were vividly demonstrated during the previous flip of the Surface and Inner Worlds with Player 2.

Although Qin Fei had won Sister Della's favor through deception, the tenuous affection of an NPC was incomparable to the logical rules of the dungeon.

It was like an ant trying to uproot a mighty tree.

Should Qin Fei take action to kill, Sister Della might not be able to protect him.

That was why this scene unfolded as it did.

If Qin Fei were to open the live chat at this moment, he would find that his beloved audience was lavishing him with praise.

They praised him for being different from those superficial players;

They lauded him as the most curious and unorthodox streamer they had ever encountered;

They eagerly awaited his exploration of dungeons, guiding them to unseen narratives and new horizons.

"Ding—Congratulations to Streamer Xiao Qin for topping the viewership growth rate among 1324 currently streaming E-Class worlds!"

"The system will soon provide you with additional traffic support. Seize this opportunity and continue your excellent work!"

Qin Fei lifted his head.

In front of the confessional, the player he had been anticipating finally appeared.

...

The ghostly flames rushed from the resting area straight to the church, stumbling harshly at the entrance.

Too many events had transpired in the past half-hour, leaving his mind utterly muddled.

Player Number 12, whose name was Xiao Qin, took his subordinate to the confessional room but promptly locked the door from inside. As soon as they left, whispers of tension began to simmer in the lounge area.

First, Players Number 6 and 7 started arguing, while Player Number 5 attempted to mediate, only to be criticized for being overly intrusive. The once tranquil lounge quickly filled with the smoke of conflict.

However, at this moment, the situation was still manageable.

Everyone's focus was centered on Player 12, deliberating how they would interrogate him and Player 10 about the key and the confessional when they returned.

To their surprise, after a while, the two doors in the corridor opened by themselves.

Then, the system announced that Player 12 had scored points, while the others had theirs deducted.

It was like a stone thrown onto an icy river in late winter, shattering the deceptive calm and sending cracks radiating like a spider's web.

The chaos became unstoppable.

No one wanted to fall behind.

They all rushed towards those doors, competing to be the first.

To carry out their predetermined plan, Sanmu pushed him forward, leaving her to hold back the group on her own.

Phantom Fire was forced to act alone.

Already panicked, his anxiety skyrocketed when he heard the announcement of Player 4's demise.

He had never been to the Inner World's church and had no idea what awaited him there.

He was also concerned that although Sanmu was highly skilled, she was still facing over a dozen people alone. Any misstep could lead to...

The floor inside the church felt like a squishy mass of flesh, springing back with a sticky sensation underfoot, disgustingly so.

Every step Phantom Fire took was fraught with fear and trepidation.

He constantly worried that the church might swallow or digest him at any moment.

Just as his heart threatened to burst from his chest, he finally reached the confessional.

Phantom Fire was not religious and had never paid attention to such matters before entering the Rule-bound World.

He had no idea how to operate this square, wardrobe-like object.

All he needed to do was confess, right?

Sister Sanmu had already analyzed the rules with him, and judging from Player 12's score deduction earlier, their conjecture seemed correct.

In this so-called Confessional Room, they were expected to betray and inform on each other.

Ghoul Fire's heart pounded like a drum as he cautiously reached out and touched the door of the confessional.

He pulled.

It didn't budge.

Ghoul Fire was taken aback.

He tried again with more force, but it still wouldn't move.

Huh?

Was this device not used as he had imagined?

Didn't one step inside, close the door, and then pray to God in the pitch-black darkness?

A look of uncertainty flickered across Phantom Flame's face.

Or was the Confessional in the Inner World different from that in the Outer World?

He cautiously reached out his hand to touch the emerald-green velvet curtain beside the door, similar to a window blind.

The moment his fingers made contact, he sensed a force emanating from within, transmitted through the thin fabric to his fingertips.

"Shit!"

Phantom Flame recoiled as if he had been electrocuted.

Was there something inside?

What could it be?

To be honest, Phantom was terrified to the core.

He was not an offensive player at all, and he knew his limits very well.

Without Third River Sister by his side, he felt defenseless, like a boiled egg without its shell, vulnerable to collapse with just a gentle touch.

"Huff... Huff..."

He panted in small gasps.

On the other side of the thin wooden partition, Xiao Xiao looked at Qin Fei with confusion.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" He dared not speak, so he gestured with his hands instead.

His curiosity was killing him, but the mighty Qin seemed unrushed, still teasing the fool outside like a cat playing with a mouse.

Seeing Xiao Xiao's restless expression, Qin Fei finally adopted a serious demeanor.

He took off the cross hanging around his neck, held it in his hand, and slowly extended his arm beyond the curtain.

"Speak, my dear child."

"Your priest is here, by your side, to listen with you."

He deliberately lowered his voice, rendering it unrecognizable from its original tone.

The deep resonance that emerged from the depths of his chest and abdomen carried a solemnity interwoven with reverence, piercing through the velvet cloth and into Phantom Flame's ears.

Phantom Flame almost believed that it was no longer a priest, but an actual deity sitting within that box.

"Speak," the divine presence commanded, yet with a gentle tone.

"My child, here, before the Lord, reveal the sins you wish to expose," he continued.

...

Inside the box, Xiao Xiao's eyes were as wide as copper bells.

His slow-witted mind had finally caught up to the situation at this moment.

Ding Lingling first snatched the priest's clothes and then locked the confessional door.

After all that commotion...

It was all for this!!!

He wanted to trick others into revealing their information!!!

This was too... too...

Xiao Xiao was left speechless.

Too unethical, indeed.

But it felt so exhilarating :).

Xiao Xiao's breathing couldn't help but quicken.

Outside the confessional, Phantom was like a mosquito trapped in a spider's web, entirely ensnared in a trap.

He understood now.

It turned out that he had made a mistake.

This confessional was meant to be used with the speaker standing outside.

Clearing his throat, he realized,

Although there were no rules stating that they must use a translation gun when communicating with NPCs,

the priest inside the cabinet was so persuasive that he had unconsciously adopted the man's manner of speaking.

"Oh, revered father, dear Lord," Phantom began solemnly.

Xiao Xiao crouched inside the closet, peeping through the curtain's edge, barely managing to suppress his laughter at the man's exaggerated head-shaking.

He quickly covered his mouth.

"I'm here to confess on behalf of my friends to you."

"I confess for Number One's sin of voyeurism."

"I confess for Number Two's inability to control his gluttony."

"I confess for Number Three's laziness and inaction."

...

One had to admit, he was indeed a recruiter from a major guild.

Ghost Fire knew quite a lot.

Although some of it overlapped with what Qin Fei had already confessed to the priest, he added quite a few additional details.

Number Three's sin is sloth.

Number Seven is an enigma.

The man Number Eight, who spoke shrilly in the church, is homosexual.

Number Fifteen possesses an extraordinary need for control.

To put it simply, he has obsessive-compulsive disorder; if someone messes with his arrangements, he goes into a frenzy.

Qin Fei suddenly understood.

No wonder on the first afternoon, he rushed to put back all the wine bottles that Number Thirteen had displaced.

Additionally, the Ghost Fire exposed San Tu's transgressions as well.

He said that San Tu couldn't resist the murderous impulse within him and often craved the sight of blood in the dead of night.

Xiao Xiao blinked wildly upon hearing this.

Was this their premeditated plan, or was it the Will-o'-the-wisp acting on its own initiative? Qin Fei leaned more towards the idea that it was part of the other party's strategic maneuvering.

Fixing his gaze on the Will-o'-the-wisp, Qin Fei smiled, his expression holding hidden meaning.

Standing by, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but shiver for some inexplicable reason. He had an eerie feeling that Big Boss Qin was up to something mischievous again.

Outside the confessional, the Will-o'-the-wisp recounted every detail of its confession.

After it finished speaking, the church fell into an eerie silence.

Ten seconds passed.

Thirty seconds ticked away.

A full minute elapsed.

Nothing happened.

The ghost flame wore a bewildered expression.

"Esteemed Father."

He hesitantly asked, "May I ask... Was there something wrong with what I just said?"

If there wasn't an issue, why hadn't the point announcement sounded yet?

He didn't know if he could still submit clues that other players had already submitted.

But judging from Number 12's previous announcement, at least some of what he and Number 12 had said were not duplicates.

Could it be that informing on someone in the Inner World didn't earn points??

Ghost Flame looked suspiciously at the wall of the box.

Xiao Xiao, on the other hand, stared curiously at Qin Fei.

The question posed by the Ghost Fire was one he had wanted to ask from the very beginning.

This guy hadn't even entered the confessional, so anything he said wouldn't be considered as a point addition by the system.

How was this big shot Qin going to smooth things over?

With the scrutiny both inside and outside the booth, Qin Fei spoke unhurriedly.

"My dear child, think again. Is there anything else you've forgotten to mention?"

He seemed like a wise mentor, guiding his student onto the right path.

"Don't just talk about others, speak of yourself as well."

...Damn it.

Xiao Xiao's cheek twitched.

Well, his last doubt had been resolved.

He truly didn't expect Qin Fei to come up with such an absurd yet strangely reasonable justification.

All the intricate calculations ultimately led to this point.

It seemed that from the very beginning, Master Qin had planned on taking full advantage of Phantom Flame, like a shepherd plucking every last hair from a single sheep!

Outside the Confessional, Phantom Flame wore an embarrassed expression.

So that's how it was. He understood now.

Turned out that for a backstab to work, one had to expose their own secrets to the divine as well.

But...

Phantom Flame's ears tinged with a hint of red.

It was indeed a bit awkward to reveal.

His lips parted, hesitating for a long while before he finally mustered the resolve.

Well, might as well confess.

After all, he would have to tell eventually, sooner or later.

Embarrassing as it was, he was confessing to an NPC at least.

Once they left this instance dungeon, they would likely never cross paths again. There was no need to feel too awkward about it.

"I, Father, come before you to confess my sin of theft."

"....No, to be precise, I haven't actually committed the act yet."

"Yet, every midnight, a voice echoes in my heart, tempting me to steal something."

Qin Fei raised an eyebrow. "What do you plan to steal?"

Outside the wooden cabinet, Phantom Fire closed his eyes, mustering up his courage to speak.

"It tempts me... to steal a nun's underwear!"

Qin Fei & Xiao Xiao: "..."

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