Chapter 27

Chapter 27

The challenge of summoning the Overlord had become the most critical conundrum of the century.

"We know that those who have successfully invoked the Overlord and gained the right to draw cards include An Rui and Xiang Qin outside the wall, and the Zhou family of three, Murong Ying, and Le You inside the wall. We previously thought that the reason people could invoke the Overlord was because their card pools contained core cards. However, Le You did not receive the free draw privilege. This suggests that the presence of a core card in one's card pool is not a necessity for the Overlord to appear."

"But why do An Rui, Xiang Qin, Murong Ying, and the Zhou family of three have core cards, while Le You does not?"

"Let's analyze their commonalities. They all prayed in dire straits, but why not Le You? What differences exist between Le You and them before and after drawing cards?"

Renowned domestic psychologists were invited by the government to gather and analyze, attempting to uncover the pattern behind the Overlord's appearance.

They played a video recorded during Le You's debriefing with government officials. In it, Le You recounted his and his brother's mental states during the incident.

"At that time, I was very scared and angry, wondering why we had to endure such a situation. Suddenly, I remembered what Zhou Shuning and Zhou Shujie said, so I tried praying, and unexpectedly..."

Pause.

"Tried praying! I understand now; the emotion wasn't strong enough! He didn't truly believe in the existence of a deity; he was merely hoping for a stroke of luck. From our data, we can see that those whose card pools contain core cards and have the free draw privilege must have prayed with intense emotions, willing to give everything in exchange for a miracle. Therefore, after drawing cards, they became believers of the Overlord."

This hypothesis seemed the most plausible so far.

Su Nai sat quietly on a chair, listening to their discussion, then silently got up and left without a word.

The president, behind his desk, asked upon seeing him enter, "How was it?"

"I think perhaps the truth is that they become believers of the Overlord, which is why core cards appear in their card pools," Su Nai said. "Thinking about it in reverse, although Le You and his brother were grateful and reverent after being saved by the Overlord, their faith did not reach the level of An Rui and Xiang Qin. If they had drawn cards at that moment, their feelings wouldn't have reached the level of faith."

"We can deduce that this... deity is neither as benevolent as we hoped nor as malevolent as we feared. It is chaotic and neutral. Anyone seeking Its power must pay a price, either through faith or money."

The president pondered for a moment and said, "In other words, true believers have the highest chance of invoking It."

"I suspect so."

"Su Nai, would you believe in a deity?" the president suddenly asked.

Su Nai, always indifferent and detached, replied, "No."

Faith means surrendering one's body and soul to another, something he would never do.

The president looked at him for a while and said, "We used to believe without doubt that the slaughterhouse was an alien invasion plot. They are in a distant galaxy and cannot arrive quickly, so they send monsters through wormholes to destroy humanity using both the monsters and humans' own hands, thus clearing the planet or weakening human resistance. But now, I'm starting to doubt the truth."

Su Nai: "I don't know. But we certainly need more cards."

At this point, hiding the truth was impossible. The card battle had begun, and everyone was forced to join. Fortunately, the government had a significant advantage, making it a leading contender in this game.

Soon, just like when the rules of the slaughterhouse were leaked by hackers, the news that believers have a higher chance of invoking the Overlord was also released by hackers who infiltrated the government network.

The internet erupted, with the news trending high. Most civilians were still skeptical, treating it as a rumor, but secretly, various forces were already stirring.

As if to prove their speculation correct, another significant event occurred.

Outside the wall.

"Lord, I miss you so much. Please guide me, Your embrace is my soul's resting place..." Xiang Qin prayed day and night, exuding the aura of a devout believer. No one doubted her willingness to kill gods and buddhas for Jiang Xingzhuo.

An Rui also seemed transformed. In the hotel he converted into a church in District 6, he led the residents in daily prayers, appearing kind and gentle. If the original residents of District 3 saw him now, they would be terrified. He was once a good-natured man with a radiant gaze and a slightly innocent smile. Now, draped in a red robe, he preached with a gentle demeanor, resembling a priest, which made people uneasy.

The red robe was modeled after Xiang Qin's robe, which Jiang Xingzhuo had bestowed upon her. Black was already used by Jiang Xingzhuo, so they chose red, believing she might prefer her followers to wear it.

District 6 had become the safest area outside the wall, a utopia for other districts. An Rui and Xiang Qin's SSR cards were coveted treasures.

Initially, only around 40,000 residents were sheltered in District 6, a third of District 5's population, as District 6 only accepted those who could work. However, now that it had become a preaching ground for the Overlord, it began accepting refugees from other districts. Besides integrating newcomers into District 6, it allowed people from other districts to pray together, resulting in nearly 100,000 people gathering daily.

Among these 100,000 people, most wore red cloaks, becoming a unique sight outside the wall. True believers and pretenders were hard to distinguish, but undoubtedly, this was the region with the most Overlord believers.

Every morning from 5 to 7 AM and every evening from 8 to 10 PM were prayer times. During these periods, countless people gathered in the square in front of the church, creating a sea of red.

On this particular day, just before dawn, the sky was barely lit, and the world seemed asleep. People in red cloaks emerged from their homes, heading towards the square.

"Hah... being a believer means waking up earlier than chickens and sleeping later than dogs. Life outside the wall is easier than inside, at least there's no 996. After praying, we can go back to sleep..." Chen Da, wrapped in a red cloak, said sleepily.

Li Xin, also disguised as a believer, whispered back, "Shut up. We've been here less than a week, and I've lost almost 10 pounds. Drinking porridge every day is killing me. At least in District 6, we get some food. In other districts, a bowl of rice soup is considered a luxury."

Their stomachs growled in unison.

Chen Da: "True, better to go back to 996 where at least we eat well. Ah, forget it. Let's finish this mission and catch up on sleep."

Li Xin: "Forgot? Today, after prayers, we have to farm. No sleep."

Chen Da: "..."

Arriving at the square, they stood among others in red cloaks, men, women, and children. By 5 AM, the square was full.

An Rui and Xiang Qin took turns leading the morning and evening prayers. Today, it was An Rui's turn.

He stepped onto the platform at the square's front, clasped his hands, and the crowd followed, closing their eyes to pray.

There were no specific prayers; they simply spoke to the Overlord in their hearts, as long as they were sincere and respectful.

Chen Da, in the crowd, closed his eyes and fell asleep, almost falling onto someone. Li Xin caught him and pinched him awake.

"I've never seen such disorganized preaching and praying. It looks like an amateur show," Chen Da grumbled softly. "What deity requires so little?"

"Shh!" Li Xin warned, glancing around. Though they knew some were sleeping or there for breakfast, like the family nearby with noisy stomachs, and others had ulterior motives, like the group from District 4 eyeing An Rui's cards like hyenas, many were genuine believers. Being overheard could mean expulsion.

Chen Da pouted, about to close his eyes again, when a strange sensation appeared. Instantly, he felt a mysterious current run across his skin.

This feeling wasn't just experienced by Chen Da; Li Xin felt it too, as did everyone in the square.

An Rui looked up in disbelief and surprise, gazing at the sky.

People also raised their heads to look at the sky.

An incredible and wondrous sight appeared in the sky. Mist shimmering with gentle white light emerged out of nowhere, swirling and entwining to form a white vortex that slowly revolved around a central point.

The scene was beautiful and fantastical, appearing miraculously under the gray, sunless sky, breathtakingly magnificent.

This vortex began to contract, soon shrinking into a small size, hovering above District 6.

"Lord!"

"Is it Lord come?!"

A commotion broke out in the square. Someone started it, and suddenly a large number of people knelt down, prostrating themselves and not getting back up. Chen Da and Li Xin's hearts raced as well, their eyes darting around, searching for the legendary figure.

Xiang Qin hurried over, her eyes full of joy upon seeing the vortex. This vortex, wasn't it the Lord's card pool? But her gaze shifted, and she did not see the black silhouette.

Jiang Xingzhuo did not appear; only this white misty vortex, seemingly her card pool, floated in mid-air, captivating everyone's attention.

An Rui's eyes welled up with tears of gratitude: "It must be our devotion that has touched the Lord, so She bestowed this miracle."

"Hey, is this real? Could it be just a projection?" Chen Da broke out in a cold sweat, asking his companion.

"It doesn't seem like it... An Rui and Xiang Qin wouldn't go through such lengths just to deceive people for preaching, would they?" Li Xin analyzed, equally sweating, feeling panic before this unknown phenomenon. The unknown was terrifying.

At that moment, ten glowing cards flew out from the center of the vortex, landing in front of an unremarkable middle-aged woman.

The woman was extremely devout, still praying when others had stopped. When the cards flew to her, she kept her eyes closed, still praying. Opening her eyes, she saw the cards and tears immediately streamed down her face.

The Lord did not appear, but the Lord's card pool did. A devout believer received the chance to draw cards, and for free.

This news quickly spread through spies hidden among the believers to their respective masters, both within and outside the walls, and various factions.

This proved that sincere faith could indeed receive the Lord's response, gaining the opportunity to draw cards.

"In other words, we can now confirm that believers have a higher chance of drawing cards. There are two possibilities for believers: one is directly summoning the card pool, in which case no one else except the summoner can draw cards, though non-limited cards can be taken from the drawer. The second is invoking the Lord's presence, where She might grant everyone within her sight the chance to draw cards, provided they have the means."

Various factions drew further conclusions and acted accordingly. Regardless of whether they believed in Jiang Xingzhuo or not, they needed to gather believers first to increase their chances of drawing cards. Cards were the priority!

...

The All-Knowing Eye expanded once more, and Jiang Xingzhuo's invisible cottage grew into a luxurious palace floating in the air.

She sat on a golden sofa, observing all factions through the All-Knowing Eye, a smile playing on her lips.

The scattered cards were still not enough; the world would gradually become chaotic, and the number of believers would increase. She could not always appear herself; it would make her seem idle, handing out cards everywhere, lacking dignity. Therefore, an automatic card pool was necessary.

The All-Knowing Eye is an UR-level card. With sufficient energy, she could expand it as much as she wanted. Recently, she added a faith-sensing function to it. Within its range, if someone's faith in Jiang Xingzhuo exceeded a certain threshold, their core card would appear in the card pool, granting them a free draw.

In this world, those who had not seen Jiang Xingzhuo but received her blessings must have experienced intense pain and unfulfilled wishes, leading them to entrust their fate to her so resolutely. The energy they generated for her could match that of nearly a hundred people's fear. Thus, giving them a free draw was not a loss, and after obtaining the cards, they would contribute even more.

This round of empty-handed profiteering made Jiang Xingzhuo quite wealthy.

...

On the other side.

After Wen Qing obtained the Voice of the Heart card, the Wens ignored the Murongs' demands to return it, refusing to comply.

The Voice of the Heart card was not some worthless trinket; Wan Rong had spent real money to draw this SR card. How could the Wens give it away for nothing? Seeing their stance, the Murongs had no choice but to visit them personally.

"If they come, let them come. Our Wen family isn't afraid of the Murongs! That Murong Ying said he gave the card to Wen Qing, how can he renege on his word?"

"That's right. In terms of martial arts, our Wen family is no less than the Murongs!"

Wen Qing's face darkened. Hearing this, he thought that Murong Ying had said "borrow," not "give." But he did not voice it. He had suffered greatly because of the Voice of the Heart card, all his previous beliefs shattered. Both elders and parents revealed their darkest sides to him, just like Murong Xue, making him feel nauseous.

Even though the Voice of the Heart card was no longer with him, what he had heard could not be forgotten. He no longer trusted anyone, suspecting dirty secrets beneath every surface.

"Who's coming? Murong Ying?"

Wen Qing suddenly lifted his head, "She's here?"

"Murong Ying is now the head of the family; it's unlikely she'll come personally."

Wen Qing felt uncontrollable disappointment. Murong Ying... he had wronged her, blinded by his own foolishness. These days, he often recalled her clear, pure eyes. Unlike Murong Xue, she was truly innocent and kind, which led to her tragic fate. If not for the Lord's appearance, she would have been killed by them.

Such a pure person, already hurt by him, was destined not to belong to him anymore.

The Wens, unaware of the Murongs' Doubling Card, still believed the two families were evenly matched. However, they were not foolish and suspected the Murongs might have other cards, so they immediately sought help from other families.

Due to the Murongs and Wans previously trying to hide their cards and secretly drawing, other families were displeased and coveted their potential cards. Thus, when the Wens called for help, several families responded, sending people to the Wen residence to investigate.