Chapter 962
Chapter 962 - 948: Into the Game
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9 min read
The worship of "Mother" is a commonality among many civilizations, which often maternalize and personify concepts like the world and the earth, hence the emergence of the Mother Goddess worship across diverse civilizations.
In simple terms, every civilization has a mother, and even if they don’t, they’ll acknowledge one—everyone wants to be looked after by a mother (Freud: I really didn’t say this)
In the Multi-universe, how many Deities might believe that the call for the Mother Goddess is meant for themselves, not to mention those followers who only refer to their gods as "mom" or "dad"?
A Deity’s "name" or "title" always carries specific significance; false declarations are easily debunked.
Most of the time, the followers of these Deities refer to them with appellations like, "Mother Goddess," "Great XX," or "Kind Mother of Ten Thousand Spirits."
Lu Ping’an used the Mother Goddess as a moniker, and as long as he did not use the precise appellation of the "Life Mother Tree," he was not worried about reminding her of Chris herself... After all, there are too many "Mother Goddesses" in the Multi-universe.
"...You made an extremely foolish choice. You used a large number of lower-level lives as Sacrifice and completed your own ’Blood Feast’, but you are not a stable high-dimensional life form to begin with. You simply cannot digest that many life coins..."
The "Mother Goddess" began her "guidance" with a rebuke, directly pointing out Zhao Yan’s shortsightedness and greed, which brought about terrible consequences and risks.
In the Extraordinary World, a "name" always carries meaning; the title of Blood Feast clearly demonstrates their instinct to place other lives on the dining table.
However, within the Life System, blood is the currency of the soul, and casually drawing a large amount of "Blood Food" naturally leads to many problems.
Within the Life System, though "Build up by Accumulation" seems a shortcut, it is also the method with the most potential issues.
If you are the highest and sturdiest tower, the main axis among numerous agglomerates, only then might you always maintain your own "control"... In this aspect, Big Cat is an expert!
She mentioned several Secret Skills and texts, as well as examples of practical procedures, and Zhao Yan knew he had met an expert on the same Path.
Immediately, his "adoptive sons" became even more filial... while Lu Ping’an watched everything quietly, saying nothing, but Zhao Yan dared not underestimate him.
After all, the talent for "Spiritualization" was too useful; with a Big Boss backing him, the lowest standard was a church’s "ultimate weapon".
If that person had a bit of strength and brains, to effortlessly become a regional Bishop was only a matter of time... Any opponent wishing to attack that diocese would have to consider the consequences of a Deity’s Avatar personally descending to beat them up.
"...He is this Quasi-God’s representative in this region; we must handle him with caution."
At that moment, Zhao Yan and his group shelved all their arrogance, treating Mr. An Nan as someone equal or even superior to themselves.
An agent of a Deity, and moreover a Pope with a Spiritualization physique, they might actually not be able to defeat him... Uh, this doesn’t even account for the power he wields here.
Thus, Zhao Yan and his group’s attitude got even better.
"Mother, I don’t know what orders You have, but I, Zhao Yan, am willing to risk my life to complete them for you!"
He vaguely understood everything; this might be a trap set by the Quasi-God and cultists, into which he had unwittingly blundered.
Neither Evil Gods nor Quasi-Gods were ever great philanthropists; if she sought him out proactively, it was naturally with a purpose.
But as long as it could eliminate his own risks... At that moment, Zhao Yan was ready to give his all to seize this opportunity.
"You? You’re too weak, utterly meaningless... However, An Nan mentioned seeing a talented individual and introduced you to me. Ha, first resolve your own issues, then you’ll be qualified to serve me."
The Quasi-God’s arrogance was unmistakable, but Zhao Yan could only try to suppress his elation.
This meant that he could take advantage of the benefits first... what came after would be his own affair.
"I will definitely remember this favor! Your will is my command!"
"Ha, remember your words..."
Whether or not Zhao Yan actually kept his word, Lu Ping’an didn’t know, but the rapidly rising progress bar confirmed that Zhao Yan probably thought he had struck gold.
Freeloading a Deity’s knowledge and experience? Haha, he likely dreamed of grabbing the benefits and then vanishing without a trace should he face a perilous task.
Freeloaded things always taste the sweetest. Zhao Yan listened intently to Big Cat’s advice and experience, growing more excited and grateful... Lu Ping’an, on the side, was also quite happy.
He even broadened his horizons... The Life System, particularly on the side of the Evil Gods, indeed had its lower limits, with many "methods" stretching the limits of imagination and moral boundaries.
But most of the methods taught by Professor Big Cat were likely not usable by Zhao Yan at present.
It’s not that Big Cat was tricking him, but simply that the Life System needed "materials," and in this overly orderly environment, the disappearance of a vagrant could alert the city guards, while filling a Rule-level deficiency required more than a handful of "materials."
But when Lu Ping’an left with Zhao Yan, he was already calling him "elder brother An Nan"... Uh, Lu Ping’an had to try hard not to laugh out loud.
So, he took his "younger brother" and left, even throwing in some money for him to stay in a nice hotel. At this critical juncture, the less trouble, the better.
Upon hearing Lu Ping’an say this, Zhao Yan understood all too well and quickly agreed, certain that Mr. An Nan in front of him was about to pull off something big.
But in reality, Lu Ping’an just needed the net he was weaving to become ever tighter, with the poor sap caught in it sinking deeper and deeper.....
"Good, good, let’s all get rich together, let’s expand our enterprises together."
In Zhao Yan’s eyes, however, he saw high-level cultists who had already seized control of the city without anyone noticing and were flaunting their achievements.
Those prior discords, those vaguely unsettling details, all seemed to have their explanations now... It would be odd if a big boss capable of direct communication with the Quasi-God didn’t have some hidden tricks up his sleeve.
By this time, Lu Ping’an had also started his own "harvesting procedure."
"...This thing, is it for sale?"
Lu Ping’an pointed to a giant stone statue near the city walls.
It was directly next to the colossal gate of the city wall, as though part of the mountain range itself.
Lu Ping’an had originally thought it was merely decoration, but after getting chummy with the local sheriff, he learned it was the city’s "war machine."
When necessary, this statue, taller than the city walls, could transform into a war puppet... Considering the strength of the local puppets, this thing was likely quite formidable.
Clearly, it was a regional weapon of war, meant to be used in extraordinary circumstances.
"...I plan to use it as a theme for a giant slide, don’t you think it would be fun to slide down from such a high statue..."
Fun? Using a war machine for decoration?
"...Besides, such a huge thing, placed in my manor with a sign hung up, I fear it would be visible to the entire city from my museum, wouldn’t it?"
Even though he had become a big boss of this city, his dedication to the "museum" remained unchanged, it seemed.
Selling off a nation’s armed might as scrap iron, for a theme park? This idea so absurd in such a peaceful world seemed all the more ludicrous.
"Wow, what a huge sign."
But indeed, he made it happen.
Mr. An Nan once again demonstrated what it means to have incredibly far-reaching influence.
The "War Stone Statue," which was supposed to serve for another three hundred years, was suddenly declared "fatally damaged," followed by a request to manufacture a new one... According to the procedure, it might be obtained after about seventy years or so.
And all this naturally made the news... as a camouflaged advertisement for Mr. An Nan’s new theme park!
"Indeed, this is Mr. An Nan."
"Does he love museums that much? Surely there’s no need to seek fame with curiosities, isn’t it? Who in this city doesn’t know of him, who hasn’t been graced by his benevolence to some degree..."
To the other citizens, all this seemed only natural.
The only one who felt astonished and even fearful was the "ultimate villain"... Zhao Yan.
"What exactly does he want to do? What’s going to happen to this city?!"
Zhao Yan, knowing Mr. An Nan to be a cultist, felt uneasy and hesitant watching the mountain-high war machine turn into the ridiculous base of a slide.
He, a villain, was worried about the future of the city.
It wasn’t because he’d turned over a new leaf out of generosity, rather he feared being dragged down by the new Mother, carrying the burden on his back.
But at this moment, what could he say with him needing a favor from the other party.
"I hope it’s not too excessive; please don’t destroy this city."
Ironically, a former city-slaughterer was now praying for the peace of a foreign city.
— End of Chapter 962 —