Chapter 889: Chapter 886: "Betting Agreement.
Su Ming’an carefully considered his wording.
"Actually, I’m not Su Wensheng; this is just a temporary identity of mine." Su Ming’an said, "My true identity is the ’Lighthouse Sect Leader.’ The doctrine is ’to eliminate the tyranny of fate, the world belongs to the Lighthouse.’ Currently, there is only one Cardinal, Boris, so the scale is still small. The church’s activities are limited to the Ascend Kingdom, but soon it will expand worldwide. I’m confident to develop it into the world’s largest church."
Deity: "..."
The deity’s expression froze.
Su Ming’an remained calm: "I believe fate is not unchangeable. Permanent fate solidification might achieve, but the possibility of escaping the historical cycle has always existed, even without sacrificing human society entirely to metamorphosis, this vision can be realized."
"I wish to break this pre-determined fate, even if subjected to blind death. I want to overthrow this massive power system between ’master’ and ’slave,’ no longer forgiving and satisfying due to proactively facing death. Hence, I go by the name Su Wensheng, infiltrating here, starting from the abandoned city, actively connecting with potential Dream Patrol Family member Su Luoluo, and starting with the church’s apostate bishop, gaining their trust, gradually beginning the expansion of the Lighthouse—Deity, would you be willing to join the Lighthouse and realize this vision with us?"
After Su Ming’an finished speaking, the chapel was silent.
The deity seemed to be in a state of shock, not speaking for a while. Unbeknownst to this, upon arriving here, Su Ming’an began counter-missionary work.
Outside the window, a black bird landed on the stained-glass, tilting its head to watch the two under the sunlight.
Only when the black bird flew away with the sound of "swoosh," did the deity break the silence:
"You’re still the same as before. Originally thought that upon reunited, you’d say something different this time."
Su Ming’an sighed inwardly, realizing Su Wensheng was also fond of missionary work before.
"No need to speak nonsense to me. I can see all your actions, your lies can’t deceive me. This Lighthouse is something Boris created, unrelated to you." The deity said.
"Oh." Su Ming’an felt a hint of regret; he now had the Hundred Gods Profession, Missionary Halo, SS-level Charm, and Ruler’s initial Favorability quadruple bonuses, even nonsense could bewilder people; unfortunately, the deity was not amongst them. Initially wanted to see if the deity would believe, but now it seems not.
He tried using the Ruler’s Skill, attempting to directly increase the deity’s favorability to 100 points.
...
"Dingdong!"
[Ruler’s Skill cannot be used on this target.]
...
Ruler’s Skill failure has only three reasons—1. The favorability is already full. 2. The target is not human. 3. The target does not have a favorability bar. Su Ming’an could only give up.
During this time, the deity continually watched him, eyes as cold as frozen ice crystals, occasionally flashes of nostalgia.
Until Su Ming’an gave up using the Ruler’s Skill, the deity finally spoke:
"However, even if you speak nonsense, I still like you. The Eye of the Old Days I give you, you can use it freely. We are on the same side, I won’t harm you, I just want to provide help as allowed by the rules."
When Su Ming’an heard this, he felt chills. He didn’t consider the deity a friend: "Same side? What if I say I want to kill fate?"
The deity chuckled.
Its smile was perfect, the curve of the mouth just right, flawless, resembling the uncanny valley effect, unlike the natural smile a living being could show: "...Kill fate?"
Its next words had a chilling tone:
"You can’t do it."
Sunlight spilled through the stained glass, and the deity walked toward Su Ming’an.
Su Ming’an didn’t back away; he was not actually afraid of the deity before him. This deity speaks human language, has rationality, thinks, and is humane; it doesn’t kill at will, seemingly fond of him, not especially dangerous.
Until the deity came close, white hair seemed filled with radiance, a voice came from beside his ear.
"Wensheng." The deity’s voice was without ups and downs:
"You can freely use any method, any means, pay any price, any sacrifice—to try to defy fate, resist fate, kill fate—no matter how you intend to do it, be it attempting to kill me, or persuading humanity not to obey my arrangements, or establishing a new sect to seize my faith. Any method, you may try."
"If you can achieve it, I will grant you supreme blessing."
"But your success rate won’t exceed 0.002%."
"Fate fundamentally cannot be ’killed.’ The moment you stepped into this world, and the moment you saw Xiao Jingsan by the bed, everyone’s fate was already doomed—you will only become my ’assistant,’ not my ’enemy.’
"So, I will continuously bless you—you will be my best companion, my finest assistance, the existence I cherished the most."
"I bless you—[Life bright and safe, and peaceful ever. Life and life, eternal life and death.]"
"And, happy Dream Patrol, happy game."
When the deity said this, it slowly released its hand.
Su Ming’an stood in place.
Even though all the deity’s words were blessings for him, he felt nothing but coldness. These words seemed filled with unseen malice.
At this moment, he thought of when he first met Chao Yan. Suddenly in his mind, the voice of [Don’t Dream Patrol! Don’t Dream Patrol! Don’t Dream Patrol] sounded, the voice indistinguishable between male and female, like suddenly piercing his brain, extremely despairing, near hoarse with effort, as if to roar all life and soul out.
—Where did that voice come from? Who was roaring at him?
But not Dream Patrol was impossible; Dream Patrol was the theme of the Tenth World, only Dream Patrol could delve into the world’s mysteries.
Su Ming’an took out the Eye of Old Days from his backpack, this necklace lay in his palm, the eyeball constantly trembling, seeming alive. It looked expectantly at Su Ming’an, seemingly very much hoping he would wear it.
The deity’s gaze subtly focused, watching Su Ming’an’s actions.
Su Ming’an raised his hand, bringing the Eye of Old Days close to his neck, then—
"Bang!"
The chapel was silent.
The hemp rope of the necklace rolled into the sunlight, and the eyeball heavily hit the ground, pupils gradually showing several bright red blood threads.
Su Ming’an withdrew his hand, hitting it with great force.
The deity’s expression unchanged, gazing at Su Ming’an.
Su Ming’an said, "It seems a fall won’t break it."
The deity glanced at the Eye of the Old Days lying on the ground, then looked at Su Ming’an standing in the sunlight, "...Are you trying to provoke me?"
Su Ming’an said, "Compared to some entities I’ve encountered before, you seem more human. I thought you’d show some kind of emotion like anger when I threw the Eye of the Old Days."
The deity shook his head upon hearing this, "If it’s a gift you dislike, just throw it away. I didn’t give you something you like, so why should I be angry if you toss it?"
Su Ming’an was slightly taken aback.
He just thought that the deity’s "I still like you" was sarcastic, but now it seems to be genuine?
Under the stained glass, the Eye of the Old Days lay on the ground for a while, then automatically flew back to Su Ming’an’s hand. Su Ming’an immediately wanted to throw it away as if it were contaminated, but it stayed unmoving, as if it was glued to his hand.
"Just take it, even though you don’t like it," the deity said.
Su Ming’an tried to shake it off for a while but couldn’t, so he had no choice but to stuff the Eye of the Old Days back into his backpack slot. Due to system restrictions, as long as it wasn’t equipped, it wouldn’t have any effect.
"Wensheng, lastly, I’d like to make a wager with you," the deity said, "In the next ten days, I will constantly try to approach you. Among all the people you come into contact with within these ten days, one will be me."
Su Ming’an was slightly taken aback.
...A wager?
"If, within these ten days, you can point out who I am, you’ve won, and I will tell you a crucial piece of information that will definitely benefit you," the deity said, "This wager will be judged by the [Rules], and both parties must fulfill their promises."
"What if I lose?" Su Ming’an asked.
"Then you will submit to me and not resist any of my commands," the deity said.
"You could obviously issue an oracle right away, instructing your countless believers to capture me, making it impossible for me to defy you. You could also announce to the whole world, condemning me as a ’Demon,’ letting everyone despise me, stripping me of every chance to turn the tables, yet you’re doing nothing, only making a wager with me, betting whether or not I can recognize you in ten days?" Su Ming’an said.
"Yes," the deity nodded, "Rest assured, I won’t turn into a minor character you don’t know. I will definitely be a key figure you frequently interact with in the future."
Su Ming’an found it interesting; it reminded him of his confrontation as the Number One Player against the organizers. Even though the organizers’ power and rank were far above his, they were forced to abide by the rules of the game, letting him run rampant in the instance without intervention. This deity seemingly couldn’t kill him directly either.
"If I lose, I’ll have to submit to you. If you lose, you just reveal a crucial piece of information?" Su Ming’an said, "Don’t you find the terms unequal?"
The deity calmly replied, "This won’t be an issue. Just say, do you dare to take the bet?"
"Alright," Su Ming’an was not afraid, "I will point you out within ten days."
If he guessed wrong, he’d restart, point to someone else.
Since the deity had stated that he would only take the form of a key figure, not someone whose name was unknown, this wager was not difficult.
"Ding dong!"
[The wager is established.]
[Both parties in the wager: Deity, Su Wensheng.]
[Wager content: The "Deity" will, as a key figure, attempt to approach "Su Wensheng" within ten days; "Su Wensheng" must point out which one is the incarnation of the "Deity" within those ten days.]
[Wager conditions: If the Deity wins, Su Wensheng must submit to the Deity. If Su Wensheng wins, the Deity must reveal a crucial piece of information to Su Wensheng.]
...
In the next moment, the white-haired man blinked, and his eyes had regained the aloofness belonging to Li Mingyue. He picked up the book again.
"Godfather?" Su Ming’an knew the deity had left; it was now Godfather Li Mingyue.
"Hmm." Li Mingyue nodded, not asking what Su Ming’an and the deity discussed.
Su Ming’an knew that from now on, he must be wary of everyone who approached him, determining whether they were the deity. "The people Su Wensheng comes into contact with within ten days" also included people Su Wensheng was familiar with in the past. This meant that even Xin Yue, Su Luoluo, Xiao Jingsan, and Princess Jing He, these familiar faces, might have been the deity’s incarnations from the start, and couldn’t be ignored. It seemed this deity had no gender distinction.
Li Mingyue lowered his head, seemingly about to continue reading his thick-covered book. Just then, screams suddenly came from outside the church.
"Ah—!"
It was the students’ voices.
Su Ming’an pushed the door, seeing figures densely packed outside the church, benches already toppled over, and a dozen soldiers stormed into the church. They carried guns and sacks, intending to capture the students.
Jiang Yunmeng, acting as the leader, tried to use talismans to block these soldiers, but her strength barely exceeded the Second Rank, insufficient to protect everyone. She used talismans, with a snow-white shield spreading out but smashed with one hand by a Third Rank soldier embodying ’Attack,’ offering no resistance.
"Ah—" Jiang Xiaosan, Tao Meng, and others had their hair yanked, their locks pulled into disarray.
"Stop! This is the church serving the Deity! What are you soldiers doing! Get out!" Jiang Yunmeng blocked the other students, shouting angrily.
"Take them away! Move quickly." The leading soldier, puffing on a pipe, completely ignored Jiang Yunmeng’s weak resistance. With superior physical strength, the soldiers dragged them out one by one. The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and herbs.
"...Stop."
Su Ming’an had just intended to take action when Li Mingyue’s calm voice floated out. Though not loud, it instantly filled the entire church.
The lead soldier’s eyes were filled with redness, his face displaying an unnatural purple-red hue, as he shouted at Li Mingyue,
"Bishop Li, don’t meddle. We’re only taking the students, it has nothing to do with you."
"For money, you’ve already reached into the Church, daring even to rob inside the church, yet not fearing the Deity?" Li Mingyue’s voice was very calm.
"Hehe." The soldier took out his pipe, chuckling, "I’m thirty-six years old this year, and my info panel says my death ending is that I’ll die a natural death at sixty-two—this means no matter what I do in these twenty-six years, I won’t suffer divine retribution. So why should I fear something like the Deity, which rarely shows up?"
Su Ming’an didn’t expect people here to think so contrarily, and what they said was indeed flawless. However, the Deity’s arrangement wasn’t a death-prevention card either—being killed prematurely would still result in death.
He observed the soldiers’ attire. These people were well-equipped, surely having plundered countless residents’ properties, lacking no money. So why did they take enormous risks to raid the Church?
"Tobacco." Li Mingyue beside him softly spoke.
"Hm?" Su Ming’an realized Li Mingyue was explaining to him.
"In the city, ’tobacco’ is something being abused. It can bring people great pleasure and satisfaction in spirit. After consuming it, people won’t experience the torment of reality for a short period, their five senses immersed in dreams and happiness. More and more people are becoming addicted to it, bankrupting themselves to buy this substance." Li Mingyue said.
Su Ming’an understood, it was akin to the addictive drug Roseblood, "tobacco" being a term for it.