Chapter 890: Chapter 887: "You Don’t Have to Be the Savior.
No wonder there’s a smell of gunpowder and herbs in the air; it comes from these soldiers—they’re already immersed in the ecstasy of drugs, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion, even daring to meddle with something as sacred as the Church.
Their rationality no longer belongs to them; once deprived of drugs, life becomes worse than death, and they’ll do whatever it takes to get money to buy drugs.
Immersed in illusions and pleasures of the five senses, with entertainment that only secretes dopamine all day, they won’t care about the pains of reality. This drug is essentially the embodiment of entertainment-to-death on the internet; there’s no real difference.
"Help, save me—"
The students cried for help, but the soldiers, like dozens of blood-crazed beasts, almost tore them in half.
Li Mingyue acted instantly.
Su Ming’an merely blinked, and the scene before his eyes changed dramatically.
Without warning, without sound, without struggle.
—Dozens of soldiers suddenly disappeared.
They seemed to have been erased from existence, vanishing inside the sunlight-bathed church. Only the students remained, collapsed on the ground, with the lingering scent of smoke and incense.
The surroundings were suddenly peaceful, as if the soldiers had never appeared.
"Matrix Orders: Erase."
Li Mingyue’s cool voice echoed inside the church.
...Erase.
Su Ming’an immediately opened the skill tree for talismans and took a look. This Matrix Orders was at the Sixth Level, with the effect of "erasing life forms whose positional ranks are far lower than one’s own."
An incredibly powerful talisman.
This is an erasure at a rules level; with just a command, the enemy is gone without a trace. Su Ming’an speculated that this "positional rank" could possibly be improved through Dream Patrol, but his own rank was still the lowest "F" level. Li Mingyue, however, had somehow raised his rank far above ordinary people.
—Could Li Mingyue be a Deity?
Su Ming’an turned his head, observing the white-haired man of pure and untouchable disposition, his eyes reflecting caution and contemplation.
Li Mingyue looked very pale; it seems using such a Sixth Level talisman was not without impact on him. During Xia Jiawen’s lectures as a homeroom teacher, Su Ming’an learned the principle of "you reap what you sow": every time humans use a talisman, they’re invaded by anomalies during its depiction, and if careless, they’re stripped of their rationality. The stronger the talisman used, the greater the risk to one’s brain.
Using a Sixth Level talisman, the brain endures terrible mental pressure at that moment.
Though Li Mingyue merely uttered the Matrix Orders, no one could see the pain his brain endured in those brief two seconds.
"Wensheng! Wensheng..." Jiang Xiaosan, Tao Meng, and others cried as they clung to each other: "I never thought there’d come a day when even the Church would be unsafe..."
If the Church can’t be spared, what will happen to the schools? What will happen to the larger residential areas, can ordinary residents still find a way to survive?
Su Ming’an looked at the blood on the ground.
"Wensheng." Jiang Xiaosan looked at him: "I heard you went to school yesterday, you must be careful. The streets are getting more dangerous, with killings occurring all the time, I’m really afraid one day you’ll..."
"Why is this happening?" Su Ming’an asked.
Previously, the situation wasn’t so severe; places like schools and churches were supposed to be safe, but recently, he repeatedly saw soldiers intruding into these sanctuaries.
"Apparently the Union Government recently held a meeting, saying they’d ’shift the focus of the world entirely to Dream Patrol,’ thus lowering the importance of all other matters. This includes withdrawing military strength meant to protect cities. Consequently, there are fewer orderly soldiers around our city, and now the city is full of plunderers..." said Jiang Yunmeng, wiping blood from his arm as he walked over.
The students sobbed, filled with resentment.
"Exactly. It’s all because of the Union Government’s Dream Patrol plan! It’s all about ’fully supporting the Dream Patrol Family’! Something about the ’First Union Accord’! Some ’Era of National Gaming’! All resources are allocated to those Dream Patrol Family members, leaving us who live in reality hungry and struggling; my relatives couldn’t even get a drop of water a few days ago because it was all distributed to the Dream Patrol Family!" Tao Meng, a lively girl with a loud voice, cried loudly, her voice echoing throughout the church.
Because Su Wensheng was the strongest, they liked to circle around him, as if it gave them a sense of security.
Su Ming’an felt slightly helpless.
"Don’t surround me..." he said softly.
His voice was quickly drowned by others.
"Isn’t the treatment for the Dream Patrol Family already good enough? Basic salary distribution, social security, housing discounts, car purchase discounts, immunity from death—they’re living better than anyone! Now they’re even grabbing resources from us who can barely survive!" shouted Chen Tiange, who had braids: "Last month I even heard my cousin was near starvation, I was hungry myself then and couldn’t support him. Yet those Dream Patrol Family members are warm and fed, they wouldn’t even donate a piece of bread to him. Fair enough, I don’t want to morally bind the Dream Patrol Family, but this differential treatment is just too drastic! Ordinary people can hardly survive!"
"Exactly, some people are buying cars, while others are starving under bridges..." Jojo, with her black hair, nodded.
"The lives of the Dream Patrol Family members matter, but do our lives not matter? We also wish to become part of the Dream Patrol Family, but due to poor mental conditions, we simply can’t, so we become inferior?"
They spoke one after another, quickly depicting the current status between the Dream Patrol Family and ordinary people.
Most of their relatives died in this siege war, some from resource scarcity—it’s impossible not to harbor resentment.
Su Ming’an listened for a while and realized the chasm between the Dream Patrol Family and ordinary people was incredibly severe—earlier, when Su Luoluo picked him up from school, he subtly felt the fear and jealousy from roadside vagrants towards Su Luoluo as a Dream Patrol Family member. Although Su Luoluo was just a frail girl, those burly men dared not lay a hand on her, merely because she was wearing the Dream Patrol Family’s badge.
If Su Luoluo wasn’t a Dream Patrol Family member, she’d likely have been dragged into an alley long ago, facing unexpected dangers.
Unintentionally, ordinary people have become easy targets for harm, with a difference in treatment that couldn’t be greater compared to that of the Dream Patrol Family.
These students knew that the Dream Patrol Family was risking mental collapse to conquer the game; they bore no hate towards the Dream Patrol Family but felt the severe injustice and sadness for ordinary people’s situation, fearing they might be ruled and oppressed by the Dream Patrol Family in the future.
—Who knows what these unstable Dream Patrol Family members will do as they continue to grow stronger?
—This is an era of spiritual energy revival; as Dream Patrol progresses, personal strength will only get stronger. When personal power surpasses national power, can ordinary people still survive?
The Dream Patrol Family, advantaged by policy, obtained most resources and took the ordinary people’s share; given such circumstances, a gulf is inevitable between the two.
"..."
While they vented their frustration, Li Mingyue stood quietly under the stained glass, his face pale as he held the hardcover book, motionless, seemingly immersed in a state of selflessness.
He stood in the light, purely white, as if he had already merged into the light.
Surrounded by several students, Su Ming’an’s ears were about to explode, unable to help but shout, "Godfather..."
Li Mingyue finally came back to his senses and closed the book: "Let go of Wensheng, go study."
The students stopped their complaints.
Li Mingyue looked at the students and suddenly added, "Once you take the college entrance exam in two days and get good grades, you’ll be able to leave this city for bigger ones. Then, you will have a chance to interact with people of higher status and change the current situation from the top, improving the treatment of ordinary people. I am looking forward to your future actions."
The students’ eyes lit up.
They had never heard Li Mingyue show such concern for them. All along, this Bishop seemed to have eyes only for Su Wensheng.
"I remember, Bishop!" Jiang Yunmeng was the first to respond.
"I will certainly achieve good grades!" Jiang Xiaosan vowed.
"Only through studying and the college entrance exam can we change our future... If I can become a leader, I would definitely implement laws that make ordinary people happy." Tao Meng said.
As they spoke, a few students suddenly burst into tears, perhaps thinking of relatives who died in the war or because the wounds on their bodies hurt too much—the soldiers showed no mercy when pulling them, and they were still bleeding.
"Go get the medical kit from my room," Li Mingyue instructed Su Ming’an to fetch the medical kit, letting the injured children line up in front of him to be bandaged and medicated one by one.
Sunlight filtered through the stained glass, casting down onto the students clutching their books, as the white-robed Bishop meticulously applied medication. The students currently receiving treatment kept their mouths shut to endure the pain. Meanwhile, those waiting with their books buried their heads in study, not wasting a moment of learning time.
Only studying can change one’s life, change one’s destiny. They cherished the opportunity more than anyone.
Su Ming’an stood to the side, lending Li Mingyue a hand. At this moment, he saw the rare compassion in Li Mingyue’s eyes up close. As if he was no longer the aloof Angel, untouched by mortal affairs, but at this moment became a "human" himself.
"Take two pills of this medicine daily to prevent wound infection," Li Mingyue instructed each student:
"I’ve taught you the method to disassemble bandages; learn from each other."
"It won’t affect the college entrance exam. You write with pens, craft Talismans with your fingers, you don’t need to beat people with your arms and legs."
"Stop crying. If someone comes to the Church, they might think I’m bullying you."
Li Mingyue’s technique was very practiced, as if he frequently bandaged people. In the sunlight, his expression was earnest, his white pupils reflecting the faces of the students, no longer displaying that prior detached demeanor.
The people in line gradually decreased, and when it was Jiang Xiaosan’s turn, she blinked at Su Ming’an:
"Wensheng-ge, I know your Strength is formidable. You will surely get into a good university in the future. By then, when you have reached the top, don’t forget the plight of ordinary people, you must change us."
Su Ming’an looked at the long scratch on her arm—a wound from when Jiang Xiaosan bravely shielded another girl from a soldier’s knife strike. Even knowing she wasn’t strong enough, she still rushed to save someone.
"Okay." Su Ming’an said.
He looked at these quiet students.
Only with the identity of a Talisman Master can one become a person of the upper echelons. But by then, can these people still exist as ’ordinary people’?
If one doesn’t become a powerful Talisman Master, it’s impossible to transcend the class and interact with the Union Government.
But after becoming a powerful Talisman Master, will one still forsake their class’s profit and benefits to help the people they once were?
When surrounded by all Talisman Masters, all with aligned interests—will anyone reverse the vast tide to separate themselves and extend those interests to groups they can no longer see?
Su Ming’an didn’t know these people’s futures.
But as "Su Wensheng," as the Alliance Hierarch of the Human Self-Rescue Alliance and Vice Minister of the City Guardian Department, the First of the Dream Patrol Family.
He might be able to accomplish many things.
...
9:20 AM.
The sky was a heavy red-black with storm clouds, and everywhere, one could see displaced refugees, black-rimmed shell craters, and piles of steel ruins.
Every half month, Li Mingyue would take the students out to distribute relief goods for free to the residents within the city, such as food, fabric, and medical supplies. People had long formed a consensus—whenever clergy in white robes appeared in the city, people would gather around, kneel, and pray for food.
Since the students were injured, Li Mingyue only brought Su Ming’an to distribute the relief goods.
Su Ming’an dressed in a white Church robe, wore white gloves, and leather boots. Somewhat uncomfortable, the clerical clothing was inconvenient for movement, restricting his legs and feet.
The black-robed Priest Lv Shu followed silently behind them, adopting a companion’s stance. View the correct content at .
"Wensheng. We will distribute relief goods at twelve locations around the city. It will take about three hours. Do you have plans afterward?" Li Mingyue asked Su Ming’an, who was adjusting his white robe.
Su Ming’an nodded: "I’m free this morning, let’s go."
He tidied his robe and walked towards the crowd.
People immediately swarmed forward, expressing endless gratitude for Su Ming’an’s charitable actions. He distributed them portions of food, adhering strictly to the allocated quantities.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you, thank Deity for granting food! Thank the Church for its grace!"
People thanked Su Ming’an with faces full of gratitude.
From behind, at a distance where Su Ming’an couldn’t hear, Li Mingyue watched the scene and murmured to himself:
"...Wensheng."
"Even if you only do these ordinary tasks... it’s alright if you don’t become the Savior."
The voice was soft, like a fleeting breeze. When Su Ming’an turned around, his ears had not captured this subtle wind.
"Godfather, how do I distribute this bread..." Su Ming’an asked while unsealing a plastic bag, a bit flustered since it was his first time doing such work.
Li Mingyue approached and taught him hand by hand: "Tear along the sealing line; this line marks the portions. Each person should get a small bag containing two loaves of bread. They should be about the same size, so examine them carefully."
"Alright..."
A white dove flapped its wings and took flight, the crowd bustling.
The youth lowered his head, unsealing the bread, like the most ordinary person in the world.