Chapter 102
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Chapter 102: The Believers of Paradise
Believers… Perhaps?
Chaoyang suddenly realized that the continuous stream of wish power, bound to him by white threads, might be the very proof of their belief.
Since gods weren’t mere illusions, being a believer was no longer just a nominal identity spoken about casually.
These people genuinely prayed to him.
They truly upheld his existence as the Lord of Paradise.
“This doesn’t require my permission,” Chaoyang said, reaching out his hand to both of them. “If you wish to be part of the paradise, the Lord of Paradise won’t reject you. In fact, you’re already its followers.”
Dunn and Zhu Di exchanged glances, their faces full of joy.
One after another, they reached out their hands, putting their hands together over Chaoyang’s.
In that instant, Chaoyang felt the world around them tremble slightly, as if someone had tossed a pebble into a calm pond.
He instinctively switched his perspective and was startled to discover that everything within the transparent circle was no longer empty!
At least within the nearest ten centimeters, objects were tinted with a grayish-white hue.
This “missing texture” color strongly resembled the temporary zones he had created throughout the passages.Those zones, built from pure consciousness. He often used them to freeze players or as emergency shelters; choosing gray had been a matter of convenience. But here, in the real world, he didn’t have the freedom to “select” anything. He wasn’t even sure what this transformation meant.
Still, change was better than stagnation.
At least now he understood that both the transparent circle and the colored areas were related to the believers. Perhaps one day, when more people came to embrace the Lord of Paradise as deity, even the circle might be filled in colors.
***
As evening fell, the bustling sounds because of construction inside the Cathedral gradually died down.But this was only a temporary break for the construction workers. The nuns were still practicing their injection skills. Walking through the corridors, you could occasionally hear sharp cries of pain from the rooms on either side, along with the nuns’ apologetic words of comfort, “Sorry, I missed. Please bear with me, I’ll try again!” Overall, though, there were far fewer of the haunting wails that had been impossible to escape before, and the heart-wrenching sounds of weeping had decreased significantly.
And this was only the second day penicillin had been put to use.
The most miraculous thing about it wasn’t its medicinal effects, but rather its ability to give those who thought they were surely going to die the confidence to live.
At that moment, Chaoyang heard Zhang Zhiyuan’s voice calling him over. “Mr. Host, Mr. Xue has some ideas about the future direction of the pharmaceutical company. Can I recommend we discuss them with you?”
“There’s no need to tell me. Paradise only cares if missions are completed normally. But I can help organize a meeting for you and the other players. What you do with it is up to you.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
After ending the conversation, Chaoyang immediately sent out a notice to all the players asking them to assemble. The “Paradise only cares if missions are completed normally” line was just a way of keeping the game’s facade. In truth, he was just as curious as everyone else about what the experts Zhang Zhiyuan had brought could do.
After a full hour, the seven-member squad finally gathered in the underground meeting room of the Cathedral.
Anthony showed up with a clear red lipstick mark on his face, which he hadn’t bothered to wipe off.
“What were you doing?” Tyler asked, frowning.
“Having some fun, of course. Why do you even ask?” Anthony retorted, unimpressed. “Suka blyat—don’t tell me you’ve never touched a woman in this world?”
“I just hope you didn’t waste our time,” Tyler pressed.
“What’s this, Brit? Trying to pick a fight?” Anthony’s voice grew colder.
“Alright, we’re a team now. No need to bicker all day.” Zhang Zhiyuan interjected, tapping his fingers on the table. “Of course, if someone is tardy next time, we won’t wait forever. Fewer members means more credits for the rest of us.”
“Hmph,” Anthony snorted but didn’t continue arguing with Tyler.
“Wait, aren’t we missing someone?” Asahara Naruko raised an eyebrow. “Where’s our Demon friend?”
“She’s temporarily logged out of the game for now,” Chaoyang appeared out of nowhere. “Since this round is longer, the time difference between the two worlds will gradually decrease. If you have urgent matters, you can apply for a leave of absence with me.”
At the mention of time differences, everyone ears perked up.
Zhang Zhiyuan cut straight to the chase. “Mister, could you please display the time differences between the two worlds? It’ll make it easier for us to make decisions.”
“The system will consider this feedback… but everything will have to wait until after the system update.”
Of course, this was just a bluff to keep people calm.
Chaoyang knew the exact time difference, and he knew it changed. But right now, he didn’t have enough data samples to figure out exactly how both worlds’ time worked. He couldn’t put together a “time calendar” to explain them.
“Alright…” Zhang Zhiyuan knew the conversation was over when it came to the system. He turned his gaze to everyone present. “As for our new task, we need to establish a pharmaceutical company at Glorious Fortress and grow it into a big tree that can support the Yeni Cathedral. Frankly, you’ve already laid most of the groundwork before I even entered the game. So, I mainly want to discuss plans for the next part.”
“Don’t you think you should introduce these two new people first?” Asahara Naruko interrupted while she gestured at Xue Quan and Choi Jeon-eun. “They must be the experts you brought, right?”
Zhang Zhiyuan knew others wouldn’t miss the newcomers, but having them immediately pointed out still caught him off guard.
It was important to remember that before this meeting, Asahara Naruko had never actually met Xue Quan and Choi Jeon-eun. Even though they appeared last night in the Great Hall of the Cathedral, they kept their distance. How did she instantly connect them with him?
“I think so too,” Tyler said with a polite smile. “Since Mr. Zhang was the last to join the game, and suddenly there were two new players, it’s hard not to see the three of you as a team—or perhaps… friends.”
“You’re right, I am indeed Zhang’s friend,” Choi Jeon-eun suddenly spoke up. “You can call me Choi Jeon-eun. In real life, I run a game company, and I came here to see what this ‘Miracle game’ everyone raves about looks like. Now I’m sure it’s worth the million-dollar ticket.”
“I’m Xue Quan. You can’t exactly call me an expert, but I have some experience in business,” he added. “Of course… I’m not really Mr. Zhang’s friend. I’m more like… patron. So if anyone here can negotiate a discount on those fees, count me in.”
His words sent everyone into fits of giggles.
“I see,” Anthony shrugged. “I always figured that a self-righteous Mr. Justice like him would be dead broke in real life. He probably can’t afford this game without sponsors.”
Zhang Zhiyuan let out a small sigh of relief. Regardless of how much of this introduction people believed, at least they had managed to get through the awkward moment and the tension had eased.
It wasn’t surprising that Xue Quan could handle himself so well. But Zhang Zhiyuan was surprised Choi Jeon-eun would step in to smooth things over. As far as he knew, she rarely socialized with others. After work, she usually just played games. He hadn’t expected her to have such a quick and clever side.
“Can we get down to business now?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked, purposely sounding annoyed. “This mission won’t complete itself. It wasn’t easy to convince Mr. Xue to come here.”
“Sure, I’m listening. But don’t think I’ll just take his word for everything.” Anthony leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg. “I’ve met plenty of people who were good at business—though of course, that was before they went bankrupt. In reality, they’re just a bunch of rule-abiding deadbeats.”