383: Chapter 371 The Disaster of Death from Overwork

The Blue Star was in an uproar over a miniature stone carving, but Zhang Mu, the source of it all, had no interest in watching from the sidelines. He stayed inside "The World" to study the faith power he had just acquired.

Zhang Mu spent a few days pondering and testing various uses.

For instance, he tried applying the faith power to himself, but he did not receive any physical enhancement like the Soldier did. He wasn't sure if it was ineffective on him or if his own strength was simply too great, meaning the currently accumulated faith power was too sparse to provide a boost.

Since there was no immediate breakthrough, Zhang Mu set the matter aside for now and turned his thoughts to how to rapidly grow his followers.

After Zhang Mu guided Russia to discover the stone carving, he had been thinking about how to guide them to worship it, and they had to be devout.

Achieving this would be very easy on the Saul Continent.

One could just find any village, help the villagers clear out the surrounding calamities of magical beasts, and then take out some yield-increasing potions to boost wheat production; making sure the villagers had full bellies would be enough.

However, it wasn't so easy on the Blue Star, especially in countries with decent economic development.

Even if the lives of their citizens were difficult, their basic needs for food and clothing were generally met. Their greater hope was for "financial freedom"—not having to work and being able to sleep until they woke up naturally.

Doing just that wouldn't be troublesome. Although Zhang Mu's wallet was quite thin, he didn't lack money; he could have inexhaustible funds whenever he wanted.

The problem was that the faith power required for the stone carving to advance was enormous; tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people were far from enough.

In other words, if Zhang Mu fulfilled the wishes of an entire country's population and converted them all into his followers, that country would collapse.

No one would engage in production, and no one would join the army to defend the land.

Moreover, human desires are endless. The first group might crave "financial freedom," but those who followed wouldn't stay the same; instead, their desires would escalate.

If someone requested to become an immortal, not only could Zhang Mu not satisfy it, but even if he could, he wouldn't agree.

At the time, Zhang Mu truly felt a headache coming on, but fortunately, the Soldiers guarding the stone carving provided a new line of thought.

While that group of Soldiers was chatting in their tent, Zhang Mu was outside in the snow listening. When the Soldiers teased the "deity," a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

The most effective way to make people devout is not through "peace of mind," but through "fear."

During a certain period in ancient China, people didn't understand that thunder and rain were simple natural phenomena. They assigned various special meanings and specific images to them, such as Leigong and Dianmu, the Dragon King bringing rain, and so on.

When there was a great drought, they believed they had offended the Dragon King, causing not a single drop of rain to fall for an entire year, so they offered young boys and girls to plead for forgiveness.

See.

Blessing humans with good health and favorable weather might earn an offering of some cattle, sheep, or fruit at most, but by inflicting "punishment," they could be frightened into sacrificing their own children.

Did the humans of that time not love their children?

The answer was obviously no.

This point is just as feasible in modern times.

The Soldiers had been stationed by the stone carving for several days without the slightest awe for its miraculous nature. Later, after Zhang Mu brewed a Lightning Spell in the sky for a few minutes, they immediately knelt before the stone carving to sincerely beg for forgiveness. How efficient!

In the pitch-black void, Zhang Mu stood up and brushed off the non-existent dust from his backside. "I'll follow this line of thought.

Anyway, whether the people who come to worship are sincere or not is up to me. When they come to worship, I'll just give them a good scare, and they'll become sincere whether they like it or not."

Zhang Mu summoned a light gate, preparing to go to the Blue Star, but he paused just as he lifted his foot. He remembered that he had notified America that a stone carving had appeared and fabricated a credible explanation, instructing Neo to announce it widely once America's stone carving appeared.

"I haven't been to China or the Ying Country yet. Hmm, I should let them know too. Also, the stone carvings for the three countries... I wonder if I can collect faith by forging one with a Transformation Technique?

If not, I'll have to find a few more stone carvings. Uh, can one person contract multiple stone carvings at the same time?

I'll be receiving Seventeen in a few days; I'll ask my senior sister then."

After muttering to himself, he transformed into Immortal Xu, stepped through the light gate, and arrived at the cave base by the South Sea.

Just as he appeared at the entrance, the Director came running out of the main gate in a hurry.

"Immortal Xu, you've finally arrived."

"Why such haste? What is the matter?"

The Director didn't say it directly but led the way. Only after the two of them entered his bedroom and sat down did he slowly explain, "Recently, China has been very peaceful, and no calamities have been disturbing us, so all our attention has been on the Russian selection trials.

Originally, the Special Investigation Bureau just had the mindset of watching the excitement, but... you should already know, right?"

"The Faceless Statue?"

As expected, Immortal Xu knew the inside story.

The Director confirmed his suspicion and asked, "Is it called the Faceless Statue? I looked at the satellite images, and it has eyes."

"It's just a name; there's no need to dwell on it."

"I see." The Director nodded as if he partially understood and immediately asked, "Is it good or bad?"

"In what sense?"

"That is, um... is it beneficial or harmful to China?"

"That depends on all of you."

The Director was a bit confused. "Apologies, Immortal Xu, I don't quite understand what you mean."

"A kitchen knife in the hands of a housewife is a cooking utensil, but in the hands of a villain, it becomes a lethal weapon."

The Director frowned. "What is its function? Where did it come from?"

"I know its origin, but I cannot disclose it. It's not that I'm intentionally hiding it, but... it would bring a catastrophe upon you all."

"Then please don't say another word." The Director didn't doubt for a second that Immortal Xu was deceiving him, and he shook his head so hard it left afterimages.

"As for its function," Immortal Xu smiled slightly, "do you know of gods?"

"Gods? Uh, Immortal Xu, there's already no difference between you and the gods I know of."

Immortal Xu was noncommittal and continued his explanation, "A god is generous to the devout and furious with those who forsake them."

The Director could understand this sentence. "Believing in him brings benefits, while betraying him leads to punishment?"

"Indeed." Immortal Xu tucked his hands into his sleeves. "I sense that some mortals have already received blessings."

The Director was startled. "In Russia?"

"Yes."

"What are the blessings?"

"Immense strength."

The Director lowered his head and fell into deep thought.

Immense strength?

Does that mean their physical power increases?

If it's just that, it wouldn't be too serious. No matter how strong someone is, they can't withstand bullets. I'm just afraid it's more than that...

Furthermore, if too many people receive blessings, would they...

The Director raised his head. "Immortal Xu, what kind of things can the statue of god bestow?"

"A great variety."

"Are there cultivation methods?"

"Perhaps, but they would be useless."

The Director understood. Right, the Blue Star had no 'spiritual energy,' so it was impossible to cultivate.

"Then, will they... um... let's call them the God-Blessed. If the God-Blessed become too strong, will it breed ambition?"

He asked very subtly, but Immortal Xu could hear the underlying meaning. "If they cause trouble, the blessings will be revoked."

"What specifically does 'causing trouble' mean?" The Director wasn't quite at ease and pressed for details.

"Bringing chaos to The World."

The concept was still very broad, leaving room for interpretation. However, the Director felt that he wouldn't get any more answers even if he kept asking. Moreover, even if trouble broke out, it wouldn't be in China, so he decided to change the subject.

Only then did he remember to ask, "By the way, Immortal Xu, what brings you here today?"

"It is also for this matter." Immortal Xu stood up. "A Chinese statue of god will appear in a few days. You must not seal off the surrounding area; instead, you need to publicize it."

"Ah?" The Director was both pleasantly surprised and a bit panicked.

He wanted to ask more, but Immortal Xu was unwilling to say more. He only left one instruction: "If there is no ulterior motive, there are a hundred benefits and not a single harm. Remember this." Then, he vanished on the spot.

The Director stood dazed in front of his computer desk. When he snapped out of it, he hurried to report to Jingdu.

...

Zhang Mu left the cave base and traveled all the way to the palace of the Ying Country. He repeated the same words to the Queen.

With everything finished, he summoned a Portal to go to the Saul Continent.

He arrived outside the Royal Capital but didn't stay. As soon as he landed, he immediately dashed toward Keton City.

Once in the city, Zhang Mu first called Domit over and took out the arms delivered by Neo, instructing him to distribute and handle them as he saw fit. Then, he asked about the progress of the Seventeen project.

"It's already completed, Marshal." Domit replied and then asked, "How is the magic tank developed by Mr. Geoffrey coming along?"

"Hmm?" Zhang Mu, who had just started to stand up, sat back down and looked him over. "The counterattack has to wait until the munitions factory is operational. Why are you in such a hurry for the magic tanks?"

"I've been looking forward to it for a long time. Besides, it takes time to get familiar with new weapons. We can't just drive them to the front lines as soon as we receive the equipment."

"Don't worry. As soon as the prototype is out, I'll bring it to you immediately."

"Yes!"

Zhang Mu stood up and left Keton City. Outside the city, he stored the Seventeen building complex into "The World." Then, using "The World's" light gate, he returned to the Royal Capital and went to the palace to find Avril.

Today, Avril didn't seem busy. She was sitting in the pavilion in the middle of the garden, leisurely flipping through a book.

"Senior sister, what are you reading so intently?"

Avril was wearing a long dress. Seeing Zhang Mu approach, she held her skirt and moved aside to make room. "Aren't you interested in faith artifacts, Junior? After I finished my work today, I went to the Library of the Past to find a few related books to learn more."

Sitting down beside her, Zhang Mu glanced at the stack of books on the stone table. "I just mentioned it in passing. You're already very busy; it would be better to use your time to rest more."

"A Magister won't collapse from this bit of work."

Zhang Mu smiled and then said, "Since you've found these books... I happen to have a question for you. How many faith artifacts can one host contract?"

Avril thought for a moment. "I think I heard my teacher mention it when I was little... it should be one. But I'm not entirely sure. If it's urgent, I'll go to the library..."

"No need." Zhang Mu felt that this was likely the case and didn't need to waste energy confirming it. "If one can only contract one, wouldn't the contractors of the ancient era only be able to collect faith in one place?"

"How could that be? The artifact does need to be present when recruiting followers, but once they become followers, they can provide faith even if they kneel toward an empty space."

That meant forging a statue of god with a Transformation Technique would work.

Zhang Mu was overjoyed. He couldn't help but cup Avril's face with both hands, lean in, and give her a quick peck.

"Hiss—whoo—so cold!" The moment their skin touched, a layer of frost condensed on Zhang Mu's face.

The frost was even colder than the natural frost of winter, as if it struck directly at his soul through his body.

Avril manipulated her mana to shatter the thin ice. "Once I reach the Saint level, I'll be able to control my bloodline power freely."

"It's fine, it won't kill me." Zhang Mu was shivering, but he talked tough.

Afterward, the two chatted for a while about the progress of the medical team and the site selection for the second batch of industrialized cities. Zhang Mu stood up to leave, summoned a Portal outside the city to return to the Blue Star, and hurried toward Russia.

He wanted to replace the Russian statue of god with a counterfeit and then place the original in the other three countries. This way, he could collect faith faster.

...

Russia, a certain city.

In the meeting room prepared by the Mayor, the President sat at the head of the long table, his right leg shaking comfortably. He was clearly in a good mood.

"Your Excellency." The Secretary pushed open the door and entered. "The visiting delegation has already been sent to the plane."

"Good!" The corners of the President's mouth, which had been suppressed for a long time, finally curled up happily. "The annoying flies have been driven away. We can now focus on what's in front of us."

An Aide picked up the remote control and pressed a button. The screen on the wall lit up, showing the live feed of the four contestants.

After watching for a while, the President showed a relaxed expression. "Farid is indeed the best of the Security Bureau. Even without a tank, he can contend with the calamity using a sniper rifle."

One Aide smiled. "I recommended him to Your Excellency back then precisely because of his extraordinary ability."

Nodding in agreement, the President scanned the other three.

Among the three were one man and two women, one of whom was the Young Woman. Everyone in the room had a deep impression of her, as she had stayed in the Kremlin Palace for a period of time.

Furthermore, Farid had reported that the Young Woman was originally supposed to be eliminated, or rather, even participating was a far-fetched dream. It was Tevan who had exerted influence in the shadows to make them meet and then appeared to save her at a critical moment when she almost died under the claws of a calamity.

Based on this, the Aides inferred that the Young Woman had gained Tevan's friendship. Although Tevan couldn't represent Seventeen, it was a good thing nonetheless.

The President gazed at the Young Woman's area on the screen. "Do you think she can pass?"

The Aides looked over together.

The Young Woman was driving at high speed. Mindful of the competition rules, she didn't dare drive toward crowded areas and sped along the highway toward sparsely populated places.

Perhaps due to nervousness, she stared intently at the road ahead, occasionally checking the rearview mirror to see the distance between the calamity and herself. She never noticed the weapons placed by the roadside, and her gaze even overlooked a tank.

"Unless something unexpected happens..." The Aides were all a bit pessimistic. "She will fail once the car runs out of gas. With a bit of bad luck, she might even lose her life."

The President sighed. "Four out of five people passing is a pity, but they've done their best."

Having said that, he couldn't help but look forward. "Once the competition ends, Seventeen will come to pick up the students. We can take the opportunity to ask about the stone carving..."

"Look!" Everyone's attention had already shifted from the competition to the stone carving, but the Secretary, who was staring at the screen, suddenly shouted.

What happened?

Everyone instinctively looked up.

The car the Young Woman was driving seemed to be running out of gas, and its speed was gradually decreasing.

Just as the Aide had said, if nothing unexpected happened, the moment the car stopped would be the moment the Young Woman failed.

However, the expressions on everyone's faces didn't show "as expected" at all; instead, their mouths were wide open.

Because it wasn't just the car that was slowing down, but also the calamity.

Even though the car's speed was dropping lower and lower, the distance between the two didn't close; instead, it grew further and further apart.

After a moment's thought, everyone deduced the reason.

There was indeed a limit to the car's fuel tank capacity, but the calamity's stamina was not infinite either.

It had been seriously injured twice by the examiner. Being able to chase the car for several days was already a miracle.

Watching the exhausted calamity forced to stop, its body swaying a few times before it collapsed and didn't get up again, everyone was stunned.

"She... she actually worked the calamity to death?"