407: Chapter 407 Everyone Displays Their Unique Abilities, Even the Source God Weeps

Outside the cathedral, it was a sea of people.

Inside the cathedral, there was wailing and howling like ghosts and wolves.

A thousand players crowded in front of the statue, beating their chests and stamping their feet, tears and snot flowing freely.

"Source God! I've been single for thirty years just to keep my body pure to serve you!"

"Look at me! Just one look! I'll steal the entire guild warehouse and offer it to you!"

A few Priest players even started performing shamanic dances on the spot, muttering mysterious incantations they had learned from who-knows-where.

This scene—forget about moving a deity—even the demons in hell would weep upon seeing it.

A dim white light flashed on the right tray of the Bronze Scales, and the needle shifted slightly by half an inch.

Very Good's eyelids twitched wildly.

He stared fixedly at that half-inch shift, his hands clutching the Golden Holy Emblem on his chest.

It was working.

But only a little bit.

The emotions of these mortals were extremely muddled; greed, excitement, and a bandwagon mentality occupied ninety-nine percent of it. The values that truly qualified as 'faith' were pitifully low.

"Stop it," Very Good said, his face darkening.

No one paid him any attention.

The players were busy competing in acting skills, trying to catch the attention of their financial backer.

Chen You sat on a bench, crossing his legs.

He looked at the scale's markings and curled his lip.

"Just crying won't do," Chen You muttered to himself. "It's all thunder and no rain; the system won't recognize this account."

At the very front of the crowd, a Berserker named 'Mad Blade Slashes the World' heard this.

He whipped his head around, looking past countless bobbing heads toward Chen You in the corner.

Their eyes met.

A thick sense of resolve erupted in Mad Blade Slashes the World's eyes.

Chen You was taken aback for a moment.

He was familiar with that look; it was the same look those interns at the company had when they were prepared to take the fall for him.

Chen You nodded subconsciously as a sign of encouragement.

Mad Blade Slashes the World understood.

God You was watching him; God You thought they weren't trying hard enough.

For ten gold coins, for God You's approval!

Mad Blade Slashes the World stood up.

He ripped off his fine iron chainmail, followed by his bracers, combat boots, helmet, and even his coarse cloth trousers.

In the blink of an eye, a 1.9-meter-tall muscular man stood there with nothing on but a pair of pink underwear printed with a kitty pattern.

The cathedral fell silent for a second.

Very Good's eyes widened as he pointed at Mad Blade Slashes the World. "You... you heretic! How dare you stand naked before the divine statue!"

Mad Blade Slashes the World didn't look at the City Lord at all.

He turned and roared at the players behind him, "Brothers! Death drops equipment durability! Repairing gear costs money! Strip before you die! Offer your pure souls to the Source God!"

Before his voice finished echoing, he pushed off with his legs, his calf muscles bulging high.

"Source God! I give you my life!"

Mad Blade Slashes the World turned into an afterimage and slammed his head into the edge of the right tray of the Bronze Scales.

Thud!

A dull sound rang out.

The Berserker's head struck the bronze edge, and his health bar emptied instantly.

His body dissolved into bits of white light, floating directly toward the respawn point.

The entire venue was dead silent.

Immediately after, the Bronze Scales erupted with a burst of blinding golden light.

The right tray sank down a large chunk, and the needle shifted frantically.

The system judgment took effect.

The sacrifice of a life—no matter how impure the motive—produced a momentary emotional fluctuation that reached the minimum threshold for 'devotion'.

Very Good sucked in a breath of cold air and took two steps back.

"This... this is impossible..." he muttered to himself.

Chen You's eyes lit up.

He straightened up and snapped his fingers.

"Good! This brother is someone who can achieve great things!"

Chen You pulled up the system panel and directly increased the bounty gold to 20,000.

"The reward is doubled!"

Ding!

The crisp system notification sounded in the cathedral, and the breathing of all the players grew heavy.

Dying once nets 20 gold coins!

This deal was a massive profit!

"Holy crap! There's such a good deal!"

"Move aside! I'll die first! I'll die first!"

"Don't fight over it! I'm a Mage, I have low health, I'll crash faster!"

The cathedral completely boiled over.

A thousand players' eyes turned red.

They frantically tore at the equipment on their bodies, and the clattering sound of metal clashing rang out in a chorus.

In less than ten seconds, the cathedral was filled with players wearing nothing but underwear.

Flashy, green, and multicolored.

The world before Very Good's eyes collapsed.

An Assassin player used a slide to bypass Very Good, pulled out a novice dagger, and slashed his own throat.

"Source God! Accept my hot blood!"

Blood splattered on the scales, and the Assassin vanished into white light.

The scales sank again.

"My turn!" A Fire Mage stuffed his staff into his mouth and silently chanted the incantation for Bursting Fireball.

Boom! Flames shot into the sky, and the Mage blew himself into white light.

The scales continued to sink.

"Source God! I'll scatter my ashes for you!"

"Source God! I wish you fortune as vast as the Eastern Sea and longevity as great as the Southern Mountain!"

The players formed a long line.

They shouted all sorts of messy slogans and committed suicide in front of the scales in various bizarre ways.

Some crashed to death, some bit their tongues, and some used skills on each other to perish together.

The cathedral turned into a large-scale assembly-line slaughterhouse, with the frequency of white light flashes being even more blinding than a nightclub's strobe lights.

The right tray of the Bronze Scales grew heavier and heavier, the needle soaring all the way, looking like it was about to touch the maximum value marking at the very bottom.

Very Good knelt on the ground.

He covered his face with both hands, his whole body trembling.

"Madness... they're all mad..."

The faith he was proud of, the doctrines he had adhered to his whole life, were being ground underfoot by this group of outsiders who weren't even willing to wear an extra piece of underwear.

Chen You sat on the bench, looking at the constantly ticking expenditure notifications on the panel, feeling quite pleased.

"A problem that can be solved with money isn't a problem," Chen You said as he stood up.

He walked over to Very Good's side and looked down at the City Lord of Qirui.

"Lord City Lord, the scales are almost at the bottom."

"Is this weight of piety enough?"

Very Good looked up.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his blonde hair, which had been meticulously groomed, was now a mess.

"You... you demon..." Very Good gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse. "You've defiled the deity with money! The Source God will bring down divine punishment!"

"Divine punishment?" Chen You sneered.

He pointed a finger forward.

"Look clearly. Your god likes this gift very much."

Very Good followed Chen You's finger and looked.

The right tray of the Bronze Scales had already completely touched the bottom.

The needle was stuck firmly at the maximum marking, even emitting an overburdened creaking sound.

And that ten-meter-tall statue of the Source God was currently undergoing a bizarre change.

From the eye sockets of the statue, two lines of golden liquid actually flowed out.

That was the product of pure power of faith after it had liquefied.

The deity mechanism set by the system had its underlying logic completely blown apart by this massive, chaotic, yet truly existing 'fake faith'.

Crack—

A crisp cracking sound echoed in the hall.

A crack split open on the weight-bearing axis of the Bronze Scales.

Very Good was dumbfounded.

The deity cried, and the scales cracked.

The Source God he had believed in all his life had actually accepted this absurd sacrifice.

"Faith, to put it bluntly, is just emotional value." Chen You pulled out the contract silk, shook it, and handed it to Very Good.

"I spend money, they sell their lives; it's called an equal exchange."

"Now, it's your turn to fulfill your duty."

Very Good looked at that ancient silk cloth, then at the line of players still waiting to commit suicide.

An Archer with the ID 'Arrow of Buried Love' was stuffing an arrow into his nostril, shouting as he did, "Source God! I'll clear out your seven orifices for you!"

Very Good closed his eyes.

He had completely admitted defeat.

He tremblingly reached out, pulled the Golden Holy Emblem from his chest, and pressed it onto the blank space of the contract silk.