91: Chapter 91 Faith Armed

“a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon” Brand Holy Light Grenade

The dome of the shelter, like an amber overturned upon the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Within the amber is a miracle where order and chaos coexist;

Outside the amber is despair intertwined with crimson and dead silence.

But this thin “eggshell” cannot isolate everything.

“Warning! Scout Squad 3 has encountered a high-energy aberration! Repeat, high-energy aberration! Coordinates: seventeen kilometers south of the Return Ruins Rift, ‘Weeping Stone Forest’ area!”

“War God Number One! Did you hear that, you motherfucker? You’re the closest! Provide support immediately!”

Inside the temporary command tower, the communication channel was filled with shrill roars and the chaotic explosions of spells, finally ending abruptly, leaving only heart-palpitating “hissing” sounds.

On the light screen, the three green dots representing Scout Squad 3 instantly dimmed and extinguished.

“Fuck!”

With a curse, War God Number One smashed his fist into the rock in front of him, sending stone fragments flying.

He was shirtless, his bronze-colored muscles covered in crisscrossing scars and fresh bloodstains, with every wound slowly oozing faint black gas—the corruption of an evil god that even players could not fully exempt themselves from.

“All units, turn! Target, Weeping Stone Forest!” He roared, grabbing a giant axe like a door panel, and was the first to rush out.

Behind him were seven fully armed top PVP players; they were one of the sharpest daggers of the shelter, responsible for clearing surrounding threats and opening safe passages for the resource collection squads in the rear.

However, today’s “safe passage” led to hell.

The Weeping Stone Forest was craggy, with every rock resembling a twisted, wailing human face.

At this moment, these stone forests were “bleeding”—viscous, foul-smelling black liquid flowed from the “eye sockets” and “mouths” of the stones, turning the earth into a swamp.

In the center of the swamp, there was no solid entity.

It was a shadow that constantly changed shape, composed of pure negative emotions and turbid spiritual energy.

In the shadow, countless painful human faces flickered in and out, emitting silent shrieks that pierced straight into people’s souls.

“It’s a ‘Resentment Aggregate’! Physical attacks are basically ineffective! Use spells! Use enchanted weapons!” the squad commander, a mage player with the ID “Frozen Throne,” shouted hoarsely.

Ice cones, fireballs, wind blades... mixed with arrows attached with anti-magic runes, poured down on that shadow like a rainstorm.

However, the moment all the attacks entered the shadow, they were like mud oxen entering the sea, only causing it to roll and twist more violently.

The next second, an invisible mental shock erupted from its center!

“Urgh—!”

War God Number One, who was charging at the front, was struck as if by lightning, blood seeping from his seven orifices simultaneously.

His eyes saw countless hallucinations—dead comrades, a broken homeland, his ancestor’s smashed golden coffin... all the deepest fears in his heart were ignited instantly.

“SAN value alert! SAN value alert! Sanity is dropping rapidly!”

The system’s harsh prompt sounded in every team member’s ears.

Their movements began to distort, attacks lost their accuracy, and some even began to attack their teammates indiscriminately.

“Damn it, this thing can’t be hit at all!” War God Number One shook his dizzy head, forcibly suppressing the violence in his heart, and roared, “Retreat! Lure it back into the attack range of the defense towers! Everyone, back to back, provide covering fire!”

However, the “Resentment Aggregate” seemed to see through their intentions.

It no longer held its ground, but turned into a black lightning bolt, instantly closing in on a lagging player.

That player didn’t even have time to scream before his body, like a wax statue splashed with concentrated sulfuric acid, quickly melted, deformed, and was finally swallowed by the shadow.

The volume of the shadow visibly grew larger.

Despair surged into everyone’s hearts like a tide.

...

Meanwhile, in the shelter, the R&D area dedicated to lifestyle players.

The atmosphere here was completely different from the tragedy on the front line, but equally grave.

Hundreds of lifestyle players gathered here, the air filled with the burnt smell of medicinal pills, the sound of metal forging, and the ink fragrance of talisman paper.

“No! The efficiency of conventional ‘anti-magic’ and ‘exorcism’ rune arrays in purifying this new type of pollution is less than three-thousandths! The energy conversion rate is too low!” The Romance of the Science Guy adjusted the glasses that didn’t exist on the bridge of his nose, and on the light screen in front of him, waterfall-like data streams were refreshing rapidly.

“The materials are also wrong!” On the other side, Liver Emperor V87, with greasy hands, had just scrapped a valuable piece of “Century-old Lightning-Struck Wood,” “Turbid spiritual energy has strong corrosive properties to all materials containing spirituality. The weapons we build are ruined before they even reach the front line!”

The entire R&D area fell into a dead end.

They were able to establish a pure land by relying on the endless “power of incense” in the ancestor’s ancestral hall.

But that power was more of a passive defensive “domain” that could not be utilized actively and efficiently.

They were like people guarding a gold mine but unable to find a way to turn it into gold coins.

“Sigh, so annoying, so annoying!”

In the corner, Skillful Hands Mending scratched her hair irritably.

As a lifestyle player specializing in sewing and making small accessories, this high-intensity scientific research made her head spin.

She wanted to do something for the warriors on the front line, such as sewing some “calming sachets” that could resist mental pollution.

She tried mixing the “ancestral hall dust” she collected, which had a faint scent of incense, into the spices, but the effect was minimal.

“The concentration of ‘incense’ in the dust is too low... It would be great if I could use liquefied ‘incense’ directly...” She had a sudden inspiration and took a small jade bottle from her backpack.

In the bottle was the [High-Concentration Faith Condensate] she had exchanged for a large number of contribution points, which was originally intended to improve the intelligence of her pet “Treasure Hunting Mouse.”

This thing was worth a fortune per drop.

She carefully tried to use a silver needle to pick up a drop and mix it into the spices.

But just then, a violent explosion from outside made the ground shake violently, her hand trembled, and that whole small jade bottle of [High-Concentration Faith Condensate] was poured onto the workbench next to her.

“Ah! My contribution points!” Skillful Hands Mending let out a wail.

The golden liquid quickly spread on the workbench.

And on the workbench, there happened to be a failed [Spirit Gathering Talisman] she had drawn to stabilize energy.

“Sizz—”

A slight, almost imperceptible strange sound.

The moment the golden [Faith Condensate] touched the runes drawn in cinnabar, that discarded talisman paper suddenly lit up with an incredibly bright, incredibly pure golden light!

That light was warm, sacred, and solemn, carrying an unquestionable Majesty that originated from a higher-dimensional order!

The noise in the entire R&D area paused for a moment.

Everyone was attracted by this sudden phenomenon, and their eyes focused on that small corner.

In the light, Skillful Hands Mending could clearly feel that the pervasive, irritating negative energy in the surrounding air was instantly purified like snow meeting a scorching sun; her spirit was refreshed, as if she had done a deep soul SPA.

“This... this is...” She stared blankly at the glowing talisman paper.

“Quick! Energy analysis!” The Romance of the Science Guy was the first to react, with fanatical light erupting in his eyes.

Countless detection arrays were instantly aimed at that talisman paper.

On the light screen, the data that had been stagnant before began to skyrocket at a crazy speed.

“Energy reaction... My god! It’s conceptual purification! It’s not ‘dispelling’ pollution; it’s ‘overwriting’ and ‘rewriting’ reality rules!”

“The rune structure is activated by the faith condensate, forming a temporary ‘Incense Divine Domain’! Effective range is three meters, duration is seventeen seconds... My god, what if we compress the energy and detonate it?!”

“Found it! This is it! We found it!”

The entire R&D area instantly turned from dead silence into an ocean of ecstasy!

Skillful Hands Mending looked at the group of men acting like lunatics in front of her, still a bit confused.

She just... spilled a bottle of foot-washing water, right?

“Container! We need a container that is stable, cheap, and easy to throw!” Liver Emperor V87 rubbed his hands excitedly, “It needs to be well-sealed, able to withstand high-intensity energy impacts, and have energy output!”

The players discussed it all at once.

“Jade bottle? Too expensive!”

“Iron box? Too heavy, affects throwing distance!”

“Ceramic pot? Too fragile!”

Just then, a cooking player who was studying battle recipes while eating “a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon mixed rice” in a corner subconsciously raised the empty glass bottle in his hand.

“Is this... okay?”

Everyone’s eyes instantly locked onto that plain but familiar glass bottle.

On the bottle, the kind aunt’s portrait seemed to carry a mysterious smile.

Liver Emperor V87’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Glass! A miracle of Earth’s industry! Cheap, stable, transparent for easy observation of internal reactions, the curved bottle design perfectly conforms to ergonomics, easy to throw! The airtightness of the seal has been tested by hundreds of millions of users! Perfect! It’s simply divine revelation!”

Three minutes later, the first “Faith Weaponry” in the entire server, destined to be recorded in history, was born.

It was a cleaned “a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon” glass bottle, inside which Skillful Hands Mending had carefully carved a miniature version of the [Spirit Gathering Talisman].

The bottle was filled with golden [High-Concentration Faith Condensate].

The Romance of the Science Guy named it—[Purifiers Type I · High-Explosive Faith Impact Bottle].

But all players preferred to call it—[“a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon” Brand Holy Light Grenade].

...

Weeping Stone Forest.

War God Number One’s squad had been reduced to four people.

They were forced into a mountain col, back against the cliff, making a final desperate fight.

The mental shock emitted by the “Resentment Aggregate” made it difficult for them even to stand firm.

“Damn it... Even if I delete my account, I’m going to bite a piece of meat off you!” War God Number One’s eyes were bloodshot, and he activated a forbidden skill that cost permanently reduced attributes, preparing to launch a suicide charge.

Just then, a swift figure, riding a mount that looked like an ostrich, galloped from afar.

“War God! Catch!”

The person who came was a player from the logistics department; from afar, he threw a black bottle over.

War God Number One caught it subconsciously; it was slightly heavy in his hand, and the touch was cold.

He looked down and was stunned.

“a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Stop talking nonsense! Pull the fuse and throw it! Those lunatics in the R&D department said this thing can save lives!” The logistics player shouted hoarsely.

War God Number One looked at the bottle mouth suspiciously; there was indeed a crude pull-ring fuse installed there.

He glanced at the terrifying shadow in the distance that was accumulating its next attack, then looked at the strangely styled bottle in his hand, gritted his teeth, and decided to treat a dead horse as a living one!

He pulled the ring, used all his strength to hurl the bottle of “a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon” at the “Resentment Aggregate”!

The bottle drew a beautiful parabola in the air and landed precisely in the center of the shadow.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

In fact, there wasn’t even a sound.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

The next instant, a golden light that could not be described in words, pure to the extreme, suddenly bloomed from where the bottle landed!

That was not light.

It was a storm, a dimensionality-reduction strike by the most sacred and solemn order against the most chaotic and filthy existence!

“Boom—!!!!”

The golden wave of light swept out; wherever it passed, the black swamp was instantly evaporated, the twisted stone forest returned to its original appearance, and even the nauseating stench in the air was replaced by a warm scent like bedding under the sun.

And that overbearing “Resentment Aggregate” was like an ice cube thrown into lava.

It emitted its first, and last, scream that did not belong to this world, shrill to the extreme.

Its shadow form “flickered” and “dropped frames” violently in the golden light, like a program with underlying code deleted, and finally, amidst a holy chant (faintly audible: “For the ancestor’s golden coffin”), it completely annihilated and turned into nothingness.

After the storm, the wind was calm and the sky was clear.

War God Number One and his three teammates stood dumbfounded on the spot, bathed in the lingering golden halo.

The black corruption gas on their bodies was swept away, and even their SAN values, which were about to fall below the warning line, “popped” back up.

“Holy... shit?”

War God Number One looked at his hands, then at the distant ground that was as clean as if it had been photoshopped, and after holding it in for a long time, he squeezed out two words from his throat.

“...Awesome.”

The shelter’s forum, after being silent for several hours, was instantly ignited by a red-bolded post.

Poster: [War God Number One].

Title: [<<Why “a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon” is a god, I have pictures and truth!>>].

The content of the post was just a screenshot and a sentence.

On the screenshot were the attributes of the grenade.

[“a popular chinese chili sauce brand, used here as a symbolic name for the weapon” Brand Holy Light Grenade (Purifiers Type I · Crude Version)]

[Quality: Miracle]

[Effect: Throw it, then praise the ancestor. Causes conceptual erasure damage to ‘Chaos’, ‘Twisted’, and ‘Pollution’ type units.]

[Note: Contains high-concentration faith power, do not eat. Also, we really didn’t receive any advertising fees.]

The sentence below was:

“R&D department, give me another ten thousand bottles! I want the entire Return Ruins to taste the light of the righteous path!”