It was already three in the morning, and everyone was too tired to tidy up.

In the living room, there was a fabric sofa. When the cloth covering it was lifted, it was barely clean enough.

After closing the door, they each sat on it, seizing the time to rest.

...

As the sky gradually brightened, Chen Shouyi opened his eyes and carefully moved Zhu Xueqing, who was drooling on his shoulder, aside.

Seeing the large wet patch on his shoulder, he was speechless internally.

What a poor sleeping posture!

He picked up the briefcase from the floor and unzipped it.

Shell Lady, in a deep sleep, opened her eyes warily, glanced at Chen Shouyi, felt relieved, turned over, closed her eyes, and continued to sleep.

Zhu Xueqing woke with a start, wiped her drool, and asked, "What happened, what's going on?"

"It's dawn!" Chen Shouyi said, zipping up the briefcase.

"It's still quite early!" Zhu Xueqing covered her mouth and yawned.

Luo Jingwen also opened his eyes full of drowsiness, rubbed his eye crust, and looked at his watch, "It's only half past five!"

Sigh, young people sure have good energy.

After sleeping for only three hours, they're so full of spirit.

"You guys keep sleeping, I'll go upstairs to the window to observe." Chen Shouyi said.

"Sure, call us if there's anything." Luo Jingwen immediately said.

Chen Shouyi went to the second floor, the living room door upstairs wasn't locked, he opened the door, crossed the living room, and went to the balcony.

He pulled open the gap in the curtains, the sky was barely bright, and a gorgeous red dawn bloomed on the horizon in the distance, enveloping the entire city in a faint red hue.

A middle-aged man with a dark complexion, sweating profusely, pulled a cart loaded with vegetables.

On the street beside him, a small eatery had already opened, with stacks of steaming baskets piled at the entrance.

And in the park further away, many people were doing their morning exercises.

No roaring steam trucks, nor towering chimneys spewing thick smoke.

This place and Hedong were already two completely different worlds, with civilization having regressed entirely, as if everything had reverted to an agrarian society.

The whole city appeared tranquil and peaceful.

...

"Dong dong dang..."

The distant church bells rang melodiously.

With the ringing of the bells, the whole city seemed to wake up completely, with a large number of pedestrians flooding the streets, appearing as a vast black mass, each person solemnly heading toward the nearby church.

The elderly, women, young people, and children.

Luo Jingwen walked over, stood at the side, watched for a long while, then said in a deep voice, "I feel like this place is no longer Great Xia Country!"

Chen Shouyi remained silent, with a sense of heaviness in his heart. In this world of mysterious manifestations, the allure of faith for humanity was truly immense. Just the promise of entering heaven after death, with believers achieving eternal life, was enough to make people flock to it.

Soon, Zhu Xueqing also came over. After asking a few questions, she fell silent too, standing by the window observing.

Half an hour later, the citizens finished their morning prayers and gradually dispersed, as the whole city began to return to normal.

Luo Jingwen, being cautious and attentive, pulled the curtains and said, "I noticed that everyone had a badge on their chest. We must first get a few!"

"I'll handle this!" Chen Shouyi volunteered.

As a temporarily recruited team member, such small tasks naturally fell to him.

"Be careful, keep a low profile." Luo Jingwen advised.

Chen Shouyi nodded, went to the second-floor restroom, glanced outside; behind was a small alley, with most of the shops on both sides closed, and few pedestrians on the road.

He waited for a moment, and when no one was around, he opened the window and jumped down.

His feet landed silently.

He listened carefully to the surroundings, his ears slightly moving. Suddenly, he dashed a few steps, walked out of the alley, and onto the street, just brushing past a passerby.

He subtly blurred his movements, retracting his hand, now revealing a round iron badge the size of a longan in his palm.

The badge was shiny, obviously frequently polished by the original owner.

On it was an abstract, ferocious human face carved, exuding a faint aura of divinity and majesty.

Chen Shouyi took a glance and swiftly pinned it to his chest.

He proceeded to brush past two more pedestrians.

Easily collecting two more badges in his hands.

His reflexes were twenty times that of a normal person, and his thought processing speed slightly lower but still twelve times that of the average person. Even if someone was staring intently, they wouldn't be able to clearly see the movements of his hands.

Having effortlessly completed this task, Chen Shouyi immediately returned.

After checking his surroundings, he discreetly re-entered through the window.

Once Luo Jingwen and Zhu Xueqing put on their badges, the three of them confidently walked out the door.

Due to the swords they carried, pedestrians frequently looked on.

Fortunately, this attention was only filled with awe and admiration, without any vigilance.

"Let's grab some breakfast first." Luo Jingwen suggested in a low voice as they walked down the street.

They went to a small eatery and sat down. To avoid drawing attention, Luo Jingwen only ordered three servings of steamed buns for each person.

But for Chen Shouyi, this was already enough.

He picked up a bun, stuffing it into his mouth while listening to the surrounding conversations.

"Thanks to the God of Order, I used to have some asthma. No matter how much medicine I took at the hospital, it didn't help. Now, without seeing any doctor, it's almost healed, and I feel more energetic. Isn't that miraculous?" an old man said.

"That's nothing; the God of Order is truly a merciful deity. He descended to Earth to bring us endless blessings." Another elderly man said with a devout look, "As long as the faith is sincere, even after death, one can enter heaven and start a beautiful life anew."

"Ah, those Luzon people are quite annoying, haven't you heard? This time, in the Qinggang City Divinity School enrollment, locals didn't even make up a fifth of the spots. It's likely that in the future, the priests will all be from among them."

"Ah, what can we do? We haven't been under divine grace for long. Both the Defender Team and the High Priest are theirs. Luckily, the priests in our district are still locals."

...

The few of them quietly ate, not uttering a word, only exchanging glances.

After breakfast, Luo Jingwen paid the bill, and the three of them exited the eatery, still not speaking.

Passing by a church, ethereal hymns wafted from inside:

"Great God of Order, You are a majestic father, You set the chains of rules, You give reason to all things, making the seasons orderly, Your name spreads among people, dispelling evil, You are supreme, all glory…"

"There's no need to look any further here!" Luo Jingwen said solemnly.

Indeed, there was no need to look further; the entire Qujiang City had been completely infiltrated by the cult. Perhaps many people still remained unfaithful, but in the midst of this fervor, they could only go with the flow, becoming the silent majority.

"Where to next?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Qinggang City!"

"Qinggang City? Why go there? Wouldn't it be better to go directly to the provincial capital?" Chen Shouyi asked with curiosity.

"According to the intelligence provided, during the mutation, a strategic nuclear submarine might have sunk in the shallow sea near Qinggang!" Luo Jingwen said grimly, "A large part of our mission this time is to confirm whether East Sea Province has secured the nuclear missiles inside!"

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