A huge divine emblem hung at the top of the church.

Six Southeast Asians with stern faces stood at the church entrance, holding long whips.

The crowd queued up in succession to enter.

Soon, it was Chen Shouyi and Luo Jingwen's turn.

The soldier carefully examined the badge and then let them pass without issue.

At the front of the church hall, a huge divine statue stood with its arms spread wide, wings sprouting from its back, its face fierce and stern, exuding a sacred yet oppressive aura.

Chen Shouyi took a glance and quickly lowered his head.

Not long after entering, an incident occurred outside; two cultists, whose divine emblems Chen Shouyi had slipped away from them, were stopped by soldiers.

This middle-aged couple looked panic-stricken and fearful, desperately trying to explain.

One soldier impatiently took out a whip and gave them several lashes, causing the two to roll and beg for mercy, crying loudly, their bodies covered with blood marks before being dragged away by the soldiers, seemingly for interrogation.

Losing a badge or forgetting to bring it might seem like a minor thing to ordinary people, a mere violation of disciplinary regulations.

But in this cult-controlled society, it was not a minor issue.

These badges or divine emblems represented the deities.

Losing or forgetting the emblem could lightly imply insincere faith, and severely be seen as blasphemy, disregarding the deity—definitely a political stance issue.

The outcome awaiting them would probably be very harsh.

Everyone watched this scene, some stunned with fright, others indifferent, some with disgust; not one stepped in to stop or plead.

This little incident quickly came to an end.

As the crowd entered the church hall, the noisy sound soon turned utterly silent, so quiet that not even the four or five-year-old children cried or fussed.

Chen Shouyi and Luo Jingwen kept their heads low among the crowd, appearing completely unremarkable.

The air was filled with a faint strange scent.

Using the corner of his eye, Chen Shouyi secretly observed; people were packed tightly together within this roughly three-hundred-square-meter hall, over a thousand flocking in, many with eyes lost, seeming confused.

It was evident that the scent in the air had an effect.

Luckily, this scent did not affect him and Luo Jingwen in the least.

...

As time passed minute by minute, after more than ten minutes, a middle-aged man wearing a silver-trimmed robe, his hair slicked and dressed meticulously, strode into the hall from a small door of the church.

"Dear friends in faith, may the Lord bless you! The Lord says that whoever believes in me, follows my doctrine, I will shelter you."

His Mandarin was fluent, yet still carried a slight difference from that of the Great Xia Country; he was clearly Southeast Asian Chinese.

"Everyone knows human disaster is imminent, electricity disappeared, the internet vanished, human industry was destroyed overnight, and this is just the beginning. Soon, the real catastrophe will come, only my great Lord, the God of Order, can protect you... Now let us begin the prayer."

The crowd quickly knelt down and began to pray aloud.

"Damn!"

Chen Shouyi and Luo Jingwen exchanged a helpless look but had no choice but to kneel, avoiding exposure, and prayed along with the crowd.

"Great God of Order, you are the mighty father, you set the chain of rules, you give reason to all things, order to the seasons, your name is spread among men, you are supreme, all glory goes to you…"

With each seemingly brainwashing prayer repetition, gradually the air grew oppressive, as if a sacred and solemn aura filled the church, everyone seemed entranced, their mouths showing infant-like smiles.

The divine statue seemed alive, emitted a chilly, hazy glow, vaguely as if a mighty creature was descending here, looking down at the crowd.

Chen Shouyi felt as if a mountain was pressing upon his heart, stifling him with a sense of breathlessness.

But he knew this was the dense power of faith here, excluding someone without belief like him; naturally, the God of Order would not come casually, additionally, it was because his sensitivity allowed him to receive more information.

A normal person with dull senses would likely just feel discomfort, not as affected as he was.

This prayer finally ended after a full twenty minutes.

Chen Shouyi stood up with the crowd.

The priest ascended the stage again, led the cultists to sing several praises to the greatness of the God of Order, then held a thick tome: "Today, we speak of the third chapter, fifth section of the Holy Scripture of Order, The Lord said…"

Chen Shouyi listened expressionlessly.

Damn, all of it's the Bible refashioned.

Truly a burden to those cultists.

Packaging some god of an otherworldly primitive tribe into a modern church of love, peace, order, and protection of humanity.

Could they have a bit of decency?

But the situation outweighs the person, he could only reluctantly listen.

"Dear friends in faith, we'll end today's session here." An hour later, the priest prepared to conclude.

Suddenly, a solemn-faced middle-aged man with a longsword at his waist silently but swiftly walked in, handed over a note.

The priest examined it for a while, nodded, returned the note, face full of reverence.

Chen Shouyi's heart sank, a sense of foreboding arose.

After that middle-aged man left, the priest, with a grave expression, announced:

"The God of Order, in my Lord's name, Saye His Majesty has come to our Qujiang City to hunt down serious criminals, one has already been captured, detained at Hengguan Prison for interrogation, yet there are still two mixed within our Qujiang City, they are extremely violent, killing on impulse, to avoid friends in faith from injury, tonight's prayer meeting will be extended by two hours."

He swept a glance over everyone, face indifferent:

"Furthermore, if any friends in faith discover any suspicious individuals, please report immediately, once confirmed, the Church will reward the informant heavily. Of course, if you discover but do not report, heavy punishment will be imposed."

The crowd stirred slightly in fear, whispered among themselves for a while, quickly returning to calm.

Chen Shouyi and Luo Jingwen exchanged a glance, their expressions serious.

Then, the atmosphere turned somewhat oppressive.

Chen Shouyi and Luo Jingwen closely monitored the situation outside.

Outside the church it was silent, as if nothing had happened.

After enduring for two hours, the evening prayer finally concluded!

The two walked out of the church with the crowd, realizing the oppressive atmosphere lingered high above.

Chen Shouyi and Luo Jingwen pretended casual, chatted softly, a few minutes later, they returned to their temporary lodging, finally exhaling in relief.

"What do you think?" Luo Jingwen, with furrowed brows, quickly wrote on the coffee table.

Chen Shouyi knew he was referring to Zhu Xueqing's arrest, he pondered slightly, wrote with his hand: "Clearly a fabricated report, they're trying to lure us out.

The demigod arrived by noon, half a day's time, Zhu Xueqing has long since left Nanshan City, absolutely impossible."

"I think it's impossible too, this is a trap for us. I fear if we approach Hengguan Prison or attempt to gather information, we'll be exposed immediately, yet we can't blindly disbelieve!"

Chen Shouyi nodded gravely.

This is the vile nature of such tactics, though crude, even knowing its falsity, you must verify any slight possibility. Zhu Xueqing's life is secondary; the key is the importance of the intelligence.

At present, the choices were twofold.

Either one leaves East Sea Province to pass the intelligence out once more.

Or quickly verify the truth of this report.

However, presently a demigod perpetually monitors Qujiang City from on high, and Qujiang City is but a small town. With the demigod's terrifying hearing and sight, even the slightest stir might be immediately detected, both choices are extremely dangerous, the risk is immense.

Luo Jingwen, likewise quick-minded, evidently considered this too.

The two sat motionless on the sofa, atmosphere silent and oppressive.

After a while of silence.

Luo Jingwen suddenly reached out, paused slightly mid-air, fingers quickly wrote on the coffee table: "Tomorrow I plan to find a way to leave, you stay here, then leave once thoroughly safe."

"Don't rush, I seem to have an idea." Chen Shouyi's mind stirred, he wrote.

ps: On the account of not being a slacker, asking for votes.

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