The next day, evening.
In front of a store in the suburbs of Ningcheng.
A young man pushed a middle-aged man back. “Hurry up and get lost! A thief coming to our shop looking for a job? What a joke!”
The middle-aged man was thin and frail as he was shoved.
He fell directly to his knees and begged, “Please, I really need this job. My daughter needs money for school.”
Seeing this, several passersby stopped to watch the scene out of curiosity.
But no matter how much he begged, the young man only sneered. “Stop begging. A thief like you shouldn't even think about finding a job. Who would dare hire you? Besides, you're ruining our shop's reputation. If you don't leave right now, I'll report you to the inspectors!”
With that, he turned and went back inside the shop, not sparing another glance at the middle-aged man.
Hearing this, the surrounding onlookers began pointing fingers at him.
“So he's a thief. How does someone like that have the nerve to come out and look for a job?”
“Exactly. Why didn't he just die when he was stealing things?”
“I bet he was targeting this shop to rob it. There's no way a guy like him would work an honest job.”
Ridicule rained down on him from all sides. The middle-aged man's face flushed red, and he scrambled to his feet, quickly walking away.
Just as he was about to leave the street, a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
“What do you want? I'm not a thief anymore!” the grabbed middle-aged man snapped angrily, turning around.
Standing before him was a thin young man wearing a red suit. His hair was slicked back, tied into three small braids at the back of his head.
The young man looked at him, pulled a piece of red paper from his breast pocket, and handed it over. “Are you short on money? Do you want to join the Church of the Earth Mother?”
The middle-aged man was about to refuse, but then his eyes caught the very first line written on the red paper.
Join the Church of the Earth Mother and receive a monthly church subsidy of ten thousand Nanming dollars!
Seeing this, his eyes widened in disbelief. “Do they really give you money just for joining the church?”
Opposite him, Liu Zhian smiled, seeing his interest piqued. “Of course. As long as you join, we can advance you five thousand right now. After all, our Church of the Earth Mother values all living things as its foundation. We can't bear to see you living so miserably.”
With that, he pointed to the address on the red paper. “You can go take a look right now. Just take a cab there, and the church will reimburse you.”
Although there was a lot of text on the red paper, the middle-aged man only saw the money.
“Alright, but you'd better not be lying to me!” The middle-aged man took the red paper, intending to go check it out.
He wasn't sure if it was a scam, as he had never heard of this church in Ningcheng.
Besides, a church that handed out money was far too strange. Other churches demanded money from their followers, but this Church of the Earth Mother did the exact opposite.
With that, he hailed a cab and headed toward the church in the suburbs.
Another one. That makes three hundred. These fools really will do anything for money. A cold light flashed in Liu Zhian's eyes as he watched the cab pull away.
“Brother Zhian, how many people have you recruited?” a voice called out from behind him.
Liu Zhian turned around to see a young man in white walking toward him. The young man had a buzz cut and the number 69 tattooed on his left cheek.
Behind him followed another young man, nearly two meters tall, with muscles bulging so hard they practically burst through his suit.
“I just finished my quota of three hundred. Ah Qi, Ziping, how many did you guys get? The old man said we need at least three hundred each, and we can't go home until we're done,” Liu Zhian said, looking at the two.
He was Liu Jiyun's biological son, while Liu Qi and Liu Ziping were cousins from a branch family.
Liu Qi specialized in doing the Liu family's dirty work.
Liu Ziping was a multi-time Ningcheng underground black-market boxing champion, the strongest fighter in the Liu family in a one-on-one duel.
Together, the three of them were the most capable individuals of the Liu family's younger generation.
“Ziping and I are already finished. Let's go back, Brother Zhian,” Liu Qi said.
They had only found out yesterday that Liu Wen had turned into a monster. At first, they had been somewhat afraid, since they were essentially going against the Nanming Kingdom.
But after Liu Wen demonstrated his power in front of them, their fear quickly transformed into excitement.
Especially since Liu Wen had promised that if they did a good job, he would grant them superhuman power tonight.
“Let's go. It's time to head back,” Liu Zhian told them.
In the suburbs, a fifty-five-meter-tall spired church stood majestically.
A massive perimeter wall surrounded the church, making the entire compound almost as large as a residential neighborhood.
The middle-aged man holding the red paper stood at the entrance, staring inside in sheer shock.
Crowds of men and women dressed in red robes stood inside, numbering in the thousands.
“Are you new here?” a female voice called out from behind him.
The middle-aged man turned around to see a woman in a red robe looking at him.
“Y-yes. I heard we get paid for joining. I was wondering if that's true,” the middle-aged man said nervously.
“Go over there and register. Someone will give you your money and robes. Don't leave afterward; our cult leader is coming out soon to deliver the divine will of God,” the woman said, pointing toward a corner next to the church.
A desk was set up there, with quite a few people already waiting in line.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man quickly hurried over.
Inside the church, Liu Wen wore a red robe, a white mask covering his face.
He looked up at the stone face of the Earth Mother mounted ten meters high on the wall, a look of wariness in his eyes.
Thud, thud, thud!
Footsteps echoed from behind as Liu Jiyun walked up, leading Liu Zhian and the other two.
“Dad, they're back,” Liu Jiyun said.
Hearing this, Liu Wen turned around, the crimson eyes of his mask locking onto the three young men. “You've done very well. I could have given this task to others, but after some consideration, I decided to choose you.”
With a thought, he summoned his power.
Three Night Slaves emerged from a small side door and stepped in front of the three young men.
Under the bewildered gazes of Liu Zhian and his cousins, the three Night Slaves suddenly plunged their hands into their own eyes.
Splat!
They gouged out their own crimson eyes and offered them to the three.
“Eat these eyes, and you will obtain power far exceeding that of ordinary humans!” Liu Wen said, staring at the three of them.
These eyes were the source of a Night Slave's power. As long as they consumed them...
...they would be able to exert power far beyond normal humans for a month without losing their consciousness. It was perfect for members of the Liu family who worked for him.
Liu Zhian stared at the blood-stained crimson eyeballs, then looked up at Liu Wen, who was watching them.
He swallowed hard, grabbed one of the eyeballs, and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
The moment the eyeball entered his mouth, it dissolved into a liquid and was rapidly absorbed by his oral cavity.
A cool sensation washed over him. He reached out, grabbed the other eyeball, and ate it as well.
Seeing that Liu Zhian had eaten his, Liu Ziping and Liu Qi also picked up the two eyeballs in front of them and swallowed them in one gulp.
Crack!
Their bodies began to transform. Their muscles swelled slightly, and their eyes turned a deep crimson.
“What a bizarre feeling. I can feel my strength surging!” Liu Qi said with a look of delight.
Bang!
Liu Ziping clenched his fists and suddenly punched the floor tile beneath him, cracking it instantly.
What an incredible boost! His pupils contracted. This feeling of absolute power was intoxicating.
Seeing the changes in their expressions, the corners of Liu Wen's mouth curled upward. “Our church's expansion will inevitably attract the attention of the authorities. But if we want our family to grow stronger, we cannot allow them to interfere with the church's development anytime soon.
If necessary, I need you to confront the authorities head-on. This is all for the sake of the Liu family.”
He had to remain at the church to absorb and convert consciousness, meaning he couldn't act personally for the time being. He could only let these three from the younger generation stand on the front lines.
Liu Zhian nodded. Feeling the power surging within his body, he said with a serious expression, “Old man, don't worry. As long as it's for the family, we'll do whatever it takes!”
Seeing this, Liu Wen nodded in satisfaction. “Follow me out.”
Liu Wen led the way toward the exit, with the others following closely behind.
Outside, a crowd of newly robed followers stood waiting.
They looked around curiously, wondering what kind of church this actually was.
“The cult leader has arrived!!!” someone suddenly shouted at the top of their lungs.
The crowd turned their eyes toward the church entrance, where a masked figure in a red robe with crimson eyes emerged.
Looking at the thousands of people gathered before him, Liu Wen began reciting the doctrines of the Church of the Earth Mother from the chronicle.
He stretched out his hands and cried out, “The mortal world is plagued by evil, and the kind-hearted suffer endlessly. The great Earth Mother in the heavens cannot bear to see you suffer so. Thus, the Church of the Earth Mother was born!”
As he spoke, a sudden red glow flared in his eyes. The eyes of everyone who saw the red light grew dazed.
Liu Wen continued, “All life, light, and rebirth in this world are born of the Earth Mother. You are the children of the Earth Mother, and upon death, you shall return to her embrace...”
As he delivered the long, winding doctrine from above, the dazed expressions of the crowd below gradually morphed into fanatical devotion.
“Earth Mother!”
“Earth Mother!”
“Earth Mother!”
Some of the weaker-willed individuals began raising their arms and chanting, the doctrines of the Earth Mother thoroughly etched into their minds.
Watching this, the corners of Liu Wen's mouth under the mask curled into a sinister grin. At this rate, we can complete that person's plan within three days. The authorities might not even have time to react by then.
Rate on N.U.
