Infinite Weird Game

Chapter 379: The Holy City (V) The Cross
Greed, bullying, cruelty, indifference...human beings' original sin has existed forever.

Not long after the tribes blessed by the gods settled down in the holy city, they were divided into classes based on wealth, and the old, weak, sick and disabled who could not create value were relocated to the east district.

The priest served the gods in the temple all year round, but he was also worried about the common people outside the temple. One day he returned from the East District and told God about the poverty and sadness there.

He witnessed the tragic scene, but was powerless and could only pray to the merciful God: "Great and holy Lord, can you save those poor people and let them also have the happiness of a new life?"

The exhausted god opened his eyes, broke off a golden branch from the branches of the World Tree hanging beside him, and said to the priest: "Exchange my authority for food and give it to them."

The priest took the golden branch given by God to the East District, picked golden leaves according to God's will, and gave them to those who were suffering from hunger and disease.

Men, women, old and young bathed in the glory of the Holy Lord and ingested the leaves. The authority of God flowed in everyone's bones and blood. Their souls were no longer sad, and their bodies were far away from death.

From then on, they became the most God-like people.

……

Yuko Asakura and the mixed-race boy named "Widhais" walked towards the east district one after the other. At first, neither of them spoke.

It wasn't until the shadow of the temple completely disappeared behind him that Vader suddenly spoke: "Asakura Yuko, let's form an alliance. I'm a free player without a guild, and you, as a member of the Tingfeng Guild, are almost the same as a free player in this dungeon. If we don't want to be killed too early by those bastards who teamed up to come in, we have no choice but to unite."

Asakura Yuko was not surprised by Wade's proposal. As soon as she proposed to come to the East District to explore, Wade immediately said that he also wanted to come to the East District, and it was obvious that he wanted to join forces with her.

But she didn't know the other party's background, and as the holder of the [Forbidden Scholar] card, she didn't need an ally so urgently, so she said calmly: "With Fu Jue guarding the scene, it may not come to the stage of PVP. If the top players are put in the same confrontation instance, no one can guarantee that they can kill the other. According to past practice, they will basically tend to go the PVE route to pass the level."

Wade sneered: "Fu Jue may not be able to protect himself. This copy has reduced everyone's strength to the same level, and also provided a mechanism for the pagans to easily kill people. The temptation of killing gods is not something that everyone can resist."

"Why do you want to form an alliance with me?" Asakura Yuko adjusted her glasses and asked, "As far as I know, from the perspective of strength, ethnicity, gender and other divisions of groups, you have more suitable options. Cooperating directly with Fu Jue is also a good choice."

"Alliance is a nice way of saying it." Wade showed his teeth, and his smile seemed a little grim. "I hope to have a teammate who can listen to my orders, help me collect dungeon information, and make the same choice as me when voting. It's that simple."

Asakura Yuko understood that Wade thought she was easy to bully and wanted to use her as a tool...

She has always held a high-level perspective on the world. To her, people of all kinds have their own reasons for existence and can all be objects of observation.

Therefore, she was not angry at this moment. She just looked at Vader's expression and asked calmly: "How can you be sure that we belong to the same camp? How can you be sure that I am not a pagan and have no means of killing people?"

Wade shrugged nonchalantly. "What does it matter? As long as we kill all the other players, even if we are from different factions, the final result will be a draw. No one will die, and at most the reward will be less."

Yes, if you have enough ability to destroy other people's camps, positions and purposes unknown, it is indeed simple, convenient and free of trouble if you have enough ability to destroy them all.

But this is just an ideal situation, and reality often requires consideration of more factors.

Asakura Yuko thought for a moment and asked, "Can I refuse? I think there's a chance that you'll kill me for the reward when there are only two of us left."

"Of course you can refuse." Wade's smile was very sunny, just like the boy next door who you met by chance in the corridor in the afternoon. "But do you think that with your strength, even if you don't die at the hands of the players, you can survive the crisis of the copy itself without help? I remember you said that you are a civilian staff member."

"Okay, I agree if you are willing to provide me with personal safety." Asakura Yuko said with a false look, "Remember to tell me in advance what you need me to do, and I suggest you not to show your intention to kill on the first day, so as not to die on the first night."

"I'm not stupid, you don't need to remind me."

The two stopped talking and continued on their way. After leaving the temple, they changed back into black robes, which perfectly matched the tone of the Holy City and would not attract anyone's attention.

Along the way, many believers who were also wearing black robes came and went, but no one looked at them. Everyone's expression was pure and solemn, but a closer look revealed a blank look.

Turning the corner, a small square came into view. A huge crowd of people gathered into a large black shadow, forming a circle with three layers inside and three layers outside, leaving only a small open space in the middle.

They waited quietly, without any noise or fuss, as if some important ceremony was about to be held here and they were the indispensable participants.

An elderly priest in a white robe walked out of the crowd and stood in the middle of the open space. His face was even more sinister than Father Rach's, and his eyes were as turbid as a quagmire.

He opened his arms and solemnly announced: "In the donation just now, someone refused to pay the offering to the great holy Lord. I investigated and found that he fell last night and became a shameful pagan."

The mechanism on the ground was locked, and the movable marble slabs were pushed to both sides. A two-person-high black cross slowly rose up, tilted half a meter above the ground, and stopped steadily.

The priest raised his right hand and recited loudly: "Let us pray for our compatriots, wash away the sins they have committed, and grant them a pure and spotless new life..."

The crowd made way for a path, and a brown-haired young man wrapped in a grey shroud was escorted by two men in white robes and pushed all the way to the center of the square.

The young man's eyes were filled with fear, and he kept shouting and arguing incoherently: "I'm not a pagan! I didn't refuse the offering! I'm just afraid..."

His voice was soon drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

"Crucify him! Crucify the heretic!"

"It's because of him that the nights are getting longer and longer!"

"Crucify him! Appease the wrath of the Lord!"

The believers changed their peaceful and calm faces to show indignation and anger, as if the young man in front of them was their enemy who killed their father and mother, and they had to eat his flesh alive to vent their hatred.

Everyone shouted the same words together, repeating the voice that was completely correct in the situation. The power of the group was overwhelming, and every individual involved felt a sufficient sense of security and was sincerely proud.

Asakura Yuko watched all this silently. She was no stranger to this kind of religious fanaticism.

The Libra Church, where she had served for six years, had also held ceremonies to execute heretics. She had also been among those who were nailed to the rack. Her personal experience and theoretical research allowed her to gain more insights than others.

Six years ago, when she was 22 years old, she went to a war zone in Africa where resistance forces were rampant as an intern reporter. On the way, she was captured by a group of fanatical followers of the Libra Church.

Those bearded believers chattered in the local language, preparing to execute her and her fellow travelers in public as a bargaining chip to intimidate the Federation.

At the last moment, White Crow arrived and rebuked those crazy and foolish believers, telling them that the real enemy was the ruling class of the Federation, not the innocent civilians.

From the first moment she saw Bai Ya, Asakura Yuko was deeply attracted by this gentle yet charismatic woman. She felt that this evil cult leader that the Federation hated so much was not as evil as rumored. On the contrary, she deserved to be reported, just as the public deserved to know the facts and the truth.

Before leaving for Africa, she wrote in her diary: "Their criticism of the occupied areas is undoubtedly full of imagination and exaggeration. I hope to see the whole picture there with my own eyes and leave materials for future generations to understand this history through writing."

Bai Ya seemed to see what she was thinking, and said to her with a smile: "If you want to stay a little longer, then find a place to stay. I just brought a batch of supplies, so you won't need any food."

Asakura Yuko stayed and helped with some light chores on weekdays, taught the children in the Tianping-occupied area to write, and most of the time she observed and interviewed Bai Ya.

That month, she learned the stories of many Libra members, and knew that they had all suffered various injustices, and their families and hopes had been shattered under the huge millstone called "Federation".

She also understood Bai Ya's ideals and knew that the current federation was wrong. Foundations exploited civilians' assets, companies squeezed civilians' values, and a series of harsh decrees framed the fate of civilians. These should not exist.

The world needs a change, the old order needs to be rewritten, and everyone should be equal, regardless of wealth, gender or nationality.

That day, Asakura Yuko donated all her assets in Sakura Mansion to the Libra Church, and Bai Ya formally invited her to join the church.

Asakura Yuko said seriously: "Although I agree with your ideas and hope that you can fight for everything you deserve, I am a staunch atheist and do not intend to believe in illusory gods."

Bai Ya smiled suddenly: "Twenty-two years have passed. Maybe I am not as pious as you think. In my opinion, members of the Libra do not necessarily need to believe in gods. They only need to believe in the word 'Libra'."

The woman paused and said in a joking tone: "Besides, Yuko, don't you want to write a biography for me? I'm still alive, and your biography is not that easy to write."

So she stayed and became one of the atheist members of the "Libra".

……

At this moment, in the center of the square, the young man who was judged as a "heretic" by the priest had been tied to the cross.

His hoarse voice became increasingly weaker, and he repeated in vain: "I am not... a pagan..."

None of the believers watching were moved, and they all looked at the dying heretic at ease. They maintained a cruel indifference, as impartial as a jury in a court of law.

The priest pointed to the young man tied to the cross and solemnly declared: "He was tempted by the devil and believed in heresy. We will give him the final judgment."

The believers cheered loudly, everyone's face was filled with fanaticism, irrational emotions spread like a virus, and everyone was part of this grand show.

The man in white robe held a ferocious long nail in his hand and drove it into the young man's wrist, causing blood and screams to spurt out.

Asakura Yuko heard the believers around her gasping for breath, and after their sighs, they burst into new cheers.

Long nails were driven into the young man's limbs. His screams gradually became weaker and were drowned out by the boiling voices of people around him.

When the last nail fell, the priest raised his hand, and the tilted cross was lifted up, standing straight and tall in the center of the square.

The eye-catching execution platform and the corpse on it are the most eye-catching landmark in the square, bloody yet sacred.

"We executed the heretics!"

"Lord! Look at us!"

People's emotions were pushed to a climax. They watched the execution of heretics intently, and expressed their intuitive sense of participation with loud shouts.

Asakura Yuko mixed in the noise, watching this farce calmly and almost indifferently.

This is a copy, everything in the copy is fake, there is no need to care about the death of NPCs.

Even if she were a real person, she would not give too much love now. Specific sympathy for an individual is useless compared to the overall suffering.

If the rules of the world do not change, it will be futile to save more people. All she can do is to help Bai Ya achieve his ultimate ideal at all costs, even if her hands are stained with blood.

The young man on the cross groaned helplessly and desperately. The sound became weaker and weaker, and finally stopped at a certain moment.

—He died, with his head hanging.

The trial of pagans finally came to an end, and believers dispersed in all directions like sea water surging onto the beach.

Chaos is the best time to fish in troubled waters. Asakura Yuko quickly locked on her target - a believer who looked absent-minded in the corner.

She pulled out a dagger, walked over as if to start a conversation, and neatly placed the blade against the believer's neck.

The sharp white blade was hidden by the cloth of the robe. From the back, they looked like good friends, with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Asakura Yuko spoke in a low voice, using every word carefully: "Follow me, or die."

Even Wade was shocked for a moment by Asakura Yuko's clean and neat gangster behavior. After all, before this, he always thought that Asakura Yuko was the kind of theorist who could only talk about things on paper with a bunch of clues.

You call this a "civilian staff"? Why is there someone who pulls a knife when he disagrees with someone? Is he more decisive than a violent player like him?
At this moment, the unfortunate believer was grabbed by the collar and dragged into the shadows behind a marble building.

This believer had an ordinary appearance and had always been hidden in the crowd and unnoticed. He had only been standing on the street for a while when he was spotted by Asakura Yuko. It was truly an unprovoked disaster.

Looking at the trembling believer NPC who even grabbed his trouser waist, Asakura Yuko pressed the blade down, and her voice, which was used to asking various questions, was calm and cold: "What's your name?"

"F...Flor..." The believer stammered out a name, his eyes wandering.

"Tell me about the legend of the Holy Lord," Asakura Yuko said, enunciating each word clearly. "What are the dangers in the darkness and the prophecy of the Last Judgment? Tell me everything you know."

"You don't know these...you are a pagan!" Flor seemed to have heard something unbelievable. His eyes widened in fear and he opened his mouth to shout.

Asakura Yuko was prepared. She covered his mouth with one hand and stabbed the short knife into his left palm with the other hand. She said in a low voice without emotion: "If you don't want to answer, the next knife will be stabbed into your throat."

(End of this chapter)