Chapter 18
The last time he’d seen so many zeroes was when he was staring at his debt.
“Too exciting.”
He decided to start from the last page.
There were items he could afford with his more than 200 points, but none of them were currently essential. Jiang Jitang’s gaze unconsciously drifted toward the big spinning wheel.
There was also the high-tier wheel, originally costing 1,000 points per spin, but during this promotional period, it could be done once at a 90% discount, only 100 points. Although even using it didn’t guarantee he’d get what he needed, not using it felt like losing 900 points.
Jiang Jitang had hoped to try his luck and get something like a bottle of Blessing Oil, but unfortunately, it wasn’t available. He instead drew a “lucky rune” on his arm—purely for psychological comfort.
Click. Confirm.
The high-tier wheel began to spin while 100 points were deducted.
The wheel gradually slowed. The pointer passed white, then purple, then blue… slowing further until it entered the green zone.
The green area was quite large, and he frowned. Fortunately, although the pointer moved painfully slow, it didn’t stop in the green—it slipped into the adjacent orange zone.
The orange zone—rare!
But the pointer continued forward, slow yet steady. It looked like it would pass through the orange and stop in the white area ahead.
Ding. It stopped. Right on the border between orange and white.
A fine line between heaven and hell. Even someone normally composed like Jiang Jitang couldn’t help but tense up—it wouldn’t actually give him a white item after spending 100 points, would it?
[Congratulations, Tasker. You have obtained an Orange Item: Miniature Temple.]
[Miniature Temple: A temple built through pooling funds from local gentry. Though small, it still features stained glass windows, fine murals, and a gilded dome. Can accommodate up to 30 people at once.]
“While inside the Miniature Temple, evil energy can be slowly dispelled from the body. Each hour grants a buff, lasting 3 hours. Maximum stack: 1 layer. Upgrade requires 10,000 points.”
Jiang Jitang stared at the description bubble and fell silent. Even Golden Eyes, who normally had no emotional intelligence, shut his mouth.
Back then, he’d gone to bomb the Divine Temple with the resolve to die. And now he was being rewarded with a Miniature Temple. This was truly… truly, a hellish joke.
“Not bad. Looks valuable,” Jiang Jitang said, letting it go.
A dead man has no worries—he’d already died once. The past was past.
Ding!
[Special building detected. Would you like to activate Business Mode based on this special building? Once you select the business type, it cannot be changed. All branch expansions will follow this base. Please choose carefully.]
“No, not considering it. Exit.” he replied without hesitation.
Let it go? He couldn’t let it go—he resented even the roof of the place.
“Master, it’s raining.”
A sudden downpour drummed violently against the corrugated asbestos roof on the balcony. From his position in the dining room, he could only see a vague glow of lights outside, sharpened by the rain.
The rain separated worlds.
Just moments ago, he’d still been smiling. Now he stared, dazed. The room grew especially quiet.
—
On the other side of the city, someone else was watching the same rain.
He’d spent the whole day outside searching. He carefully studied every person he passed. He wasn’t afraid of searching without a clear target—only of missing something that slipped past his fingertips like hair sliding through fingers.
He’d missed many times before—wanting to catch the rebel leader without realizing that man had been right beside him.
Later, he missed once more.
After missing, came the death announcement.
Illman was dead, taking all possibilities with him. Their story ended then—without an ending.
The corpse of the “Blasphemer” was sent to the ruins of the Temple of Light, placed on a wooden platform and burned.
But memories cannot be burned. Believers were still terrified and bewildered.
The Blasphemer had left behind words that disturbed minds, and even the so-called main temple “protected by divine forces” was destroyed. The Scepter of Light wrapped in divine blood was ruined. Did gods truly exist?
“I am the leader of the Rebel Army, Illman.”
The image was secretly recorded and preserved in privately circulated memory stones.
Parsons could still recall every detail of it.
Before death, the legendary Blasphemer and Rebel Army leader Illman used powerful magic to open dozens of Sky Mirrors above the heavens—not just above the capital, but visible from other nations and cities too.
A face appeared: marked with traces of blood, but beautiful like a deity.
The one rumored to be a vile instigator of war—yet possessing the divine-favored wisdom of a man with black hair and black eyes. His gaze was like silent moonlight, and when he smiled, it shimmered like ripples on a lake.
He was so composed, unafraid of death.
“The Church accuses me of destroying the peaceful age, bringing war and suffering, blasphemy.”
Holy officials surrounded him, spell orbs and weapons flying across the sky. Illman stood alone upon the ruins of the temple, conversing and laughing amidst flames of war:
“There are those who resemble lambs—who sow daily yet starve, who chop wood yet may freeze to death, who work diligently but cannot obtain a home of their own, unable to even protect their family.
“And there are others whose fingers have never been wet by water or dirt, who have never shed a drop of sweat. They enjoy exquisite food, luxurious clothes, beautiful houses and carefree lives. Out of boredom, they hold parties nightly, raising their wines to toast the so-called ‘peaceful age granted by the gods’.”
“When one day, the starving farmer refuses to give up the grain needed to live, the freezing hunter refuses to hand over his fur, and the displaced craftsman wants to live in a house he built with his own hands—they are accused…
War mongers. Destroyers of the peaceful age.
The Church declares them guilty, because they dared to take what should have been theirs. Hahahahaha.”
The man laughed wildly, blood pouring from his mouth. He wiped it away carelessly, staggered, eyes flashing with madness.
The prodigal son raised among nobles pointed his blood-stained spearhead at all nobles and clergy.
“If the peaceful age means those who never sow eat white bread and call the farmer lazy and deserving of hunger.
If the peaceful age means those who never weave wear silks and call the weaver ignorant and deserving of the cold.
If the peaceful age means those whose fingers never touch soil live in palaces and mock the craftsman as greedy and deserving of poverty.”
His voice suddenly rose: “Then I spit upon this peaceful age!”
“They will attack me, kill me, curse me. But after I am gone, all who labor will be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, raise their children, and live.”
“They will brand me a Blasphemer. Because their god teaches lambs to lay down their weapons and bow their heads, offering flesh and blood, parents and offspring, and even their skin. The demons revel, the self-proclaimed servants of god take off their robes—then seize weapons to carve the lambs’ flesh, their parents and their offspring, before donning their blood-soaked skins.”
That handsome face shone under bloodlight. He extended his hand—madness and holiness fused together:
“Only the enemy wishes us to lay down our weapons and stretch our necks for the executioner. Only the enemy wishes us weak, sick, and suffering. Only the enemy blames us for laziness, ignorance, and greed when we fight desperately to survive yet still have nothing!
“So… whose god is that?”
In the end, the figure in the image spat a puddle of blood and could no longer even stand straight. Yet he seemed all the more joyful, staring into death until the end:
“I shall die… but the Rebel Army shall never die. Go now. Ignite the flames of war. I will wait for you here… my successors.”
It was said that day, too, rain fell like this. But because the “demon incarnate” was deemed so sinful, they ignited it three times before the oil-soaked wood finally burned, and the purifying flame turned the sinful soul to ash.
Yet after his death, more rebel flags rose across the continent.
The hybrid siren of the Emerald Sea, the wanderers of the Briar Forest, the hidden Mage Council… each claimed to be the heirs of the rebel spirit.
Indeed, they had the right to do so—they originated from the same rebel force, inheriting its lands, armies, and ideology.
Those who raised the rebel banner surged like a raging sea, like an unstoppable storm.
The firmest believer, once the Child of Light himself, felt his faith shaken. Thus he chose to hide his identity and leave the capital—to follow that man’s footsteps and see the world he once saw.
Parsons slowly closed his eyes.
The past still felt like yesterday, every moment still making his heart tremble. His doubts, his anger, his deception and wounds, and every cause and effect—all halted with that man’s death.
Halted, but not ended. Instead, time brewed it into something even more complex, rooted densely within his soul.
He almost never drank, yet now he took a bottle from the mini-fridge and opened it.
“I thought I would still have the chance to question you face-to-face, refute you, challenge you.”
But he died, leaving no chance.
“I will find you, no matter what.”
The rain fell all night, washing the dust from the earth, leaving misty haze. But at dawn, the light dispelled it. Warm light landed on dewdrops, blooming into seven colors.
—
Today was a brand new and beautiful day.
“Hi, good morning, Little Eyes. Good morning, System.”
“G-good morning, Master,” Golden Eyes shyly greeted.
Ding!
[Tasker’s condition is special. Body-strengthening potion cannot enhance physical stats. Strength Blessing can compensate once.]
Still lying in bed, Jiang Jitang stared at the ceiling. Cannot enhance physical stats?
Strength Blessing: A gift from the God of Might, effective regardless of physical condition.
He looked at the miniature golden apple. The instant he touched it, it disappeared, and a law fragment similar to the Tree of Life’s seed fell upon his soul.
If physical enhancement is impossible… then use enchantment?
“Show today’s tasks.” Jiang Jitang walked into the bathroom. While brushing his teeth, he carefully reviewed the refreshed task list.
Today’s task list was different from yesterday’s—not just due to changes in world conditions, but also in task difficulty and settlement times.
Task 1: Please prepare a seven-person meal for the Pioneer Zone ‘Black Eagle’ squad. Budget: 15 credit points -> 75 yuan. Note: must be filling. Caution: moderate pollution environment with beast threats. Basic protective gear and self-defense measures required. (Difficulty 
, countdown 17:23:55.)”
Task 2: Please purchase a tent house capable of sheltering from wind and rain for a scavenger family. Budget: 180 credit points -> 900 yuan. Note: for a family of four. (Difficulty , countdown 39:07:11.)”
Task 3: Please transport the severely injured gene warrior to Zone T003. Reward: 80 credit points -> 400 yuan. Note: patient is severely injured—exercise caution during transfer. Caution: must pass through three zones of unknown resident disposition—requires deterrent capability. (Difficulty , countdown 04:18:03.)”
No special tasks.
It’s getting more exciting…
Thanks for the translations!