Chapter 20: Black Death and Deities 02 Part 2

Waste is shameful; everyone’s responsibility!

Jian Bumian raised his hand and carefully took the robe down from the rack.

He did have the church Priest’s permission, after all.

And once his original clothes dried, he would wash the robe and return it.

Jian Bumian took off the damp, coarse clothes and draped them over the window sill to dry in the sun, then prepared to put the robe on.

Just as the fabric touched his skin, the System’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

【Congratulations Player Jian Bumian! You have discovered the item “Holy Mother’s Robe”!】

【Name: A pure and sacred holy robe, designed overall with gold and white as its color scheme.】

【This item is a wearable-type item. Cannot be removed until its usage count is exhausted.】

Before Jian Bumian could react, the clothing, like a buff, appeared on his body before he even put it on.

He finally felt a long-missed warmth. The robe, warmed through by sunlight, exuded a fragrant, sun-baked scent, draping warmly over him.

His body, chilled icy-cold by the wet fabric, finally slowly began to warm up.

But not long after, Jian Bumian frowned. He felt his thighs were still very cold.

He looked down… and discovered the lower half of this robe was split open, just like a qipao…

Whenever he lifted his leg, the two panels of fabric would slide down accordingly, and cool wind would brush against his skin.

And it wasn’t just the lower half. Because this robe was modeled after ancient Roman style, the overall amount of fabric was pitifully sparse.

The only thing giving him any sense of snugness was the waist tie.

The silk sash matching in gold and white outlined the boy’s slender, soft waist.

Resting against Jian Bumian’s chest was a small, delicate cross necklace, which complemented his snow-white skin perfectly.

Anklets of gold were fastened around his bare, clean ankles.

Jian Bumian: “……”

This garment couldn’t be taken off anymore.

But it was still better than wearing the wet, coarse sackcloth.

Jian Bumian tried to console himself with various reasons like “he wasn’t the focus of the crowd” and “no one would notice him.”

The moment he took his first step, he dismissed that thought entirely.

A small bell was attached to the gold anklet. Every step he took, a clear, crisp ringing sounded. It would constantly alert those around him that something was fastened around this young man’s ankle.

If Jian Bumian was targeted by malicious ghosts, he simply couldn’t flee. No matter where he ran, the tinkling sound would follow, heralding his escape route.

【If only that anklet had a gold chain attached, then the wife would really be a little imprisoned canary!!】

【Mianmian’s feet are so pale and pretty, like ceramic artwork. Makes one want to collect them.】

【Ding-a-ling-a-ling~~ Your Mian cub is here!】

Jian Bumian: “……”

He pretended not to hear the sound the anklet made, left the wardrobe room, followed the spiral staircase, and returned to the church hall.

He didn’t forget to take the Priest’s Indulgences with him, to prevent anyone with ill intentions from taking them and using them.

In the short while he was gone, the floating counter had already jumped to a terrifying number.

【24h New Infections: 450】

【451…】

【452…】

Only fifty people short of reaching the condition for all players to be wiped out.

Some veteran players had begun searching their backpacks for any usable items, hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of death at the last moment.

A few players with livestreams begged their audiences, weeping, to gift them items.

Sadly, the instance didn’t grant them this final peace.

The church’s main doors, silent until now, were suddenly pounded by heavy knocking.

The knocking grew louder, denser.

It wasn’t just one person knocking—it was many, many people…

One player immediately pushed open the church’s stained-glass window and peered outside.

The moment he saw the scene beyond the church, his face turned deathly pale!

…Before the church doors, a dense mass of resident NPCs had gathered! As far as the eye could see, it was a boundless black sea of humanity!

The entire city’s resident NPCs were crammed in front of the church doors!

And this wasn’t the most horrifying part. A considerable number of these residents had already been infected with the Black Death. They had already become rats.

They looked half-human, half-rat: gray skin, heads grotesquely pointed like a rat’s, faces reduced to four black, hollow holes.

They moved on all fours, their waists arched up bizarrely, their entire bodies twisted and grotesque. But their body sizes hadn’t changed; they were still human-sized, making each one seem like a giant rat.

Yet these pitiable residents hadn’t realized they were infected with the Black Death. They still crowded amongst the populace, frantically ramming the church doors with their heads, wanting to get in.

If they were just ordinary instance monsters, letting them in wouldn’t matter; at worst, they’d just engage in a slaughter with the players.

But they were infected with the Black Death. If they got in, the whole church would become a hotbed of plague.

No player would escape.

What was more, the counter in the church had issued its mission. If they didn’t find a way to control the plague’s spread speed, all players would be wiped out.

These residents were all gathered in one place. Along with them, many uninfected healthy residents were turning into rats one after another.

The infection number was rising faster and faster.

These residents, while frantically pounding on the church door, were also shouting a single phrase in unison.

“Indulgence.”

“I want an Indulgence.”

“Give me an Indulgence.”

“…”

These residents didn’t understand the existence of viruses or plagues. They believed they were suffering illness because past sins had caused God to inflict punishment upon them.

This moment was exactly the time the church usually sold Indulgences.

In the residents’ subconscious, the Priest should be coming out with a limited number of Indulgences for them to bid on.

But they had no idea the Priest had already been killed by Jian Bumian. They could only pound on the door aimlessly, trying to force their way into the church.

The church doors looked ready to burst open.

The counter looked ready to hit five hundred infections.

The players erupted in panic. Someone screamed at the top of their lungs: “Who has Indulgences?! Quickly, search the church for Indulgences!”

The next moment, a clear, gentle voice rang out.

“The Indulgences are with me.”

Everyone turned toward the sound.

The young man stood on the spiral staircase, half leaning against the stair railing, one hand propping up his beautiful face casually.

He noticed all the players tilting their heads up to look at him, so he curved his eyes into a smile and returned a polite, sweet smile.

The pristine white holy robe he wore was dyed a dazzling gold by the sunlight, completely out of place amongst the players’ coarse sackcloth.

His whole figure looked like a minor deity NPC who had accidentally fallen into the human world, leaning playfully on the railing, watching the flustered and bedraggled player group.

In the next instant, Jian Bumian stepped onto a section of the railing near the wall, jumped onto the window sill, kicked open the stained-glass window, and, accompanied by the crisp ringing of bells, vaulted out of the church—

The young man’s robes fluttered; his clean, sharp silhouette, mingling with the intense sunlight, was like a beautiful little white-gold sparrow.

It was a long while before a player finally stammered in shock: “This player, what, what is he trying to do…?!”

Jian Bumian didn’t jump directly into the crowd.

The window he chose led precisely to a high platform belonging to the church.

The platform was filled with fresh flowers and ceremonial cannons, the place where church personnel would preside over religious rites.

Seeing Jian Bumian appear, the residents surged from the church doors to gather below the platform, tilting their heads up to look at him.

The beautiful person before them was wearing a holy robe, standing against the light. His figure was outlined by a dazzling halo of light. He lowered his brows and eyes, faintly watching the people below.

Even though his expression revealed no emotion, because he was so extraordinarily good-looking, his face naturally displayed gentleness and fragility. In the residents’ eyes, this made him seem like a little god taking pity on mortals.

The resident NPCs noticed the sack of Indulgences in Jian Bumian’s hand.

A wild light erupted in their eyes instantly. They raised their hands high, clamoring at Jian Bumian for Indulgences!

To ensure they could buy Indulgences, each carried a large amount of gold coins, a huge, heavy sackful, hanging from their wrists. They lifted them for Jian Bumian to see, terrified he might refuse to give them Indulgences.

The residents weren’t wealthy—in fact, they were extremely poor. This money was nearly obtained by selling their very lives.

For that thin slip of an Indulgence, they hadn’t hesitated to sell their houses, their children, even everything they owned.

Jian Bumian noticed the gazes of these NPCs. He glanced down at the sack in his hand and said casually: “Oh… you want this?”

The counter in the church turned a deep, bloody crimson.

【474】

【…480】

【…484】

Jian Bumian made no move regarding the Indulgences. He bowed his head, staring at the sack of filthy Indulgences, lost in thought.

Slowly, he lifted the sack. Just as the viewers and residents alike thought he would sell them like the Priest had—

The sack of Indulgences was flung high into the air by Jian Bumian, tracing a perfect arc in the sky.

Splash!

…The sack was tossed into a river not far away.

The swift, turbulent current swallowed the tiny sack instantly.

…

The residents fell into a strange, eerie silence for a moment.

The players who had poked their heads out, nervously watching Jian Bumian, were all momentarily stunned.

Jian Bumian brushed off the palm that had touched the sack of Indulgences. His handsome brows furrowed with a trace of disgust.

—Of course he wouldn’t sell such filthy, hypocritical things as Indulgences.

Why would he do something like that?

He wasn’t a pure Holy Son, nor was he a member of the Church.

He was just an ordinary newbie player draped in a sacred robe. His purpose in coming to this instance was only to hunt for delicious food. Nothing more.

The residents below the platform were furious. Why would this church member throw away the Indulgences? But because the Church held authority over everyone, they only dared to be angry, not to speak out.

They saw the beautiful young man on the platform, who had thrown away the Indulgences, flash them a playful smile. His airy voice drifted down like feathers:

“Today, we won’t be selling Indulgences.”

He wore the holy robes of the Holy Mother, his face as gentle and flawless as an angel’s, but in truth, he was more like a little succubus from ancient myth—beautiful and dangerous, his next play utterly unpredictable.

【24h Infection Count: …494】

“Our God, is kind, merciful.”

“You don’t need to spend a single coin; you can still receive the salvation you desire.”

“…”

Hearing the phrase “don’t need to spend a single coin,” the residents’ anger instantly shifted. They looked up at Jian Bumian with excitement.

Jian Bumian blinked, curling the corner of his lips. His pinkish lips looked as if they held a long-thorned rose:

“It’s just that God requires you to pay a small price.”

The residents froze.

Of course. For salvation, to rid themselves of this sickness and sin, to ensure they could ascend to Heaven after death, they would do anything.

They heard the succubus-like beautiful young man on the high platform explain the so-called price demanded by God.

…Stay at home and don’t run around.

???

Jian Bumian didn’t forget to trot out the so-called “deity” for a walk.

He began to boast with great emotion:

“God is very true to His word. But He doesn’t like children who run around. As long as you obediently stay at home, God will bless you and forgive all your sins.”

“After all, He is the great and honorable God.”

Jian Bumian was just talking from his lips. He didn’t believe in God at all; he didn’t even know if deities existed in this instance.

Since the church here already made up nonsense about what God was like, even fabricating that God would hand out filthy Indulgences, he could also just make things up like a copycat.

The most effective way to control the infection speed now, besides bathing and quarantine, was, most importantly, to avoid running around. This was also the easiest thing for the resident NPCs to do.

All you needed were legs.

Especially the Black Death-infected NPCs, who even had four legs.

…The residents were dumbfounded, but they genuinely believed Jian Bumian’s words.

No need to spend a single coin. Just stay obediently at home, and salvation would be attained.

Their dark, oppressive silhouettes gradually grew indistinct, eventually vanishing into the air.

At the same time.

The players inside the church saw the floating counter… actually stop its ticking.

【24h Infection Count: 498】

It had stopped at a number poised on a razor’s edge.

【Day One Mission complete. Player Jian Bumian successfully caused the resident NPCs to obey and controlled the infection speed.】

【Main storyline will be distributed in eight hours. Please note. Wishing you a night of pleasant dreams.】

The players burst into sudden cheers!

Including the audience of Jian Bumian’s livestream.

【Woohoo!! Mianmian is awesome!! Mianmian snatched victory back!!】