Working Records in a Weird World - 59

 

| WRIAWW | What a Surprise Encounter | 59

Joshua hadn’t been in the best mood lately.

First, his plans had been disrupted for no reason. Despite multiple attempts, he not only failed to achieve the desired results but also suffered significant losses.

Previously, as one of the newly promoted member of the Temple Army, the ambitious Bai Shao would often visit the temple and looked for opportunities to show his loyalty.

But now, ever since the last mission went awry, Bai Shao would run away at the sight of him, let alone visit the temple. If it weren’t for the fact that Bai Shao still had over fifty points of emotional value, Joshua would have suspected that he had encountered the same absurd situation as Tao Buxin.

Having failed twice in a row only fueled Joshua’s desire to kill.

Few people knew that, in the shadows, Joshua had already extended his control over the three major guilds. He had people in high positions within each guild who could act on his behalf, with the Watchtower Guild, which had always been on high alert against him, being the most heavily infiltrated.

This time, however, he was using a pawn from the Spiritual Guild.

Those who knew the identity of this pawn would be shocked, as it was none other than the vice leader of the Spiritual Guild—Shu Xingguang.

Shu Xingguang was also a veteran A-level in the Infinite Space. Unlike the flamboyant vice president of the Moon Guild, Yi Siqi, or the ever-present and efficient secretary-like vice president of the Watchtower Guild, An Tao, Shu Xingguang was low-key, mild-mannered, and uncompetitive.

Most survivors tended to focus their attention on the more capable and slightly more flamboyant president of the Spiritual Guild, rather than Shu Xingwen.

It was precisely because of this that no one knew Shu Xingguang’s rise to the position of vice president of the Spiritual Guild had been facilitated by Joshua’s behind-the-scenes efforts.

“Monitor the movements of the talented newcomer at all times. I need to know immediately where he appears and what missions he is taking.”

“Yes, sir.”

Seeing that Bai Shao was no longer of any use, Joshua quickly adjusted his strategy and handed over the item that could detect the names of friends currently on missions to Shu Xingguang.

However, after reviewing Bai Shao’s records, Joshua had already begun to piece together some clues about his unusual behavior.

However, what was frustrating was that for several days after the completion of the ?-level mission, Zong Le had no mission execution records. Coupled with the recent complaints from the major guilds, Joshua began to have doubts.

"Could it be that he discovered some clues and decided to stay at home for several days after completing the mission?"

Soon, Joshua dismissed this thought himself.

He had always been cautious and left no traces. Even if he knew that Tao Buxin's brainwashing had been reverse, he was confident that the other party couldn’t obtain any information about him from Tao Buxin.

Zong Le could stay at home and not take on missions, but Joshua couldn’t.

Occasionally taking on missions to help the weak was also an essential part of his strategy to win hearts and establish his saintly persona.

The days of waiting had worn down his patience, so Joshua casually accepted a request for a S-level mission. This mission had been delayed due to insufficient participants, and those who had signed up were mostly unlucky B-level survivors.

They had been wailing on the forum from morning till night, hoping that a high-level survivor would take pity and carry them.

High-level survivors weren’t charitable. Moreover, if the mission participants were willing, they could pool some points and hire someone from the Merchant Guild. But they were all short on points, and several attempts to contact high-level survivor had failed.

Joshua had been following this post, waiting for the best opportunity to make his entrance.

He had to wait until everyone had been transported into the mission, looking at their pale and despairing faces, he descended like a god from heaven to achieve the maximum effect.

"Lord Joshua!"

"Wuwuwu, 1st, we’re saved!"

Sure enough, when that elegant silver figure appeared in the mission, the low-level survivors instantly erupted in excitement. Some fell to their knees on the spot, while others rubbed their eyes furiously, afraid that this was a hallucination before their impending death.

"I happened to see your post on the forum."

The silver-haired patriarch slowly walked towards the crowd, the hem of his white robe brushing against the dew-covered grass. The nearby streetlamp cast a holy glow on him, and even his silver hair, fluttering in the wind, seemed to carry a divine aura.

"The mission was about to start, I noticed that you still hadn’t managed to recruit a high-level survivor. I happened to have some free time and thought I might be able to offer a little help, so I came."

His words were extremely humble, yet they brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

Who would have thought that the esteemed 1st would stoop to carry low-level survivors through a mission?

"But you don’t need to be so excited."

Seeing them all wailing and crying, Joshua smiled sheepishly. "I don’t have any combat abilities. At most, I can only provide healing from the back and set up a protective barrier. Actually completing the mission will still depend on you."

"That’s more than enough!"

"Yes, Lord Joshua, it’s more than enough. We were already prepared to go it alone. You joining is already an unexpected blessing. How could we possibly ask for more?"

Everyone knew that although Joshua didn’t have combat abilities, his presence alone was like a massive healing spring for everyone, and a mobile one at that.

Moreover, the aura he carried made weirds wary of approaching, which provided several layers of protection, making him even more reliable than a typical S-level survivor.

"Without further delay, let's get started"

After that, Joshua didn’t waste any time and led the group straight in.

The location of this S-level mission is in the Guiyi City Church.

After the completion of the ?-level mission, the three major guilds in the south had their fixed teams for dungeon runs, and the S-level missions had their own partnerships. Under such circumstances, the S-level mission of the church naturally didn’t attract much attention.

However, Joshua had some thoughts about the church.

When he was doing the Tianmen Mansion mission, he saw many church-related items in Madam Xue’s study, along with a journal left by a church priest. A simple analysis revealed that the strange occurrences in her belly were undoubtedly connected to the church.

‘The church in this dungeon can actually create weirds artificially. Interesting.’

The conclusion he drew made Joshua very intrigued.

Thus, in this mission where he would usually be slacking along, he decided to contribute some effort. After all, in the past, Joshua wouldn’t have cared about the mission or the survivors, at most he would ensure that their deaths wouldn’t tarnish his reputation.

But this was an S-level mission. Investigating the clues took a lot of time, and midway through, they were caught red-handed because they did not know the church’s taboos.

“You are all sinners and must repent in the church’s confession room!”

Halfway through the mission, the nun’s voice turned cold as she slammed the door of the confession room shut, locking all the other survivors inside.

After turning around, she changed her demeanor: “Since you are also a priest, you shall be responsible for guarding them.”

Although she was an NPC, the nun could recognize the cross-shaped holy mark on the forehead of the silver-haired priest before her.

The holy mark was a sacred phenomenon in the church, usually appearing only on devout or high-ranking priest, symbolizing the mark of God.

“Thank you,” Joshua said, making the sign of the cross on himself. “I'm grateful for your kindness.”

It could be said that the moment she saw the holy mark, the nun’s favorability toward Joshua increased by forty-five points. Combined with Joshua’s skillful maneuvering, it didn’t take long for him to reach a level where he could issue force commands.

“Ah, speaking of which, there’s a small matter I’d like to ask you about.”

Seeing that the conditions was sufficient, Joshua’s blue eyes deepened as he stared at the number above the nun’s head, directly activating his ability: “You’ve worked here for so many years, so you must remember some generous believers, right? There’s a Madam Xue from the eastern district who is said to have received an extraordinary gift from the church.”

"Madam Xue?" The nun's eyes were vacant, her words spilling out uncontrollably: "Oh, that woman who specialized in seducing men, then finding ways to kill them and inherit their fortunes. She was quite the vixen. Indeed, she used to buy a lot of items from our church and would spend lavishly. However, there were more generous patrons in the southern district, so this lucrative gift shouldn’t have fallen into her lap."

"But then again, she was quite skilled at seduction. Who knows what methods she used to coax the priest into agreeing to her request. That day, while I was mopping the outer corridor, I saw them enter the confessional room together. By the time I finished mopping and returned, they were just coming out. By then, that woman Xue already had her hand on her belly, clearly pregnant. For the first few months, she often came here with her belly protruding. I don’t know what happened later, but she died. Honestly, it’s for the best..."

Not interested in these meaningless and trivial details, Joshua smiled and interrupted her: "How did she get pregnant? Did she sleep with the priest?"

"How would I know!"

The nun stammered, then blustered: "This is a church! How could such filthy acts be allowed here!"

Listening to her response, Joshua realized he wouldn’t get any useful information from the nun.

So he inquired about the priest’s location and took back his command over her.

Unexpectedly, the priest of this church was an elderly man.

None of the NPCs were good people. The moment Joshua saw the old priest, the skyrocketing emotional value above his head said it all. It seemed the rumors on the forum about the priest of Guiyi City having a particular fondness for young boys weren’t baseless.

"Which church are you from? I’ve never heard of you in Guiyi City. Someone as devout as you, bearing that holy mark, shouldn’t be unknown."

"I don’t go out much, and I’ve just arrived in this city, so I thought I’d pay a visit."

Joshua wore a polite smile, skillfully engaging in the usual pleasantries.

Thanks to the old priest’s enthusiasm and Joshua’s deliberate guidance, the prey quickly fell into his grasp without any effort.

"How did Madam Xue get pregnant?"

Though the old priest harbored ill intentions, he was just an ordinary NPC and powerless against the Eros Code.

His cloudy pupils gradually dilated, and his gnarled fingers trembled as he pointed to the back: "The... the big shots from the western district placed some unfinished experimental subjects here, entrusting us to find suitable candidates."

Joshua raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Where are the remaining experimental subjects? Take me to see them."

Before the words fully left his mouth, a foul, chilling wind suddenly swept in from the direction of the confession room.

The once lush green grass on the ground was visibly fading at an alarming rate. Joshua frowned.

He realized that those idiots locked in the confession room must have been too restless, triggering this weird domain.

But he couldn’t care less about the fate of these lambs.

"They reap what they’ve sown... Lead the way."

Just as Joshua casually stepped over the fading grass and passed by the small chapel, he caught a sudden glimpse of something.

"Wait."

Joshua suddenly stopped, raising his hand to halt the elderly priest guiding him, his eyes narrowing.

Following the kaleidoscopic light cast through the stained glass, he saw a familiar figure sitting obediently on the third row of pews in the small chapel, head bowed as he flipped through a hymnal book.

The light from the hanging lamp above spilled onto his black hair, creating a dazzling, almost surreal effect.

The moment he caught sight of Zong Le, the corners of Joshua's lips slowly curled upward, his eyes shimmering with a deep, predatory blue light.

"How truly..."

He murmured softly, his fingers unconsciously caressing the authority ring on his hand, his voice tinged with a dangerous delight: "What a pleasant surprising encounter."

 

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