Lord of Prayer - Chapter 404 - 261: Human Desire Is Like a Boulder Rolling Down a Mountain; Once It Begins, It Cannot Be Stopped
As the number of members in the Round Table Hall grew, the free discussion session became much more lively.
In addition to the newcomers recommended by veteran members like Colin, Zhou Chen had also randomly selected several other suitable Ascenders. These new members from all over the world brought a wealth of interesting intelligence: a pirate raid in one sea, every sow in a city becoming pregnant overnight in another, the capture of a notorious fugitive, and an outbreak of Crystal Disease with bizarre symptoms in some region…
During the session, two Ascenders began discussing the whereabouts of a particular fugitive and struck a private deal. One obtained the needed information and promised to pay the other a reward upon the fugitive’s capture, an offer the other party readily accepted.
A few others also successfully traded for the Extraordinary Materials they needed and were quite pleased. All in all, it was a good start.
After about ten minutes, seeing that the conversations were winding down, Zhou Chen announced the meeting was over. He reminded the newcomers not to leak any information about the Round Table Hall before severing the connections and sending them all back to reality.
Afterward, with a mere thought from Zhou Chen, the white mist surged. The Round Table Hall rapidly expanded, and the number of seats increased to thirty.
Then, he pulled the consciousnesses of thirty pre-selected ordinary people into the Round Table Hall.
The empty seats were instantly filled with figures. Two-thirds of them were disabled—missing arms or legs, or paralyzed from the waist down. The remaining third consisted of people with incredibly strong desires. All of them were ideal candidates.
Zhou Chen smiled faintly and began his next pitch:
“——Welcome to the Round Table Hall. You can call me the ’Lamp God’.”
·
Ever since he started cultivating Lin Ya and the others as a personal cash crop, Zhou Chen had reaped a good amount of Prayer Points. While it was a drop in the bucket compared to his current reserves, it would have been a handsome sum in the past.
And that was just from three people. If the number grew to thirty, three hundred, three thousand, or even thirty thousand… Zhou Chen didn’t dare to imagine it. Prayer Points would flow in endlessly. He could sit back and rake in a fortune.
Right now, not counting his two alt accounts, the Round Table Hall had expanded to forty-two members. It wasn’t a huge number, but it was undoubtedly a promising start.
The members all had powerful desires they wanted to fulfill, and this was their driving force. They would struggle and work hard to achieve them. The closer they got to their goals and the stronger they became, the more Prayer Points they would generate. More Prayer Points meant the Round Table Hall could be upgraded with more functions, allowing it to accommodate more new members. More members meant more desires, which in turn generated more Prayer Points, enabling the Round Table Hall to expand even further… It was a perfect positive feedback loop from which Zhou Chen could continuously profit.
This was no longer just harvesting leeks; this was long-term pig farming. He would raise his members until they were big and fat, then skim the profits off them.
Human desire is like a boulder rolling down a mountain; once it starts, it cannot be stopped.
Once one wish is fulfilled, another will take its place. As long as people are alive, they are bound to have wants and goals they wish to achieve.
In other words, once someone joined the Round Table Hall, they were signing up to work for Zhou Chen for life.
After experiencing the wonders of the Prayer System, even if the members knew they were just pigs working in his Pig Factory, they would accept it willingly. They would never be able to leave him.
’I wonder if I’ll get a new title, “Pig Farm Owner,” in the future…’
Zhou Chen stroked his chin, planning to recruit another batch of Ascenders soon. The operational strain on the Prayer System hadn’t reached its limit yet; it could probably handle another thirty or forty members.
’I should see how this new batch of members performs first. Then I can adjust the criteria for future recruits based on how they do… Hmm… These people were all vetted based on their prayers, so there shouldn’t be any major issues…’
After finalizing his plans, Zhou Chen looked at his current Prayer Points on the System Panel. He gently tapped the edge of the Obsidian Round Table and muttered to himself:
“It’s a shame. If I had an Advanced Secret Ceremony on hand right now, I could probably use all these Prayer Points to wish my way directly to Tier Three…”
’Hmm… If I wished to advance directly to a Crowned King, how many Prayer Points would that take?’
[Prayer Points Required: 1,000,000 Prayer Points or 1 Great Miracle.]
“…”
Zhou Chen stared at the [Prayer Points: 5,573] displayed on the panel, speechless.
One million Prayer Points!
’How the hell am I supposed to save up that much? I’d be better off just advancing normally. I could probably become a Crowned King faster that way.’
’One million Prayer Points or one Great Miracle, and a Great Miracle costs one million Prayer Points… So, how many Prayer Points was the “Miracle” I used to save Erin worth?’
Zhou Chen made a Prayer to find out the answer.
[1 Tiny Miracle is equivalent to 100,000 Prayer Points.]
’One hundred thousand…’
Zhou Chen wasn’t surprised by the answer. Those Prayer Points had come from tens of thousands of Undead who had been sealed for millennia. Fulfilling their final wish for liberation was certainly enough to generate such a massive amount.
’So I was rich once, even if it was only for a few seconds…’
Zhou Chen couldn’t help but chuckle, his thoughts turning to Erin.
’I wonder how she’s doing now…’
·
·
「The next morning.」
At 8:59 on the dot, Zhou Chen walked into Jiang Che’s office, yawning.
“Oh? If it isn’t the famous Zhou Chen. To think you still remember you’re an employee of the Star Association, and even remember to show up for work. As your boss, I’m… truly flattered.”
Behind her desk, Jiang Che looked up, her gaze unsettlingly calm. “I thought after you became famous, you’d be too proud to work for me anymore.”
“I needed to rest up after the battle…” Zhou Chen said with a dry laugh. “And hey, don’t make me sound like some kind of jerk. I’m not an ungrateful person… Thank you for your advice and help during the competition. I brought you a gift. I hope you like it.”
He took a meticulously wrapped gift box from his pouch and placed it on her desk, scratching his head. “To be honest, I’m not very good at picking out gifts for girls, so I… cheated a little.”
“Cheated?”
Jiang Che dubiously undid the ribbon on the box. She opened the lid and pulled out a soft, fluffy teddy bear.
She fell silent, her eyes filled with a hint of nostalgia as she looked at the teddy bear.
Zhou Chen said softly, “It was your Christmas wish from when you were five. I’m sorry, but Santa Claus is late.”
After a few seconds of reminiscence, Jiang Che’s expression returned to its usual calm blankness. She gave a slight nod. “I suppose I like this gift. So, I’ve decided to give you a warning.”
“What is it?” Zhou Chen asked, puzzled.
“Erin’s awake.”
“Really?” A look of joy spread across Zhou Chen’s face.
“She’ll be here any minute.”
“This soon?” Zhou Chen patted his pockets. “Crap, I haven’t gotten her a gift yet!”
“Then you’ll need two,” Jiang Che said.
“Two? Why?”
“Because I’m here too.”
Behind him, Li Xiye, who had been in an “unperceivable” state the entire time, deactivated her Artifact’s Ability. She calmly lifted her teacup, took a sip, and raised her cold eyes.
Stunned, Zhou Chen spun around to meet her gaze.
At that moment, the office door was pushed open, and the morning sun illuminated a head of brilliant blonde hair.
“Zhou Chen—!”
A sweet scent washed over him as Erin threw herself into his arms, sobbing. “I’m so glad you’re okay…”
“How touching.”
Li Xiye took another sip of her tea, sighing with theatrical sarcasm.
