Lord of Prayer - Chapter 58 - 52: Lamp God
Chapter 58: Chapter 52: Lamp God
On the sea of collective unconscious, which surged with tides of incandescent light, Zhou Chen stared dumbfounded at the behemoth slowly rising before him, his jaw hanging open.
’Does it have to be this dramatic?’
Five enormous bubbles rose from the illusory ocean. The largest was a staggering seven stories tall, a true titan. Three of the other four were nearly the same size, and even the smallest was two stories high.
Besides them, countless other Wish Bubbles of all sizes also rose, a dizzying and chaotic sight.
The size of a Wish Bubble corresponded to the intensity of the desire. The bigger the bubble, the more desperately the Wisher wanted it fulfilled, and the more wish value he would gain after helping them achieve it.
’Just fulfilling one of these should be enough to completely repair my Soul, with some to spare…’
Zhou Chen swallowed, his curiosity running wild. The Wish Bubbles now appearing all came from people with whom he’d had closer contact. ’So, whose wishes are these?’
Brimming with curiosity, he poked one of the seven-story-tall giant bubbles.
[“Fire is the beginning of all, the end of all. May the fire of the Abyss consume the World, and may all things return to the primordial chaos!”
A young woman knelt before a sinister altar, praying aloud as if performing some sacred ritual. Her expression was utterly fanatical, and in the flickering candlelight, it twisted into a frenzied and distorted visage.]
’This is… Li Xiaoxiao?’
Zhou Chen was stunned. The owner of the wish was completely unexpected. How could it be her?
’I don’t think I’ve had any contact with her… Wait, was she the one I talked to on the dark web? Or was it her for a while? Does talking online count as a form of contact?’
’Is she participating in a ritual for the Eternal Fire? Her greatest wish is for the fires of the Abyss to burn the World to ash, for everything to return to primordial chaos… In other words, for the World to be destroyed by the King of Chaos? Hmm, that fits the wish of an Abyssal Cultist. But her faith is way too intense. She’s definitely an ultimate Fanatic.’
’I can’t believe it hit me with something so intense right off the bat. How could I possibly fulfill a wish like that?’
Zhou Chen clicked his tongue and reached out to poke the next Wish Bubble.
[“I’ll kill them, every last one!” The girl gazed at two cold gravestones, her eyes blurry with tears. A fire of vengeance seemed to burn in her pupils, so resolute, so full of Anger, so… full of sorrow.]
“…Jiang Che?” Zhou Chen froze.
The girl was very young, looking only about ten years old. But since they had a superior-subordinate relationship, he was quite familiar with Jiang Che’s face and could recognize her features in the girl’s still-developing, childish face.
’Are those two gravestones for her parents? She wants to kill their enemies to avenge them? But she’s about to be promoted to the headquarters’ decision-making level, and she still hasn’t gotten her revenge? What kind of background must her enemies have?’
A series of questions popped into Zhou Chen’s mind, making him feel that there was much more to this than met the eye.
With Jiang Che’s current Ability, killing a few people would be incredibly simple. Even if she couldn’t do it herself, plenty of factions and organizations would be willing to do her a favor. At worst, she could post an anonymous bounty on the dark web. The fact that she still hadn’t completed her revenge most likely meant her enemies also had powerful backgrounds, perhaps even more powerful than her own.
’I never knew she had a past like this. I wonder if her emotional deficiency syndrome is related to it.’
Zhou Chen exhaled, cherishing his precious time, and reached out to poke the next bubble.
[A gravestone. Another gravestone.
In the solemn and dignified cemetery, a world-weary man sat silently beside a gravestone, smoking a cigarette.
When the cigarette burned down to the filter, the man stood up and patted the gravestone in a silent farewell. He left without a word, casually pressing the still-burning cigarette butt out on a passing trash can.
A low murmur came from his retreating back: “I will avenge you.”]
It was Old Yang.
’Old Yang’s past is pretty heavy, too…’
Zhou Chen rubbed the bridge of his nose. He could already feel his Spiritual Power waning, so he decisively poked the next Wish Bubble.
[Outside the tech lab, several researchers sat in front of a screen, watching the scene of a violent explosion in the observation chamber. They sighed helplessly.
Another failure.
A middle-aged man sitting in a chair drummed his fingers on the armrest in frustration:
“The most crucial component of the Godslaying Weapon is the adaptive evolution module! With it, the Godslaying Weapon would possess the terrifying ability to self-evolve, self-adjust, and self-adapt. Only then could it truly be called a Godslaying Weapon. But… where did we go wrong? Why can’t we ever succeed? What are we still missing?”]
This time, the Wisher was Professor Li An.
The head of the Jinzhu Star Association’s research department, a registered scholar of the Twelfth Division, a top-tier researcher, and also an Alchemist. His wish was apparently to successfully develop the so-called “adaptive evolution module.”
What concerned Zhou Chen even more was his mention of the “Godslaying Weapon.”
’The Star Association is secretly researching a Godslaying Weapon. Is it to deter the Gods? No, probably not. Not counting the two Gods who defected to the Abyss, the remaining five Gods all advanced from Ascenders. The Star Association was undoubtedly involved, which makes them one of our own… In that case, the Godslaying Weapon must be targeting the Abyssal Influence.’
After this brief flight of fancy, Zhou Chen came back to his senses. He didn’t have the slightest idea how to help with Professor Li An’s wish.
It was a joke. He hadn’t even graduated from college, and he was no scientific genius. If a top talent like Professor Li An, along with a host of other research titans, couldn’t solve the problem, what right did he have to think he could help?
To be honest, he hadn’t understood a single symbol in the various formulas that had flashed by just now.
’Last one…’ Zhou Chen reached out and poked the final large Wish Bubble. Compared to the other four, this one was smaller, only about two stories high.
[“Fire is the beginning of all, the end of all. May the fire of the Abyss consume the World, and may all things return to the primordial chaos!”
A man knelt before a sinister altar, praying aloud as if performing some sacred ritual, his expression fervent.]
“???”
Seeing the familiar scene, Zhou Chen froze for a second. He thought he had tapped the wrong bubble, but upon closer inspection, he realized this person was the “Birdman”!
As a believer in the Eternal Fire, his ultimate wish was the same as Li Xiaoxiao’s. However, his faith wasn’t as extreme or fanatical as hers, so his Wish Bubble was much smaller in comparison.
Zhou Chen’s gaze swept over the massive bubbles, and he fell into thought. ’These aren’t short-term wishes. They’re long-term, the deepest desires of the heart, which is why they’re so enormous and extremely difficult to fulfill.’
’With my current abilities, I should probably focus on short-term wishes for now.’
With a thought, he changed the detection parameters of the Wish Radar again. The surrounding bubbles began to sink, replaced by a new set of fresh bubbles rising up.
This time, the size and shape of the bubbles were more normal. Even if some were on the larger side, none were as gargantuan as before.
’Let’s check this one first.’ Zhou Chen poked one of the larger Wish Bubbles.
The face that appeared before him was somewhat unexpected.
It was a Western European.
[In a small, cramped room, a young man with dark brown hair and green eyes sat at a desk, anxiously tugging at his hair. On the desk lay a gray pit—this seemed to be the source of his distress.
“Damn it, damn it, damn it! That bastard William actually sold me out! He dared to charge me seven hundred thousand for a fake material! If I ever see him again, I swear I’ll break his legs… Shit, the Alchemist assessment is next week! Where am I supposed to buy another Screaming Grey Tree Core? That stuff is in high demand…”]
The Alchemist assessment is next week… Zhou Chen seized on this key piece of information. He quickly recalled the people he had been in contact with and soon found the answer, his expression changing slightly.
’Don’t tell me this guy is [IReallyLikeYouMissKalina]?’
’He’s from Western Europe? Can the Wish Radar detect things from that far away? Or is it because we had closer contact that it can ignore the distance?’
Zhou Chen pondered for a moment. He figured he could help the guy out. He remembered there was an Alchemy Material called a [Screaming Grey Tree Core] on the reward list. He could sell it to the guy, make some money, and fleece him for a good amount of wish value at the same time…
Just as he was thinking this, he felt a strangely deep connection to this Wish Bubble, stronger than any of the previous ones.
So, almost instinctively, he extended his consciousness along this invisible link.
The Wish Bubble suddenly erupted in a blinding white light, instantly engulfing the bewildered Zhou Chen.
「At the same time.」
In Western Europe, in the Old Paris Suburbs, inside a certain rental apartment.
Soren Berg, who had been fuming all day over his friend’s betrayal, was suddenly overcome by a profound wave of exhaustion. He had intended to just close his eyes for a short nap, but he was completely unable to resist the drowsiness and passed out, slumping over his desk.
In the darkness, after an unknown amount of time, a white light suddenly flared before Soron’s eyes.
When his vision returned, he found himself in a strange place.
White mist drifted beneath his feet, offering no solid sensation. The distant scenery was blurry, obscured by a thick, seemingly endless fog.
And the place where he stood seemed to be… a deserted plaza?
Five or six meters to Soron’s left, in the center of the plaza, stood a beautifully sculpted fountain. However, its basin was dry, with no water flowing.
In a corner not far away, under a parasol, a mysterious figure shrouded in white mist sat on a white plastic chair like a British Gentleman, slowly savoring afternoon tea.
Soron was utterly astonished and shocked. Fear mingled with intense vigilance in his heart. As an Alchemy Apprentice and an Ascender, he knew all too well what it meant for one’s consciousness to be pulled into an unknown dreamscape or illusion.
—The bewitchment of someone with malicious intent!
For decades, the Star Association had been vigorously promoting anti-fraud apps worldwide to prevent Abyssal Influence or ill-intentioned Illegal Ascenders from using various means to impersonate Secret existences, thereby deceiving, bewitching, and exploiting their victims.
Being inexplicably pulled into an unknown illusion meant you had already been targeted by a scammer!
Soron forced himself to calm down. He prepared to play along with the other party for now and report it to the Star Association as soon as he got out.
“Sir, were you the one who invited me here?” he asked very politely, giving a slight bow.
Shrouded in white mist, Zhou Chen slowly set down his teacup. ’How the hell should I know?’ he thought. ’If I hadn’t arrived a moment earlier and set up this disguise, I’d probably be even more clueless than you are right now…’
Looking at the waiting Soron, his mind raced, considering a dozen possibilities in an instant.
’This guy will definitely report this to the Star Association when he gets back. They might follow the clues right back to me. So, I either have to get rid of him or dupe him completely. But I’m only here as Spiritual Power; I have no way to fight. That means tricking him is the only option…’
Zhou Chen let out a soft chuckle, his tone gentle.
“It was I.”
“After so many years, I didn’t expect anyone else would be able to come here.”
“Here?” Soron’s tone was questioning, but he didn’t press the matter, waiting for Zhou Chen to explain.
Zhou Chen tried to imitate Jiang Che’s flat, emotionless tone as he replied:
“This is a place where any wish you have can be granted.”
’Sounds exactly like the enticements of those Abyssal Cultists…’ Soron complained inwardly, while maintaining a polite smile on his face.
“Sir, how should I address you?”
Zhou Chen quickly sifted through various titles in his mind before speaking in a calm and detached voice:
“To you, the name ’Lamp God’ should not be unfamiliar.”
“Lamp God…” Soron’s pupils constricted.
