Lord of Prayer - Chapter 94 - 83: Cyan Whale

Chapter 94: Chapter 83: Cyan Whale

’Incredible. My stint as a double agent has somehow charmed a high-ranking Fanatic…’ Zhou Chen was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he could only refuse again. “I’m not interested in that.”

Li Xiaoxiao shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s enough that I am.”

“?”

Zhou Chen gave her a stunned look. ’What does she mean by that? Is she going to try and force this?’

Li Xiaoxiao didn’t explain, simply turning to look at the scenery outside the window.

Zhou Chen felt a pang of anxiety. He inexplicably began to worry about his own virtue. ’Fortunately, we’re closing the net tonight, so it shouldn’t be a big deal. She won’t get a chance to force herself on me…’

「Five minutes later.」

After parking the car, the two of them donned masquerade masks and entered the villa.

To Zhou Chen’s surprise, quite a few people were attending the party. A rough count put the number at over two hundred, and new arrivals were still trickling in.

’Jinzhu has this many Eternal Fire Cultists???’

But the thought of the Abyss Church’s methods quickly put him at ease. These Fanatics who embraced the Abyss lay dormant in every sector of human society. Normally, they were indistinguishable from ordinary people and might go decades without revealing their true nature. Only when the Church called upon them would they tear off their masks and reveal their true fangs.

While in hiding, they constantly selected suitable targets to bewitch and recruit.

—All branches of the Abyss Church excelled at unearthing the desires and needs in people’s hearts.

If desire triumphed over reason, even just once, it would create a snowball effect. They would be set on an irreversible path of corruption, ultimately joining the Abyss Church and becoming faithful believers of Abyssal Creatures.

Over the years, the Eternal Fire had been growing in secret within Jinzhu. It had likely already reached a terrifying scale.

“Follow me.”

Li Xiaoxiao took Zhou Chen’s arm and led him toward a staircase inside the villa.

“Everyone here is a peripheral member. The true core Cultists are in another location. The ritual doesn’t start until much later. I’ll take you to a meeting first.”

“Do I count as a core Cultist?” Zhou Chen’s tone was laced with doubt.

“Of course. You’re an Ascender, you’ve passed all the tests we set for you, and you’ve witnessed the radiance of our Lord,” Li Xiaoxiao said with a smile. “So Birdman and I proposed an exceptional promotion for you to Steward, and everyone agreed.”

’An exceptional promotion to Steward… Promoted to Steward… A Steward…’ Zhou Chen was nearly stupefied.

’Just like that, he had managed to become an Eternal Fire Steward?’

A Steward was considered a core member of the Abyss Church. They wielded immense power, could command ordinary members at will, form their own small factions, and even had the chance to meet the Church’s Archbishop.

For instance, the current owner of this manor, Wei Zifang, the heir to the Wei Group, would have to be completely deferential and try every trick to curry favor with him.

And even though Li Xiaoxiao called that guy a waste, his family’s company was, after all, one of the world’s top 500 enterprises. He was a bona fide member of the powerful elite…

“Are you a Steward, too?” Zhou Chen asked suddenly.

“Of course.”

’Li Xiaoxiao is a Steward too… But Fina Blanch’s interrogation file only said she was a Cultist of rather high status…’ Doubt welled up in Zhou Chen’s mind, but before he could ponder it further, Li Xiaoxiao led him into a meeting room on the third floor.

The meeting room was exquisitely and luxuriously decorated, with a soft carpet on the floor. In the center was a conference table laden with fruit platters, desserts, expensive imported red wine, and a small, mysterious box.

Four other Stewards were already seated at the table.

The first person Zhou Chen saw was Birdman, wearing his Golden Bird Mask. The other two men and one woman all wore plain white masks that concealed their entire faces.

“You’re finally here! Ladies and gentlemen, a grand welcome for our newest member!” Birdman announced with a flourish, starting to clap. No one joined him.

Li Xiaoxiao closed the meeting room door, took her seat, and removed her mask. “We can all take them off. There’s a Barrier Array set up in here.”

Everyone, including Zhou Chen, removed their masks.

He secretly sized everyone up. He had already seen Birdman’s true face in the Wish Bubble, so his gaze quickly moved on.

To Birdman’s left was a young man with sharp, fierce features. His gaze was like that of a wolf, so full of ferocious aggression that one wouldn’t dare to meet his eyes.

Across from Birdman sat a voluptuous beauty. Her face was fair and firm, clearly well-cared-for, and her figure was curvaceous and alluring. After removing her mask, she put on a pair of thin-framed glasses, which instantly gave her a demure, intellectually mature charm.

Noticing Zhou Chen’s appraising gaze, she gave him a seductive wink.

Zhou Chen was unmoved.

Next to the beautiful woman was an elderly man. He had sparse white hair, messy eyebrows, sunken eyes, and a face full of wrinkles and age spots, giving him a kind and amiable appearance.

’But could anyone who managed to become a Steward in the Abyssal Sect truly be kind?’

Li Xiaoxiao began the introductions.

“This is Birdman, who you’re already familiar with. This is Ghost Wolf, this is Poisonous Spider, and this is Ape Ghost.”

Ghost Wolf was the young man, Poisonous Spider was the beautiful woman, and Ape Ghost was the old man.

“Oh, right. You don’t have a Steward codename yet. Pick one now,” Li Xiaoxiao reminded him.

Zhou Chen forced himself to swallow the name that had subconsciously come to mind—Joyful Sawman. After a moment of silence, he said coolly:

“Call me Butcher.”

“Butcher?” Birdman raised an eyebrow and whistled. “That certainly fits your personality, Mr. Killing Maniac.

But doesn’t that codename kind of clash with the American Chainsaw Murder Association? I remember they have a whole bunch of members with ’XX Butcher’ codenames. I even heard they want to copyright it.”