Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 321 Can Anyone Become a Believer?
This guy didn't know where he got the strength from, but he broke free from the combined restraints of the two police officers and put his entire weight on him. The hinges of the handcuffs gradually tightened, squeezing his neck tightly, making it increasingly difficult for him to breathe, and his face turned slightly blue.

The officer whose neck was strangled used the last bit of his strength to grab the baton that had fallen beside him and swung it hard, hitting the guy on the back with a dull sound. The latter ignored him and even increased his strength, making the officer feel that his thoughts were about to be strangled by the cold chain. He squeezed out the words from between his teeth with difficulty: "You... are crazy..."

"I'm not crazy, officer."

He had a happy smile and a cruel expression on his face, and seemed to be very satisfied with his achievements. He was even more pleased to see that the originally high-ranking police officer gradually became more humble than the maggots in the sewer in his hands. The corners of his mouth opened into a ferocious arc: "I know you look down on people like us, and think that we are ants that can be easily crushed to death. You also treat us as rats in the gutter, driving us away, beating and scolding us, and all this is just out of your unreasonable self-esteem and arrogance. But it doesn't matter, because soon, you will become the same as us, officer."

"The great spring spirit will purify this filthy world, cleanse all evil and filthy souls, and create for us a kingdom of God without harm and oppression."

“He gives us strength, gifts us wealth, and grants us authority, so that we can carry out His will and transform this chaotic world.”

“We are His eyes, seeing the hope beneath the filth.”

“We are His ears, hearing the whispers behind despair.”

"We are His hands and feet, saving lives in disasters."

"We, officer! I mean we!" He shouted suddenly, lifting the officer's neck. He was obviously just a rude and despicable drunkard, but he behaved more pious than the most fanatical missionary. He spoke from the heart in a tone of joy and expectation: "Only we are His true believers, and we will become the first Holy Spirit in His Kingdom, enjoying all the glory He has bestowed on us, including strength, wealth, power... including everything that is born with us, including everything we have lost, including everything we have not obtained... Ah! How wonderful. Mr. Officer, have you seen it?"

I heard vaguely overlapping voices, as if everyone, like the man in front of me, began to sincerely praise Quan Lingtifu's mercy and gifts, and began to attack the people around them who still seemed normal, declaring that they would give them the final judgment in the name of God.

If there really is a God.

At this moment, he heard a low whistling sound, as if a bullet had passed through a withered branch, carving out a straight track in the blizzard. Then, the beast on top of him let out a scream and fell to the ground with a dull sound. The force on his neck suddenly loosened, and the cold air filled his lungs again, making him sober up all of a sudden.

With every word he spoke, he increased the force, and gradually, the officer whose neck he had handcuffed with the hinge stopped struggling, his voice gradually weakened, and his feet slowly stopped moving on the snow, leaving only a dozen messy traces. In that short but long time when his consciousness was blurred and he seemed to be about to fall into a deep sleep, the remaining thought in his mind was that the guy in front of him was definitely crazy.

The police officer even vaguely heard the fanatical shouts of his subordinates in his trance. He should have been a shy and kind young man. How could a man like him believe in such an ignorant and evil god? At this moment, he was more cruel than the most fanatical believers, beating an unarmed woman with fists and feet, and even beating her with a baton.

The belief in Quan Ling Ti Fu was banned by the United Church a hundred years ago, and this guy is not only not a believer of Quan Ling, but not even a believer of any god. He only goes to the church to receive free relief during the weekly services held by the United Church. But even so, no words of praise for God can be heard from his mouth. Instead, he often complains that the United Church's relief house is too harsh and requires him to work in order to receive food.

Chaos was spreading, fear was fermenting, and the evacuation team had been stuck in the blizzard for several minutes. Even the steam locomotive leading the way was stopped by someone, and the driver was dragged off and dragged in the snow. The doors, windshield, and seats were dismantled, as if a giant beast was being dismembered by some mysterious force.

The police officer could no longer feel the pain in his neck. In his daze, he thought: It is better to end such a ridiculous thing as this as soon as possible.

Is there anything more ridiculous in the world than hearing fanatical praises to God from the mouth of such a lazy, ungrateful guy?
It turns out that more absurd things do exist after all, because this is an absurd world.

"Ugh, cough cough cough!!!"

He suddenly turned over and knelt on the ground. After coughing violently and retching for a while, he barely recovered. He turned around to see who helped him escape the threat of death, but he saw a man wearing holy silver armor and holding a huge silver gun. He was stunned. He recognized that the serious man in front of him was the chief of the night watchmen in Nimsher City and the acting bishop of the Eternal Night Church under the Night's Habitat in the city, Mr. Acrickson.

Behind him, rows of steam locomotives that looked like mechanical behemoths were spewing out hot breaths, melting the snow into smoke that filled the sky. They drove along the melted streets, rumbling and blocking several main roads. Then, fully armed magic knights poured out, holding various types of magic devices, and began to cooperate with the police officers who were still sober nearby to suppress the chaos and restore order. Have the reinforcements promised by the cult finally arrived?
The police officer thought blankly.

Eccleson, who led the Night Watch to the front line, glanced at the surrounding situation, frowned slightly, and whispered to himself: "It seems that it is not too late."

After the Great Venerable Tifu, the Spirit God of the Spring, was summoned, many remnants of the Holy Spring Monks were secretly active in the city, trying to stir up greater chaos. Acrison had been fighting these people before, and although he succeeded in eliminating them in the end, it took some time and caused some discrepancies with the expected plan.

Of course, the biggest discrepancy should be that the Spirit God of Springs in the situation analysis, Great Venerable Tifu, actually merged with the Spirit God of Earth, Great Venerable Titan, to create the conceptual god they see now, Great Venerable Yuanrang. If this guy is allowed to move freely in the city of Nimsher, the damage caused will be immeasurable.

The refining storm just now was just a prelude to chaos.

Ignoring the hesitant and frightened look of the police officer he had saved, Acrickson took out the intercom-like "emergency communication device" from the hanging auxiliary device behind him and gave instructions in a calm voice: "The first wave of refining storm has ended, and the second wave of refining storm is forming. Estimated time: 30 seconds."

“Approved to activate the ‘anti-refining protection stance’.”

……

When the storm formed by the refined power swept through, Wade's team hiding behind the magic shield was not spared. The shield first blocked the first wave of impact for them, but soon it was torn into dense cracks, and then with a snap, it shattered into fragments along with the effective shield plug-in in Michelle's hand.

Therefore, the memetic infection isolation device and the refined factor filtering device equipped on their bodies acted as a second layer of protection, diluting most of the refined power for them. Only a small part could still pass the barrier of the two devices and directly invade their minds, causing mental impact.

Wade felt that countless voices were ringing in his ears, telling countless bewitching words, full of fanatical and magical temptations, trying to assimilate his spirit into them. But the internal drive of this force was not so strong, and he could still support it by relying on his willpower.

He continued to struggle between the power of refinement and his personal will. It was only a second, but it felt like a century. When the voices in his mind completely disappeared, he slowly raised his head, feeling a cold sweat on his back. He asked in a tired and heavy voice, "Are you all... okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Captain."

"Fortunately."

"It feels... a little uncomfortable."

The team members' reaction was within Wade's expectations. After all, they were protected by two devices, and those who were able to join the Balance of Order and become arbitrators were determined, so it was not a big problem for them to resist the weakened refined power. However, what about ordinary people who were not protected by memetic infection isolation devices and refined factor filtering devices? What would happen to them?

It is conceivable that those with the weakest will will be eliminated first.

"That guy—" Wade stared at the twisted and evil figure standing in the distance in the depths of the snow, the conceptual god born from the fusion of two spiritualities - Great Lord Yuanrang, and said softly: "He has begun to shape his own kingdom of God."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)