In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

Xu Shi led the two, who were already familiar with each other, from backstage to the front of the stage.

The place was quite orderly—as the state religion appointed by the royal family, it was no longer just a few individuals like Xu Shi; instead, it was specially equipped with royal knights and city defense troops to maintain order.

The task of distributing supplies was naturally theirs to do; otherwise, where would a cult leader, a saintess, and a junior priest find the time to hide in the back and play games?

The same goes for Xie Qingyan, Shen Qin, Ye Shanshan, and the others... The three of them didn't come at all today; they went shopping together.

Knight Commander Chen was also brought in to oversee the operation, directing his men to distribute supplies in an orderly manner... As he did it, he realized that there was actually a lot to learn about this matter.

For him, the most meaningful thing was not distributing the items, but rather using this opportunity to organize and improve the population registration system of the imperial capital city—a long-standing problem of the empire, where people come and go from place to place, making it difficult to create a systematic archive.

In the end, it was the knights and city guards who suffered the most, especially those roving criminals who would shoot and move on, which gave them a real headache.

Now it's different—when Xu Shi was running the Poseidon Stone trading business, he had already registered the traders, including their surnames, names, where they came from, where they were going, how many family members they had, how many acres of land each person owned, how many cows they had, and so on. Afterwards, he compiled the information into a booklet, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Otherwise, how can we compensate the people who came here? We can't just dictate the amount, right?

This record is the best proof. Xu Shi even took close-up photos of them, so there was no way they could find a loophole.

Furthermore, many people actually sold their houses and land to trade for Poseidon Stones, and now the royal family is distributing and allocating residences... which will only make it easier for them to manage.

He was amazed and even impressed by the attention to detail; Xu Shi's steps were indeed remarkable.

The most crucial point is that he got everyone to do it willingly, and that's the hardest thing to achieve.

"Brother Chen, how is it?"

Xu Shi's voice came from behind, and he asked with a smile.

"...Mr. Xu."

Knight Commander Chen stood up to greet him, "This is a huge project, it certainly can't be finished in a day or two, but with the information you provided, it won't be too much trouble."

"That's good."

Xu Shi nodded, then led the old lady and his silly apprentice up to the high platform.

"It's Her Highness the Holy Maiden!"

People's attention was immediately drawn to it, and some couldn't help but shout, "And the Cult Leader!"

"Hello everyone."

Xu Shi smiled and gently pressed his hand down. "Is everything alright?"

However, he was a little annoyed. First he called her the Holy Maiden, then the Cult Leader? Where did that leave his dignity?

Pan Ling rolled her eyes silently. Master, you should be grateful. I don't even feel like I exist...

“Everything is good!”

Immediately, someone shouted back, "Thank you so much for everything you've done!"

It was very clear that this was genuine gratitude from the bottom of his heart.

"As long as it can help everyone, that's fine."

Xia Ke'an chimed in, saying sincerely, "After all, this is the doctrine of our Holy Fire Cat Cult. Seeing you receive help is the best thing for me."

That heartwarming smile melted everyone's hearts.

"...Speaking of which, Your Highness, doesn't your sect accept followers?"

Just as everyone was beaming with joy, someone asked this question.

Everyone immediately realized, "Oh right?"

The only organization they had contacted was the Vatican, which was extremely active in recruiting believers, with the attitude that if one person believed, the whole family had to be recruited as well.

In contrast, the Holy Fire Cat Cult was completely different; at least until someone asked them about it, they never mentioned it at all.

This was rather strange... but people quickly found a reasonable explanation.

They must have been too busy giving alms to do these things... How selfless they are!

Great, needless to say.

"Well..."

Upon hearing this, the older woman scratched her cheek sheepishly, "We don't really force anyone, but if people are willing to believe in the Holy Fire Cat God, we naturally welcome them."

"I want to join!"

"Me too!"

"And I!"

This sparked a huge wave of excitement, and everyone was already bursting with anticipation.

If they had any concerns before, they don't need to worry at all now. This is the state religion, so what's wrong with believing in the state religion?

Of course, this also means that they will have to abandon their previous faith in the Vatican... but that's not a problem. With such a wonderful saintess and free supplies, what more could they ask for?

“Ah, haha…”

The white-haired loli smiled, seemingly still a little unaccustomed to it, and tentatively asked, "In that case, shall we all recite our doctrine together?"

As she spoke, she clenched her fists and raised them above her head.

"The holy fire is bright, the holy light is shining."

"The holy fire is bright, the holy light is shining."

Everyone followed suit and waved their hands along with her.

"All who follow my faith, meow meow meow meow!"

"All who follow my faith, meow meow meow meow!"

Meow meow meow!

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 271: It’s broken, I’m a substitute!

2023-09-22

Meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow.

The simple, easy-to-understand, and catchy slogans of the cat education program quickly swept across the entire city, with meows rising and falling everywhere. If you didn't know better, you would think you had entered a large cat cafe.

Even the way people greet each other has changed, from "Have you eaten today?" to "Have you meowed today?"

This clearly reflects the growing number of followers of the Sacred Fire Cat Cult—so much so that the royal family had to advance its plans to build other churches due to the rapid pace of expansion.

The department in charge of construction naturally did not dawdle; they worked with exceptional efficiency, and in less than a week, they built the new branch from scratch. Moreover, the quality was outstanding, making it a true marvel in architectural history.

Nonsense! If they were to continue their corrupt practices and extortionate money from the state religion, wouldn't they be courting death? Not to mention the fury the royal family would unleash, they might not even be able to withstand the enthusiasm of the general public.

So sometimes you don't know how much potential you have until you're pushed... Of course, this is also because there are Ascended Ones, or "Chosen Ones," in this world. Otherwise, no matter how hard you try, it would be unlikely to achieve such a thing in a place where large-scale machinery is not yet widespread.

In any case, the result was a win-win situation, with everyone willing to spontaneously promote the Holy Fire Cat Cult.

First and foremost, you should bring in all your friends and family. Whether you've witnessed the Cat Cult's incredible powers or not, at least fill out a form to register.

The reason is simple: the free supplies are distributed per person each day, so doing this allows you to get an extra egg. The Cat Cult doesn't care whether people are related or not; everyone who comes gets one.

Of course, there were also those with ulterior motives who took advantage of the vastness of the main city to seek out people who were not yet familiar with the Cat Cult and offered conditions such as "I will introduce you to collect money, and I will return 30% after the matter is completed".

Clearly, this is highly similar to those who profited from speculative trading in the Poseidon Stone at the time; they were all people who tried every means to exploit loopholes to make money.

However, this time they ran into a brick wall – the compensation for losses was handled very formally, with dedicated staff at each branch responsible for answering all kinds of questions. In addition, the Cat Cult spread very quickly, so this little trick naturally fell apart on its own.

The city's defense forces showed no mercy, arresting several typical speculators and publicly punishing them severely for fraud. In addition to confiscating their gains, some were even sentenced to death, giving the public a free show of cracking down on the nouveau riche.

Everyone was delighted by this, since most people lost money in the Poseidon Stone incident, and naturally they couldn't stand seeing speculators making a fortune from it. They wanted nothing more than to spit in their faces and leave.

Everything is going on in an orderly manner.

"My lord, what is your opinion on this matter?"

Inside the Grand Duke of Gujian's mansion, some people couldn't help but worry about this and cautiously inquired about Cheng Gujian's opinion.

"How do you see? With your eyes."

Cheng Gujian remained calm and even made a rare witty remark, "Isn't this a good thing that benefits the country and its people?"

He's absolutely right. The reason why the Sacred Fire Cat Cult was able to spread so quickly among the people is ultimately because they were willing to invest money.

After all, for most people, the greatest pursuit is to eat well, dress well, have a wife and children, and a warm bed. Although Xu Shi's approach was simple and crude, it did hit the bullseye perfectly.

And this alone may already put them ahead of 100% or even 90% of leaders.

As for the benefits to the country, it's easy to understand. The Poseidon Stone incident caused widespread panic, and now that the people are at peace, it's the best thing that could be.

The royal family's reputation has also been greatly improved – as a result of this incident, their approval ratings, which had previously declined due to the Poseidon Stone trade, have begun to recover. In addition, they were not significantly affected during the campaign against Poseidon, so overall, things are even better than before.

"Of course I know that, I'm just worried about you..."

Steward Chen, who is also the elder brother of the royal knight commander Chen, naturally understands these principles, but what he was worried about was not these things, but Cheng Gujian's own position, which now seems to have loosened slightly.

This is inevitable, since Dongfang Xiao is the one handling the Cat Cult's affairs, while Gu Jian Da Gong has become the mascot—calling him a mascot isn't wrong, since his biggest role in this matter is to express his opinion.

With him here keeping things in check, no matter how many dissenting opinions there are, they won't dare to voice them.

However, this has led to some doubts about him, because it is inconsistent with his usual style. How could he not personally handle such a big matter?

With this trend emerging, rumors began to circulate about his injuries, being sidelined, and even whether he was nearing death. If it weren't for his iron-fisted methods in the past, things would not be as simple as just a decline in his reputation.

Not to mention the fact that Xu Shi, an outsider, was involved—the royal compensation was paid through the Cat Cult, which inevitably caused a loss of public goodwill and popular support.

Although it seems that the other party did indeed pay the lion's share of the money, it is by no means a good thing for an outsider to gradually rise to the political stage of the Hualan Empire.

They are well aware that this is a trick where the wool comes from the sheep's back; it's no exaggeration to say they're getting something for nothing.

Given these multiple factors, they certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch.

However, to everyone's surprise, upon hearing this, Cheng Gujian raised his head and looked at him with great interest.

"Is this something you should be concerned about?" he asked.

The Grand Duke of Gujian's tone remained calm, but it sent a chill down Steward Chen's spine.

As a close advisor who had served the other party for many years, he was able to discern the subtle changes in Cheng Gujian's tone of voice.

Now, it's clear that the other party is somewhat displeased, and this displeasure naturally stems from his question.