Chapter 2193: The Change of the Divine Birth Day
Of course, this was just a speculation.
Besides the believers killing the Holy Maiden and fleeing, another guess was that no one had been killed at all. Instead, a Holy Maiden had escaped, and the temple had unilaterally announced the death of a Holy Maiden, essentially erasing her identity.
As for the person who had been chased to the satellite city, screening them wouldn't be difficult, but it would take some time.
Outer zone players couldn't easily go to government institutions to obtain passenger lists, so they adopted a simpler and more brutal method: publicly declaring that they could provide help to "coerced" believers.
Outer zone players couldn't say they were helping the person who killed the Holy Maiden, and the believers were reluctant to trust their words. Therefore, they unified their rhetoric, not mentioning the murder case, only saying they would provide help to believers.
Whether the person who fled to the satellite city was a Holy Maiden or a believer, they were now an enemy of the temple. Ordinary people couldn't protect them, so seeking help from outer zone players was the best way out.
For a time, the temple was surrounded by eyes and ears.
Xu Huo and his group were among them.
"I don't think anyone will ask for help," Huang Mao said, stirring the noodles he had just ordered. "That person managed to escape from the temple, so they must have help, right? Coming to the satellite city might be to seek refuge with friends. Would they trust a stranger over a friend?"
"Besides, they're all believers. Unless their faith completely collapses, even if they're fighting like dogs among themselves, they won't bring outsiders in."
"That reasoning is correct," Xu Huo said. "But you never know. Even if there's no real one, a fake one might appear."
Huang Mao paused his movements. "You mean the clearance players are deliberately creating a stir?"
Not only that. Clearance players might set up a fake "help-seeker" to lure that believer. The temple could also find a fake help-seeker to fish for information. Even the escaped believer themselves might find someone to impersonate them to draw fire—if they really weren't alone.
"What's wrong, not to your taste?" Huang Mao stuffed a mouthful of noodles and noticed the silent Ahai.
Ahai didn't speak, eating in silence.
"Your faith isn't collapsing, is it?" Huang Mao stared at his face.
"Believers believe in the Goddess, not the temple. Unless the Goddess herself killed someone," Xu Huo interjected. "I reckon nothing will come of this here for a while. How about we speed up, get the stamps, and head to the Holy Land to take a look?"
"If the matter has a big impact, the Holy Land won't be peaceful."
Ahai seemed tempted, but Huang Mao looked troubled. "I haven't gotten my stamp here yet. I can't leave until the temple opens."
"Take your time," Xu Huo said.
Missing the stamp from the satellite city temple only meant they couldn't enter the Holy Land Temple; it didn't prevent them from entering Holy Land City.
"Let's go to the Holy Land first," Ahai said in a low voice. "I'm very worried about something happening at the Holy Land Temple."
Huang Mao rolled his eyes. "Why should you worry? If something does happen, you'd better run fast..."
Before he could finish, he saw Ahai glaring at him angrily, so he swallowed the rest of his words and changed his tune. "Fine, I was wrong. Even a small favor is still a favor. Keep it up!"
Then he picked up his bowl, moved to another spot, and continued talking to Xu Huo. "When you scout ahead, don't forget to ask about the clearance method for me. There must be plenty of stranded players in the Holy Land."
Xu Huo said no problem.
After lunch, Xu Huo took Ahai to the remaining two satellite cities. He only stamped at the government building, while Ahai went to the temple again. By dusk, they had arrived at the Holy Land.
The Holy Land city was shrouded in a long-activated defense barrier. Everyone who came here had to line up for inspection before entering the city. From a distance, Xu Huo saw the eye pattern on the gate, meaning that even entering the city required undergoing the Goddess's gaze.
Not long after they joined the queue, a player was forced to leave. The local players didn't even need to act; the suspended eye pattern alone made the person writhe in pain and retreat.
No one in the local area knew the exact range of the eye pattern's effect. However, a player who had retreated from the front tried to sneak to the back of the line to do something, but was quickly locked onto by the eye again, experiencing another bout of splitting headache.
With a few examples set, the later players behaved much more obediently.
Cars and people were mixed in the queue. Most of the cars belonged to locals. Everyone in the large and small vehicles had to get out for inspection.
"The checks seem especially strict today," a driver who frequently traveled here remarked to his companion. "Besides identity verification, they're also registering addresses, family members, and destinations. I guess there are area restrictions inside the city too. Can't wander around."
The murder of the Holy Maiden hadn't affected every satellite city. The two Xu Huo visited later showed no signs of disturbance, and the temples were open as usual.
Ahai couldn't help but strike up a conversation with the people around him. As a local, he was more easily accepted by others.
However, the believers in the Holy Land hadn't heard about the Holy Maiden incident. Someone mentioned that the ceremony had been held normally yesterday, and the Holy Maiden procession hadn't been missing anyone.
As for why the checks were so strict, it was entirely because clearance-failed players were running around causing trouble. The temple had no choice but to restrict movement within the city to isolate these players.
"Has this been done before?" Xu Huo interjected.
The believer who was speaking looked him over before saying, "Not usually, but the three-yearly Divine Birth Day is coming up soon, so of course we have to be cautious."
Ahai was surprised. "Isn't the Divine Birth Day still two months away?"
"Don't you know?" The believer was quite astonished. "The Divine Birth Day was changed last year. The original Divine Birth Day was the time when our ancestors first communicated with the Goddess. But the Divine Envoy received a divine oracle saying that the Goddess actually came to our land much earlier and had contacted our ancestors even before that. It's just that no one understood what was happening back then."
"Now that we've found the old records, of course we have to change it... The Goddess was actually trying to save us from a very early time, but she just hadn't had the chance yet."
"Who was the first person the Goddess contacted?" Ahai quickly asked.
"Of course, it was the Divine Envoy's ancestor," the believer said with a beaming smile. "Why else would only they be able to hear the Goddess's call?"
Ahai's worldview was shaken. "Didn't the ancestors become hermaphrodites with the Goddess's help?"
"That was true for the original Divine Birth Day, yes. But now everyone knows that the Divine Envoy's ancestors were actually hermaphrodites from the start. The Goddess chose them first, but unfortunately, they didn't hold a high status back then and couldn't turn the tide. Fortunately, heaven never seals off all exits." The believer patted his chest.
"Did the Goddess say that too?" Xu Huo asked abruptly. Under the other's suspicious gaze, he continued, "I mean, did all the believers hear the Goddess say that?"
"Could the Divine Envoy possibly be wrong?" the believer said coldly. "It's precisely because the Divine Envoy listens to the divine oracles that our nation has grown stronger with each generation!" (Chapter End)