Chapter 28: Reject spectacle

Lu Yao leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and drank ice-cold cola as he looked down at the pixelated world on his computer screen.

From the Salt Pool Tribe in the west mountains to the East River Tribe by the eastern river, from the dangerous depths of the forest in the north to the ghost city of Sanilo in the south, Lu Yao’s reputation was known far and wide.

He could be considered a local deity with some fame.

Since he took control of Sanilo, Lu Yao’s influence had grown exponentially, with a rapid increase in the number of believers.

He was already considering his next opponent.

Should he first annex the East River Tribe?

Or should he directly impose sustainable lightning and earthquake sanctions on the Salt Pool Tribe?

He rubbed his chin.

While he was contemplating, a new prompt appeared on the screen.

【Population is the vessel, belief is the power.】

【You have already gained a considerable number of followers and obtained a large amount of belief in this area. Your power spreads all around, and your miracles are further manifested.】

【Please build your own wonder, which will be the ladder for you to leave the novice deity stage and enter the realm of the gods.】

Wonder?

Lu Yao was not unfamiliar with this term.

When Isabella subdued Lisa, she also mentioned it.

“I also ascended to the Crawling Zone and had a wonder destroyed by a bastard, so I descended back to the Safe Zone.”

In other words, the place he was currently in was called the Safe Zone. Only after building a wonder could he enter the next stage and ascend to the so-called Crawling Zone.

Just as the prompt described, it was about leaving the novice deity stage.

Lu Yao clicked on the temple and discovered something new in the “Miracles” section.

There was a new available wonder called “Wonder.”

The icon for the new wonder was a blurry building, and it required 5000 belief to construct.

Just like “Lightning” and “Earthquake,” there was no detailed description for “Wonder.”

Lu Yao pondered. No wonder Lisa was so anxious.

5000 belief was a significant expense. Following a step-by-step development, it would require at least a tribe with thousands of people to have such reserves. Considering the need to deal with unexpected situations and harsh environments, it would take a considerable amount of time to accumulate.

Lisa didn’t have that patience, so she robbed the belief of other deity players everywhere, just to build a wonder and return to the Crawling Zone.

Now Lu Yao needed to consider whether to directly activate the “Wonder.”

After thinking for a while, he made a decision.

Slow down on the “Wonder.”

Currently, he was in the deity’s Safe Zone, which should be similar to a beginner’s village and relatively safe. But once the “Wonder” was activated, he might face a war with other deity players, just like Lisa did, which could bring tremendous pressure.

Players who have played old games know that before leaving the beginner’s village, they must level up and defeat monsters as much as possible, plundering all the equipment in the beginner’s village.

Stability was Lu Yao’s game style.

He wouldn’t leave the beginner’s village until he was confident!

Decision made!

The first goal was to dominate the nearby Safe Zone!

After making this crucial decision, Lu Yao felt relaxed.

“Xiao Huo, cook me a bowl of noodles. Add two cloves of garlic and a fried egg.”

“Yes, sir.”

The cactus rose from the flowerpot, shook off the dirt on its spines, jumped off the table, and went outside to cook noodles.

Lu Yao stretched lazily.

Suddenly, a cry came from outside.

“What the fuck! The cactus has become sentient! What the hell is going on!”

Lu Yao thought to himself, “This is bad.” He pushed open the door and saw a young man with heavy dark circles standing at the entrance. The man had a cigarette stuck to his lower lip, and his eyes were filled with astonishment as he looked at the ground.

On the floor, the cactus follower had already returned to its original form and remained motionless.

“How did you get here, Zhou Qiang?”

Lu Yao greeted him with a smile.

“No, Lu Yao, that cactus on the ground, it had hands and feet before, it became sentient! What the fuck, this is unbelievable!” Zhou Qiang couldn’t take his eyes off the cactus on the ground.

“You must be seeing things. This one rolled out of the flowerpot in my room.” Lu Yao picked up Xiao Huo from the ground and handed it to Zhou Qiang. “See for yourself. It’s just an ordinary cactus.”

Zhou Qiang carefully observed the cactus and then touched it with his finger, his face showing a puzzled expression.

“I clearly saw that this thing had hands and feet, like matchsticks… Maybe I’m just too tired recently.”

Zhou Qiang rubbed his face with both hands.

“By the way, why did you come over tonight?” Lu Yao changed the topic. “And didn’t I lock the door? How did you get in?”

“Lock the door? No, you didn’t.”

Zhou Qiang and Lu Yao checked the front door and found that the lock core of this old-fashioned anti-theft door had a problem. Whether it was locked or not, the lock would not pop out, rendering it useless.

“This old house has these problems. I’ll report it to the landlord later, but I don’t think they’ll fix it. Let’s just make do with it.”

Zhou Qiang stubbed out his cigarette and said, “I came here today to find you.”

“I had to close my online store. It just couldn’t continue.”

Lu Yao was taken aback. “You’ve been running that store since college, and now you’re closing it after five years? What a pity.”

“Small businesses are getting harder and harder to run.”

Zhou Qiang forced a bitter smile and pointed to his receding hairline. “See this? My hairline is moving higher and higher, and I’m losing hair every day. I grab a handful every time.”

“When I was in college, I was like a small Li Xun, but now I’ve become a Pan Changjiang of online stores.”From the dark circles under Zhou Qiang’s eyes and his haggard appearance, Lu Yao could tell that he was indeed under a lot of pressure.

When Zhou Qiang had just graduated, he was full of confidence and ambition, talking about making it big and creating a brilliant future during gatherings. Now, life had beaten him down, making him thin and dark, always smoking, with a constant frown on his face.

“I’m planning to close the shop and work as a temporary worker in the community.”

Zhou Qiang put out his cigarette and said with a smile, “Two thousand eight hundred a month, less money but less pressure. I plan to take a break first, then consider my next step.”

“Bro, I’m moving in today, but I’m not alone.”

Zhou Qiang shouted outside, “Come on up, why are you hiding?”

A woman then walked in from outside.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with delicate features, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and black straight-leg pants. Her hair was casually tied back, and her eyes seemed a bit unfocused, as if she was lost in thought or slightly absent-minded.

Lu Yao noticed that her shoulders and waistline were very well-defined, with almost no excess fat, showing signs of regular exercise.

“My girlfriend, Yu Yao.” Zhou Qiang introduced, “This is my college roommate, Lu Yao.”

Lu Yao nodded politely with a smile. Yu Yao seemed a bit reserved, but also nodded.

“We’ll stay here for about a month at most.” Zhou Qiang explained, “Once we find a suitable house, we’ll move.”

Lu Yao nodded.

He also breathed a sigh of relief.

If they didn’t move, he would have to.

Because of the presence of the Simulator, it was not suitable for other people to be in this house.

Now that Zhou Qiang and Yu Yao had moved next door, he had to be even more cautious and not let Xiao Huo be exposed in front of them.

……

That night, Lu Yao kept hearing humming noises from next door. At first, he thought it was the night-time interaction between the young couple, but the sound became increasingly strange.

Was someone… humming a song?

However, whether this sound was coming from next door or upstairs, Lu Yao couldn’t be sure.

In the middle of the night, he was awakened by the sound of chopping vegetables.

Who in their right mind would be cooking in the kitchen in the middle of the night?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep