Chapter 154 - 152·0%

Chapter 154: Chapter 152·0%

Su Ming’an followed Feya out of the room.

And the moment he stepped out of the room, he once again saw the hem of the little girl’s dress, appearing at the corner of the corridor.

But this time, Hui Shuhang did not come directly to separate Feya, but waited for them to come out and then silently followed behind, like a faithful follower.

This time, Su Ming’an was going to meet that "Your Majesty."

He was about to use the Ruler’s Skill.

If he could raise His Majesty’s favorability to the highest point, then all the difficulties before him would be resolved with ease.

The preparations in the square were still underway, he saw the channel chat reporting locations in waves, and many people wanted to switch factions, seeking various ways to do so.

While walking towards that tallest building, ethereal as though floating in the clouds, a golden-white structure, Hui Shuhang seemed to notice something. She stepped forward, coming in front of him.

"Where are you headed?" she asked.

"I am taking him to see His Majesty," Feya said. "It’s about the latest progress of the experiment."

The reason Feya gave seemed plausible, and Hui Shuhang slightly furrowed her brows before she stopped objecting further.

But Su Ming’an noticed worry in her expression.

...Worry?

Until he stepped into the building, he was always concerned with Hui Shuhang’s expression.

"Take care."

Feya whispered into his ear before closing the door for him.

"Bang!"

The door shut heavily behind him, and Su Ming’an walked alone into the grand hall.

He saw the spiral staircase before him.

The layout of the grand hall was strange; the walls and the floor were of a transparent icy-white color, devoid of even a hint of patterning or decorative gemstones. After confirming that the first floor was empty, he went up the stairs and saw a bright spot on the second-floor platform.

The sky of this world was not brilliant, yet it ensured a steady source of light. He saw the stable light sprinkling on the transparent platform of the second floor, then spotted a mercury-like hue.

"—I had traveled the Continent before and found that the folks were generally ignorant. Thus, many factions would create religious sects, crafting an illusory deity image that could bring hope and happiness to the people, to help them win hearts."

Su Ming’an suddenly heard a voice; it was the person standing on the second floor speaking.

The person’s voice was cold, like the chill streams flowing, and right away, Su Ming’an remembered the phrase "keep an eye on him" from when the world had just begun, before he had even opened his eyes.

...It was this person who had said it.

"Factions provide the foundation for the religious sects, and in return, the sects bestow reputation and esteem to the factions. Many factions are such mutually supportive organizations. The crises of the world—cold waves, floods, earth fissures... to many who do not understand, these are divine punishments, Judgments sent from the heavens. They so eagerly chase after their own happiness yet fear so much the Judgements given ’in the name of the heavens’..." The person turned around. His voice was extremely cold, but his eyes held a warm and gentle smile, as if imbued with the spiritual energy of the sun and the moon. His demeanor was soft and approachable, naturally drawing a sense of closeness from onlookers.

As if the light of ten thousand suns was before him, standing under that radiance made one involuntarily believe every word he said.

He seemed to have been waiting here for a long time, not surprised by Su Ming’an’s arrival. As he turned around, he walked slowly over, his silver hair scattering like the reflections on the surface of the lake in the North Country on a moonlit night.

But Su Ming’an saw the crown-like string of gemstones on his head.

...This was probably that "Your Majesty."

The character at the ceiling level of the storyline instance.

"Speak," His Majesty asked in a calm voice, extremely peaceful, as if conversing with an equal, "... How convenient would it be if we could conquer them not only in strength and interest but also in the name of God, to shape an image that would have these fools submit to us both physically and mentally?"

Su Ming’an met his gaze.

He was momentarily stunned.

The system’s voice instantly awakened him.

He immediately became alert, realizing that he had almost failed to escape the judgment.

Fortunately, it seemed that he was on the right path, and it was necessary to meet this ruler.

"Is that so?" Su Ming’an said, "So, you want to become the deity you just mentioned being shaped?"

"Our faith is free and humane. We just want to give people something to rely on in their hearts," His Majesty responded, smiling.

"That’s not what you said just now," Su Ming’an also smiled, facing this extremely dangerous NPC, at the moment, his heart was somewhat excited:

"—You want people to stop thinking, to transform from rational to emotional, from human to your servants. You want to stir their inner desires and subservience, to make them rightfully sacrifice for a cause. You wish to create a class structure, to solidify social ranks... You want everyone to believe that ranks are innate, and rebellion is unjustified."

"But where there are classes, there will be resistance," Su Ming’an spread his hands, continuing, "If you want everyone to set aside the idea of resisting you and to follow you, it’s not something brainwashing and ignorance can achieve. People are independent entities, and everyone will make their own choices. What you should do, is to erect a goal that everyone can strive towards, you need to... become a lighthouse in everyone’s eyes..."

He said this with great excitement, and the live commentary inevitably blew up:

His Majesty’s footsteps stopped.

When he looked at him, the smile in his eyes shifted slightly.

"Qin Wang... I remember you used to be indifferent to these matters," His Majesty observed him, "to actually speak to this extent."

"In such an era, you are their king, whatever you do, whatever sect you establish, it has nothing to do with me," Su Ming’an said, "I will not care about the plight of the people at Dawn, I will not care about the extent to which they are deceived, because I am not their ruler, because they are to me."

Your Majesty looked at him, her gaze slightly unfocused.

"You wish to shape this world in your image, to mold it freely as you please," Su Ming’an said, "—since I share your perspective, as long as my experiments can proceed smoothly, I care not whose faith you exploit."

As he spoke, he prepared to activate the Ruler’s Skill.

"..." Your Majesty shifted her gaze slightly and then said softly:

"...Is that so?"

Su Ming’an immediately activated the Ruler’s Skill.

...What is this?

Su Ming’an stared at the system notification, stunned.

He had braced himself for a notification showing negative favorability but was blindsided by what the system presented.

...An initial favorability of 95 points?

He looked at the other party, whose expression had not changed, and who had not displayed the kind of emotional fluctuations Hui Shuhang did in the first cycle. After an increase of five points, the favorability had reached the maximum value, and everything seemed to have happened without incident.

Su Ming’an realized his skill might not have been entirely effective, but he chose not to rewind.

points and 100 points were two entirely different notions.

A favorability of 95 points might mean Your Majesty wished him dead because, in her eyes, he was not as crucial as something else.

But at 100 points... he was the most important person to her.

He should be able to avoid this life-and-death crisis.

"Let’s not discuss this any longer," said Your Majesty. "The results of this experiment have had a profound impact. Do not go out recently to prevent prying eyes. After the coming-of-age ceremony, I guarantee no one will touch you."

...Wasn’t he supposed to die at the coming-of-age ceremony?

Su Ming’an thought—maybe due to the 100 points of favorability, she had changed her mind now.

Just like Hui Shuhang in the past, who so unhesitatingly decided to escape with him, as if casting all else aside.

"Your projects from the past six years are complete. Do you have any new ideas?"

Your Majesty continued to inquire, the conversation casual, like that between friends.

Su Ming’an had read through Qin Wang’s re

He went over his exchange with Your Majesty, pondering any possible missteps.

With favorability at its maximum, and her agreement to provide him with a military force, even allowing him to meet with Feya unhindered, everything seemed to go very smoothly.

Theoretically, this should significantly increase his chances of survival...

But that’s not right.

A sudden sense of crisis welled up in Su Ming’an’s heart, and an inexplicable anxiety alerted him.

Then, a piece of information he had overlooked began to emerge in his mind.

Theoretically, all his self-preservation efforts should have increased his survival rate.

...But why,

in what seemed like a smooth conversation process,

—had he not heard any system notifications of "Increased Survival Rate"?

He quickly opened the system panel, and then suddenly felt a sweetness in his throat.

He spread open the hand covering his mouth and saw a pool of fresh blood in his palm.

And just at that moment, the system panel appeared before him.

While enduring the pain welling up from deep within, he saw a strikingly clear number displayed before him—