Gu Bo... Long Yuehong noted down this name and asked about other things.
After chatting for a while, he politely excused himself to look for other people to consult.
Twenty or thirty meters away from him, Bai Chen, wearing a scarf and having changed her clothes, quietly followed him, using the shadows and pedestrians as cover.
This was a special arrangement by Jiang Baimian.
In the "Old Task Force," Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong were the only two who needed to accumulate "solo action" experience. However, the former was more of a concern for causing some major trouble. Therefore, Jiang Baimian had Bai Chen secretly follow Long Yuehong to ensure he didn't encounter any accidents, while she was responsible for keeping an eye on Shang Jianyao to avoid causing problems for the folks in Tarnan.
At the "Crossroads of Life," Shang Jianyao stood there, looking right, looking left, looking forward, as if caught in an intense internal struggle.
After a long while, he seemed to have finally made up his mind and walked towards the "Furnace Church" preaching site on the right.
Well, the Furnace Church not only has dancing but also the hotpot communion, which is indeed more tempting than other cults... Jiang Baimian, watching from a distance, nodded with understanding.
Next, Shang Jianyao joined the group dance, moving his body to the rhythm of the drums, occasionally shouting:
"Praise you, the gate of the New World!"
He's quite devout... Jiang Baimian moved closer and smelled the rich and enticing aroma of fried chicken wings.
This made her a little puzzled:
Wasn't it said that besides the local residents, everyone else in Tarnan lacked ingredients and could only survive on canned food, biscuits, and energy bars?
Could it be that in order to proselytize, "Balance of Glory" spent a lot of money buying a batch of live chickens from the local residents?
They're really willing to spend...
As thoughts raced through her mind, Jiang Baimian saw the Furnace Church's group dance come to a temporary end. The man hosting the ceremony took out a black-covered book and began talking about the wonders of the New World and the greatness of the "Scorching Gate."
After listening for a few dozen seconds, Shang Jianyao suddenly took out that spirited monkey mask from his tactical backpack.
After putting on the mask, he turned his body and walked towards the opposite side with peace of mind and righteousness.
Walked towards the opposite side.
"..." Jiang Baimian watched Shang Jianyao join the singing group, singing hymns with the group of people who believed in the entity "Shattered Mirror."
He seemed to have observed for a long time, and his lyrics and tune didn't have any major mistakes.
Do you think you're another person just by wearing a mask? Jiang Baimian couldn't help but mutter to herself.
As soon as this thought appeared, she suddenly felt that he might really have become "another person."
He's really going all out... she exclaimed sincerely.
After singing a verse, the clergy began preaching. Before long, Shang Jianyao quietly withdrew from the group and returned to the center of the street.
He quickly took off the monkey mask, looking relieved.
Then, he opened his tactical backpack again and took out another mask.
This was a pig mask with exaggerated nostrils.
Jiang Baimian was a little dumbfounded by what she was peeking at:
When did this guy bring out Little Red's mask?
He's really well-prepared...
Shang Jianyao changed into the mask and walked towards the iron pot frying chicken wings without looking back.
So, it's Little Red eating, not you? Jiang Baimian tried to guess Shang Jianyao's thoughts.
Bypassing the thin pillar with a person standing on it, Shang Jianyao walked to the side and forcibly squeezed a path through the waiting crowd, getting closer to the iron pot.
The person responsible for frying the chicken wings was an old man with a white beard, a Red River native, with blue eyes and a height of just over 1.7 meters, wearing a red apron.
"Are you from the 'Balance of Glory' sect?" Shang Jianyao asked in Red River language.
After staying in Redstone Town for a while, his Red River language became more and more fluent.
The old man with the white beard, while paying attention to the oil pot, replied with a smile:
"Yes."
This was probably the unknown batch of chicken wings tonight.
"Which entity do you worship?" Shang Jianyao acted as if he intended to join.
After asking, he regained his politeness:
"What do I call you?"
"Just call me Mike." The old man with the white beard and red apron replied with a smile, "We believe in the June entity 'Golden Balance.' He holds the equilibrium point of the year and is a symbol of symmetry and balance. The old world was destroyed because some things lost their balance."
It was obvious that he was experienced in proselytizing, and he explained the authority and power of his own god in a few simple sentences.
After speaking, he glanced at Shang Jianyao and casually asked:
"Are you from Redstone Town?"
Besides being wary of settlements controlled by cults, no one likes to wear a mask all the time, and the most closely related parish to Tarnan is only Redstone Town.
"You can actually tell?" Shang Jianyao was "shocked."
Mike didn't know if he really thought he was perfectly disguised or if he was joking.
He raised his finger and pointed at his face:
"Isn't it obvious?"
"Yes, I, Gu Zhiyong, came from Redstone Town." Shang Jianyao frankly admitted his "origin."
He immediately added:
"I am not a believer of 'Nether Aunt.'"
Obviously, believers of "Nether Aunt" can't trick people into giving them fried chicken wings... Jiang Baimian, squeezed into the crowd opposite, muttered to herself.
Her guess was right:
It was "Long Yuehong" who chose "Balance of Glory" for the sake of fried chicken wings, not Shang Jianyao!
-- Gu Zhiyong is Long Yuehong's alias.
The origin of this alias is that Long Yuehong's mother's surname is Gu, and there is a "yong" character in his father's name.
When she first learned of this alias, Jiang Baimian used all her strength to resist the urge to laugh.
"Is that so? Are you interested in our sect?" Mike naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to develop believers.
"Yes." Shang Jianyao nodded without hesitation, "Where did you get these chicken wings? Can Tarnan get so many chicken wings?"
Mike was about to speak when his gaze suddenly focused.
He skillfully scooped up the fried chicken wings and placed them on the filter.
The aroma that enticed the soul became even stronger.
"It's your turn." Mike looked at a group of people on the left.
The group walked to the front of the single pillar, lined up, and began to receive the not-so-hot fried chicken wings in turn.
"Everyone else, don't panic. There will be more later." Mike said to Shang Jianyao and the others.
As the group received the fried chicken wings one by one, most of them opened their arms and said a prayer.
These roughly fall into two categories: "Balance in all things" and "Glory to the Balance."
After distributing this batch of fried chicken wings, Mike bent down, picked up new chicken wings, and threw them into the oil pot.
After doing these things, he turned his head and answered Shang Jianyao's previous question:
"These are all transported from outside. Our sect has dedicated refrigerated trucks and self-built chicken farms."
Chicken farms? Isn't your sect a little strange? Jiang Baimian's mouth twitched slightly as she listened.
This is actually a sect that specializes in building chicken farms for believers to enjoy communion!
It sounds so harmless... yes, only harmful to poultry!
Mike continued:
"We don't have that many resources. Only during the grand mass in the middle of each month can believers enjoy communion.
"You're lucky. Yesterday was our sect's grand mass. This batch of chicken wings is the last remaining. It was specially approved for proselytizing."
"Oh, oh." Shang Jianyao, wearing the pig mask, nodded repeatedly.
He then asked:
"What is your sect's doctrine?"
He has always been professional in playing the role of proselytizing object.
Mike's expression became solemn:
"The core of our doctrine has already been said, only two words:
"Symmetry and balance.
"We must maintain balance in everything we do. On a small scale, this includes the balance of your state, the balance of your body fluids, the balance of your emotions, the balance between you and your family. On a larger scale, there is the balance between man and nature, the balance between human groups, the balance between humans and subhumans, the balance between humans and entities...
"Symmetry is the most beautiful phenomenon in the world. Asymmetrical things are dirty and ugly..."
Mike spoke about the ideas of "Balance of Glory" one by one. Shang Jianyao listened very attentively, interjecting with a few words from time to time.
After a while, he specifically reminded:
"The chicken wings are ready."
"Ah, right." Mike quickly scooped out the fried chicken wings and said to the crowd on Shang Jianyao's side, "It's your turn."
Shang Jianyao took the lead and lined up in front of the iron pot. His speed was so fast and his posture was so firm that it was amazing.
Soon, he received a golden-fried chicken wing, and after taking a bite, he said with his mouth full of grease:
"Delicious..."
Jiang Baimian's expression became quite complicated as she watched this scene.
After eating the fried chicken wings, Shang Jianyao very politely asked:
"Do you care if believers worship other entities?"
"That's definitely not allowed!" Mike replied firmly.
Shang Jianyao nodded slightly:
"Then I'll consider it again."
After speaking, he turned his body, returned to the center of the street, and took off the pig mask as quickly as possible.
Seeing that Shang Jianyao had walked to the other side of the street, Jiang Baimian glanced at the batch of chicken wings that had just been put into the pot, gritted her teeth, and squeezed out of the crowd.
After following for a while, there was a sudden commotion ahead.
A group of people were gathered in the center of the street, not knowing what had happened.
Seeing Shang Jianyao rush over to watch the excitement, Jiang Baimian also curiously approached and, relying on her height, tiptoed and looked inside.
It seemed that one person was surrounded in the center.
"Who is it?" Jiang Baimian asked the onlookers in front.
That person said without turning his head:
"A survivor who returned from the southwest mountainous area this afternoon. He escaped from the hospital."
"The matter of that 'Advanced Heartless'?" Jiang Baimian suddenly understood.
"Yes." Just as the onlooker in front responded, the central area changed.
Someone asked:
"Zhang Jiu, where are the others from your team?"
After a brief silence, a rough and hoarse voice shouted with indescribable fear:
"Dead! They're all dead!"
The person who asked pressed:
"Who killed them? That 'Advanced Heartless'?"
The rough and hoarse voice was silent for a long time, and suddenly laughed loudly:
"It was me! It was me!"