"Modify memories?" Jiang Bai Mian turned her head to look at Shang Jian Yao, repeating the key phrase.

Guo Zheng's hysterical screams made her feel slightly horrified.

This was not only because of the other party's performance and voice, but also because memory was a person's most private and precious thing. If it could be tampered with, there would be no way to distinguish between what was real and what was false.

At that time, perhaps she would only be able to actively join the Monastic Order and recite "Four Elements are Empty", "Dream Bubble Shadow", and "All Phenomena are Illusory" every day.

Shang Jian Yao had no fear on his face, and nodded seriously:

"The 'Father's' abilities are complete."

"Indeed..." Jiang Bai Mian came back to her senses and exhaled.

From the information currently available, the true "Father's" three Awakened abilities are:

Hypnosis; modifying memories; creating that shared illusion.

Compared to the fake "Father", this does not involve physical manipulation, nor does it enhance fighting ability, but it is even more frightening, more mysterious and terrifying.

At this time, the fake "Father" Guo Zheng, who had finished screaming, calmed down and sat there, panting heavily.

Shang Jian Yao looked at him on the screen and suddenly smiled:

"Then the question arises, since the real 'Father' can modify other people's memories, why doesn't he directly make you remember that you are the real 'Father'? That way, you don't have to worry about the 'hypnosis' effect being destroyed."

The previous words that shattered the psychological defense and exposed the false perception would have no effect.

Guo Zheng fell silent, and after more than ten seconds, he said:

"Maybe it's because he doesn't allow the fake 'Father' to become the real 'Father'. Even if it's just the real 'Father' in self-memory, it's not allowed.

"There can only be one true 'Father', and it can only be him."

When a person remembers himself as the true "Father", he is the true "Father" no matter what kind of torture he undergoes.

Jiang Bai Mian was about to say that this idea was a bit dangerous and crazy, when Shang Jian Yao said with great approval:

"I accept this reason."

"..." Jiang Bai Mian quietly rolled her eyes.

She turned and asked:

"Besides the 'modified' memories, can you recall any other details related to the true 'Father'? For example, what was the price he paid?"

Guo Zheng shook his head:

"The only thing that is certain is that we should be Awakened in the same batch."

Similar questions, Jiang Bai Mian believed that O'Dick should have used dream influence to find answers. Since he did not remind his good brother Shang Jian Yao to pay attention to anything, it meant that the memories related to the fake "Father" Guo Zheng either never existed or had problems.

She no longer dwelled on this matter and began to ask about other things:

"Do you know any of the elders of the 'Anti-Intellect Church'?"

Below the Pope, the elders of the "Council of Eight".

"I have only been in contact with one, the one who presided over our Awakening ceremony, and he was also the one who issued orders to me later." When the topic no longer involved the true "Father", Guo Zheng's state was obviously much better. "He is from Red River, named Bu Yong, and is responsible for the Initial City District, well, not the entire territory of 'Initial City', but the city and its surrounding areas."

The capital of the "Initial City" force, Initial City, is currently recognized as the most prosperous city in the Greylands and is also known as the "City of Desire".

"What does he look like, and what are his Awakened abilities? Massively flipping through other people's memories should just be some kind of application of one of his abilities." Jiang Bai Mian's eyes lit up.

This is a big fish.

Of course, it doesn't seem like their "Old Task Force" can deal with it. According to Du Heng, this might be an Awakened who has already entered the "Mind Corridor". Both the range of his abilities and the number of targets he can influence are exaggerated enough.

"Do you think I can remember what he looks like?" Guo Zheng smiled self-deprecatingly. "His nickname is 'Shepherd'. His voice always makes people feel a little uncomfortable, like his throat has been injured and has never healed."

Jiang Bai Mian's thoughts turned, and she found a possible problem area:

"Since 'Shepherd' Bu Yong is responsible for the Initial City District, why were you sent to Wild Grass City, simply for the mission to assassinate Xu Li-Yan?" (Note 1)

"Wild Grass City is an area not covered by the sect. Whoever spreads the faith first gets to manage it," Guo Zheng explained simply. "Anyway, I was coming to assassinate Xu Li-Yan, so I might as well spread the faith at the same time."

Jiang Bai Mian also asked which pastors were under Guo Zheng's command, how many believers he had developed, and where he usually got his supplies. Guo Zheng just smiled:

"O'Dick should already know the corresponding situation through dreams. You can just ask Xu Li-Yan for the report. Why do I have to repeat it?"

"It's the procedure." It wasn't Jiang Bai Mian who spoke, but Shang Jian Yao, who was dubbing for her.

Not bad... Jiang Bai Mian nodded slightly, praising him silently.

After the fake "Father" Guo Zheng finished answering, Shang Jian Yao took the opportunity to ask:

"What do you know about the 'Mind Corridor'?

"What's going on with the Pope entering the New World? Where is the New World?"

Guo Zheng laughed:

"These are all top secrets. Not to mention me, even the real 'Father' may not know.

"I only vaguely have an impression: Elder Bu Yong has some magical little items, said to be the gift of the Year Star.

"Hehe, I'm still facing those inner fears in the 'Sea of Origin', and I'm still hundreds of thousands of miles away from the 'Mind Corridor'."

Speaking of this, Guo Zheng suddenly froze and muttered to himself:

"No wonder... no wonder I can never get past that island... People who are 'hypnotized' can never succeed..."

Jiang Bai Mian nodded thoughtfully and asked about another key point:

"When did you find out that Lei Yun-Song and the others were from 'Pangu Biology'? And where did you learn about the price O'Dick paid? From Christina, the vice president of the Hunter's Guild?"

"Not her, it was 'Dumb'. Hehe, maybe it was the real 'Father' who gave me the information," Guo Zheng shook his head and said, "At first, I just wanted to find a few 'helpers' who were not related to the sect and could be abandoned at any time. Who knew that 'Dumb' directly gave me information about such a group of people, and then I had a plan to frame them and provoke disputes."

The real "Father" specifically flipped through memories because Lei Yun-Song and the others wanted to visit Xu Li-Yan, checked their backgrounds, and then "set" the time to make sure they couldn't avoid the fake "Father"? Jiang Bai Mian made further guesses in her heart.

At the end of the interrogation, Shang Jian Yao enthusiastically asked for advice:

"How does your 'Anti-Intellect Church' pray and salute?"

This was a lighthearted topic. Guo Zheng exhaled and rubbed his temples:

"Praying is shaking your head before meals. It doesn't matter how many times, it means don't think. Saluting is covering your eyes with both hands from both sides, meaning don't see, don't hear, don't perceive. The blessing is 'May you also lose your intelligence'. When it comes to the Year Star, you say 'Please believe in God with all your heart'. When preaching, you mainly talk about 'Doubt everything, there is no truth', 'Thinking is a trap, knowledge is poison'..."

Shang Jian Yao took out a small notebook at some point and wrote it down:

"The symbol is a person without facial features? Then what does the Mass look like?"

"Yes, a person without facial features." Guo Zheng leaned back in his chair and said, "Our Mass is very simple. First, we preach and listen to the disadvantages of knowledge and thinking, and then we shout slogans with the pastor. What to shout and how loud to shout depends on the situation at the time. You can also use applause to replace it."

Hearing this, Jiang Bai Mian asked curiously:

"How do you preach? And how do those people really come to believe?"

Guo Zheng looked at the screen in front of him and said without much energy:

"At first, we used food and other things as bait, and then we delved into the difficulties of the believers, helped them solve some of them, and finally made them completely dependent on us and completely give up thinking."

"The first half is still quite normal, but the second half is..." Jiang Bai Mian curled her lips. "I thought you directly used 'hypnosis' to preach."

"There's no need for that. We just make some arrangements during Mass to enhance the effect." Guo Zheng said with a slightly complicated smile, "For most people in the Greylands, living is a very hard thing. If we can help them think, help them arrange things, and let them have a relatively stable life, then even if they know that the teachings have problems, they will deceive themselves and choose to believe."

Huff... Jiang Bai Mian exhaled and closed her notebook.

…………

On the second floor of "Afu Gun Shop", in the damp and dark aisle, Long Yue-Hong walked towards the stairwell with his hands in his pockets.

Passing by a house, he twitched his nose and smelled the aroma of food.

The uncle who was cooking something on a coal stove at the door greeted him warmly:

"Do you want to try it? I cooked the remaining things together according to the 'hash' recipe you told me."

After the battle to protect their homes together, Long Yue-Hong had a bit of friendship with many people in this courtyard and building.

He waved his hands repeatedly:

"No need, no need, I just ate."

He was too embarrassed to eat the food of this family—they were also affected by the disaster and still needed to receive relief to maintain their lives.

He smiled, passed the uncle, and entered the stairs.

Suddenly, a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl ran up the stairs from the first floor.

She had a delicate face, was wrapped in a shriveled white cotton coat, and had a yellow cornbread in her mouth.

"Huh?" Long Yue-Hong was a little surprised to see her at this time.

The girl took the cornbread and greeted him with a smile:

"Good morning."

She noticed Long Yue-Hong's question and explained casually:

"There hasn't been any business lately, and there's relief to receive. Teacher An is also willing to give a discount for more lessons, so of course I have to seize the time!"

After speaking, she stuffed the cornbread back into her mouth, waved her hand with a bright smile, and walked quickly upstairs.

Long Yue-Hong smiled and followed her downstairs to the first floor, where he met Aunt Nan in the doorway leading to the courtyard.

Aunt Nan was leading a seven- or eight-year-old girl and was walking inside.

"Good morning." Long Yue-Hong took the initiative to greet her, and then asked curiously, "Where's Xiao Dong?"

"His grandma and his mother are still alive. They took him back, saying that after the new year, they will sell the shop here and go to Initial City to make a living." Aunt Nan said peacefully, "That's good too."

She then smiled and touched the top of the little girl's head:

"Anyway, I won't have any children, so it's just a good match."

The little girl was a little timid, half-hiding behind Aunt Nan, her eyes bright and clear.

Long Yue-Hong sincerely wished them well and entered the courtyard.

He immediately raised his head, looked at the not-so-bright but not-so-dark winter sky, and stared blankly.

"What are you thinking about?" Bai Chen approached.

Long Yue-Hong retracted his gaze and said with a smile:

"Every time I walk in the aisle upstairs, I feel like I'm back at the company. It's a very closed environment, and I can run into acquaintances from time to time and chat for a few words."

He looked at the floating clouds in the sky again and said softly:

"It's just that here, as soon as you walk out of the stairs, you can see the sky, see the clouds, and feel the wind.

"I'm wondering when everyone will be able to live on the ground without worrying about being attacked, and after greeting each other and chatting, they can walk out and see these things..."

Note 1: In the future, the "Initial City" in quotation marks will represent the force, and the Initial City without quotation marks will represent the city.

ps: Happy Spring Festival everyone~ The Wild Grass City plot will be finished in the last two or three chapters. Starting tomorrow, there will be a single update until the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, which is the 21st. On the 22nd, we will resume double updates.

At 9 p.m., I will send a wave of red envelopes on the WeChat official account. Everyone can go and grab them.