Shang Jianyao was silent for a moment, then asked:
"What do you know about the Long Night Order?"
Zhang Lei shook his head:
"I don't like dealing with these cults. They feel crazy and dangerous.
"I've only heard people say that the Long Night Order believes that every night is dangerous, and only by obtaining the blessing of Siming can one live to see the dawn.
"So, they like to pray when it's just getting dark, gather in the middle of the night, and call their High Mass a carnival..."
Speaking of this, Zhang Lei said somewhat incomprehensibly:
"I don't know what a carnival looks like, but I always feel that this is a bit strange as a religious Mass."
"You wouldn't think so if you've heard parenting lectures and mechanical sayings," Shang Jianyao said with a matter-of-fact tone.
Zhang Lei didn't ask what parenting lectures and mechanical sayings were. He looked back at Meng Xia, who was chatting with a few friends, and said to Shang Jianyao:
"What else do you want to ask?"
"Besides Siming, what other Ruling Deities do you know?" Shang Jianyao posed as if he would ask everything clearly if he got the chance.
Zhang Lei recalled and said:
"Not much. Siming in December, Bodhi in January, and when I was in the Wild Reeds City, I heard people from First City mention that some nobles there secretly worship Mandala, who rules September."
Shang Jianyao recalled the team leader's description and sincerely commented:
"In First City, it might be possible to gather the beliefs of all the Ruling Deities."
"That's not a good place," Zhang Lei nodded. "For most people."
He pointed to Meng Xia's side:
"If there's nothing else, I'll head over."
Shang Jianyao suddenly asked:
"Why don't you ask me why I'm suddenly asking about these things?"
Zhang Lei, who was dark-skinned and of medium height, stood up and slowly said:
"The more you know, the more dangerous it is."
After saying that, he didn't stay any longer, turned his body, and walked towards Meng Xia.
Shang Jianyao continued to sit there, without any other movements, as if he had been isolated from the surrounding lively atmosphere.
He quietly watched the people coming and going, without feeling any discomfort.
…………
The next day, Shang Jianyao arrived at Room 14 on the 647th floor, where the "Old Task Force" was located, almost ten minutes early.
Unsurprisingly, Jiang Baimian was already sitting in her seat.
"I met an employee from outside yesterday," Shang Jianyao walked over and said directly.
"Hmm?" Jiang Baimian indicated that she was waiting for what followed.
Shang Jianyao pulled out a chair and sat down:
"He has some understanding of the Ruling Deities and Awakened..."
He repeated what Zhang Lei had said.
"Indeed, Awakened abilities directly related to the heart are in Siming's domain." Jiang Baimian sighed thoughtfully. "I wonder if one gains the corresponding domain's abilities upon Awakening after believing in a certain Ruling Deity... Then, what determines the characteristics of the ability when one Awakens before deciding on a belief? Hmm, Du Heng said that different prices vaguely reflect different domains, so, is it divided based on the different prices paid?"
Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian suddenly mentioned:
"Then what was Qiao Chu's price?
"What were Du Heng and Galoran's prices?"
Shang Jianyao replied:
"Not all prices can be easily seen.
"If Jingfa hadn't said it, no one would have directly thought that his price was increased lust.
"I almost used 'being single for life' to exchange for an ability, but it didn't work. That kind of price is useless."
Jiang Baimian was immediately surprised:
"Isn't it said that as long as you pay the price it's fine? Does the price have to conform to some kind of rule?"
"I don't know." Shang Jianyao was very honest.
Jiang Baimian "Hmm"ed:
"It's difficult to see anything from individual cases, unless you've tried many times to find the correct price."
"Three times. The second time I wanted to exchange it for 'having no friends,' but it still didn't work," Shang Jianyao said truthfully.
Jiang Baimian nodded slightly:
"We can only summarize the rules after getting to know a few more Awakened and understanding their failed and successful cases."
"They won't say it," Shang Jianyao pointed out.
"What if their price is that they can't lie or have to answer every question?" Jiang Baimian retorted with a smile.
Then, she thought and said:
"After coming back, the more I think about it, the more I feel that Qiao Chu's charm isn't like an ability, but rather closer to a price."
Shang Jianyao's eyes moved slightly, and he immediately said:
"So far, of all the Awakened I've seen, except for him, their abilities are controllable."
In other words, even if the ability brings some bad results, the Awakened can at least choose whether to use it or not.
And Qiao Chu was chased by the Nightmare Horse all the way and might have even lost a car because of it, until he used a trick to trick the other party across the river and blew up the bridge to truly get rid of it.
A normal Awakened should have stopped the charm long ago.
Of course, Shang Jianyao could not guarantee that there was definitely no such thing as an "indiscriminate passive charm" in the bestowed abilities.
"That's right." Jiang Baimian agreed. "Looking at it this way, Qiao Chu's charm is likely the price he paid."
Speaking of this, she suddenly laughed:
"When Qiao Chu first became an Awakened and was still relatively weak, I wonder what this unremovable passive charm brought him, tsk..."
"Miserable." Shang Jianyao skipped the possible cases and directly gave the conclusion.
Then, he added:
"Before entering the 'Sea of Origins' and defeating his inner fears one by one, Qiao Chu's charm wouldn't have such a large range, and the effect wouldn't be so strong."
"What are you thinking?" Jiang Baimian asked with a teasing smile. "What I originally planned to say was that Qiao Chu must be very popular with mosquitoes and things like that. Staying with him, you don't have to worry about being bitten, tsk. Has the boundary of physiological education expanded again in your class?"
Not giving Shang Jianyao a chance to give a bizarre answer, she changed the subject and said:
"Normally speaking, no one would use 'increased charm' as a price. In general opinion, it's not a price at all.
"So, Qiao Chu should have exchanged his ability for 'charm'... As a result, he didn't expect to become a heartthrob, the kind that everyone, man or dog, wants to get with, hmm... According to my experience, as time goes by, my impulse to force myself on him has gradually become stronger. It can be foreseen that if we stay for another day or two, or even a few hours, we will actively and violently violate him.
"This is indeed a price, miserable..."
"The physiological education in your class isn't bad either," Shang Jianyao seriously commented.
"Huh? What did you say?" Jiang Baimian touched her ear and said solemnly, "Moreover, we also discussed it before. Judging from the situation at the time, if Qiao Chu showed hostility or acted maliciously, the charmed state of the corresponding target would be lifted, and his companions would also be stimulated and get rid of the influence to a certain extent, uh, except for animals and 'soulless ones'... It seems there are still quite a few restrictions."
Jiang Baimian thought for a moment and then said:
"If that's the case, Qiao Chu's third Awakened ability hasn't been shown yet.
"We were careful back then, that's good."
They currently know that Qiao Chu has the Awakened abilities to make people frustrated and to make people focus on doing something. The former is range-based, and the latter seems to only be one-on-one.
While the two were talking, Long Yuehong and Bai Chen walked in one after another.
Jiang Baimian stood up upon seeing this, clapped her hands, and said with a beaming smile:
"The higher-ups have replied!"
Upon hearing that the rewards were coming down, Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and Shang Jianyao's eyes all lit up.
"Stop, no singing, no dancing!" Jiang Baimian stopped Shang Jianyao in advance, not letting him do anything.
Shang Jianyao immediately revealed a regretful expression.
Jiang Baimian cleared her throat and said with a smile:
"The rewards and compensation are calculated together and divided into two parts.
"The first part is that everyone's employee level will be raised by one level. That is to say, I am now at D7, a genuine team leader. Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong were originally going to be promoted to D2, and now they are directly at D3. Bai Chen was originally going to be transferred to a formal employee at D1, and now she's at D2."
"D3?" Long Yuehong exclaimed in surprise. "Wouldn't that be 1,000 more contribution points each month?"
This meant that his monthly salary would be 2,800 points.
Moreover, when he gets married next year and can apply for housing, a higher employee level can get a better room.
"What level can you apply for genetic modification if you pay contribution points yourself?" A look of joy flashed across Bai Chen's face, but it quickly disappeared.
Jiang Baimian replied with a smile:
"I asked for you. In your situation, you can get to D4. If you are willing to participate in very dangerous projects, you can do it now, but I don't recommend it. No matter what you want to do, you can only do it if you are alive."
Bai Chen nodded slightly, indicating that she would not be so reckless.
Jiang Baimian looked at Shang Jianyao again:
"Aren't you happy?"
"I'm happy." Shang Jianyao looked serious.
"Forget it, I shouldn't have asked you." Jiang Baimian continued, "The second part is 100,000 contribution points compensation per person."
"100,000?" Long Yuehong had never seen so many contribution points in his life.
Jiang Baimian chuckled:
"It's not much. We robbed, no, brought back an armored vehicle, a heavy machine gun, a Black Marsh Iron Serpent's skin, and two vehicles of supplies.
"If these things are taken to a place like the Wild Reeds City to sell, their value can definitely exceed 400,000 contribution points several times over.
"But, you also have to think about it. Our weapons are provided by the company, our jeep is given by the company, our people are raised by the company. It's very reasonable for the company to take the big share. Besides, isn't there also compensation for the employee level increase? That's more difficult than simply taking contribution points."
"It's quite a lot, quite a lot." Long Yuehong said that he had no complaints at all.
He wanted to help his parents, younger brother, and younger sister change to a larger room, which would cost about 30,000 points.
For Bai Chen, the strongest party taking the most spoils is an unshakeable truth, so she didn't feel that there was anything wrong with this.
Shang Jianyao wanted to say something, but no one wanted to listen.
Then, Jiang Baimian opened the desk drawer and took out three file bags:
"The names are marked on them. This is the harvest you can have after the review.
"Hehe, the company returned our watches to us. These are all mechanical watches, which are more valuable than electronic watches, at least 50,000 to 60,000 contribution points, hmm, the company has helped us repair the damaged parts.
"By the way, remember to update your electronic cards later. If the number of contribution points is incorrect, remember to tell me. Oh, and the 900 field subsidy will also be issued directly this time."
While Jiang Baimian was speaking, Shang Jianyao took the file bag with his name on it and poured out the items inside.
There was a pair of black sunglasses, a dark mechanical watch, a transparent glass ball inlaid with yellow petals, a voice recorder from Black Rat Town, and a palm-sized blue-bottomed black-faced speaker that almost burst the file bag.
Bai Chen didn't bother to look at her file bag and looked at Jiang Baimian, asking with concern:
"Team Leader, what was the outcome of the Water Encirclement Town incident?"
PS: Asking for monthly votes during the double period~