Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 173 The Earthly Kingdom! The Cult of the Machine God

If this were on the surface of the world, Duncan would have found a way to escape.

But this is underground. If you try to escape, you will only die from hunger, disease, monsters, or other threats. In fact, if you don't find a way up, the more you try to escape, the deeper you will go.

The third human host was basically in a cage-like situation.

"No."

“Without adequate nutrition and without finding sufficient food sources, the imprinted bloodline will take a very long time to fully transform.”

Duncan couldn't even satisfy the basic needs of his gluttonous energy. The little bit of relief food the church gave him was barely enough to keep him from starving, and it had almost no nutritional value.

He needs food, especially meat.

Just as Duncan was about to head to the industrial area to see if he could find some work or make some money, a roar came from the tracks not far away, followed by a sharp whistle. As a heavy train emerged from the underground tracks, a dense crowd of people quickly appeared, like ants.

They brought their families and luggage, and under the command of church deacons and soldiers, they formed long lines like army ants as they entered the coffin-like black skyscraper.

By this time, Duncan had already marked the F46 area.

The architectural style here is shaped like the Chinese character "品" (pin). It is located in a residential area, part of which is a residential area, while the other unplanned parts are used for commercial purposes. Directly to the north is the F46 industrial zone, which is the largest in area. You can faintly hear the roar of machines, and many factories are still under construction.

As for the east side, it is separated by a high wall and belongs to the administrative district. It is inhabited by government personnel and church members. Although their residences are also in the rough style of heavy industry, they are at least larger in area and do not give people a sense of seclusion.

Approximately 30,000 people were transported here.

After these new immigrants were settled, mechanics drove heavy trucks to transport goods from the back of the trains, and one heavy truck after another delivered large quantities of industrial materials to the industrial zone.

There were many people like Duncan who had nothing to do near the square in the residential area.

Most of them lacked any skills, and in the early days of establishing new colonies, they were basically unemployed until the industrial zones were gradually completed, at which point they were able to enter factories and find a livelihood on the assembly line.

Normally, such a large number of unemployed people would definitely cause disorder.

In reality, people spontaneously formed small cliques. Some set up stalls in the gaps between the steel skyscrapers, in those dark corners, selling goods brought from other areas. Others fought over territory, mostly in corners out of the sight of soldiers and guards. They deliberately avoided letting the dead bodies alert the church guards. Generally, the winner would arrogantly divide the territory, while the loser would slink away, only to retake it in some hidden corner.

These types of people usually have gang membership markings.

For example, the Wolf Pack thug that Duncan met kept trying to talk to people who looked fierce or tough. At first, he didn't get anything out of him, but when Duncan met him again, his and the others behind him had changed their identities.

—The Wolf Gang Squad Leader.

—A member of the Wolf Pack.

In just one or two hours, he was followed by more than a dozen people. His underlings had changed from civilians to gang members. They found iron bars, crowbars and other weapons in all sorts of ruins and swaggered around patrolling, as if they were inspecting their own little territory.

It is indeed very small, just a dark alley near a residential area.

Duncan watched this scene thoughtfully, thinking to himself, "It feels a bit like the Great Migration to the West."

"Immigrants from different regions brought with them the order of their respective regions, which in turn formed a customary social structure."

This was in the early stages of the gathering point's establishment; basically, after one or two months, a stable gray area was formed.

Immigrants will go back to their old professions.

When Duncan wandered around and encountered the wolf gang thugs again, he was still holding a heavily made-up prostitute in his arms. In a corner of the residential area, in a dark spot near the back, you could see more than a dozen heavily made-up women among the immigrants who had gotten off the train earlier, seemingly trying to solicit customers.

Humanity's oldest professions will never be absent.

Even prostitutes are out?

Duncan observed the patrolling guards; no one paid them any attention, and there were hardly any guests, as most of the immigrants were dirt poor.

Everyone is currently relying on relief food; they can't even fill their stomachs, so they have no energy to do anything else.

Only when one is well-fed and clothed can one have the right to indulge in lustful desires.

These gang members were menacing to ordinary people, but when they saw someone wearing the emblem of the Mechanical Church, they immediately bowed and scraped. A passing Mechanical Church deacon, seeing that there were many of them, arrogantly waved his hand, and the Wolf Gang thugs stepped forward respectfully. Then, they led dozens of people to deliver a heavy iron box weighing over a ton to the residential area.

The gang members were exhausted, working like dogs, essentially free labor. The arrogant church deacon didn't even offer a word of thanks, simply tossing a few coins to the leader and sending him on his way.

After they finished their work, they reverted to their fierce and menacing appearance, leading a group of people to swagger through the residential area.

Duncan felt they were like thugs and hooligans.

"interesting."

"This should be the food chain of the social ecosystem."

Duncan discovered that the people here seemed to have an innate tendency towards order. After the gang members divided up their territories, they began to establish rules. The merchants also quickly formed organizations, and even the area where each part of the residential area could be bought was clearly divided.

As for the hidden cultists and heretics, they quickly formed small groups and even converted several civilian units.

The entire settlement resembled a colossal anthill.

It appears chaotic.

But in fact, everything is traceable, forming an underground ecosystem in the dark, where everyone is like a cog in a machine, and even gang thugs can find their place in this gradually forming, huge machine.

"Without the Mechanical Church intervening at the grassroots level, order automatically formed from the chaos."

"This kind of subtle change."

"It was not formed in a day or two, but rather it is the inertia of social rules."

When Duncan returned to the main square of the residential area, the more than 100,000 people had formed three groups. The first group consisted of skilled workers, like busy worker ants, who earned wages through labor to improve their living standards. The second group comprised marginalized individuals, including gang members, merchants, thieves, prostitutes, and so on. They constituted the social fabric outside the industrial area, each carving out their own territory. Among them, the most dangerous were undoubtedly the secret cultists and cult members, the difference of which Duncan was currently unclear about.

The third type is the idle, laid-back type like Duncan, who either sleeps or wanders around aimlessly, living on a meager allowance and hoping to eventually get into a factory and become a cog in the machine.

By this time, the social structure of the settlement had been divided, and within the second group, there was another group that received special preferential treatment from the church.

Those were the pioneers.

Unlike scavengers, they are combat units, at least one star, and carry firearms with gun licenses issued by the jurisdiction.

Even the most ruthless gang members would avoid them.

These people are outlaws.

They are responsible for surveying the underground areas around the settlement, exploring undiscovered ruins, or searching for resource points. These people will gradually light up the dark map, and then the Mechanical Church will send people to develop the resources.

Duncan has probably found his career path.

But just then, a booming sound came from the southwest of the temple area, and then the idle crowd around the square gathered in that direction.

"The prayer room is now open!"

"Go quickly."

Duncan also followed the crowd. The massive flow of people gradually converged, and those who had nothing to do and were lying around also gathered here. Basically, apart from those who had work to do, tens of thousands of people were heading this way.

Duncan ran fast and was at the front of the group. When the people behind him saw that too many people had gathered, they all gave up and went back.

Approximately 10,000 people entered a separate area.

At that moment, a church deacon in a gray robe glanced over, casually pressed a switch, and the heavy steel gate closed, isolating others from the outside, as a large crowd could easily cause a stampede.

One after another, the iron gates opened.

In front of this small square stands a statue of a steel-cast angel, followed by the sound of gears turning. The central gate at the front is not open, but the side gates on both sides are open.

Groups of about five hundred people entered one after another.

Duncan was positioned very far forward.

He was in the third group to enter the prayer room. Behind him, a gang member looked around, his gaze first landing on a unit marked 'cultists'. He menacingly moved closer, trying to cut in line, but was given a cold glance by the man and immediately backed down. He turned to the seemingly thin Duncan and angrily shouted, "What are you looking at?"

"Get in line after me!"

The people around were watching the spectacle, no one intervened, most people were indifferent, and the church guards patrolling on both sides were also unconcerned.

Unless it's a major disturbance, the church doesn't care at all.

If a machine can still run, then don't touch it.

This is one of the proverbs of the Mechanical Church.

But if you cause trouble and attract their attention, sorry, you'll at least be punished with caning. Three lashes will leave your skin torn and you'll have to lie in bed for half a month.

interesting.

Duncan remained unmoved, observing the reactions of others. The people who had arrived from the vicinity were a mixed bag, with dozens of cult members among them.

Enraged, the gang thug reached out and grabbed Duncan by the back of his collar.

In an instant.

Duncan shifted to the side and delivered a swift chop to the ground. Before the gangster could react, everything went black and he collapsed instantly.

The situation was unclear, and he couldn't bring himself to kill.

thump.

The gangster fell to the ground, attracting the attention of a patrolling guard. The guard walked over with his gun, looked at the thin Duncan in surprise, and then picked up the gangster with one hand and threw him aside.

Soon someone woke the thug up, and then a church member came out with a whip.

Snapped!
With one lash, the skin was torn open, blood flowed freely, and even the clothes on the body were ripped.

Snapped!
The second lash knocked the thug unconscious, but he was immediately jolted awake and lashed again.

The whole process was quite swift, efficient, and skillful. In less than two minutes, after the three lashes were finished, the gang thug was unable to walk and was thrown over the wall from the side gate by the patrolling guards.

This is just a standard punishment for disrupting order; anything more severe would probably leave him unable to climb.

Duncan, on the other hand, was completely unharmed.

Because there were so many people, and some people did try to cut in line because they were tall, strong, and powerful, but as long as they didn't cause any trouble, nobody cared.

The first group of people came out ten minutes later.

Soon, the second group of people came out ten minutes after they went in.

Some people looked happy, some looked excited, some looked disappointed, and a very few were taken away by church members. When they came out again, they had a mechanical church mark on their chests, which meant they had become a member of the church, the lowest level of church believers.

Six rows ahead of Duncan, a middle-aged man marked 'cultist' came out wearing a church badge.

If cultists dare to come, what is there for Duncan not to do?

The third group of people quickly filed in. Duncan was in the fifth row. After entering, there was a passageway with magnificent steel reliefs on both sides, which looked very solemn. Inside were coffin boxes that looked like iron maidens, about one meter in diameter, and you could barely move around inside.

The first group of people entered, and some couldn't wait to kneel down and pray to the idols and shrines in front of them. There was a metal plate in front of them with different prayers inscribed on it.

Duncan was soon in line. After entering, he looked around curiously before kneeling on one knee in front of the shrine.

This is a very sealed space.

Almost no sound could be heard from outside, only the light from the overhead lamp. Directly in front was a sophisticated mechanical gear lever structure, with bearings on both sides supporting a small shrine. The statues inside the shrine were lifelike, like exquisitely crafted steel figurines.

Before Duncan stood a steel-cast angel, and behind the angel was a statue of the mechanical god. This god had many faces, but the one in the shrine was the most common one: a robot's face with one mechanical eye and the other empty.

"Homage to the god of machinery!"

Directly in front of Duncan was a metal plate, like a university lecture platform, only fifty centimeters wide. The plate had a steel engraving, and the first prayer was the one he had just recited.

Dimensional space, projected page.

In an instant, a line of characters appeared on the projection screen: "Power of Faith Detected!"

The projected page is constantly changing.

From God's perspective, countless runic pipes filled the entire prayer room. Directly in front of it were five hundred iron maiden-like cabins, all chanting prayers. Some were channeling their faith power, while others showed no reaction. Even after the entire prayer was finished, only a tiny spark of faith power was ignited.

At this moment, what Duncan saw was like a circuit board, hidden beneath the entire temple, and they were like individual batteries. Even the faintest spark of faith was completely absorbed by the circuit board and ultimately sent to who knows where.

"Special civilization form detected!"

"Marking!"

"Target: The [Earthly Divine Kingdom] Civilization! ...Enter Observer Mode!..."

"Marking complete!..."

"Dimensional observers are recording new data! ... Archive marker: [Earthly Divine Kingdom] (Theocratic) form!..."

"Leave the observer state".

hum.

In the background pattern of dimensional space, to the right of the feather-shaped nebula, a huge nebula pattern composed of countless mechanical gears, levers and other elements emerges. It is like a kingdom of intricately inlaid mechanical gears, transforming the entire sky into a strictly ordered pyramid structure.

As the marking was completed, Duncan's ability to create things seemed to change slightly, but now it was more important to observe everything he saw.

The image on the projected screen began to rise.

In an instant, Duncan saw rows of black obelisks standing on the earth, some thousands of meters tall, others tens of thousands of meters, directly above the clouds. They were purely mechanical creations, like wonders of the world, marking the energy field of the entire planet along the earth's veins. Around these towering black obelisks were densely packed nests, like beehives, constantly collecting energy and transmitting it into the black obelisks before him.

The top one is a honeycomb, and the bottom one is an anthill.

Duncan saw flowing faith power on the projection screen, with massive energy channels leading to the hive region in all directions, gathering countless weak faiths together. Then, like converging currents, they formed a network of substantial magical channels.

It wasn't the magical wind Duncan had seen before, but rather thick magical pipes, a dense network of pipes collecting faith from the heavens and the earth and transporting it into the black obelisks.

What he was seeing at that moment was truly magnificent!

In Duncan's eyes, the entire planet formed a gigantic beehive, with countless steel jungles clinging to black obelisks. From God's perspective, billions of beings were like insignificant fireflies, ultimately contributing a spectacular network of faith that enveloped the entire planet.

He even saw something above the planet's orbit.

hiss!
Duncan immediately thought of the future ideas of the medieval era, one direction of which was extreme theocracy, requiring the construction of numerous religious wonders.

Where did I put this?

The entire scene lasted only a short time. When everything returned to normal, the third human host was still in that iron maiden-like box, and the automatic system had now read the last part of the prayer.

—"Should we simulate the power of faith?"

—“In a managed state, devout faith can be simulated.”

—"Activate perception?"

—“In the managed state, the priest’s perception field can be simulated.”

Yes.

Duncan clicked "confirm" without hesitation.

hum.

Below the steel-cast prayer, a green marker light illuminated, and his output of faith far surpassed that of others. When Duncan stepped out of the coffin, deacons wearing the emblem of the Mechanical Church were already waiting outside.

The middle-aged church deacon looked at Duncan in surprise, seemingly not expecting him to be so young. He said politely, "Please come with me."

Duncan had met the church deacons before; they were very cold and aloof, behaving like dogs and ordering others around.

People around them kept casting envious glances.

Some people got nothing, while others received some small coins, similar to spare change in their previous lives. A very small number of people were taken away by church deacons.

Duncan walked in front.

After they passed through a corridor, the figure of the mechanical priest appeared ahead. Of the five hundred people, only six were taken away by the church deacons. Under the arrangement of the church deacons, they walked up the steps one by one, passed a statue of a steel-cast angel, and recited the mechanical cult prayer on it.

Unfortunately, there was no response this time.

The mechanical priest looked disappointed, but his gaze fell on Duncan.

Beside him, an old man holding a scroll whispered, "This one is still very young, and his mind is not yet fully developed."

"You can keep an eye on it."

The mechanical priest nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and soon church personnel presented them with the mark of the Mechanical God Cult. It was not the emblem of the Mechanical Church, but a mark with a gear-like structure, just like an ordinary badge.

Duncan also got it.

In addition, the church also gave them money, not much, three steel coins, which had a purchasing power of about thirty dollars in the early days, enough to last them two or three days if they were careful.

Behind Duncan was a middle-aged man marked as a cultist, who had also received the church's seal.

The group walked out of the prayer hall.

The people queuing outside looked on with envy. Duncan seemed to have special privileges, leaving directly through a side door with the others.

He has become a full member of the Cult of Mechanism.

When they left, even the iron plaque for receiving relief food was replaced with a bronze one.

Green light all the way.

When Duncan returned to the residential area, the menacing gang members avoided him from a distance. Even the Wolf Gang thugs who had initially glared at him menacingly bowed their heads in greeting. Becoming a formal member of the Mechanicus is the basic requirement for becoming a civil servant in Hive City; obtaining it is equivalent to possessing legal citizenship and the political power to advance within the government and the church.

After half an hour.

The government officials from the residential area arrived. He was an elderly man in his fifties wearing glasses and dressed in drab gray work clothes, which made him look very old. He said warmly, "Please follow me."

Duncan was immediately assigned to the building in the next district.

It's almost the same decorating style, but the area is larger, over ten square meters, and there's a simple little toilet. Some basic necessities are provided, but you'll need to buy everything else yourself. It doesn't look very luxurious, but it's close to the living conditions of a modern working-class person.

There was a desk lamp on the desk, and only one book on the shelf—"The Textbook of Mechanics".

When Duncan finished tidying up and went out...

It's already dark outside.

The lights here are turned off around 8 p.m. When there is enough energy, they simulate moonlight; sometimes, to save energy, it's pitch black. The lower levels of the hive are all autonomous regions. If the output of a settlement is insufficient, it may have to rely on church relief to survive, and even basic energy supplies are difficult to guarantee.

However, as long as the faith assessment criteria are met, the Mechanical Church will not allow the lower classes to starve to death.

Duncan ran into the woman who had tested him the day before.

The other person looked like they'd seen a ghost, cupped their hands under their heavy chest, and looked Duncan up and down, exclaiming in shock, "You've become a church follower?"

How did you get through?

Tell me!

Upon hearing this, Duncan shrugged and calmly said, "As long as you have a devout faith in the God of Machines, you can receive the God's favor."

Believe it or not!

The woman didn't believe a word of it. She circled Duncan, looking shocked and confused, but eventually gave up because people like her shouldn't easily try to find out what others have to offer.

Whether it's getting in through connections or using underhanded tactics, these things can't be discussed in detail.

You'll lose your head!
The woman still smelled of engine oil, her tank top was stretched taut, and there were sweat and oil stains on her exposed breasts. She sat down on the steps, waved to Duncan, and said with an ambiguous expression, "You're lucky today."

"Come."

"Try it."

After saying that, she took a bag out of her coat pocket. Inside were two pieces of slightly charred meat, about the size of a palm. She picked one up and took a bite, then tossed the other piece to Duncan in front of her.

—Roasted rat meat.

Duncan instinctively reached out and caught it.

The woman ate with relish, seemingly having not eaten meat for a while. She looked at Duncan, who was slightly dazed, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Eat up!"

"rest assured."

"It's not a radiation-infected rat!"

"I was lucky today. I dug up a nest of big rats. There were so many people to share, but I only got this much."

Oh shit.

The foreman of the industrial park took the fattest one, and another one was to be given to the managing deacon of the mechanical church. There were only three big rats among the dozen or so people, and in the end, they only got this little bit.

Duncan took a bite.

The taste is alright, but it's not very salty, so it needs some seasoning.

Surprisingly, the rat meat tasted alright.

Most of the food in the lower levels comes from the Mechanical Church, and these large rats are considered quite good game.

The woman finished her meal in a few bites, enjoying it even more than the steak. She glanced at Duncan, who was chewing slowly, and her throat actually moved slightly. She smiled and said, "Not bad, right?"

"gone."

After saying that, she patted Duncan on the shoulder, wiped the oil off her hands with his clothes, and got up and left decisively.

She's treating Duncan like a teenager, trying to win him over.

Today was undoubtedly another fruitful day. The way this young man ate rat meat so slowly and deliberately meant he must come from an extraordinary background. Ordinary lower-class people would be more excited to see rat meat than to see a naked prostitute.

"correct."

She walked halfway, then suddenly turned around, blinked, and said, "Last time I asked you, you said your name was Ryan Bird."

"Why is it that when I looked for you today, the administrator said your name was Duncan?"

Duncan looked up and said calmly, "I changed my name."

It's normal for people to change their names when they're traveling, right?

The woman didn't seem to mind, and waved her hand, saying, "Alright. My name is Anastasia."

"Just call me Tasia."

The woman, reeking of engine oil, left in a flurry, prompting Duncan to ponder deeply.

Rebels?
He encountered more cultists than rebels here.

Duncan has been in the world of his third human host for two whole days, and the best meal he's had so far is still a piece of roasted rat meat given to him by this woman who he doesn't know if she's friend or foe.

Is this even a human being's life?
If Duncan rests for another night, he should be able to reach near-adult physical fitness. Although the third human host is a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, having near-adult male physical fitness means he can do quite a lot.

With his skills and physical fitness, his combat power will increase dramatically.

………………

(End of this chapter)