Armored train in the apocalypse

Chapter 251 Divine Grace? Evolution!
The confidant hesitated for a moment, then tentatively suggested, "Send her to her now..."

A cold glint flashed in the second priest's eyes. "No need. After this ritual is completed, I want to see what this so-called pursuit is all about. The third priest needs what he wants as soon as possible. It would be best if we could find it before the ritual."

The three trusted confidants' expressions changed, and they quickly went out to carry out their business.

A flurry of footsteps came from downstairs.

The second priest walked to the window and looked down. A large number of people filed out of the resort hotel, each dressed in a variety of clothes, but all had a large red cloth tied around their arm.

They may look like a rabble, but they are all composed of evolved beings.

Apart from those participating in the rituals, this already constitutes the entire population of the island.

All survivors who come to the island, whether ordinary people or evolved beings, must participate in a ritual. Once they receive "divine grace," they will not need to participate again.

If you don't receive "divine grace," you have to keep repeating the process.

Until they die or evolve.

This is also why Guanchao Island has been able to persist until now.

The vast majority of the population was consumed in repeated sacrifices.

Once this ritual is over, he will be able to rightfully annex the High Priest, and all five hundred or so evolved beings on Guanchao Island will fall under his control.

The second priest stretched out his palm, gazing at the round ruby ​​on it, lost in thought.

"Do you think it's possible that I'm the one chasing the giant whale?"

There were only his questions in the suite, but no answers.

He turned his head and tossed the red crystal to the figure standing in the corner. Just as the crystal was about to hit his face, a scarred hand grabbed the crystal and stuffed it into his mouth. The sound of chewing glass shards echoed in the empty room.

"puppet?"

A gentle female voice, tinged with a hint of doubt, suddenly rang out in the room.

"who!"

The two priests, their hair standing on end, suddenly turned around.

However, nothing suspicious was observed.

There was an unfinished card game on the coffee table, two bath towels on the sideboard, and a transparent bedside table with a bottle of red wine he had just opened.

Even the airflow was smooth and humid, without any abnormalities.

The woman's voice he just heard seemed like his imagination.

The two priests looked towards the corner with surprise and uncertainty.

The tall figure made no move. Normally, anyone who dared to enter within ten meters of him without permission would be instantly killed by his "death god".

But that sound was definitely not an illusion!

Someone broke into the room using methods he didn't understand!
The thought that person might be standing in front of her now, or sitting on the sofa staring at her coldly, sent a chill down the Second Priestess's spine. She waved her hand, summoning the puppet in the corner to her side.

Feeling the chilling killing intent emanating from the Grim Reaper, the Second Priest felt somewhat at ease.

He looked around suspiciously at everything.

But he didn't ignore what was outside the window.

Once I looked outside, I couldn't take my eyes off it.

The small hill on Guanchao Island has been artificially transformed into a crescent shape, and the resort hotel is located right in the middle of the crescent.

Behind the hotel is a small hill, and on both sides are hills that gradually extend and embrace the hotel, like a wall slightly higher than the outer island.

Because of the surrounding floods, New Eden didn't have the habit of setting up sentry posts. They left a few people to guard the gate, and now they're probably dozing off somewhere.

A strange group of people walked down the earthen slope in front of them.

The leader was dressed entirely in black with long hair; he didn't look like a good person.

From a distance, a pair of eyes, seemingly smiling yet not smiling, were fixed on him.

The other party was walking towards the resort hotel at that moment.

What bothered him even more was that the High Priest and Ado were following behind him.

A thought suddenly popped into my head.

"Could it be that she really found it?"

How can it be!

"found it!"

The door was pushed open, and a trusted aide shouted loudly inside.

The second priest was startled and took a few steps forward, staring at him with a terrifying, cannibalistic gaze. "Impossible!"

The confidant took a half step back, shrinking back as he said, "We really found it."

"They are just a group of survivors who happened to wander into Jingchao Lake; they could never be the people predicted!"

Seeing the bloodshot in the Second Priest's eyes, the confidant immediately realized what was going on and quickly explained, "I meant the things for the Third Priest have been found."

The second priest breathed a sigh of relief and glared at him fiercely.

"Next time, make your point clear and come with me to greet the High Priest."

Although success was imminent, he could not ignore the high priest's prophecy. Although he was unwilling to admit it, six or seven out of ten of the prophecies had come true.

The New Eden's development to its present state is inseparable from the High Priest's prophecy.

Now that the other party has brought back a group of strangers, he can't sleep well until he figures things out.

Su Huan's arrival also attracted the attention of the evolved beings downstairs.

But upon seeing the two high priests behind them, these people, though showing hostility, did not attack immediately.

Yu Yue stepped forward and whispered something in Su Huan's ear.

"A puppet like Yu Jing's? Interesting."

Su Huan licked his teeth and pointed with his chin at the Second Priest who was walking towards them in a black robe. "This must be the Second Priest, right?"

Ado was on high alert, warily watching the masked "Grim Reaper" behind the other party.

The second priest ignored her. Although he liked this body very much, the man in front of him was just too... eye-catching.

When he stood there, it was as if he were the protagonist of this world.

A mysterious magnetic field can attract everyone's attention.

Strangely, the second priest could not sense any threat from the evolved being.

Forcing himself to look at the high priest's face, the second priest said with a grim expression, "You have disobeyed God."

The high priest turned his cloudy eyes, his gaze seemingly passing through the second priest and landing on the Grim Reaper behind him. "Child, I have never disobeyed God."

The second priest pointed to Su Huan, who was leisurely standing beside him, "But he did not participate in the sacrifice."

"Oh, he missed it, he'll have to try again next time."

The high priest said calmly.

The second priest's eyes were piercing. "It's not too late to join now, after all, the ceremony hasn't officially started yet, right?"

His trusted aide stepped forward with a sneer, "That's right, there's still a thousand... no, half is missing!"

The confidant said with a shocked expression.

The expressions of those around them, including the second priest and A'duo, suddenly became serious.

This large-scale loss of personnel is likely due to an unknown disaster that has occurred on the island.

The second priest's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty as he stared intently into the high priest's eyes, saying each word clearly, "He is the person foretold in the prophecy."

It's not a question, but a statement. "Who, me?"

Su Huan seemed to only then realize his abruptness, and pointed to the tip of his nose.

“Go to the altar and let the gods decide. Whether it's him or me, someone who pries into fate, let the gods decide! Whether to go to hell or to Eden, let the gods decide!”

The high priest suddenly shouted in a sharp, hoarse voice.

The surrounding people were taken aback and all looked at the second priest.

The latter stared intently at Su Huan, but the more he looked, the less confident he felt. He couldn't see anything in those narrow eyes, not even his own reflection.

"Is it up in the mountains?"

Su Huan looked at the small hill behind the resort hotel, ignoring everyone's reactions, and walked past the second priest to the back.

If we quantify his current interests, he might have 1 to 2 for New Eden, -1 to 0 for the infighting between the two priests, but his interest in this so-called "altar" and "deity" would be around 5.

As for whether it exists or not, he wasn't sure.

He had never seen a god in his previous life, but he had seen people who looked more like gods than clay sculptures.

The second priest stopped arguing with the high priest. Instead, as if he had made up his mind, he led his confidants and three hundred evolved beings to follow behind the high priest.

He whispered a few words to a trusted confidant, who then quickly left.

The remaining people surrounded Su Huan and the others even more closely.

Ado secretly regretted that if she had known the other party would so rashly venture into the Second Priest's lair, she should have brought more people with her.

The hill wasn't high, and although it was a bit slippery, Su Huan's footwork made it feel like walking on flat ground.

The group quickly reached the top of the mountain.

Su Huan looked around and asked curiously, "Where is the altar?"

……

"Snapped!"

A barely perceptible muffled sound.

A large python hanging from a tree branch had its head explode and its body twisted as it fell to the ground.

Qu Hang put away his sniper rifle. A gentle breeze swept by, severing all the plant vines that were quietly creeping around him.

Fat Rabbit covered his face with one hand, picking through the plants on the ground. He took two plants, crushed them, and added them to the medicine packet. Then, he ran over and dissected the fallen flower snake, swallowing its gall bladder in front of He Zhenzhen's horrified gaze.

Then he exclaimed, "It's almost done!"

Qu Hang frowned and asked, "Is this poison really that potent?"

Fat Rabbit shook his head. "That's not how it is. It's always been like this. Killing is easy, but saving is hard. That bastard put a lot of compound poison in it. In the whole army, only I can cure it. Even that kid Licking Rabbit can't."

While the two were talking, they had already emerged from the jungle.

He Zhenzhen stayed close to Qu Hang; if she weren't afraid of interfering with his battle, she would have already wrapped her arms around him.

In the open space, a large group of disheveled priests squatted on the ground with their heads in their hands, mostly young and middle-aged men, while armed soldiers stood guard with their guns.

The goat looked at the two men approaching and asked with a headache, "What should we do with these people? Do you two have any ideas?"

Qu Hang glanced at He Zhenzhen, who was lost in thought beside him, and gave her a subtle gesture.

The goat shook its head. "They were all ordinary survivors forced to participate in the evil ritual..."

"I see there are only a little over three hundred people. Give me half of them, and I'll keep watch here. You guys continue to go deeper in. There shouldn't be any more combat targets after that, right?"

"Fat Rabbit said."

The goat chuckled and said, "Then it's settled. You stay here and watch."

Fat Rabbit rolled his eyes. "Damn it! You're setting a trap for me, what else do you want?"

The goat's smile faded as he reached out, revealing a handful of red crystals. "I found this on them. From my observation, this stuff can be eaten, but when they die, it precipitates out in some way, increasing in size..."

Qu Hang was taken aback. "Universal energy crystal?"

"It has omnipotent energy, but it doesn't seem like it. I always feel like it's some kind of material synthesized by the manufacturer. What do you think we should do?"

Qu Hang said indifferently, "Keep it and let the train conductor handle it. He'll definitely recognize it when he sees it."

The goat said, "Then let's set off."

Qu Hang nodded, glancing at He Zhenzhen, but seeing that she was about to grab his hand at the slightest disagreement, he swallowed his words.

"Leave this to Fat Rabbit."

"Walk."

The fat rabbit was speechless and rolled its eyes again as a greeting.

……

Upon seeing the scene before him, Su Huan was immediately disappointed.

The so-called altar was just a clearing enclosed on the mountaintop, covered with black stones, which were probably floorboards left over from before the apocalypse.

There was a stick in the middle, and three steps were laid around the stick.

At the very top was a rough-looking chair. Although the upholstery had been peeled off, it looked like a single sofa that had been dragged out of a hotel room.

A bunch of colorful strips of cloth extended down from the stick and covered the stone.

“Do not underestimate it; as long as you have reverence in your heart, God will bestow blessings upon you,” said the high priest.

Su Huan narrowed his eyes. Since the other party's "divine grace" was equivalent to evolution, it meant that there was something near this altar that could promote evolution.

"Universal perception" unfolds instantly.

Almost instantly, he felt the response beneath the altar.

His "omnipotent perception" seemed to have been amplified, and the range of his perception directly doubled!
Its area is a terrifying four times larger.

It almost covers the entire Guanchao Island.

He could sense Yu Jing leading a group of people busily dissecting the giant whale to the west, while He Jie led a small team slowly advancing towards the hill, only to stop halfway there.

A large number of familiar, ubiquitous energy fluctuations are approaching the foot of the mountain from the east.

A group of unfamiliar guys had just climbed up.

This is not divine grace, it is clearly an opportunity for evolution!
A chance encounter similar to that of the crown pear tree!
"Once you become the high priest and preside over the sacrifices, you will be able to experience divine grace here..."

The high priest spoke softly to Su Huan.

"How's the effect?"

Su Huan stared at the seat above him and asked with interest.

The high priest hesitated, but A'duo whispered a rebuke, "This is the closest place to the gods; even the second priest doesn't dare to be presumptuous."

"Besides, you haven't inherited the position of High Priest yet, even if..."

Ado glanced at the menacing crowd around her, and at the Third Priest who was talking to the Second Priest, her tone tinged with resentment, "Because of your recklessness, you didn't even have a chance to prepare. You haven't even inherited the High Priestship yet, how can you possibly contend with him!"

"Aduo!"

The high priest rebuked him.

Turning his face toward the altar, he whispered, "The effect is obvious. The first time I unintentionally offered sacrifices to the gods, I gained the ability to glimpse fate. But this ability was always vague. After receiving divine grace through sacrifice, the trajectory of fate becomes incredibly clear before my eyes..."

"There's something underground that can enhance your abilities."

Su Huan's lips moved slightly, Yu Yue seemed to be deep in thought, while Shu Wei quickly wrote down these things on her tablet.

The white deer and the giraffe, however, fixed their gazes on the Grim Reaper behind the second priest.

(End of this chapter)