A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 400 This is her clever little trick!
Oakland, located in North America, is situated in the East Bay and faces San Francisco across the bay. In fact, due to their proximity and the fact that the Bay Bridge connects the two cities, they look almost like one.

Xia Mi followed Xu Lie to the streets of Auckland, gradually getting used to Xu Lie's way of traveling all over the country: "So, what should I do?"

This trip is to help Xia Mi digest the corrupting Baron's potion; after all, if Xia Mi doesn't digest it soon, Fenrir will be in deep trouble.

When it came to the issue of potion digestion, Xia Mi smiled and clung to Xu Lie, still wanting to take advantage of him. Xu Lie then took Xia Mi directly to Auckland, saying that it would be convenient for Xia Mi to act out her role here.

Xu Liexian gestured towards San Francisco: "Not long ago, our Old Church did something in San Francisco to make people feel the importance of faith and rapidly expand the church's faith."

"To this day, the faith of the old church has gradually expanded to Oakland, the closest town to San Francisco."

"It's just that some people don't want to see our church get involved in Auckland. To be more precise, they don't want our church to expand so rapidly and wildly."

"So this is where you come in. We are good at corrupting baron ladies who can make people's minds go astray."

“Go and corrupt those who are in the way, so that they may happily welcome the expansion of the old church.”

"Huh?" Xia Mi impatiently counted on her fingers: "What a hassle, why do we have to corrupt them? Just kill those who disagree."

"..." Xu Lie rolled his eyes at Xia Mi. Why? Wasn't it all for your role-playing digestion? Otherwise, the North American parish would have already killed those dared to get in the way and didn't know their own mortality.

Do they really think that everyone in their old church is a devout believer?

"Okay, okay, I got it." Receiving a glare from Xu Lie, Xia Mi pouted, seemingly unhappy, but secretly overjoyed. She knew Xu Lie would definitely find a way to help her!
Xu Lie took out his phone, brought up a list of the targets for this trip, and handed it to Xia Mi to look at. Xia Mi's eyes darted around, but she refused to take it. She put her hands behind her back, leaned her head close to his, and said, "Let me see."

"There's really nothing I can do with her," Xu Lie sighed inwardly, flipping through the information as he introduced her: "This is an Auckland councilor who claims to be 'maintaining the purity of the community and resisting foreign faiths'..."

Xia Mi's nostrils twitched slightly as she smelled the faint masculine scent emanating from Xu Lie. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upwards. Did he really think that Xia Mi couldn't digest magic potions?

Hmph, that would be a gross underestimation of Jormungandr's extraordinary wisdom. Xu Lie probably doesn't even realize that he has already been initially corrupted and his thinking has begun to decline!

This kind of indulgence and care for her is also a form of moral corruption!
As she felt the potion slowly digesting within her body, Xia Mi couldn't help but grin. She was truly a master strategist; Xu Lie was easily taken by her... Bang!

it hurts!

"Hiss." Xia Mi hissed, covering her forehead with her left hand, looking at Xu Lie with a wronged and confused expression. When she saw Xu Lie flick his finger and then retract it, Xia Mi rubbed her forehead: "Why did you flick my head?"

"What if I become as stupid as Fenrir? Will you take care of me?"

Xu Lie saw through her intentions but didn't say anything. Of course, he knew Xia Mi's little thoughts, but he just didn't expose them. He felt that this little atmosphere was quite nice: "Don't get distracted, look at the information."

"Oh." Xia Mi leaned her head in again, this time not daring to be distracted and listening attentively to the introduction.

Besides the Auckland councilor Xu Lie just mentioned, there are two other obstacles. One is capitalists who want the old church to take a liking to the land where the temple is to be built and to carry out commercial development. For profit, they have incited many people to protest against the old church's missionary work.

Another one is a priest from the local Christian church in Oakland. Needless to say, he watched helplessly as his colleagues in San Francisco suffered a crushing defeat. How could he dare to allow the old church to preach in Oakland?

All Xia Mi needed to do was corrupt these people, which was incredibly easy for the corrupt baron: "That's it?"

Only three targets? That should be a piece of cake, right? How much potion can that absorb?

"That's not all." Xu Lie gestured for Xia Mi to calm down and continued looking at the information: "Behind these people, there are also the shadows of thirteen North American families."

“You know, after our church performed miracles in San Francisco, not many ordinary people dared to obstruct our missionary work.”

"People here in Oakland wouldn't openly boycott the old church without the hints from the Thirteen Families of North America; they have mixed-race people backing them up."

Upon hearing that there were mixed-race individuals involved, Xia Mi's eyes narrowed slightly: "That would be perfect."

In order to help Xia Mi digest the situation, Xu Lie also stopped the actions of the Time Worm clones in time. Back during the Battle of the Imperial Capital, many hybrids from the thirteen North American families had already been parasitized by the Time Worms.

It is important to know that the main reason why the various parishes of the Old Church around the world expanded like a snowball was that during the Battle of the Imperial Capital, a large number of Time Worms parasitized a large number of hybrids.

If Xia Mi hadn't kept complaining about how she couldn't digest the potion and how Tang was already aiming for Sequence 4, the Time Worm would have already won over the thirteen North American parishes and used his connections to make way for the expansion of the North American parish.

“Perfect timing.” Xu Lie chose this time to bring Xia Mi over so that she would have something to do: “Right now, that congressman is giving a speech to boycott the North American parish of the Old Church.”

"We can go..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xia Mi tugged at his sleeve to the left. Xu Lie looked over and saw Xia Mi pointing brightly at an ice cream shop: "Xu Lie, Xu Lie, I want to eat this!" "No, you don't want to." Xu Lie remained unmoved, feeling that business was more important than eating, drinking, and having fun.

"Hmph!" Xia Mi puffed out her cheeks unhappily, grabbed Xu Lie's arm, and made it clear that she wouldn't let go until he agreed.

Xu Lie was not tempted. Instead, he felt a pain in his hand and was about to pull his arm away when Xia Mi made a strange "hmm" sound, causing Xu Lie to stop.

It seems like buying an ice cream wouldn't waste much time, so why would he refuse...? No! Xu Lie realized that he didn't need to be in such a hurry right now. He was only one step away from becoming a true god, and he had plenty of time.

Why insist on efficiency so much? Why be so focused on so-called important matters? Xu Lie has already realized that no matter how many anchors or clones he has, he will still be influenced by divinity without realizing it.

Rather than helping Xia Mi digest the potion, why not treat this trip as a leisurely journey? Wouldn't it be better to enjoy it at our own pace?

Xu Lie reflected inwardly, realizing he still couldn't let his guard down and had to be wary of the influence of divinity. At the same time, he looked at Xia Mi with a relaxed expression, thinking, "This Dragon King is quite something; he maintains his humanity better than anyone else."

After figuring it out, Xu Lie became much more easygoing: "Go buy it, let go of me first."

"I won't let go!" Xia Mi smiled like a fox having its belly patted when she heard Xu Lie agree: "Just go buy it like this! What if you agree on the surface, but then run away as soon as I let go?"

Hehe, look, she's successfully corrupted her again. No matter what, Xu Lie still has to obediently accommodate and take care of her, doesn't he? That's her clever trick!
Xu Lie was also laughing, like a hunter who had tricked a little fox: "I won't run away, it's just that you're hurting my hand like this."

Come, let's maintain humanity together.

Just as Xu Lie expected, in the next instant, Xia Mi was furious and grabbed Xu Lie's arm with both hands, twisting it violently: "I'll hurt you to death, I'll hurt you to death!"

While laughing and joking, they successfully bought ice cream. The coolness of the ice cream effectively extinguished Xia Mi's temper. They ate it as they walked and arrived at the councilor's speech venue.

Tseeck Square in Auckland is surrounded by Auckland's busiest shopping district, and the air is filled with the aroma of coffee and the sweet smell of a cannabis store on a street corner in the distance.

Congressman Bert Ross stood on a makeshift stage, dressed in a well-tailored dark blue suit with a neatly tied tie. His graying sideburns added to his trustworthy and dignified air.

His smile was warm, and his eyes met those of every audience member, as if they were old friends catching up. However, every word he uttered was carefully crafted: "...In conclusion, for the sake of our faith, we must resolutely prevent the intrusion of the old church!"

"That's right, it's an invasion. Look at the devastation in San Francisco next door. It's because of the evil proselytizing methods of the old church that San Francisco experienced a serious mass hallucination event!"

“We are not doing this for anyone else, but only for our own health and that of our families. We cannot allow the old church to use mass-produced hallucinogenic materials to proselytize with impunity.”

Many residents listened with great interest, and reporters in the front row took photos. Xia Mi couldn't finish the delicious ice cream she was eating, so she shook the bell and threw the half ice cream into the Malmos mobile warehouse, planning to eat it later. Now she had to teach this councilor who spoke ill of the old church a lesson.

As Xia Mi's spiritual energy was depleted, an invisible wave spread out. Xu Lie smiled, clearly aware that this was the Corrupting Baron's 'corrosion' ability.

It can influence the hearts of those around them, gradually making them darker, more greedy, and more likely to make irrational choices.

Xia Mi walked along, 'corroding' people, influencing one group of Auckland residents after another. Of course, this kind of mobile 'corrosion' would reduce the effect of extraordinary abilities.

It's impossible to make residents dark and greedy, but at least it can make them make irrational choices to take advantage of small things.

Soon, the 'corruption' took effect, and a young man in the crowd shouted, "But the old church used to give out eggs for free! We... no, at least I do, desperately need free eggs every week!"

The young man's question, simple and direct, without any fancy words, touched people's hearts.

Many citizens, their faces turning greedy, loudly echoed, disregarding all decorum: "Yes! Why not take free supplies? The old church not only gives out eggs, but also bread and milk!"

"The old church used to give children clothes and stationery!"

"Sir, we will not change our faith, but we can't refuse a free benefit, can we?"

Given the cost of living in Auckland, if residents can receive so many free supplies every week, the money saved can naturally be used to improve their quality of life. It's hard for residents not to take advantage of such a small bargain!
The crowd was in an uproar. In the first row below the makeshift stage, reporters from several local media outlets in Oakland, as well as those from San Francisco, were frantically taking photos and recording the residents' endless questions.

Congressman Bert Ross's previously resolute expression suddenly froze. To him, this was a real crisis—these petty bastards!

How dare they question his decision just because of such a tiny, insignificant benefit to the former church?
A flicker of offended anger flashed in the senator's eyes, but it was only for a moment. The senator, who was experienced in street speeches, knew that he must not show any... no, no, he could not tolerate it at all!

What right do these people from the lower classes have to question him? And why does he smile at such a greedy fellow?
My previously rational and clear-headed thinking suddenly changed, and I allowed anger to dominate my mind.

Senator Bert Ross got so angry that he turned and walked away, completely ignoring the media and residents in the audience!
(End of this chapter)