I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

He heard it—the screams and wails of terrified people—but the screams were quickly drowned out by threatening gunshots and shouts, leaving only the continuous sounds of destruction and smashing.

Xi Wang rushed into the church, only to see people who had suddenly barged in, armed and malicious, pushing over the already shattered statue of "Him" and smashing it to pieces.

Then what came into view was Father Yan Zheng, covered in wounds, being forcibly pressed into a chair, and the people huddled in the corner.

Fear and malice mingled together, filling the entire church.

boom!

A muffled gunshot rang out, and a bloody hole appeared in Xi Wang's leg. The intense pain forced him to kneel down on one knee.

"Look! Look! Who's back?"

The leader brandished the gun in his hand, a mocking and playful smile on his face, speaking in a flippant voice.

"Isn't this your junior, Father?"

He leaned close to Father Yan Zheng's ear and whispered with a chuckle.

"If I remember correctly, he was the one who wanted to renovate this place, right? And you didn't stop him~ Hmm... So, you actually support him in your heart, right? Haha... To be honest, your actions are quite funny~ Trying to hide your true feelings by using a junior as an excuse... That's a bit childish."

"You used to be quite clever, content to simply live in this dilapidated church, a casual 'negotiation table' or a dispensable 'witness.' But now... you want to change things? No, no, no... your true intentions can't be hidden anymore, can they? You want... a share of the pie from us, right?"

As he spoke, he fired another shot at Xi Wang, this time hitting his arm and stopping him from moving again. At the same time, he gestured for one of his men to step on Xi Wang's body and head to prevent him from moving any further.

Then, he grabbed Father Yan Zheng by the head and pulled him in front of him.

"Look at that poor child, that pathetic junior you used as a shield. How miserable he is now! If I gave the order, my men would have shot him in the head! He would have died in a flash! Because you didn't stop him, because of your ulterior motives that you didn't explain to him, he will lose his life because of it!"

Then, as if remembering something, he revealed an even more sinister smile and said...

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that someone has already died because of your little scheme, and their body is still outside."

"We just...want to help people in need...that's all..."

Father Yan Zheng's breathing was very weak, but his tone was unusually firm.

"...Ha...Hahahahaha!!!"

The man paused for a moment, then burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Did you hear that? This guy... this guy is actually talking about helping people in need... it's hilarious!"

The man seemed to find such words truly laughable, and asked his companion, after which another burst of laughter rang out, the sarcasm of which was obvious to everyone.

"Father...are you getting old and senile? Or...didn't I teach you enough lessons back then?"

He tapped Father Yan Zheng on the head with the gun in his hand.

"Don't forget, when the church became so dilapidated... you bore some responsibility for it."

"If you hadn't been so eager to change this place, so eager to give those people a 'stable life'... we wouldn't have bothered you, would we?"

"You've already learned your lesson once, and we've already shown kindness by letting you stay, so why don't you learn your lesson?"

Boom!

He smashed Father Yan Zheng's head with the butt of his rifle.

"Your kind of pointless kindness won't work here, nor can it be used. Everyone who comes here... is a resource, our resource!"

"That's right! I'm talking about you guys!"

He picked up the gun again, pointed it at the people cowering in the corner, and smiled with satisfaction as he looked at their terrified expressions.

No one would oppose him, no one would resist him, because those who dared to resist were already dead, lying in the courtyard.

"Once you come here, once you enter, you'll never get out! The only way to survive here is to become like us and live in this chaotic and twisted place!"

So... come on! Join us!

"Of course, this is the only option you have."

He chuckled.

"Otherwise, your fate will be the same as those guys lying on the ground outside."

"........."

No one answered, but everyone knew he was right: when they arrived, they would only have one path to choose from.

"Ah, of course, we are still merciful and will not really force you completely, after all... you are all our precious [resources]."

At this point, he smiled and put on a mask of hypocrisy, his expression laced with sarcasm and mockery.

"You can stay here if you want, but I have to tell you, there will be no more supplies here... no food, and forget about clothes. If you're willing to accept living like savages, I don't mind, hahahahaha..."

"Alright, I'll be waiting outside. Come out when you've thought it through~ Of course, I'll only wait one minute, no exceptions~"

After saying that, he gave a shout, and his men destroyed everything they could around them before leaving the church in a noisy throng.

Before leaving, he even gave Father Yan Zheng's legs another whack. Only after hearing the sound of bones cracking did he nod in satisfaction, walk to the door and start waiting, even solemnly beginning to count down.

His voice also exerted a tangible pressure, oppressing everyone present.

"........."

The people huddled in the corner didn't dare to move or speak, their gazes shifting back and forth between the wounded Xi Wang and Father Yan Zheng, their faces showing conflicted expressions.

"...Please leave."

Father Yan Zheng spoke to them softly.

"I'm sorry... for giving you... false hope, I'm sorry..."

"Go with them. It will be tough, but at least we can survive."

"May He protect you and help you survive here..."

"Pfft-"

He chuckled but said nothing, continuing the countdown.

Soon, after exchanging glances, some people stood up and left, trembling.

After someone took the lead, everyone quickly stood up and scrambled away from the church... His countdown was almost over, and he couldn't stay in the church any longer; he clearly didn't intend to let the two priests go.

Although I feel very sorry for the two priests who have shown them kindness, Father Yan Zheng said that they can leave, and they are just trying to survive. There is nothing wrong with that, right?

They were just trying to survive... We did nothing wrong—that's how they comforted themselves.

Until the last person left, no one looked back at the two priests. Perhaps it was because they felt guilty, perhaps they were worried that looking back would displease them, or perhaps they were simply worried that looking back would slow them down and prevent them from leaving before the countdown ended... But in any case, no one looked back before the last person left.

This situation undoubtedly drew his ridicule once again.

"Look at this! Look at this! This is the kind of people you've taken in! Such heartless and ungrateful people! They see your charity and kindness as nothing! They will never remember your kindness!"

"........."

Another burst of mocking laughter followed, but everyone kept their heads down, not daring to refute.

"Alright, alright, let's take our important [resources] with us. Don't keep the boss waiting... You, you, and you, stay with me."

He waved his hand, instructing his other men to take the people away first, and then casually selected three more people to stay with him.

They need to... "clean up the mess".

"Alright, Father, now... it's our turn."

After watching his subordinates send the [resources] away, he led his men back to the church, closed the door, and said with a grin.

"Don't worry, I won't give you a quick death. I'm not that merciful. After all, I'm a villain, you know."

He waved for his men to move aside, then stepped forward with his gun, grabbed Xi Wang's head, and gestured towards Father Yan Zheng.

"Speaking of which, you seem to really like this junior. How about we start with him? Hmm... let me see..."

He pressed the muzzle of the gun against the center of Xi Wang's neck, then, after thinking for a moment, moved it to the side of her neck.

"No, no, if I shoot straight through your neck, you'll die instantly. I can't let you get away with it so easily... How about I just shave half of it... Hmm?"

His body trembled inexplicably, a chill creeping up his spine. He slightly raised his eyes and saw Xi Wang staring at him with those strange tricolored eyes… Hmm? Was it just his imagination? He had a feeling the gold in this guy's pupils was slowly expanding…

"He will give people like you the judgment you deserve."

Xi Wang's voice was calm and firm.

"Ha...hahahaha!!! Very good! I like your devout look, and your eyes are great too! If you join us, you'll definitely adapt very quickly!"

He laughed, a brazen, mocking laugh.

"But unfortunately, you two have to be eliminated... and..."

He gestured with his gun to the statue that they had already toppled, and then spoke.

“Look at you, what you call ‘He’ or ‘God’ is just a vague and ethereal thing that would shatter into pieces if we just gave it a push.”

"And look at yourself, look at your miserable state now! Where is your god now?! Is your god helping you now?! Why doesn't your god kill us and save you?!"

"Look at you again!"

He used the muzzle of his gun to pry open Xi Wang's collar, looking at the empty skin beneath, and laughed.

"Where's your pendant? The one you wear around your neck all the time? Did you lose it? I heard that one was specially distributed, said to be a token of God's blessing. Your priests all treasured it, and they would hold it while praying. Where's yours now?"

"It seems your faith isn't very devout, you can even lose something so important."

After saying that, he tapped Xi Wang's head with the gun and mocked him. Then, seemingly to trample on their faith, he deliberately fired another shot at the broken statue on the ground, creating a hole in the already pitted but still relatively intact half of the head.

"Look, even if I treat your god like this, He won't say anything... Your so-called god doesn't exist at all! If you're so capable, why don't you have him kill us directly? Hahahaha, try praying with your half-hearted faith, maybe a 'miracle' will actually happen?"

"He will give you the punishment you deserve."

Xi Wang spoke softly, her eyes growing increasingly cold.

Then he felt a strong sense of crisis, a feeling that he might be preyed upon.

"You! Auntie..."

He pulled the trigger almost instinctively, but the stinging pain still came from his neck—in the blink of an eye, Xi Wang had plunged the cross pendant he had hidden in his hand into his neck.

Precise and swift, a single strike can be fatal.

The bullet he fired barely grazed Xi Wang's neck, taking away only a piece of flesh.

In a sense, his aim was also very good, after all, he did indeed shoot Xi Wang in the side of the neck, just as he originally thought.

Then, Xi Wang quickly raised her hand, enduring the pain in her arm, grabbed his hand, twisted it forcefully, and took his gun away. Then, using his body as a shield, she quickly moved towards the other people.