Excessive ferocity due to caution

The Skull Church is a source of deep anxiety for many in the chaotic world.

They are powerful and arrogant. The Fifth Federation, the only one capable of confronting the Church of the Skull, mainly resides in the capital and other important nearby cities.

Although the ruined city was a large city, its location was too remote, and the Fifth Federation did not spread there.

Not all guilds have the strength to challenge the Church of the Skull!

Even top guilds in the Bone Zone, such as the Horned Camp and Skyward, have to bow their heads when they encounter the Church.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of the church would not want to encounter this behemoth!

The last time the church sent people to the ruined city for Ouyang Feng's body, it put a lot of pressure on the local players and gangs!

Even some players who were not very familiar with the Church of the Skull witnessed the terror of this behemoth!

The three of them stared at the church identification badges that had been verified by the system, and for a moment they were all a little flustered.

The church only left the ruined city not long ago, so why are they back again?

My mind started to wander slightly.

The way they looked at Zhao Yi changed subtly.

Zhao Yi slowly raised a finger to his lips and chuckled softly:

"The church is preparing to do something big in the ruined city, remember to keep it a secret..."

"Otherwise, there are some things... my word doesn't count."

A naked threat.

But the three of them had already suppressed their arrogance.

They glanced cautiously at the clown with the strange smile standing next to Zhao Yi, and for a moment, they felt a sense of fear...

In their eyes, the clown represents the church.

Although they didn't know what it was about Zhao Yi that made the church value him so much, at this moment, the Joker's attitude was very clear—

Zhao Yi's attitude reflects the church's attitude!

"May I ask, sir... what exactly does the church intend to do in this ruined city?"

The middle-aged man in the white shirt in the middle suddenly became much more humble.

The clown chuckled evilly:

"You want to know?"

The three of them felt a strange sense of oppression despite facing the Joker, who wasn't particularly strong.

The blonde woman with the bow next to her tentatively asked:

"Can...we know?"

The clown walked to the table, plopped down on it, and said:

"This matter... is very confidential."

"Even most of the people within the church themselves don't know about it."

"It belongs to a special operation."

"You can know, but only if... you have to join us."

Upon hearing the word "join," the three men's hearts suddenly skipped a beat and they were on tenterhooks.

Those who have joined the church?

The clown continued:

"This operation has a very large objective, huge potential rewards, and... also very high risks."

"If we fail, everyone involved in this operation will be completely wiped out from this world."

"But if we succeed... the church can vouch for you with its own reputation, you will become the masters of the ruined city!"

If these words had come from Zhao Yi's mouth, the three of them would not have believed them.

But when it comes from church members... that's a different story.

Because they know—

The church is truly capable of doing this!

Once a player has achieved management of the inner city, who wouldn't want to climb higher?

It would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted.

The three of them are now only questioning the veracity of the clown's words and how dangerous the matter really is.

The middle-aged man in the white shirt remained silent for a moment, exchanged glances with his three companions, and did not immediately agree.

"We'd like to ask... why are there three of us?"

The clown shrugged, his tone eerie:

"Whoever it is."

"Who cares?"

"It's just that you were lucky and happened to run into them."

"Anyway, the church just needs people as tools."

"You don't have to participate in this top-secret project; we'll find other people anyway... But if one day you suddenly find yourselves vanished from this world without a trace, don't be afraid..."

The three recalled that when Drax and his companions brought the church's forces to the inner city of the ruined city, many fools had offended them.

Interestingly, these idiots really did disappear without a trace in the end...

Seeing their bewildered and uncertain expressions, the clown, following Zhao Yi's instructions, lazily uttered the final straw that broke their spirits:

"Don't think that just because you have a few resurrection items given to you by the game system, you can escape from the Church..."

"Those pathetic things, even if you bring a thousand, ten thousand... they won't do any good."

"Even your game system is nothing more than a toy in the eyes of the church."

Upon hearing this, the three level 30+ players immediately got goosebumps!

The church... actually knows about the game system?

Did you also know they had resurrection items?

Holy crap?!

Is the power of the church... really that terrifying?

Unlike Zhao Yike, they hadn't experienced as much about the church, hadn't obtained as many clues, and their understanding of the church was limited to the idea that it was a colossal entity in a chaotic world...

They knew the church was powerful, but they didn't know exactly how powerful it was.

At this point, after the clown uttered these words that shouldn't have come from the mouth of an NPC, they began to unleash their imaginations about the church...

Imagine if an NPC in a game suddenly told you one day that it knows you are a player, and even knows what equipment and items you have... How shocking, eerie, and terrifying would that be?

Their lack of understanding gave rise to fear, and that fear consumed their reason.

The three remained silent, their bodies drenched in cold sweat.

At this moment, Zhao Yi very considerately added insult to injury for them:

"Did you think the church left shortly after it came to the ruins last time?"

"Don't be silly..."

"Don't you think about where those thousands of terrifying assassins from last night came from?"

"Did it appear out of thin air?"

This time, the middle-aged man in the white shirt couldn't hold back any longer. He glanced at Zhao Yi, then at the clown, his breathing becoming heavier.

"What...should we do?"

PS: First update

The book lovers have created a QQ account; those who want to join can look for it in the comment section of a few nearby chapters.

I'll rest for a few minutes and then go write the next chapter.