Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"Um..." Sylvia in my mind timidly raised her hand, "One loaf of bread shouldn't cost that much, right?"

"How much will it cost?" Cheng Cheng asked in a low voice.

"About thirty credits? Ugh... I've never bought any before. My family's bread is all made by the chef; we don't buy it from outside."

Tsk, okay.

Cheng Cheng sighed and continued, "As you can see, I've never been to the market and don't know the market price—because I'm also a nobleman."

The believers were becoming restless.

"But now, in the Genshin Impact family, there is no distinction between nobles and commoners!" Cheng Cheng spread his arms wide. "Even if I am a noble, I will stand with you all!"

"You are our savior!" Luke shouted excitedly.

“No, there has never been a savior, nor a divine emperor… There seem to be gods.” Cheng Cheng coughed twice. “But this world shouldn’t be like this.”

"Those who are high and mighty set the rules of the game, and you follow the rules, only to end up being thrown into the trash heap."

"But fortunately—"

She turned around and pointed to the enormous hall behind her, and the nine indescribable figures on the murals.

"They have come."

“Once the Primal One descends, the nobles will die, the churches will perish, the rules will be burned to ashes, and everyone will die.”

His voice remained calm.

"We will too."

Luke's heart skipped a beat.

Is this fair?

Cheng Cheng asked the question again, but this time he was met with silence.

After a long while, someone spoke up:

“Fair.” It was Luke’s voice: “Those damned people are finally going to die. That’s fair.”

“No,” Cheng Cheng shook his head, “Even if we die together, they enjoyed everything in their lives, while you have spent your lives suffering. That’s not fair.”

Despair returned to the faces of the believers.

“But why are those nobles nobles?” Cheng Cheng spread his hands. “Because they hunt demons, seize the fire, and then use their powerful force to suppress all who resist—why can’t we do the same?”

"We can only reclaim the fruits of our labor by ourselves!" Cheng Cheng clenched his fists. "We must unite, fight against the nobles, fight against the demons, and ultimately destroy the nobles and the demons to reclaim everything that belongs to us—this is the doctrine of our Primordial God Cult!"

The cultists became agitated, but some remained calm: "The primordial demons are so powerful, are we a match for them? Resistance will only result in death..."

"Then what about the Amber God?" Cheng Cheng countered. "The Amber God was able to hold off the primordial demon for a thousand years all by himself. Who is the prisoner, really?"

The man shut his mouth.

Cheng Cheng recalled the game settings he heard when he became sworn brothers with Cicero, and took a deep breath: "Demons, gods, and primal matter are a trinity. Even if the primordial demon has a spark, the Amber God should be the first person to kill the primordial demon and successfully ascend to godhood."

"If He could do it a thousand years ago, why can't we?"

On the throne, Cheng Cheng made the sign of the cross on his barren chest, then raised his right hand and shouted—

"Destroy human tyranny, and the world will belong to the Trisolarans!"

Beneath the throne, many believers were moved by Cheng Cheng's words, raising their hands and weeping.

"Destroy human tyranny, and the world will belong to the Trisolarans!"

"Destroy human tyranny, and the world will belong to the Trisolarans!"

On the throne: ?('ω')?

Under the throne: (???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/(???)/

"Hmm..." Sylvia said with slight confusion, "Why does this scene feel like I've seen it before?"

Chapter 29, Towards the Stars and the Abyss: Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild

"Vincent, you have redeemed yourself through meritorious service, hereby you are granted the position of team leader."

"Mikhail, you're meticulous and attentive. You'll take over as equipment manager."

"Fix, you've been a chef, so you're perfect for the cook position."

“Uz, you’ve attended university, clerk, take me under your wing.”

"Luke, you've served in the military and are the most loyal, so the position of squad leader is yours."

On the bronze throne, after finishing his speech, Cheng Cheng began to assign tasks to the dozen or so Protestants.

Luke Valentine was a soldier who fought in the Abyss Wars. He was a squad leader and had the highest combat effectiveness. Leading a squad here shouldn't be a problem for him.

This group of people are not very strong in combat and cannot accompany Cheng Cheng to fight in the dungeon. Their main strengths are loyalty and numbers. It is better to keep them at No. 13 Mingke Street for now, train them occasionally, and then order them to do things when you need to use this team in the future.

Before that...

“From now on, No. 13 Mink Street will be your dormitory. You can use everything in the room, but you are not allowed to leave without the approval and reporting of the squad leader and group leader. Violators will be dealt with according to military law.” Cheng Cheng’s gaze swept over the other cult members. “This month’s salary and performance bonus have been transferred to the group leader. How much you get depends on your performance.”

"Yes!"

Cheng Cheng nodded, took out a spare phone and tossed it to Luke: "If you encounter other cult members visiting, or any other unexpected events that you can't handle, contact me immediately, understand?"

Luke took it with both hands and carefully put it into the inner pocket.

"I'll let you know what to do next." Cheng Cheng stood up from his throne. "Train hard and don't let me down... Meeting adjourned!"

He stepped down from the throne, with Paul and the puppet following silently behind. The two walked through the crowd, up the stone steps, and pushed open the door of 13 Mink Street. Starr Silver Shadow stood quietly on the street corner.

Cheng Cheng opened the car door and climbed into the back seat. Paul walked around to the driver's seat, started the engine, and the black car silently glided into the night.

Outside the car window, the outline of 13 Mink Street grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared around the corner.

Paul gripped the steering wheel and stealthily glanced at the back seat through the rearview mirror.

The young lady leaned back in the back seat, turning her head to look out the window. Moonlight shone through the car window, gilding her silver hair with a faint silver edge. Her face was as delicate as a doll's, quiet and serene, completely different from the cult leader who had just sat on the throne, raising his arms and shouting.

Paul looked away, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He recalled everything that had happened that night—

The young lady suddenly brought him to 13 Mink Street, saying she wanted to meet a friend. Paul thought it was one of those messy, casual sex partners among nobles, and was too scared to speak, afraid of knowing too much... In the end, the young lady came out with a Silver-rank mage puppet from the Primal God Cult.

Oh, so he's a friend of a cult. Well, at least... well, at least! I'd rather meet a casual sex partner!

The youngest daughter of the righteous Lord Vilette has actually colluded with the infamous cult of the Primordial God. Is this at the Lord's behest? Is it a new signal of political change in the kingdom?

Paul was sweating profusely, wishing he could gouge out his own eyes!

How could I possibly know about something like this? Would I dare to know?

Paul was numb to what happened next: the young lady was no longer just colluding with a cult, but had become the leader of the Silvershine City cult!

Ten heads wouldn't be enough to chop off!

Moreover, what the young lady said to that group of Protestants—

"Those who are high and mighty set the rules of the game, and you follow the rules, only to end up being thrown into the trash heap."

"If we want to take back everything that belongs to us, we can only do it ourselves."

"Destroy human tyranny, and the world will belong to the Trisolarans!"

Paul's palms started sweating again.

Those words made his blood boil.

He was born into poverty, growing up in the most chaotic neighborhood of Silvershine City, often going hungry, and mingling among vagrants and adventurers. At the age of twenty-three, he was framed and almost sent to prison. If it weren't for the master finding out the truth, saving him, taking him in, and even helping him break through to the Gold level...

His life no longer belonged to himself.

So he knew better than anyone how those homeless people felt when they heard those words, but the problem was—

The one who said this was the young lady, daughter of Count Villette de Claire, and the future Countess of Claire's Land.

My daughter is also a traitor?

Isn't this contradicting herself? How could she say such a thing?

Paul pursed his lips and finally spoke:

"Miss."

"Ok?"

A lazy response came from the back seat.

“What you said tonight…wasn’t it perhaps a little too radical?” Paul carefully chose his words.

He paused, then added, "After all, you are the heir to the Claire family. If this gets out, it won't be good for the family."

The back seat was quiet for two seconds.

Then Paul heard a soft laugh.

“Paul, let me teach you a saying,” Cheng Cheng’s voice came from behind. “Everyone is doing what they should do in the open, and everyone is doing what they must do in the dark.”

Paul's fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly.

“Father is the kingdom’s highest judge,” Cheng Cheng continued. “He must uphold justice, the law, and order in the open. Therefore, he cannot do those ‘must-do things’—those things that contradict the kingdom’s laws but benefit the Claire family… Who will do them?”

Paul's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

“The rest of the family,” Cheng Cheng’s voice was flat. “My brother didn’t inherit the family business, but chose to serve in the military… Do you really think he did it to protect the country?”

Paul was sweating profusely.

"As for me... as you have seen, the Primal God Cult of Silvershine City is now under my control."

Paul's mind exploded with a "boom".

It turned out to be the case.

So it seems that the reason why the young lady was kidnapped by the Primordial God Cult a few days ago was to sever ties with them, and even a silver-rank bishop died for it.

How much connection does the Claire family have with the Primal God Cult? What events have they been involved in?

It's so black, it's fucking black.