Chapter 363: I’m Here to Join You
When the door opened, the outside world was pitch-black.
The floodlights that once illuminated the factories at night had long since gone dark. With no one left living there, the slums had become as desolate as a wilderness. Only the false moon hanging overhead provided a faint trace of light.
Compared to the Lost Land, this place was even darker.
Fortunately, the Spirit Body’s physical capabilities were exceptional. Its eyesight far surpassed that of ordinary people, so the darkness did not hinder her vision.
The upper district possessed maps of the lower district, and Xu Zhi had already memorized its layout. Tonight, her goal was simple:
Find one of the scavenger settlements.
The lower district contained countless garbage dumps.
After all, the area’s primary functions were manufacturing and sorting the waste discarded from the upper district.
After selecting the large dump closest to her location, Xu Zhi controlled the Spirit Body to find a vehicle abandoned in the slums. She manually started it and drove toward her destination.
She was currently near Plain District’s Third Dump.
The closest site was the Seventh Dump.
The Third Dump mainly handled household waste, while the Seventh Dump specialized in mechanical scrap. There were more scavengers there, and they were generally wealthier.
Of course, comparing wealth among scavengers was a rather ridiculous concept.
What Xu Zhi cared about was that the area attracted more drifters and scavengers gathering around the dump.
These “rats in the sewers” had never been worth Lian City’s attention.
Yet they continued reproducing stubbornly in the lower district.
And that was exactly the kind of gathering place she needed.
Among those people, she was likely to find what she was looking for.
There wasn’t much fuel left in the vehicle, but it was enough to get her close to the Seventh Dump.
By the time the engine finally died, Xu Zhi could already see the towering lights standing on the distant plain.
They were the dump’s floodlights.
In the darkness of night, they resembled lighthouses guiding scavengers home.
As she approached the Seventh Dump, she spotted several furtive figures attempting to sneak inside under cover of darkness to search for scrap.
Xu Zhi did not enter.
Instead, she chose a location outside the dump with a good view and waited.
About two hours later, she saw three male scavengers climbing out of the dump with backpacks slung over their shoulders.
Even in the darkness, she could sense the urgency in their footsteps.
Looks like they found something valuable.
The girl silently followed behind them.
The three traveled together.
The fact that they could leave the dump so quickly without being robbed suggested they possessed a certain level of reputation.
People like them would not be living in random roadside shacks built by ordinary scavengers.
They were almost certainly residents of a proper scavenger settlement.
As expected, after tailing them for a while, Xu Zhi eventually spotted a settlement even larger than the slum where Qi Yanxin had once lived.
People constantly moved in and out of the area.
After all, in the lower district, nighttime was when scavengers without jobs became active.
No one paid much attention to strangers.
Population changes occurred in these settlements almost every day.
At most, people recognized a few well-known figures or their friends and neighbors.
Blending in was effortless for Xu Zhi.
The face she had crafted for the Spirit Body was intentionally unremarkable.
Black clothing was also the most common attire among scavengers.
By lowering her head slightly and maintaining a cold expression, she disappeared seamlessly into the crowd.
The settlement entrance was naturally the busiest location.
Xu Zhi moved into a nearby shadow, lowered her head, and carefully listened to the snippets of conversation exchanged by passing scavengers.
She filtered through the information, searching for what she needed.
Before long, she found it.
A female scavenger was waiting at the entrance for a companion.
The man arrived late, prompting an unhappy question.
“What took you so long?”
The man explained,
“There was a welcoming ceremony for new members today. More and more people are joining the congregation, so things ran late.”
The woman fell silent for a moment after hearing the word congregation.
Then she asked,
“Have you really made up your mind?”
The man nodded.
“Of course. I finally earned Father’s approval. He said he’ll perform the ceremony for me tomorrow. If it succeeds, we won’t have to be scavengers anymore!”
The woman’s voice became noticeably more agitated.
“Do you think becoming an extraordinary being is that easy? Do you know how many people have died? I’m really afraid…”
“Don’t talk nonsense! You must not doubt the True Lord!”
The man hurriedly covered her mouth.
After glancing around nervously, he pulled her away.
Only after the pair had disappeared did Xu Zhi emerge from the shadows.
A church.
There were many churches in the lower district.
Life here was simply too hopeless.
People needed faith to endure suffering and give themselves a reason to keep going.
Most of those churches, however, were little more than scams designed to swindle money from desperate people.
But this one…
This was exactly what Xu Zhi had been searching for.
A cult.
Ever since the Cup appeared during the League broadcast, it had been obvious what would happen.
For the countless insignificant people struggling at the bottom of society, a spark had been ignited in their hearts.
Congregations devoted to the Cup were bound to appear everywhere.
Most would be spontaneous creations by ordinary believers.
But among them, some would undoubtedly be genuine.
The Cup would never miss such an opportunity to expand its influence and recruit followers.
Judging from the man’s description, what else could this so-called True Lord be, if not the Cup?
Extraordinary beings of other attributes would never come to the lower district to perform charity work.
Even organizations like the Heavenly Heart Society found it difficult to transform an untalented ordinary person into an extraordinary being.
The man’s unwavering confidence clearly showed that he believed the priest could accomplish exactly that.
Likewise, the woman’s objections revealed that she knew it was possible.
The price was simply enormous.
And many people died in the process.
Based on their conversation, quite a few scavengers had already joined the congregation.
Xu Zhi wasn’t surprised.
Places like the lower district were the perfect breeding ground for the Cup.
Life here was hopeless and monotonous.
The people here desperately longed to become extraordinary beings.
After all, extraordinary power was enough to change one’s fate.
They would not reject the Cup.
Xu Zhi entered the settlement and began searching for the congregation’s location.
It didn’t take long before she identified a two-story building in the southwestern section of the settlement.
Compared to the surrounding dilapidated houses, it appeared surprisingly well-maintained.
Even at night, scavengers rarely lit lamps.
Yet this building was brightly illuminated.
No symbols related to the Cup hung outside.
However, Xu Zhi noticed that many cloaked figures seemed to be emerging from that very building.
As she approached, the night breeze carried a faint scent of blood.
“Quite brazen, aren’t they…”
Then again, Lian City had never bothered managing places like this.
That was precisely why this was such fertile soil.
The girl jumped down from a nearby rooftop and walked to the building’s entrance.
Raising her hand, she knocked softly.
The door opened a crack.
A pair of bloodshot eyes peered out from the darkness within.
Xu Zhi controlled the Spirit Body and calmly met the person’s gaze.
When the figure inside asked, “What do you want?” she replied:
“I’d like to join the congregation. Is there any way to do that?”
