After leaving Mengfeila, the members of the Funeral procession changed modes of transportation several times before finally arriving safely at their destination: Feidengla.
Yaxiu had assumed Annan would have local contacts ready to receive them here. After all, across the entire Gospel, Lalafells were practically the only ones they had not yet offended. Without someone to receive them, they would be greeted either by betrayal or by gunshots.
Yet, as Annan put it: "This is a city where you can hide in safety even if you've offended the entire world."
And in truth, that was precisely the case.
Feidengla was the place where the Gospel's power was at its weakest. Not that it was some sort of magic-null field where the Gospel ceased to function; the simple reality was that the people here were too poor to afford listening to the Gospel.
Listening to the Gospel required Gospel points, and the sole way to earn points was by placing on the leaderboards. Prodigies went without saying—they could make the ranks on their own—while the only avenue for the vast majority of ordinary folk was to ride the coattails of municipal and collective points. That meant cities distributed points to all their citizens, and corporations shared points with their employees.
Yet that raised a problem: spots on the leaderboards were limited, which meant there would inevitably be cities and enterprises that failed to rank.
Azula, Fanmula, and Mengfeila were all cities near the top of the leaderboards, raking in abundant points year after year. These points were then reinvested into production, solidifying an unshakeable first-mover advantage in their respective fields, swiftly finishing new modernization efforts, and building Second Cities one after another.
Feidengla, on the other hand, was mere background filler that failed to place on any leaderboard, its greatest purpose being to highlight just how magnificent the ranking cities were.
What? You ask why a lagging city didn't push itself to catch up and strive to become a nationally civilized city? That was no different from asking why singles didn't find partners, why web novel authors didn't update, or why people didn't dodge incoming bullets.
Public safety, organizational capacity, gross domestic product, education levels... None of these metrics were independent; they were deeply interconnected.
Setting aside Mengfeila and Fanmula, which cheated through miracles, take Azula as an example: because everyone listened to the Gospel, public security was excellent, everyone voluntarily sought education, enterprises had a thriving environment to grow, the city's overall standing rose, and it earned a higher ranking. Citizens then received Gospel points, which gave them even greater incentive to listen to the Gospel...
Therefore, if a city failed to rank in every aspect, it meant it wasn't merely falling behind by a little—it was stuck in the deepest mire because it had never entered that virtuous cycle in the first place!
Feidengla was the prime example. Ranking among the top five in population, its rivals were supposed to be tier-one cities like Azula. Yet the gulf between it and Azula could be summarized in a single sentence: Feidengla did not have schools.
Public schools in Azula had education pods where anyone could lie down and enjoy a customized curriculum. Feidengla had no such welfare facilities—not because the empire refused to supply them, but because the moment they were sent to Feidengla, people tore them apart and sold the parts for cash.
This led directly to Feidengla's second distinctive trait: the Red Hats were only responsible for the central wealthy district. As for crimes occurring in the rest of the city, the Red Hats paid them no mind at all.
Lawlessness, no education, and no governance—these were Feidengla's three defining hallmarks.
It was not that Feidengla's citizens longed so dearly for freedom, but rather the result of intricate, convoluted power struggles. Put simply, the empire disbursed point subsidies annually based on urban population proportions. The earliest elites of Feidengla concluded that the city stood no chance of competing against its peers, so the subsidy would inevitably go to waste—in which case, they might as well spend it on themselves.
Without points to aid governance, Feidengla naturally rotted day by day. Yet such an ulcerous city ended up drawing specialized attention: corporations eager to conduct dirty work in a lawless zone, and anarchists desperate to slip the Gospel's shackles.
Bribery, graft, dereliction of duty, collusion... Crimes that would have been rooted out by the Book of Gospel in any other city found new life in this mire through mutual collaboration among various parties. The Red Hats turned a blind eye. As the lowest-ranked Red Hats in the entire Gospel, the mere fact that they didn't participate in crime was solely due to the occupational constraints of their contracts.
Through decades of incubation, Feidengla had thoroughly devolved into a city of free-for-all chaos. Annan's choice to seek shelter here was truly brilliant. Don't forget, while the locals were too impoverished to afford the Gospel, Annan was a little rich woman with plenty of money to make prayers to it!
After witnessing the wealth of her mother and Evalin, Annan could only count as a "little" rich woman in Yaxiu's eyes. Even so, against a primitive society like Feidengla, her wealth dealt a devastating, one-sided blow.
Ordinary citizens lacking Gospel points couldn't even begin to probe their identities. Annan had prayed for a permanent "Random Avatar Blessing" inside the apartment. As long as they moved about the rooms, their appearances would be replaced with different faces in the eyes of outsiders, eliminating any risk of exposure.
In a normal metropolis, Annan would never have dared pray for such a blessing. A gospel sorcerer's standard reconnaissance bundle encompassed dozens of miracles, sorcery spirits, and blessings; for just ten points, one could sweep all abnormalities within a hundred meters. If the Purple Moth dared apply a fixed blessing there, it would practically be waving a flag that screamed, "Look at me, look at me, something is super suspicious right here!"
Yet in an impoverished dump like Feidengla, no blessing could have been more practical.
Yaxiu had no doubt that they could safely hole up here until the Weaving Ceremony drew to a close.
However, Annan's arrival in Feidengla was not solely for refuge.
Having finished washing up, Yaxiu and Harvey returned to sit down. The room was narrow and the table small, making it a tight squeeze for six people, but they had grown used to it over the past few days. Once everyone was seated, Annan declared, "Time to eat!"
Only then did everyone begin eating. Today's breakfast consisted of macaroni and cheese, bacon and egg rolls, and milk tea. Banjie said, "This breakfast cost thirty-two copper coins in total. I have seventy-three coppers left. Here, Yaxiu, hold onto it."
"All right." Yaxiu took charge of the household's financial power.
Annan asked, "Harvey, what's your job today?"
"Still the construction site," Harvey replied. "The morgue here requires an insider's recommendation to get in. Since we won't be staying more than a few days anyway, I won't bother trying."
"What about you, Igola?"
"I made friends with Miss Martha yesterday. She agreed to let me use a room in her divination club to run a business for a few days," Igola answered. "I'll try my hand at being a fortuneteller."
"I'm planning to change jobs," Banjie suddenly piped up.
"Why? Wasn't that handyman work going well?" Annan asked.
"The boss's younger daughter seems to have taken a liking to me," Banjie replied calmly. "Staying any longer wouldn't be good for her."
"Isn't that wonderful?" Igola chuckled. "Settling down here, taking a wife, and raising children would fit right in with the 'happiness' we're chasing, wouldn't it?"
"Exactly!" Annan laughed as well. "Is she pretty?"
"Please don't tease me." Banjie's expression remained utterly steady. "My happiness is for the young lady to find happiness; I have no other desires beyond that... Moreover, after living in the Gospel for so many years, I can't fool the Gospel. At most, I can only play along with you all."
The moment they arrived in Feidengla, Yaxiu and the others had immediately pressed Annan on what the next leaderboard would be.
While Igola found it amusing, for Yaxiu, Lisi, and Harvey—none of whom had any interest in mind games—the Scheme Leaderboard had left deep psychological scars. They were never going to give Annan another chance to pull the same trick.
However, the fourth leaderboard didn't need to be kept secret. Annan had directly revealed its theme to them: Happiness.
Under normal circumstances, Yaxiu and his companions would never stand a chance of squeezing onto that leaderboard.
Even as foreign migrant workers brimming with limitless potential, it was impossible.
After all, no matter how happy they were, they could never compare to the ruling class holding power and wealth, like Evalin, Qinna, or Mercury. Even though the Gospel had hinted that Yaxiu and his companions would dominate the Gospel in the future, the happiest person would never be Yaxiu, but rather Yaxiu's child.
What could bring greater happiness than being born with a golden spoon in your mouth?
As for the notion that "the rich aren't happy," that was just a lie the wealthy told the poor. If everyone openly flaunted that "money is everything," the poor would eventually hang the rich from lampposts to render them into lard.
Yet under the premise that the future was an inevitable apocalypse, the definition of this "happiness" changed.
Happiness in an apocalypse was definitely neither power nor wealth. With society collapsed and survival precarious from one day to the next, what good was power and influence? Could you order takeout? Could you scrape together eight people to raid the Extreme Cleaver Carp Supreme Duke?
Thus, everyone swiftly realized what the true definition of "happiness" was here: living.
If the group could support one another through the apocalypse, maintain a dignified life, and keep their quality of life almost on par with the pre-apocalyptic era, that would be the greatest happiness of all.
That was why Annan hadn't rented a mansion in Feidengla's wealthy district. Instead, she had rented a tiny apartment in the chaotic urban village. Yaxiu and the three men shared a room with bunk beds, while she shared a bed holding Lisi in her arms, all to simulate the apocalypse as closely as possible—in the Gospel Country, the lives of the poor were indeed the closest thing to an apocalypse.
To roleplay more convincingly and deceive the Gospel, Annan had even established three rules: everyone had to work to achieve a better life; living expenses had to come from their earned wages, not their savings; and they had to save as much as possible without sacrificing quality of life.
It wasn't that Annan refused to spend money, but rather that her wealth was far too potent. The interest from the Doran family's bank accounts alone could let Yaxiu and the others live like royalty in Feidengla. Happy as that might be, the Gospel would undoubtedly eliminate them!
Precisely because of these three rules, they had eaten almost nothing on their first day in Feidengla, only getting things on track after Harvey and Banjie found work.
"Lisi," Annan asked, "how are your studies going?"
Everyone had to work, and Lisi was no exception. While she didn't need to go out for a job, she had to stay home studying through the Book of Gospel. Naturally, it lacked the customized perks of an education pod, but the curriculum inside the Book of Gospel was free and professional, complete with homework exercises. Following along was certainly worthwhile; it just demanded immense self-discipline.
"I-It's all pretty good..." Lisi's tone wavered.
Annan raised an eyebrow. "Let me see your homework evaluation."
"Really, it's all fine—"
"Stop stalling!"
The Purple Moth still commanded plenty of authority. Resigned, Lisi opened her Book of Gospel to the assignment page and turned it around for Annan to see. The young lady's brow furrowed tightly. "How come all your other subjects are fine, but your math is an absolute disaster? The Gospel says the mathematical aptitude shown in your work displays severe cognitive deficiencies, and it suggests you abandon the subject altogether?"
"What!?" Yaxiu gasped, completely shocked by this staggering revelation. "Did the Gospel really say that? That's impossible, isn't it!?"
"It did." Annan blinked. "Since you care so much, have you been helping her with her homework? How could it end up this bad?"
"I... I didn't just help..." Yaxiu looked on the verge of tears. "She said she was too lazy to do it, so I was the one who wrote her math homework..."
After a brief silence, Harvey was the first to stand up. "I'm full. Heading to work."
"I'm full too."
"Yaxiu, need a hand with the dishes?"
"No, it's fine." Yaxiu glumly chewed on his bacon and egg roll, muttering under his breath, "I might have graduated a few years ago, but it couldn't be that bad..."
Once Banjie and the others departed, Annan walked over and gave Lisi a hug, then wrapped Yaxiu in a hug from behind.
"Do we really have to do this?!"
"I'm the head of the household! Hugging you before I head out is to boost your weight in the rankings, so don't be ungrateful!" As Annan hugged him, she shifted into a crossface chokehold, tussling with Yaxiu first thing in the morning.
Once they all left for work, Yaxiu began clearing the dishes. "Study session starts in half an hour."
"Yay!" Lisi cheered. "Then let's play Sorcerer Duel 14!"
"Let me finish the dishes first."
Indeed, Yaxiu's job was staying behind as home guard and babysitter.
There were two reasons for this: first, they couldn't leave Lisi home alone, so someone had to look after her; second, Yaxiu couldn't show his face outside at all.
Although one could alter appearances using makeup or even miracles—which was what Annan and the others had done—the problem was that Yaxiu's Distortion Mask was a permanent passive effect. No matter how he changed his look, the mask remained firmly on his face.
If you wore a mask while working, anyone with half a brain would know you were trouble. Consequently, Yaxiu was gloriously assigned to hold down the fort at home.
After washing the dishes and playing games with Lisi, Yaxiu officially began his duties.
Running the clothes through the washing machine and dryer, dragging the ironing board into the sunlight to iron each garment flat, sweeping and mopping the floor, scouring the bathroom until it was spotless, cleaning the toilet with disinfectant, wiping down windows, making everyone's beds, taking out the trash...
All of the above was handled by his Substitute.
Yaxiu himself sat beside Lisi, overseeing her studies while he delved into knowledge regarding the Void Realm, sorcery factions, and knowledge creatures.
Over two hours later, when Lisi peeked over at him for the thirteenth time, Yaxiu finally closed his Book of Gospel. "Let's head out and buy some groceries."
"Yay!"
Yaxiu pulled on his hooded trench coat, took Lisi by the hand, and left the apartment building.
Though it was called a lawless zone, a certain order had developed over the years; otherwise, ordinary folks would have had no environment to work in. The area they lived in was also known as the "Salome District," named after Salome, the company responsible for maintaining order here.
Hospitals, pet shops, restaurants, cafés, balance-scooter dealerships, general stores... Businesses that had likely been replaced by online shopping in other cities still thrived with tenacious vitality here in Feidengla.
Yaxiu led Lisi into a supermarket. The lavish interior was stylish and modern; stealing anything here was clearly out of the question.
Passing through the snack and dessert aisle, Yaxiu covered Lisi's eyes. "Don't look, don't look. We only have seventy-three coppers. We can't afford it."
Passing by the Lalafell specialty section, Lisi covered Yaxiu's eyes. "Don't look, don't look. We only have seventy-three coppers. We can't afford to eat that."
After meticulous calculations and a round of free food samples, Yaxiu and Lisi returned home carrying several bags.
Following a simple lunch, Yaxiu dragged a rug over to the balcony and lazily sprawled out on it alongside Lisi.
By the time they woke, it was nearly three in the afternoon. Yaxiu urged Lisi to hurry back to her studies, directed his Substitute to prep the ingredients, and lay back down for a bit longer.
Just past four, Banjie was the first to return, heading straight to the kitchen to help. Next came Igola, practically drenched in perfume—he had undoubtedly swindled plenty of money from women. Soon after, Annan arrived, immediately ordering Yaxiu to take off her stockings with supreme arrogance. Finally came Harvey, covered in grime once again, who was shooed straight into the bathroom to wash up.
The apartment building's clamor descended in tandem with nightfall. Flimsy partitions did nothing to stifle the Feidengla symphony: below, people drank and brawled; above, someone walked in high-heeled boots; and the building opposite lit up, its occupants seemingly watching an opera while dining.
Feidengla's dark forest gradually grew bright. Though it couldn't compare to the centralized illumination of major cities like Azula or Mengfeila, the lights nestled inside ordinary homes genuinely imparted a sense of warmth.
The six members of the Funeral procession sat around the round table. Once Harvey finished his bath and joined them, Annan announced, "Time to eat!"
Waiting until everyone was present before announcing mealtime was a crucial step. According to Annan, it boosted their happiness index by five percent. To Yaxiu, however, it seemed more like a ritual Annan had concocted just to emphasize that she was the head of the house.
Such was a day in the life of the Funeral procession, perhaps the most ordinary stretch of time they had experienced since arriving in the Gospel. For now, no pursuers hunted them, their personal freedom was unrestricted, and their initial reserve had melted away... Amid the rising steam of soup and dishes, it felt as though time itself had softened. Yaxiu almost forgot about the Weaving Ceremony, the divine wish, and the impending apocalypse.
Until the Book of Gospel abruptly popped open on its own.
Its glowing bookmark blazed with intensity, proclaiming a piece of momentous news to everyone present.
"The Gospel..." Annan muttered, "released an extra update!?"
Chapter 425