Lu Yao observed that the forest tribes did not have any belief in gods, no shrines, and no totem-like symbols.
The shaman also did not show any reliance on the gods like the prophet; he was more like a seasoned elder who relied on the experience accumulated by his ancestors to guide the entire tribe.
This was a good thing for Lu Yao.
If the forest tribes also believed in a certain god, it was likely that there would have to be a conflict of beliefs, and a war might even break out between the tribes.
Nowadays, between the Garlic Tribe and the Forest Tribe, there was already a wider road. Houses have been built on both sides of the road, including the thatched huts of the Garlic Tribe and the tree houses of the Forest Tribe. The two tribes have become closer.
Lu Yao waited for the complete integration of the two tribes.
Suddenly, he heard a faint mobile phone ringing.
It rang for more than twenty seconds, then rang again, over and over again.
The sound came from outside.
Lu Yao lived in an old neighbourhood, his building leaned out and was next to a semi-enclosed alley outside. That alley was usually used for parking, and many cars were piled up with ash.
During the day, there weren’t many people in that alley, and it was even quieter at night.
Lu Yao walked to the window and looked out.
There was only one concrete street lamp in the parking alley, and the dim light could only illuminate an area under the lamp post, while the rest of the area was pitch black.
Lu Yao saw something swaying from side to side under the light, like there was something hanging from the streetlight post.
He felt a little bad.
The street lamp was about twenty or so metres away from the window sill, so he could make out an approximation. Lu Yao looked closely and found that there was a person hanging by a rope from the concrete streetlight pole.
At this time it was already nightfall, there was not much noise on the street, and the mobile phone ringing was particularly clear in the alley.
Lu Yao immediately dialled 110.
“Hello, police uncle? I’m here at the Locomotive Factory Dormitory in the Nine Parks Community, and there’s a person hanging by a rope in the alley outside. You guys come over here quickly for a moment.”
The police side inquired in detail about the address and the situation, and told him not to act rashly, and that they would come over immediately.
Putting down his mobile phone, Lu Yao was slightly relieved. It was better to leave this kind of matter to the professional police.
The originally dormant Cactus Attendant jumped onto the windowsill at this time. It was facing the direction of the man in the alley, its spikes taut, as if it was very wary.
“What? What did you find out?” Lu Yao subconsciously looked towards this little thing.
The Fairy Orb Attendant nodded.
Lu Yao sighed, “It’s a pity that you can’t speak, if only you could.”
“Great God Yao, when you say you can talk, your humble servant will talk.”
The Immortal Orb Servant knelt on the ground, and a strangely accented voice emanated from its green body.
The voice was hard to distinguish between male and female.
Lu Yao was taken aback, “You can talk?”
“You allow speech before your humble servant can speak.” The Immortal Orb Attendant said, “Otherwise humble servants cannot make their own voices.”
Lu Yao thought for a second, the pixel world and the real world had broken the wall, so there was nothing wrong with this fairy ball being able to speak.
He asked, “What did you find out about that person who was hung up?”
“Lord God, that was a demonic ritual.”
Cactus Orb said respectfully, “Demons will gain faith through cruel and extreme rituals, using fear and ignorance to compel and manipulate believers.”
Demons?
Lu Yao’s face changed slightly.
“What’s the difference between a demon and a god?”
“Lord God, a demon is a heretical evil god.”
Lu Yao understood.
The Devil …… had a different name, which was another Divine player. Besides himself, there were other people who were also using the Divine Simulator to obtain sacrifices.
He immediately remembered what Sister Peng had said, that there were perverts infesting the Nine Gardens community, and he would strip people and then hang them up.
Lu Yao secretly admonished himself that he needed to be more cautious and not let anyone discover the Simulator on his computer. Once the demonic players knew about it, they would surely snatch their magic props and attack themselves – it would no longer be in the game.
He found a small flowerpot and told his fairy ball attendant, “Without my permission, you can’t move or talk normally, you’re the fairy ball, stay well in here, understand?”
“Yes, Lord Divine.” The fairy ball attendant bowed.
In the parking alley, the mobile phone ringtone was still repeating, as if calling for help.
Lu Yao once again looked at the suspended man under the street lamp post. He seemed tired, no longer shaking and struggling, and his physical features became much clearer.
Under the light, the person was wearing a black corset and should be a female. In addition she was somewhat dirty and there seemed to be a lot of blood on her skin.
Lu Yao remembered that he still had a telescope at home, and with the help of the telescope, his vision became further clearer.
The person under the lamp post he actually recognised. The victim was a hairdresser, working in a barbershop called Role Model Fine Cut across the street from the neighbourhood, her working name was Liza, her real name was unknown.
Because of the price of Role Model Precision Cut, wash, cut and blow-dry a set of fifteen yuan, Lu Yao also often cut hair there, so there is some impression of Liza.
She dyed a head of light blonde hair, her age is probably in the early twenties, she speaks in a fine voice, does not chatter awkwardly, and does not annoy people.
Liza had been rescued by the police and was in a state of shock, not saying a word wrapped up in a jacket the police had given her, and a bit dazed.
She had a lot of weird symbols smeared all over her body in blood. The symbols looked like some sort of distorted Arabic numerals that were connected to each other, and like some sort of chains that wrapped her body in layers.
The police cordoned off the scene and also came to Lu Yao’s door to make a statement.
He told the truth about what he witnessed, only hiding the part about the simulator and the demonic ritual.
It was already two o’clock in the middle of the night after the police rescue and statement were over.
Lu Yao was not sleepy at all with the [Energy Cane] in his hand, staying up all night was not a problem at all.
He looked towards the cactus in the flower pot on the table, “You’ve been to our world before?”
“This is the first time your humble servant has come to your divine world. I was given life by the Lord God of the Forest, but the God Realm where the Lord God of the Forest is located does not seem to be the same as the God Realm where you are located, which is filled with water …… I am too small to completely comprehend what the God Realm is like.”
“What does the Forest God look like?”
“Not to be seen directly. Just like you, great god, it is impossible to describe the appearance of a great existence like you, I can only vaguely see some of the shadows that the gods exhibit.”
Lu Yao pried out some information from the immortal ball’s mouth.
The Cactus Orb had no name, it was one of the many Cactus Orb attendants created by the God of the Forest, and it had spent its entire life doing odd jobs in the temple. The God of the Forest made the Cactus Orb Attendants in the world He was in, graciously sent them into the Pixel World, and never recalled them again.
All it knew was that the temple gradually fell into disrepair, and that meant the Forest God had fallen. Eventually the Cactus Orbs were buried with the temple’s collapse, and were dug up many years later by forest tribesmen looking for mushrooms and berries.
Only the gods could drive the cactus orb though, and the pixel beings could not bring it back to its true form at all, they could only sense that it was not quite the same as any other plant.
“Since you’re a relic left behind by the forest gods, your name is ……”
Lu Yao pointed at the cactus ball’s head and said, “Little Fire.”
