Religion and belief have always been irrational, mixed with too many strong emotions and impulses, coupled with the "herd effect" mentioned in social psychology, so that even outright cults can have a large number of loyal followers.

What's more, the Dark Church did not force anyone to donate money for the sake of money, but also provided the poor who could not afford to eat with one meal a day to ensure that they would not starve to death.

In addition, there is a god behind the church, and many gifted pastors can even obtain some simple magic skills.

All of this quickly creates a terrifying mass effect, with everyone scrambling to show their loyalty to the gods and the church, and the social climate becoming more conservative and xenophobic, to the point of suspicion or hostility towards strangers.

Feeling the deformed and sick frenzy of the whole city, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but want to laugh a little, and even felt that the natives on this planet were no different from the humans on the earth.

Perhaps because of weakness, it is necessary to use concepts such as religion, nation, state, class, etc., to integrate oneself into a large group, and to use the strength of the group to protect oneself.

It may also be because of stupidity, after all, no matter how much advanced knowledge and information a mortal receives, he can never change his primitive and low-level desires.

Although desire to some extent makes them constantly evolve and create a brilliant civilization, uncontrolled desire can also bring disaster and destruction.

Thinking like this, Zhang Cheng unconsciously passed through the temple that had been temporarily converted into a temple, and raised his head just to see a huge statue standing in the center of the hall.

A man in a black robe is standing nearby, preaching the holy scriptures to believers who are kneeling on the ground praying.

Although these are all bad stories that have only been made up for a long time and cannot stand up to scrutiny, the poor people who can't read a few words listen to them with relish, whether they nod or exclaim.

Just as he was staring at the thread of faith behind the statue that connected to the other world, the woman appeared next to him at some point, and asked in a low voice, "Is that you?!" What are you doing here?"

"Why, can't I come? Don't forget, I gave you this statue in the first place. Zhang Cheng turned his head and showed an expression that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

"No, I mean, what are you here for?" the woman was wary with a hint of hostility.

She had experienced that adventure in the field firsthand, and knew how terrifying the seemingly harmless young man in front of her was, and it was no exaggeration to describe it as a monster in human skin.

Zhang Cheng was keenly aware of the hostility, and responded casually: "I heard that you are unleashing wild words and want to take back everything that belongs to you from me, so naturally you want to come and take a look." Why, are you scared? Or do you think I'm going to kill this little church?"

"You're not going to touch the Dark Church, because it's part of your plan! I'm actually a pawn of yours. But don't forget that with the right timing, a pawn can also become a chess player, and a prey can become a hunter. The woman resisted the tension and impulse in her heart, and raised her chin to pose haughtily.

"Hahahaha! I admire your courage and hope you can keep it until the end. You know? Many of the heroes in the story who rebel against fate often end up in tragedy. It's not because those heroes aren't strong enough, it's not because they're too weak, it's that fate is manipulated too strong, so strong that no matter how much you resist, it will only increase the fun of the process, and it won't change the outcome. Now, I give you this sentence in the hope that you will make me play this game to the end with a fierce resistance. ”

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng stretched out his right hand and pinched the woman's cheek recklessly, his eyes full of playfulness and sarcasm.

There is no doubt that he likes chess pieces that will resist, and the more fierce the resistance, the more he can experience an inexplicable happiness.

The woman undoubtedly felt humiliated, and the flames of anger flickered in her pupils, and it took a full minute for her to push away the hand that was pinching her cheek: "Be respectful! I'm not one of your servants who have completely lost themselves." I am the chosen people of the great God of darkness, the patron of the dark forces, born to bring true faith to the world. You may be strong, but you will never want to bring me to my knees. ”

Zhang Cheng was not annoyed by this, and nodded with a chuckle: "Of course, I respect your choice, and I will not force you to do anything." Okay, that's all for now, I have more important things to talk about, I wonder if you have time now?"

"Do I still have the right to refuse? Come with me, this is not the place to talk. "The woman is obviously very calm, and no matter how angry she is, she doesn't joke about it.

The two of them walked through the wide hallway, one after the other, and it didn't take long for them to come to a closed office.

Because it was converted from the original town hall, the temple retains a lot of the original decoration and design, and even some reliefs of heroes from ancient myths and legends on the pillars.

With a slamming sound as the door closed, the woman returned to her seat and asked bluntly, "Tell me, what's the matter?" Don't tell me, it's for our good that you have pushed the dark church into the light with your own hands and made us enemies of the whole world. ”

"Oh, why not?" Zhang Cheng blinked innocently.

"Hmph, you think I'm a three-year-old kid, so easy to deceive? You're the one who drove me to a dead end, and if I were under siege, millions of believers would die and the church would suffer a heavy blow. Without enough believers, there is not enough power of faith, and without enough power of faith, there is no way to awaken the god of darkness. I'm beginning to wonder what your true purpose is, whether you want the Dark God to come down or not. The woman didn't hide the resentment in her heart at all, and vented it in one go.

"It seems that you don't really understand what true faith is, do you?" Zhang Cheng also sat down in a chair with his hands crossed over his chest.

"What do you mean?" the woman subconsciously frowned.

Zhang Cheng put on a pretending that I was for your good and explained: "It's very simple! The so-called faith never refers to the number of believers, but the degree of piety. How much faith power can you think of with those pretending guys in the city? Together, I'm afraid they are not as good as a saint. Therefore faith needs baptism, it needs baptism of blood and death, and only those who are willing to give their lives for the Church, who think that they are gods, can provide pious faith and awaken the God of darkness. All I'm doing is speeding up this process, a painful process that you have to go through......"