There are no gods in this world.

Previously, when they were at the City Lord’s Mansion, the armour had told Lu Mingze that dusk was the “hour when demons roam” —all demonic creatures awaken at dusk and fall into dormancy at sunrise.

The description of the QR code Lu Mingze obtained in the church read as follows: “The first ray of light in the world was born from darkness.”

He pondered it for a long time, and in the end decided to use this QR code at sunrise.

At this moment, Guan Ling’s giant-octopus transformation was about to expire, and the duration of Qian Jinlai’s “Steady Stream,” applied to Cao Qian was also nearing its end.

Lu Mingze activated the QR code.
A beam of light appeared above the flying demon. This light, together with the very first light of sunrise, traced the barrier pattern once carved into the church, forming a luminous ring that tightly trapped the flying demon within.

Accompanied by the demon’s miserable screams, the ring rapidly contracted. Bound by lines of light, the demon was swiftly torn apart, splitting into pieces in all directions.

The fragments that fell to the ground gradually transformed into human shapes under the sunlight. Only then did they realize that this enormous demon had been formed from over a hundred bandits. Now they looked extremely weak, seemingly no longer capable of fighting.

Only then did Lu Mingze have the chance to read the QR code description on his wristband—

“Light Barrier”, a delayed-type QR code.
Highly effective against demonic entities, but its effectiveness is greatly reduced at night. Best used alongside the rising sun.
Duration: 5 minutes.

He let out a sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground.

Guan Ling’s giant-octopus transformation also ended. He sat down beside Lu Mingze, staring at the hundreds of bandits sprawled across the ground with a troubled expression.

“What should we do with these people?” Guan Ling asked. “Even if we bring them back into the city, who’s going to deal with them?”

Cao Qian also sat down. Her ultra-short skirt, as usual, did not expose anything. She said,
“I saw plenty of ropes in the cave earlier. We can tie them up, not give them any food, and throw them into the City Lord’s Mansion. By nightfall, someone will naturally take care of them… the armour will.”

“That makes sense,” Lu Mingze nodded. “I already promised earlier to hand them over to the armour. They’re all criminals of the city and should be imprisoned in the underground dungeon beneath the City Lord’s Mansion”

Earlier, the map he obtained in the manor clearly showed that the underground level served as the town’s prison for punishing criminals.

Cao Qian dug out many ropes from the ruins. Lu Mingze and Guan Ling called over Qian Jinlai, who had been hiding nearby, and the group struggled to bind the unconscious bandits.

After working for a while, Qian Jinlai sighed. “This is too slow. The sun’s almost up. I can only stay here for one day—I can’t afford to waste time.”

Guan Ling also had only one day left. Cao Qian had three days, but she didn’t want to waste her time tying people up either.

“That’s true,” Lu Mingze nodded.

He woke several bandits, made them look at his face, triggered “Beacon Fires Amuse the Feudal Lords”, and ordered the controlled bandits to help bind the others. In no time, everything was finished—the bandits even obediently tied one another up.

Afterward, Cao Qian knocked those few bandits unconscious again, exceptionally cold and ruthless.

Qian Jinlai: “……”

So… is it really true that being good-looking means you can do whatever you want?

The four escorted the surviving bandits back to the City Lord’s Mansion. Under the sunlight, the armour emitted “ka-la, ka-la” sounds—it was unclear whether it was moving on its own or merely rattling in the wind.

Lu Mingze put his impressive scavenging skills to use, found the key to the underground prison, locked the bandits inside, and placed the key into the armour’s hand.

“Punishing evildoers is entrusted to you,” he said. “You must atone for your crimes through service. Also… remember to interrogate them about all the crimes they committed. Write everything down using the paper and pen in the City Lord’s office. I’ll sentence them according to the city’s former laws. You’re not allowed to carry out private punishment. However, if they try to escape or resist, you may suppress them. Understood?”

It was unclear whether the armour understood, but Lu Mingze heard the system narration prompt:
Bandit Suppression Task completed. Current task progress: 2.46.

They still had four remaining tasks: Reforge the statue’s golden armour, Find the Sea-Blue Eye, the War Boots, and the Diamond Heart.

All of them were related to the statue known as the Son of God. Lu Mingze felt it necessary to speak with the statue again. He huffed and puffed as he climbed onto the pedestal, sat beside the statue, and placed the Holy Sword into its hand.

The Holy Sword truly had been made for the statue. The hilt fit perfectly into the statue’s half-clenched palm.

Lu Mingze said, “The bandits have been captured, and the Holy Sword has been recovered. We’re going to find someone to help reforge your golden armour now.”

The statue no longer had eyes, yet Lu Mingze still felt a gentle gaze upon him. At the same time, he heard a voice in his heart: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Rebuilding the city is what should be done,” Lu Mingze replied. “But last night, I discovered many things. May I ask you a few questions?”

The statue said, “I know what you want to ask. Unfortunately, I am not the Son of God. This world has no gods.”

Lu Mingze said, “That’s not what I wanted to ask. I want to know—were the golden armour, the Blue sea eyes, the war boots, the Holy Sword, and the Diamond Heart all given willingly to the town’s residents?”

“…The first four were. The Diamond Heart was not,” the statue answered.

“That means you truly loved the townspeople and couldn’t bear to see them suffer. You’re a kind statue,” Lu Mingze said, puzzled. “Then when you first saw me… why did you want to take my body?”

The statue sneered coldly: “Who told you I was kind?”

Lu Mingze waved his hand and said, “Don’t be angry. I don’t think you’re bad. You even reminded me that the mirror shouldn’t be looked at too much. I was just thinking—when you wanted my body, was it because you believed I was like the former law enforcer, someone incapable of rebuilding this city, so you planned to take action yourself?”

He looked at the statue with a pair of bright eyes, without the slightest shadow in them, always thinking about things in a positive way. The statue paused for a moment, then said, “You’re overthinking it. I am not the Child of God, nor do I want to protect this city. At the beginning, I was merely a statue—a condensation of the city residents’ faith. When they are good, I am good; when they are evil, I am evil. What people call gods and demons are nothing more than products formed by the human heart.”

Lu Mingze listened quietly as the statue recounted the past.

“At first, the city simply needed a landmark, so I was built. Back then, I had no consciousness. Later, the city lived happily, and people often came to the square to pray to me. Gradually, I developed thoughts. But I knew I had no power to bless them—I was just an ordinary statue.

“When the new city lord oppressed the residents, the only thing I could do was secretly let pieces of my golden armour fall off, so the residents could exchange them for grain.

“I never had a Diamond Heart either. It was merely an ordinary diamond, dug out by some greedy people, split apart, and swallowed. How could someone not die after eating such a thing?

“When the city lord and certain nobles swallowed the diamond, they somehow found a strange ritual in a book. The blood they vomited when they died seemed to trigger some kind of magic, bringing about the Day of Disaster, amplifying the evil thoughts of the city’s residents and plunging the entire city into darkness.”

“So that’s how it was,” Lu Mingze said. “Then what about you? All these years, did you never hope for the city to prosper again, like it once did?”

The statue replied, “I already told you—I am merely the embodiment of people’s faith. If they hope I am a god, then I am the Child of God; if they believe I am the source of disaster, then I am a demon. But in truth, I am nothing. I am just a statue.”

Hearing the helplessness in the statue’s voice, Lu Mingze scratched his head and said, “I once studied some theology. I think the concept of ‘god’ itself is a collection of faith. Since the residents are willing to believe in you, then you are their god. If you truly believe you are not the Child of God, then why was the bishop able to preserve this city by using your holy sword?”

The statue was stunned.

“My task is to rebuild the city. I believe that building a city, besides reducing taxes, most importantly requires people who love their homeland to work together for the future. Yet all the rebuilding methods I’ve found involve restoring the statue. Why is that?” Lu Mingze said seriously. “I think it must be because the residents still love you and still believe in you. They think that once you are restored, it means ‘God’ has forgiven them. Only then will they have the courage to long for life again and work hard for this city. You are their spiritual pillar.”

“Whether you admit it or not, you are their ‘Child of God.’” Lu Mingze gently patted the statue’s arm.

The statue said in confusion, “I… can I really do that? Haven’t I already become evil? I even wanted to take your body.”

“Didn’t I say this before?” Lu Mingze replied, not angry at all, instead smiling. “You wanted to use a new administrator’s body to personally complete this task. But I can’t give you my body—this is my mission, after all. Don’t worry. I will definitely restore the residents’ longing for life. I’ll go find someone to reapply your golden armour right away.”

“Wait,” the statue hurriedly said when it saw Lu Mingze about to jump down from the pedestal. “Actually, my golden armour still exists. Back then, the residents secretly sold the armour to the gold shop owner. The owner didn’t export the fragments; he kept them himself. So you don’t need to remake the armour with gold—just repair the original.”

“Really!” Lu Mingze said happily. “I only have three days. Calculated this way, it’s still doable. Do you remember where the Sea Blue Eye and the battle boots are?”

“The craftsman at the gold shop should know the whereabouts of the Sea Blue Eye, since that pair of eyes was sold through him,” the statue said. “As for the battle boots, I gave them to a warrior. He said he could no longer tolerate the city lord’s actions and wanted to seek out the king to have the city lord punished. I lent him the boots so he could reach the capital faster. But after he took them, he disappeared. I don’t know where he went.”

“I see,” Lu Mingze nodded. “Thank you. I’ll go look for the golden armour first.”

He bid farewell to the statue and headed toward the gold shop with his companions.

It was already past nine in the morning. Qian Jinlai looked up at the statue and said strangely, “Don’t you think this statue looks a lot like Lu Mingze? Both the body shape and facial contours—almost exactly the same.”

“It does look a bit similar,” Guan Ling said.

A melodramatic thought flashed through Qian Jinlai’s mind: “Could it be that the final Diamond Heart is actually Lu Mingze’s heart? That completing the task requires dying—and dying means memories can’t be recovered…”

“No way,” Lu Mingze said calmly, without the slightest worry. “The statue already told me—his heart really is made of diamond, the real gold-and-silver kind. I’m a living person. How could I have a diamond heart? Don’t worry.”

“Then… let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be that melodramatic,” Qian Jinlai said, nodding reluctantly.

 

Translator : DarNan