Sacrificial Offering

Lu Yao moved the cursor over the [Sacrificial Offering] slot.

It was a red creature curled up in a ball, looking like some kind of newborn animal.

[Garlic Tribe Infant: A sacrificial offering dedicated to God.]

Lu Yao's cheek twitched.

Offering living people as sacrifices... that really did fit Primitive People's customs of worshipping gods.

In God Simulator, Lu Yao could neither send messages to the Garlic Tribe through the Temple nor predict how the Pixelated Villagers would react.

He hovered the cursor over the [Sacrificial Offering], wondering whether he could reject it.

A line of text appeared on the screen.

--Would you like to accept the [Garlic Tribe Infant] offered by your believers?

--[Yes] [No]

Lu Yao decisively clicked no.

If an infant suddenly appeared in his home for no reason, there would be no way to explain it. The police might even invite him in for a chat.

Even worse, what if the Garlic Tribe kept sending infants? His home would fill up with babies, and just thinking about all the formula and diapers he would need to buy... Lu Yao went numb.

I'm a god, not your tribe's childcare worker!

As Lu Yao rejected the sacrificial offering, exclamation marks popped up over every member of the Garlic Tribe.

"God is dissatisfied! God doesn't want babies!"

"I told you not to use a baby! It should be an adult, someone who can farm and pick fruit for God!"

"No, no! We should use prey, the very best prey! God will definitely like wild boars!"

"I think it should be fish! Fish are the best, slippery and harmless! God will definitely like them!"

"Find a new sacrificial offering! A new sacrificial offering!"

Watching the Pixelated Villagers' conversation, Lu Yao did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Still, if they sent wild game or freshwater delicacies, he could make a late-night snack. Lu Yao did not cook much normally, but he could manage some homestyle dishes.

Apart from five people left behind, everyone in the Garlic Tribe ran toward the nearby forest, river, and mountain regions. They looked around, seemingly searching the map for something suitable to offer as a sacrifice.

Lu Yao noticed that one Pixelated Villager was different from the others.

This villager was one of the earliest seven believers, bare-chested and barefoot. He stood outside the Temple, looking up at the sky with a question mark above his head.

Lu Yao moved the cursor over the question mark. A bubble filled with text appeared above the villager's head, seemingly his inner thoughts.

"What kind of sacrificial offering does God truly need? He does not need babies. Perhaps he does not need manpower either. He bestowed miraculous Garlic upon the tribe, so God's world surely does not lack food."

"The Forest Tribe desecrated the Temple and was immediately struck by God's natural-disaster Divine Punishment. God must possess unimaginable power. The things we need are meaningless to him. Then perhaps only miraculous things that we cannot understand or use might be accepted by God."

The question mark above the Pixelated Villager's head turned into a glowing lightbulb.

As though he had understood something, he trotted into the dense forest.

Lu Yao watched in some surprise.

This villager's ability to think clearly surpassed everyone around him by a wide margin, as though he had awakened Wisdom. Among everyone, only his head had displayed a question mark.

Before long, the Question Mark Villager ran out of the forest again, carrying an object in both hands as he ran into the Temple.

Lu Yao opened the Temple interface.

A new icon had appeared in the [Sacrificial Offering] slot. It looked like a plain short staff fashioned from a polished branch.

[Energy Staff]: Faith +1/hour, Energy 12/12 hours (Recharge Rate 1/1 hour).

A treasure crafted by the Forest God. It absorbed the overflowing life force of nature, allowing its holder to draw vigorous energy from it through touch. Lost after the Forest God fell.

--Would you like to accept the [Energy Staff] offered by your believer?

Lu Yao clicked [Yes].

The staff icon vanished from the [Sacrificial Offering] slot, while a short staff as long as his forearm appeared atop the black keyboard on his computer desk.

Lu Yao's palms began to sweat.

He had vaguely guessed that since [Blessing] could be transmitted into the Pixel World through the Temple, then theoretically, [Sacrificial Offering] could also be transmitted from that world.

But when this scene truly became reality before his eyes, he still held his breath involuntarily.

Lu Yao carefully picked up the staff.

It was not heavy, about the same weight as ordinary wood.

The short staff's surface was covered in wood grain, yet it felt smooth and delicate, as though coated with a layer of clear varnish. Two short prongs extended from its top, somewhat like a clothesline pole broken in half. Yet tiny tender buds grew from the branches, making it seem as though it still retained life.

Holding the [Energy Staff], Lu Yao felt invigorated all over. The soreness in his waist and back muscles vanished without a trace. It was as though he had returned to the age of fourteen or fifteen, when a night of gaming followed by a nap was enough to leave him bursting with energy again.

The magical items from the Pixel World worked in reality too!

Lu Yao looked at the staff.

A line of text floated over the [Energy Staff]: Energy 12/12 hours, in use.

In other words, as long as he held this staff, he theoretically would not need to sleep. Whether he went to work or class the next day, he would never feel drowsy!

Lu Yao's heart surged with excitement.

These days, pulling all-nighters to play games was already a luxury for him. Although Lu Yao was only twenty-three, he could clearly feel the changes in his body.

He was far from how he had been as a teenager. If he stayed up even one or two extra hours and did not get enough sleep, he would spend the next day yawning and feeling sleepy. Neither coffee nor Red Bull helped.

With the [Energy Staff], he could return to the peak years of boundless energy!

He excitedly waved the staff around for a while before calming down.

No, that wasn't the point...

The point was that [Sacrificial Offering] really could be brought out from the Pixel Game world.

Without question, there were other magical items like the [Energy Staff] in the Pixel World. If he could continuously bring them out through the Temple... then this game was an inexhaustible treasure vault.

Lu Yao felt utterly refreshed.

With the Temple's ability to break through dimensional barriers, it would not be long before he could escape his miserable, frustrating working life, reach the peak of life, and become the ideal gamer who no longer had his throat gripped by the need to make a living!

He turned his attention back to the game.

By then, the Pixelated Villagers had all returned to the tribe, smiley symbols appearing over their heads.

"God likes the sacrificial offering! Wonderful, wonderful!"

"So God likes that kind of sacrificial offering! I will definitely find an even better offering too!"

"I still think wild boars are the best! God will definitely like wild boars! Wild boars are much better than that branch!"

"Nonsense! Fish are the best!"

"Wild boars!"

"Fish!"

Lu Yao noticed that the villager insisting on wild boars and the one who liked fish were both from the Forest Tribe that had joined the Garlic Tribe. Both wore Leather Vests.

The Forest Tribe probably relied mostly on gathering and hunting. It was understandable that they considered prey to be the finest gift.

Lu Yao's gaze moved back and forth among the villagers, trying to find the one who had offered the [Energy Staff]. But these villagers all looked identical, with no names above their heads and no individual features, making them difficult to distinguish.

In the end, Lu Yao found him in the Temple.

A bare-chested, barefoot Pixelated Villager stood inside the Temple, the question mark still hovering above his head. He was the tribe's only thinker.

A new message appeared on the screen.

--A believer has awakened Wisdom. Would you like to transform him into a Prophet?

[Yes] [No]