Population growth in the Simulator had enhanced Lu Yao's perception. As a result, he could catch details he had been completely unable to notice before, and most of the abnormalities seemed to converge on Yu Yao alone.
Yu Yao had never spoken to Lu Yao. Zhou Qiang explained that she was introverted.
She always cooked in the middle of the night, humming strange little tunes in the kitchen.
Yu Yao always carried the stench of blood. Most of the time, it was faint, which showed that she had deliberately cleaned away the traces on her body. But the bloody taste in her mouth was strongest and hardest to erase.
The smell of blood did not just appear on her body. It was also in the kitchen sink, the bathroom, and even the trash bags in the living room. All of it was connected to Yu Yao's personal movements.
Zhou Qiang, on the other hand, had noticed nothing unusual.
Lu Yao felt that Yu Yao carried an indescribably strange aura. But he could not say exactly what it was.
Moreover, investigating it alone made him feel that it was dangerous.
So Lu Yao decided to leave it to a professional.
There was no evidence or proof of a crime, so it would not be appropriate to trouble the police.
After a simple one-click summoning ritual on his computer, Isabelle once again knelt on the computer desk.
"God, Isabelle has come in accordance with your will."
Unlike her flustered nervousness last time, the young Apostle was much calmer this time.
"There is a suspicious person now. She went out to watch a movie with a friend of mine, and they should be gone for about two and a half hours, so I called you here..."
Lu Yao told her everything that had happened.
"That's the situation. Find out who she is."
"Yes, my lord."
With that, Isabelle began changing clothes as Lu Yao had requested.
Lu Yao conscientiously stepped outside and spoke through the door. "My perception has improved noticeably lately. Is the feedback from population growth really this fast?"
Isabelle's voice came from inside. "My lord. To a God in the High Realm Dimension, the population of the lower dimensions is a God's second body, while faith is the outward extension of a God's power."
Lu Yao asked, "What happens if the population reaches zero?"
"My lord, even if a God's Temple is completely destroyed, it is difficult to eradicate all believers, because once faith begins to spread, it travels throughout the world. It is not limited to humans; some intelligent life forms may also become believers."
"Faith itself will not disappear completely. It merely becomes extremely weak and difficult to gather again in large quantities, like seeds scattered everywhere."
"As long as a God uses the Power of Faith to have the believers rebuild the Temple, they can rise again."
Lu Yao understood.
A hero could always start over from the beginning.
That was Lisa's situation.
"It is said that in the God Wars beyond the Pantheon, some Gods are completely stripped of their faith and all their believers."
Isabelle continued, "During God Wars, some Gods suffer devastating blows to their faith. The Gods who are completely driven out in this way are Old Gods."
Lu Yao silently made a note of it.
That was something beyond the Pantheon, after he had shed his status as a Novice God.
For now, he was still a protected rookie player.
Under normal circumstances, the Safe Zone was fairly safe.
The closest example was the arrested Lisa. After her Wonder was destroyed, she had fallen back into the Safe Zone and had no choice but to start over from the Barbarian Tribe.
Lu Yao could now understand Lisa's desperation.
Population growth brought unimaginable physical enhancement, while the loss of large numbers of people and faith could instantly send a God player plunging from the mountaintop into a deep valley.
People could never bear loss the most.
Isabelle changed into a gray hoodie and put on sunglasses, dressing like an ordinary girl.
The investigation began.
She interlocked her fingers, lowered her head, closed her eyes, and murmured a quiet prayer.
Lu Yao could not understand it, but he could feel that something was emanating from Isabelle and interacting with the surrounding world, as if a stone had been dropped into still water.
Gradually, a white halo appeared around Isabelle. Calling it a halo was not quite accurate. It was more like a layer of flowing milky-white mist.
This was precisely her ability, Lingering Prayer.
Unlike the simplified white light in the Pixel World, everything was clearly visible in the real world. Especially with Lu Yao's enhanced perception, he could see those subtle processes and changes with perfect clarity.
The white mist around Isabelle seeped into the walls and floor.
Gradually, wisps of black smoke appeared in the room. The smoke was extremely fine; without looking closely, one might mistake it for thin black lines floating upward and swaying.
The black lines entwined with one another, condensing into a shifting mass of Black Mist.
Isabelle said something to the Black Mist, but made no sound. Lu Yao could only see her lips moving.
Before long, the black mass vanished without a trace.
Isabelle turned to explain to Lu Yao. "My lord, the dead here say that woman eats raw meat and drinks blood."
"Every night, she cooks here while eating raw meat and sucking the bloodstains from it."
"She eats raw fish most often."
Lu Yao scratched his head.
Had he been overthinking things?
He had heard that some places had customs involving raw meat, and that it was even considered a delicacy by the locals.
Perhaps Yu Yao came from one of those places. Afraid that Zhou Qiang and he would discover her eating raw meat and drinking blood, she had hidden away to do it in secret.
"My lord, there is the aura of a Demon Cultist."
Isabelle looked toward the street outside the window, her gaze sharpening.
Lu Yao followed her gaze.
On the street, Zhou Qiang and Yu Yao were walking back hand in hand. The person Isabelle was staring at was Yu Yao.
"Should I execute the target?"
"Wait... Yu Yao is a Demon Cultist?"
"Yes, my lord. As an Apostle, although I cannot identify a God's true form, I can see Faith Sparks. She has no tool to disguise or conceal hers, so the spark inside her is very obvious."
Lu Yao's greatest concern had come true.
He immediately said, "Subdue her. Find out her purpose and identity."
"Yes."
Isabelle dug out her left eye and handed it to Lu Yao, then pushed open the door and went downstairs.
Lu Yao locked the bedroom door from the inside and began watching remotely through the eyeball.
On the street.
Isabelle and the pair approached each other head-on. Yu Yao's expression changed. She seemed to recognize Isabelle's identity; her lips tightened, and her fingers involuntarily clenched around Zhou Qiang's hand.
"Long time no see. Let's talk."
Isabelle stopped beside Yu Yao.
Zhou Qiang gave a startled sound and looked at Yu Yao. "You know each other?"
Yu Yao forced a smile. "She's a distant cousin of mine."
"You go back first. I'll have a chat with my cousin."
Zhou Qiang nodded and walked back.
"Follow me."
Isabelle led the way, and Yu Yao silently followed.
The two entered a corner of the nearby parking alley. Even in daylight, it was deserted. There were no surveillance cameras, and the filthy cars served as natural cover.
Isabelle walked to a scrapped car at the very back, grabbed the handle of the rear door, and with a creak, forcibly pulled it open.
"Sit."
The two got into the car one after the other.
Silence.
"Can you give me three days?" Yu Yao pleaded. "Let me live for three more days. Please?"
Thanks to Four Spirits Source Talisman for supporting with 1,500 Qidian Coins.
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