Lu Yao had been able to slip out early yesterday, but today the company had turned into a collective overtime session.
No one knew what had upset the boss outside, but the moment he returned, he called an emergency meeting. He angrily berated everyone and demanded that they all write summaries of their recent work and submit them for his review before the end of the day.
The entire company was shrouded in a stiflingly oppressive atmosphere.
The boss stood alone by the window, his hands clasped behind his back and his gaze gloomy. As long as he did not leave, no one dared move from their seats. Even the well-connected employees had abandoned their usual laziness and put on an eager show of working overtime.
"Have something to fill your stomach." Sister Peng slipped a wafer biscuit to Lu Yao.
"Thanks, Sister Peng." Lu Yao was a little hungry too.
Sister Peng was one of the three people in the company who actually did real work.
She was around thirty and single. Though she was not particularly beautiful, she spoke gently and amicably and was easy to get along with.
Sister Peng had said that she initially suspected Lu Yao had connections, so she wanted to build a good relationship with him. Later, she discovered that Lu Yao truly had no one backing him, but he was reliable and the kind of person who would lend a hand when it mattered. Most importantly, Sister Peng felt that Lu Yao had a temperament very much like her younger cousin, so she took especially good care of him.
"Do you know why the boss is angry?" Sister Peng asked quietly.
Lu Yao shook his head.
"His car got scratched."
Lu Yao remembered that the boss drove a white BMW X5. The woman in the passenger seat was always changing, and their only shared trait was that they were young. Lu Yao knew nothing about the rest.
"The kid who scratched it is the son of one of the boss's mistresses." Sister Peng came alive when she started gossiping.
"A few days ago, the boss also blew a major contract. I heard he lost it to a young man. Even veterans stumble sometimes... This time, he lost both the woman and the war."
Lu Yao nodded perfunctorily, his mind entirely occupied with the Simulator.
After enduring until the boss finally left, Sister Peng picked up her handbag. "Want a ride? It's on my way anyway."
"No, no. I was just planning to wander around and buy some things."
"Then be careful."
Sister Peng said, "Didn't something happen recently? There's this pervert who likes to knock people unconscious, strip them naked, and hang them up with ropes..."
Lu Yao had heard about it.
All he could say was that the world was full of strange things. He could not understand that kind of fetish.
"The two victims, one was a female college student and one was a male delivery driver. I heard they're both getting psychological treatment now, and they're practically like different people. That pervert doesn't care whether the victim is male or female."
Sister Peng suddenly remembered something. "Don't you live in Jiuyuan Community?"
Lu Yao nodded.
"Both victims live in your community. Be careful. The pervert still hasn't been caught by the police, so don't wander around too much. Boys need to be careful outside too."
Lu Yao hesitated for a moment.
"Um... Can I hitch a ride today?"
Sister Peng burst out laughing. "Scared?"
"A little."
"Sure."
"Then I'll trouble you, Sister Peng."
"It's nothing. I guarantee I'll get you home safe and sound, in one piece. Get in."
She drove a red Mazda into the city night.
Lu Yao sat in the passenger seat and looked out the window.
In truth, he and Sister Peng had a tacit understanding. Her offer to give him a ride had been polite, and his refusal and thanks had been polite too. Today was the first time he had actually gotten into her car.
Though they usually chatted easily at work, once they were in the private space of the car, alone together as a man and a woman, they both fell silent and maintained a deliberate distance.
The car carried a faint scent of air freshener. Fortunately, the music eased the awkwardness of their silence.
Lu Yao was not actually afraid of the pervert. He usually took the bus or subway back to the community anyway, and at most had to walk a hundred or two hundred meters. He just got back faster by hitching a ride with Sister Peng. He could not wait to get home and see what had happened in the Simulator.
The Mazda stopped outside the community. Sister Peng also seemed to relax, her natural smile from the office returning. "Go on, see you tomorrow."
"Thanks, Sister Peng."
Lu Yao added, "Drive safely. Take it slow."
"Don't worry."
After watching the car leave, Lu Yao sprinted all the way toward his little room.
Garlic Tribe, your God has returned!
When he opened the door, the Cactus Follower on the computer desk knelt and bowed to him.
Lu Yao found that the single-room apartment had been completely transformed.
The bedsheet, duvet cover, pillowcases, and curtains had all become a shade brighter. The dust and grime, both on the surfaces and inside them, had been sucked away by the cactus. The wardrobe and bedside table had also been wiped spotless, and the room carried a faint scent of grass and plants.
The only things the Cactus Follower had not touched were the computer and computer desk.
In its eyes, those two objects seemed to be some sacred, inviolable domain, something only a God could touch. It did not dare overstep.
The twenty-four-inch LCD monitor glowed white.
Ever since learning that the God Simulator could run on its own, Lu Yao had simply stopped shutting down his computer and kept the Simulator open at all times.
When he sat down at the computer, he found that the Garlic Tribe had changed again.
The tribe's population had reached thirty-eight. Among the thirteen new people were Forest Tribe pixel people wearing Leather Vests, bare-chested and barefoot wandering native pixel people, and even a Wildman with thick hair and leaves draped over his body.
Faith Points had risen to forty-four.
Lu Yao was delighted. He could cast Lightning twice more.
The Cactus Follower and the Energy Staff together provided two Faith Points per hour. That was fixed income. The tribe's population growth was variable income.
Next came today's main event.
Lu Yao opened his backpack and took out a cardboard delivery box. He quickly tore it open and pulled out a transparent plastic bag filled with light-brown seeds.
This was the Blessing he had decided on after some thought.
Wheat seeds.
First, he had to make sure the Garlic Tribe had enough to eat. Only then would they have the energy to develop writing, Pottery, Smelting, and even weapons. If they could not even fill their stomachs, learn? Learn my ass.
If he sent them books, even beginner reading material like the Three Character Classic, the Garlic Tribe's current average educational level was probably not even enough to graduate from prenatal education. They would likely be unable to comprehend it at all, much less read the writing.
It was better to provide them with a material foundation. Once the pixel people had a relatively ample food supply, they would naturally develop greater needs and motivation to think.
--Would you like to bestow [Wheat] upon your followers?
Lu Yao clicked [Yes].
Moments later, exclamation marks popped up over the heads of the tribe's pixel people outside the Temple as they raised their arms and cheered.
"God's Blessing!"
"Long live the Blessing! Long live the Miracle!"
"Great God, thank you for your Blessing!"
"Wheat! Miraculous Wheat!"
"Food! Delicious food!"
"Eat to our hearts' content! Eat to our hearts' content!"
The Prophet said at that moment, "God has bestowed Wheat upon us. We must put it to good use and spread faith in God more effectively across the world, just as we did with Garlic."
Lu Yao was very satisfied.
As expected of the tribe's only educated person, the Prophet had a strong grasp of the bigger picture.
The screen displayed:
[Your Blessing has taught your followers to cultivate and use Wheat. Their faith has increased.]
Faith Points jumped from forty-four to eighty-four.
Lu Yao remembered that Garlic had added fifteen Faith Points, while Wheat had brought forty this time. It seemed Blessings differed in effectiveness. For now, food had a greater impact on the Garlic Tribe.
After a while, the Prophet entered the Temple, knelt on the ground, and a question mark appeared above his head.
Lu Yao opened his question.
"Great God, the Forest Tribe knows of a dying Old God Apostle and wishes to Sacrifice it to you. However, they require us to teach them about Wheat. Yet Wheat is far too precious, and my humble Wisdom is truly unable to weigh the matter. I can only devoutly ask the omnipotent God Yao to grant us guidance."
--Do you wish to share Wheat with the Forest Tribe in exchange for [Apostle]? [Yes] [No]
Before you continue