Can I Become a Believer of the God of the Internet?

Panic seemed to come alive, spreading wildly with every breath the youths took!

Rapid panting; terrified cries; dazed mutterings—they merged into a sea of chaos.

"No, no, no... Don't kill me..."

"Mom... save me, Mom..."

Some turned pale with fright;

Some wet and soiled themselves on the spot;

Others were so terrified they collapsed to the ground.

Pous was likewise drained of color.

However, at that critical moment, he suddenly remembered something. His gaze snapped toward the Purple-Robed Mage, and like a drowning man, he cried out:

"Mentor Raymond, you'll save us, right?"

Pous's plea jolted the other youths awake.

Their gazes all fell upon the Purple-Robed Mage, as though they had seized their final lifeline, and they began shouting.

"Mentor Raymond, please, save me!"

"Get us out of here, Mentor Raymond!"

"Mentor Raymond..."

Yet Mentor Raymond, in whom they had placed such hopes, was trembling like a leaf. He exchanged a glance with his companions, suddenly gritted his teeth, and rushed toward the back door.

Halfway there, Raymond showed off his trademark move—his hands suddenly burst into flames, like he was wielding two blazing torches.

The youths' eyes immediately lit up, and quite a few instinctively clenched their fists!

Puff!

With a soft sound, the Horned Demon guarding the back door casually waved its hand, sending Raymond and the other two flying.

Fortunately, the basement was spacious enough. Otherwise, they might have knocked over a whole crowd of youths.

Bang!

After the sound of their landing, the basement fell into dead silence.

The youths were dumbfounded.

They had never expected the mysterious and powerful Mentor Raymond to be unable to withstand even a single exchange with the Devil.

Yu Sheng'an took two steps forward. Those two steps were like startling a flock of birds, and the youths all retreated in unison, pressing and squeezing against one another.

Some even began to cry and beg, "Don't kill me, don't kill me! I-I-I didn't mean to learn Magic. I was wrong..."

Seeing the terrified youths, Yu Sheng'an sighed. "Don't be afraid. They are merely my servants."

As he spoke, Yu Sheng'an waved a hand, and the two hideous Devils vanished amid a flash of teleportation light.

Seeing this, the youths finally calmed down somewhat.

Of course, they had only steadied themselves from the brink of collapse. Their eyes remained full of fear when they looked at Yu Sheng'an!

Had he been misunderstood for doing a good deed?

Yu Sheng'an gave a self-mocking smile. He looked toward Redmond and the other two, and the Shadow Demon hidden in the darkness lifted them into the air.

To the youths, it looked as though Yu Sheng'an had cast some mysterious Magic upon Raymond and the others.

Suspended in midair, Redmond struggled desperately, kicking his limbs wildly, his face written with terror.

"Tell them properly what you did. If you explain it well and I'm in a good mood, I might spare your lives. If you don't, I happen to be short a few Necromancy servants. The three of you are neither too tall nor too short—just right."

"N-No, my lord, I-I was wrong! I'll never spread Magic again!" one of them begged in terror. His floating body resembled a frog dangling in midair, looking utterly ridiculous.

"Is this about spreading Magic?" Yu Sheng'an's voice turned icy. The Shadow Demon gripping the three of them tightened its hold, squeezing until their eyes rolled back and they desperately gasped for air.

"Don't kill me! I'll talk, I'll tell you everything! I... we just wanted to make some money, so we copied Magic knowledge from the Internet and passed ourselves off as mages to sell courses..."

Redmond seemed to realize something and fearfully confessed their deception.

As he confessed, the youths became bewildered.

One after another, they looked at Raymond in disbelief. They simply could not imagine that Mentor Redmond, whom they saw as mysterious and powerful, was actually a fraud?

Especially several bolder youths, who began chanting prayers on the spot, summoned the Internet interface, and found the free Magic knowledge in the Library. They were struck as if by lightning, completely stunned!

"Raymond... was actually a fraud?"

"Damn it, that was all our hard-earned money!"

"Wow, look! Besides Magic, there are even Battle Qi Divine Arts!"

"There's even the Internet Magic Academy! According to the introduction, it seems we'll be able to attend classes there in the future. Doesn't that mean... we can continue practicing Magic?"

The sudden flood of information left the youths utterly stunned.

Some cursed Raymond and the others, while others marveled at the wonders of the Internet.

Of course, some of their gazes toward Yu Sheng'an also quietly changed.

They were no longer afraid.

They realized that Yu Sheng'an, who looked the most terrifying, was actually the good guy.

Those frightening Devils were probably his servants, just like the storybooks said—powerful mages always had Devils as servants.

Yu Sheng'an paid no attention to the youths' complicated feelings.

He looked at Redmond and said, "Do you know why I came for you?"

"I don't... N-No, I do, I do! W-We shouldn't have scammed people!" Redmond stammered, his face drenched in sweat.

"No. Mere fraud is not enough for me to make such a fuss."

"W-We shouldn't have spread the Internet's Magic," Redmond added.

"The Internet's knowledge was public to begin with."

Redmond was nearly in tears. "My lord, my lord, I really don't know what I did wrong. P-Please tell me. I guarantee there... there won't be a next time."

Yu Sheng'an's voice turned stern. "Your mistake was using Internet resources to scam people, only to fail to spread Internet Divine Art in the end."

Yu Sheng'an did not care whether people profited wildly from information gaps while spreading Internet Divine Art!

If they could profit from it, that was their skill.

From another perspective, he would even allow such profiteering, because only profit could drive people to help spread Internet Divine Art.

But selling his resources without spreading Internet Divine Art afterward? That was something Yu Sheng'an simply could not tolerate!

If Redmond and the others had left behind even a single prayer, Yu Sheng'an would not have interfered. Yet they had taken everything they could and still strutted off afterward.

Damn it, did they take the God of the Internet for some harmless saint?

At that moment, Redmond's companions were cursing inwardly.

If you wanted to kill us, then kill us. What kind of excuse was this?

Yet Redmond unexpectedly asked, "My lord, are you a believer of the God of the Internet?"

Yu Sheng'an gave Redmond a surprised look. "Didn't expect you to be quite clever?"

Redmond's face suddenly turned pale at the praise, and he screamed inwardly, It's over, it's over!

"Since you're so clever, tell me. How should I punish you?" Yu Sheng'an asked with a smile, looking as though he were sincerely seeking advice.

"Don't kill me! I... I'm willing to do anything!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Very well. My lord happens to be short on missionaries. You seem pretty sharp, so why not join the... Penance Group and spread my lord's glory? What do you think?"

Yu Sheng'an said with a smile.

Naturally, the idea had come to him on the spur of the moment.

Redmond and the other two did not deserve death, but letting them off so easily still rubbed Yu Sheng'an the wrong way.

Since Redmond seemed rather clever, he might as well send him into the territories of the Five Great Gods to spread Divine Art and disgust those Five Great Gods.

If he succeeded, everyone won;

If he failed, there was no real loss.

"To become a servant of the God of the Internet is the honor of me, Redmond. I, Redmond, swear that from this day onward..."

"Stop! Forget the oath. Sign this Contract Document instead!" Yu Sheng'an casually interrupted. With a wave of his hand, an illusory Contract Document floated into view.

Redmond was dumbfounded.

He had originally been wondering whether he could muddle through first and deal with it later.

Now that a Contract Document was involved, signing it would mean he would have no power to resist for the rest of his life!

But he was meat on the chopping block. What else could he do if he refused? It was still better than dying on the spot, right?

Cold sweat dripped from Redmond's forehead. In the end, he still bit his finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the Contract Document.

In an instant, the Contract Document turned into three streaks of light.

One entered Redmond's body;

One entered Yu Sheng'an's body;

The last shot into the void and entered the Contract Godhead.

"What about you two? Oh, right. There's one more."

Yu Sheng'an slapped his forehead and ordered a Shadow Demon to bring in the accomplice who had been keeping watch outside for Raymond and the others.

"I'm willing!"

"Me too!"

The lookout who had been dragged in was completely bewildered and had no idea what was happening. He could only imitate his companions and repeatedly agree.

After the three of them had also signed the Contract Documents, Yu Sheng'an said with a smile, "Congratulations on being reborn. All right, that's enough for today. Everyone disperse. Go home and find your mothers."

With that, Yu Sheng'an turned and prepared to leave.

"Wait!" At that moment, Pous suddenly shouted.

Yu Sheng'an stopped.

Pous ran over, his face full of nervousness. "I-I... can I become a believer of the God of the Internet?"