(PS: I got back late.
By the way, someone suggested changing the blurb, saying the one above wasn't appealing at all. I'll try a different one.)
What Lu Yuanming said and what everyone wanted to hear were on completely different wavelengths. The styles couldn't have been more different.
But Lu Yuanming didn't care what they thought. He had already made up his mind: from now on, he would treat everything and everyone with as much sincerity as possible. After all, there was no doubt that sincerity was the ultimate weapon.
So he said, "Are we all just going to stay here from now on?"
Father Edward managed to drag his mind away from the image of Jesus as a bear and a rabbit. "Then, Lord, what do you mean?"
"We're going out."
Lu Yuanming was direct. "This is a safe shelter, but apart from being sturdy, it has nothing. There's no self-sufficient production base, nor any resources that can sustain production over the long term. Although I can provide supplies, they're conjured from nothing and can't be replenished. If we don't plan ahead, we'll have trouble later. We have to go out."
Ang immediately agreed. "Exactly, exactly, sir. I tried to persuade everyone of that earlier. We're all dead, and most of us died because of supernatural forces. Everyone's terrified, especially after encountering monsters. We've seen plenty of people die horribly in their jaws. Everyone's scared out of their minds. I keep telling them that those monsters are basically just beasts—only stronger. As long as we can find weapons and make traps, we can kill them!"
Lu Yuanming smiled at Ang. "That's right. I think so too. Next, I'll go out to search for weapons and supplies, and to find more people and rescue them. If you truly want to follow my way, then come with me."
Most of the people there hesitated. Father Edward immediately said, "I will stay by your side, my Lord!"
John, the bank security guard, added, "Sir, if you have a plan you intend to put into action, count me in."
Even Tom, whom Lu Yuanming had always been wary of, said, "Me too, sir. I'm your devout Disciple!"
Lu Yuanming nodded, but before he could speak, Father Edward turned angrily toward Tom. "I'll be watching you, Tom. What you did before was unforgivable, but the Lord is merciful, and that's why you've been given another chance. Judas, you won't get another opportunity to betray the Lord. This is Judgment Day. Think carefully about what will happen to you if you betray the Lord again!"
After Father Edward said this, the others looked at Tom strangely, and instinctively moved a little farther away from him.
When Lu Yuanming and the others had first entered the vault, everyone had seen how Tom behaved. Back then, they had all been suspicious of Lu Yuanming, so Tom hadn't stood out. But looking back, Tom had directly betrayed the man who'd saved his life. If Lu Yuanming hadn't been so forthright, Tom's act of revealing all his cards could have gotten him killed.
And when they considered that Lu Yuanming traveled between the underworld and the Mortal World, and had performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fish, perhaps he really was the Savior, the Messiah. Tom's actions had come perilously close to those of the legendary accursed figure—Judas, the traitor who had once betrayed Jesus!
After all, everyone present had witnessed the Messiah's first sermon. That made them more or less the Twelve Disciples at Jesus' side, even if this Messiah's teachings were... hard to describe.
But Lu Yuanming immediately stepped in. "Everyone, don't be like that. We should judge people by what they do, not by what they think. Tom's words and actions are still within acceptable bounds. But Tom, I need to make this clear: don't make any serious mistakes that cross the line. At best, I'll expel you. At worst, I'll destroy you. If you do anything too outrageous, I will kill you."
Lu Yuanming spoke with complete sincerity, both in his attitude and his intent. The more sincere he sounded, the more terrified Tom became. Especially with everyone around him staring intently, he immediately abandoned some of his little schemes. Whether he'd dare try anything later... even he probably didn't know.
After Lu Yuanming finished, Father Edward waited a few seconds before telling Tom, "Since the Lord's Mercy shines upon you too... Judas, I'll be keeping an eye on you!"
Seeing that the mood had turned awkward, Lu Yuanming cleared his throat. "All right, everyone. Let's focus on the crisis at hand. I think you know what I want to do, right? We'll carefully leave this vault and make sure the monsters have moved on. Then we'll use this bank as a base and explore the surrounding area. There are a few things we need to focus on. First, food and Fresh Water. Since this afterlife seems to follow the map of the Living World, perhaps we can find food and Fresh Water in supermarkets, restaurants, and places like that. Everyone, although I can use... Faith Power to create food and Fresh Water, I only have enough for three more uses. Until I get more Faith Power, I think we need to search this afterlife for food and Fresh Water."
"Second, other dead people. I think everyone's already thought of this: the Living World is undergoing a massive upheaval, so..."
Father Edward immediately replied with reverence, "My Lord, Judgment Day has come!"
Lu Yuanming nodded helplessly. "Yes, Judgment Day has come. Ghosts, monsters, and curses are running rampant in the Living World, causing disasters. The dead come to this afterlife, and from what we've seen so far, people can arrive anywhere. So there are probably plenty of people wandering outside, scattered around. They have no shelter, food, Fresh Water, weapons, or organization. If monsters attack them, they could easily die. Our second priority is to search for them, rescue them, and bring them back to this shelter."
At this point, Tom and several others in the group looked like they wanted to say something but didn't know how to begin. Lu Yuanming addressed them directly. "I know what you're thinking. There could be bad apples among them, people with ulterior motives, right? To be honest, when I first arrived in this afterlife, a Black Homeless Man and a White Police Officer stabbed me in the back and abandoned me. They broke my leg and left me to the monsters..."
Everyone gasped. Father Edward roared in a fury, "Blasphemy! This is blasphemy against the Lord! Lord, let the flames of heaven burn these demons to ashes!"
Lu Yuanming waited patiently for Father Edward to vent, then continued, "Before the monsters could kill me, I returned to the Living World, and that's how I escaped. So don't worry—I'm not some naive fool. I know the darkness in people's hearts and the evil in human nature. But we have to make choices. We have to distinguish between the principal contradiction and the secondary ones. Right now, the principal contradiction is the survival of all humanity in this afterlife. For the sake of that, we can set aside secondary contradictions for the time being. Anyone you find can come back with us, as long as they don't immediately attack us. We'll judge them by their actions and listen to what they say. Human nature is neither good nor evil. Unless they do something treacherous, they'll be members of this new community!"
"In short, treat comrades with the warmth of spring, approach work with the fervor of summer, sweep away individualism like autumn leaves, and treat the enemy with the merciless cold of winter!"
Everyone was dumbfounded again. Those words were a famous quote from Comrade Lei Feng, but these foreigners had no idea who he was. Hearing a saying like that, they were immediately filled with reverence.
Lu Yuanming couldn't help it. He'd only just graduated and entered the workforce. If you asked him to come up with some inspiring famous quote, you might as well be tormenting him. But he had plenty of famous quotes in his head, and he wasn't shy about using any that suited the moment and could bring people together.
"Finally, the third priority: tools."
Lu Yuanming gestured to John, who was stunned. Then he followed Lu Yuanming's gaze to his hand and immediately tossed the half-transparent white bullet to him.
Lu Yuanming held up the bullet. "I condensed this bullet from Faith Power. Each one costs one unit of Faith Power, and it's incredibly powerful. As Tom said, it's like Spherical Lightning. But using it this way is a huge waste. Next, I'll use two more units of Faith Power to make bullets—fifty from each unit, one batch for my pistol and one for John's rifle. That way, we can split into two teams. But as I said, using Faith Power to make bullets is a huge waste. Faith Power is hard to come by, and I don't know when I'll get more. I also don't know whether it can do anything besides make bullets and food—perhaps it could save a soul on the verge of death, or perhaps not."
"That's why we need to make use of what's around us. When you're out searching, look for suitable wood and metal, and figure out how to bring them back to this base. Of course, finding finished Melee Weapons would be even better. That's the third priority."
After saying all this, Lu Yuanming looked at everyone sincerely. "That's the strategy for the future as far as I can see. What do you think? If anyone has other suggestions, speak up. We can pool our efforts. After all, all order has collapsed in this afterlife. Humans are social creatures; we need one another. We have to rebuild human civilization."
The psychologist Cthulhu immediately praised him. "Sir, whether or not you're truly the Messiah, what you've said and what you're trying to accomplish are already enough to move and inspire anyone."
Cthulhu paid no attention to Father Edward's furious glare. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I have no objections to the three priorities you laid out, and nothing to add. I just have one suggestion. Since we're relying on you and have become your Disciples, hoping to follow your way, then our group ought to have a name, don't you think?"
Father Edward immediately said, "How about the Messiah Salvation Society?"
As Father Edward spoke, the people around them slowly nodded. They all agreed with the name, much to Lu Yuanming's dismay.
"I'll decide the name myself."
Lu Yuanming couldn't be bothered to argue with them about religion or gods. All he wanted was to get moving as soon as possible, instead of wasting more time on things that didn't matter.
So Lu Yuanming directly rejected the Messiah Salvation Society and immediately said, "We'll call it Heaven on Earth. We'll all produce together, distribute together, and fight together. That's settled."
"Heaven on Earth Afterlife Team!"
Before you continue