Conspiracy and Happiness

The rout at Rusted Canyon and Vladimir's predicament weighed on their hearts like a heavy storm cloud. Zhou Beichen and Lorgar had not brought a large force, only a handful of their most elite and loyal "lackeys" as guards and liaisons. Like daggers slipping into the shadows, they silently entered the territory of Archbishop Lot's diocese.

They avoided the main roads and military checkpoints, slowly making their way in from the southeastern edge of the diocese along secluded paths commonly used by caravans and refugees. Zhou Beichen had prepared himself to see devastation everywhere, flames of war soaring into the sky, or at least a tense and grim atmosphere—after all, according to the routed soldiers, a brutal war against Vladimir's "invasion" was underway here, along with incomprehensible and terrifying mutations.

Yet when they entered the first small settlement on the border of Lot's diocese, the sight before them left both Zhou Beichen and Lorgar stunned.

There were no ruined walls, no patrolling soldiers, and no panicked refugees. Before them stood a village that was... far too peaceful, even brimming with a strange sort of "happiness."

Low but neatly repaired adobe houses stood in orderly rows, smoke drifting from the chimneys on their roofs. The air was filled with a... cloying scent, like honey mixed with some unfamiliar spice. In the fields, the crops were growing with unexpected vigor, stretching green as far as the eye could see. Beneath the somewhat pale light of the Colchis Twin Stars, they gleamed with an unnatural, excessive fullness.

Even more unsettling were the people.

Nearly every villager wore the same formulaic smile, with a similar curve to their lips. Their eyes were bright, yet lacked depth, as though they were immersed in some carefree dream. Seeing Zhou Beichen's dust-covered group of obvious strangers from elsewhere, they showed neither caution nor curiosity. Instead, they warmly came forward to greet them.

"Travelers from afar! Welcome to the land truly favored by the Father God!" An elderly farmer with graying hair and a face whose wrinkles were filled with smiles leaned on his hoe and called out in a booming voice. His tone brimmed with unquestionable pride and joy. "You must be tired! Come rest your feet and try the fresh honey wine we brewed here!"

Without showing it, Zhou Beichen studied the old farmer and the villagers behind him, all wearing the same "happy" smiles. Their warmth did not seem false, yet that excessive uniformity of emotion, as though it had been programmed into them, sent an inexplicable chill down his spine. This was not how a normal village should react to outsiders—especially not in a border region, especially not in wartime.

"Thank you, sir." Zhou Beichen put on a merchant's friendly smile and casually probed for information. "We're merchants from the east. We heard things were... unsettled here? That you were fighting Archbishop Vladimir?"

"Fighting?" The old farmer burst into laughter, as though he had heard something absurd. He waved a hand with exaggerated ease. "That unbeliever Vladimir is only humiliating himself! How dare he invade land truly blessed by the Father God? Our Archbishop Lot has received the Father God's true revelation and grace! Those offenders are utterly helpless before the Father God's true power!"

He pointed at the lush fields, the cloying air, and the rosy faces of the villagers. "Look! This is the proof! The Father God's blessings are everywhere! This land flows with milk and honey, and the air is filled with the Father God's sacred breath! We no longer need fear famine or suffer illness! Even our hearts are forever filled with the Father God's loving kindness!"

"Sacred breath?" Lorgar frowned slightly as he sharply sensed his surroundings. The cloying smell in the air gave his psychic nature, which pursued pure order, an almost imperceptible sense of sluggishness, as if it had been stained by grime. He could feel a kind of... energy permeating the air, soaking into the earth, influencing every person here. Yet this energy was utterly different from the sacred psychic power as he understood it. It was more... viscous, more seductive, more... unclean.

"Yes!" A woman holding a child beside them chimed in, her eyes shining with startling brightness. "Ever since Bishop Lot received the true blessing, miracles have appeared without end! The injured recover swiftly, withered crops revive overnight, and even the most vicious people become peaceful and kind here! This is the true 'Earthly Heaven'!"

The true "Earthly Heaven"? Zhou Beichen's eye twitched slightly. Compared to the Earthly Heaven he had built, which required hard labor, the implementation of work points, and constant vigilance against threats, this place described like a utopia seemed... shabby and full of flaws.

They continued onward, and every settlement they encountered was much the same. Peaceful, prosperous, with people wearing those unsettlingly uniform expressions of happiness. Their praise for Archbishop Lot and fanatical faith in the "Father God's true blessings" overflowed from their words. They even met a small group of merchants returning from the front, merchants who had originally belonged to other dioceses.

These merchants also wore that excessively excited flush on their faces, scrambling to describe what they had "seen" at the front.

"You haven't seen it!" A fat merchant waved his stubby arms, spittle flying. "Archbishop Lot's army, now those are true warriors of God! Vladimir's troops are completely worthless! When they charge, they're shrouded in holy light! Blades and spears can't harm them!"

"That's not even the half of it!" another tall, thin merchant added, his eyes unfocused. "I saw a miracle with my own eyes! One soldier was crushed into pulp by an enemy catapult, but... but after the archbishop prayed, he... he actually stood back up! Completely unharmed! And kept fighting!" His voice was frenzied, but the words chilled Zhou Beichen to the bone.

"And there's more!" The fat merchant lowered his voice as though sharing an incredible secret. "They say Archbishop Lot has four 'angels' from before the Father God's throne at his side! Each has a different form and possesses supreme power. They're the archbishop's right and left hands in performing miracles!"

Angels? Zhou Beichen and Lorgar exchanged a glance, each seeing gravity and suspicion in the other's eyes. The Covenant Church's traditional doctrine had never contained any specific description of "four angels."

With growing doubts and an indescribable unease in their hearts, Zhou Beichen and Lorgar decided to continue toward the heart of the diocese, in the direction of the main city where Archbishop Lot resided.

The scenes along the way became ever more "prosperous." The roads were smooth and broad, crops in the fields grew wildly as though defying the seasons, rivers were crystal clear, and the fish were fat. The villagers remained overflowing with warmth, taking the initiative to offer food and water, all of which Zhou Beichen declined with various excuses. They spoke of the beauty of life and gave thanks to Archbishop Lot and the "Father God's true grace."

Everything seemed so perfect, so... sacred.

Yet it was precisely this excessively absolute, flawless "perfection" that made Zhou Beichen's scalp tingle. In his previous life, the Ponzi schemes and financial bubbles he had seen often displayed the same false and extreme prosperity before they burst. Here, that "beauty" seemed to have seeped into every corner of both matter and spirit.

Lorgar's perception was even more direct. In his psychic sight, the "sacred breath" permeating the air showed a kaleidoscopic undertone that constantly shifted and twisted—beautiful, yet carrying a madness that profaned the essence of life. The "happy" soul-light of those villagers was not pure white or gold in his eyes, but stained with an eerie color that continuously writhed as though alive.

This was absolutely not an "Earthly Heaven."

This was a vast trap, carefully whitewashed and nourished by false happiness and twisted power...

They had to continue deeper and uncover what was hidden beneath that sacred veil. Was it some unknown technology? Had Lot discovered a secret art for manipulating human hearts? Or was it... some older, darker existence, extending its tentacles into this land?