Can Your God Make Me Rich?

Bai Zhu's spirits instantly rose when he saw that Pige Aaron seemed interested in the word "Tiga."

He set down his cup, leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said in the mysterious tone of someone sharing a secret:

"Brother, have you heard of... the Land of Light?"

Without waiting for Pige Aaron's answer, Bai Zhu slipped into a fanatical state of "preaching."

"In the distant M78 Nebula, there is a true kingdom of God! There is no darkness there, no conflict. Every resident is the embodiment of light—they are the Giants of Light! They are powerful, they love humanity, and they are our friends."

The more he spoke, the more animated he became. He even gestured through the air with his fingers, as if painting a magnificent picture.

"The Land of Light is ruled by the benevolent Father of Ultra and Mother of Ultra. Beneath them are the Four Mysterious Ultras, who control the laws of the universe! Each one is a true god who could make the universe tremble with a stomp of their foot!"

At first, Pige Aaron listened with great interest, curiosity on his face. He even began to yearn somewhat for the Land of Light Bai Zhu described, but his own beliefs quickly dismissed the notion.

But when Bai Zhu reached the crucial point, he abruptly rose to his feet, spread his arms wide, and raised his voice several octaves, his face filled with almost crazed worship!

"And Tiga! Tiga is the origin of it all! He was the first ray of light to pierce the endless chaos at the dawn of the universe!"

"Boom!"

Those words fiercely struck Pige Aaron's nerves, because they conflicted with his faith.

Pige Aaron sprang to his feet. The shadow cast by his burly body nearly swallowed Bai Zhu whole.

"Blasphemy! This is blasphemy! Boy, take back what you just said while you still can!"

His gaze was feverish as he angrily said to Bai Zhu:

"The only light in the universe is the Creation God! Those things you spoke of are a cult! Heresy! Filth that is dirty, hypocritical, and must be purified! Anyone who says such things or believes in them should be burned at the stake!"

Faced with the other man's violent aura, Bai Zhu merely picked up his cup at an unhurried pace and looked up at him, wearing a deliberately surprised expression.

"Oh? That Creation God is that impressive?"

He blinked curiously.

"Then... can your Creation God bless me and make me rich?"

"..."

The air froze.

Pige Aaron's face, flushed red with rage, now looked as though someone had poured a basin of ice water over it. His expression froze, and for a moment, he failed to react.

Milluki heard the conversation through the mechanical spider's listening device. He choked on a mouthful of chips and nearly sprayed crumbs all over Illumi.

"Pfft... cough, cough, cough!"

As he patted his chest, he looked toward the expressionless Illumi beside him.

"Brother, this guy really isn't afraid of dying at all! Teasing a fanatic like that—what if the man burns him alive? But... his Giants of Light thing sounds pretty well-developed. It really doesn't sound like something he made up on the spot. Are you sure he's just talking nonsense?"

Illumi watched Bai Zhu on the screen with interest.

"He is bragging, but he probably read a book with a similar story somewhere and made it up on the spot. This world doesn't have a Holy Light Church."

The implication was that this guy had been acting from beginning to end, and his performance was flawless. He had even perfectly controlled his body's instinctive reactions.

Inside the house.

Pige Aaron finally recovered from the shock of Bai Zhu questioning his god.

He now realized that the young man before him was not some lost traveler, much less a potential believer.

He was mocking him! Blaspheming the god!

"You..."

A rough but malicious aura of Nen exploded uncontrollably from Pige Aaron's body!

The temperature inside the house seemed to plummet. Even the flames dancing in the fireplace shrank by half, crackling timidly.

"Aaron!"

Ella, who had quietly listened to Bai Zhu's nonsense all along, gripped the edge of her chair and spoke fearfully, her voice trembling.

"Don't do this. He... he's just a lost traveler."

Bai Zhu did not even glance at Pige Aaron, who was already on the verge of going berserk. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Ella, while beginning to mobilize his Reiatsu and silently reciting a Kidō incantation in his heart.

The roguish smile vanished from his face, replaced by a sorrowful compassion for the suffering of the world.

"Madam, you look terribly unwell."

Bai Zhu slowly rose to his feet and took two steps toward Ella.

"You're pregnant, yet you live out in this wilderness without even heating. Is this how much your husband loves you?"

He completely ignored the increasingly frenzied aura radiating from Pige Aaron and continued speaking to himself.

"In our Tiga... ahem, in our Holy Light Doctrine, caring for one's wife and children is the highest doctrine, written in the very first rule."

The moment those words came out, Pige Aaron completely lost his mind.

Sacred love.

A great mission.

The child chosen by God, soon to be born.

All of it was the foundation of his faith, the meaning of his life. He would never allow anyone to defile it!

"You—are—dead!"

A beastlike growl came from Pige Aaron's throat.

But Ella, who was shielded behind Bai Zhu, looked at him differently. Bai Zhu lived in the Creation Society's headquarters yet remained unaffected by them. Even after attending worship at a Creation Society church, he still held fast to his own beliefs. That alone made him far stronger than her.

Inside the car.

Bzzzt—

The screen suddenly distorted, filled with static, then went completely black.

"Tch."

Milluki clicked his tongue in annoyance and tossed aside the controller. "My 'Spider Punk One' burned out again."

Not a ripple crossed Illumi's "beautiful" face.

He merely spoke calmly.

"He made that man furious."

"That idiot. He should've listened to me and killed his way in from the start."

"So, Brother, should we go in and help him now?"

"No need. Let him handle it himself. We can also see what he's capable of. Hopefully that fanatic isn't too weak—at the very least, he needs to be strong enough to force Bai Zhu to reveal his abilities."

As he spoke, Illumi seemed to grow a little excited. If Bai Zhu were here, he would definitely think Illumi's expression looked exactly like another Hisoka's. No wonder those two could become such close friends.

The air inside the house had nearly solidified.

The firewood in the fireplace gave one final mournful crackle, and the firelight dimmed further.

Yet Bai Zhu was overjoyed inside.

That's more like it. Now this is getting interesting.

Not only did he fail to retreat, he took a step forward instead, positioning himself directly in front of Ella and completely shielding the woman's frail body behind him.

Then, facing those crimson eyes utterly consumed by rage, he lazily crooked a finger.

"What?"

"You want to fight?"

Bai Zhu grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. His tone was full of provocation.

"So this is how your Creation Society 'welcomes' guests? How are you supposed to recruit new believers like this?"