Chapter 115 - 112: Mutual Aid Association

Chapter 115: Chapter 112: Mutual Aid Association

Evening. South Sea, Anxiang Street.

This old street, a relic from the Republican era, had shed its air of decay and was now enjoying a renaissance.

Many businesses had already moved in, and the number of construction workers was dwindling. Before long, this place would become one of the South Sea’s main attractions.

It wasn’t exactly unique, but it was no longer so desolate.

Jiang Chaosheng was browsing the aisles of a supermarket.

"Oh! What a coincidence!"

A woman’s voice sounded out.

Jiang Chaosheng turned to see the owner of the neighboring coffee shop, the woman who was fond of wearing cheongsams.

Jiang Chaosheng gave a slight nod.

"Indeed."

The owner said with a bright smile,

"I didn’t get a chance to ask your name last time. I’m Xu Wei."

Jiang Chaosheng said,

"Jiang Chaosheng."

Xu Wei silently repeated the name ’Jiang Chaosheng’ to herself.

’That name sounded familiar.’

Trying to make conversation, Xu Wei said,

"I wouldn’t have thought someone as young as you would have such a good handle on life, even buying your own groceries to cook."

Jiang Chaosheng said,

"Our cook left, so I have to do it myself."

It had been almost a month since Jin Meiting left Antique Shop Zero.

For the past month, Jiang Chaosheng had to take care of his own meals.

Fortunately, his diet was extremely simple: dumplings, and more dumplings.

Xu Wei glanced at Jiang Chaosheng’s shopping bag.

Inside were several pounds of dumpling wrappers and a bag of premade filling.

Xu Wei suddenly found the antique shop owner rather endearing.

’Men always take the easy way out when it comes to food,’ she thought.

Jiang Chaosheng glanced at his watch.

"I’ll see you around."

Xu Wei watched him leave, a pleasant smile on her face.

"See you around."

Xu Wei took out her phone and opened an app.

The app was called ’Mutual Aid Association’.

It was a charitable app.

Its user base consisted of people facing major life crises.

For example, business owners on the verge of bankruptcy, people with severe psychological disorders, and patients suffering from critical illnesses.

In short, there was a wide variety of users from all walks of life.

They could share information and help each other within the app.

Business owners on the brink of bankruptcy could share commercial information to pull their companies back from the verge of collapse.

Those with severe mental illnesses could receive psychological counseling through the app, saving them the cost of seeing a therapist.

Critically ill patients would encourage one another and share tips on fighting cancer.

Speaking of patients, the app had an unbelievably powerful feature.

It would collect the best treatment plans from all over the world and share them for free with everyone.

Whether it was a drug unheard of domestically or an old traditional medicine prescription from a remote corner of the country, the app would have it cataloged.

This information had likely appeared online before, but it was buried under mountains of other data. It would require immense computational power to sift through that sea of information and find such obscure but useful details.

Xu Wei felt the Mutual Aid Association app’s computational power was indeed absurdly strong.

After all, the app had managed to pinpoint users exactly like her.

Xu Wei opened the app and typed a sentence into the "Cozy Town" section:

"Met a handsome and wealthy young business owner today. Feeling happy."

[DING! Task "Share a Happy Moment" complete. +10 EXP!]

[If everyone places a flowerpot outside their window, the town will be filled with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers.]

Xu Wei scrolled through the feed. Quite a few people had already completed the same task.

SeaGazerAtNight: "My doctor said my medication was just added to the Xia Kingdom’s national health insurance! Medicine that used to cost over a thousand now only costs ten. I’m not a vampire sucking my family dry anymore. So happy!"

HappyEveryDay: "Hehe, my son came in first on his exam today."

Heaven Rewards Diligence: "Last night, a member chatted with me for a long time.

He’s a major player in my industry and gave me some useful insider tips.

My company won’t have to close down, and my hundred-plus employees won’t be out of a job!

Thank you, Mutual Aid Association! Too bad there’s no way to donate on here!"

...

Xu Wei scrolled for a while longer, then checked her own member level.

Completing tasks every day increased her membership EXP.

She was currently Level 2 and approaching Level 3. The maximum was Level 10.

’I don’t know what the benefit of reaching Level 10 is, but there must be some perk. In any case, just checking in and doing the daily tasks doesn’t take up much time,’ she thought.

What she didn’t know was that the Mutual Aid Association was a tool used by the Witch Association to recruit believers.

The "mutual aid" tasks were designed to strengthen their sense of community and loyalty—in other words, it was a form of brainwashing.

As members leveled up, the tasks would subtly alter their mindsets, creating ideological conformity.

Their loyalty to the Mutual Aid Association would grow, and they would even come to see it as an indispensable part of their lives.

At that point, the Witches would reveal themselves and their Supernatural Powers, transforming that loyalty into faith for the Lord of Dusk!

This plan was the result of the Witches’ collective brainstorming, with the main framework conceived by Jin Meiting.

It was safe, simple, and effective at winning people over.

In truth, Jin Meiting was far from brainless; her abilities just seemed less prominent when overshadowed by the other members of the Taboo Association.

...

Evening.

Jiang Chaosheng returned to Antique Shop Zero.

He sat down behind the counter and placed the bag of dumpling wrappers and filling on top of it.

He stretched out his hand, and a profound, mysterious power began to coalesce.

During the Sea Coachman incident, he had forcefully held together dark clouds that were about to disperse.

Something had clicked in his mind back then.

Jiang Chaosheng wanted to master the art of Cloud Formation and Rainfall.

He yearned for such a profound and wondrous ability.

Besides, he needed rain even if the Curse was lifted.

Because with the Dragon Pearl, he could fly freely in the rain.

Cold sweat beaded on Jiang Chaosheng’s forehead.

Above his palm, water vapor began to gather, forming a transparent, irregular, floating mass.

Suddenly, the floating mass dissolved into a puddle of water in his palm.

He had failed.

If the Elder Dragon and Daji were to see this, they would be utterly astonished.

Even for someone who had gone through the Opening of the Spiritual Aperture, Cloud Formation and Rainfall was no simple feat.

In an age long forgotten by the Human World, those who could master Cloud Formation and Rainfall were considered truly powerful experts.

For someone like Jiang Chaosheng, who had not yet undergone the Opening of the Spiritual Aperture, to have already grasped the rudiments of making rain was a testament to his heaven-defying aptitude.

Once he completed the Opening of the Spiritual Aperture, especially with the Spiritual Concentration Divine Art as his foundation, he was destined to become a powerful Cultivator.

Jiang Chaosheng leaned back in his chair, exhausted. He gazed at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling and murmured,

"Five, four, three, two, one."

The moment he finished speaking, the candles on the chandelier and in the various sconces throughout the shop flickered to life in unison.

Jiang Chaosheng watched, lost in thought.

’I have the power to contain Taboo Items, yet I don’t understand the principles behind them or how they come to exist.’

’It feels absurd, almost laughable.’

’After all, I of all people should be the world’s foremost expert on Taboo Items.’

’It’s like a master baker not knowing the recipe for his own bread.’

’It leaves me feeling very insecure.’

TING-A-LING...

The wind chime on the door jingled.

Jiang Chaosheng looked up.

A young man in a suit stood there.

He looked dejected and crestfallen, a deep, unshakable sorrow etched between his brows.

Jiang Chaosheng asked,

"What can I help you with?"