Chapter 145 - 141: Three O’Clock Sharp (4)

Chapter 145: Chapter 141: Three O’Clock Sharp (4)

"Then let’s start by cleaning up Lucifer’s minions."

Zhong Shu snatched the microphone from the older woman’s hand.

"Some of you, try to burn those Dwarf Demons!

The rest of you, come upstairs with me. We need to figure out how to deal with that bell!

That bell is the real culprit!"

The older woman frowned.

"Subduing Demons requires faith and love. What does that have to do with a bell?"

Zhong Shu patiently explained,

"Lucifer came out of that bell. If we get rid of the bell, Lucifer will naturally disappear."

With that, Zhong Shu led Li Xinyuan and ran upstairs.

Zhong Shu glanced back.

No one was following them.

They trusted the older woman more.

In truth, even without the older woman, they probably wouldn’t have been willing to be the ones to sacrifice themselves for the group.

...

The crowd’s hateful glares fixed on the Dwarf Demons.

The Dwarf Demons’ bodies were twitching, but they were immobilized.

’Kick ’em while they’re down!’

Someone immediately grabbed a piece of clothing from a nearby rack, pulled out a lighter, and set it on fire.

He wasn’t afraid of someone reporting him for destroying property.

Here, the law had become nothing more than a decoration.

A small bonfire soon blazed on the tiled floor.

Mustering his courage, someone grabbed a Dwarf Demon and moved to throw it into the fire.

"Stop! You can’t do that!"

The older woman leaped out from behind the service counter, blocking them.

The crowd looked at the older woman in confusion.

The older woman now held a great deal of authority in their eyes.

After all, this was the master who had defeated all the Demons.

The older woman looked at the Dwarf Demon with pity and said,

"These are all just lost lambs.

If we reform them with love, we can purify them.

And let them return to God’s embrace."

She believed she had just defeated all the Demons with God’s power.

Her piety toward God was now at an all-time high, her faith terrifyingly solid.

Someone asked angrily,

"They’re fucking Demons, what’s the use in ’reforming’ them!"

The older woman looked at him calmly.

"God’s love is all-encompassing.

I just used God’s power to save you. Shouldn’t you repay that with faith in God?"

With that, the older woman stood before the Dwarf Demons and began to pray piously.

No one dared to offend the older woman.

Some headed upstairs to find Crosses in an accessory shop.

Others planned to find a safe place in the mall to hide and wait for the Sheriff to rescue them.

And a good number of people chose to follow the older woman and try to "reform" the Dwarf Demons.

As for the injured who had lost their hands, most had already been trampled to death in the stampede.

....

Zhong Shu and Li Xinyuan had reached the top floor.

Li Xinyuan gathered power in his legs and shot toward the God-Desecrating Bell.

"Fuck!"

Li Xinyuan felt as if he had slammed into a wall.

’There’s a Barrier here!’

The moment he touched the Barrier, Li Xinyuan was overcome with dizziness.

Li Xinyuan’s body plummeted from the air. With lightning-fast reflexes, Zhong Shu lunged and grabbed his pant leg.

Zhong Shu’s face turned beet red as he strained with all his might to keep Li Xinyuan from falling.

In his novel, Li Xinyuan possessed Ancient Martial Arts, but his body was still that of a mortal.

A fall from this height, without the use of True Qi, would result in severe injury, if not death.

After a few seconds, Li Xinyuan recovered. Channeling his True Qi, he flashed back to Zhong Shu’s side.

Zhong Shu sat on the ground, panting heavily. He frowned at the God-Desecrating Bell.

"Could it be... only Demons can approach the God-Desecrating Bell?"

Earlier, he had clearly seen a Dwarf Demon standing on the bell’s pendulum.

Li Xinyuan sat down cross-legged and said,

"Something’s not right about this."

Zhong Shu turned his head.

"What do you mean?"

Li Xinyuan said grimly,

"Lucifer hasn’t even started killing, but people are already dying.

Just now, I saw a group of people beat the owner of an accessory shop half to death, all to snatch a few useless decorative Crosses."

Zhong Shu’s eyes widened.

"How could they do that?!"

Li Xinyuan glanced at Zhong Shu.

"Some were grabbing Crosses for their families. Some needed to survive to care for a daughter in the hospital.

Perhaps many of them were good people once, but none of them are innocent now."

For a long moment, Zhong Shu was speechless.

Li Xinyuan patted Zhong Shu on the head.

"Zhong Shu, you want to help good people unconditionally.

But can you really distinguish between the concepts of good and evil?"

Zhong Shu froze.

Everything that had happened today shattered his perception of the world.

He was just an ordinary person. How could he have ever witnessed such a side of human nature?

"I can’t tell anymore."

Zhong Shu got to his feet.

"But at least we can stop more people from dying.

Let’s take down that bell and put an end to this farce."

Li Xinyuan stood up as well.

"I’m with you."

Li Xinyuan gazed at the bell.

"Maybe if I hit it a few more times, I can force my way through the Barrier.

Tie a rope around my waist. I’m putting my life in your hands."

...

Time ticked by, and the sky had long since grown dark.

"Sister, have some water."

A middle-aged man obsequiously offered a bottle of water to the older woman who was praying for the Dwarf Demons.

The older woman shook her head and said with a gentle smile,

"Food is scarce right now. You all should have it.

Just give me a little more time. I will reform these Demons."

The older woman pointed to a Dwarf Demon that was twitching more and more violently.

"See? It’s accepting God’s guidance.

Once I’ve reformed them, they will become our friends.

And then, we’ll be able to leave this mall."

The people sitting behind the older woman looked at her with reverence.

Over the past ten hours, they had all become her followers.

DONG!

DONG!

DONG!

The hour, minute, and second hands of the God-Desecrating Bell all pointed once more to three o’clock.

A Dwarf Demon’s eyes suddenly snapped open, filled with malice.

The older woman froze for a second, then said,

"You... have you felt the love?"

The Dwarf Demon shrieked and lunged at the older woman.

The time had returned to three o’clock. Lucifer’s previous rule was now void.

All the Dwarf Demons could now attack indiscriminately.

The older woman’s eyes widened in terror.

’What’s happening?’

’Why isn’t it listening to me?’

Seeing the Dwarf Demon about to reach her, the older woman hastily shoved one of her followers into its path.

The man looked at the older woman, his expression a mixture of shock and fury.

"You fucking bitch!!"

The Dwarf Demon was ravenous. Its claws instantly ripped open the man’s throat as it began to greedily devour his flesh and blood.

Scared out of her wits, the older woman scrambled away, running as if she’d lost her mind.

Her followers were dumbfounded.

Before they could react, the Dwarf Demons were upon them.

In their final moments, they finally understood.

The older woman hadn’t actually subdued the Demons at all.

Zhong Shu had been right.

They had only been immobilized because it was past three o’clock.

Zhong Shu’s voice echoed from upstairs.

"Lucifer will issue more rules! Everyone, you have to follow them!"

Now, the crowd believed Zhong Shu.

But the Dwarf Demons were a huge problem!

Lucifer’s voice echoed from the heavens.

"God claims He bestowed conscience upon humanity, enabling you to understand love.

Hehehe... I so enjoy tearing his lies to shreds."

As his voice faded, the Dwarf Demons froze.

The center of the mall’s ground floor began to collapse.

A red glow emanated from the depths of the collapse, radiating scorching heat.

Within the chasm was molten lava, bubbling like a massive, boiling cauldron.

Lucifer’s voice continued,

"Now then, every thirty-three minutes, you will push thirty-three people into the Hellfire."

...