This was Wei Gao's second return to Backlund; however, this time he had come secretly. The Aurora Society members' welcoming signs during his last visit to Backlund had been rather alarming, so this time Gaowei hadn't informed anyone and had simply taken a bag and taken the train.
Backlund's air quality remained terrible, with smog gathering overhead, blocking out the sunlight and casting a faint shadow over the city.
Wei Gao glanced in Tingen's direction and saw Ince Zangwell, who seemed to think he had escaped a disaster. He muttered to himself:
"This guy is really brave... After so much has happened, he's still writing..."
Having said that, he shook his head, putting the matter out of his mind. After strengthening surveillance of Tingen through the watchful eye left behind Klein, Wei Gao headed towards the Aurora Society's outpost. At the same time, he felt a slight surge of admiration for that old man who aspired to become a demigod
Previously, when He provoked the Celestial Venerable to obtain the Celestial Venerable's puppet, it was still because both shared a source essence. Although the source essence of a higher-dimensional observer was symbolically inferior to that of a source fortress, this difference wasn't to the point where the Celestial Venerable could easily manipulate Him, a higher-dimensional observer. Yet, Ince Zangwill, a Sequence Five without even divinity, dared to provoke a mythical being. Who gave him the audacity to arrange the offspring of the true creator ?
First, we can rule out Adam...
...
...
What a load of rubbish! If Adam hadn't been secretly guiding him, would Ince Zangwill have dared to arrange for the offspring of an evil god ? Although his handling of certain matters has been quite perplexing, Ince Zangwill, who holds a high position in the Church of the Night, is certainly not such a fool. Therefore, the secret behind this matter is worth investigating.
But this had nothing to do with him; Wei Gao wouldn't interfere until the events in Tingen were resolved. Previous actions had already alerted Adam, but thankfully the Goddess of Night concealed Him, preventing that paranoid Adam from discovering His origins from the stars.
Wei Gao calmly boarded the carriage and instructed the driver to head towards the Aurora Society's location. When he last visited Backlund, he had arranged some "volunteer" work for Mr. A and Mr. Z, who were stationed there, such as at humanitarian aid stations or charitable hospitals. However, their roles differed somewhat; Mr. Z, who had been preaching in Tingen for many years, was assigned to work among the lower classes, leading a group of Mystics in practicing the Lord's teachings.
Mr. A, who has a certain middle-class noble background, was arranged by Wei Gao to be a wealthy Intis-born Loen merchant. His "persona" is that of a gentleman who worships the sun god but is also charitable. He moves among various minor nobles, pretending to want to integrate into the Backlund noble circle, just like the identity "Dawn Dantes" that Klein will use in the future, to communicate with the upper class.
It's worth mentioning that Wei Gao named Mr. A "Heathcliff St. Clair".
There's no other meaning behind this; I mainly wanted to see what kind of expression Klein would have when he met the disguised Mr. A again after arriving in Backlund as Dawn Dantes. Of course, if we're talking about "creative thinking," the ideas Gordy had when naming Mr. A's identity were very similar to the ideas Klein had when naming his own persona.
As for Mr. X, a traitor from the "Abraham family"... sorry, according to the original owner's memories of the body possessed by the High Dimension, the Abraham family didn't treat their apprentices very badly, yet they still murdered their master and betrayed them. Moreover, they are not members of the Mystic Path, and the True Creator's influence over these traitors is limited, so the High Dimension dares not entrust them with important tasks.
Ultimately, if someone can defect once, they can defect a second time. The High Dimension doesn't trust the character of these villains. Would these people truly be content with their current order ? No in fact, if one day the High Dimension were to become enemies with the Aurora Society and other righteous churches, and if other churches tried to lure them with potions of a higher order, these Aurora Society members from the "Gate" pathway would likely run off to the enemy side, shamelessly handing over the secrets of the Aurora Society and the High Dimension.
Entering the manor he had previously settled in, Wei Gao was somewhat surprised to find it completely transformed: every room was spotless, showing absolutely no trace of a cult stronghold. Many new faces walked the corridors; though they appeared somewhat malnourished and thin, their eyes shone brightly. There was a light in their eyes.
Wei Gao listened carefully using his enhanced whispering ability, amplified by the "Hermit" ability. He discovered that some of the people around him were Mystics who had just drunk potions, but most were ordinary people without any extraordinary characteristics. Wei Gao narrowed his eyes and used his Scholar pathway Sequence Seven "Observer" ability to observe these new members chosen by the Aurora Society. After obtaining the final result, Wei Gao paused for a moment, then casually walked into the interior of the manor.
As Wei Gao ventured deeper, the number of "Secret Prayer People" around him increased. These people were noticeably healthier, dressed more presentably, and appeared more energetic. Wei Gao gently knocked on the door of the room he had previously designated as his "office," and heard a somewhat weary voice come from inside: "Please come in."
Wei Gao pushed open the door and saw "The Dark Saint" Kesma, who was frantically scratching his head, staring at a huge pile of documents. He really was scratching his head, and clumps of brain matter had been unconsciously scooped out, making the still-young old man look somewhat sinister and frightening. Upon noticing someone enter, the brain matter quickly wriggled and very consciously burrowed back into Kesma's skull.
The higher dimension witnessed this scene, but he selectively ignored it. He had seen even more horrifying sights with the true creator, where, when He was not fully conscious, His surroundings were a churning ocean of flesh and blood every day.
"This place is starting to take shape." Wei Gao sat on the sofa, smiling at Kisma, and reminded her, "However, I think it's best not to let so many believers gather in one place. It's too conspicuous. If someone reports it, the Storm Church could easily wipe them out."
"Of course we've considered that." Kisma removed the glasses he had been using to disguise himself, looked at Wei Gao, and said seriously, "Mr. A and Mr. Z are the main people in charge of developing new believers in the Backlund parish. As of last week, Mr. A had developed a total of seven devout believers in the noble circles of Backlund, who have now been fully converted into Mystics. Mr. Z, who is developing in the slums, has already developed over a hundred believers, and Mr. Z himself has advanced to Sequence Five, becoming a glorious'Shepherd'."
At this point, Kisma paused, a slight smile spreading across his face as he continued to tell Wei Gao, "The method you mentioned earlier is very effective! According to Mr. A, the prayer feedback he received from the believers he developed within the aristocratic circle far surpasses that of his previous herding methods. Perhaps the Aurora Society will soon have another saint!"
"Then you'll need to prepare the Sequence 4 potion sooner, Kisma," Wei Gao said meaningfully. "We'll have more and more Saints in the future remember to ask A later what kind of potion he wants. And judging from our progress, Mr. Z will also be moving towards becoming a Saint soon after he fully understands the Acting Method."
"I know, it's just a pity that we don't have any of the extraordinary traits of the 'Black Knight' here. I'm afraid he'll have to go and find extraordinary creatures… We do have Sequence 4s from the 'Sun' and 'White Tower' pathways. Sigh, I wonder if Mr. A would be willing to switch to other pathways."
"There's no other way; we have limited materials. We'll just have to take it one step at a time and continue expanding."
"I know." Kexma's eyes flashed. "By then, we will be able to acquire more extraordinary traits. We have many adjacent pathways, and I don't think we will lack Sequence 4 extraordinary traits in the end."
Kisma's words seemed to carry a murderous intent.
"Speaking of which, I'll keep the extraordinary characteristics of the 'prophet' for myself," Wei Gao suddenly said to him. Kesma was taken aback. "Aren't you going to continue on the Lord's path ? Ah, I'm not questioning you, but given the Lord's favor towards you, you might very well become an angel serving by His side in the future…"
"The Lord will reclaim the power that the false god stole." Gao Wei casually brushed it off. "The Lord's will is part of the purpose for my choice of this path. Just keep my extraordinary characteristics safe for me. By the way, before I return to Tingen, I plan to advance to the 'Rose Bishop' rank. Do we still have the corresponding extraordinary materials in stock?"
"Yes." Kisma nodded, suddenly feeling a little envious of the speed of advancement of the higher dimensions is this the speed of advancement of those favored by the gods ?
"I understand now. I'll go check on Mr. A and Mr. Z later heh, to see how they are doing," Wei Gao said, casually adding before leaving, "The royal family is preparing some new examination systems. See if you can donate some money to the newly built technical university in my name, no, in Mr. A's name, and see if you can get Mr. A a position there."
"I understand. Is there anything else?"
"It's alright, keep going. There's still a lot of work to do, you can't rest yet."
Wei Gao gave Kisma an encouraging gesture and disappeared at the end of the corridor. Kisma stared blankly as Wei Gao disappeared, gave a wry smile, and continued scratching his head as he looked at the documents in front of him.
...
"This way, be careful." Mr. A, dressed in a fine suit, walked slowly along the dock with a young nobleman. He frowned, looking at the emaciated workers, his face showing some dissatisfaction.
"Can workers like these really work properly ? Judging from their complexions, they probably don't even have enough to eat," Mr. A asked the nobleman beside him. The nobleman paused, then smiled helplessly: "There's nothing we can do. In Backlund, almost all workers are treated like this. There are too many poor people in Backlund, far exceeding the number the factory owners need. Alas, even for a job that only earns one sole a day, countless people can't find work."
"People who can't find work can only starve to death or pray for food relief, right ?" Mr. A said in a heavy voice.
"That's true, but I'm ashamed to say that even if we believers know the reason, we can't change anything," the minor nobleman said helplessly. "If we rashly raise wages, our merchant guild will be squeezed out by other nobles and merchants. At that point, not only will our operating costs increase significantly, but our remaining purchasing channels will also shrink drastically…"
"I understand." Mr. A waved his hand. "It's not your fault, but I need to think about it carefully."
A pair of eyes opened behind Mr. A, coldly watching him.
...
At night, Mr. A sat in his room, lost in thought. The candlelight flickered before him, its dim light illuminating his pale, handsome face. His room was very simple; although it was located in the manor left behind by Wei Gao, it contained only a bed, a table, a bookshelf, and a small cabinet.
According to Mr. A, his master is bearing the suffering of all beings, so how could he dare to enjoy himself ? The packaging of his "persona" is a necessary expense that cannot be saved; therefore, Mr. A tries his best to reduce other expenses and devote himself wholeheartedly to his work.
The servants who act as a facade are unemployed workers and factory workers, and their daily food is kept as simple as possible, so that no one can tell that "Mr. Heathcliff" is living in poverty. Mr. Z leads the Lamb of the Lord to fight for his interests at the bottom, while Mr. A tries his best to package himself so that he can be the "shepherd" who shepherds for the Lord.
Today, he witnessed his own powerlessness once again. Those people were like himself before he was saved by the Lord; without relying on others, they couldn't even sustain their own lives. The Lord's teachings say that all beings are His shepherds, and that His divinity resides eternally within each person… So why is this world filled with oppression and bullying ?
For the first time, Mr. A felt a deep sense of helplessness and hatred. For the first time, he seemed to understand, as "himself," why he was primarily at odds with the Seven Gods.
Mr. A is mad, but he is not stupid; if the lamb is weak, the shepherd will be punished.
He stroked the books in front of him with his hands, remaining silent for a long time.
After a long while, Mr. A let out a long sigh.
Sequence Seven Observer
This sequence does not significantly enhance physical abilities like the previous two sequences, but rather grants the extraordinary the ability to "observe" structures. After gaining a very detailed understanding of an object, one can then delve deeper into higher-dimensional spaces; however, the observer can only observe, not interfere with higher dimensions.
Through observation, extraordinary individuals can gain greater insight, allowing their attacks to strike at weaknesses. Similarly, skilled observers can also observe their surroundings and people's expressions to achieve a similar effect to that of an audience member. However, this ability depends entirely on how the extraordinary individual uses it.
People who are obsessed with observation and mistakenly believe that they can grasp higher dimensions will lose control.