Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 677 - 675 Holy Temple

Li Ang was not particularly worried about Datura's revenge. He ranked fifty-sixth on the individual power rankings, undoubtedly placing him at the forefront of approximately one hundred thousand players. Datura had been targeted several times by the Special Affairs Bureau and the Global Occult Coalition, so it was questionable whether they could even gather a team composed of players ranked in the top fifty.

Even if Datura managed to cobble together such a team at great cost, Li Ang was confident in his ability to protect himself. Both the Mirage Dragon Red Mane Coat and the Blessed Spring Water were life-saving Divine Artifacts, and he could also call the Special Affairs Bureau for reinforcements if needed.

As an ordinary citizen of Yin City, reporting malicious foreign forces with ulterior motives was perfectly normal and lawful.

Li Ang glanced at the rankings and then logged out of the square.

He was particularly fond of Osamu Dazai's line in "No Longer Human," "Everyone has moments of glory, but don't mistake a moment for eternity. This dazzling world is deceptive; if you lack real strength, don't try to show off."

The rankings were, at best, a reference. The unpredictability of combat meant that the strong might not always prevail, and the weak could potentially overcome the odds. Improving his own strength was what mattered most.

Back in the real world, Li Ang told Chaichai about the version update and then entered the Breeding Box to continue practicing Alchemy.

Over the past few days, Chaichai had devoted most of her time to writing "Chai's Revelation," adding settings, perfecting rituals, and fixing loopholes. Her efforts had been noticeably fruitful.

When Li Ang entered the Breeding Box, he found that a grand Holy Temple had been added to what was once a primitive forest.

The Holy Temple stood at the center of the forest. It was rectangular, with a vast footprint, rising nearly one meter above the surrounding ground. Eight Corinthian columns on the east and west sides and seventeen on the north and south sides collectively supported the roof.

The support columns were all stone, their tops decorated with acanthus leaves, appearing splendid and magnificent. Green vines twined around the pillars, while at their base, decorative items constructed from bones and metal parts, like clusters of crystals, guarded the columns.

The ground in the middle of the Holy Temple had been hollowed out to create a pool of green, swampy water. This water flowed continuously through an underground piping system, reflecting the sunlight generated by the Breeding Box and making the Holy Temple even more resplendent.

At the deepest part of the Holy Temple stood a giant, humanoid Stone Statue. Shrouded in a robe with a blurred face, it sat on a throne, overlooking what was below—even seated, the Stone Statue was twelve meters tall.

This Stone Statue was naturally carved in Li Ang's likeness. This was due to both the utilitarian belief that a Deity needs to maintain a sense of mystery to be revered by mortals and the practical need that Deities must not be looked upon directly. Consequently, the statue's facial features were not depicted—after all, the unique Divine Power Fluctuation is the 'fingerprint' unique to each Deity.

Below Li Ang's Stone Statue stood another, slightly smaller female Stone Statue. She too was faceless, draped in luxurious robes, holding a book in her left hand and a scepter in her right. She stood in serene silence—elegant, holy, and noble.

This was undoubtedly the statue of Chaichai, who also held the titles of Lady Saint, Prophet, Leader, and Vicar. The entire palace had been designed by her and built by the Swarm.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Several Brain Worms clung to the foreheads of other Swarm units, bowing toward the two Stone Statues inside the Holy Temple. Noticing Li Ang's figure, they quivered all over with excitement yet maintained their prostrate position, not daring to move or even look in his direction.

"Chai's Revelation" stated that whenever the Benevolent Father came to the mortal realm, He had His purposes and grand plans. As His creations, the Swarm could not disturb the Benevolent Father unless they received Divine Inspiration, a call, or a command; they had to pretend not to see Him and continue their hard work.

This rule was quite good. At least Li Ang didn't have to worry about being surrounded by a sea of fans every time he descended into the Breeding Box, with some occasionally fainting from sheer excitement.

Li Ang walked past the Holy Temple to the Alchemy Workshop. There, he took several sacks of raw materials piled in a corner, scattered them on the floor, and began to draw an Alchemy Array around the mound with a piece of chalk.

Sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, argon, potassium, calcium—these elements and some complex rare compounds required for Alchemy had all been procured for him by his 'mule' connections. Game Coins were far more valuable than real-world currency, so for someone with the mule's resources, acquiring them wasn't difficult.

With the chalk, Li Ang gradually etched an intricate and complex Alchemy Array on the ground. After sketching for a while, he pulled out a thick book on engine mechanics to review carefully. Once he had consulted the information, he closed his eyes to think for a moment, then resumed drawing.

The essence of Alchemy lay in the analysis, decomposition, and reassembly of matter. Until now, Li Ang's Alchemy skill was still at the stage where he could only 'extract pure elements from soil and reconstruct them,' performing purification at most. What he was currently attempting was to use an Alchemy Array to directly carry out complex chemical reactions, wherein old chemical bonds would break, and new ones would form within the array.

This was indeed millions of times harder than solving a chemistry problem or performing simple purification and recombination. Each chemical reaction of the elements required an arduous and complex alchemical diagram to be redrawn. Any mistake—an extra stroke or a missing one—could lead to the creation of a toxic compound or cause the Alchemy Array to explode, sending everything nearby skyrocketing.

Morgan's travel notes mentioned a young apprentice Alchemist who, invited with his master to a Duke's banquet, suffered from indigestion and went to the restroom. He found himself in a predicament: no toilet paper. Unable to proceed without it and too embarrassed to call for a servant, the apprentice drew an array on the restroom floor, hoping to conjure some toilet paper.

However, a trembling hand during the sketching caused the floor to collapse instead of producing toilet paper. He and the toilet fell through, landing right on two assassins who were attempting to strangle the Duke on the floor below.

As a result, he received commendation and thanks from the Duke. He later rose to prominence as a renowned Alchemist, married the Duke's daughter, and led a happy family life. In his old age, he penned his memoirs, titled "Regarding How I Met My Future Duke Father-in-Law by Going to the Restroom."