Global Game: I Have Portable Store

Nobu, accompanied by a group of believers, swaggered into the fishing village.

When he first arrived, the people of the village were quite wary, but when they saw that the person leading was Nobu, they were surprised.

A middle-aged man with dark skin from years of sun exposure, Jameson, holding a kitchen knife, asked in surprise, ”Nobu, where did you go? Is the plague on you cured?”

At first, the others hadn’t paid attention, but when reminded by Jameson, they realized and caused an uproar. In just one day without seeing Nobu, the plague on him seemed to be cured.

This was something that shocked them immensely and they couldn’t understand, as many had died from the plague, some tortured to death, and some committing suicide in despair.

Nobu showed a slight smile, thinking Jameson’s question was excellent, saving him a lot of explaining: ”Indeed, as you can see, the plague on me is cured.”

Another blond young man, Herrem, eagerly came forward and asked, ”Brother Nobu, can you tell us how the plague on you was cured? We would be immensely grateful.”

Nobu adjusted his cracked monocle with one hand and, surrounded by the crowd, walked leisurely into the village, saying, ”Do you know that I am now the High Priest of the All Beings Sect? The clothes we wear are the uniforms of the All Beings Sect, and we are believers of the All Beings Sect.”

”High Priest? What High Priest?”

”Don’t try to fool us.”

”Exactly, surely you’re not like those lunatics from the Rat God Cult.”

The survivors of the fishing village voiced their doubts. It was only natural to be skeptical of Nobu’s words.

Nobu had only been gone for a day and came back claiming to be a High Priest of a church, which sounded like a ghost story. It was normal for no one to believe it.

Nobu’s face turned serious, and he rebuked, ”What nonsense are you talking! The Rat God Cult has been destroyed by us; now there is only the All Beings Sect.”

”There is a true Divine Spirit protecting us; all believers who join the All Beings Sect can be cured of the plague. How do you think the plague on me was cured?”

”The people behind me are also believers of the All Beings Sect, and their plague is cured too. This completely proves that I am not lying to you, nor do I need to.”

The people of the fishing village quieted down; what Nobu said was strange but seemed reasonable, otherwise, there was no way to explain how the plague on Nobu and the other believers was cured.

Jameson looked at the festering wound on his hand, then at the smooth skins of the believers, and said eagerly:

”Brother Nobu, of course, I believe you. Frankly, I don’t care about the Rat God Cult or the All Beings Sect. What I care about now is how to cure the plague on me.”

”If you can help me cure the plague, I’ll do anything!”

Nobu swung his wide clothing and walked over, patting his shoulder with a smile:

”I came here just for this matter; we are all survivors, with some ties between us, so I want to help you.”

”To cure the plague is simple; just join our All Beings Sect and become one of our believers.”

”I don’t think the Lord will let his faithful followers suffer from illness.”

At this point, no one spoke, listening carefully to Nobu’s explanation, afraid of missing anything.

This was their only way to survive.

Many showed heavy expressions because the only sect they were familiar with was the Housheng Sect, knowing the conditions for becoming a believer were extremely harsh.

Generally, young boys and girls were selected, with certain requirements for appearance, physique, and birth.

Those with physical disabilities or intellectual impairments, those of low status or unclear origins could not become believers.

The blond young man, Herrem, thought he might meet the conditions of a believer, approached Nobu and humbly asked:

”High Priest, what are the conditions for becoming a believer? Do I meet the requirements?”

His heart was pounding, waiting for Nobu’s response.

Nobu looked at Herrem, pondering a bit, thinking he should change his wording, solemnly said:

”It’s not easy to become a believer of our All Beings Sect, but the Lord has seen Maelon’s plight and felt compassion, knowing it’s not easy for you all.”

”So we’ve lowered the standards for becoming a believer; as long as you are willing to join, you can all join. But one point, once you join, you cannot leave, you will be a believer of the All Beings Sect for life.”

Herrem, hearing he can join, quickly said, ”High Priest, I will join, I am the first to join! I assure you, I am the most faithful believer.”

Seeing Herrem’s response, others also echoed, expressing their desire to join and become faithful believers.

It’s like a single-plank bridge to another path of survival; it seems everyone can cross, but no one wants to be last.

Who knows if the bridge will break later on.

Nobu watched the scene, expressionless, but inside he was proud, feeling the task was simple and indulging his vanity.

Why did he want to become nobility? Isn’t it for that noble status, admired by all, where commoners had to bow to nobles?

Now, he suddenly found that the position of High Priest might be better than any nobility.

If they could grow the All Beings Sect, his status as High Priest could surpass any minor nobility.

Perhaps then those minor nobles would come begging to join the All Beings Sect.

The All Beings Sect has no threshold now because it’s just created; later it might not be the case, and the Princess stands with them. If they can restore the Empire, they could absolutely replace the Housheng Sect as the Empire’s foremost church.

That would be endless glory and wealth, and his family would surely be honored because of him.

Nobu had someone bring out a bench and sat in the open space of the fishing village, setting up a posture, then told the people of Yu Fishing Village:

”Those who want to join the All Beings Sect line up here, come one by one to register; those who don’t want to join, stay away and don’t disrupt!”

”After registering, get a set of religious garments; then you’ll be a believer of our All Beings Sect.”

Nonetheless.

Many people stood observing; their plague symptoms weren’t too severe. They felt something was off and decided to wait and see, not in a hurry.

While Nobu was recruiting believers, he heard a massive crashing sound from West City, as if the ground of all Maelon was shaking along, with great momentum.

The sudden change also scared the people of the fishing village.

”What happened?”

”An earthquake? Doesn’t feel like an earthquake.”

”Look over there, what’s that!”

Someone pointed towards the sky over West City, falling to the ground in horror and shouting.

A giant, headless, hairy monster appeared in their sight.

Nobu was also startled by this, stepping back a few steps, his heart pounding wildly, unsure of what happened.

The monster could only be seen from the upper body, then it fell forward, disappearing from their view, with another tremor following.

Nobu seized the chance, shouting again: ”That demon has been subdued by the Lord, everyone needn’t worry!”

He knew Su Changxing was in West City at this moment, very likely fighting this monster.

What he said wasn’t wrong; it was true.

Under such terrifying pressure, Nobu’s recruitment became smoother, as the people’s psychological defenses in the village completely collapsed.

If the plague and city slaughter were within their understanding, the appearance of such a monster shattered their world, leaving them to pin their last hope on the God.

Everyone obediently joined the All Beings Sect, becoming its believers.

The recruitment work was fast; they didn’t need to do much, just register each believer’s information and give them a set of religious garments to wear.

”Pack up your things, we’re preparing to leave for the church, don’t bother bringing Jameson’s scrap iron.”

”There’s enough to eat, no worries, we have plenty of food; the All Beings Sect won’t shortchange any faithful believer.”

Nobu led the new believers from the village towards the abandoned factory.

Before Su Changxing returned, they arrived, and under Mike’s guidance, reached the top floor of the factory to pray in front of the statue.

Nobu saw the half statue for the first time and was stunned, feeling as though he saw Su Changxing himself.

Yet there was no similarity between the two, whether in appearance or otherwise.

Following Mike’s direction, he knelt before the statue and prayed with everyone else, unknowingly entering a strange state, feeling warmth and comfort, as if he’d slept soundly.

When he came to his senses, more than an hour had passed, and upon standing up, he felt a sense of loss.

”Could it really be a Divine Spirit?”

He pondered, eyes wide in thought.