When the wooden sticks wrapped in cotton cloth were ignited one after another, the flames leaped from the walls and illuminated the entire underground temple. The smoke from the burning oil wafted around the countless statues on the walls. It reminded Lin Sanjiu of the fishy breath of Deva.
"Human oil," a duoluozhong suddenly bent down and laughed at the two of them. "The torches are soaked in human oil."
After that, it walked away.
It didn't have any reason to do so. It was obvious that it just wanted to tell them this detail.
Lin Sanjiu lay on the ground, unable to utter a single word. She stared at the duoluozhong that had walked away. Behind it and beside it, more and more duoluozhong flowed down from the entrance like a swarm of insects. They gathered together and made the underground temple look like a field that was plagued by a plague of locusts.
However, even with so many duoluozhong gathered, they were still less than a fraction of the total number of statues.
Lin Sanjiu had never seen so many statues in her life.
The underground temple was so vast that even with her eyesight, she couldn't see the edge of the ceiling. Even the farthest corner of the temple was shrouded in darkness, where the light from the torches could not reach.
At this moment, the huge underground space was filled with statues of the Mother Goddess.
Pottery, clay, wood, stone, iron, all kinds of materials were used for the statues. It seemed that no matter what material it was, as long as it could depict the appearance of the Mother Goddess, it would be used to make statues. Even the stone walls were covered with reliefs. The statues were of different sizes. The largest one was as tall as a person, and the smallest one was only as long as a finger.
The Deva closest to the two of them was about the size of a human. Its lips were curled up high. Smaller statues of Deva stood on top of its head and shoulders. Her raised hands were densely packed with dozens of smaller statues. Almost every gap in her clothes was filled with similar statues of Deva.
At a glance, the density of Deva in the underground temple had reached a nauseating level.
The hundreds of duoluozhongs were squeezed into the empty space in the center of the temple, forming a semicircle. One of the duoluozhong dragged the unconscious, bloodstained posthuman over and threw him on the ground. The light from the fire was blocked by layers of deity statues. By the time the light reached the ground, it was already dark. Only a silver ring on the ring finger of the posthuman's left hand was glowing faintly.
A duoluozhong coughed happily. It walked forward and grabbed the posthuman's head by the hair. The eyes on the unfamiliar face were still tightly shut.
"Oh, wait, I almost forgot." A duoluozhong standing beside the warden suddenly spoke up, "We should get the others to come down and watch the baptism."
Her suggestion was immediately welcomed. The duoluozhongs buzzed with laughter and immediately sent a few of them out through the entrance.
Lin Sanjiu fell to the ground. From the corner of her eyes, she could only see the deformed green claws running past her. Not long after, they came back in a hurry. This time, behind the duoluozhongs, there were a few pairs of soft, coarse, and cracked human feet. Obviously, they had brought a few women with them.
Of course, it took some imagination to figure out that these were human feet.
"Just sit here," one of the duoluozhong said with a grin. "Look, you are going to have two more compatriots. It's nice to watch the baptism and make new friends at the same time. "
As soon as it finished speaking, it swung a tail that was covered with mucus and pushed the three women to the ground. Then, it turned around and walked away without looking at them. It seemed that it knew very well that once these people fell, they wouldn't be able to stand up on their own.
Feeling a shadow looming over her face, Lin Sanjiu tried her best to turn her eyes.
When a huge belly entered her field of vision, she was even startled.
Looking at it from a close distance, the belly was even more shocking. As the fetus grew, the skin on the belly was torn, healed, and torn again. It was covered with layers of cracks and scars, and yellow oil was oozing out. The skin was so thin that it looked like it was about to explode.
Looking down from her swollen legs, Lin Sanjiu saw a metal chain protruding from one of her ankles. It was entangled in the other ankle. Even though the base of the metal chain was wrapped by the proliferating tissue, it was still bleeding profusely from the few steps Lin Sanjiu had taken.
"The chain is wrapped around my ankle," a panting deep voice said, startling Lin Sanjiu, who was dumbfounded. "So, whenever I walk, the wound will widen, and it will never heal."
Lin Sanjiu had seen her fair share of gruesome scenes, but when she saw the metal chain protruding from under her skin, she immediately averted her eyes. A surge of stomach acid rushed to her throat. She couldn't see the face of the person who spoke, but she could sense the inexplicable calmness in the woman's voice.
"I know you can't talk now. I came here the same way," the woman's voice continued to come from above. Lin Sanjiu didn't know what was wrong with her voice. "Take a good look at this baptism, my belly, and my feet … Among the female pagans, only the three of us are still alive. However, the other two have already lost their minds."
Lin Sanjiu had a stomach full of questions, but she couldn't do anything other than blink her eyes.
"Shh," the woman shushed Lin Sanjiu even though she knew she couldn't talk. "Look, the baptism is about to begin."
Before Lin Sanjiu could finish her sentence, the group of duoluozhongs in front of her suddenly roared in unison. It shocked Lin Sanjiu so much that her heart skipped a beat. When she realized that they were chanting an oracle, she heaved a sigh of relief, feeling doubtful and unsure of herself.
"The gaze of the true God is always following us. She is omnipotent and omniscient," the duoluozhongs chanted softly as if they were singing. After one of the duoluozhongs finished chanting, he swung his arm and took off his robe. Short green flesh sprouted all over his body. When he walked, he looked like a huge, disgusting sea anemone. The duoluozhong grabbed the posthuman's collar and pulled him up from the ground.
"Those who follow God will not die. They will enjoy eternal life. Those who disobey God can be killed."
The duoluozhong lowered its head and sniffed the male posthuman's face. It seemed to be very satisfied with the smell. Two fleshy feelers protruded from its eye sockets and slowly slid across the posthuman's cheek.
Lin Sanjiu felt nauseous.
"One look and I can tell that he just teleported here," the woman, who seemed to be suffocated by the weight of the fetus in her womb, whispered with some difficulty, "I don't know who should be envious of him or me."
"What does she mean?"
Just as this thought popped up in her mind, the woman behind her spoke. "They won't do anything to women immediately. After they take away their Special Items and understand their Evolved Abilities, they will control them if they can, just like me. If they can't, they will be baptized like the male posthuman. However, we all end up the same way … Oh, right, my Evolved Ability is mind reading. So, if you have any questions, just ask me. I can hear you. "
There was a strong sense of self-mockery in her tone.
[Mind reading. No wonder I was controlled.]
"That's right, it's completely useless. They can't wait to spit out every single word of what they want to do to me, "the woman behind her sneered.
Lin Sanjiu's stomach felt heavy.
After the Oracle finished reading, the duoluozhong suddenly hissed as if it was very happy. It grabbed the posthuman's chin and forced him to open his mouth. Then, it opened the black hole on its face. A thick tongue covered in mucus poked out of the hole bit by bit. It was like a long water pipe, but there seemed to be no end to the tongue.
"Ah, that's right," the woman mumbled.
Before she could finish her sentence, the thick tongue of the duoluozhong sank into the posthuman's mouth. The middle of the tongue seemed to be hollow. Something flowed out from the duoluozhong's body and into the man's stomach. His stomach expanded like a balloon.
Every muscle on the male posthuman's face was twitching. However, after he struggled for a few seconds while he was unconscious, he stopped moving when the tongue stabbed him. His body slumped to the ground.
"Smash his internal organs," the woman explained calmly, "First, spit out the mucus, then smash his internal organs."
"Why?"
"You'll find out soon enough," said the woman. A few duoluozhongs approached the male posthuman and pulled his mouth open. They peered into the gaping hole. One of the duoluozhongs held something that looked like a flashlight in his hand. Lin Sanjiu had no idea which world it came from.
"Listen, we don't have much time," the woman suddenly spoke faster. She lowered her voice, "Once the baptism is over, they will come and test your Evolved Ability. Is your ability strong? Can you be controlled? "
Lin Sanjiu's mind jolted. She instinctively stopped herself from thinking about the evolved ability. She forced herself to focus on other things and not think about the evolved ability. Before she figured out the situation, she didn't dare to trust this woman. For a woman who had been imprisoned and abused, the woman's attitude was a little too calm.
"Oh? You don't believe me, and you don't want me to know your ability … "The woman's voice lowered, and she said noncommittally. "Can't you see that if you don't cooperate, you will end up like me?"
First, tell me, what's wrong with your stomach? What's your purpose? "
Lin Sanjiu asked in her mind.
"Duoluozhong have already broken away from the human body, so they don't have the ability to make a person pregnant. Could it be those thin, expressionless men outside?"
"It's not them," the woman said urgently. She seemed to have read every word in Lin Sanjiu's mind. Her words were squeezed out of her throat. Then, Lin Sanjiu heard a vomiting sound coming from behind her. Splash! Acid splashed on the floor, and a sour smell filled the air.
"None of those men have evolved," Lin Sanjiu retched again before she could finish her sentence. A few of the duoluozhongs even turned to look at her, "W-and adultery is a grave sin in the teachings of the church. All men must remain virgins until the day they die."
"Huh?"
The third time she vomited, there was only water left. The water dripped from the woman's body onto the floor, "Every woman will be handed over to Deva. When they come back, they will —"
The loud vomiting sound interrupted Lin Sanjiu again. The duoluozhong took two steps towards her suspiciously, but they stopped when they saw that the woman was just vomiting.
"Don't make me think about it," the woman's voice, which had been calm all this while, suddenly became twisted as if she was on the verge of breaking down. There was a hint of hysteria in her voice. Lin Sanjiu repeated the words in her mind several times before she finally calmed her down a little. Then, she lowered her voice again, "Don't make me think about it! In short … six fetuses at a time, once every three months. After a few years, the children will be handed over to Deva to get pregnant again … "
Lin Sanjiu thought of Deva's voice again. It sounded like a man purposely trying to sound like a woman. Goosebumps rose all over her body. "She — let's call her" she "for now — is using this method to increase the number of her followers?"
Lin Sanjiu didn't dare to ask Deva how she did it. She was afraid that the woman would break down this time.
"Yes," the woman gasped, "I don't know how many years have passed since the end of this world, but all the people you see came to this world this way."
Lin Sanjiu was so shocked that her mind froze for a moment. Just when she was about to ask the next question in her mind, she heard a commotion from the group of duoluozhong not far away. Some of them even whistled as if they were celebrating.
Lin Sanjiu quickly looked up and was stunned.
The duoluozhong that was holding the posthuman's corpse loosened his grip as if he was performing a show. The corpse immediately fell to the ground. However, just as the corpse was about to hit the ground, it suddenly tilted its body and stretched out a hand to support itself. Then, it stood up shakily. With a pop, its eyeballs fell from its face and rolled to a spot not far from Lin Sanjiu and Deva.
Lin Sanjiu stared at the figure that stood up. She finally understood.
"If they do that, the dead people will most likely become duoluozhong … This is the baptism. The one who destroyed this world wasn't Deva, so she tried her best not to kill posthuman. If she did, she would get nothing but a corpse. " The woman lowered her voice, "Among these duoluozhong, many of them used to be female. Since she couldn't control herself, she decided to baptize them. I've seen it at least five to six times. I don't know who should be envious of who. "
She repeated her words again.
"What are you doing?" Lin Sanjiu felt the hairs on her back stand up as a gust of cold wind blew past her.
The duoluozhong was still buzzing in the distance. Lin Sanjiu had no idea what they were doing.
"Today is your lucky day. I've finally been assigned to be a metal statue," she said vaguely. Lin Sanjiu felt a chill from the metal on her neck. "Don't worry, I'll help you. I'll let you die a quick death. You don't have to get pregnant or become a duoluozhong … After I kill the four of you, I'll kill myself."
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