Stronger with More Jobs

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City of Injustice core district.

Deep underground at the headquarters of the Celestial Punishment Association.

The vast underground space remained shrouded in the flickering glow of the oil lamps and the lingering sweet, decaying odor.

The immense Cross stood in the center of the space like an everlasting tombstone.

On the beam and pillar of the Cross.

Chen Wudi’s withered body was tightly bound to the center of the Cross by several black metal chains that shimmered faintly, his head drooping weakly, face obscured by messy hair, his breath as faint as a candle flickering in the wind.

Directly below the Cross.

A figure in a crimson robe stood silently.

The robe’s edges were embroidered with intricate, twisted patterns of thorns and eyes in dark gold thread.

The wide hood completely covered his face, revealing only a pair of nearly fanatical eyes.

He gazed up at the lifeless body on the Cross.

His mouth recited softly in a language with awkward syllables.

As the chant continued, on the smooth black stone ground around the Cross.

Complex dark purple runes lit up without warning.

As the light flowed, indistinct humanoid projections seemed to rise slowly from the void, hovering around the Cross.

The outlines of these projections were unclear.

Their faces were hidden behind shifting light and shadow.

One could barely distinguish different postures.

They surrounded the Cross, silently watching the center.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." The chanting of the crimson-robed man stopped, and he slowly turned to face the surrounding projections, an imperceptible smile playing under the hood, "The long wait will finally bear fruitful results. Our divine plan... is about to achieve ultimate success!"

However, rather than the expected cheers or excitement, what he received was:

"Success?" A cold laugh came from one of the projections, the voice filled with undisguised doubt and weariness, "It’s been decades now, every convocation you repeat the same lies."

"Imminent success? We’ve expended vast resources and endured the Celestial Punishment Association’s bottomless demands, looking forward only to endless delays and empty promises? Do you think we’re easily deceived?"

"Indeed!" Another projection interjected, the voice deep and thunderous, "Last time, you said you needed the Fate Core, we went to great expense to acquire it from the black market. Before that, you claimed you needed Starfall Pure Gold, almost emptying our stocks, yet what is the result? Aside from this half-dead husk still bound here, where are the results we’ve seen? Our patience isn’t limitless."

"We need to see substantial progress."

Another projection made a sharp inquiry, voice filled with strong dissatisfaction.

Facing the jabbering doubts, the crimson-robed man did not get angry but instead chuckled quietly.

"Deception? Delay?" He shook his head slowly, raising his crimson sleeve to point at Chen Wudi on the Cross, "Ladies and gentlemen, your suspicion and jealousy blind your perception. The true divine miracle has already happened right before our eyes! You simply choose not to see it."

As his words ended, his silhouette quietly rose into the air, hovering to a height parallel with Chen Wudi on the Cross as if without weight.

His gaze pierced through the shadow of the hood.

Falling upon Chen Wudi’s withered face obscured by messy hair, filled with a nearly obsessive fervor.

"The dormant seed will eventually break the ground. The silent divinity will eventually awaken..."

He murmured gently, slowly raising his right hand, extending his index and middle fingers.

His movements were gentle and sacred, as if performing some supreme ritual.

The fingertip lightly touched the center of Chen Wudi’s brow.

Buzz——!!!

At the moment the fingertip touched the brow.

The corpse-like lifeless body on the Cross suddenly trembled drastically.

The chains binding him instantly tightened to the limit, producing a teeth-grating creaking sound.

"Gha... gha gha gha..."

A low growl, completely unlike a human voice, squeezed out from the depths of Chen Wudi’s throat.

Then, under the watchful eyes of all the surrounding projections.

Chen Wudi’s withered skin cracked and peeled away.

What was revealed was not flesh.

But a deep, dark interior, as if composed of solidified nebulae and boiling dark matter.

Countless points of cold starlight flickered and flowed within.

The joints made a spine-tingling crackling sound.

Twisting and stretching bizarrely at angles defying human anatomy, bones piercing through the skin.

Yet they weren’t white bones but presented as translucent, magma-like dark red glowing bizarre crystals.

The most horrifying was Chen Wudi’s head.

His messy hair turned to ashes as if burned by invisible flames.

The whole head twisted and morph as if melting wax.

Features completely distorted and vanished, replaced by a giant maw that opened and closed, filled with spiraled fangs.

And at the center of that giant maw.

An eye burning with pure destructive dark gold flame snapped open!

Buzz——!!!

A pressure beyond words.

Instantly erupted from the grotesque body.

The entire underground space shook madly.

The hard black rock walls cracked like fragile biscuits.

The oil lamps embedded in the dome shattered one after another.

The entity bound by chains—Chen Wudi, or rather the mass struggling with a barely maintained humanoid outline of terrifying nebula material—raged and roared.

The dark gold vertical eye swept emotionlessly below.

The crimson-robed man hovered nearby, his robe sleeves flapping wildly in the chaotic energy storm, the smile under the hood carved into near-manic satisfaction.

This terrifying sight lasted less than three seconds.

The crimson-robed man’s fingertip suddenly shone brightly.

"Seal!"

A low shout.

The dark purple energy instantly transformed into countless fine chains, once again entering Chen Wudi’s brow.

"Roar——!!!"

A resentful, furious roar shook the space.

Nebula withdrew, crystalline bones retracted, the abyssal maw closed, the dark gold vertical eye extinguished...

All the terrifying anomalies receded like a tide.

On the Cross, returning to the withered, barely alive, head-drooping humanoid.

As if the recent transformation.

Had been nothing but a fantasy.

The underground space fell dead silent.

Only the rustling of fractured rock and the humming echoes lingered.

The surrounding projections were now silent.

All previous doubts and dissatisfaction were now replaced by incomparable awe.

The level of power erupted in those brief seconds...

Was beyond earthly comprehension.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

The crimson-robed man slowly retracted his fingers, suspended in mid-air, his voice returning to its previous calm.

"Now, do you still believe... this is a delay and lie?"

His gaze under the hood swept across the silent projections.

"The divine body is formed, divinity manifest."

"It’s just one last step before it breaks free from chains, truly descends to this world, and takes command...!"

"The fragile membrane separating existence and manifestation is about to be completely pierced!

The crimson-robed man’s voice rose abruptly, fervent:

"But this last step requires more Power! We need stronger anchors! We need your assistance!"

The projections remained silent, mouths moving soundlessly.

Evidently engaging in internal communication.

Finally, the projection that first raised doubt opened its mouth.

The tone carried not a shred of doubt, only a nearly greedy urgency and reverence: "Are you certain our God can, in the coming divine era, protect us entirely under Life Ghost’s arrival?!"

The smile under the crimson-robed man’s hood grew even more intense.

He slightly spread his arms as if embracing the soon-to-be-born deity, his voice like an oracle echoing in the deathly still underground space, filled with absolute conviction:

"Of course!"

"He... absolutely can!"