Chapter 58: The Sacred Ritual

Farlan Region.

Capital City, Third District - Temple District.

There are four museums located within this district, and because of their presence, the pedestrian traffic here is exceptionally dense.

At this moment, outside the Cannavale Museum, an amusing scene was unfolding.

"Art and life, which is more precious?"

"Which has more value, art or life? Is it more precious than food? More precious than justice? Do you care more about protecting a painting, or protecting this earth and humanity?"

A young man and woman, both dressed in bizarre attire, were standing on the steps outside the museum entrance, shouting at the top of their lungs. Their expressions were extremely agitated, and it was the young woman who had just spoken.

"The Capital City is still as vibrant as ever!"

Wearing a discreet black, Constantine-style trench coat over a white shirt and a black fedora on his head, Xiuxiu was munching on a bag of French fries while watching the passionate speech of the two young people from a distance.

Xiuxiu's intention in coming down this time was to make contact with the [Wilson Wildlife Response Team].

They had a vast number of subordinate organizations, and the two unhinged youngsters in front of him were members of one such affiliate.

The [Wilson Wildlife Response Team] truly lived up to its reputation as a favorite among lunatics; these two youngsters looked remarkably bold and spirited.

Having initially made up his mind to dock with the subordinate organization of the [Wilson Wildlife Response Team], Xiuxiu began to develop cold feet internally after witnessing this spectacle.

Xiuxiu had always firmly believed that stupidity was contagious, which was why he consistently maintained a respectful distance from foolish groups.

Of course, this wasn't an absolute rule. If they happened to be rich idiots, he might be willing to risk a drop in his intelligence quotient to interact with them; after all, caring for the mentally deficient was everyone's duty.

Just as Xiuxiu was muttering to himself inwardly, his target demographic for the meetup appeared.

It was a group of people with extremely eclectic appearances and clothing: their garments were uncoordinated, their genders varied, and their ages ranged from young to old. The only common thread among them was that they were all holding ketchup bottles and had special potions tucked into their waistbands.

At that moment, an elderly gentleman who looked to be in his early fifties, with a full head of white yet luxuriant hair and a robust physique, approached Xiuxiu and asked him with a serious tone:

"Young man, do you love eating meat?"

I cannot live without meat.

Xiuxiu said to himself inwardly, but on the surface, he put on a look of righteous indignation and replied to the sturdy old man:

"What are you talking about?! Are you actually asking me if I like eating meat? Good heavens, eating meat goes against human physiological functions, and eating meat produces more toxins in the body and even destroys the balance of psychology and emotions!!!"

Upon hearing Xiuxiu's rhetoric, Old Man Bob's eyes lit up fiercely. He looked at Xiuxiu with the appreciative gaze of a kindred spirit; the reason he had approached Xiuxiu in the first place was because he was the only tourist present who was only eating French fries.

To clarify, there was a hot food vendor outside the museum that mostly sold high-calorie meat dishes, and many tourists would go there to buy a portion when they were hungry.

French fries were available too, but very few people bought *only* French fries.

Old Man Bob had originally come over merely as a formality to preach to this young man, but to his surprise, the other person's ideological awakening was no less than his own!

"Young man, what is your name?" Old Man Bob asked Xiuxiu excitedly.

"Oh, my name is Hannibal," Xiuxiu replied with a smile, spouting nonsense.

"Hannibal, come, take a look at this first." Old Man Bob pulled a small green booklet out from his bosom and handed it to Xiuxiu. Xiuxiu took the booklet, and upon seeing the contents of the first page, he almost lost his composure.

Eating meat easily causes disease!!!

Meat contains "corpse poison"!!!

Vegetarianism saves grain used to feed livestock!!!

As someone belonging to the Flesh-Craft lineage, Xiuxiu didn't know what to use to express his complex inner feelings at that moment. He believed that a Practitioner of the Flesh-Craft lineage, specifically a Devourer, would be extremely interested in these people.

Xiuxiu suppressed the mischievous little demon inside him that was mocking so hard it wanted to laugh out loud.

With a solemn expression, he flipped open the booklet. The opening content was a piece of dialogue:

[Are animals willing to be eaten by you?]

[Must you be human and eat this bite of meat just to survive?]

Suppressing the corners of his mouth that wanted to smile and relying on his formidable willpower, Xiuxiu finished reading the booklet—which had dealt multi-layered blows to his body and mind—and said excitedly to the expectant Old Man Bob:

"What absolute pearls of wisdom! If one could only read one book in a lifetime, it would definitely be this one!"

Clap, clap, clap—

Old Man Bob enthusiastically patted Xiuxiu on the shoulder and said to him:

"You and I share the same faith and mission. Young man, are you willing to join us?"

"Who are you guys?"

"We are environmentalist vegetarians, and our mission is to issue protests to the corrupt Farlan government, allowing our will and thoughts to attain immortality," Old Man Bob said with a solemn expression.

"What a truly sacred mission," Xiuxiu said with a face full of admiration.

"Can I join directly right now?"

"Of course you can, but every newcomer must go through a ritual before joining."

"What ritual?"

"Come, this is ketchup and super glue." Old Man Bob handed Xiuxiu a spherical package filled with ketchup and a bottle of glue.

"We are going to use sacred red things to baptize those detestable creations," Old Man Bob said, tossing the ketchup ball up and down in his hand as he glared fiercely in the direction of the museum.

"···This doesn't sound right. The museum's security guards will drive us out, and besides, if we damage the exhibits, we'll have to pay astronomical compensation," Xiuxiu said speechlessly, looking at the two items in his hand.

"It's fine, the paintings inside are all framed. When the security guards come later, you just smear the glue on your hands, then find any random spot to stick yourself to, and loudly recite our creed."

"Oh right, it's best to stick to objects that aren't easily moved, like the floor and the walls, so they won't easily throw us out," Old Man Bob instructed Xiuxiu with seasoned experience.

"·······"

You guys are seriously a bunch of talents!

Xiuxiu muttered speechlessly in his heart.

"What we need to do right now is figure out a way to charge past the defense line." Old Man Bob was now staring with deep eyes at the security guards gathered by the museum.

The security guards were holding riot shields, watching this side with vigilant gazes.

"Hannibal, follow me later. I'll lead you to complete the ritual. Now, march with us," Old Man Bob said imperiously to Xiuxiu.

"·······"

Just like that, Xiuxiu followed this group in a mighty procession right up to the front of the museum. At this moment, the vanguard troops stepped forward first to preach, and after being predictably rebuffed by the security guards, they raised the ketchup balls in their hands and launched them in all directions toward the museum.

"Damn you all, take this attack from me, you damned meat-eaters!" Old Man Bob shouted, veins bulging on his forehead as he hurled the ketchup ball in his hand, and then charged forward with a riot shield to offer friendly greetings to the security guards.

"···Sigh~"

Xiuxiu gazed speechlessly at the ketchup ball in his hand, and then let out a sigh.

Thud—

·······