After confirming that John Joyce was to carry the fragment of the Magic Mirror, several players gathered around to study the Queen statue and the stone pedestal beneath it.

Julia took out a stethoscope-like device with an external screen. Using a rod to hold its sensor end, she probed various parts of the statue from a distance.

As the sensor was pressed against the surface of the statue, a three-dimensional imaging projection similar to an ultrasound appeared on the LCD screen.

Everyone could clearly see dense, blood vessel-like channels within the statue, which converged into a bundle and ultimately led to a crystal inside the stone pedestal.

[Name: Praying icon]

[Type: Magic Tool]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Special Effect: Collection of Faith. Collects the Power of Faith from worshippers of the Snow Queen and stores it in the Divine Power Crystal. Current Power of Faith storage 100/1000]

[Consumption: None]

[Note: During this quest, the Praying icon cannot be placed into the backpack]

[Note: Combining the Praying icon with the Magic Mirror fragment can trigger the "Twisting Mind" special effect]

[Note: There is a Deity above our heads within three feet. If I were you, I wouldn't think about moving, stealing, desecrating, or destroying the statue. Unless you want to confront an angry Demigod, or the agents of a Demigod directly]

"This is actually an item?!"

Julia was quite astonished as she removed the stethoscope device, her eyes wide. "And it's a container Deities use to collect the Power of Faith! But the description later mentions a Demigod. That Snow Queen probably hasn't ignited the Divine Fire and become a Deity yet."

According to the theories of mysticism in the real world, the best way for Deities to accumulate Divine Power is to recruit more worshippers. This allows them to gain more Power of Faith, which they can then convert into Divine Power they can call upon. Demigods aiming to become true Deities also need to collect a massive amount of Power of Faith, condense the Divine Fire, and achieve Divine Enthronement.

"This, this doesn't make sense." Julia frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "In the ancient Dark Era of the real world, those indigenous Faith Gods could achieve Divine Enthronement with the Power of Faith from tens of thousands, or even just thousands, of people in primitive tribes. If the humans in other regions of the major kingdoms are as devout as the townsfolk of Hamelin Town, then a Snow Queen with countless worshippers like her would have accumulated a terrifying amount of Power of Faith over the years. How could she still be a Demigod? This just doesn't add up..."

Julia muttered to herself, while the expressions on the faces of the others varied. Bob, an elderly black man, looked somber. Smoker appeared vaguely fearful, while John Joyce swallowed hard, his expression a mixture of fear and trepidation.

This was a creation of a Deity...

As the killing game progressed, major organizations in the real world began to offer irresistible prices for any creation of a Deity. A Magic Tool used by a Demigod to collect and store Divine Power, which could also be combined with other items, would easily sell for five or six thousand Game Coins, plus an excellent-quality piece of equipment or item.

Unfortunately, the description of the [Praying icon] clearly stated that moving the statue would directly alert the Demigod and the agents of a Demigod. Moreover, the statue could not be put into a backpack, making it impossible to take and run.

"Phew..." John Joyce let out a long breath, casting out the idea that "men die for wealth, as birds die for food."

Any player with a sound mind could guess that this was definitely a trap set by the System...

"Brother Dao, what are you doing?!"

The next second, John Joyce couldn't help but let out a sharp scream. In his line of sight, Li Ang had somehow gotten close to the statue. Like a lecherous uncle at a car show, he was taking close-up shots with his camera while making "HEHEHEHEHE. SLURP! SLURP!" sounds. He was acting like a freak of nature.

His teammates were all shocked. Out of fear that desecrating the statue would provoke the Deity, they really wanted to pull Li Ang away, but the Yellow Plate armor was suspended in the air, silently staring at them with a cold and unfriendly gaze. Helpless, John Joyce could only stand there and ask, "Brother Dao, what the heck are you doing, Brother Dao!"

"Huh?" Li Ang turned his head, his expression natural and calm. "I'm studying the construction of this statue. This is a creation of a Deity. Even just taking photos and drawing the internal structure map to sell to an organization could net a big profit, right?"

Li Ang smiled and waved his hand to reassure his teammates. "Don't worry, I'm not that kind of muddle-headed person. I know what's important. I won't steal the statue or draw 'I'm a big idiot' on its forehead to desecrate the Deity."

'I'm a big idiot'? What kind of childish elementary school student came up with that? Shouldn't you inscribe something like, "The Phoenix Pavilion's splendor is extraordinary, all adorned in cleverly crafted golden clay," or some other poetry?

The flames of silent ridicule burned fiercely in the hearts of John Joyce and the others. In the end, however, they said nothing. They silently watched as Li Ang completed a 365-degree, no-blind-spot photo shoot of the statue. He then photographed the ultrasound images on the stethoscope device's LCD screen, quickly took out paper and pen to sketch on the spot, and finally turned to his teammates. "Does anyone have an explosive device on them? The kind that can be remotely detonated."

"What?" John Joyce was stunned for a moment. "What do you need it for?"

"To bury it next to the statue," Li Ang casually explained. "This statue, specially designed to collect the Divine Power of Faith, might still be quite important to the Snow Queen. Since we're bound to face her sooner or later, even becoming adversaries, and we can't destroy the statue right now, it's better to take advantage of our currently unrevealed identities and plant an explosive device next to it."

"I get it now." John Joyce's eyes lit up. "That way, when we become openly hostile, we can detonate the explosive device and destroy the statue, causing some disruption to the Queen."

Li Ang nodded. "Exactly. Whether the statue is important to her or not, having an extra trump card is always good."

Actually, Li Ang did have IEDs and Special Worms capable of detonation, but both had limited remote control ranges. Once they left town and traveled some distance, he likely wouldn't be able to remotely destroy the statue—it seemed no one was carrying heavy ordnance like vehicles equipped with remote missiles.

Smoker nodded. "I have an item that fits the bill."

He took out from his backpack a... rather special item. It was, literally, a bomb, consisting of two playing cards: the King and the Joker.

"This thing can be detonated remotely. Although it's not very powerful, it should be enough to destroy the statue." Seeing his teammates' somewhat pained expressions, Smoker swallowed the explanation of how to activate the item named [Pour the Lady a Cup of Cappuccino Card Bomb].

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