Chapter 160: Fantasy of Godhood

The system's earlier notification of the three-stage mission objective had already revealed that the woman before him was a Battle Arena player, so Li Cheng cared more about the two key words in her final sentence.

Otherworld, and humanity.

There are only two ways for players to be generated: either randomly assigned by the Battle Arena, or forcibly seizing eligibility by killing other players.

The national organizations of Earth had long discovered that although the Battle Arena selections appeared random, they favored those with stronger adaptability, willpower, execution ability, and professional skills.

Thus, in the early days, each country would draw elite troops from military, police, gendarmerie, and special forces units, deliberately exposing them to, handling, and resolving anomalous events to increase their probability of being selected by the Battle Arena.

Meanwhile, besides humans, animals—especially large ones—could also be randomly chosen as players, and their mission formats would differ from those of humans.

For example, a sperm whale's mission might be to hunt ten giant squids; a stray cat or dog's mission might be to escape an animal shelter before its eggs were broken.

Overall, the number of animal players was far fewer than humans', and they grew much slower (it took a long time just to reach the average human intelligence level), so they weren't an urgent concern.

What truly worried national authorities was when Earth players died within mission scripts and their qualifications were acquired by the script world's natives.

"Using Battle Arena terminology, I am a natural psychic. At fourteen, I committed suicide in a psychiatric hospital; my body died, but my soul remained, still drifting aimlessly across oceans, drawn to an underground religious altar deep in the mountains of Japan, absorbing the faith of rural villagers, gradually regaining clarity."

Jiang Zhihui said: "Just as my spiritual form was about to collapse and dissipate naturally, a new player from another world descended from the heavens—unenhanced, inexperienced."

"I killed him, seized his qualifications, and became the first, and likely the only, Chosen One in this world. In a way, I should thank you—for showing me a broader world. But I want more."

All the Heart Faith believers present were dead; Jiang Zhihui openly revealed, without any hesitation, that she was not a celestial goddess at all.

A flash of lightning seemed to strike Li Cheng's mind; he squinted and said: "Having player qualifications isn't enough—you also need a living human body with psychic bloodline talent to move and act in the real world, so you planned that shipwreck—"

"You might not have the heart to kill your own sister, but possessing the body of a stranger niece? The psychological burden is far lighter."

Moral condemnation was meaningless, Jiang Zhihui said calmly: "The Battle Arena is a death vortex; once pulled in, escape is impossible. Grow stronger, or die."

"I've already died once; I don't want to die again. So I'll do whatever it takes to grow stronger. Acquire a human body, become a god walking among mortals through the guise of a religious saint."

Jiang Zhihui smiled: "I alone hold the Law. Right now, I am the only player in this world, the only one who possesses continuously strengthening transcendent power."

"Coincidentally, there are 2.4 billion Christians, 1.8 billion Muslims, and 1.1 billion Hindus in this world."

"It might be hard to force them to believe in an unknown Korean high school student—but what if I split myself into several incarnations?"

"For example, a newborn infant in Bethlehem, Palestine; or a reincarnation of Shiva rising from the underwater temple in Devaika, northwest India."

"I don't need everyone to worship me fervently—just a small fraction is enough to gather sufficient faith power, ignite divine fire. Even if that divine fire is forged through deceit."

Hello, Religious Committee? Someone here is illegally fundraising, gathering faith power to attempt godhood.

Li Cheng clicked his tongue; this speech sounded utterly insane—Jiang Zhihui was merely a wandering spirit, at best a psychic possessing another's body, yet she dared to dream of gathering faith power in the 21st century, igniting divine fire, becoming a god of this world.

But upon closer thought… there was a sliver of possibility.

"The advantage of 'I alone hold the Law' is simply too great. Jiang Zhihui possesses a system of power outside the modern scientific framework."

"The Blue House in Seoul can be led by the nose and easily fooled—what about Christian nations?"

"The United States, the Vatican, Britain, France—all their leaders are ordinary people. If Jiang Zhihui, while playing the divine charlatan, could leverage the Battle Arena system's advantages to produce 'Elixir of Rejuvenation' or 'Elixir of Immortality,' she could easily bind them to her chariot."

(After years of exploration, Earth players had long confirmed that the Battle Arena contained no true immortality methods, but did offer alternatives like vampire bloodlines, Turtle Breathing, Ripple Breathing, and full-body cybernetic enhancement for extended lifespan.)

"Once the ruling class is secured, the media and public opinion machinery controlled, propaganda launched on a massive scale, and spirit servants and demons deployed to create an apocalyptic atmosphere, brainwashing billions—"

"With this entire operation, Jiang Zhihui might—possibly—actually have a chance to realize her godhood fantasy."

From a low-tier transcendent, ascending to a level 30 or 35 humanoid nuclear weapon.

The upcoming Seoul Peace Forum is her first planned public appearance.

"Uh, you're really bold enough to think and act like this." Hui Yu scratched her head; as another transcendent being, this woman across from her was plotting the faith of billions.

Meanwhile, all she thought about daily was finishing less homework, playing more on her phone, computer, and video games—scrolling Weibo, Zhihu, Tieba, Douban, Douyin, NGA, Douyu, Huya, Tiger, A-Island, Bilibili, Xiaohongshu.

Had the situation not been inappropriate, she'd have written "vision" on a piece of paper and handed it to Jiang Zhihui.

"Thank you for the compliment."

Jiang Zhihui accepted Hui Yu's praise with perfect composure, a faint smile curling her lips; as the world's sole Chosen One, she was lonely—so lonely she was willing to waste time sharing buried secrets with a theoretical enemy.

She tilted her head gently toward Li Cheng: "Considering you've taken over Jiang Wanyong's identity, the Battle Arena's mission assigned to you is probably to rescue Jiang Meixi—or kill me, right?"

"What level are you now? Level 10? Level 15?"

"I've founded the Heart Faith, and though the current player level is around this range, my true strength is likely far greater than yours."

"Why not cooperate? I'll give you an emergency escape card; take this ton of gold and leave this planet."

Jiang Zhihui raised her palm and summoned a large safe into thin air; its door swung open, filled to the brim with stacks of gold ingots, diamonds, and jewels.

She elegantly tapped the alloy top of the safe with her knuckles: "The difference between an otherworldly player and a native player is that otherworldly visitors have only a few hours to complete their mission, while I, as a native NPC, can use my power to accumulate wealth."

"I suspect the Battle Arena's reward for you won't exceed the contents of this safe."

Gazing at the glittering gold and jewels inside the safe, Li Cheng's thoughts churned, filled with awe and admiration, while confirming many things.

"If I accept your terms and leave this world, what will you do with her?"

Li Cheng pointed at Jiang Zhihui—not only at the body she possessed, Jiang Meixi, but also at the infant cradled in her arms.

Jiang Zhihui paused, her smile fading slowly, her expression becoming as still as a deep, undisturbed well.

"Let me guess—the essence of igniting divine fire is a P2P scam. To deceive billions of religious believers, you need multiple bodies capable of housing a psychic soul."

"And in this world, the only ones with psychic bloodline talent seem to be the Jiang Shaoxi family."

Li Cheng said calmly: "The reason you haven't killed your sister Jiang Shaoxi isn't just because of familial ties—it's a more practical reason."

"Surrogacy, breeding, cloning, artificial wombs, genetically engineered infants—"

"Only flesh and blood from kin can pave the path toward your ambition of igniting divine fire."

The bat-wing motorcycle engine roared to life; the shark-shaped exoskeleton arm slowly rotated, raising its barrel once more to aim at the girl in her Ji Xiaofu.

"I am not of this world, and I don't care what becomes of it. But some things—I refuse to do."

Li Cheng pulled out Jiang Wanyong's phone, its screen slightly cracked; the wallpaper showed a happy family photo of three.

"." Jiang Zhihui said coldly: "For the sake of so-called morality, are you willing to risk your life challenging a transcendent far stronger than you?"

"I said before—in this roleplay mode, I am merely fulfilling my duty as a father."

Li Cheng grinned: "Besides, I'm far stronger than you imagine."

The exhaust pipe blasted furious flames, the tires screeched violently against the cement, the heavy motorcycle's engine roared savagely, carrying him forward like a bolt of lightning.