From that perspective, he owed Chu Bamboo a favor. If he ever wanted to see that woman again—even just for a glimpse from afar—he would most likely need Chu Bamboo’s help.

"My answer is yes!" Zhang Hai nodded, unperturbed. "I’ll protect you. You have nothing to worry about."

"Oh... that has nothing to do with it. I just said that to build a little rapport," Chu Bamboo said, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "And let me be clear: on this matter, I’m negotiating with the God Worship Sect, not with you personally."

"Because on this matter... your God Worship Sect owes me a huge favor!"

Zhang Hai: "?"

Zhang Xu: "!!!"

Zhang Xu stared in disbelief. ’Did I hear that right?’ He dug a finger in his ear and glanced at Chu Bamboo, only to find him looking as if what he’d said was perfectly natural. The sight left Zhang Xu utterly speechless.

’Reversed Celestial Spirit, is that what this is? You want us to protect you, and you want us to owe you a favor on top of it?’

’It’d be one thing to ask Master Zhang Hai to handle this alone, but you want the whole God Worship Sect to owe you a favor too? I ought to...’

"Well, what can I say? The assassins are strongly suspected to be from the All-Powerful Association," Chu Bamboo sighed, turning as if to leave. "But forget it. If you’re not willing, I’ll just report it to the Officials..."

"Wait! Let’s discuss this further!" As quick as a flash, Zhang Hai grabbed Chu Bamboo’s wrist. His eyes were wide with sincerity, his voice firm and resolute. "I believe that saving you means stabilizing the shantytown district! And stabilizing the shantytown district will save the lives of countless ordinary people..."

"Say no more. We’ll do it! It is our undeniable duty."

"...Oh?" Chu Bamboo eyed Zhang Hai sideways, his tone dripping with insincerity. "This won’t be too much of an imposition, will it? On second thought, maybe I should just seek help from the Officials... And what a coincidence, wouldn’t you say? I just recently established a line of communication with the Lu City Governor..."

"..." Zhang Hai choked. His lips twitched, countless persuasive arguments lodged in his throat, but none would come out. Finally, he could only say with a bitter taste in his mouth, "Fine. I know. I understand... We’ll do everything as you say!"

Resigned to his fate, Zhang Hai continued, "I will contact the Cardinal of the First District about this! Consider it a favor owed to you from the Jinghai District branch of the God Worship Sect."

"Excellent." A smile finally broke across Chu Bamboo’s face. He gently patted the back of Zhang Hai’s hand. "In that case, I’ll come see you again at four this afternoon. For now... I need to go back to the shantytown and take care of a few things..."

"Why don’t I act as your personal bodyguard!" Zhang Hai blurted out. He couldn’t even bear to imagine the *spectacle* if Chu Bamboo went back to the shantytown only to be assassinated by a killer from the All-Powerful Association.

"No need... Relax. Everything is going according to plan." Chu Bamboo gave Zhang Hai a deep, meaningful look, pulled his hand away with a smile, and left with a casual wave.

The inner hall of the church fell into a dead silence once more.

Finally, Zhang Xu couldn’t hold it in any longer. "Master, what was all that about...?"

"Sigh. That’s a matter from my past. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you... It’s just..."

"No, Master, I’m not asking about that!" Zhang Xu looked exasperated. ’Anyway, from what I’ve gathered, Master is probably a good guy, right? So that’s not a problem.’

He said, "I just want to know, what does an assassination by the All-Powerful Association have to do with us?"

’Aren’t those guys just some Shoe Sect?’

"To the average person, there is indeed no connection," Zhang Hai said, his expression suddenly weary. "But to me, to Mr. Zhu, to the Officials in Jinghai City, and even to those major Factory Directors... it’s a different matter entirely."

Seeing the utter confusion still on Zhang Xu’s face, Zhang Hai looked to the heavens and sighed. "What a wretched affair..."

"Because the All-Powerful Association... they also worship God!"

...

Chu Bamboo hummed a tune as he walked in the direction of the shantytown, his mood obviously cheerful.

That’s right. The All-Powerful Association and the God Worship Sect shared the same origin.

He had obtained this piece of information back when he was thirteen or fourteen. He’d been playing his "daily refresh" and got a "Daily Grand Adventure" quest: go undercover in the All-Powerful Association for one day. He learned it by continuously replaying that undercover mission.

The God Worship Sect truly lived up to its name as the largest religion in the Dream World.

Internally, it had its native faction and its Western Sect, constantly feuding over whether God was the Jade Emperor or the God of the West. If that wasn’t enough... it had also spawned numerous splinter organizations on the outside, groups that could almost be called Shoe Sects...

Yes, *numerous*.

The All-Powerful Association was merely the largest among them... and according to the intelligence Chu Bamboo had gathered during his undercover mission, the All-Powerful Association still had innumerable ties to the God Worship Sect.

In fact, if not for the vast difference in their methods, and the fact that Chu Bamboo had verified it countless times during his undercover days, he might have even suspected that the All-Powerful Association and the God Worship Sect were two sides of the same coin.

Of course, it was a good thing they weren’t. The God Worship Sect’s power in the Dream World was simply too immense. If it truly were two sides of the same coin as the All-Powerful Association—

The consequences would be unimaginable...

But regardless, if he wanted to, Chu Bamboo could absolutely pin the assassination attempt on him and the union leadership—carried out by the All-Powerful Association—on the God Worship Sect.

The God Worship Sect’s main base of operations was in Celestial Capital. In Jinghai City, it was essentially an outside entity, viewed with a cold shoulder by the local Officials.

If Chu Bamboo were to retaliate... the God Worship Sect would be lucky if the Officials didn’t actively support his move against them.

Not to mention, the major Factory Directors, who had been wrongfully blamed and were seething with indignation, would absolutely support Chu Bamboo in a heartbeat... just to shed the blame for the assassination of the union leadership as quickly as possible.

That was why Chu Bamboo had proposed what he did: he wouldn’t leak this information, but would instead have Zhang Hai protect him while they handled the matter privately.

In exchange, the God Worship Sect as a whole would owe him a favor.

This was the brilliant application of intelligence.

One fish, two meals. No, three! First, he’d get a piece of the major Factory Directors, and then he’d get a piece of the God Worship Sect!

He was taking them for a ride, and they had no choice but to thank him for it and admit they were in his debt.

Finally.

Chu Bamboo stepped into the shantytown district.

’Alright, next up... time to put some proper pressure on those major Factory Directors.’

...

「Two in the afternoon.」

「Police Chief Bureau.」

Chu Bamboo walked back into Nuwa Base, his face etched with fatigue. He flopped into a chair. "...So tired."

"This shantytown business... ugh, I have to get out of it as soon as possible..."

Back then, the reason Chu Bamboo had run away, aside from being unable to stand problems he couldn’t solve, was one other important reason: he was terrified of getting tired...

But he never expected that this responsibility would find its way back to him, practically welded to his skull.

’I need to find a successor!’ Chu Bamboo narrowed his eyes. ’Theoretically, with General Secretary Zhou Ze dead, the next person in line for the position should be the current Vice General Secretary, Li Xuan.’

’But... I’m not going to choose him.’