Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon
Chapter 381 - 380: Walking in the Forefront

Chapter 381: Chapter 380: Walking in the Forefront

The young man’s eyes were shocked!

His footsteps slowed down as well.

It was as if he had a delayed realization and looked toward another group of people, his gaze locking with Zhou Zhi’s.

"Wait, wait!" The man suddenly put away his shovel and shouted at the crowd, "Put down your weapons, there’s been a misunderstanding!"

Everyone was immediately in uproar.

Misunderstanding? Who among those who worked here from dawn to dusk hadn’t heard of the notorious killer Bariff? How could there be a misunderstanding with someone whose mere presence on the streets could terrify the residents of the City of Defense?

As much as they were afraid, they found such an absurd claim hard to comprehend.

Chaoyang had already understood the situation, and now was clearly not the time to conserve his wishing power. He touched his cheek with his other hand, changing his face to another appearance, "Do you still think I’m Bariff now?"

The crowd took in a sharp breath altogether.

Seizing the moment, the young man had already taken the contract and pressed his handprint onto it using the mud and water on the ground.

"Mr. Zhao, is that you?"

"Who else could it be... Are you Zhang Zhiyuan?"

"Right, and that girl there... She’s Zhou Zhi, right?"

"Yes, thanks to him, I knew you might be here."

"Not just me, Cui Zhen’en and Miss Qianyuan are also in the cave! Without connecting with them, I couldn’t have organized these people on my own."

The two of them quickly exchanged basic information, one sentence after another.

"Lallote, this person is..." At this point, someone couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s okay, just speak freely," Chaoyang signaled, "The legend of the Paradise Sect is already out there."

"This person... is a Divine Envoy of the divinities!" Zhang Zhiyuan took a deep breath, quickly getting into work mode.

"A Divine Envoy?"

"Why would such a noble person come to the cave?" The people there displayed looks of disbelief.

"Aren’t you a divinity? How did you get demoted to spokesperson?" Kokomoqi asked, puzzled and in a low voice, "And if he is your Chosen One, why didn’t he recognize you at first?"

"Ahem... It must be the influence of the Evil God that caused the connection between me and the Chosen One to weaken. As for the public identity, being a spokesperson for the divinities is a bit easier for people to accept." Chaoyang bluffed.

"I see, because divinities need to stay away from their followers, but a Divine Envoy doesn’t... I indeed overlooked this matter," Kokomoqi replied earnestly.

"Anyway, you no longer need to hide and conserve your wishing power. It’s fine to reveal yourself now."

She did as she was told.

When the petite figure of the Magic Goddess emerged from the darkness, it again provoked a wave of panic and astonished murmurs.

"Indeed, this divinity is none other than the Paradise Master herself, and the one beside me is the divinity’s chief envoy, Mr. Chao!" Zhang Zhiyuan proclaimed loudly, "He has come here because he has heard our suffering! Yes, he has come to lend us a helping hand!"

"The divinity... has come to help us?"

For a moment, everyone dared not believe their ears.

Chaoyang nodded at them and spoke in person, "Lallote is also a follower of Paradise, and his constant prayers have led me here. Rest assured, as long as you follow in Paradise’s footsteps, the company will no longer be able to enslave you!"

As his words fell, a burst of colorful fireworks exploded at the top of the cave, illuminating everyone’s faces. This dazzling moment seemed to affirm his promise, leaving an unforgettable impression on the crowd.

"Just a simple illusion that doesn’t use much wishing power," Kokomoqi said with a light smile. "How was it, Yu’s cooperation was not bad, right?"

...

In a slightly elevated corner at the bottom of the cave, a few oil lamps gathered together.

Chaoyang and more than ten people sat in a circle around the light source, cross-legged. Apart from the player group of four and Kokomoqi, the rest were worker leaders. Even more people stood around the perimeter, at least seventy or eighty. Despite it being past midnight, everyone looked spirited, without a trace of fatigue.

Zhang Zhiyuan was the first to speak, outlining the situation in the cave, and also communicated with Chaoyang about his own recent situation using the mental channel.

The first day he was brought to work underground, he was nearly overwhelmed by the grueling labor. Having seen several people collapse at the excavation site, he realized that if he didn’t rebel immediately, his body could last at most three or four more days. While discussing the necessity of armed rebellion with everyone at night, Cui Zhen’en and Qianyuan Meiko recognized him and joined his persuasive efforts. Fortunately, among the diggers, there were those who shared his vision; what they lacked was a backbone, someone who could stand up and lead them in the fight against the armed mob enforcers.

In fact, even if Chaoyang had not come here, Zhang Zhiyuan planned to start the uprising the following night. The longer they waited, the weaker the workers’ physical endurance would become. For instance, Qianyuan Meiko’s new body was weaker than Zhang Zhiyuan’s, she fell ill yesterday, and today she had trouble even standing up. If it weren’t for Chaoyang’s timely provision of medical support, she might not have survived tomorrow’s arduous labor.

As for the lookout in the side passage, that too was arranged by Zhang Zhiyuan—he spent the past two nights encouraging people, telling them about the strength of their organization, and how to resist the gang and the company that seemed far more powerful than themselves. He had arranged for some clever workers to hide in the interconnecting side passages to communicate and give the signal, in case the guards outside decided to check the bottom of the cave suddenly.

However, when a lookout discovered that the newcomer was the murderer Bariff, the situation changed. Zhang Zhiyuan saw this as a rare opportunity and decided to make his move early. He also purposefully didn’t reveal that the newcomer was Bariff, so as not to shake the morale of the rebels out of fear.

After listening to his story, Chaoyang couldn’t help feeling moved. Zhang Zhiyuan had been thrown into the beach cave upon awakening and didn’t even know his own whereabouts, nor what was going on outside on the first day; nonetheless, he decided to organize an uprising that very day and put it into action, a capability which was no surprise Gao Wei and Xue Quan valued him.

"I understand your situation," Chaoyang said, looking around slowly, "The Paradise Master will not ignore your suffering. You won’t even have to wait long; as soon as daylight comes tomorrow, your chance to annihilate the gang will arrive."

"Really? What should we do?" asked an excited, burly worker leader. A man of his size was extremely rare among the diggers.

「His name is Potland, representative of group six, strong and with a strong will to resist; he responded to my call the first night,」 Zhang Zhiyuan stated his characteristics succinctly.

"Can you use a gun?" asked Chaoyang as he lifted his palms upward. Before everyone’s eyes, a single-shot musket appeared in his hands—it was the same model the gang enforcers carried.

Seeing this miracle-like spectacle, everyone’s eyes widened, unable to utter a sound, as if their throats were completely blocked!

"I—I haven’t touched a musket, but I’m, I’m okay with a harpoon..." Overwhelmed by shock, Potland stammered before finally responding.

"Practice tonight. You don’t need to actually shoot, but at least you should know how to hold a gun, how to load it, and how to aim at the enemy," Chaoyang said as he tossed the gun to him, then "summoned" a large bottle of white pills. "Also, each person come and take one pill. Take it when you feel dizzy and tired. It will ensure that you are alert for the upcoming day. After all, you won’t have a chance to sleep until the battle is over tomorrow."