This Text Adventure Game is definitely poisonous
Chapter 879 - 428: A Small Shock for the Bandits

Chapter 879: Chapter 428: A Small Shock for the Bandits

[Evans and his companions quickly disappeared into the distance, leaving only you and a group of sand bandits at the scene.]

[You led the many sand bandits onto the desert landship and immediately restarted it, setting off grandly. Under the guidance of one of the bandits, you headed towards their hideout deep in the desert.]

The journey involved following these bandits.

You didn’t know whether they were worried about being followed, as they continually changed directions, now left, now right, with no pattern at all — it felt more like they were going in circles.

After navigating the high-temperature desert for several hours and thoroughly delving deep into the wilderness, and after making sure that no one was following behind, they finally gave the correct direction.

Another half hour passed, and the group finally reached the location.

[Under the lead bandit’s guidance, the desert landship came to a stop in front of what looked like an ordinary sand dune.]

[You and the others disembarked from the landship. The lead bandit went to the top of the dune, bent down to brush away the surface sand, and reached into the sand to search around.]

[As the ground trembled beneath your feet, you saw a hidden entrance suddenly spring open below the dune, with surrounding sand pouring into it. As you approached to inspect, you found that beneath the entrance was a stone staircase leading underground.]

[The sand bandits showed no surprise at this sight, lining up to enter the entrance one by one. You stowed the landship in your backpack and then followed the line, stepping down the underground staircase.]

[After advancing through a narrow passageway in the dark, the area ahead suddenly opened up.]

[You found yourself in a vast underground palace with a ceiling over thirty meters high, with rows of lit torches hanging on the walls, illuminating the desert-themed stone carvings depicted on them.]

[Upon entering the palace, you then realized that the hall was filled with even more sand bandits, easily numbering over a thousand, each decorated with a nine-tined sun pattern on their chests.]

[The lead bandit quickly stepped into the main hall and walked over to a bald bandit, whispering to him, prompting those around to look over at you with surprise.]

[After hearing the introduction, the bald bandit approached you with several armed bandits following him, encircling you with their weapons drawn, emitting a fierce aura as if they would chop you down with their axes if you misspoke.]

["You say you are a follower of Caesar?" the bald bandit squinted and asked you. As he spoke, the surrounding bandits all gripped their weapons tighter, ready for violence.]

["Yes," you responded unwaveringly, indifferent to the bandits around you.]

["You say you are a wealthy merchant from the Lan Ai’er Empire who has sold all your properties to seek us out?" the bald bandit asked again.]

["Exactly," you replied calmly.]

[The bald bandit stared into your eyes for several tens of seconds before nodding, "Well then, now, you may present your sincerity to prove your loyalty to Caesar!"]

Simply put, to join the order, one must first pay their dues; such is the routine of this religious organization.

[You didn’t rush to produce any money but first inquired about the church’s system of contribution points and the organizational structure.]

[The bald bandit looked towards another bandit who nodded and then recited the ’Caesar’s Church Regulations’ to you.]

[The hierarchy within Caesar’s Church was structured from top to bottom as Bishop, Esoteric Buddhism, Priest, Zealot, and Believer, each rank further divided into one to nine stars. Everyone’s status was determined by their contribution, whether by donating money, completing missions, or recruiting others to help strengthen the organization, all of which could earn contribution points. The higher one’s rank, the higher their status and privileges in the organization, the more daily resources they could access, and the more favor they would gain from Caesar when he resurrects...]

Mu You twitched his mouth upon hearing this, realizing that an organization of a thousand people had somehow created forty to fifty hierarchical levels, directly linking status to benefits and encouraging each member to recruit others—this was a standard pyramid scheme...

[After the regulations were recited, all the sand bandits fixated their gaze on you, awaiting your next move. You choose...]

[You opened the King’s treasury and took out a fist-sized diamond ’Angel’s Tear’, which left the other bandits gaping as you handed it to the bald bandit: "I wish to offer this to the organization!"]

["Angel’s Tear, worth... 3,3500 contribution points!" a bandit holding pen and paper, trembled as he declared. The value of this single diamond already surpassed the total points they had struggled to gather over a year.]

[You earned 3500 contribution points.]

[Your status in Caesar’s Church rose to ’nine-star believer’.]

"Just a nine-star believer?"

Mu You clicked his tongue, dissatisfied as the believer level was the lowest. The contribution required for each subsequent level would only multiply, with the last two positions likely requiring an astronomical number! From this pattern, it was clear that ordinary people wishing to rise to a high position in this organization would need to toil for hundreds or thousands of years.

Mingling with these ordinary members here would be pointless. Mu You’s goal was to meet the highest-ranked individual in the organization to quickly discern whether they truly possessed something vital for Caesar’s resurrection. To achieve this, he would need to rise at least to the level of Esoteric Buddhism or higher.