Chapter 168 Holy Maiden

The sacred St. Martin's Cathedral stands in the enchanting city of Frankfurt, nestled within the 441st district. Here, the venerable Bishop Rubio, representative of a new generation of spiritual leaders, resides within the hallowed walls of this newly-constructed sanctuary.

Within the grand cathedral hall, hundreds stood at the ready, armed and vigilant. The doors swung open, and the fair-haired young Rubio entered, announcing, "The Holy Maiden has embarked on her journey! She is in districts 20 through 30."

All eyes turned toward the Bishop.

"Ah," the venerable Bishop Rubio leaned back in his chair, addressing the congregation, "As before, once you find her, protect her covertly. If she encounters otherworldly creatures, eliminate the strong and leave the weak for her. This way, she will continue to believe she is under divine providence, allowing her to harness her powers more effectively!"

"Understood!" The crowd nodded in unison, and in a moment, the multitude within the cathedral, using teleportation scrolls away.

Old Rubio turned to the remaining figure in the hall, his nephew, the golden-haired young Rubio, and inquired, "Why have you not yet departed?"

Young Rubio replied, "Uncle, might I ask you to give me some funds to purchase return scrolls? You must know it took me 50 teleportations last time to locate the Holy Maiden."

"Hmph! You squandered your money on gambling with those ruffians, didn't you? I won't give you a single coin."

"Then, at least return my puppet to me. I no longer wish for her to launder your clothes, prepare your meals, or water your plants on your behalf."

...

Ming delighted in watching the school of fish drifting down the stream, feeling that the journey had been perfect.

Sniff, sniff~

Suddenly, a mixed of a human scents wafted through the air.

"Someone's here?" The human scent seemed to be emanating from downstream. Ming cautiously pulled out his crossbow and approached, discovering that the smell came from a pond formed by the merging of streams. A few articles of clothing were neatly stacked on a rock beside the pond, their gender indiscernible.

Sniff, sniff~

He was sure that the human scent came from the clothes. Upon inspection, he realized they all had features, albeit inferior to his own. He checked the original owners of the clothing:

[Jacket: Buck]

[Pants: Wallace]

[Shoes: Okbajo]

[Hat: Locke]

[Gloves: Alice]

"..."

Five pieces of clothing from five different original owners. Clearly, these items' owners needed to be more experienced, as they had been haphazardly purchased.

"Could it be?"

Suddenly, Ming understood. The female zombie that Da Vinci and his companions had encountered must have been the owner of these clothes. She had been alive when she arrived at this spot but had died for unknown reasons. Because she only wore two pieces of cloth, it was highly likely that she had gone swimming in the pond and drowned.

"There's another possibility."

Ming suddenly had a new conjecture. Perhaps the woman, feeling too weak and unwilling to face the brutal post-apocalyptic world, had chosen to end her miserable life by committing suicide in this serene and picturesque place.

"Poor soul." After sighing, he stored the clothes in his inventory. They should be worth a few hundred gold coins, and while the dead cannot be resurrected, their belongings could still benefit others.

Ming continued downstream, shaking off the foul mud in his hand. Life was unpredictable, and death was too common in this post-apocalyptic world. It didn't evoke much emotion in him. An essential thing in life was happiness, and he would never choose to end his life.

Half an hour later, Ming stood downstream, marveling at the school of white-bellied dead fish gathered at his feet. He felt like a genius. If there weren't boundaries, his harvest would be even greater.

After collecting his fish bounty, Ming proceeded to pick fruit. At that moment, a fair-skinned, blond man briskly approached, accompanied by a zombie wielding a battle-axe.

Ming realized the man was a level 28 puppet master, and the lord-level zombie was his puppet.

Seeing the seemingly wealthy man holding a chainsaw before him, Young Rubio cautiously stepped back and spoke softly, "₤...%*&%."

"..."

Ming didn't understand what the other person was saying

Young Rubio thought momentarily, then asked, "Have your ₤...%* blond hair and …%*s?"

"What are you saying?" Ming quickly waved his hands, indicating that he didn't understand.

"Emm~" Young Rubio looked at Ming and, judging by his gestures, concluded that he probably hadn't seen the Holy Maiden. He then said, "Thank you~."

Ming understood this and realized he had been thanked. He waved his hands and said, "You're welcome. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I enjoy helping others."

"..."

Young Rubio didn't understand but waved goodbye to Ming and left. He had already walked around the area and hadn't seen the Holy Maiden. Tearing open the card...counting down...waving to Ming...and teleporting away...

Ming watched the young man disappear and, recalling his expression, felt like there was some urgent matter. He turned to look at the fruit trees on the hill and proceeded to pick more fruit.

[Your frogs gazed at a vast, oval object on the tree, surrounded by plump black and yellow striped insects that buzzed around the oval shape...]

[Foodie bumped into Da Vinci, saying, "Look, your favorite flying insects..." Da Vinci told Foodie, "These flying insects are called bees; you can't eat them because they have stingers on their behinds that would sting your throat if swallowed... But, you can eat the honey inside the beehive; it's very sweet..."]

[Foodie licked its lips and jumped up to lick the beehive. However, due to the height, it couldn't reach it. Da Vinci suggested that Foodie try a running jump. Foodie took the advice and quickly crawled over the ground covered in dead leaves and branches. Ten minutes later... your frogs continued to think of other ways...]

"Honey?" Ming picked fruit and took out the "Home Cooking Compendium" and noticed that honey-glazed pigeon was a delicious dish. After putting away the cookbook, he continued to pick fruit.

He knew he couldn't pick all the fruit by himself in such a vast area. Being able to pick a quarter of it before teleporting return would be pretty good, without taking any breaks. He wished he had some help. It was a shame that the foreign young man had left earlier; he should have made friends with him.

...

England, District 328, Hastings Church.

Old Stuart, his right hand supporting his head as he leaned back in his chair, looked at the man in a black cloak standing before him after closing the private chat channel. He glanced at the knight puppet standing.

Old Stuart, with his right hand supporting his head as he leaned back in his chair, looked at the man in a black cloak standing before him after closing the private chat channel. He glanced at the armored knight puppet standing beside the man, holding a longsword with purple glints in its eyes. Then he said, "The Holy Maiden of Frank has left her sanctuary. Your mission can begin now. Don't disappoint the people of the whole district who are helping you."

"Rest assured, " Henry," the man in the black cloak nodded and said ominously, "I just need to turn her into my puppet. Even if her mental strength is high, as long as I control her for one minute, I can bring her back completely."

"Good, I trust you."

"You should trust me because I am the strongest puppet master."

"Take this; it's her basic information."

"So the Holy Maiden was a model before the apocalypse. She's charming, with a mole at the corner of her mouth~ Hehe~."

"You only need to bring her back. You are not allowed to violate her in any way because we still need to use her abilities to fight against the shared monsters."

"I understand~ Don't worry; I'll bring her back."