The new Contractees were going crazy.
On the day they arrived, the System gave them the mission [Learn about the pollutants]. Then they saw a group of old men and women gathered at the village entrance, reading aloud.
Contractee A: “Are they praying?”
Contractee B: “Poor things. They must be terrified.”
Just then, a polluted monster crawled past, oozing pus and flailing its tentacles.
The Contractees: “Holy crap!!!”
Then they saw
An old man lifted his teacup. “Believe in yourself. That's where your strength comes from.”
An old woman kept knitting. “I cheer myself on every day. One day, I'll be invincible.”
Ergouzi grabbed a hoe and charged. “Believe in yourself, believe in yourself, believe in yourself, ” One swing severed a tentacle.
Third Aunt joined in, brandishing a cleaver. “Believe in yourself!!!” Another batch of tentacles hit the ground.
Old Wang hobbled over on his cane. “Make way. I believe in myself too, ” He jabbed the monster's head and blew it apart.
The monster fell over, dead.
The Contractees' expressions slowly froze.
Only later did they learn that twenty years ago, a legendary figure had fallen from the sky, lost his memory upon landing, and started a religion out of sheer idleness: the Laoji Faith. It had just one tenet: believe in yourself.
When the Contractees went to pay their respects to the statue, they found it had no face.
“Why doesn't it have a face?”
“We believe in ourselves. Why would the statue have a face?”
Later, when monsters invaded, the villagers charged with their hoes. “Believe in yourself, believe in yourself, ” The monsters fled in terror, and those that weren't fast enough were beaten to death by the mob.
Contractee A stared down from a rooftop. “So which side are the monsters on?”
Contractee B: “Don't ask. Ask again and I might join them.”
Rational and calm | Savior and arbiter | Merciful judge | Founder of the Laoji Faith: Lin Zan
