Better to Worship an Evil God Than Be a Wage Slave

#An aloof god descends from the altar for love VS a devout, restrained believer ventures into the abyss for love#

#God is no god, human is no human. They deceive the heavens and weave a colossal lie.#

Wen Qing is a bona fide modern-day wage slave, with elders to support and children to raise. He earns 2,500 yuan a month, has a life more bitter than coptis, is spectacularly unlucky, and can't hold on to his money.

"Oh my, leukemia this time? Acute, too!" A very punchable voice chimed in at Wen Qing's ear, gloating. "Tsk, tsk, I told you this body would break down sooner or later. Why are you so stubborn?"

"You're so annoying." Wen Qing opened his umbrella, stepped out of the hospital, and into the rain. He crumpled the test results and tossed them into a trash can. "Did you do this?"

"Oh dear, what are you saying? I couldn't possibly..." There was no one beside him, but the voice persisted, giggling like a child and putting on a coy, affected tone. "We come from the same source. Of course I want what's best for you. The flesh is weak, so why not find release sooner? Listen to me. A blade through the heart will spare you the suffering and make you powerful enough to transcend this world!"

"Hah." Wen Qing gave a cold laugh, unconvinced. "You think I'd believe that?"

Working stiffs don't believe in empty promises.

Step, step, step. He walked alone through a dim, muddy alley. Behind him, two sets of footprints appeared.

One was clear and steady, heading forward. The other was uneven, sometimes heavy and sometimes light, scattered and unsteady.

The two sets of footprints gradually overlapped.

The words blended into the downpour, circling Wen Qing, mad as a parasite burrowing into bone. "What's so great about being an ordinary person who follows the rules? Why won't you believe me? I'm so sad, boo-hoo-hoo..."

"We're souls that have been abandoned. We never belonged in this world. Why confine ourselves to a body or worry about worldly rules? Wouldn't it be better to indulge ourselves? Hee-hee-hee..."

"Shut up. You're too noisy."

Wen Qing's mind often came up with thoughts that could get him arrested: He wanted to hang those capitalists from streetlamps, take out those clients who caused trouble for no reason, and destroy the world...

It's perfectly normal to go a little crazy at work. Emotional stability costs extra.

Until one day, he thought, I just want to... end it all.

Wen Qing suddenly felt that maybe there really was something wrong with his mind. He went to the municipal hospital to get checked, only to find that his head was fine and his body was sick.

Damn it, and they still wouldn't count it as a workplace injury!

Going to that lousy job every day, being poor and unlucky, living was exhausting. He might as well reincarnate and start over.

But in the end, Wen Qing still went to the hospital for treatment and tried to hang on.

Because he'd made a promise: to stay alive and live with dignity.

Then, on the seventh day of working while receiving treatment, he was swept into a spatial rift between another plane and the real world: the Strange Colosseum, a god's amusement park.

[Abnormally powerful resentment and an intense desire detected.]

Wen Qing: "...Every wage slave has more resentment than a ghost."

[Would you like to gain immense power and boundless wealth? Clear the games! Put on a spectacular performance! Then any wish you make can come true!]

Wen Qing: "What's the base pay? Do you offer social insurance, housing fund, and workplace injury compensation? Nine to five? Regular two-day weekends? Overtime pay? What are the prospects for this game?"

[Sorry, this System can't answer those questions. Do you want to survive? As long as you reach the top, none of that will be a problem!]

Wen Qing: "...This isn't some kind of illegal organization, is it? I'm a law-abiding citizen."

It looked just like a multinational corporation kidnapping people, harvesting their organs, and making empty promises.

[...Fine, then go die.]

Wen Qing: "..."

For the sake of staying alive, even a lazy fish can sit up and get to work.

A corporate drone's greatest skill is knowing when to bend and when to stand firm. A job is a job, wherever you do it.

The Old God issued a decree:

[Eliminate the heretics.]

The System panel opened:

[Dear player, please remember: follow the rules and stay rational! If you become fully corrupted, you will be trapped in the instance forever. We look forward to your return.]

[Initial mutation value: 40%. Selecting a beginner instance. Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...]

And then Wen Qing was thrown into the high-difficulty, S-rank primordial instance [Divine Effigy].

His debuffs piled up, and he nearly became a box of ashes on the very first day.

Wen Qing (the unluckiest person alive): ...Damn.

Fine, you asked for it. I'll show you what it means to "clean up the workplace" and that "you get what you pay for."

A lot of strange things had happened in Central City lately.

First, one primordial instance after another was forcibly shut down in the instance lobby, including some high-level ones. It was practically unheard of.

Then all the temples issued their highest-level wanted notices at once, and the target was just one rookie?!!

In front of the red-name leaderboard, Player A nudged the person beside him. "You know? I heard that the rookie Wen Qing who's wanted is the big shot who blows up instances every day."

Wen Qing tugged at his item cloak and lowered his voice. "Brother, your information is impressively up to date! Doesn't the temple say it protects players? Why are they putting someone on the wanted list?"

Player A looked pleased and clapped Wen Qing on the shoulder like an old friend. "Hey, that's nothing. The rookie probably offended a god worshipped by the temple... Wait, what's wrong?"

Wen Qing shuddered, clapped a hand to his chest, and forced himself to sound calm. "Haha, it's nothing. My old ailment is acting up. Oh, it's almost time to enter an instance! Excuse me, brother!"

He turned and hurried through the crowd, tapped the panel, and switched to his private apartment.

As soon as he shut the door, black mist gathered behind him into a human shape. A cold hand gripped his chin, drawing close as it murmured, "You... may only speak to me... You are my other half."

A vein throbbed at Wen Qing's temple.

Who the hell is your other half?! Pull those wandering tentacles out of my clothes!!! I sell my art, not my body! Selling my body costs extra!

"Will you become my believer?"

"Why should I be your believer?"

"Because I'm a god, and proper gods have believers."

"What's so great about being a god? You always say being a god is boring and that you want to be human."

"It really is boring... But I've thought it over, and I'll be a proper god after all. Then I can protect my believers."

"...All right, but I'm possessive. You can only have me."

"Okay."

Later, when Wen Qing had grown up and remembered this conversation, he laughed to himself. So possessive, just as ever.

Someone once told him: Medicine can't cure the poor, and cigarettes can't solve every hardship. Wine can't drown sorrow, and love can't be as solid as gold. People can't go back to the old days, and reunions and partings aren't up to us. Everything is fate, and nothing is in our hands.

Humans are best at deceiving themselves.

Is that so? He didn't believe in fate.

He was determined to fight for his own future.

[A seemingly calm and rational, but occasionally deranged, work-weary bottom VS an ultimate love-struck demon god who woke up to find his home stolen and himself turned into an idiot]

Reading Guide:

1. There may be a touch of Lovecraftian elements (well... maybe it's just using the name; the worldbuilding is still being worked on). The general framework is in place, and the main story ideas probably won't change much from here.

2. One-on-one, mutually devoted.

3. There are livestreaming elements, but viewers can't interact, and the audience includes more than just players.

Theme: No matter what reality is like, have the courage to live well.