Chapter 2

Under the cover of dark mist, the entire Long Chan Temple seemed like a ghostly realm.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the wooden fish became more urgent.

Each strike seemed to hit Lin Baise and Jin Yingzhen's chests, making their heart rates soar, almost to the point of sudden death.

"My Buddha asks you, are you sincere?"

The mysterious Buddha statue, which had suddenly appeared, lowered its head, gazing down at the two with a blank expression, its eyes glowing a blood-red, like the fires of hell.

The divine taboo object has arrived!

Jin Yingzhen instinctively tried to run, but her right wrist was suddenly grabbed by a large hand. She turned around and saw the Buddha statue raising the wooden fish toward her.

If she ran,

the wooden fish would definitely smash her head.

Cold sweat drenched her back, making her undergarments damp.

Gulp!

Jin Yingzhen trembled, swallowing hard, her eyes fixed on the face of the boy who, if he were to debut, could become a top idol based on his looks alone.

She knew that if not for his pull, she would already be dead.

Lin Baise looked at the Korean girl and shook his head slightly.

You can't run; running means death!

This was what the mysterious voice had said.

[You can't run; show your devotion to the Great Buddha, or your head will be smashed into a bloody mess by the wooden fish!]

Jin Yingzhen didn't dare speak, asking Lin Baise with her eyes,

What should we do?

Lin Baise looked up at the Buddha statue.

It was entirely brownish-red, like the color of congealed blood, about three meters tall, carved from a single massive stone.

Every detail was lifelike, and even the most skilled master could not create such a perfect work.

The Buddha statue's expression, aura, and texture were almost human.

It held a wooden fish in its left hand, placed on its chest, and a thick stone mallet in its right hand, striking it to produce a clear sound.

The Buddha statue noticed Lin Baise's gaze and immediately focused on him.

"My Buddha asks you, are you sincere?"

This was the third time it had asked, and its patience seemed to be wearing thin. As it asked, it raised the wooden fish high.

From the look of it, if Lin Baise didn't answer or answered incorrectly, it would smash his head.

"Damn, we're dead!"

Jin Yingzhen wanted to live, but her mind was a mess, and she had no idea what to do.

[Your food has arrived, thank the divine for the offering, and start eating!]

'Food? This Buddha statue?'

Lin Baise wanted to curse. Clearly, he was at the bottom of the food chain.

[Why not eat? Is it not to your taste?]

"I have iron teeth and a copper mouth, but I can't bite it to death!"

Lin Baise shouted in his heart.

What is this Buddha statue, anyway?

What does it mean by that?

If I prove my sincerity, can I live?

Lin Baise looked at Jin Yingzhen, wanting to ask if she had any ideas.

The Korean girl blinked, looking at Lin Baise with hope, as if this guy was the strongest lifeline in her life.

Lin Baise took a deep breath.

It's over,

this woman is no help!

I have to rely on myself.

As Lin Baise prepared to pray, the mysterious voice echoed in his mind again.

[Pay respects to the Buddha, offer incense money, but don't offer too little, or it will get angry.]

"You, you are not sincere, you should die!"

The Buddha statue said, and the stone mallet in its hand fell, striking toward Lin Baise's head.

"Buddha, protect me, my heart is as sincere as a mirror, the heavens can bear witness!"

Lin Baise shouted, pulling out his wallet and taking out 150 yuan, a cafeteria card, an ID card, and everything else: "Here, take it all!"

Whoosh!

The stone mallet stopped just before Lin Baise's forehead, the wind from its movement blowing his bangs away.

Jin Yingzhen covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes full of panic, almost screaming.

"Is it not enough?"

Lin Baise felt his heart almost jump out of his throat, his heart rate definitely over 200. He didn't dare hesitate and took out his phone.

"Here, take this too!"

Lin Baise said, quickly taking off his T-shirt and jeans.

The Buddha statue examined the 'incense money' Lin Baise had offered, and its originally terrifying face broke into a satisfied smile.

"My Buddha knows, you are sincere!"

"You may live!"

The Buddha statue opened its mouth and took a deep breath.

Lin Baise's wallet, phone, and clothes were sucked directly into its mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

Whoosh!

Lin Baise let out a sigh of relief.

Is it over now?

The Buddha statue didn't leave but turned to look at Jin Yingzhen, its smile turning fierce.

"My Buddha asks you, are you sincere?"

Jin Yingzhen was smart and, following Lin Baise's example, took out her wallet, phone, and watch. After hesitating for a moment, she also took off her jeans and tight top, offering them to the Buddha statue.

Lin Baise couldn't help but glance at her.

What a great figure!

Is this what they mean by a "milk cow"?

The Buddha statue opened its mouth and sucked in the incense money Jin Yingzhen had offered, then struck the wooden fish and disappeared into the dark mist.

We're safe!

Jin Yingzhen, who had narrowly escaped death, hugged Lin Baise excitedly.

"We made it! We made it! Oba, you're amazing!"

Mua!

Jin Yingzhen, overcome with emotion, kissed Lin Baise on the cheek.

"Do you know what that was?"

Lin Baise was referring to the strange Buddha statue.

"Divine taboo object!"

Jin Yingzhen explained: "These are things that appear in the divine ruins, which cannot be explained by existing scientific theories. The authorities define them as divine taboo objects, meaning they are forbidden things even the gods fear!"

"These divine taboo objects possess supernatural rule powers and can cause rule pollution. For example, that Buddha statue, I think if we couldn't prove our sincerity, we would have been killed!"

Jin Yingzhen was still shaken by the thought.

She had been in a panic and couldn't think clearly.

Thanks to this guy!

He was calm enough to come up with the idea of offering incense money to prove his sincerity.

Otherwise, we would have been dead for sure.

"Oba, you're my superhero!"

Jin Yingzhen looked at Lin Baise with admiration.

Although she was now only in her underwear, Jin Yingzhen didn't complain. She had even considered taking off her underwear and offering it.

After all, who knew what the Buddha statue's bottom line for incense money was!

If it wasn't enough,

we would have been killed.

"How many divine taboo objects are there in a divine ruin?"

Lin Baise was overwhelmed, feeling like things were about to go wrong.

"I don't know!"

Jin Yingzhen suddenly noticed that Lin Baise's physique was as good as his looks, with well-defined muscles that made her want to touch them: "Do you often work out?"

This was clearly an extremely disciplined man!

Jin Yingzhen found another strength in this guy.

"I don't like to exercise!"

Lin Baise shook his head and looked around.

"Huh?"

Jin Yingzhen's eyes fell on Lin Baise's eight-pack abs, surprised. How could these have just grown on their own?

Lin Baise knew Jin Yingzhen's confusion because he was also puzzled.

From a young age, his body had been healthy, and especially since high school, it had become as if it had been well-trained.

"Given this situation, will we encounter other divine taboo objects?"

Lin Baise changed the subject.

"Definitely!"

Jin Yingzhen looked at Lin Baise pitifully: "So, Oba, it's up to you!"

To be honest, this girl was very beautiful, with an extremely attractive figure, even better than the top Korean girl group members that his childhood friend Li Wei liked, but Lin Baise felt nothing.

Because he was hungry.

[Take her with you, she can be a backup meal, cooking method: charcoal grill!]

The mist had cleared a bit, with visibility of about twenty meters.

"Oba, let's hurry and find the divine remains?"

Jin Yingzhen felt dizzy and nauseous, as if she had been on a roller coaster for half an hour: "At this rate, we won't last long. Even if we don't lose our minds, our bodies will give out!"

"Let's go!"

Lin Baise didn't want to wait either.

Otherwise, he felt he would starve to death before being polluted into a pile of unconscious dead flesh by the divine remains.

"Is that the Great Hall of the Great Hero?"

This was the largest building in Long Chan Temple, and Lin Baise decided to try his luck there.

"Not necessarily. The divine ruins created by the meteor impact can cause changes in the original terrain, creating some inexplicable places!"

Jin Yingzhen answered without reservation.

"Okay!"

Lin Baise had only taken a few steps when the voice in his mind suddenly reminded him.

[There's a big meal over there, but with your appetite, you can't eat it. I suggest you avoid it for now.]

"What are you?"

Lin Baise stopped, though the voice was mysterious and mostly talked about eating, it had indeed helped him just now.

No answer, the voice remained silent.

"Can you tell me how to get out of this divine ruin?"

Lin Baise didn't give up.

[Go right, this is your jungle. Your appetite is already ravenous, and you can't wait to start eating.]

"Right?"

Lin Baise turned and decided to try it.

Jin Yingzhen followed.

The two moved cautiously through the mist.

Lin Baise's calm gradually infected Jin Yingzhen, making the blonde girl more composed.

"Be careful!"

Lin Baise suddenly crouched down.

Jin Yingzhen didn't ask what was wrong but quickly crouched down, following Lin Baise's gaze.

Several dozen bodies lay scattered not far away.

"Run!"

Jin Yingzhen grabbed Lin Baise.

[Hey, a bunch of unlucky souls killed by the Merit Buddha, did they refuse to donate incense money even to the death?]

It seemed the Buddha statue from earlier had killed these people.

So, that monster is called the Merit Buddha?

Lin Baise guessed that it wasn't that these people were unwilling to give money, but that they didn't know how to prove their sincerity.

[Good luck, a pleasant surprise at the door, you can go and collect the loot!]

"Let's go!"

If the voice said it was safe, it should be safe.

Lin Baise boldly walked over.

Nine men and seven women, all with their heads smashed in.

"Search them, find anything useful!"

Lin Baise walked to the body of a young man about his height and stripped off his Manchester United jersey.

The jersey was bloody, making Lin Baise uncomfortable, but wandering around in just his underwear was even worse.

After all, Lin Baise wasn't a pervert.

The Merit Buddha hadn't touched the belongings of these bodies, apparently not accepting offerings that weren't voluntarily given by the visitors.

Lin Baise found a Rolex watch.

He wasn't being greedy but needed to check the time to see how long he had been in the divine ruin.

In addition, he picked up a backpack containing two lighters, over 600 yuan, and three phones.

If they encountered the Merit Buddha again, he could offer these to it.

"Oba, no weapons!"

Jin Yingzhen changed into a cotton skirt and a white sun-protective shirt.

"Let's go!"

The two continued forward, walking for about ten minutes until they saw a moon gate, like the eye socket of a demon, standing not far away.