Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Burp—

Yu Yuan looked helplessly at Zhi Zhi, who was letting out yet another light belch.

"Squeak squeak—" (Master, I didn't mean to!)

Zhi Zhi covered its eyes with one paw.

"Squeak squeak—" (But this time I'm only eighty percent full, really didn't overeat this time, believe me!)

Yu Yuan couldn't help but chuckle.

It wasn't really Zhi Zhi's fault for ending up like this.

Never mind Zhi Zhi, even Yu Yuan himself was stunned by the sheer amount of information contained in this intelligence report.

This was basically one of the most core secret pieces of information in the entire Civilization Ladder.

By now, Yu Yuan was fully aware of just how crucial the New World was to the Civilization Ladder.

Just look at the cover of the Civilization Publication.

The black hole represented by the New World was surrounded by four Star Tracks: Rock, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Positioned at the very heart of the entire Civilization Ladder, its importance went without saying.

This intelligence not only introduced the emergence of the New World and its internal situation, but also described the state of affairs before the Civilization Ladder had even formed.

These were things that probably only those big shots at Gold Rank would know.

He didn't pay any more attention to Zhi Zhi.

Although Zhi Zhi had already sensed the threshold of evolution, sensing it was just sensing it.

The way it was now, it clearly wasn't ready for evolution yet.

Yu Yuan continued flipping through the publication in his hands.

This was originally just a subconscious action on his part, since this issue of the Civilization Publication had already provided two major pieces of heavyweight news, which was rare enough.

But unexpectedly, when he flipped to the last few pages of the publication, another page with clearly printed content appeared.

Yu Yuan was overjoyed.

But when he read the content clearly, the joy in his eyes gradually turned to solemnity.

—[The Frost Abyss Descends, A Silent Invasion]

While the Civilization Ladder was rife with intrigue, with everyone's attention focused on the conflicts between the Blood Clan and several other factions, 39% of the worlds within the Civilization Ladder had already experienced environmental changes, and the number of affected worlds was still growing.

Without exception, all of these worlds were experiencing low-temperature/extreme cold disasters.

Creatures related to cold, ice, extreme cold, and disasters were gradually appearing in these worlds.

As a result, faith organizations that worshipped extreme cold as their belief system had emerged.

At the same time, the Frost Demon King, leader of the Frost Demon faction from the Fallen Abyss, sensed that his authority over ice was beginning to weaken.

Someone was trying to seize his control over extreme cold.

After investigation, all signs pointed to one place—the New World.

As his "homeland," he was well aware of how complicated it was.

This might be an invasion from the people of his "homeland"—a silent invasion of the Civilization Ladder.

The Frost Demon King didn't make a fuss about it, but quietly prepared instead.

Because he understood this might be a rare opportunity—a chance to grow powerful once again.

————————

"The New World again... This intelligence report has a very high New World content!"

"The oil creatures came out of the New World, and they appeared in Fuel Town after the Endless Cold Wave disaster descended. That's no coincidence..."

Yu Yuan sensed a feeling of an approaching storm.

It had nothing to do with faction wars on the Civilization Ladder, but came from the New World itself.

What was certain was that Green Forest World, as one of the worlds affected earlier by the New World, had already shown so many anomalies.

Whether it was the Ice Crystal Spider Fiend or the oil creatures, these were only the anomalies he had discovered so far.

In those places he had never set foot, there were likely even more anomalies waiting to appear.

These were all unavoidable troubles.

Just like the Ice Crystal Spider Fiend and the oil creatures were already putting no small amount of pressure on Yu Yuan.

Although he had used the rules to put them to work for him, this wasn't a long-term solution.

There was always the possibility of playing with fire and getting burned.

At the very end of the cold-related intelligence page, three extremely complex patterns with intricate designs were drawn.

Yu Yuan recognized at a glance that all three patterns were ritual blueprints—and quite high-end ritual blueprints at that.

-

"Leader, these are rituals for establishing faith channels. They're very advanced, and their directional targeting is extremely clear. Any faith activity related to ice and cold will resonate with these rituals."

Mona looked at the ritual images on the Civilization Publication and explained the situation to Yu Yuan.

"These three rituals each have their own emphasis. They should be a combination ritual.

This ritual is responsible for expanding the scope of faith collection...

This ritual reinforces the faith and establishes two-way connection...

This ritual is more complex, seemingly having the effect of determining faith attribution, and it's also the core of this combination ritual..."

Mona's Dark High Priestess talent proved its value in this moment.

She explained the details of these three rituals to Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan also seemed to understand what the Frost Demons were thinking.

The emergence of the Extreme Cold Disaster had led many intelligent beings to develop faith and worship toward ice and cold.

Perhaps it was an instinct for survival, or perhaps the Extreme Cold Disasters themselves carried a spiritual suggestive effect.

Regardless, these beliefs were all real.

The Frost Demon King was preparing to plunder the share of ice-cold faith!

And he was doing it by directly determining faith attribution.

"Hah, as expected, anyone who can become the leader of a faction is no simple character."

He thought this to himself while Mona's explanations continued to reach his ears.

Yu Yuan was about to speak.

Suddenly, the Mechanical Prompt Sound rang in his ears, and several messages popped up one after another on the Virtual Light Screen.

[Ding, analyzed the ritual structure and runes of 'Ice-Cold Faith,' obtained a large amount of core knowledge of 'Ice-Cold Faith,' obtained extensive permissions and knowledge of 'Ice-Cold Faith']

[Title 'Devout Believer' triggered the Faith Disguise effect, intercepted faith identity: Ice-Cold Envoy]

[Title 'Devout Believer' triggered the 'Faith Infiltration' effect, successfully infiltrated 'Ice-Cold Faith,' obtained faith channel interception permission, Ice-Cold Faith compatibility +50%, Ice-Cold Believer loyalty +3]

——————

Yu Yuan's eyes widened slightly.

He hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall.

But the bigger surprise was still to come.

[Ding, triggered key node: 1. Complete 'Faith Disguise' identities x3 (√); 2. Obtain advanced disguised identity x1 (√); 3. Master ≥5% of key information about the 'Faith Disguise' deity (√); 4. Achieve 'Faith Infiltration' on at least one deity (√), meeting the 'Profile of the Divine' title path upgrade conditions]

[Obtained Title: God's Chosen (Epic)]

[Achievement Unlocked: Faith Performer]

[Obtained Achievement Points: 90,000]

———————

The appearance of these notification messages made Yu Yuan sit up straight instantly.

"Hm? Leader, what's wrong?" Mona was drawn by Yu Yuan's sudden movement.

"Wait a moment!" Yu Yuan replied briefly, a hint of excitement in his eyes.

Ever since the City Shadows title path secured its ultimate title, his other two title paths had gone without updates for a long time.

Yu Yuan had long prepared himself for a war of attrition.

Because whether it was the Profile of the Divine or the Rare Item Long Staircase title, neither was simple.

Their rarity far exceeded that of the City Shadows title path.

Yu Yuan had been incredibly fortunate just to unlock these title paths in the first place.

To advance further, with the conditions unknown, would be harder than ascending to heaven.

But unexpectedly, he received a pleasant surprise right here.

He immediately began checking the title and achievement information...