"Why would you think I'm stupid enough to follow you there? If you want to negotiate, we can talk right here."

Lin Ye had no habit of going to the enemy's lair to negotiate.

"The other side of the portal is the cult headquarters. There are some things there that might interest you. Of course, we can also talk here."

The Leader casually closed the portal, as if the earlier suggestion had been nothing more than a whim.

"It is a little inappropriate to talk here. There's a restaurant over there that tastes pretty good. We can eat while we talk."

An Alienated Body parked the sports car beside Lin Ye. Catherine sat in the back with her little sister and Lin Ye, while the Leader took the co-driver seat.

The sports car soon stopped at the restaurant entrance. Although the earlier battle had occurred not far away, the restaurant was still open for business, and the diners seemed to be tasting their food as if they hadn't noticed the previous disturbance.

"This is really... even someone like me, a cult leader, would find this spine-chilling."

The Leader stood outside the restaurant and looked at the scene inside as it spoke.

"What are you talking about? Unlike becoming sacrificial offerings, we all volunteered."

A waiter pushed open the restaurant door and smiled as he greeted the guests.

The diners inside turned their heads toward the Leader at the same time, wearing friendly smiles.

"...Well, that's good then."

The Leader did not object. It followed the waiter into the restaurant and sat at the window seat.

Before they sat down, the table was already laid out with various dishes.

"I ordered some dishes that looked delicious. I hope you don't mind."

Lin Ye sat calmly beside the Leader, and Catherine and her sister sat across the table.

"...Isn't this distance a bit too close? Are we really going to talk like this?"

The Leader cast a troubled glance at Lin Ye sitting next to it. It felt like it was sharing a bench with an extremely dangerous bomb.

"It's more convenient if something happens later. I like doing things efficiently."

Although sitting across versus beside made little difference in distance, if Catherine sat next to the Leader, it would be harder for Lin Ye to act.

Especially given that the enemy could open a portal.

"Fine. In any case, I didn't plan to fight you... Don't you think the food here is delicious?"

The Leader picked up the bread in front of it and placed it in front of Catherine's little sister.

"Yes, it's indeed delicious. What's the problem?"

Lin Ye tasted the delicious dishes. He had checked the restaurant's Recipe Book earlier and found nothing particularly unusual, just some ingredients unique to the place.

"Because this is a restaurant, its food will naturally be very tasty, especially for you."

The Leader moved all the dishes that had been placed before it to the other side of the table. It had not eaten in a long time. For a powerful being like it, there were many ways to supplement its body.

"Are you spouting nonsense? I know this is a restaurant... Oh, you mean... no wonder it's so tasty."

Lin Ye put down his utensils. The question that had been bothering him was suddenly resolved; no wonder something felt off.

"Exactly. This Plane is the restaurant of those evil deities, and we are merely the food for those deities."

The Leader spoke calmly, revealing the fundamental reason this Plane had become what it was.

"That's why the limbs of those evil deities don't resist. They were meant to cultivate the organs of this Plane, so of course they don't need to resist."

Lin Ye sighed. The cultists' arrogance had been so excessive that he had never imagined they were actually the victims.

"At first this Plane wasn't like this, not until the deities descended onto it.

Back then people didn't know what those deities were. Humans worshiped the deities, and the deities bestowed upon humanity the power to change the world.

Until the first spiritual energy user who reached tenth-order appeared. He was the leader people revered, a strong man who enforced justice to the end. Many watched his ascension process. Even his enemies hoped he would succeed.

And he never betrayed people's expectations.

Then he was eaten by the deities, in front of everyone's eyes.

Those deities didn't care at all. In their eyes, we are livestock raised in this world.

All our power comes from them, so we cannot resist the deity power."

The Leader showed a somewhat mocking smile. It picked up the dessert in front of Lin Ye and stuffed it into its mouth. White filling spilled everywhere, leaving a mess at its mouth.

"What does this have to do with cults? Can't people just refuse to absorb deity power?"

Catherine looked at the Leader with icy eyes. She would not allow the man before her to shirk responsibility, because everything she had gone through was caused by this man.

"Don't interrupt. The interesting part comes next."

The Leader took the handkerchief Lin Ye passed over and wiped its mouth, then continued:

"After that, all the bystanders understood the deities' purpose. Many believers collapsed because of it, but humanity is a species that never admits defeat. In times of crisis, someone always steps forward. I was one of them.

First we established one fact: it's impossible not to absorb deity power.

There are two preconditions for deities to eat humans. First, someone must reach tenth-order spiritual energy. No matter how many spiritual energy users reach tenth-order, the deities will devour them all. At least we didn't find an upper limit.

Second, the deities must be hungry. When a deity feels hunger, it will voraciously devour the humans nearby until the total reaches the level of a tenth-order spiritual energy user, then it will stop. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Also, the deities only eat thinking humans. They do not consume other creatures. If humans refuse to absorb deity power, humanity will soon perish completely.

For humanity's survival, the top experts at the time voluntarily became the first batch of sacrificial offerings. They sacrificed themselves and bought humanity a lot of time.

During that process, we researched deity power. That mental barrier and the items used to store deity power were products of that period.

But this sacrifice caused a fatal problem: all the noble people died. What remained were people who would rather sacrifice tens of thousands than sacrifice themselves. Not that they were bad—selfishness is human nature; not everyone can defy it.

But they blocked humanity's path to continued survival.

So the church and government leaders came up with a plan: to establish a cult system. If we killed all those who knew the truth, the world would no longer know the deities' purpose, and then those who pursued power would willingly become sacrificial offerings.

Believers of evil gods become food for those gods. Don't you think that's what makes sense?"