«Offer your loyalty and faith»
“Cultivating the Revival Nightmare Plant? Are you all joking?” Hearing this request, Min Zhizhou almost jumped out of his chair. He had entered middle age and hadn’t been this angry in a long time. “You all know the harm that thing poses to us, so why would you want to cultivate the Revival Nightmare Plant?!”
“But the Revival Nightmare Plant is harmless to us.” Zhu Yan twirled an electronic pen in his hand, carefully explaining to Min Zhizhou. “We aren’t cultivating the Revival Nightmare Plant to harm others, but to protect ourselves.”
Min Zhizhou fell silent, waiting for Zhu Yan’s explanation.
“We sincerely want to build friendly bridges with the people outside the city, but we must remain cautious. After all, the people outside the city are capable of creating large-scale weapons of mass destruction, like the gun you’re holding. They can use them against our own people, while we would never do such a thing.”
Zhu Yan’s words immediately left Min Zhizhou speechless. He had seen a thriving community in this city, where people helped each other and the police were only needed to handle minor disputes. There had never been a real crime.
As Zhu Yan said, not everyone outside the city was friendly. Mobile cities, in their fight for resources, had even waged wars when resources were running low to seize them.
Who wouldn’t long for a simpler and more honest world? But outside the city, it was no longer about the clash of interests; it was a struggle for survival.
“I just think that maybe the people outside the city wouldn’t be able to hurt you,” Min Zhizhou couldn’t help but say. “Your natural physique and combat abilities are something we could never hope to match.”
“But every power can be overthrown. Perhaps, over time, the people outside the city will gradually figure out ways to attack us. We must have the means to protect ourselves,” Zhu Yan responded to Min Zhizhou.
Min Zhizhou felt it was unlikely, but he couldn’t outright deny it.
In their long history, there had once been the first world overlords—the dinosaurs. Such powerful beings had ultimately become part of history.
Min Zhizhou truly had no right to ask Zhu Yan to give up on finding a way to defend themselves.
“But why the Revival Nightmare Plant?” The fear of Nightmare Beast seeds and the sorrow of facing the transformation of oneself after being parasitized by it—if possible, Min Zhizhou did not want to use such a thing.
“Because the Revival Nightmare Plant is the most suitable,” Yuan Zhiran, who had been silent until now, spoke up. “The Revival Nightmare Plant cannot move on its own; it must parasitize a living being to move. If the people outside the city have no intention of harming those inside, they won’t come into contact with the Revival Nightmare Plant.”
Min Zhizhou’s lips curled into a bitter smile. What they feared and desperately tried to escape from was seen as just a tool within the city.
“Mr. Min, do you know why we have never removed you from your work as a garbage sorter, which is so important to us?” Zhu Yan slightly tilted his head and smiled. “Because any garbage you sort, if thrown into the Nightmare Beast Forest, will be consumed by Nightmare Beast seeds.”
Min Zhizhou froze, looking at Zhu Yan in surprise.
“Everything you’ve touched carries the risk of being parasitized, yet we still accept you.” This time, Zhu Yan didn’t use cold analysis but spoke with emotion, trying to persuade Min Zhizhou. “We don’t want to exploit you. We’ve provided you with an absolutely safe environment, which proves that we have no ill intentions toward you. Similarly, we have no ill intentions toward the people outside the city.”
Min Zhizhou’s heart stirred. Indeed, as Zhu Yan said.
“I remember when I first came to the city, none of the residents were very friendly to me,” Min Zhizhou said with a bitter smile.
“To put it simply, would you have good intentions toward an unknown insect suddenly invading your home?” Zhu Yan asked with a smile.
“Zhu Yan, please show more respect to Mr. Min!” Yuan Zhiran immediately scolded him.
“No, it’s alright.” Min Zhizhou said helplessly. “What Zhu Yan said is indeed the truth.”
Yuan Zhiran immediately responded, “No, Mr. Min, you shouldn’t belittle yourself. You are extremely important to us and to the Creator.”
Min Zhizhou let out a slight sigh, his brow furrowed tightly. “Can you give me some time?”
“Alright.” Yuan Zhiran was the first to agree to Min Zhizhou’s request. “I’m sorry for proposing such a difficult matter to you, Mr. Min.”
“It’s not that. Indeed, from your perspective, this is a very good plan,” Min Zhizhou had to admit. This kind of thinking was indeed a breakthrough idea.
As Min Zhizhou left, Yuan Zhiran helplessly said, “Mr. Min is a man with a lot of thoughts and ideas. He’s very good at observing the bigger picture. Once he analyzes the pros and cons, he’ll agree to our request.”
“Even if he doesn’t agree, we have ways to make him cooperate.” Zhu Yan said lightly.
“You fool, what are you talking about? How could we, as NPCs in a peaceful and safe city created by the Creator, have such terrifying thoughts?” Yuan Zhiran immediately scolded Zhu Yan harshly.
“I didn’t say anything. Why do you call it terrifying?” Zhu Yan squinted his eyes at the exceptionally beautiful young man, whose unique charm made him seem untouched by any impurity.
“…” Yuan Zhiran’s face stiffened. He turned away, not wanting to make eye contact with Zhu Yan. “Why did you call me over?”
“Appeal to his emotions and reason with him.” Zhu Yan spread his hands. “After all, a cooperative person is far more efficient than an uncooperative one. Besides, I don’t want to upset the Creator.”
“It’s only been a day, but it seems like you’ve changed a bit.” Yuan Zhiran said, still somewhat skeptical.
“Just an illusion,” Zhu Yan smiled in response.
Yuan Zhiran: “……”
—
Min Zhizhou returned to the garbage dump where he worked. Although there was a rather unpleasant smell everywhere, among the trash, there were treasures to be found.
In this pile of discarded resources, Min Zhizhou saw a peaceful and serene world. It wasn’t one where people labored endlessly or were without hope.
Min Zhizhou took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
“Did the research institute call you again?” Min Zhizhou’s colleague emerged from the pile of garbage, removed his gloves and mask, and placed them aside before sitting down next to Min Zhizhou. “You’ve been going there less frequently lately. Has the research institute made some breakthrough progress?”
Min Zhizhou glanced at his colleague, who looked just as dirty as him. “Are you really that concerned about the progress at the research institute?”
“Of course.” His colleague replied.
“Is the research institute’s work something that ordinary residents can casually follow?” Min Zhizhou asked, somewhat confused.
“Why not? Maybe we could even provide the institute with some ideas for their research. Don’t look at our jobs; as long as it’s the Creator’s goal, we’re all interested!” His colleague started talking about the Creator. Min Zhizhou often heard the word ‘Creator’ mentioned in casual conversations. It seemed like everyone was accustomed to talking about it.
Min Zhizhou’s gaze flickered, and he suddenly asked, “Every time the garbage truck goes out to dump non-recyclable trash, do you throw all that garbage into the Nightmare Beast Forest?”
“Yes, didn’t you know that before?” His colleague looked at him in surprise. “Oh, right, you can’t get close to the Nightmare Beast Forest, so you wouldn’t think to dump the garbage there. Come to think of it, you don’t even have a driver’s license, so you can’t drive the garbage truck.”
Min Zhizhou: “…” Although he could tell his colleague wasn’t looking down on him, he really felt like a useless person.
Min Zhizhou remained silent for a while before speaking to his colleague. “The research institute asked me to help them cultivate the Revival Nightmare Plant.”
His colleague thought for a moment before suddenly nodding vigorously. “Not bad, that’s a great idea. I think it’s very feasible. You’ll finally have a place to put your skills to use and you’ll make a lot of money. Look, you’ve been here for a while, and look how much money you’ve already made.”
“Do you understand the significance of cultivating the Revival Nightmare Plant?” Min Zhizhou couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless at his colleague’s nonchalant response.
“I understand. Isn’t it just to block the outsiders from invading our city?” his colleague replied.
Min Zhizhou: “…” What’s going on in this city? Even a garbage sorter understand this?
“Don’t you think this is dangerous? What if something goes wrong? Maybe you won’t get parasitized, but what if the outsiders do?” Min Zhizhou didn’t want such an event to happen.
His colleague casually handed Min Zhizhou a packet of sunflower seeds, took a handful for himself, and started eating, leaving Min Zhizhou looking bewildered.
“Do you know the miracles of the Creator?” his colleague said slowly, “Think about it. If the Nightmare Beast Forest is something that your people outside fear so much, our Creator can still bring down miracles. What would happen if our fragile Creator really became a target for them?”
Min Zhizhou froze.
This was an answer that didn’t require much thought. The outside world was gradually heading toward a delicate balance. The existence of miracles could easily rewrite the course of the world.
“Can you guarantee that those people have no ulterior motives? Don’t they want our resources? Don’t they want our Creator? What’s wrong with protecting ourselves?” His colleague continued munching on sunflower seeds as he spoke, as though it was the most natural thing. “People must protect themselves. To protect yourself, you need weapons that can threaten others. I think the Nightmare Beast seeds are a good idea.”
Min Zhizhou: “…”
After becoming a mercenary, he had seen countless mobile cities. He had also witnessed humanity’s greed, something that could never be eradicated even in times of crisis.
“Mom, mom, I want some fruit candy,” suddenly, a mother and daughter passed by Min Zhizhou. This pair of mother and daughter passed by at this time every day, as though it was part of some programmed routine.
But the things they talked about were always different. Today, the daughter wanted fruit candy. Yesterday, it was: “Mom, today’s dad’s birthday, but I haven’t finished making his birthday gift. What should I do?”
The day before: “Mom, do you know why I’ve been learning to make cakes these past few days? It’s because I want to make a birthday cake for Dad!”
Min Zhizhou watched the mother and daughter’s figures and, for a moment, felt dazed.
“What are you looking at them for? Don’t get any funny ideas. The older one has a husband, and the younger one isn’t even an adult. Anyway, you can’t take them on,” his colleague suddenly spoke up.
“What are you talking about!” Min Zhizhou’s expression darkened. “I was just reminded of my parents.”
“Your parents? What happened to your parents?” his colleague casually asked.
“When I was young, on my birthday, my parents would give me all the food for the day. That was the happiest time for me; it was the only time I could fill my stomach,” Min Zhizhou’s voice softened when he talked about his parents, his middle-aged demeanor showing a slight trace of childlike tenderness. “As I grew up, I became more sensible and no longer ate their food. But on my birthday, they would always prepare more food for me as a gift.”
His colleague cracked a sunflower seed. “How did they prepare it?”
“They would work hard for a while, helping others. Every day, they’d earn a little food to make my birthday gift,” Min Zhizhou’s expression turned a little sad. “The food they saved would spoil, but they always gave me the freshest food to eat. They ate too, but they ate the food that had already gone bad.”
His colleague stopped cracking seeds, giving Min Zhizhou a complicated look. “Parents always have their children’s best interests at heart.”
Min Zhizhou didn’t respond. Back then, he always believed that human nature was beautiful.
But after leaving that mobile city, he became a mercenary.
He had once had the chance to witness the birthday party of the daughter of a city lord. He saw the most extravagant food he had ever laid eyes on. He understood, though. As decision-makers in high positions, they naturally had more pressure. It made sense they should enjoy better treatment than others.
It was just… he saw that the delicate little girl casually ate a bit of food but discarded it indifferently, as though the food before her was nothing special.
— “Dad, I’m tired of eating all these things. Is there nothing special?”
What did he feel back then?
Indifference, perhaps.
Even in such an environment, there were always people who lived better than others.
“Are your parents still alive? If yes, when the passage between the city and the outside world is opened, you can bring them over,” his colleague’s voice came from beside him. “You have a formal resident ID here and have contributed to the city, so bring them over and let them enjoy a good life too.”
Min Zhizhou’s expression froze. His body involuntarily stiffened.
“Here, you’ll never see anyone go hungry. Our Creator has always provided us with the richest food.” His colleague smiled as he spoke. “I’ve heard from my grandfather that it all started with just farming. Then the Creator introduced all kinds of seeds and recipes, and our food quality soared. Now, there are even many restaurants innovating with new dishes.”
His colleague proudly babbled on about the great achievements of He Fang, while Min Zhizhou couldn’t find any way to refute him.
In He Fang’s city, everyone could get the best food, have choices, and get what they wanted. All those who were sincerely cared for by He Fang were living happily.
“They’ve already passed away.”
“…My condolences.” His colleague shut his mouth.
Min Zhizhou shook his head. “It happened a long time ago. I’ve already accepted it calmly.”
His colleague fell silent for a moment, then pushed the packet of sunflower seeds toward Min Zhizhou.
“Do you think the city lord would treat all the people from outside the city kindly?” Min Zhizhou suddenly asked.
“Of course,” his colleague answered without hesitation, not offering any further explanation.
Min Zhizhou could see the trust and pride in his colleague’s face towards He Fang.
Min Zhizhou had traveled to too many places and seen countless forms of life. He knew how terrifying the Nightmare Beast Forest was, but he also understood the frightening nature of human desires.
The sole goal of the Nightmare Beast seeds was parasitism and reproduction.
But human desires were diverse and endless.
And He Fang was the most peculiar person with desires he had ever met. His only thought was to make the entire city grow and develop, to make it better.
Zhu Yan was right. To them, the Revival Nightmare Plants might just be a weapon. This weapon was in the hands of He Fang, a warm and gentle young man. His weapon was used to protect the city he loved the most.
“I think maybe I can cooperate with the research institute on the Revival Nightmare Plants,” Min Zhizhou said.
His colleague was stunned. “Shouldn’t you have already decided to cooperate with the research institute? Why hesitate? Are you disloyal to the Creator?!”
Min Zhizhou suddenly fell silent. His colleague’s menacing look made him break into a cold sweat. “No… I’m just a little afraid of the Revival Nightmare Plants.”
His colleague’s face darkened. “You think we can’t protect you?”
Min Zhizhou immediately waved his hand. “No, it’s just that I’ve been in contact with them too much, and it’s left a psychological scar. I can’t shake it off right away.”
“You’re so fragile,” his colleague said with a complex expression. “With someone like you, could you handle a blow? If you’ve ever gone through a city’s destruction, you’d probably be done for.”
“I haven’t experienced that, so it’s fine,” Min Zhizhou quickly joked, trying to turn the dangerous atmosphere into playful teasing. “It sounds like you’ve been through it. Maybe you’re not as tough as me.”
But as his words fell, Min Zhizhou noticed something strange.
His colleague stared at him, not saying a word, only continuing to crack sunflower seeds.
Min Zhizhou asked, “Sorry, did I say something that made you uncomfortable?”
“We won’t destroy the city,” his colleague said, his hand gripping the sunflower seed shell tightly. When he released it again, the shell crumbled into powder, falling from his hand bit by bit. “Don’t jinx it.”
Min Zhizhou froze.
His colleague couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Min Zhizhou, why don’t you go to university?”
Min Zhizhou: “?”
“There’s a course called ‘Creator’s Ideology’. I think you really need to learn it,” his colleague looked at him with disdain. “How can you not understand that following the Creator means continuous, everlasting development? It’s so frustrating.”
Min Zhizhou: “…”
—
After He Fang went offline, he carefully reviewed Zhu Yan’s plan again. Indeed, the design was quite ingenious.
The first thing that came to his mind after reading the plan was ‘train’, though not in the usual sense. It was more like a structure similar to a train.
They had chosen an aerial route because they had to preserve the Nightmare Beast Forest and open up a path to the outside world. However, flying along this route would test the pilot’s skills and experience, and the cost of building such aircraft was too high. Even after investing so many resources, the planes had many pros and cons that needed to be reconsidered and adjusted.
The reason they couldn’t build roads in the Nightmare Beast Forest was simple—there was no way to accurately identify a clear path. No one knew what lay beneath the forest. Things like building collapses would have a huge impact on the road. Not to mention, constructing a new road just for this purpose was not feasible.
Even if they did manage to build one, considering that their materials couldn’t be parasitized by the Nightmare Beast seeds, they would essentially be creating a road for the outsiders to invade the city freely.
Zhu Yan’s idea was to lay down materials resembling ‘rails’ inside the Nightmare Beast Forest to guide vehicles, with hollow spaces in between, in hopes of planting Revival Nightmare Plants. The only vehicles that could travel on these ‘rails’ would be their trains.
Not only could the train transport a large amount of resources, but it was also much cheaper to build compared to planes, making it highly practical.
Zhu Yan even proposed another concept. After reviewing the materials they brought back regarding the Revival Nightmare Plants, he discovered that the Revival Nightmare Plants didn’t have a particularly fixed form. Could the form of the Revival Nightmare Plants be fixed?
That is to say… what if they used the Revival Nightmare Plants themselves as the material to lay the rails?
Firstly, the outsiders would definitely not dare to touch the Revival Nightmare Plants. Even if an outsider tried to invade the city, once they touched the Revival Nightmare Plants, the Nightmare Beast seeds wrapped within would quickly scatter and parasitize. The ‘rails’ would easily disintegrate without any need for them to defend or take action.
This was indeed a very ingenious idea, using something initially thought to be unusable to create the conditions they needed. Zhu Yan’s mind was truly brilliant!
Currently, the research experiment on Revival Nightmare Plants has begun. Some researchers had already started designing the ‘Nightmare Beast Forest Train’.
He Fang reviewed a lot of data. The most common trains in reality were those with tracks. As a mainstream technology, they were considered quite advanced, at least in He Fang’s mind. He couldn’t imagine anything better than this.
Out of curiosity, He Fang roughly looked into the cost of the train’s supporting infrastructure. Instantly, everything before him went black.
Wow… so much money…
The cost of laying tracks was so high?!
He Fang couldn’t help but feel anxious. Would it really cost this much to make tracks using the infinitely appreciating Revival Nightmare Plants?
He didn’t directly pass the existing train data to the research institute for further analysis. Instead, he roughly described his understanding of the train and gave the institute a direction for their research.
Because he really didn’t have that much money.
How could a small city with a population of over 30,000 possibly afford to build tracks?!
He could only wait and see if the research institute could come up with a cheaper, more practical solution for the Nightmare Beast Forest Train.
Every time He Fang thought about not having enough money, he quickly realized that he had already begun constructing the entire area of the newly opened land. Except for places that were temporarily unnecessary, such as the ‘prison’, ‘court’, and ‘temporary residential areas’, the focus was still on economic development.
The residential buildings in the newly developed land were already completed, and the population had risen to 35,000. He Fang also started construction in the originally planned commercial areas to increase tax revenue as much as possible and enrich the national treasury.
He Fang logged in to research the map of the Nightmare Beast Forest that he had opened after entering, trying to see if there were any breakthroughs he could make on the map that would benefit the current situation.
He needed as much information as possible about why this map could be opened and what could be done after opening it.
Because it was the Nightmare Beast Forest, even though the map had been opened, it was different from the map of his city. There was only a very clear division between the gray and black areas.
He Fang realized that after entering the areas of the Nightmare Beast Forest that he had already explored and opened, he could see his location.
Thinking about this possibility, He Fang decided to give it a try.
He dug up a piece of grass from his city.
He planted it in the opened map of the Nightmare Beast Forest.
Then, he opened the map and adjusted the map scale to 1:1. Sure enough, in this empty space, he saw a piece of grass!
Joy flashed in He Fang’s eyes. If opening the map could allow for detection, that would mean he could control the internal conditions of the Nightmare Beast Forest, right?
However, now it seemed a bit pointless.
His NPCs wouldn’t come here and the people outside the city wouldn’t enter the Nightmare Beast Forest either.
He Fang frowned. He couldn’t figure out how to use this skill.
He stared at the grass, frowned, logged out for three minutes, and then logged in again. By this time, a lot of time had passed in the game. According to the game’s settings, the grass should have grown.
But… when he planted it, it was the same as it was now, with no sign of growing.
Was it really impossible to cultivate anything in the Nightmare Beast Forest?
He remembered that when he opened the new area, he directly eradicated the Nightmare Beast Forest, exposing the city that had been hidden deep inside. Now that he was within the Nightmare Beast Forest, even though he could dig up ‘dirt’ with his hands, the ‘dirt’ was black and solid. This was the same as when Chong Xiao attacked the interior of the Nightmare Beast Forest.
Thus, he confirmed that construction couldn’t be done inside the Nightmare Beast Forest.
It also indirectly confirmed that the best method to lay roads without destroying the Nightmare Beast Forest would be to use the Revival Nightmare Plants.
He Fang tied a rope around a tree in the city and secured it tightly. Using the large tree as the center, he began walking into the Nightmare Beast Forest, stretching the rope to its limit. This way, he would definitely not get lost. After walking in a circle, He Fang opened the map and, sure enough, saw that the map had been expanded due to his movement.
This was good news.
But there was also bad news.
The bad news was that after walking for half an hour on the original route, he could only make a tiny, extremely fine mark on the 1:1 map at the edge of the Nightmare Beast Forest.
He Fang was stunned.
He only then realized that, although he could open the map, the area he could open with his abilities was too small.
He had flown around the Nightmare Beast Forest for hours in a plane and all he had opened was just a tiny bit of the map.
Moreover, even though he had opened the map, it didn’t serve much purpose. It was just for locating his position. If he wanted to open a large portion of the map, it would be nearly impossible.
He Fang sat helplessly at the border between the city and the Nightmare Beast Forest, panting heavily.
Thinking about it this way, the road to the outside of the Nightmare Beast Forest must be incredibly far. If he were to build a train…
He Fang realized that the financial pressure he had just alleviated was now facing a massive new challenge.
Even if the research into the Revival Nightmare Plants succeeded, the cost of constructing the train tracks, including the labor of the NPCs and the immense resources required, would skyrocket to unaffordable levels.
Moreover, determining the direction of the road, not knowing where the Nightmare Beast Forest ends, and how to decide the size of the cleared area were all just random guesses.
If he had to personally go and open up the map, the time it would take would be absolutely staggering.
Help…
Can he still play this game?
With all this complexity, He Fang felt that if he were to finish “Ruins Without Restart”, it would probably take a lifetime. The game designers really seemed to have created a system designed to keep players playing for as long as possible. It was terrifying.
He Fang angrily logged out.
He ordered a milk tea. He needed something sweet and comforting to ease his troubled mind.
He Fang, feeling a bit self-destructive, just wanted to empty his mind and wait to see if the research institute could come up with something interesting. After all, that super-advanced airplane already left him in awe.
However, the cost of the plane was also considerable. He remembered that many of the resources used to build it came from the original new land city, along with resources from his own city. Even so, it still consumed a huge amount of funds. The researchers really did work hard, though.
He Fang decided that when he logged back in, he would send a milk tea to everyone at the research institute, hoping they would use their clever brains to come up with some good solutions!
Though He Fang felt like giving up, he couldn’t help but keep thinking, not fully relying on the NPCs within the game to solve everything. He sat in his computer chair, staring at the entire map of “Ruins Without Restart” on his screen, and began to consider a possibility.
Should he replicate his city?
His current city had already reached the scale of a small city. It was confirmed to be completely stable, with no unexpected events likely to occur. So, if he could open up a space of the same size as the current city and directly replicate it, he could get a larger city without much effort.
As long as the replication was sufficient, the population would increase, the demand would grow, and taxes would naturally rise, making the national treasury much more abundant.
But…
He Fang looked at the pile of simple sketches of new cities next to his computer, as well as the various professional design software he had self-taught and saved on his computer. In the end, he shook his head and gave up on the idea.
After all, he wanted to create a truly unique city, not just replicate identical ones for economic purposes.
He didn’t want to live in a completely replicated city and neither would his NPCs.
As He Fang stared at the screen, he suddenly picked up his mouse and clicked on the university on his map. He thought, why not… upgrade the university?
His thinking might not be sufficient to create a breakthrough opportunity, but the NPCs now had intelligence. For example, Zhu Yan had boldly made assumptions and created ideas.
His city’s university didn’t have more advanced settings like “graduate students” or “PhD students” as in reality. It was said that knowledge could change the future. Although cultivating a group of elites took time, his city urgently needed an influx of wisdom. The more smart people, the more solutions. After thinking for a moment, He Fang decided to upgrade the university.
Although setting up such a high-level institution in a world with only over thirty thousand people might be difficult for an NPC, as long as there was enough knowledge and critical thinking ability, maybe a pleasant surprise would come?
He Fang decided to upgrade the university during the research on Revival Nightmare Plants.
When He Fang established the elementary school, he wrote the textbooks himself; for middle school, he used middle school textbooks, and for high school and university, the content was similarly sourced, mostly found online. However… when it came to the content needed for graduate students and PhDs, He Fang was a bit lost.
He Fang had always done well academically from elementary school to high school and had even gotten into a pretty good university, but he never graduated.
Because of his personality, he had never been good at communicating with others. He would even stutter and sweat when speaking for long periods, causing discomfort in his body. Before high school, all he had to do was study. No one really paid attention to his issues. They just said he was quiet.
However, in the free and cooperative atmosphere of the university, his social anxiety became particularly severe.
It wasn’t that his classmates were bad, but he could never complete group assignments with them, so no one wanted to be in his group. After all, no one would willingly work with someone who couldn’t express themselves clearly, even if he completed the group leader’s assigned work excellently.
The reason He Fang never graduated was that he couldn’t complete his graduation defense.
He had an excellent thesis and PowerPoint presentation.
But he didn’t have the courage to present it in front of people.
By the time he decided to leave, he still hadn’t obtained his university diploma.
Let alone take the graduate school entrance exams.
This…
How could he upgrade the university?
Did that mean his academic qualifications would determine the upper limit of his NPCs’ education levels? But his NPCs were really outstanding. They were so intelligent, almost as if they had their own thoughts. Surely, some of them must want to achieve higher academic accomplishments too.
The more He Fang felt wronged, the more reluctant he became. He suddenly felt a deep sadness—he hadn’t been able to create better conditions for his “children”.
He wiped his eyes, feeling tearful, as he searched for information on graduate and doctoral programs, hoping to at least understand a little more.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He Fang saw the familiar number and instinctively hung up.
Sure enough, the delivery guy sent a text saying that the food had been placed at the door. He Fang listened intently, waiting until he heard the person leave before finally opening the door.
He sighed in relief when he saw the milk tea sitting alone at the door.
As He Fang reached for the tea and prepared to close the door, his peripheral vision caught sight of a piece of paper not far away. The large characters on it caught his attention.
“Adult University.”
He Fang’s mind went blank. His body acted before his mind could catch up. Taking advantage of the fact that no one else was in the corridor, he swiftly dashed out, grabbed the paper from the ground, and quickly retreated into his room, slamming the door shut behind him.
He Fang could hear his nervous heartbeat.
It had been so long since he’d stepped outside, even just a brief step outside his door and onto the corridor.
He could hear his own anxious heartbeat. He couldn’t shake the feeling that his neighbors had seen him in such a disheveled, foolish state through the peephole.
After a while, he managed to calm his racing heart. All his attention turned to the paper in his hand.
It was a pamphlet that looked like it had been used as a fan for some time. The corners were marked with distinct finger imprints.
But the pamphlet itself was brand new, suggesting it had just been handed out.
It was an advertisement from an XX education company, offering courses to help adults pursue higher education, promising that this would brighten their futures. The slogans were highly persuasive, talking about ways to improve education, with guarantees of teaching and even the exaggerated phrase “tailored to you”.
But He Fang’s entire focus was on the word “graduate student” on the pamphlet.
He Fang looked at the phone number below, and his desire started to stir.
He Fang hesitated but eventually typed the phone number into his phone, one digit at a time. Yet, in the end, his trembling hands couldn’t bring themselves to dial the number.
He wanted to dial it. It would be so simple, just asking a few targeted questions.
He Fang kept encouraging himself, trembling as he pressed the dial button.
A ringing sound came from the other side. But as soon as He Fang heard it, he began to feel fear.
“Hello…” As soon as the phone rang on the other side, He Fang hung up without the slightest hesitation.
It took him a while to realize that he had actually hung up. He stood there frozen, suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of grievance. His nose tingled and a wave of sadness washed over him.
As he hesitated, the phone rang again. He Fang scrambled to grab it, too nervous to move freely.
The call wasn’t answered and was soon disconnected, but another call came through immediately.
He Fang steeled himself and mustered up enough courage to answer the phone.
A man’s voice came through, soft and gentle, as if he were trying to reassure the nervous He Fang, treating him like a fragile vase: “Hello, sir. I noticed you called earlier. I think I may be able to help you. Would you like to tell me what you need help with? I would really appreciate it.”
He Fang felt so upset but tried to hold himself together. Wanting to hang up, his fingers trembling and unsure of how to move.
The man, however, was not deterred by He Fang’s silence. He spoke slowly, enunciating clearly: “This is XX Education. We have a website that outlines the advantages of our education programs. It also contains many examples and some simple instructional guides. If you’re interested, I can send you the link. Would that be alright?”
He Fang stood there, still frozen, unable to speak.
“If you’re interested, feel free to call me anytime. I will do my best to assist you. Thank you for reaching out. I look forward to hearing from you again,” the man said, and this time, he hung up the phone.
He Fang stared at the phone, unsure of what to do.
Soon after, he received a text message with a link to a website.
He Fang wondered if this was some kind of scam or a virus-filled website.
But, after all, they were recruiting. The website was listed at the bottom of the promotional flyer, so He Fang cautiously opened the website on his computer.
It was a very professional recruitment site, well-designed. He Fang clicked on the adult graduate program page, but the massive amount of resources and information immediately overwhelmed him.
——
Around the white statue of the Divine Lord, countless virtual screens, like web pages, flashed with all sorts of images. People passing by looked up and commented, “The Creator is looking up information again? The frequency with which the Creator is checking things online has really increased lately.”
“The Creator really is working hard, gathering so much information every day. It’s almost painful to watch. If only we could share the pressure with the Creator…”
“What’s he doing?” At this moment, Min Zhizhou looked up, standing beneath the statue of the Divine Lord, watching as the images appeared and disappeared quickly, too fast to read.
“It’s none of your business,” Zhu Yan, standing behind Min Zhizhou, thought for a moment before adding, “Even if I told you, you probably wouldn’t understand.”
Min Zhizhou was speechless. He couldn’t understand a lot of things in this city, but at least he knew that the images that kept appearing around the Divine Lord’s statue were likely what they called “webpages”.
“I’ve learned how to use the internet on my phone now. I can browse web pages. That must be what those are, right?” Min Zhizhou asked, looking at the numerous web pages of information. “Does the Divine Lord like to go online too?”
Zhu Yan didn’t answer, instead casually leaning against the car. “Wait a little longer. The Divine Lord is very busy right now.”
Min Zhizhou was surprised. The residents he had met generally didn’t think highly of the Divine Lord, but he hadn’t expected Zhu Yan to be willing to give up his precious time to wait for the Divine Lord.
Listening to the discussions around him, Min Zhizhou wondered if what the Divine Lord was doing had something to do with the city lord.
Suddenly, all the web pages stopped, disappearing in an instant. The white statue returned to silence. The pure white statue looked down upon the tiny, humble human race at its feet. The enormous holy beast coiled around it slowly opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs, and exuded a powerful, threatening aura.
Min Zhizhou’s hairs stood on end. His instincts urged him to flee from the statue. He felt as though his life—and even his soul—was being threatened by this overwhelmingly powerful, unknown entity.
Had he disturbed the Divine Lord and caused displeasure?
“Don’t be afraid, it’s just a paper tiger,” Zhu Yan said as he patted Min Zhizhou’s back, offering some encouragement. He then placed a bunch of vibrant, blooming flowers in Min Zhizhou’s hands. “Go ahead.”
Min Zhizhou’s expression was a mixture of confusion and fear, the flowers in his hands feeling like a burning stone. “Uh, do I really have to go?”
“Of course. Try sincerely offering your loyalty and faith,” Zhu Yan said flatly, in a tone that was completely at odds with a researcher’s typical demeanor.
Min Zhizhou, holding the flowers with trepidation, stared at the snarling holy beast. “…” Help me.
