Chapter 1 The Enigma Deepens

As things progressed in the Dream Plane, we found a lot of clues, but the more clues we found, the more confusing the whole thing became. One problem after another cropped up, and although there were countless conjectures to answer them, Hao Ren didn't know which one was more reliable.

"According to the message in the cave, a group of aliens should have gone to help when the 'First Born' awakened, but I didn't see any aliens even after I fired a shot. What happened to them?"

Nangong Wuyue frowned. "Maybe the aliens regretted it after ten thousand years, or maybe they forgot the agreement. After all, ten thousand years is a long time, and it's hard to say which race can keep its promise to that extent."

Hao Ren shook his head. "I think the ancient magic emperors dared to sign this agreement with aliens, and the Radiant Pope three thousand years ago dared to declare that aliens would come, they must have considered this point. No one is a fool. If they weren't sure of the aliens' sincerity, would they hand over the future of their entire planet to a group of outsiders? I tend to think something happened to those aliens."

"There's another possibility," Vivian interjected as she passed by, having overheard Hao Ren and Nangong Wuyue's discussion. "We sped up the awakening of the First Born... Well, not really us, it's the little green guys' fault. Their spaceship crashed into the Holy Lake, creating a huge whirlpool and indirectly causing the Holy Coffin to be damaged ahead of schedule. Maybe that's the reason."

"But the stone men in the Dragon Spine Mountains have nothing to do with the Holy Coffin," Hao Ren spread his hands. "They're operating strictly according to the timetable left behind ten thousand years ago. They were already active before the Holy Coffin was damaged 'early', which shows that the exact date of the First Born's awakening was then, give or take a few days at most. The aliens couldn't have just pinpointed the day agreed upon in the agreement, right? They must have prepared for unexpected situations. Anyway, if I were those aliens, I'd rather go and guard two months in advance than stick to the timetable and end up collecting corpses..."

"That's true... Something probably happened to them," Vivian nodded in agreement. "By the way, what are we having for lunch?"

Hao Ren was stunned. Vivian's sudden change of topic caught him off guard. After a few seconds, he remembered that he had plans today. "You guys figure out something for lunch. I have to go see Raven 12345. I probably won't be back if I don't have enough time."

Vivian nodded, but then remembered something and reminded him, "It seems like the goddess doesn't provide meals."

The corner of Hao Ren's mouth twitched. He thought to himself that the most profound impression Raven 12345, as the avatar of this universe's god, left on people was that she "doesn't provide meals." He wondered what the dignified goddess thought of herself ending up in such a state...

Vivian went back to doing housework without another word. Nangong Wuyue had already understood Hao Ren's meaning. "I get it. You think that many of the异类 (yilei, unusual beings) on Earth are probably not from Becky's home planet. So many races, including the sirens, crossed over to Earth at the same time, and the 'allies in the stars' mentioned in the prophecy are also missing. So you're worried that many races in the Dream Plane are in trouble and want to find the sirens' home to confirm?"

"It's just a plan for now," Hao Ren nodded. "It's better to have a goal than no goal at all. You try to find some clues. After all, you're a siren, so you should know something about your own kind, right... At least you can speak up."

"Actually, I've been wandering the world for so many years and haven't really been in contact with my own kind. The sirens who come ashore are all mysterious, and I'm not interested in them," Nangong Wuyue stuck out her tongue, but still nodded in agreement. "If you're talking about clues, there are indeed some. I'll do my best."

"Then I'm counting on you," Hao Ren nodded with a smile, got up and walked towards the back door. "I'll go talk to the Four Vajras and then go directly to Raven 12345. I won't be back for lunch."

The bearded men were "cultivating" in the wasteland behind the house at this time. The four of them were "meditating" around a pile of dying bonfire, looking like they were in a wilderness survival show. When Hao Ren went over, he found that Lily was also there. The girl was squatting next to the bearded man with a notebook in her hand, seriously asking questions. He found it funny and went over to pat Lily on the head. "What are you doing?"

Lily looked up and bared her teeth at Hao Ren. "Don't touch my head! I find that you are becoming more and more disrespectful to a literary girl..."

Hao Ren was speechless, unable to believe how Lily could shamelessly call herself a literary girl. Then he saw what was in Lily's notebook. A line of words blinded his eyes: "Returning to Simplicity in the Modern City: Wilderness Health." He asked blankly, "What are you doing? Are you studying sociology?"

"Submitting articles," Lily said with a serious face. "This topic is very popular now. The richer urbanites are, the more pretentious they are. When they were digging for food in the mountains, they all longed for tall buildings. Now that they live in buildings, they're starting to pursue eating wild vegetables. These kinds of health articles are especially popular. You just write something that looks like it's returning to simplicity, and then add the names of two foreign chicken feather experts, and it starts at two hundred per thousand words..."

Hao Ren thought for a while, then pointed at the bonfire in front of the bearded man, jumping up and down. "But health articles don't teach people to catch wild rabbits in the suburbs!"

"It's just appropriate literary exaggeration," Lily said with a straight face. "I plan to portray the bearded man as a hermit, or a health expert, or say that he is the authentic successor of Mount Wutai..."

Hao Ren squinted at the husky. "Take it easy, don't let your articles become popular one day and attract reporters from CCTV."

Lily glared at Hao Ren, held her notebook and went back to the house to polish it up. Hao Ren sat down next to the bearded man and casually muttered, "Actually, you can go to a place called India. After you get there, your behavior won't be conspicuous."

The bearded man's face lit up instantly. "Do they also follow the goddess's teachings over there?"

"No, it's a magical country, especially suitable for you to challenge the limits of survival," Hao Ren looked at the bearded man's wide robes and sleeves, and the more he looked at them, the more he felt that if these four people were thrown into the streets of India, they would instantly blend in with the crowd. "There are people everywhere who are challenging the limits of survival just like you. They're also called ascetics, and the locals treat performance art as a way of life..."

"I will consider it," the bearded man nodded very seriously to thank Hao Ren. "But we must first solve the problem of knowledge, most importantly the obstacles of language and writing."

"It's okay, my boss is in charge of this. In a couple of days, you will naturally be able to understand the language and writing of Earthlings," Hao Ren said with a sigh. "You newcomers are really lucky. When I first started, I had to lie in a coffin to undergo a transformation before I could understand foreign languages. Now it's all automatic."

At this time, the young nun saw that Hao Ren had something on his mind. "You're looking for us about something?"

Hao Ren smiled awkwardly. "It's not a big deal... Do you have any scriptures of the Radiant Church with you?"

The bearded man took out a thick old book from his robe. "Of course, we carry them with us. Are you interested in the goddess's teachings?"

Hao Ren smiled dryly. "Not really—my boss would kill me if I joined another religion. I just want to learn about the history and culture of the Radiant Church, and the legends of your world, anything related to ten thousand years ago."

After so much time in contact with them, Hao Ren had roughly figured out the bearded men's temperament. These devout believers were not like the fanatics of other religions who would force everyone to believe in their goddess. They believed in natural edification and conversion—propagating the tenets of the Radiant Church through their own words and deeds, and letting unbelievers make their own choices. That's why Hao Ren could discuss the issue of whether or not to believe in religion with them so casually.

"We only carry the Holy Scriptures with us," the bearded man handed the big book to Hao Ren. "It's always good to take a look. Although we don't have other books with us, we have them all in our heads. I can transcribe some for you."

"Don't bother, it's enough to study this book first. I'll collect a batch when I go to the Dream Plane next time anyway, since I have to go in a month," Hao Ren stood up. "Then you guys continue to enlighten yourselves, I have to report to my boss..."

Hao Ren raised his leg and was about to leave when the bearded man also stood up. "We heard that the 'boss' you mentioned is another goddess, right?"

Hao Ren didn't know how to respond immediately. "Uh..."

"We'll go with you to see her," the bearded man said very seriously.

This development was a bit beyond Hao Ren's expectations.